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in accordance with the present invention , calcium in the form of calcium gluconate , calcium chloride or other suitable organic or inorganic salts and including suitable soluble calcium forms of the chelant / ligand used to complex paramagnetic and / or heavy metals are added to the product formulation to be used for mri or x - ray contrast imaging . the calcium ions are added at levels ranging from 1 - 25 % of stoichiometry based on the chelant / ligand concentration , but preferably from 3 % to about 15 % of stoichiometry . the amount of calcium added is determined individually for each formulation and will depend on the calcium chelation potential of the formulation . the calcium can be added in a single form , e . g . calcium chloride , or as mixtures , e . g . calcium chloride and calcium gluconate . the paramagnetic and / or heavy metal chelates to which calcium is to be added are complex salts formed from the anion of a complexing acid and a central ion of an element with an atomic number of 21 to 29 , 42 , 44 or 57 through 83 and , optionally , also formed from one or more physiologically bio - compatible salts of inorganic and / or organic bases or amino acids . they are suitable for producing diagnostic media which are useful in magnetic resonance imaging and / or x - ray diagnosis . if the medium is intended to be used in magnetic resonance imaging , the central ion must be paramagnetic . it preferably is the divalent or trivalent ion of elements with an atomic number of 21 to 29 , 42 , 44 and 57 through 70 . suitable ions for example , chromium 3 , manganese 2 , iron 3 , iron 2 , cobalt 2 , copper 2 , praseodymium 3 , neodymium 3 , samarium 3 , ytterbium 3 and because of their very strong magnetic moments gadolinium 3 , terbium 3 , dysprosium 3 , holmium 3 , and erbium 3 are preferred . if the medium is intended for use in x - ray diagnosis , the central ion should be derived from an element with a higher atomic number to achieve a sufficient absorption of x - rays . it has been found that diagnostic media containing a physiologically well - tolerated complex salt with central ions of elements with atomic numbers of 57 to 83 are suitable for this purpose . these include , for example , lanthanum 3 , the above - mentioned ions of the lanthanide group , gold 3 , lead 2 and bismuth 3 . the action of citric acid , ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ( edta ) and similar ligands to complex with ionic calcium when injected in vivo into the bloodstream and inducing tetanic convulsions has long been appreciated . calcium administered as a chloride salt or as calcium gluconate is know to be effective in counteracting these convulsions . however , such teachings have previously found little application in reducing the toxicity of magnetic resonance agents or x - ray contrast agents . among the prior art reasons for not resorting to ionic calcium in such applications may have been that ionic calcium if added at stoichiometric amounts would have been detrimental because these hypertonic solutions would then have provided excessive amounts of calcium upon injection into the bloodstream . additionally , calcium complexation by iodinated x - ray contrast media was not significant compared to the newer paramagnetic complexes . complex paramagnetic chelates and heavy metals complexed to chelant ligands as previously stated have limited clinical utility at increasing dosages because of the toxicity created therefrom . toxicity which is usually greater when the agents are injected rapidly and / or at more concentrated levels is generally attributed to the in vivo release of the heavy metal . therefore , the addition of excess ligand to the formulation to bind any &# 34 ; free &# 34 ; metal in the injectable is felt to be of value . however , the effective scavenging amount of excess ligand at , for example , 15 % excess sodium salt fails to enhance the safety of the na 2 gddtpa . addition of 15 % excess ligand as the cana 3 dtpa to na 2 gddtpa increased the intravenous ld 50 about 20 %. although this level of excess ligand would provide about 4 mg / ml of calcium , the following examples show that further enhancement of safety can be expected by adjusting the level of calcium simply by addition of calcium chloride , i . e . without need for excess ligand . the toxicity of the preferred embodiments of the present invention are measured by lethal dose ( ld ) values which are approximations of the doses at which the specimen animals die . exemplary lethal does values for the present invention are seen in the examples set forth below : the intravenous ld 50 for calcium chloride ( cacl 2 ) in the mouse is reported to be 42 mg / kg ( rtecs ). this calculates to about 15 mg / kg of calcium or about 0 . 3 mg of calcium for a 20 gram mouse . when calcium chloride was added to 0 . 68m disodium gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid ( na 2 gddtpa ) at 130 mg / kg ( 6 . 5 mg / ml ) or 260 mg / kg ( 13 . 0 mg / ml ) the lethal effects of the na 2 gddtpa were greatly diminished even though these levels of added calcium would provide 47 and 94 mg / kg , i . e . 0 . 94 and 1 . 88 mg respectively to a 20 gram mouse . these values are 3 . 1 and 6 . 2 times higher than the i . v . ld 50 of calcium administered as cacl 2 . whereas 4 of 4 mice given 13 . 6 mmol / kg of na 2 gddtpa died , only 1 of 4 mice died at those doses of na 2 gddtpa alone with 2 . 34 mg / ml of added calcium and 2 of 4 died at the 4 . 68 mg / ml level of added calcium . clearly then the 0 . 68m na 2 gddtpa solution must complex a substantial amount of the added calcium in a way to block the calcium &# 39 ; s in vivo toxicity . conversely , the calcium added to the na 2 gddtpa formulation blocks the in vivo calcium complexation by na 2 gddtpa and thereby reduces its toxicity , i . e . prevents tetanic convulsions and death . clearly this protective effect of added calcium must be balanced to the calcium complexing potential of the paramagnetic contrast agent . addition of calcium chloride at 430 ( 21 . 5 mg / ml ) and 860 mg / kg ( 43 mg / ml ), i . e . at 155 and 310 mg of calcium / kg , results in doses of 3 . 1 and 6 . 2 mg of calcium per 20 gram mouse . these doses of calcium added to 0 . 68m na 2 gddtpa were not protective and did not enhance the safety of the na 2 gddtpa formulation . all mice injected with 0 . 65m na 2 gddtpa at those two dose levels of calcium died . it may be inferred that these levels of added calcium were excessive and exceeded the calcium binding optimum of the solution and that death from calcium toxicity ensued . in these examples 1 and 2 ( see table 1 ) it is shown that calcium added to 0 . 68m na 2 gddtpa as calcium chloride at concentrations of 6 . 5 , 13 . 0 , 21 , 5 and 43 mg / ml of solution and which would result in concentrations of calcium of 2 . 34 mg ., 4 . 68 mg , 7 . 74 mg and 15 . 48 mg per milliliter respectively , provided different levels of protection against the toxicity of na 2 gddtpa . on a stoichiometric basis the four added calcium levels approximate 9 %, 17 %, 29 % and 57 % respectively of the 0 . 68m concentration of na 2 gddtpa . based on this data , concentrations of added calcium of 30 - 60 % stoichiometric to that of the subject formulation are excessive and do not enhance the safety . however , concentrations of added calcium of 9 - 17 % stoichiometry to the subject formulations were protective based on acute toxicity determinations . clearly the optimum amount of calcium to be added will vary based on the ligand chosen and its concentration in the formulation . table 1__________________________________________________________________________studies of intravenous toxicity of na . sub . 2 gddtpaalone and added cacl . sub . 2 mice calcium , % dose of added no . deaths / approximate stoichiometryna . sub . 2 gddtpa calcium mg / ml no . injected ld values na . sub . 2 gddtpa__________________________________________________________________________13 . 6 mmol / kg 0 4 / 4 100 % 013 . 6 mmol / kg 2 . 34 1 / 4 25 % 9 % 13 . 6 mmol / kg 4 . 68 2 / 4 50 % 17 % 13 . 6 mmol / kg 7 . 74 4 / 4 100 % 29 % 13 . 6 mmol / kg 15 . 48 2 / 2 100 % 57 % __________________________________________________________________________	8
fig1 is perspective top view on a device according to the invention for testing the design or configuration of a seat 1 comprising a seat area 2 , a backrest 3 and a headrest 4 , which is connected via bars 5 to the backrest 3 . a body simulating element comprises a test shell 6 which is placed on the seat area 2 and comprises two semitubular sections 7 , which are to represent a passenger &# 39 ; s thighs . the bulges of the semitubular sections 7 are pressed by the weight of the test shell 6 to some extent into the seat area 2 . a plate 8 is positioned on the flattened side of the sections 7 to tare a predetermined weight . at least in the rear area the test shell comprises an edge 9 for accommodating a shaft or axle extending transverse to the seat . the body simulating element further comprises a back plate 10 which is connected to the test shell 6 via two pivot levers 11 supported on the axle and gets into contact with the backrest 3 during the testing operation . an extension arm 12 is arranged on the back plate 10 . the free end of said arm has arranged thereon a mounting device 13 for a device 14 used for measuring a distance . said device may be a distance sensor . the distance sensor 14 is oriented with its optics towards the headrest 4 and is arranged such that it measures the distance from the headrest 4 , for example with the help of an optical measuring method , such as triangulation . in this case the distance sensor 14 itself represents the reference measuring point , wherein a center ( h - point ), which will be described in more detail in conjunction with fig3 ), of an axle 19 forms a position reference point for the distance vector . for controlling the sensor and for transmitting the measurement results the distance sensor 14 is connected to a computer . the test shell 6 can be subjected to tests in an automated way . the seat to be tested is normally located on a conveyor belt , which may be part of the movement path of the seat in the manufacturing process . as an alternative , a second robot may be provided that places the seat to be tested on the test bench . as a rule , a second robot is provided at any rate for adjusting the seat position . specifically with the second robot a position of the backrest is adjusted at an inclination angle of 25 °± 2 °, based on the contact surface formed by the backrest , which angle is enclosed between the contact surface and the vertical plane . the backrest is slightly inclined backwardly as in usual operation of the backrest . the setting of this angular position of the backrest of the seat is normally carried out by the second robot . at the end of its operating arm a robot 15 comprises a force / torque sensor 16 which is connected to a support 17 on the test shell . the seat 1 is provided on a conveyor belt or on a platform 18 . the test shell together with the back plate and the distance sensor is meant to simulate a passenger and has therefore preferably a predetermined weight and more or less imitates thighs on the underside . the shaping body of the test shell may also be made of plastics , which is relatively lightweight . the original weight can here be created by an integrated plate made of a material having a relatively great weight , for instance iron . fig2 is a perspective top view on an embodiment of the physical simulation element comprising a test shell 6 and a back plate 10 which is articulated to and adjustably arranged on the test shell 6 . on the semitubular sections 7 simulating the thigh stumps , the test shell 6 comprises respective can - shaped receiving means for simulation weights 22 , the boundaries of the test shell 6 with the seat having a surface contour imitating a human body . these simulation weights 22 are configured as disks , with the height of the placed disks being variable for changing the simulated weight . a pot for receiving a three - axis sensor 14 rises centrally in the test shell , with the robot arm being adapted to be fixedly screwed to the upper cover of said pot . the back plate is designed as a torso shell , i . e . it has a spatial extension corresponding to a human torso . the upper boundary corresponds to the shoulder line . the back plate 10 is articulated to the test shell 6 . translational actuators 20 in the form of pneumatic cylinders which are supported on an l - shaped pivot lever 21 relative to the test shell 6 are positioned between the test shell 6 and the back plate 10 . the two pivot levers 21 are hingedly mounted on the test shell 6 . the pivot axis of the l - shaped pivot levers 21 corresponds to the hip axis , i . e . the rotational axis of the hip joint extending in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the body . this is marked in fig3 with reference numeral 19 . fig1 shows the unfolded position of the back plate 10 which is preset such that the back plate 10 assumes a predetermined position . this position can be predetermined by stops , or the like . at any rate an inclinometer that determines the real angle of inclination of the back plate 10 is disposed inside the back plate 10 . the back plate 10 is preset at an inclination angle of 25 ° relative to the vertical ( based on the contact the contact surface formed by the back plate 10 ). fig2 does not show the extension arm provided for distance measurement ; this arm , however , can also be provided and designed in the way shown in fig1 . the back plate has further provided therein a triangulation sensor used for distance measurement . the triangulation sensor calculates the distance of the reference point from the surface of the headrest on the basis of the measured angle of inclination and with the known lever arms relative to the reference point . fig3 shows a mechanism for moving the back plate 10 which is pivotably arranged around an axle 19 . to this end two pivot levers 11 connect the back plate 10 to the axle 19 which in the transverse direction ( x - direction ) of the seat is supported on the test shell on the edge 9 . the center of the axle 19 forms an h - point in the measurement arrangement and is to simulate a passenger &# 39 ; s hip . at least one translational actuator 20 is arranged on the test shell 6 . the actuator 20 comprises , for instance , a plunger 23 which directly or indirectly acts in a pivoting way on at least one of the pivot levers 11 . the operating element is here moving forwards and upwards . the test shell comprises at least one lock 24 that can be shifted in parallel with the pivot axis 19 . in the retracted state the lock 24 releases the pivot range of the pivot levers 11 . in the extended state ( not shown ) the lock 24 blocks the pivot lever 11 . as a detail of the arrangement , fig4 shows the force / torque sensor 16 , which supplies as measured values the forces fx , fy , fz along the three axes ( x , y , z ) and the torques mx , my , mz around the three axes ( x , y , z ). with the help of the force / torque sensor the robot 15 carries out force / torque - controlled movements for reference finding . fig5 shows the first reference - finding step in which the robot 15 with the test shell 6 connected via the force / torque sensor 16 and the support 17 moves into an initial position located slightly above the seat 1 . the test shell 6 is here suspended with its weight from the robot arm and the sensor 16 , respectively . fig6 a to 14b show different phases for installing the body simulating element in consideration of the measured forces and torques . the position of the robot arm with the body simulating element relative to the seat is each time shown at the left side . the force / torque curve in the respective phase is illustrated in the right diagram . the movements of the body simulating element relative to the seat become also apparent from the cartesian coordinate system , which is also shown in the figures . fig6 a and 6b show step 2 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 places the shell 6 in a controlled manner on seat 1 until the measured forces and torques tend to assume zero , as becomes apparent from the time - torque / force diagram . fig7 a and 7b show step 3 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 shifts the shell 6 towards the backrest 3 ( negative y - direction ), the x - and z - direction being adjusted without force until a defined abutment force in the negative y - direction is reached , which in the time / force diagram is illustrated as a curve fy that is strongly rising towards the end . fig8 shows step 4 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 moves slightly back ( positive y - direction ) and upwards ( negative z - direction ), so that the shell 6 is hovering . fig9 a and 9b show step 5 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 shifts the shell 6 against a right ( positive x - direction ) abutment of a seat bead 25 , with a predefined abutment force in positive x - direction . the coordinates describing this end position are memorized by the computer - aided control of the robot as the right end position pr . fig1 a and 10b show step 6 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 shifts the shell 6 against a left ( negative x - direction ) abutment of a seat bead 26 , with a predefined abutment force . the coordinates are memorized by the computer - aided control of the robot as the left end position pl . the force curves calculated in steps 5 and 6 are converted for center finding . fig1 a and 11b show step 7 of the method according to the invention . the computer calculates the arithmetic center on the basis of the left and right end position memorized in the two preceding steps . the robot 15 moves into this computed center . fig1 a and 12b show step 8 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 puts the shell 6 down again in a controlled way until the measured forces and torques tend to assume zero , as becomes apparent from the time - torque / force diagram ( as in step 2 ). fig1 a and 13b show step 9 of the method according to the invention the robot shifts the shell 6 again rearwards ( negative y - direction ), the x - and z - direction being controlled without force ( as in step 3 ) until a predefined abutment force is reached in the negative y - direction , represented by the rising curve progression in the time / force diagram . fig1 a and 14b show step 10 of the method according to the invention . the robot 15 relaxes the shell 6 again until there are no longer any forces or torques acting ( as in step 2 ). the shell 6 is located in the desired end position . this end position determined by the robot in consideration of the really acting forces corresponds to the position that is supposed to be occupied by the seat user in a casual way . in the above - described method a measurement position is thereby set that is based on the real conditions of the manufactured seat . with the help of the robot and the force / torque measurements , the body simulating element “ probes ” the seat position that can be expected to be also occupied by the user . distance measurement is carried out in the end position set in this way . thereupon distance measurement is carried out in consideration of the real conditions . in contrast to the known prior art , in which a dummy was positioned on the seat by hand , the above - described measuring method rules out artifacts that might be introduced by the introduction of the measuring point ( dummy &# 39 ; s head ). position finding is solely based on the interaction between the cushion material of the seat to be measured and the body simulating element ; and on the basis of the force and torque measurement the robot sets a measuring position that could be individual for each seat , but is reproducible due to the seat behavior .	6
referring now to fig1 there is shown a prior art coupling arrangements 19 for connecting relatively small diameter tubes 20 such as brake tubes to fittings 21 by threaded insert - type connections 22 . the fittings 21 are crimped to a hose 23 which carries relatively high pressure hydraulic fluid . in fig1 a part of a truck chassis or frame 24 retains the coupling 19 thereon with a bracket 25 to hold the coupling rigid with respect to the frame . the hose 23 is relatively flexible and may be retained to other portions of the chassis by clamps while the tubes 20 may also be retained to the chassis 24 by clamps 25 . one of the tubes 20 is attached to a hydraulically driven device such as a brake caliper 28 in a disk brake 29 . the present invention replaces the couplings 19 with a more reliable and more economical coupling arrangements . while a disk brake 29 is shown in fig1 the invention has other uses for other types of hydraulic connections such as connections for clutches , and any other arrangement in which a flexible hose is connected to a rigid tube . referring now to fig2 and 3 which show in more detail the prior art coupling 19 of fig1 it is seen that the threaded nut 22 is received in a threaded recess 31 of the fitting 21 while the hose 23 is crimped to the fitting via a crimping collar 32 . in the arrangement of fig2 the tube 20 has a flared end 33 and the fitting 21 has an inverted or convex seat 34 . in the embodiment of fig3 the fitting 21 ′ has a concave seat 34 ′ which receives a bubble end 33 ′ of the tube 20 ′. the externally threaded nut 22 ′ then threads into the threaded bore 31 ′ in the same way that the threaded nut 22 threads into the threaded bore 31 of fig2 . in practice , the arrangements of fig2 and 3 tend to have multiple components . referring now to fig4 in an attempt to avoid the expense and minimize the difficulties of a coupling 19 , such as the coupling of fig2 and 3 , wherein an externally threaded nut 22 , 22 ′ must be threaded into a threaded bore 31 , 31 ′, the tube 20 ″ of fig4 is press - fitted into a smooth recess 31 ″ of a fitting 21 ″ and copper brazed at juncture 36 . the fitting 21 ″ is then plated , which requires plating of an assembly that has the relatively long portion of the tube 20 ″ attached to the fitting 21 ″. in practice , the arrangement of fig4 also tends to use an insertion tube 37 , which results in more part - to - part junctures that increase the number of potential leak paths . in order to improve upon the couplings illustrated in fig1 - 4 as well as other couplings , the present invention eliminates a need to physically join the components of the tube - to - hose couplings by hand at assembly plants , as well as reducing leak paths , component costs and part number counts . moreover , as opposed to brazed tube designs , such as that of fig4 tolerance control is increased , as is routing control . referring now to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in fig5 - 9 , a high pressure integral tube coupling 40 enables a direct connection between a metal tube 50 and a flexible hose 23 ( see fig1 ), such as a high pressure resistant rubber hose , without a need for rotating threaded coupling components or brazing , thus eliminating parts or steps while retaining their function . as is seen in fig5 the metal tube 50 is positioned within a body portion 51 of a fitting 52 to which the hose 23 of fig1 is subsequently coupled by deforming a crimping collar 53 therearound so that the hose is axially retained within the fitting 52 and is radially sealed against an end portion 54 of the tube . the tube 50 corresponds to the tubes 20 shown in the prior art arrangements of fig1 - 4 and has an internal diameter of about 0 . 1250 inch , which internal diameter could range from about 0 . 125 to about 0 . 145 inch . in order to retain the tube 50 in the fitting 52 , a back bead 56 is preferably seated within an annular bead pocket 58 formed in a back end 59 of the fitting 52 while a front bead 60 is preferably seated in a pocket 62 formed in front end 63 of the fitting located just before the crimping collar 53 . a smooth bore 66 extends completely through the fitting 52 into a cylindrical space 68 defined by the crimping collar 53 . while the pockets 58 and 62 are preferable , it is within the scope of this disclosure to form the coupling without the pockets by crimping the tube 50 directly against the radial end surfaces of the fitting ( see fig9 ). the diameter d 1 of the smooth bore 66 is slightly greater than the diameter d 1 of the tube 50 so that the tube slides through the smooth bore . while the diameter d 1 is slightly larger than the diameter of d 2 , it need only be large enough so that the d 2 will slide readily therethrough . there could , however , be a slight press fit of the tube 50 within the bore 66 . the end 54 of the tube 50 has a reduced diameter portion 67 of a diameter d 3 which is slidably receivable within the bore 70 of the hose 23 and is of a length substantially equal to that of the crimping collar 53 . consequently , the bore 70 of the hose 23 is supported during the crimping step which deforms the material 72 of the hose . referring now to fig6 a - 6 d which illustrate the method fabricating and assembling the coupling 40 , it is seen that the metal tube 50 has its end portion 54 drawn to have the reduced diameter d 3 which is less than the diameter d 2 of the tube 50 . as is seen in fig6 b , the back bead 56 is formed by an applied force which pushes a portion 76 of the tube 50 back , thus forming a beaded area in proximity with line 78 . as is seen in fig6 c , the thus deformed tube 50 is inserted through the smooth bore 66 of the fitting 52 so that the back bead 56 fits into the annular bead pocket 58 at the back end 59 of the body 51 of the fitting . the annular bead pocket 58 is formed in or machined in the back end 59 of the fitting and has a diameter substantially greater than the diameter d 2 of the smooth bore 66 . it is to be kept in mind that the bead pocket 58 is a desirable but optional feature . referring now to fig6 d in combination with fig6 c , the front bead 60 is then formed by using an applied force to the tube 50 rearwardly so that a portion 80 of the tube 50 deforms into the front bead 60 which seats within the annular front bead pocket 62 at the front end 64 of the body 51 of fitting 52 . the structure of the tube 50 in the absence of the fitting 52 is shown in fig7 while the structure of the fitting absent the tube is shown in fig8 . in the first embodiment of the invention , it is seen that the coupling 40 is accomplished by two axial deformations of the tube 50 , one prior to inserting the tube 50 into the fitting 52 and the other subsequent to the insertion . the final step is to radially crimp the crimping collar 53 which is a conventional one - step procedure . if the arrangement is to be used with the brake line of fig1 the fitting 52 with the tube 50 connected thereto may be first inserted into an opening in the bracket 25 and a sliding clip slid into the annular groove 87 in the fitting 52 . the hose 23 is then inserted in the space 68 in the crimping collar 53 and the crimping collar crimped about the hose . by having a press fitting between the tube 50 and the fitting 52 , rotation of the fitting relative to the tube is eliminated while maintaining a fluid tight seal . preferably , the metal tube 50 is made of steel and is pre - coated by sae - j527 standards , sliding fit . other materials which may be used are copper , nickel , nylon ® ( polyamide ) or polyvinyl fluoride . if relatively thick plastic coatings such as nylon ® are used , the coating preferably terminates before the first bead 56 ; however , as is seen in the third embodiment of fig1 and 11 , can continue to bead 60 . the barbed or stem structure beyond the beads 56 and 60 has a controlled inside diameter as well as a controlled outside diameter which permits the assembly to pass the federal motor vehicle safety standards for minimum fluid passage diameter . moreover , the barb or stem structure can be produced either with or without annular grooves to increase tensile integrity of the coupling . since the end 54 of the tube is received directly within the bore 70 of the hose 23 , potential leak paths which occur with additional elements , such as those in prior art threaded connections and brazed tubular supports , are eliminated . referring now to fig9 there is shown a second embodiment of the invention , wherein the bead pockets 58 and 62 are deleted from the fitting 52 ′ so that beads 56 ′ and 60 ′ press directly against the radially extending back and front end surfaces 80 and 82 , respectively of the fitting 52 ′. friction between the end surface 80 and back bead 56 and between the front end surface 82 and the front bead 60 prevents rotation of the tube 50 within the fitting . in addition , there is a slight friction fit between the tube 50 and the bore 66 ′ which provides a fluid seal . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a third embodiment of the invention wherein a tube 90 is inserted into a fitting 92 having a crimping collar 93 . the tube 90 has a necked down portion 94 joined thereto by a frusto - conical section or tapered 95 . the frusto - conical section 95 joins an intermediate section 96 just in front of a bead 97 . the fitting 92 has a smooth bore 100 that has an abutment surface 101 defined by an annular shoulder 102 therein that is disposed within in an annular recess 104 . as with the embodiment of fig5 - 9 , the tube 90 is shoved into the fitting 92 ( as shown in fig6 c ) until the bead 97 abuts the shoulder 102 of the abutment surface 101 . an annular portion 106 of the wall of the recess 104 is then deformed by staking the portion 106 against the bead 97 to retain the tube 90 within the bore 100 of the fitting 92 . thereafter , a portion 110 of a second annular recess 112 within the fitting proximate the crimping collar 93 is deformed against the tapered section 95 of the tube 90 to provide a tapered portion 113 of the bore 100 against which the tapered portion of the tube seats . this seals the tube 90 within the fitting 92 at substantially three locations , whereafter the hose 23 is secured within the fitting 92 by deforming the crimping collar 93 . the arrangement of the second embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 is used substantially as the arrangement of the first embodiment shown in fig5 - 9 . as with the embodiments of fig5 - 8 and 9 , the embodiment of fig1 is used in situations such as that of fig1 where a flexible hose 23 connects a source of hydraulic fluid to a tube 20 , which tube retains fluid which operates a hydraulic device , such as the calipers of a brake , or a clutch , or any other device requiring high pressure hydraulic fluid delivered via a flexible hose . referring now to fig1 and 12a - d , there is shown a fourth embodiment of the invention wherein a metal tube 200 is coupled to the hose 23 by a fitting 202 to form a coupling 203 . the metal tube 200 has a drawn down portion 204 which has a relatively small outside diameter d 1 which is less than the outside diameter d 2 of a main portion 205 of the tube . in addition , the tube 200 has an annular bead 206 having a first axially facing surface 208 and a second axially facing surface 210 . tube 200 is received through a smooth bore 212 in a body portion 213 of the fitting 202 and , if the metal tube does not have a plastic coating , may have an interference fit . tube 200 is retained within the fitting 202 by abutment between the first surface 208 of the bead 206 with a shoulder 216 adjacent the bore 212 and by a swaged , staked or annular portion 218 of the fitting 202 that forms a second abutment which engages the surface 210 of the bead . the fitting 202 and tube 200 are therefore prevented from any axial or rotational movement , one with respect to the other while also being provided with metal - to - metal fluid seals 219 and 216 which prevent entry of moisture and corrosive agents that might degrade the interior of the coupling . preferably , the main portion 205 of the metal tube 200 is coated or covered with a layer 220 of a plastic material such as , for example , a polyamide , i . e ., nylon ®, which layer of plastic material terminates before or at the bead 206 leaving the bead uncoated for the metal - to - metal seal 219 with the fitting as well as leaving the small diameter portion 204 uncoated for ready receipt in the bore of the hose 23 . examples of other plastic materials which may be used are polyvinylfluoride or polypropylene . a preferred example of a tube configuration for the tube 200 comprises a base tube of sae 1008 / 1010 mild steel with a layer of copper plating over which is a 10 - 15 μm 95 % zinc / 5 % aluminum hot dip coating . the layer of plastic material 220 is preferably a layer of polyamide over a binder layer which is on average about 3 . 5 μm thick . referring now to fig1 a - 12 d , preferred steps in assembling the coupling 203 are shown in sequence . as is seen in fig1 a , tube 200 is provided . tube 200 is drawn to provide the small diameter portion 204 and to form frusto - conical portion 222 which joins the small diameter portion 201 to the remainder of the tube 200 . as is seen in fig1 b , the tube is deformed by pressing axially against the tube so that it bulges outwardly to form the bubble 206 generally in the location of the frusto - conical portion 222 . if the entire tube 200 has previously been coated with a plastic layer 220 , the plastic layer is stripped from the insertion portion 204 and the bead 206 prior to drawing . there are a number of methods to remove a portion of the plastic layer 220 from a portion of the tube 200 . these methods include applying mechanical cutting tools , abrasive wheels or brushes or using laser ablation , chemical solvents or water jet ablation . the tube 200 may be axially moved and rotated as the plastic and other non - metallic materials are stripped therefrom preferably prior to drawing or otherwise deforming the tube 200 . referring now to fig1 c , the fitting 202 is slid along the length of the tube 200 from its opposite end or , in the alternative , the tube is simply inserted into the bore 212 until the surface 208 on the bead 206 is abutted by the shoulder 216 that is adjacent the end of the bore . preferably , the fit between the tube 200 and the bore 212 is a sliding fit with the plastic layer 220 sliding within the bore . the fit between the tube 200 and bore may be sufficiently tight to form a fluid tight seal . as is seen in fig1 d , the annular portion 218 of the wide portion of the bore 212 is then swaged or staked against the second face 210 of the bead 206 in order to form the coupling 203 which firmly retains the tube 200 within the fitting 202 and forms the metal - to - metal , fluid tight seal 219 therewith . after the coupling 203 is formed , the hose 23 ( fig1 ) is inserted into a hollow portion 230 of the fitting 202 which forms a crimping collar that is unitary with the body portion 213 of the fitting . the crimping collar 230 is then deformed radially inwardly to retain the hose 23 permanently and non - rotatably in communication with the tube 200 . by utilizing the arrangement of the present invention , tubes are retained within fittings , such as fittings for joining the tubes to hoses , utilizing mechanical steps which involve neither rotating the tube with respect to the fitting , brazing the tube to the fitting or using a retaining unit . from the foregoing description , one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention , and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , can make various changes and modification of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions .	1
the principles and operation of a local area network according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description . fig5 is a block diagram of a representative sic 500 for use in control applications . a first line interface 502 is a first port for connecting to the previous sic to receive incoming electrical power and local area network data over electrically - conducting medium 503 , which may optionally be connected to an electrical power main 501 , so that sic 500 may be powered from electrical power main 501 . line interface 502 may include the connector , fuse , lightning arrester and other protection such as noise filters , etc . the incoming power / data signal is fed to a first power / data splitter / combiner 504 , which de - couples the ( high frequency alternating current ) data signal from the power . such a power / data splitter / combiner 504 ( denoted for brevity in fig5 as “ p / d s / c ”) can be implemented by methods well - known in the art , such as using a center - tap transformer , or alternatively with active components . the data signal is fed to a first modem 506 allowing bidirectional communication , while the power is fed to a power supply 520 . the above scheme assumes that both power and data are carried by the same network wires ( line - powering ). fig5 illustrates the case where the sic is line - powered by alternating current ( for example , by the electrical power main ), in which case power / data splitter / combiner 504 is an ac power / data splitter / combiner , which separates a low - frequency alternating current power from the higher - frequency data signal . otherwise , in the case where the sic is line - powered by direct current , power / data splitter / combiner 504 is a dc power / data splitter / combiner , which separates direct current power from the data signal . in some cases the line - powering method is not used . for example , power can be carried by dedicated lines routed in conjunction with the data wiring . alternatively , the sic can be locally powered by a local power - supply . in both cases , the power / data splitter / combiner is not required , and the power lines are directly connected to the sic power - supply , while the data connects directly to the modems . parts of the sic are shown optionally housed within an electrical outlet 524 , such that connections to the local area network as well as to the electrical power mains may be made from electrical outlet 524 . electrical power from electrical outlet 524 can be fed to an optional electrical appliance 525 . in addition , sic 500 contains an optional electrical power main feed 505 which can also power electrical appliances or other devices . power - supply 520 provides the required voltages for the sic and payload operation , and also outputs the power to a second power / data splitter / combiner 510 , for coupling to the next sic . communication with the next ( fed ) sic is performed via a second modem 512 connected to a second line interface 514 via power / data splitter / combiner 510 , similar to power / data splitter / combiner 504 as previously described . line interface 514 feeds to electrically - conducting medium 515 , which connects to the next sic . modems 506 and 512 can be standard rs - 485 , rs - 232 , or any simple similar data interface transceiver . alternatively , a complex transceiver can be used for achieving long ranges or high - speed operation . cpu and firmware contained in a control block 522 control and monitor the unit operation and communication , as well as control the payload through a payload interface 508 interfacing with a payload illustrated by a sensor / actuator 509 . for example , interface 508 can implement a 4 - 20 ma standard interface . in a similar way , sic 500 can be used for communication over the power line . to do this , payload interface 508 is replaced by a communication port and sensor / actuator 509 will be replaced by a dte . a sic for use in data communications as shown in fig6 is substantially similar to that used in control applications as shown in fig5 , but has some specific differences as noted . also illustrated in fig6 is the case where the local area network data is carried over electrically - conducting media which are part of the telephone wiring of a building . a sic 600 has a first line interface 602 as a first port for connecting to the previous sic to receive incoming power , local area network data , and telephony data via an electrically - conducting medium 603 . line interface 602 may include the connector , fuse , lightning arrester and other protection such as noise filters , etc . the incoming power / telephony / data signal is fed to a first telephony / data splitter / combiner 604 ( denoted for brevity in fig6 as “ t / d s / c ”), which de - couples the local area network data from the power and telephony data . such a telephony / data splitter / combiner 604 can be implemented by methods well - known in the art , such as using a high - pass / low pass filter , or alternatively with active components . the local area network data signal is fed to a first modem 606 allowing bidirectional communication , while the power ( dc ) is fed to a power supply 620 , and the telephony data is fed to power / telephone interface 624 . power - supply 620 provides the required voltages for the sic and payload operation , and also outputs the power to a second telephony / data splitter / combiner 610 , for coupling to the next sic . communication with the next ( fed ) sic is performed via a second modem 612 connected to a second line interface 614 via telephony / data splitter / combiner 610 , similar to telephony / data splitter / combiner 604 as previously described . line interface 614 connects to an electrically - conducting medium 615 , which connects to the next sic . modems 606 and 612 can be standard rs - 485 , rs - 232 or any simple similar data interface transceiver . alternatively , a complex transceiver can be used for achieving long ranges or high - speed operation . cpu and firmware contained in a control block 622 control and monitor the unit operation and communication , as well as control the payload through a payload interface 608 interfacing with a payload 609 , which may include sensors and actuators . for example , interface 608 can implement a 4 - 20 ma standard interface . sic 600 also includes an optional power / telephone interface 624 , contained for example in a telephone outlet 625 , as well as one or more communications interfaces , such as a communication interface 626 connected to a dte 628 . in the case of dc line feeding , the power supply may be equipped with a line reversal function ( for example , a diode - based bridge ) in order to accommodate a possible wire reversal . note that a sic can be implemented as single device with all component parts contained within one enclosure , but does not necessarily have to be so implemented . in the case of a sic used for data communications or control applications , the hardware may be optionally divided between the sic module and the dte / payload units . in the case of a sic used for telephone applications , the hardware may optionally be divided between the sic , the dte payload unit , and the telephone outlet , such as telephone outlet 625 , which allows connections to both telephone services ( such as through a telephone 623 ) and the local area network ( such through dte 628 ). telephone outlet 625 may be a wall outlet or jack . all or part of the sic may be housed within a telephone outlet such as telephone outlet 625 , if desired . furthermore , for sic &# 39 ; s used only as repeaters , a payload interface is not necessary . power / data splitter / combiner 510 ( fig5 ) can use various techniques known in the art . coupling can be implemented , for example , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 745 , 391 to gajjar . power - supply 520 ( fig5 ) can be connected to the network using dedicated adapter or via specific sic . the payload can also be connected using standard ethernet or other lan interface , hence emulating the network using the sic &# 39 ; s . this configuration makes use of standard interfaces , but operates at higher throughput and data - rates than a conventional lan . a sic can include an address . addresses of sic &# 39 ; s on the network can be assigned via automatic assignment by the local area network itself by algorithms known in the art , for example as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 535 , 336 to smith et al . addresses can also be assigned via manual assignment , such as by the setting of mechanical switches on the sic unit . addresses can also be determined by the dte connected to the sic , either by means of higher layers as done in most lan systems , or physically be means of the connection to the sic ( such as by address lines ). a sic can receive electrical power locally , via a power source located near the sic . however , one power source may be used to power some or all the sic &# 39 ; s in the local area network using dedicated power lines . these lines can be routed with the data communication wires . alternatively , the same electrically - conducting media ( the data communication wires ) can be used to carry both electrical power and local area network data to the sic &# 39 ; s , by means of techniques well - known in the art , for example as in telephone systems . in such a case , a unit is required for coupling the power supply to the local area network . this can make use of a sic ( such as sic 706 in fig7 ) or in a specific dedicated module . since electrical power is typically distributed at low frequencies ( e . g ., 60 hertz ), whereas local area network data is typically at a much higher frequency , electrical power can be combined with local area network data using frequency - domain multiplexing . a sic can therefore be powered from the electrical power mains , and can also deliver electrical power , as illustrated in fig5 and detailed herein above . the dte &# 39 ; s , sensors , and actuators connected to the sic &# 39 ; s can also be locally powered from the sic &# 39 ; s , or can use the same power resources via the same channels as the sic &# 39 ; s . part or all of a sic can be housed within an electrical outlet so that the electrical outlet allows connection to the local area network as well as to electrical power . although mainly intended to be used as communication network , the system according to the present invention can also be used as a platform to implement a sensing , control , and automation system . this is achieved by adding to one or more of the sic &# 39 ; s interfaces to sensors or actuators . the signals received by the sensors are transmitted over the network via logic contained in the sic &# 39 ; s or in the dte &# 39 ; s , which thereupon operate the relevant actuators . this automation function can be monitored by one or more of the dte &# 39 ; s . the operation of the control may be associated with data communicated over the network ( for example , sensing the availability of power to a dte ) or may be independent of it , to allow control decisions to be made locally . the dte interface can be a proprietary interface or any standard serial or parallel interface , such as itu - t v . 35 , itu - t v . 24 , etc . in addition , a telephone interface ( pots ) or isdn may be used . this can suit intercom or pbx applications . the sic topology described above can be modified to allow for single failure correction . in such a case , the sic &# 39 ; s are connected in a network with redundant paths , such as a circular topology as shown in fig8 . in this example , a sic 800 is connected to a sic 802 , which is in turn connected to a sic 804 , which is in turn connected to a sic 806 , which is in turn connected to sic 800 . when connected in such configuration , any single failure in any conductor , such as in conductor pair 810 , will not effect the system operation , as data routing from any sic to any other sic can be achieved via an alternate path . the term “ circular topology ” herein denotes the topology of any local area network of sic &# 39 ; s according to the present invention which contains at least two communication paths between two different sic &# 39 ; s . for example , in fig8 , there are two communication paths from sic 800 to sic 804 : one communication path is from sic 800 to sic 802 to sic 804 , and the other path is from sic 800 to sic 806 to sic 804 . circular topology provides redundant communication paths that increase the immunity of the local area network to communication faults . it should be noted that the circular topology according to the present invention , as shown in fig8 , differs significantly from the well - known “ token ring topology ” of the prior art , as discussed following . although circular topology as defined herein can be superficially similar to the token ring topology , there are major differences between them . one difference is in the data framing . the token ring uses the same frame structure throughout all communication links in the network , and this requires that the same framing must be recognized by all the cells in the network . in the sic network according to the present invention , however , each communication link ( between any two connected sic &# 39 ; s ) is totally independent from all other network communication . hence , a first sic can communicate with a second sic using one type of frame structure and protocol , while the same first sic can communicate with a third sic using a different type of frame structure and protocol . in addition , in a token ring network , there is single direction of data flow at any given time from a single transmitter to one or more receivers , and usually , the direction of data flow is constant . the sic network according to the present invention , however , does not impose any limitation on the data flow in any of the communication links . full duplex , half duplex or unidirectional communication is possible , and can even vary from link to link throughout the network . this allows the sic network to support two independent communication routes simultaneously , provided different segments are used . in fig8 , for example , sic 800 can communicate with sic 802 while sic 804 simultaneously communicates different data with sic 806 . this capability is not supported by any of the other network configurations . the above differences affect , for example , the vulnerability of the respective networks to faults . in case of single break or short - circuit anywhere in the medium , the token ring network will collapse , disabling any further communication in the system . as another example , in the network disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 918 , 690 to markkula et al . ( hereinafter referred to as “ markkula ”), this fault affects the physical layer by disabling the media &# 39 ; s signal - carrying capability . the token ring network will not function at all since the data layer functionality based on unidirectional transmission will not be supported . in contrast , however , a sic network according to the present invention , will continue to function fully , except for the specific faulty link itself . all other links continue to function normally . furthermore , the ability to localize the fault is not easily performed either in a token ring network or in the markkula network . in the sic network according to the present invention , however , it is simple and straightforward to trace the fault to the affected link . an important configuration for a network according to the present invention uses the electrical power wiring of a building as a communication media . this can be used , for example , to implement an inexpensive ‘ home lan ’. typical house mains have a connection to single feeder with numerous distribution points and outlets . the principles according to the present invention specify a sic to be located within each outlet and at each distribution point . this will allow sic - based communications network , where communication takes place between each pair of sic &# 39 ; s connected via the wiring . in such a case it is also expected that the mains will also be used to power the sic &# 39 ; s . aside from using the same wiring media , the electrical distribution and the communication system sharing the same mains can be totally decoupled . another configuration involves adding the sic to the mains wiring at points distinguished from the mains outlets . the preferred embodiment , however , consists of using the outlets points for both the electrical supply and the dte connection points . this involves replacing all electrical outlets and distribution points with ‘ smart ’ outlets , having both electrical connections and a communications jack . in addition , such unit may include visual indicators ( e . g . led &# 39 ; s ) to show the communication status , and may also include switches or other means to determine the outlet address . such a communication system could be used for applications associated with power distribution , as for example to control the load connected to a specific outlet , for remote on / off operation of appliances , timing of operations , delayed start , disconnection after pre - set time period , and so forth . such a communication system could also be used to monitor the power consumed by specific outlets , such as for demand side management ( dsm ) or automatic meter reading ( amr ), allowing remote meter reading . the above described topology may also apply to existing wiring . one common example may be power wiring to consumers located in different locations . such wiring typically relies on bus topology with taps . in order to use sic technology , the wiring must be broken , and a sic installed between both ends . in a similar manner , a communication network employing the electrical power wiring of vehicles and vessel can be implemented , such as for aircraft , ships , trains , buses , automobiles , and so forth . in this application , existing telephone wiring ( either pots or isdn ) is used as the electrically - conducting media for the local area network , and is used for both local area network data communication and for telephony . the term “ telephony ” herein denotes any telephone or telephonic communication , including both including voice ( pots ) and data ( isdn ). telephone outlets are usually connected in point - to - point topology without a distribution point . to set up a network , each outlet is replaced with sic - based outlet . if there are distribution points , these distribution points must also be sic equipped . this configuration results in a high - performance lan between the telephone outlets . aside from sharing the same media , the local area network can be decoupled from the telephone system . alternatively , the local area network and the telephone system can be combined , such that telephony is digitally integrated into the local area network data . the outside telephone service can be treated according to one of the following alternatives : 1 . no telephone support . in this configuration , the connection to the network ( usually to the public network ) is cut , and the network is fully internal , with no external telephone service . 2 . telephone as payload . in this configuration , the telephone capability is retained , and telephony data may be integrated into the data communication of the local area network . one of the sic &# 39 ; s ( usually the one closest to a public telephone network interface ) or other dedicated module interconnects ( via the communication interface for example ) to the network interface ( ni ). this unit emulates a telephone interface to the ni , so that public network operation is transparent and continues to perform as normal . however , the signals associated with the telephone interface , either the voice itself and the control / signaling ( on hook / off hook , ringing , etc .) are digitized and transmitted in the network as data stream , as part of the communication taking place in the network . in the sic &# 39 ; s interfaced to telephones , these signals are converted back to analog ( or in any original form ) and thus can be used with standard telephones . in this case , telephone functionality is fully retained . however , failure in the communication network may result in loss of the telephone service . this can be improved by means of a system which disconnects the sic &# 39 ; s circuitry and restores the original wiring routing ( this can be easily implemented by relays , which bypass the sic &# 39 ; s upon failure detection , manual intervention , or other relevant occasion ). 3 . communication over pots or isdn . in this method , the electrically - conducting media interconnecting sic &# 39 ; s is the telephone wiring of a building . this method involves the known mechanism ‘ pots splitting ’, currently used in conjunction with xdsl technologies . this requires a filter which separates the low - frequency portion of the spectrum ( usually carrying the pots associated signals and power ) from the high - frequency portion of the spectrum ( used for communication ). in such an application , the ac / dc units in the sic are replaced with such pots splitter modules . the low - frequency band ( pots related ) is passed transparently ( similar to the power pass ), and branched to the telephone jack . the high - frequency band is used for the communication between the sic &# 39 ; s . this combining of high - frequency local area network communication on the same electrically - conducting media with low - frequency telephony data is a form of frequency - domain multiplexing . in the latter two alternatives , each in - wall telephone outlet is replaced with a sic based outlet having both a telephone jack and one ( or more ) communication jacks . the sic network can be used as a computer bus extender , such as an ‘ isa bus extender ’, as illustrated in fig1 . in this configuration , a sic 1006 is equipped with a computer bus connector 1004 which is connected , for example , to one of the isa bus slots in a computer 1002 , to transport data between the local area network and computer 1002 . another sic 1010 , remotely located , also has a computer bus connector 1012 , such as an isa bus extender . this allows for a transparent isa bus capability , where the isa bus data will be transported in both directions over electrically - conducting medium 1008 . the ellipses ( . . . ) indicate that additional sic &# 39 ; s and electrically - conducting media may be present in the local area network between sic 1006 and sic 1010 . shown as an example , a video frame grabber card 1014 is plugged into computer bus connector 1012 , and a video camera 1016 is connected to video frame grabber card 1014 . normally , video frame grabber card 1014 is plugged directly into an isa bus slot , such as in computer 1002 . here , however , the local area network acts as a bus extender so that video frame grabber 1014 and video camera 1016 can be located remotely from computer 1002 . the normal software driver for the isa bus slot in computer 1002 can used , since computer 1002 is unaware of the fact that only isa emulation is taking place . this way , the capability of having general remote pc components and peripherals can be easily achieved . this configuration features the above - described advantages , and this method can be used to attain various goals , such as fault protection . similarly , this method can be used to connect several units remotely to a computer , using different ports in the computer . a network of sic &# 39 ; s may be used to implement a multiplexer or a pabx / pbx functionality , as illustrated in fig9 . in this example , a sic 900 is connected to a high data rate connection , such as pcm bus 916 , while sic 902 and sic 906 are connected to telephones 908 , 910 , and 912 . sic 904 functions as a repeater in this example . in this example , the local area network functions as a multiplexer , wherein the bandwidth of the high data rate connection ( pcm bus 916 ) is multiplexed through sic 900 to sic 902 and sic 906 , each of which may use a different portion of the bandwidth of the high data rate connection ( pcm bus 916 ). moreover , by the addition of telephones 908 , 910 , and 912 , the local area network of fig9 functions as a voice multiplexer . a number of applications of the present invention have been discussed above . additional applications include , but are not limited to : intercom , pabx / pbx , security systems , video surveillance , entertainment broadcasting services , time ( clock ) distribution , and audio / video signal distribution . the networks implemented by the present invention can extend locally within a single building or over a neighborhood . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments and applications , it will be appreciated that many variations , modifications and other applications of the invention may be made .	7
cultured cortical neurons were prepared by standard techniques ( 4 , 9 ) and switched to serum - free media at 24 h [ neurobasal with b27 supplement ( gibco )]. the as odn corresponded to nucleotides 435 - 449 of mouse psd - 95 / sap90 mrna ( genebank acc . no . d50621 ). filter - sterilized phosphodiester as se , and ms odns ( 5 μm ) were added in culture medium during feedings at 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 days after plating . cultures were used for all experiments ( fig1 - 4 ) on day 12 . odn sequences exhibited no similarity to any other known mammalian genes ( blast search ( 10 )). immunoblotting was done as described in ref . “ 26 ”. tissue was harvested and pooled from 2 cultures / lane . the blotted proteins were probed using a monoclonal anti - psd - 95 mouse igg1 ( transduction labs , 1 : 250 dilution ), polyclonal anti psd - 93 ( 1 : 1000 dilution ) and anti sap - 102 ( 1 : 2000 dilution ) rabbit serum antibodies ( synaptic systems gmbh ), a monoclonal anti nr1 mouse igg2a ( pharmingen canada , 1 : 1000 dilution ) or a monoclonal anti nnos ( nos type i ) mouse igg2a ( transduction labs , 1 : 2500 dilution ). secondary antibodies were sheep anti - mouse , or donkey anti - rabbit ig conjugated to horseradish peroxidase ( amersham ). immunoblots for psd - 95 were obtained for all experiments ( fig1 - 4 ) from sister cultures , and all gels quantified using an imaging densitometer ( bio - rad gs - 670 ). cgmp determinations were performed 10 min after challenging the cultures with nmda , kainate , or high - k ( fig4 c - e ) with the biotrak cgmp enzymeimmunoassay system according to the kit manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions ( amersham ). staining for nadph diaphorase ( fig4 b ) was done as described in ref . 12 . electrophysiology . whole cell patch - clamp recordings in the cultured neurons were performed and analyzed as described in ref . 13 . during each experiment a voltage step of − 10 mv was applied from holding potential and the cell capacitance was calculated by integrating the capacitative transient . the extracellular solution contained ( in mm ): 140 nacl , 5 . 4 kcl , 1 . 3 cacl 2 , 25 hepes , 33 glucose , 0 . 01 glycine , and 0 . 001 tetrodotoxin ( ph = 7 . 3 - 7 . 4 , 320 - 335 mosm ). a multi - barrel perfusion system was employed to rapidly exchange nmda containing solutions . the pipette solution contained ( in mm ): 140 csf , 35 csoh , 10 hepes , 11 egta , 2 tetraethylammonium chloride ( tea ), 1 cacl 2 , 4 mgatp , ph 7 . 3 at 300 mosm . lucifer yellow ( ly ; 0 . 5 % w / v ) was included in the pipette for experiments in fig3 d . excitotoxicity and ca 2 + accumulation measurements were performed identically to the methods described and validated in refs . 4 and 14 . we used measurements of propidium iodide fluorescence as an index of cell death , and of radiolabelled 45 ca 2 + accumulation for ca 2 + load determinations in sister cultures on the same day . experimental solutions were as previously described ( 4 ). ca 2 + influx was pharmacologically channeled through distinct pathways as follows : to nmdars by applying nmda (× 60 min ) in the presence of both cnqx ( research biochemicals inc ) and nimodipine ( miles pharmaceuticals ), to non - nmdars by applying kainic acid (× 60 min or 24 h ) in the presence of both mk - 801 ( rbi ) and nimodipine , and to vsccs using 50 mm k + solution (× 60 min ) containing 10 mm ca 2 + and s (−)- bay k 8644 , an l - type channel agonist ( 300 - 500 nm ; rbi ), mk - 801 and cnqx . antagonist concentrations were ( in μm ): mk - 801 10 , cnqx 10 , nimodipine 2 . all three antagonists were added after the 60 min agonist applications for the remainder of all experiments ( 24 h ). a validation of this approach in isolating ca 2 + influx to the desired pathway in our cortical cultures has been published ( 4 ). whole cell patch - clamp recordings in the cultured neurons were performed and analyzed as described in z . xiong , w . lu , j . f . macdonald , proc natl acad sci usa 94 , 7012 ( 1997 ). during each experiment a voltage step of − 10 mv was applied from holding potential and the cell capacitance was calculated by integrating the capacitative transient . the extracellular solution contained ( in mm ): 140 nacl , 5 . 4 kcl , 1 . 3 cacl 2 , 25 hepes , 33 glucose , 0 . 01 glycine , and 0 . 001 tetrodotoxin ( ph = 7 . 3 - 7 . 4 , 320 - 335 mosm ). a multi - barrel perfusion system was employed to rapidly exchange nmda containing solutions . the pipette solution contained ( in mm ): 140 csf , 35 csoh , 10 hepes , 11 egta , 2 tetraethylammonium chloride ( tea ), 1 cacl 2 , 4 mgatp , ph 7 . 3 at 300 mosm . lucifer yellow ( ly ; 0 . 5 % w / v ) was included in the pipette for experiments in fig3 d . data analysis : data in all figures were analyzed by anova , with a post - hoc student &# 39 ; s t - test using the bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons . all means are presented with their standard errors . fig1 , shows increased resilience of psd - 95 deficient neurons to nmda toxicity in spite of ca 2 + loading . a . immunoblot showing representative effects of sham ( sh ) washes , and psd - 95 as , se and ms odns , on psd - 95 expression . pc : positive control tissue from purified rat brain cell membranes . asterisk : non - specific band produced by the secondary antibody , useful to control for protein loading and blot exposure times . b . densitometric analysis of psd - 95 expression pooled from n experiments . asterisk : different from other groups , one - way anova , f = 102 , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 . odns were used at 5 μm except where indicated ( as 2 μm ). c . representative phase contrast and propidium iodide fluorescence images of psd - 95 deficient ( as ) and control ( se ) cultures 24 h after a 60 min challenge with 30 μm nmda . scale bar : 100 μm . d . decreased nmda toxicity at 24 h in psd - 95 deficient neurons following selective nmdar activation × 60 min ( n = 16 cultures / bar pooled from n = 4 separate experiments ). asterisk : differences from se , ms and sh ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 005 ). death is expressed as the fraction of dead cells produced by 100 μm nmda in sham - odn - treated controls ( validated in 4 , 14 ). e . no effect of psd - 95 deficiency on nmdar - mediated ca 2 + loading ( n = 12 / bar , n = 3 ; reported as the fraction of 45 ca 2 + accumulation achievable over 60 min in the sham controls by 100 μm nmda , which maximally loads the cells with calcium ( 4 ). fig2 , shows thatpsd - 95 deficiency does not affect toxicity and ca 2 + loading produced by activating non - nmdars and ca 2 + channels . cultures were treated with sh washes or as or se odns as in fig1 . a . selective activation of ampa / kainate receptors with kainate in mk - 801 ( 10 μm ) and nimodipine ( nim ; 2 μm ) produces toxicity over 24 h ( a1 ) irrespective of psd - 95 deficiency , with minimal 45 ca 2 + loading ( a2 ). b . selective activation of vsccs produces little toxicity ( b1 ), but significant 45 ca 2 + loading ( b2 ) that is also insensitive to psd - 95 deficiency . n = 4 cultures / bar in all experiments . fig3 , shows that there is no effect of perturbing psd - 95 on receptor function . a . immunoblots of psd - 95 odn - treated cultures probed for psd - 95 , nr1 , psd - 93 , and sap - 102 using specific antibodies . pc : positive control tissue from purified rat brain cell membranes . b . nmda dose - response curves and representative nmda currents ( inset ) obtained with 3 - 300 μm nmda . c . nmda current density measurements elicited with 300 μm nmda ( as : n = 18 ; se : n = 19 ; sh : n = 17 ; one - way anova f = 1 . 10 , p = 0 . 34 ), and analysis of nmda current desensitization . i ss = steady - state current ; i peak = peak current . as : n = 15 ; se : n = 16 ; sh : n = 16 ( anova , f = 0 . 14 , p = 0 . 87 ). time constants for current decay were as : 1310 ± 158 ms ; se , 1530 ± 185 ms ; sh : 1190 ± 124 ms ( anova , f = 1 . 22 , p = 0 . 31 ). d . currents elicited with 300 μm nmda in neurons dialyzed with ly ( insert ) and 1 mm tsxv or control peptide . fig4 , shows the effect of coupling of nmdar activation to nitric oxide signaling by psd - 95 . a . l - name protects against nmda toxicity ( n = 4 , n = 2 ). asterisk : difference from 0 μm l - name ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). b . no effect of sh and of psd - 95 as and ms odns on nnos expression in cultures ( immunoblot ) and on nadph diaphorase staining in psd - 95 as and se - treated neurons . pc : positive control tissue from purified rat brain cell membranes . c . effect of isolated nmdar activation on cgmp formation ( n = 12 cultures / bar pooled from n = 3 separate experiments ) d , e . effects of vscc activation ( n = 8 / bar , n = 2 ), and ampa / kainate receptor activation ( n = 4 / bar , n = 1 ) on cgmp formation . data in c - e are expressed as the fraction of cgmp produced in se - treated cultures by 100 μm nmda . asterisk : differences from both sh and se controls ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). f . sodium nitroprusside toxicity is similar in psd - 95 as , se and sh treated cultures . psd - 95 expression was suppressed in cultured cortical neurons to & lt ; 10 % of control levels , using a 15 - mer phosphodiester antisense ( as ) oligodeoxynucleotide ( odn ) ( fig1 a , b ) sham ( sh ) washes , sense ( se ) and missense ( ms ) odns ( 9 ) had no effect . the odns had no effect on neuronal survivability and morphology as gauged by viability assays , herein below , and phase - contrast microscopy ( not shown ). to examine the impact of psd - 95 on nmdar - triggered excitotoxicity , odn - treated cultures were exposed to nmda ( 10 - 100 μm ) for 60 min , washed , and either used for 45 ca 2 + accumulation measurements , or observed for a further 23 h . ca 2 + influx was isolated to nmdars by adding antagonists of non - nmdars and ca 2 + channels ( 4 ). nmda toxicity was significantly reduced in neurons deficient in psd - 95 across a range of insult severities ( fig1 c , d ; ec 50 : as : 43 . 2 ± 4 . 3 ; se : 26 . 3 ± 3 . 4 , bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 005 ). concomitantly however , psd - 95 deficiency had no effect on ca 2 + loading into identically treated sister cultures ( fig1 e ). therefore , psd - 95 deficiency induces resilience to nmda toxicity despite maintained ca 2 + loading . i next examined whether the increased resilience to ca 2 + loading in psd - 95 deficient neurons was specific to nmdars . non - nmdar toxicity was produced using kainic acid ( 30 - 300 μm ), a non - desensitizing ampa / kainate receptor agonist ( 15 ), in the presence of nmdar and ca 2 + channel antagonists ( 4 ). kainate toxicity was unaffected in psd - 95 deficient in neurons challenged for either 60 min ( not shown ) or 24 h ( fig2 a 1 ). non - nmdar toxicity occurred without significant 45 ca 2 + loading ( fig2 a 2 ), as & gt ; 92 % of neurons in these cultures express ca 2 + - impermeable ampa receptors ( 4 ). however , ca 2 + loading through vsccs , which is non - toxic ( 4 ) ( fig2 b 1 ), was also unaffected by psd - 95 deficiency ( fig2 b 2 ). thus , suppressing psd - 95 expression affects neither toxicity nor ca 2 + fluxes triggered through pathways other than nmdars . immunoblot analysis ( 11 ) of psd - 95 deficient cultures revealed no alterations in the expression of the essential nmdar subunit nr1 , nor of two other nmdar - associated maguks , psd - 93 and sap - 102 ( fig3 a ). this indicated that altered expression of nmdars and their associated proteins was unlikely to explain reduced nmda toxicity in psd - 95 deficiency ( fig1 c , d ). therefore , i examined the possibility that psd - 95 modulates nmdar function . nmda currents were recorded using the whole - cell patch technique ( 16 ) ( fig3 b ). psd - 95 deficiency had no effect on passive membrane properties , including input resistance and membrane capacitance [ capacitance : as 55 . 0 ± 2 . 6 pf ( n = 18 ); se 52 . 7 ± 3 . 2 pf ( n = 19 ); sh 48 . 1 ± 3 . 4 pf ( n = 17 ; anova , f = 1 . 29 , p = 0 . 28 )]. whole - cell currents elicited with 3 - 300 μm nmda were also unaffected . peak currents were as : 2340 ± 255 pa ( n = 18 ); se : 2630 ± 276 ( n = 19 ); sh : 2370 ± 223 ( n = 17 ) ( fig3 b , inset ; one - way anova , f = 0 . 43 , p = 0 . 65 ). nmda dose - response relationships also remained unchanged ( fig3 b ; ec 50 as : 16 . 1 ± 0 . 8 μm ( n = 7 ); se : 15 . 5 ± 2 . 1 ( n = 6 ); sh : 15 . 9 ± 2 . 9 ; one - way anova , f = 0 . 02 , p = 0 . 98 ), as were nmda current density and desensitization ( fig3 c ). to further examine the effect of psd - 95 binding on nmdar function , a 9 aa peptide , klssiesdv ( seq id no : 1 ) corresponding to the c - terminal domain of the nr2b subunit characterized by the tsxv motif ( 6 ) was injected into the neurons . at 0 . 5 mm , this peptide competitively inhibited the binding of psd - 95 to gst - nr2b fusion proteins ( 6 ), and was therefore predicted to uncouple nmdars from psd - 95 . intracellular dialysis of 1 mm tsxv or control peptide , cskdtmeksesl ( seq id no : 3 ) ( 6 ) was achieved through patch pipettes ( 3 - 5 mω ) also containing the fluorescent tracer lucifer yellow ( ly ). this had no effect on nmda currents over 30 min despite extensive dialysis of ly into the cell soma and dendrites ( fig3 d ). peak current amplitudes were tsxv : 2660 ± 257 pa ( n = 9 ), control : 2540 ± 281 pa ( n = 10 ; t ( 17 ) = 0 . 31 , p = 0 . 76 ). the data is consistent with that obtained from recently generated mutant mice expressing a truncated 40k psd - 95 protein that exhibited enhanced ltp and impaired learning ( 17 ). hippocampal ca1 neurons in psd - 95 mutants exhibited no changes in nmdar subunit expression and stoichiometry , cell density , dendritic cytoarchitecture , synaptic morphology , or nmdar localization using nr1 immunogold labeling of asymmetric synapses . nmda currents , including synaptic currents , were also unchanged ( 16 ). i also found no effects of psd - 95 deficiency on nmdar expression , on other nmdar associated maguks , nor on nmda - evoked currents . in addition , nmdar function gauged by measuring nmda - evoked 45 ca 2 + - accumulation was unaffected . thus , the neuroprotective consequences of psd - 95 deficiency must be due to events downstream from nmdar activation , rather than to altered nmdar function . the second pdz domain of psd - 95 binds to the c - terminus of nr2 subunits and to other intracellular proteins ( 8 ). among these is nnos ( 18 ), an enzyme that catalyzes the production of nitric oxide ( no ), a short - lived signaling molecule that also mediates ca 2 + - dependent nmda toxicity in cortical neurons ( 12 ). although never demonstrated experimentally , the nmdar / psd - 95 / nnos complex was postulated to account for the preferential production of no by nmdars over other pathways ( 8 ). to determine whether no signaling plays a role in nmda toxicity in the present cultures , we treated the cells with n g - nitro - l - arginine methyl ester ( l - name ), a nos inhibitor ( 12 ). l - name protected the neurons against nmda toxicity ( fig4 a ), indicating the possibility that suppressing psd - 95 might perturb this toxic signaling pathway . the effect of suppressing psd - 95 expression on no signaling and toxicity was examined using cgmp formation as a surrogate measure of no production by ca 2 + - activated nnos ( 20 , 21 ). psd - 95 deficiency had no impact on nnos expression ( fig4 b ), nor on the morphology ( fig4 b ) or counts of nadph diaphorase - staining ( 12 ) neurons ( sh : 361 ± 60 , se : 354 ± 54 , as : 332 ± 42 staining neurons / 10 mm coverslip , 3 coverslips / group ). however , in neurons lacking psd - 95 challenged with nmda under conditions that isolated ca 2 + influx to nmdars ( 4 ), cgmp production was markedly attenuated (& gt ; 60 %; fig4 c , one - way anova , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). like inhibited toxicity ( fig1 , 2 ), inhibited cgmp formation in neurons lacking psd - 95 was only observed in response to nmda . it was unaffected in neurons loaded with ca 2 + through vsccs ( fig4 d ), even under high neuronal ca 2 + loads matching those attained by activating nmdars ( compare fig1 e and 2 b 2 ) ( 4 ). nnos function therefore , was unaffected by psd - 95 deficiency . ampa / kainate receptor activation failed to load the cells with ca 2 + ( fig2 a 2 ), and thus failed to increase cgmp levels ( fig4 e ). our findings indicate that suppressing psd - 95 selectively reduces no production efficiency by nmdar - mediated ca 2 + influx , but preserves no production by ca 2 + influx through other pathways . bypassing nnos activation with no donors restored toxicity in neurons lacking psd - 95 . the no donors sodium nitroprosside ( 12 ) ( fig4 f ; ec 50 300 μm ) and s - nitrosocysteine ( 17 ) ( not shown ) were highly toxic , irrespective of psd - 95 deficiency . thus , reduced nmda toxicity in psd - 95 deficient cells was unlikely to be caused by altered signaling events downstream from no formation . suppressing psd - 95 expression uncoupled no formation from nmdar activation ( fig4 c ), and protected neurons against nmdar toxicity ( fig1 c , d ) without affecting receptor function ( fig1 e , 3 a - d ), by mechanisms downstream from nmdar activation , and upstream from no - mediated toxic events ( fig4 f ). therefore , psd - 95 imparts nmdars with signaling and neurotoxic specificity through the coupling of receptor activity to critical second messenger pathways . these results have broader consequences , as nmdar activation and no signaling are also critical to neuronal plasticity , learning , memory , and behavior ( 1 , 18 , 19 ). thus , these data provide experimental evidence for a mechanism by which psd - 95 protein may govern important physiological and pathological aspects of neuronal functioning . fig5 shows the utility of tat - peptides in dissociating the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction ( a ) the hypothesis : the nmdar / psd - 95 complex ( left panel ) may be dissociated using tat peptides fused either to the c - terminus of nr2b ( tat - nr2b9c ; middle ) or to the first and second pdz domains of psd - 95 ( ptat - pdz1 - 2 ; right ), thus reducing the efficiency of excitotoxic signaling via ca 2 + - dependent signaling molecules ( b ) intracellular accumulation of tat - nr2b9c - dansyl ( 10 μm ) but not control peptide ( tat - 38 - 48 - dansyl ; 10 μm ) was observed 30 min after application to cortical neuronal cultures using confocal microscopy ( excitation : 360 nm , emission : & gt ; 510 nm ; representative of 5 experiments ). fluorescence of cultures treated with tat - 38 - 48 - dansyl was similar to background ( not shown ). ( c ) time course of tat - nr2b9c - dansyl ( 10 μm ) fluorescence after application to cortical cultures at room temperature ( symbols : mean ± s . e of 4 experiments ). inset : fluorescence images from representative experiment ( d ) tat - nr2b9c , but not control peptides ( see text ), inhibits the co - immunoprecipitation of psd - 95 with nr2b in rat forebrain lysates ( left : representative gel ; right : means ± s . e of 4 experiments , anova , f = 6 . 086 , * p = 0 . 0041 ). in more detail , a conserved tsxv motif at the c - terminus of the nr2b subunit is critical for binding to the pdz2 domain of psd - 95 . i hypothesized that interfering with this interaction might disrupt the coupling between nmdars and psd - 95 . this might be achieved by the intracellular introduction of exogenous peptides that bind to either the nr2b or the pdz2 interaction domains ( fig5 a ). to this end i used a peptide comprised of the nine c - terminal residues of nr2b ( klssiesdv ; nr2b9c ( seq id no : 1 )), which is anticipated to bind the pdz2 domain of psd - 95 . as an alternative means to interfere with the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction i constructed a protein comprised of residues 65 - 248 of psd - 95 encompassing the first and second pdz domains ( pdz1 - 2 ), which contains the principal binding domain in psd - 95 for the c - terminus of nr2b . nr2b9c or pdz1 - 2 on their own did not enter cells ( not shown ) and therefore , i fused each to a peptide corresponding to the cell - membrane transduction domain of the hiv - 1 - tat protein ( ygrkkrrqrrr ( seq id no : 2 ); tat ) to obtain a 20 amino acid peptide ( tat - nr2b9c ) and the fusion protein ptat - pdz1 - 2 . ptat - pdz1 - 2 and ptat - gk fusion proteins were generated by insertion of psd95 residues 65 - 248 encoding the pdz 1 and 2 , and residues 534 - 724 encoding the guanylate kinase - like domains , respectively , into ptat - ha plasmids ( generous gift of s . dowdy , washington university , st . louis , mo .). fusion proteins contain a 6x his - tag , the protein transduction domain of hiv - 1 tat and a hemagglutinin - tag n - terminal to the insert . plasmids were transformed into bl21 ( de3 ) lyss bacteria ( invitrogen ) and recombinant proteins were isolated under denaturing conditions on a nickle - his column ( amersham - pharmacia ). these are anticipated to transduce cell membranes in a rapid , dose - dependent manner independent of receptors and transporters ( 30 ). to determine whether tat - nr2b9c was able to transduce into neurons , i conjugated the fluorophore dansyl chloride to tat - nr2b9c and to a control peptide comprised of hiv - 1 - tat residues 38 - 48 ( kalgisygrkk ( seq id no : 4 ); tat38 - 48 ) outside the tat transduction domain ( 31 ). electrophysiological recordings were made in 400 μm hippocampal slices from 20 - 36 day old sprague - dawley rats perfused at room temperature with acsf containing ( in mm ) 126 nacl , 3 kcl , 2 mgcl 2 , 2 cacl 2 , 1 . 2 kh 2 po 4 , 26 nahco 3 and 10 glucose and bubbled with 95 % o 2 / 5 % co 2 . whole - cell recordings of ca1 neurons were performed using the “ blind ” method with an axopatch - 1d amplifier ( axon instruments , foster city , calif .) at holding potential − 60 mv . pipettes ( 4 - 5 mω ) were filled with solution containing ( mm ): 135 cscl , 2 mgcl 2 , 0 . 1 cacl 2 , 0 . 5 egta , 10 hepes , 4 mg - atp , 0 . 2 gtp , and 5 qx - 314 , ph 7 . 4 , 310 mosm . field potentials were recorded with glass micropipettes ( 2 - 4 mω ) filled with acsf placed in the stratum radiatum 60 - 80 μm from the cell body layer . synaptic responses were evoked by stimulation ( 0 . 05 ms ) of the schaffer collateral - commissural pathway with a bipolar tungsten electrode in the presence of bicuculline methiodide ( 10 μm ). for i nmda recording , mg 2 + was removed from and 20 μm cnqx was added in acsf . following 10 - 20 min base line recordings of epscs , i nmda and fepsps , tat - peptides were applied in acsf and recordings were continued for 30 min thereafter . i bath applied these to cultured cortical neurons and observed their fluorescence by confocal microscopy . neurons treated with tat - nr2b9c - dansyl ( 10 μm ) exhibited fluorescence in their cytoplasm and processes , indicating intracellular peptide delivery ( fig5 b , left ). sister cultures treated with tat38 - 48 - dansyl ( 10 μm ) exhibited only background fluorescence , indicating no observable peptide uptake in the absence of the tat transduction domain ( fig5 b , right ). tat - nr2b9c - dansyl was detectable in the neurons within 10 min of the start of the application and the peptide accumulated to a maximum level over the next 20 min ( fig5 c ). this level was maintained until the dansyl - tat - nr2b9c was washed from the bath and the peptide remained detectable within the neurons for more than 5 hours thereafter . therefore , the tat transduction domain was able to act as a carrier for nr2b9c and the tat - nr2b9c fusion peptide remained in neurons for many hours after being applied extracellularly . to determine whether tat - nr2b9c may disrupt the interaction between nmdars and psd - 95 i made use of rat brain proteins prepared under weakly denaturing conditions known to permit the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction . adult ( 7 - 8w ) wistar rat forebrains were removed and homogenized in ice - cold buffer ( 0 . 32m sucrose , 0 . 1 mm na3vo4 , 0 . 1 mm pmsf , 0 . 02m pnpp , 0 . 02m glycerol phosphate , and 5 ug / ml each of antipain , aprotinin , and leupeptin ). homogenates were centrifuged at 800 gr for 10 min at 4 . degree . c . the supematants were combned and centrifuged at 11 , 000 g at 4 degree for 20 min and the pellet ( p2 ) was resuspended in homogenization buffer . p2 membranes were adjusted 200 ug proteinl90 ul with homogenization buffer with a final concentration of 1 % doc and 0 . 1 % triton x - 100 . the proteins were incubated with tat - nr2b9c or with one of three controls : tat38 - 48 , the tat transduction sequence conjugated to two alanine residues ( tat - aa ), or a tat - nr2b9c peptide in which the c - terminal tsxv motif contained a double point mutation ( tat - klssieada [ seq id no : 5 ]; tat - nr2baa ) rendering it incapable of binding psd - 95 . i immunoprecipated nmdars , together with associated proteins , with an antibody that selectively recognizes nr2b . the proteins were separated by sds - page and probed with anti - psd - 95 or anti - nr2b antibodies . sup . 16 nr2b was precipitated from rat forebrain extracts using a polyclonal rabbit anti - nr2b antibody generated against the c - terminal region encompassing amino acid residues 935 - 1 , 455 of the nr2b protein . proteins were then separated on 8 % sds - page gels and probed with monoclonal anti - nr2b ( clone 13 , transduction laboratories ) or anti psd - 95 antibodies ( clone 7e3 - 1b8 , affinity bioreagents . inc ). detection of proteins was achieved using hrp - conjugated secondary antibodies and enhanced chemiluminescence . i found that tat - nr2b9c reduced the co - immunoprecipitation of psd - 95 with nr2b . on average the optical density signal was reduced by 37 . 6 .+−. 8 . 2 % as compared with controls ( fig5 d ). in contrast , none of the three control peptides reduced the co - immmunoprecipitation of psd - 95 with nr2b . thus , i conclude that tat - nr2b9c disrupts the interaction between nmdars and psd - 95 and that this is dependent upon an intact pdz binding motif in the peptide . fig6 shows neuroprotection and reduction of no signaling by tat - peptides without affecting nmdar function ( a ) effect of tat - nr2b9c ( 50 nm ) on field excitatory post - synaptic currents ( fepsc ) in ca1 neurons in acute hippocampal slices . ( b ) effect of 50 nm tat - nr2b9c or tat - 38 - 48 ( control ) on whole - cell excitatory post synaptic currents ( epsc ). ( c ) effect of tat - nr2b9c on the nmda component of the epsc isolated pharmacologically by applying the ampar antagonist cnqx , and concomitant removal of extracellular mg 2 + . ( d ) effect of 50 nm tat - nr2b9c treatment on nmda - evoked 45 ca 2 + uptake in cortical cultures . tat - peptides were bath - applied 1 h prior to the nmda application . ( e ) effect of 50 nm tat - nr2b9c treatment on nmda - evoked cgmp production in cortical cultures . asterisk : differences from control and tat - nr2b - aa at each nmda concentration ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ). ( f ) decreased excitotoxicity at 20 h at all nmda concentrations in cultured cortical neurons pre - treated with 50 nm tat - nr2b9c or ptat - pdz1 - 2 for 1 h . asterisk : differences from control , tat - nr2b - aa and ptat - gk at each nmda concentration ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 005 ). right panels : representative phase contrast and propodium iodide fluorescence images of cultures 20 h after challenge with 100 μm nmda with and without tat - nr2b9c treatment . bars in ( d ), ( e ) and ( f ) indicate the mean ± s . e . for 12 cultures in 3 separate experiments . in more detail , as nmdar - mediated synaptic responses are not altered by the loss of psd - 95 ( 24 ) i predicted that tat - nr2b9c would not affect the function of nmdars . this was tested by examining the effect of tat - nr2b9c on nmdar - mediated currents and on nmda - evoked uptake of 45 ca 2 + . bath - applying tat - nr2b9c ( 50 nm ) to acute rat hippocampal slices had no effect on synaptic responses of ca1 neurons evoked by stimulation of the schaffer collateral - commissural pathway ( fig6 a ) nor on patch recordings of the total excitatory post - synaptic currents ( epsc ) recorded in ca1 neurons , ( fig6 b ) nor on the pharmacologically isolated ampa ( not shown ) or nmda components of the epsc ( fig6 c ). moreover , using cortical cultures i found that pre - treating cultures with tat - nr2b9c or with ptat - pdz1 - 2 ( each at 50 nm ) did not alter the uptake of 45 ca 2 + produced by applying nmda ( fig6 d ); cnqx ( 10 μm ) and nimodipine ( 2 μm ) were present in the extracellular solution in these and all subsequent experiments using cultured neurons so as to isolate signaling and thereby preventing secondary activation of ampars or of voltage - gated ca 2 + channels , respectively ( 25 , 32 , 33 ). as the function of nmdars was unaffected by administering tat - nr2b9c , i next determined whether this peptide altered signaling events downstream of nmdar activation . to this end i examined stimulation of nnos , as a key downstream signaling enzyme that mediates the neurotoxic effects of nmdar activation 5 . i measured nmda - evoked changes in the levels of guanosine 3 ′, 5 ′- monophosphate ( cgmp ) as a surrogate measure of no production by nmdar stimulated nnos activity 7 , 20 . cultured cortical neurons were pre - treated for 1 h with tat - nr2b9c ( 50 nm ), the non - interacting tat - nr2b - aa ( 50 nm ) or with sham washes and challenged with nmda ( 0 - 1000 μm ) in the presence of cnqx and nimodipine as above . nmda produced a concentration - dependent increase in cgmp that was significantly suppressed ( average of 39 . 5 ± 6 . 7 %) by pre - treating the cultures with tat - nr2b9c ( fig6 e ). in contrast , nmdar - stimulated elevation of cgmp was unaffected by pre - treatment with tat - nr2b - aa . thus , tat - nr2b9c , but not a mutant peptide incapable of interacting with psd - 95 , depressed nmdar - evoked stimulation of no - cgmp signaling . although tat - nr2b9c and ptat - pdz1 - 2 did not affect nmdar function , tat - nr2b9c was shown to interfere with nmdar / psd - 95 binding and to suppress downstream no signaling . thus , i predicted that tat - peptide treatment should enhance neurons &# 39 ; resilience to nmda toxicity . to test this i pre - treated cortical neuronal cultures with tat - peptides ( 50 nm ) for 1 h , then applied nmda ( 0 - 100 μm ) for 1 h followed by a 20 h observation period ( fig6 f , inset ). control neurons were treated with sham washes , or with the non - interacting control tat - nr2baa . in cultures treated with tat - nr2b9c , cell death was significantly reduced at all concentrations tested ( fig6 f ) whereas pre - treatment with tat - nr2b - aa had no effect on cell death . thus , nmdar - stimulated neurotoxicity is suppressed by pre - treatment with tat - nr2b9c , suppression that is lost by mutating the psd - 95 binding region of the peptide . if tat - nr2b9c suppresses nmda excitotoxicity by interfering with the binding of nr2b to psd - 95 then interfering with this binding by an alternative means should also suppress the toxicity . i tested ptat - pdz1 - 2 , predicted to interfere with psd - 95 binding to nr2b and which permeates into the cells ( not shown ), though without effect on nmda - evoked ca 2 + accumulation ( fig6 d ). pre - treating the cultures with ptat - pdz1 - 2 attenuated the neurotoxicity of nmda to a similar degree as tat - nr2b9c ( fig6 f ). as a control , i made and used ptat - gk , a tat fusion protein containing residues 534 - 724 of psd - 95 comprising the carboxyl - terminal guanylate - kinase homology domain that lacks enzymatic activity 21 . ptat - gk , which is devoid of the necessary domains to bind nr2b , had no effect on the nmda - evoked cell death ( fig6 f ). thus , interfering with the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction using peptides that target either side of the interaction reduces in vitro excitotoxicity produced by nmdar activation . fig7 shows neuroprotection by tat - nr2b9c pretreatment in - vivo . ( a ) detection of tat - nr2b9c - dansyl but not tat38 - 48 - dansyl in the cortex of c57bl / 6 mouse brain 1 h after intraperitoneal injection ( 0 . 5 μmole total dose ). fluorescence of brains from animals treated with tat - 38 - 48 - dansyl was similar to background ( not shown ). ( b ) composite neurological scores ( see text ) during and 24 h after mcao . ( c ) pre - treatment with 3 nmole / g tat - nr2b9c but not mutated tat - nr2b - aa or saline ( control ) significantly reduced ( i ) total infarct area and volume ( inset ), anova ; f = 7 . 3 , p & lt ; 0 . 005 and ( ii ) cortical infarct area and volume ( inset ), anova ; f = 8 . 35 , p & lt ; 0 . 005 measured 24 h after transient mcao . ( n = 6 animals per group ; symbols and bars indicate mean ± s . e ). infarct volume was calculated by analyzing the infarct area in 8 stereotactic coordinates of the brain as shown at right inset . agents that block nmdar activity were initially deemed as promising neuroprotectants for stroke and other neurological disorders involving excitotoxic mechanisms , but were later shown to be deleterious or ineffective in animal and human studies ( 27 , 28 , 29 ). however , tat - peptides that target the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction protect against nmda toxicity without blocking nmdars . therefore i reasoned that treatment with tat - nr2b9c in vivo could serve as an improvement on nmda blockers in the treatment of ischemic brain damage . before testing this i determined whether tat - nr2b9c could be delivered into the brain in the intact animal . i injected 25 g c57bl / 6 mice intraperitoneally with a 500 μmole dose of either tat - nr2b9c - dansyl , or with tat38 - 48 - dansyl as a non - transducing control . 40 μm cryostat coronal brain sections taken 1 h after injection 22 were examined for peptide uptake using dansyl fluorescence detection by confocal microscopy . the mice were perfused with fixative solution ( 3 % paraformaldehyde , 0 . 25 % glutaraldehyde , 10 % sucrose , 10 u / ml heparin in saline ) 1 hour after peptide injection . brains were removed , frozen in 2 - methylbutane at − 42 ° c . and 40 □ m sections were cut using a leitz kryostat . brain sections from animals injected with tat - nr2b9c exhibited strong fluorescence in the cortex ( fig7 a , right ), and in all other areas examined ( hippocampus , striatum ; not shown ), whereas signal from controls remained at background levels ( fig7 a , left ). similar results were obtained using intravenous injection in rats ( not shown ). thus , tat - nr2b9c enters the brain upon peripheral administration . next , i examined whether pretreatment with tat - peptides would reduce stroke damage . experiments were carried out in adult male sprague - dawley rats subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion ( mcao ) for 90 minutes by the intraluminal suture method ( 36 , 37 ). animals were fasted overnight and injected with atropine sulfate ( 0 . 5 mg / kg ip ). after 10 minutes anesthesia was induced with 3 . 5 % halothane in a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen ( vol . 2 : 1 ) and maintained with 0 . 8 % halothane . rats were orally intubated , mechanically ventilated , and paralyzed with pancuronium bromide ( 0 . 6 mg / kg iv ). body temperature was maintained at 36 . 5 - 37 . 5 ° c . with a heating lamp . polyethylene catheters in the femoral artery and vein were used to continuously record blood pressure and to sample blood for gas and ph measurements . transient mcao was achieved for 90 min by introducing a poly - l - lysine - coated 3 - 0 monofilament nylon suture ( harvard apparatus ) into the circle of willis via the internal carotid artery , effectively occluding the middle cerebral artery . this produces an extensive infarction encompassing the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia . animals were pretreated with either saline , the tat - nr2b - aa control , or with tat - nr2b9c by a single intravenous bolus injection 45 min prior to mcao ( 3 nmoles / g ). physiological parameters ( body temperature , blood pressure , blood gases ) were monitored and maintained throughout the experiment ( table 1 ). all experimental manipulations and analyses of data were performed by individuals blinded to the treatment groups . the extent of cerebral infarction was measured 24 h after mcao onset ( fig7 c inset ). the postural reflex test ( 38 ), and the forelimb placing test ( 39 ) were used to grade neurological function on a scale of 0 to 12 ( normal = 0 ; worst = 12 ) during mcao ( at 50 minutes ) and 24 h thereafter . pretreatment with tat - nr2b9c produced a trend toward improvement in 24 h neurological scores in animals treated with tat - nr2b9c ( fig7 b ). moreover , the treatment reduced the volume of total cerebral infarction by 54 . 6 ± 11 . 27 % as compared with stroke volume in controls ( fig7 c i ; anova , f = 7 . 289 , p = 0 . 0048 ). this effect was largely accounted - for by a 70 . 7 ± 11 . 23 % reduction in cortical infarction ( fig7 c ii , anova , f = 8 . 354 , p = 0 . 0027 ), which is thought to be largely caused by nmdar - dependent mechanisms . a treatment for stroke with a single - bolus drug injection would be most therapeutically valuable if effective when given after the onset of ischemia . i thus first evaluated whether treatment with tat - peptides could be neuroprotective when applied post - insult in vitro . fig8 shows neuroprotection by post - treatment with tat - nr2b9c in - vitro and in - vivo ( a ) decreased excitotoxicity at 20 h in cultured cortical neurons post - treated with 50 nm tat - nr2b9c or ptat - pdz1 - 2 at 1 h after nmda application . bars indicate the mean ± s . e . for 12 cultures in 3 separate experiments . asterisk : differences from control , tat - nr2b - aa and ptat - gk at each nmda concentration ( bonferroni t - test , p & lt ; 0 . 005 ). right panels : representative phase contrast and propodium iodide fluorescence images of cultures 24 h after challenge with 100 μm nmda with and without tat - nr2b9c treatment . ( b ) composite neurological scores ( see text ) during and 24 h after mcao . asterisk : difference from control and tat - nr2b - aa ( anova ; f = 17 . 25 , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). ( c ) post - treatment with 3 nmole / g tat - nr2b9c ( 9 animals ) but not mutated tat - nr2b - aa ( 8 animals ) or saline controls ( 10 rats ) significantly reduced ( i ) total infarct area and volume ( inset ), anova ; f = 12 . 0 , p & lt ; 0 . 0005 and ( ii ) cortical infarct area and volume ( inset ), anova ; f = 12 . 64 , p = 0 . 0001 as measured 24 h after transient mcao . symbols and bars indicate mean ± s . e ( d ). representative appearance of h & amp ; e stained rat brain sections from which the infarct areas were analyzed . cultured cortical neurons were exposed to an nmda challenge ( 0 - 100 μm ) for 1 h and were then treated with the tat - peptides ( all at 50 nm ) described in the pre - treatment study ( fig6 f ). cell death was gauged 20 h thereafter ( fig8 a — inset ). post - treatment with tat - nr2b9c or with ptat - pdz1 - 2 significantly reduced the vulnerability of neurons to nmda toxicity as compared with control cultures post - treated with sham washes , with tat - nr2baa , or with ptat - gk ( fig8 a ). thus , when administered 1 hr after the start of the nmda insult each of the tat fusion constructs that target the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction significantly reduced neuronal cell death in vitro . finally , i examined whether treatment with tat - nr2b9c could attenuate ischemic neuronal damage in - vivo when given after stroke onset . a post - treatment study was conducted in which the rats were subjected to transient mcao for 90 minutes as before , but the intravenous saline or tat - peptide bolus ( tat - nr2b9c or tat - nr2b - aa ; 3 nmole / g ) was injected 1 h after mcao onset ( fig8 c — inset ). infarction volume and neurological outcome measurements were performed at times identical to the pre - treatment study . body temperature , blood pressure and blood gases were monitored throughout the 24 h experiment and maintained equivalent between groups ( table 2 ). post - treatment with tat - nr2b9c , but not with tat - nr2b - aa or saline , resulted in animals exhibiting a significant improvement in 24 h neurological scores as compared with controls ( fig8 b ; anova , f = 17 . 25 , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). most strikingly , post - treatment with tat - nr2b9c reduced the volume of total cerebral infarction by 67 . 0 ± 3 . 75 % as compared with stroke volume in controls ( fig8 c i ; anova , f = 11 . 99 , p = 0 . 0002 ). similar to the previous study , this reduction was accounted - for by a 86 . 97 ± 4 . 38 % reduction in cortical infarction volume ( fig8 c ii , 4d ; anova , f = 12 . 64 , p & lt ; 0 . 0001 ). the aforesaid description demonstrates that introducing into cells an exogenous peptide containing the c - terminal nine amino acids of the nr2b nmdar subunit has profound effects on signaling pathways downstream of nmdar activation , on in vitro excitotoxicity , and on in vivo ischemic brain damage . the effects of this peptide are lost by mutating amino acids that are essential for mediating pdz binding to psd - 95 . in addition , a protein comprising pdz1 - 2 of psd - 95 shares the effects of the nr2b c - terminal peptide . together these findings imply that the downstream signaling from nmdars that leads to negative consequences for neuronal viability may be interrupted by interfering with the interaction between nr2b and psd - 95 . i have discovered that the strategy of treating neurons with tat - fusion peptides is effective in reducing vulnerability to excitotoxicity in vitro and stroke damage in vivo . as this occurs without affecting nmdar activity then adverse consequences of blocking nmdars are not expected . efficacy after the insult onset suggests that targeting the nmdar / psd - 95 interaction is a practical future strategy for treating stroke . it is also likely that targeting other intracellular proteins using the same approach could be used to modulate additional signaling mechanisms mediated by protein - protein interactions that lead to other human diseases . although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to those particular embodiments . rather , the invention includes all embodiments which are functional or mechanical equivalence of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated .	0
previous methods for reducing the volume of test data stored on automatic test equipment ( ate ) for testing scan - based designs have focused on reducing the number of tests by means of merging tests for as many individual target faults as possible into a single scan test . the sophistication of the algorithms used for test merging have matured to a point where further gains are limited . also , stimulus data compaction on the ate using constant or repeat - count values for filling in don &# 39 ; t care bit values have been practiced in the past . fig1 is a block diagram that illustrates the overall configuration used during test . a tester is connected to multiple scan chains 10 in the product under test . test input stimuli are serially shifted into the scan chains in the product under test . after the loading is completed , the test can commence and test response data are captured into the scan chains in the product under test . the captured responses are serially shifted out into a reponse data compression device 30 , such as a misr ( multiple - input signature register ), in a serial fashion . the response data compression device 30 accumulates the serial response data streams into an error detecting code word called “ signature ”. the tester 50 does not participate in the accumulation or generation of the signature . hence , the tester interface is available to shift new input stimuli into the scan chains in the product under concurrently with shifting the current set of captured responses out into the response data compression means . the width ( number of bits ) of the signature word accumulated by the response data compression device generally is equivalent to the number of scan chains . each scan chain in complex microlectronic porducts may contain several thousands of scan cell bits . hence , the total number of bits in the signature is by several orders of magnitude less than the total number of reponse bits . at the end of the combined serial load / unload operation , the signature is transferred to the tester and compared with a pre - calculated expected signature word . only the expected signature word needs to be stored in the tester buffer memory , meaning that the amount of response - related data that is stored on the tester is rather insignificant compared to the traditional method of storing the full set of expected responses for all scan cell bits . roughly speaking , the amount of data normally stored on the tester without compression ( like a misr ) is about 50 % input stimulus data and 50 % output stimulus data . by removing the 50 % output stimulus data via compression , the tester data are now dominated by the input stimulus data , and any reduction in the amount of stimulus data now affects the majority of the data volume — at lease 95 %. the input stimulus data for scan based testing arrangements like the one illustrated in fig1 typically are derived by automatic test pattern generation ( atpg ) software from a computer - readable model of the product under test . it should be appreciated for the context of the proposed improved test apparatus and method that atpg software algorithms allow for substantial flexibility in how a large portion of the stimulus data content is constructed . the atpg software algorithm options can be intelligently selected in such a way that said software algorithms are compatible with software and / or hardware algorithms available in the tester . the respective data content then can be recreated on the tester by the software / hardware algorithm from a minimal amount of initialization data rather than having to be stored in a bit - for - bit fashion in the tester buffer memory . this freedom in selecting the algorithms used in atpg is described below which indicates how the amount of input stimulus data can be reduced by matching the software algorithm used in atpg with software / hardware algorithms used on the tester . the total tester data reduction possible is limited by the remaining amount of compressed input stimulus data plus the amount of uncompressed expected reponse data . it has been found that by combining the advantage of reduced input stimulus data achieved with the additional significant data reduction may be achieved by the use of response data compression device 30 as illustrated in fig1 . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating the creation of a highly compressible test vector data set according to the invention . original test vector data , for example , a distribution of 0s and 1s as shown in block 101 , may be generated by known means such as automatic test pattern generation ( atpg ) software 100 . the atpg software utilizes a representation of the combinational logic being tested to generate care bits which target focal faults in the logic circuitry . the care bits may be 0s or 1s . in block 101 , the care bits are circled and the non - care bits are indicated by dashes (-). the non - care bits may be 1s or 0s . each row of block 101 represents a test vector . typically , atpg - generated test vectors for large ( 1 + million gate ) circuits , on average , contain less than 1 care bit for every 100 scan chain bits . thus , care bits are very sparsely distributed throughout the test vectors . the present invention takes advantage of this characteristic of the test vectors by filling the non - care bit positions with repetitive values to increase the compressibility of the test vectors . the non - care bit positions of the test vectors are filled with all 0s , as shown in block 102 . a substantial portion of the original care bits may also be set to 0 , and their original values subsequently recovered . the test vector data , with non - care bit positions filled as described and having a substantial number of the original care bits set to 0 , is consequently highly compressible due to being dominated by 0s . the test vector data may then be compressed and subsequently decompressed for loading into input latches of a logic product , as described in greater detail in the following . referring now to fig3 according to an embodiment of the invention , original test vector data is generated as shown in block 200 , and background vectors are also generated as shown in block 201 . the background vectors may be all 0s , all 1s , or a random distribution of 0s and 1s . a known software algorithm and seed may be used to generate the background vectors as shown in block 202 . a “ seed ” refers to a data string of a comparatively limited size which is used in combination with the algorithm to generate the background vector data set . the background vector data set , when xored with the care bits of the original test vector data , will typically produce a differential vector data set in which a substantial portion of bits corresponding to the care bits of the original test vector data are set to 0 . independently of the xor operation , the non - care bits of the differential vector data set are also set to 0 , thereby forming a highly compressible test vector data set from the original test vector data . the original test vector care bits , with the non - care bits having values determined by the background vector data , may be recovered from a compressed differential vector data set as described in greater detail below . as shown in block 203 , the logical operation “ exclusive or ” ( xor ) is performed between the original test vectors and the background vectors to create a differential vector data set . only the care bits of the test vectors are xored , with corresponding bits of the background vectors . accordingly , if a background vector data bit corresponding to a care bit has a value of 0 , the care bit in the resulting differential vector will be unchanged from its value in the original test vector . on the other hand , if a background vector data bit corresponding to a care bit has a value of 1 , the care bit in the resulting differential vector will be flipped or reversed from its value in the original test vector . independently of the xor operation , the non - care bits in the differential vector data are set to 0 by , for example , a software algorithm . if the background vectors generated contain a random fill pattern , ( a random distribution of both 1s and 0s ), it is typical that half of the care bits in the test vectors generated by the atpg software will tend to match the corresponding values in the randomly generated background vector . accordingly , an xor of the background vectors and the test vectors will result in a differential vector data set in which approximately half of the bits corresponding to the care bits of original test data are set to 0 . thus , after the non - care bit positions are filled with 0s , the differential vector data set will typically be dominated by over 99 % 0s , making it highly compressible . as shown in block 204 , a data set header identifying the algorithm and seed used to generate the background vectors may be created , and attached to the differential vector data set as shown in block 205 . the differential vectors with attached header may then be compressed using known compression means , as shown in block 206 . fig3 is a flow chart illustrating the recovery of the original test vector data care bits from the differential data set . as shown in block 300 , the compressed differential vector data set plus header is decompressed . the header data attached is extracted , and the algorithm and seed used to generate the background vector data set are recovered , as shown in blocks 301 and 302 . also , the differential vector data set is extracted from the decompressed data as shown in block 303 . with the algorithm and seed recovered , it is possible to reconstruct the background vector data set as shown in block 305 . as shown in blocks 304 and 306 , an xor between the differential data set and the reconstructed background data set results in a reconstructed test vector data set which reproduces the original test vector care bits , with the non - care bit positions being filled with the corresponding values from the background vector data . fig5 a - 5c illustrate the xor operation to create the differential vectors . fig5 a shows an example of a test vector data set such as might be generated by atpg software , prior to compression according to the present invention . the test vector data set includes care bits at row 1 , columns 2 and 4 , row 2 , columns 3 and 5 , and row 3 , columns 4 and 6 . non - care bits are illustrated by dashes . fig5 b shows an example of a background vector data set such as might be generated by a random fill algorithm . fig5 c shows a differential vector data set resulting from performing an xor operation between the test vector data set illustrated in fig5 a and the background vector data set shown in fig5 b , for only the care bits and corresponding background vector bits . it may be noted that in the differential vector data set shown in fig5 c , the bit position at row 3 , column 6 , corresponding to the care bit at row 3 , column 6 of the test vector data set shown in fig5 a , has been changed from a 1 to a 0 . as discussed above , it has been observed that typical atpg - generated test vectors on average contain less than 1 care bit for everyone 100 scan chain bits , and half of the care bits will tend to match the values in a randomly generated background vector . accordingly , the xor operation will tend to set half of the care bits to 0 in the corresponding differential vector data set , yielding a high degree of compressibility . a further advantage is offered by using random fill background vector data sets . when the background vector data set is reconstructed and xored with the decompressed differential vector data set , the resulting data set will include the care bits of the original test vector data set , with the non - care bits being randomly filled by the background vector data set . when this resulting data set is subsequently loaded into the input latches of a logic product to conduct a test , there is the possibility that the randomly distributed background fill data will detect faults in addition to those detected by the care bits , which are targeted at focal faults . this may be referred to as “ fortuitous ” fault detection . fig6 shows a test system including major components of a tester 501 for implementing the invention . an i / o bus 503 allows data flow to a central processing unit ( cpu ) 500 of , for example , a personal computer connected to the tester . the cpu is connected to a memory buffer 504 of the tester by a second bus 509 . via pin connections 508 , the buffer 504 fans out data to individual chip test pins on logic products 502 to load input latches therein with test vectors . the tester further comprises a sequencer 505 for determining the sequence of patterns for applying the test vectors loaded into the input latches , timing logic 506 for determining the rate at which to run the logic product , and dc subsystems 507 for applying the appropriate voltage levels to the logic product . typically , a compressed differential vector data set plus header 510 is created by a computer system external to the tester . the computer system which generates the test data may be at a different physical site from the tester , which is typically located in a manufacturing environment . the computer system executes atpg software to generate original test vector data , and executes software for performing the algorithm to generate background vectors and xor the background vectors with the care bits of the original test vectors . the compression of the resulting differential vectors plus attached header also takes place externally to the tester . certain of the foregoing operations , such as the compression , may be performed in hardware . compression of the differential vector plus header data provides for economizing on computer resources at the site generating the test data , including memory , disk storage or portable storage resources such as diskettes , cd - roms , tapes and the like . the compressed test data may also be transmitted over connections of a computer network in less time as compared to the original test data , and downloaded to a tester more efficiently , from either a network or a portable storage source at the tester , the compressed differential vector data set plus header 510 may be input to cpu 500 via i / o bus 503 . points a , b and c in fig6 represent points where decompression of the differential vector data set plus header may be done . decompression could be performed by software at point a , or by hardware at points b ( tester hardware ) and c ( hardware built in to the logic product ). as discussed above in connection with fig3 the decompression would be followed by the steps of extracting the differential vector data set , and extracting the header to recover the algorithm and seed required to reconstruct the background vectors . the xor operation between the differential vector data set and reconstructed background vector data set to recover the original test vector care bits plus background fill bits could be performed at the same point that which decompression was performed , or at any point further downstream from the decompress operation . for best results in terms of tester memory buffer conservation , the decompression would take place at point c , in hardware embodied in the logic product itself in view of the above , it may be appreciated that the compressibility of the differential vector allows computer resources including memory , storage and data transmission time , to be conserved at processing stages preceding the loading of scan chains into the input latches of a logic product being tested . when processing has reached a point where the input latches are to be loaded , the original test vector care bits plus background fill are recreated from the compressed differential vector plus header , and loaded into the input latches . an alternative “ repeat last fill ” embodiment of the present invention , as described hereinafter , generates repetitive or redundant test vectors and utilizes a “ repeat ” capability of the tester to economize on memory and storage requirements . typically , commercially available testers have the capability to repeat data such as the strings of 1s and 0s forming test vectors , and load the repeated strings into specified input latches of a logic product . fig7 a shows an example of input or scan latches in a logic product loaded with test vector data . the test vector data is arranged between scan - in inputs 600 and scan - out outputs 601 , and may be viewed as a matrix comprising rows and columns of test vector data . as described earlier , the test vector data is loaded via the scan - in inputs prior to being released via the scan - out outputs to combinational logic in a logic product for detecting faults therein . in the example shown in fig7 a , each of rows 1 - 15 represents a nine - bit test vector . the circled bits are care bits . it is noted that the vectors at rows 11 and 12 of fig7 a are identical . the repeat capability of testers can be used to take advantage of such duplication occurring in test vector data to reduce the amount of data which must be stored . as can be seen by the row designations on the right side of fig7 a , a single test vector 11 may be used to fill both row positions 11 and 12 . fig7 b shows an example of the input latches of fig7 a wherein the test vectors have been processed according to the invention . considering the rows of test vectors in ascending order , each care bit has been replicated in the rows above it in the corresponding column , until another care bit is encountered with a different value . if a care bit with a different value is encountered , the non - care bit positions are filled with that different care bit value in the ascending row positions in the corresponding column . as a specific example , consider column 2 of fig7 b . at row 1 , there is a care bit having a value of 0 . accordingly , according to the invention the non - care bit at column 2 , row 2 is assigned a value of 0 . then , at row 3 , a care bit having a value of 1 is encountered . accordingly , the non - care bits at column 2 , rows 4 - 15 are assigned the value of 1 , since no other care bit having a different value is present in the column . as another specific example , consider column 4 . there is a care bit in row 3 , column 4 having a value of 0 . accordingly , the non - care bits in rows 4 - 7 of column 4 are assigned the value 0 . at row 8 of column 4 , a care bit having a value of 1 is encountered , and accordingly , the non - care bits in rows 9 - 15 of column 4 are assigned the value of 1 . it may observed from fig7 b that only five distinct test vectors need to be stored . the input latches of the logic product may be loaded using the repeat capabilities of the tester to reproduce each distinct test vector as often as needed . redundant vectors as described above could be created by a software algorithm ; for example , software which interfaced with atpg software executed on a computer system upstream from the tester . the algorithm would take as input the original test vectors , locate the care bits , and repeat them as described above . for better data compaction , the redundant vectors could be further processed to reduce them to a minimum set of distinct vectors . such a minimum set , represented by element 511 in fig5 would then be transmitted to the tester , along with information specifying how often and where in the input latches the vectors were to be repeated . the sparseness of the care bits is a factor in generating redundant test vectors by using the technique of repeating the last care bit . because care bits are sparsely distributed , the probability favors the phenomenon that repeating the care bits in the non - care bit position as described above will generate duplicate test vectors . as discussed above , random filling of the non - care bit positions in the test vectors occasions the phenomenon of “ fortuitous ” fault detection while testing targeted or focal faults with the care bits . fortuitous fault detection allows numerous faults to be detected in fewer tests than would otherwise be the case . however , there is a point of diminishing returns where using random fill no longer offers the best test economy . as faults continue to be detected , the number of non - care latches continues to increase to a point where there are very few care latches . there are also many fewer faults remaining to be detected . thus , at a point in the testing process , it has been observed that better test economy can be achieved by using random - fill test vectors during a first period of testing , followed by a second or subsequent period of using the “ repeat last fill ” technique of generating a reduced or minimum set of vectors and repeating them , as described above . accordingly , the present invention further includes applying a first testing technique to logic products during a first testing period , the first testing technique comprising loading input latches of a tester with test vectors comprising a random distribution of bits . the first testing period is followed by a second testing period of applying a second testing technique comprising loading input latches by repeating test vectors of a minimum set of test vectors obtained by repeating a last care bit in neighboring non - care bit positions as described above . of a full or complete testing period defined as one during which the number of faults detected has been reduced to an acceptable level , one proportion of the first period to the second period that is contemplated is approximately 95 % to 5 %; i . e ., 95 % of the faults with random - fill testing followed by approximately 5 % with repeat - last - fill testing . the first 95 % of the faults are the easier faults and the first period will typically require 10 % or less of the test patterns . the second period will contain the large majority of test patterns and use the repeat - last - fill testing method . in conceivable embodiments , the invention is implemented in computer - executable instructions which when executed perform method steps of the invention . the instructions are embodied in a program module or modules stored on computer - usable media . when executed by a processor , the instructions would accept as input atpg - generated test vector data . the instructions would generate the background vector data using the algorithm and seed as discussed above in connection with fig3 . subsequently , the instructions would xor the care bits of the test vector data with the background vector data to create the highly - compressible differential vector data , and create and attach the header as discussed . compression of the differential vector data , while preferably taking place in hardware for greater speed , could also be implemented in software . recovery of the original test vector data care bits plus background fill data as discussed above in connection with fig4 could also be performed by computer - executable instructions according to the invention , at , for example , point a in fig6 as noted above . computer - executable instructions for generating redundant test vectors by repeating a last - encountered care bit as described in connection with fig7 a and 7b , and reducing the redundant test vectors to a distinct set , are also encompassed by the invention . fig8 shows a high - level representation of a general purpose computer system for implementing an embodiment of the invention in the form of computer - executable instructions , such as might be realized by a variety of known and commercially available hardware and software elements . the system comprises a memory 700 including a rom and ram , processor 710 and user interface 711 comprising a video display 712 , keyboard 713 and mouse 714 . elements may communicate via system bus 706 . the system may further be connected to a network 717 via a network medium 718 and network 715 . a computer program or a collection of programs comprising computer - executable instructions for performing method steps according to the present invention may be stored and transported on computer - usable media such as diskette 701 , cd - rom 702 , magnetic tape 703 and fixed disk 704 . to perform the steps of the method , the instructions may be retrieved from the computer - usable media 701 - 704 using their respective drives 705 - 708 into memory 700 and executed by a processor 710 . the method disclosed hereinabove may find specific implementations in a variety of programming structures and data forms , which are considered to be within the abilities of a programmer of ordinary skill in the art after having reviewed the specification . the foregoing description of the invention illustrates and describes the present invention . additionally , the disclosure shows and describes only the preferred embodiments of the invention , but it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use in various other combinations , modifications , and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein , commensurate with the above teachings and / or the skill or knowledge of the relevant art . the embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as such , or other , embodiments and with the various modifications required by the particular applications or uses or the invention . accordingly , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . also , it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments .	6
the present invention provides a method and apparatus for performing mitral annuloplasty and remodeling of the left ventricle using a device that may be introduced percutaneously , and placed within the coronary venous system of the heart . the device exerts compressive force on the mitral annulus and left ventricle , reducing the severity of mitral regurgitation and the size of the left ventricular cavity . the device thus enables reduction of the mitral annulus and constraint of the diastolic expansion of the left ventricle yet without the morbidity and other risks associated with open chest surgery . the present inventors have determined that the coronary sinus and veins provide an ideal conduit for the positioning of an intravascular prosthesis for remodeling the mitral annulus , since they are positioned adjacent the mitral annulus and interventricular septum . the coronary sinus is contained within the atrioventricular groove , and is in close proximity to the posterior , lateral and anterior aspects of the mitral annulus . the coronary sinus and coronary veins are cannulated currently during any of a variety of percutaneous transvenous diagnostic and therapeutic procedures . permanent placement of pacemaker and defibrillator leads within the coronary sinus and veins is both safe and well tolerated . the annuloplasty system consists of several components . there is a delivery system intended to be introduced percutaneously into a central vein such as the internal jugular , subclavian or femoral veins and to cannulate the coronary sinus . the implant of the present invention is deployed from the delivery catheter into the coronary venous system . additional tools may be placed through or along the delivery catheter to position the device , apply elements in place , and to control and / or cut the tensioning elements from the delivery system as will be discussed . referring to fig1 , there is illustrated a schematic view of the heart 10 , having a mitral annuloplasty and cardiac reinforcement device 40 positioned therein . the heart 10 generally comprises a right atrium 12 , in communication with the superior vena cava 14 and inferior vena cava 16 . the left ventricle 18 is positioned below the left atrial appendage 20 . relevant portions of the coronary vasculature include the coronary sinus 22 , which extends from the ostium 24 to the junction 26 of the coronary sinus and the great cardiac vein 28 . there may be anastomotic connections 29 between the great cardiac vein 28 and the middle cardiac vein 30 , as is well understood in the art . one embodiment of a mitral annuloplasty and cardiac reinforcement device 40 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated generally in the coronary sinus 22 . in particular , the device 40 extends from a proximal end 42 to a distal end 44 . the proximal end 42 lies against the posterior aspect of the interatrial septum 46 . the midportion 48 of the device 40 is positioned within the coronary sinus 22 . the transitional section 50 of the device 40 lies at the junction 26 of the coronary sinus 22 and the great cardiac vein 28 . the distal end 44 of the device 40 is lodged in the great cardiac vein 28 . the transitional region 50 is designed to reside in the proximal portion of the great cardiac vein 28 . by deflecting out of the plane of the coronary sinus 22 , it serves as an anchor 52 and prevents the device 40 from slipping out of the coronary sinus 22 when tension is applied . this embodiment of an anchor 52 is very flaccid and flexible , thereby minimizing the risk of erosion of the device 40 through the wall of the great cardiac vein or other aspect of the coronary venous system . the proximal end 42 of the device 40 lies outside the ostium 24 of the coronary sinus 22 and is curved upward so as to anchor against the posterior aspect of the interatrial septum 46 . the proximal end 42 is semicircular in shape and elliptical in profile so that no edges will promote erosion of adjacent tissue . as an alternative anchor 52 to the distal extension of the device 40 , any of a variety of structures may be provided . in general , the deployed device 40 will contact the wall of the coronary sinus 22 along the inside radius of its arcuate path . thus , a tissue contacting surface 54 on the concave side of the deployed device 40 may be provided with any of a variety of friction enhancing surface structures , such as a plurality of transverse ridges , teeth or other projections , or modified surface textures to enhance friction . alternatively , tissue engaging or piercing structures such as barbs may be provided on the surface 54 to engage the wall of the coronary sinus 22 to resist movement of the device 40 . the specific dimensions , construction details and materials for the mitral annuloplasty and cardiac reinforcement device 40 can be varied widely , as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein . for example , dimensional adjustments may be made to accommodate different anatomical sizes and configurations . materials and construction details can be varied to accommodate different tensioning mechanisms and other considerations . in general , the device 40 has an overall length from proximal end 42 to distal end 44 within the range of from about 6 cm to about 10 cm , in an embodiment such as that illustrated in fig2 in which the anchor 52 comprises a distal extension of the body 66 for lodging within the great cardiac vein 28 . one embodiment of the device 40 includes an elongate flexible body 66 about eight centimeters in length . in this embodiment , the body 66 is preferably elliptical in cross section so that it will bend in the plane of the coronary sinus 22 and mitral annulus when force is applied to the tensioning element within it ( discussed below ). distally the device tapers and transitions to a round cross - section . referring to fig2 and 2a , there is illustrated an embodiment of the device 40 having a forming element 56 therein . the device can be manipulated from a first configuration to at least a second configuration . in one preferred embodiment , manipulation of the forming element 56 allows the device to be moved from a flexible orientation to enable percutaneous insertion into the vascular system and navigation into the coronary sinus , to an arcuate configuration for compressing at least a portion of the mitral annulus . the device 40 may be advanced from the first , flexible configuration to the second , arcuate configuration by either axial proximal retraction or distal advancement of the forming element 56 with respect to the body 66 , depending upon the particular design . in general , the device 40 comprises an elongate flexible support 58 , extending from a proximal end 42 at least as far as a point of attachment 60 . the support 58 may be a portion of the body 66 or may be a distinct component as will be discussed . the support 58 has a fixed length , and is relatively axially noncompressible or expandable . thus , proximal retraction of the forming element 56 compared to the proximal end of the support 58 will cause the support 58 to deflect in a first direction . distal axial advancement of the forming element 56 with respect to the support 58 will cause lateral deflection of the support 58 in a second direction . this basic steering configuration can be embodied in many forms , which can be optimized by those of skill in the art to suit a particular construction for the body 66 depending upon the desired dimensions and clinical performance . the forming element 56 extends from the proximal end 42 through the device 40 to the point of attachment 60 . at the point of attachment 60 , the forming element 56 is mechanically linked , and preferably , directly linked to the support 58 . a proximal extension 64 of the forming element 56 extends from the proximal end 42 of the device 40 , such as through an aperture 62 . proximal retraction of the forming element 56 through the aperture 62 causes the device 40 to bend from an implantation orientation for navigating the coronary vasculature during implantation to a formed orientation for compression and constraint of the coronary sinus 22 and adjacent structures . in the formed orientation , the device 40 preferably provides a compressive force against the mitral annulus as has been discussed . this is accomplished by forming the device into an arcuate configuration . generally , the best fit curve of constant radius to which the formed device conforms has a radius within the range of from about 1 . 0 cm to about 2 . 0 cm . the forming element may comprise any of a variety of components , such as a polymeric or metal wire or strand , a multifillament braided or woven line , a metal or polymeric ribbon , or other structure capable of retaining the device 40 under tension in the coronary sinus 22 . the device 40 further comprises a support 58 , which may be the body 66 of the device 40 or a separate element positioned therein . in an embodiment in which the support 58 is a separate element contained within the device 40 , support 58 may comprise any of a variety of generally axially non - compressible elements such as a metal or polymeric wire or column , ribbon , or “ bottomed out ” spring which facilitates lateral bending but inhibits axial compression upon proximal retraction of forming element 56 . a metal ribbon comprising stainless steel , nitinol , or other known materials may be desired in certain embodiments , due to its ability to influence the plane of curvature of the device 40 when in the formed orientation . the proximal extension 64 of the forming element 56 extends proximally throughout the length of the deployment catheter , to a control or free end which remains outside of the patient during the deployment procedure . following placement of the device 40 in the coronary sinus , proximal traction on the proximal extension 64 will reconfigure the device 40 into the formed orientation within the coronary sinus , as will be discussed in connection with the method of the present invention . after a sufficient tension has been placed on the coronary sinus , the forming element 56 is preferably axially locked to the device 40 , to resist distal movement of the forming element 56 through aperture 62 . any of a variety of locks 70 may be provided . preferably , the lock 70 is provided on or near the proximal end 42 , and , in particular , at or about the aperture 62 . the lock may comprise any of a variety of structures , such as a suture knot , locking clamp or ring , an interference fit , ratchet and pall structures , an adhesive bond , or a compression fit , as will be apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein . the lock 70 ( on any of the embodiments herein ) may be initially disengaged , so that the forming element 56 may be retracted or advanced freely through the aperture 62 while the physician adjusts the tension on the device 40 . after the desired tension is achieved , the lock 70 is activated to engage the forming element in a manner which will depend upon the lock design . alternatively , the lock 70 may be biased into an engaged configuration , such as with ratchet or cam structures , so that the forming element can only be retracted proximally . preferably , however , the lock will allow the forming element to be released so that the physician can release tension in the device 40 in the event of momentary over tightening . referring to fig7 - 9 , there is disclosed one embodiment of a releasable lock 70 in accordance with the present invention . although the lock 70 is illustrated as a discrete component of the system , it can alternatively be formed integrally with or attached to the proximal end of the body 66 . the lock 70 comprises a body 114 , which may be in the form of an annular collar with a central aperture for axial movement over the forming element 56 . the body 114 is provided with one or two or three or more releasable locking elements 126 which ramp radially inwardly in the proximal direction . each locking element 126 is provided with at least one engagement surface 122 for engaging the forming element 56 . the forming element 56 may be provided with any of a variety of friction enhancing surface textures or structures to enhance the locking function . thus , a locking zone along the forming element may be provided with an etched surface or friction enhancing coating . alternatively , structures such as a plurality of beads or teeth can be provided to permit an interference fit with the engagement surface 122 . the engagement surface 122 is movable between a first , disengaged configuration and a second , engaged configuration . this may be accomplished by pivoting the locking element 126 about a fulcrum 118 . in the illustrated embodiment , fulcrum 118 is formed by an annular ring 119 . alternatively , the fulcrum 118 can be formed by plastic deformation of an integral structure , such as a living hinge formed by one or more annular grooves in the body 114 . the locking elements 126 may be biased in the locked direction , unlocked direction , or neutrally . locking may be accomplished by pressing distally on a locking surface 124 such as with a locking tool 125 ( fig8 ) which applies distal pressure on the ramped locking element 126 at a point which is displaced radially inwardly from the fulcrum 118 . unlocking may be accomplished by distally advancing an unlocking tool 128 against a release surface 120 which is displaced radially outwardly from the fulcrum 118 . in one embodiment , the locking tool 125 and unlocking tool 128 are conveniently formed from concentric tubular elements as will be apparent to those of skill in the art . the tubular elements or proximally extending control wires extend proximally to controls outside of the patient . alternatively , any of a variety of ramped engagement surfaces and tools can be readily configured to accomplish the lock and / or release functions in view of the disclosure herein . the length of the device 40 from proximal end 42 through the point of attachment 60 is generally within the range of from about 2 cm to about 10 cm , and , preferably within the range of from about 6 cm to about 8 cm . the shape of the device 40 is preferably designed to minimize trauma to the vascular intima , both during implantation and following placement . this may be accomplished by rounding all edges which may come into contact with the vessel wall . thus , the cross - section through the mid portion 48 of the device , for example , may be elliptical , semicircular or otherwise rounded , or rectangular with rounded corners . in general , the maximum cross - section of the device 40 will be no more than about 15 mm 2 , and preferably no more than about 10 mm 2 , for implantation within a human adult . the device 40 may be manufactured in accordance with any of a variety of techniques , which will be apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein . for example , the body 66 may be formed by extrusion , injection molding , or other techniques . in one embodiment , the forming element 56 is secured at point of attachment 60 to an elongate flexible support 58 and coextruded within a polymeric body 66 . alternatively , the forming element 56 and support 58 subassembly may be positioned within a mold cavity , and injection molded to produce the final device 40 . the body 66 may comprise any of a variety of biocompatible materials such as various densities of polyethylenes , nylon , polyethylene terephthalate , pebax , and others which will be apparent to those of skill in the art . alternatively , the forming element 56 and support 58 may be surrounded by a tubular jacket of eptfe or dacron fabric , or other material which is wrapped or stitched onto the forming element 56 to produce the final device 40 . as a further alternative , the subassembly which includes the forming element 56 and , if present , support 58 may be positioned within a suitable length of tubing formed such as by extrusion . the tubing may be drawn down to a reduced diameter at the distal end 44 . additional post extrusion steps may be used to produce the desired cross - sectional configuration . manufacturing techniques for the present invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein . any of a variety of additional features may be added to the device 40 , depending upon the desired clinical performance . for example , the outside surface of the body 66 may be provided with any of a variety of coatings , such as paralene , ptfe or others to improve lubricity ; heparin or other antithrombogenic agents ; elastomers such as silicone , neoprene , latex or others to soften the surface and reduce the risk of trauma to the vascular intima , and the like . adhesion enhancing surfaces may be provided , such as eptfe patches or jackets , to promote cellular ingrowth for long term anchoring . in addition , depending upon the deployment system design , the body 66 may be provided with a guidewire lumen extending axially therethrough , to allow the body 66 to be advanced distally over a guidewire during placement at the treatment site . the device 40 may be implanted within the coronary sinus 22 either through direct surgical ( e . g . thoracotomy with or without sternotomy ) access , such as in combination with another surgical procedure , via port access , or remotely by way of a percutaneous or surgical cut down access to the venous system . preferably , the device 40 is implanted in a transluminal procedure , such as by way of a percutaneous access at one of the internal jugular , subclavian , or femoral veins . referring to fig3 , there is disclosed a deployment system 72 for deploying the device 40 of the present invention . the deployment system 72 comprises an introducer sheath 74 , having an elongate flexible tubular body 76 extending from a proximal end 78 to a distal end 80 . a preset curve 82 is provided near the distal end 80 of the tubular body 76 , as is known in the cardiac access catheter arts . at least one lumen 84 extends through the tubular body 76 . in one embodiment , the lumen 84 has a noncircular cross section , such as an ellipse having the major axis perpendicular to the plane of curvature of the introducer sheath 74 . introducer sheaths are well known in the art , and may be manufactured such as by extrusion , with or without a braided reinforcement structure in the wall . the length and diameter of the introducer sheath 74 may vary considerably , depending upon the dimensions of the device 40 as well as the access point for percutaneous access into the vascular system . for a femoral vein access , for example , the introducer sheath may have a length within the range of from about 80 cm to about 120 cm . preferably , the outside diameter of the introducer sheath 74 is no more than about 10 french . a pusher or dilator 86 has an axial length of from about 10 cm to about 20 cm greater than the axial length of the introducer sheath 74 . dilator 86 has an outside diameter which is less than the inside diameter of the lumen 84 , so that the dilator 86 may be freely axially advanced through the lumen 84 . the dilator 86 is provided with a central lumen 88 , for axially moveably receiving the proximal extension 64 of forming element 56 . when assembled for deployment of a device 40 within the coronary vasculature , a device 40 is positioned within a distal portion of the lumen 84 . the dilator 86 is positioned proximal to the device 40 within the lumen 84 , and the proximal extension 64 of forming element 56 extends proximally through central lumen 88 of dilator 86 . during proximal movement of the introducer sheath 74 with respect to the dilator 86 , a distal surface 90 on dilator 86 resists proximal movement of the device 40 . thus , the device 40 may be deployed from the distal end 80 of introducer sheath 74 . in addition , proximal retraction of the proximal extension 64 while proximal movement of the device 40 is prevented by surface 90 causes the device 40 to advance from its deployment configuration to its implanted configuration . once the coronary sinus 22 has been cannulated by the introducer sheath 74 , the dilator that is loaded over the forming element is advanced through the sheath 74 . this is used to push the device 40 to the proper location with the distal tip 44 in the distal portion of the great cardiac vein 28 . using counter traction of the forming element and the dilator , the device is curved until the appropriate degree of annular remodeling has been achieved . a locking ring 70 on the forming element that is interposed between the dilator and the device prevents the forming element from slipping distally once the device 40 has been curved . a locking ring 70 that can be released by using a dilator with a different tip geometry may also be employed . after satisfactory deployment and deflection of the device 40 , the forming element 56 is cut with a cutting tool ( not illustrated ) that is placed through the introducer sheath . a second embodiment of the device is comparable to that described above except that it does not contain an axially moveable forming element . instead , a core of springy memory material such as nitinol or other niti alloy is pre - formed to have the required configuration . when the device is pushed out of the delivery catheter into the coronary venous system , the spring force within the core applies the requisite force to remodel the annulus . this embodiment does not require a tensioning element or a tool to disconnect it from the delivery system . however , the magnitude of force applied to the annulus cannot be adjusted . a third embodiment is deployed as a loop through the coronary venous system , to form a left ventricular girdle 100 . see fig5 - 6 . the ventricular girdle 100 comprises an elongate flexible body 102 having a proximal end 104 and a distal end 106 . a first control line 108 extends proximally from the proximal end 104 , and a second control line 110 extends distally from distal end 106 . the first and second control lines 108 and 110 may be different portions of the same wire , which extends continuously throughout the length of the body 102 . the wire may be a single strand or multi strand component , a length of hypodermic needle tubing , a spring coil , or other structure known in the medical guidewire arts . preferably , the first and second control lines have a diameter within the range of from about 0 . 009 ″ to about 0 . 018 ″, although larger diameters may also be used particularly for the first control line 108 . the distal control line 110 is advanced through an introducer sheath into the great cardiac vein 28 and then through anastomotic connections 29 into the middle cardiac vein 30 . continued advancement results in the tip of the distal control line 110 emerging from the ostium 24 of the coronary sinus 22 . the control line 110 is then harnessed with a snare and pulled retrogradely through the delivery catheter as illustrated in fig5 . the body 102 is then pulled into the coronary venous system . the body is preferably larger in diameter than the first and second control lines 108 and 110 , and preferably elliptical or otherwise noncircular in cross section . this shape enlarges the transverse tissue contact surface area and reduces the risk of erosion when tension is applied to the loop . both the proximal and distal ends of the loop are threaded through a locking clip 112 . a dilator is used to push the clip 112 through the delivery catheter to the level of the coronary sinus ostium . using counter traction on the dilator and the first and second control lines 108 and 110 , the clip 112 is cinched on the loop until the requisite degree of tension is produced . finally , the device is separated from the delivery system using a cutting tool to cut the first and second control lines 108 and 110 , and possibly proximal and distal ends 104 and 106 to the extent they extend proximally from clip 112 . the overall length of the embodiment illustrated in fig5 should be sufficient that both of the first control line 108 and second control line 110 can extend outside of the patient , while the body 102 extends throughout the pathway of the ventricular girdle 100 as illustrated in fig6 . for a percutaneous femoral vein access , the overall length of the device is therefore preferably at least about 200 cm , and generally within the range of from about 220 cm to about 260 cm . the length of the body 102 from proximal end 104 to distal end 106 is preferably sufficient to form a closed loop as illustrated in fig6 . although both heart size and the shape of the vascular pathway will vary from individual to individual , the length of the body 102 is generally within the range of from about 6 cm to about 12 cm . the body 102 may be injection molded , extruded as a tube , or coextruded over the wire which forms first and second control lines 108 and 110 . preferably , the body 102 either comprises or is coated with a material which is sufficiently compliant to minimize trauma to the vascular intima . also , the transverse width of a tissue contacting surface 113 on body 102 is preferably sufficient to distribute compressive force to minimize the risks of localized pressure necrosis within the coronary veins . in each of the foregoing implantation methods , the physician preferably monitors the degree of regurgitation during the step of tightening the implant . although any reduction in mitral regurgitation may be desirable , regurgitation is preferably reduced to something less than moderate ( less than 2 +). in any event , at least a one grade reduction is preferably achieved . on the other hand , reconfiguration of the implant should not be accomplished to an extent sufficient to produce mitral stenosis , or any flow limitation of hemodynamic significance . thus , the method of implantation preferably further comprises the steps of monitoring the degree of mitral regurgitation during the implantation and / or reconfiguration steps . the degree of mitral regurgitation may be monitored such as by transesophageal echo cardiography , surface echo cardiography , intracardiac echo cardiography , fluoroscopy using radiocontrast in the left ventricle ( lvgram ), or left atrial or pulmonary capillary wedge pressure tracings , as are understood in the art , during the incremental restriction of the mitral annulus and / or left ventricle step . once a sufficient reduction in regurgitation has been achieved for a particular patient in the physician &# 39 ; s judgement , the device is locked and the proximal extension of the forming element is severed from the device and removed from the patient . the method may additionally comprise the step of measuring the coronary sinus and / or other coronary vein , and selecting an appropriately sized implant from an array of implants of varying sizes . the appropriately sized implant is thereafter positioned within the target vein . the implant is thus preferably provided in a graduated array of sizes , so that the optimal size can be selected for each patient . the size of the coronary sinus or other vein can be measured using any of a variety of techniques , such as echo cardiogram , mri , ct scan , or angiography as is understood in the art . as a further aspect to the present invention , the implant is preferably combined with an appropriate drug therapy for treating congestive heart failure . residual regurgitation and other hemodynamic functions are preferably measured following implantation of the implant of the present invention . heart medications are preferably adjusted to take into account the reduction in regurgitation and / or reduction in left ventricle volume in formulating an ongoing drug therapy for the patient . in accordance with further aspect of the present invention , there is provided a method of constricting the left ventricle . left ventricular constriction may be desirable in patients without mitral regurgitation . one implementation of this method comprises implanting the ventricular girdle 100 as illustrated , for example , in fig5 through 6 and previously discussed herein . any of the embodiments disclosed herein may additionally be provided with one or more externally facing electrically conductive axially extending strips or annular bands , to enable the device 40 to function additionally as a cardiac pacing or other cardiac electrode . the electrically conductive band or bands are placed in electrical communication with a pacing source or diagnostic instrument by way of one or more electrical conductors extending away from the device 40 . the conductors may be electrically connected to any of a wide variety of electronic cardiac rhythm management devices , which are well known in the art . although the present invention has been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments , it may be incorporated into other embodiments or performed through other steps by persons of skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein . the scope of the invention is therefore not intended to be limited by the specific embodiments disclosed herein , but is intended to be defined by the full scope of the following claims .	0
according to one embodiment , the molten liquid ink storage and control assembly 400 includes a valve assembly 408 that incorporates a passive valve disc 420 , as shown in fig4 - 5 . the disc 420 is situated within a valve chamber 421 defined by a valve housing 409 between an outlet 405 of the secondary reservoir 404 and the conduit or passageway 406 that is fluidly coupled to the primary reservoir ( fig3 ). in the orientation shown in solid lines in fig4 , the valve disc 420 is in its “ open ” position that permits flow of liquid ink from the primary reservoir to the secondary reservoir . as described above , this open position flow allows equalization of the level or height of the liquid ink between the two reservoirs which occurs due to the difference in pressure head . in one embodiment , the valve housing 409 includes an insert body 432 disposed within the valve chamber 421 configured to direct a flow of liquid ink from the secondary reservoir to the outlet 410 when pressure p is applied through port 412 to the surface of the ink within that reservoir , as described above . the insert body can thus define a flow cavity 435 that communicates between the outlet 405 and the outlet 410 . the insert body 432 further defines an angled surface 430 against which the valve disc 420 rests in the open position shown in fig4 - 5 . the closed position of the valve disc is shown by the phantom representation of the disc 420 ′ in which the disc is essentially vertically disposed within the valve chamber 421 . more precisely , the valve disc 420 ′ bears against a valve seat or sealing surface 450 defined by the valve housing 409 around the interface with the passageway 406 . it can thus be appreciated that in this “ closed ” position , the valve disc 420 ′ not only prevents flow of ink out of the primary reservoir , it also prevents ink flow into the primary reservoir . in particular , when the secondary reservoir is pressurized it is highly desirable that substantially all of the liquid ink leaving the secondary reservoir pass directly into the discharge outlet 410 to be fed to the printhead assembly 30 . the fluid pressure of the molten ink forced out of the secondary reservoir 404 holds the valve disc 420 against the sealing surface 450 of the valve assembly 408 . in one aspect of the embodiment of the valve assembly 408 disclosed herein , the valve disc 420 is a passive disc , meaning that it moves to and from its open and closed position under the influence of only the liquid ink within the storage and control assembly 400 . thus , the disc 420 is freely disposed within the valve chamber 421 , with its movement restrained only by the angled surface 430 and the sealing surface 450 . as shown in fig4 , in the open position the valve disc 420 is disposed at an angle relative to the vertical ( as represented by the sealing surface 450 ). it can be seen in comparing the open position of the valve disc 420 to the closed position of the disc 420 ′ ( shown in phantom lines ), that the lower contact point or edge 422 of the disc moves between the position 422 to the position 422 ′. in order to prevent binding of the disc as it opens and closes , and to allow for tolerances of fit and form , an annular recess 452 may be defined around the sealing surface 450 . this annular recess 452 corresponds to the outer radial extent of the valve disc so the impact on the sealing capability of the disc is minimal . in addition to providing a relief cut - out for movement of the lower contact point 422 from the closed ( vertical ) to the open ( angled ) position , the recess 452 also provides a collection area for burrs and sediment precipitating out of the molten ink that could otherwise interfere with the complete sealing of the valve disc . the recess 452 may further help ensure that the valve disc will lift off the sealing surface 450 when the pressure behind the disc ( i . e ., at the secondary reservoir 404 ) is less than the pressure in the primary reservoir 402 . the circumferential clearance around the outer diameter of the disc is thus a prime contributor for ensuring disc lift off . it can be appreciated that the valve disc 420 is moved from the closed position 420 ′ to the open position 420 when the differential pressure between the two reservoirs favors the primary reservoir . as the liquid ink seeks the equilibrium height or level shown in fig3 , the gravity flow of the molten liquid ink dislodges the valve disc from the sealing surface 450 , causing the disc to pivot on its lower contact point from the position 422 ′ to the position 422 . in a high speed printing application , the valve movement must be rapid and without hesitation . in a print cycle , the secondary reservoir will be filled and an ink dose purged from the reservoir in under three seconds . any hesitation in the opening or closing of the valve will compromise the rate of dosing of liquid ink supplied to the printhead assembly . in prior devices , the necessary opening and closing times for the valve have required the use of mechanical valves . prior passive valve devices , such as the passive ball valve , react too slowly and allow too much back flow into the primary reservoir to permit high throughput applications . the amount of time it takes to refill the secondary reservoir 404 after an ink dose has been discharged — i . e ., the “ refill rate ”— is a function of the time required to open the valve disc — the “ opening time ”— and the amount of fluidic restriction between the two reservoirs . on the other hand , the second purpose of the valve disc 420 — to prevent backflow into the primary reservoir 402 — is essentially inversely related to these refill rate variables . thus , the design considerations for preventing backflow include the time required to close the valve and the effectiveness of the seal between the valve disc 420 and the sealing surface 450 . reducing the fluidic restriction means pivoting the valve disc as far as possible to provide an open channel between the passageway 406 and the secondary reservoir 404 . however , the farther the valve disc pivots to reach the open position means that the sealing face of the disc is exposed to more direct flow from the secondary reservoir that can , in the worst case , prevent the valve disc from lifting off the angled surface 430 and moving to its closed position . similarly , it has been determined that the “ opening time ” of the valve disc — i . e ., the amount of time it takes the disc to dislodge from the valve seat — is a function of the area of contact between disc and sealing surface and the surface characteristics of the valve seat . the surface characteristics of the valve seat determine the physical gap that exists between the valve disc and the sealing surface when the disc is closed . the opening time decreases as either or both the area of contact decreases and the gap increases . on the other hand , the sealing efficiency necessary for optimum backflow prevention is decreased as either or both the area of contact decreases and the gap increases . in other words , sealing efficiency is improved by an increased area of contact and / or a decrease in the gap between the valve disc and the sealing surface . in the past , this trade - off has been unmanageable in the high throughput environment . however , the embodiment of the valve assembly 400 disclosed herein is able to achieve rapid opening and closing times , rapid re - filling of the secondary reservoir and efficient sealing to prevent unwanted backflow , in the environment of a high speed printing application . improving fluid flow during refill is accomplished without sacrificing the valve closing time by features in the port geometry at the interface between the primary and secondary reservoirs . in the illustrated embodiment , the valve disc 420 rests at an angle established by the angled surface 430 defined by the insert body 432 . the angle of the valve disc is preferably between 5 and 15 degrees . a preferred angle is 11 degrees , which has been found to provide an optimum balance between fluid flow from the passageway 406 to the reservoir 404 and the fluidic forces that act to close the disc . in order to maximize the fluid flow into the secondary reservoir , the upper end 424 of the valve disc 420 overlaps at least a portion of the outlet 405 of the secondary reservoir . in this position , the pressurized flow of ink from the secondary reservoir may tend to hold the valve disc in its open position . referring to fig6 , it can be seen that in the preferred embodiment the insert body 432 may be integrated into a mounting plate 433 along with other insert bodies corresponding to the multiple melters 300 a - d . the mounting plate 433 thus facilitates engagement and removal of the insert bodies , and the corresponding angled surfaces 430 , with the valve housing 409 , such as to permit cleaning of the valve assembly 408 . in addition , the insert bodies 432 may be preferably cylindrical in configuration to correspond to cylindrical valve chambers 421 . a close fit may be established between the insert bodies and the corresponding cylindrical valve chamber , and a gasket or other sealing member may be interposed between the mounting plate 433 and the valve housing 409 to maintain a fluid - tight seal . in a further feature of the valve assembly 408 , each insert body 432 defines a flow director surface 434 , as shown in fig4 - 6 . the surface 434 is generally aligned with the outlet 405 of the reservoir and is curved to direct fluid flow against the back of the valve disc at the upper portion 424 . as shown in fig4 , the upper portion 424 of the disc is at least partially interposed between the surface 434 and the outlet 405 in the open position , so that some of the fluid discharged from the secondary reservoir will be directed by the flow director surface 434 behind the upper portion 424 of the disc to produce a direct fluid force tending to close the valve disc , as depicted in fig5 . the flow director surface 434 is sized so that the unsupported upper portion 424 corresponds generally to a chord segment of the valve disc that is less than about 10 % of the surface area of the disc . however , the area of this upper portion 424 may be adjusted based on the anticipated magnitude of the direct fluid force channeled by the flow director surface 434 to the back of the disc . in other words , if the pressure p is greater , a smaller area of the disc may be exposed to the flow director surface 434 , since the direct fluid force and the drag force ( see below ) will be greater . of course , once the valve disc 420 has lifted off the angled surface 430 the pressurized fluid flow will bear against more of the entire back face of the disc , pushing it toward the valve seat surface 450 . furthermore , the resistance of the outlet 410 to the printhead assembly creates a local area of higher pressure which also acts on the back face of the valve disc to help close the valve . the passive valve disc 420 is arranged within the valve chamber 421 to pivot about the lower contact point or edge 422 when moving between the open and closed positions . in order to facilitate rapid movement of the valve disc to the closed position once it has lifted off the angled surface 430 , the insert body 432 may be configured so that a lower portion 436 of the insert body is closely adjacent the valve seat surface 450 . in particular , the gap between this lower portion 436 and the sealing surface 450 is minimized so that the movement of the lower contact point 422 is confined to pivoting . minimizing the gap thus prevents excessive movement of the disc which could cause binding . in a specific embodiment , this gap between the lower portion 436 and the sealing surface 450 is less than twice the thickness of the valve disc 420 , and preferably about 1½ times the disc thickness . contact between the lower portion 436 and the valve disc may further act as a fulcrum as the valve disc pivots towards the closed position . as reflected in fig5 , two additional forces act on the valve disc to decrease its closing time . one force is the pressure differential force immediately behind the entire valve disc that arises as the disc begins to move under the direct fluid force . in the preferred embodiment , the angled support surface 430 is annular , as shown in fig6 so that the greater pressure in the flow cavity 435 behind the valve disc can produce this pressure differential . a second force is a drag force caused by fluid friction as the fluid moves across the forward ( or sealing ) face of the valve disc . although this drag force is minimal and brief , it assists the valve closing by decreasing the time it takes the valve disc to lift off the angled surface 430 . ( it can be noted that if the open disc is at greater angle this same drag force can work against the valve as the fluid flow bears more directly against the sealing face resisting movement to the closed position .) all three of the forces represented in fig5 contribute to a rapid closing time for the valve when pressure p is applied to the secondary reservoir . with respect to the valve opening time , a further feature of the valve assembly 400 decreases the hesitancy of the valve disc 420 ′ to pull away from the sealing surface 450 , which thereby decreases the valve opening time . in particular , the surface characteristics of the valve seat or sealing surface 450 are tightly controlled . in a specific embodiment , the valve seat has a land width of up to 0 . 5 mm ± 0 . 1 mm for a valve disc having a diameter of 10 . 0 mm . furthermore , the sealing surface 450 is machined to have a flatness of less than 10 μm and an average roughness ( ra ) value of between 0 . 3 and 1 . 0 μm . in addition , the sealing surface is machined to a peak - to - valley ( pv ) ratio of heights of less than 10 μm across the entire disc sealing surface . the surface profile of a sealing surface in one specific embodiment is depicted in the graph of fig6 . in addition to maintaining these surface characteristics , the manner of machining the sealing surface contributes to its optimized performance . in particular , the surface is machined so that cutter marks from the milling machine serve as “ micro - channels ” or fluid flow paths through which fluid pressure can equilibrate , thereby reducing the initial opening , or “ crack ”, time . an exemplary machined surface is shown in the microscopic surface image of fig7 . it can be seen in this picture that the circular milling pattern creates distinct grooves or micro - channels 460 through which fluid may flow . it can be appreciated that the micro - channels 460 correspond to the pv values in the graph of fig6 . the pv value in conjunction with the ra value define the surface characteristics of the sealing surface 450 in terms that permit fluid flow to minimize the valve “ crack ” time , while preserving sufficient sealing capabilities . in the specific example , it was found that only about 0 . 3 % of the liquid ink in a particular dose leaked past the sealed valve disc 420 ′. on the other hand , the surface characteristics described above allow the exemplary valve to crack open in about 100 msec , and to fully open in less than 500 msec . in a high speed application , the valve disc will typically be closed for only a very short time , on the order of 1 . 0 sec , before it is required to open again to refill the secondary reservoir . in the exemplary embodiment described above , the surface milling machine was operated at a spindle speed of 12000 rpm with an end mill feed speed of 7 in ./ min . and 450 surface ft ./ min . it is contemplated that the speed and feed rates of the end mill will be calibrated based on the material of the valve seat and the particular application . in the embodiments described herein , the sealing surface is formed by an end mill . however , other methods of generating the sealing surface , while adhering to the surface characteristics described above , can be used , such as stamping , sanding or etching . this embodiment has been demonstrated to maintain performance to 2 . 5 million cycles without any noticeable degradation . in another aspect of the valve design disclosed herein , the valve seat or sealing surface 450 is preferably formed of a “ softer ” or less wear - resistant material than the valve disc . thus , the majority of the wear that occurs will be on the sealing surface , rather than on the valve disc . the effect of this wear is to reduce the surface roughness over time , which has the effect of improving the sealing efficiency of the valve disc . while the opening time will increase , the impact is reduced by the presence of the machining channels or grooves that allow for pressure equilibrium on either side of the valve disc . in a specific embodiment , the valve disc is formed of a stainless steel while the sealing surface is formed of aluminum . the valve disc 420 is preferably circular to correspond to a cylindrical valve chamber 421 , an annular valve seat sealing surface 450 and an annular angled surface 430 . however , other configurations for the valve disc are contemplated based on the geometry of the valve assembly within which the disc is disposed . for instance , rather than cylindrical , the components may adopt alternate multi - sided shapes . the valve disc is sufficiently thick to avoid bending when moving under pressure between the open and closed positions . on the other hand , the thickness of the valve disc 420 is sufficiently thin to keep the mass of the disc to a minimum , since the mass of the disc will affect how rapidly it can move from one position to another . in a specific embodiment for use in a high speed solid ink printer , the valve disc has a thickness of about 0 . 3 mm . it will be appreciated that various of the above - described features and functions , as well as other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims .	1
the following description is of the best - contemplated mode of carrying out the invention . this description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense . the scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims . while the embedded mim capacitor structure and method for forming the same according to the invention is described with reference to an exemplary mixed mode device including an adjacent cmos transistor ( e . g ., mosfet ) device ( e . g ., on the same chip ), it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the method of the invention may be used in the formation of other devices including adjacent capacitors ( charge storing devices ) and transistors such as analog rf circuitry and dram devices , where an mim capacitor structure and transistor gate structure are advantageously formed in parallel . fig1 a - 1g show an exemplary embodiment of the invention at stages in manufacture in forming an embedded ( mixed mode ) mim capacitor structure . fig1 a , for example , shows a semiconductor substrate ( e . g ., chip portion of a semiconductor processing wafer ) including mixed mode region 10 a juxtaposed with logic circuit region 10 b to illustrate parallel processes . the semiconductor substrate may be any semiconductor . for example , the semiconductor substrate may include , but is not limited to , silicon , silicon on insulator ( soi ), stacked soi ( ssoi ), stacked sige on insulator ( s — sigeoi ), sigeoi , and geoi , and combinations thereof . still referring to fig1 a , shown in the respective mixed mode 10 a and logic region 10 b are isolation ( insulator ) regions 12 a and 12 b , which may be shallow trench isolation ( sti ) structures , a locos ( local oxidation ) region , or a filed oxide region formed by conventional thermal oxidation and / or cvd processes as are known in the art . a dummy gate dielectric material ( e . g ., silicon oxide ) layer 13 is then formed over the substrate surface by conventional cvd and / or thermal oxide growth processes . still referring to fig1 a , a bottom conductor electrode material 14 , preferably including a metal , is then formed over the dummy oxide layer 13 by conventional processes , including pvd , cvd , electrodeposition , or similar , as is appropriate for the material being deposited . the bottom electrode may be any metal containing conductor including w , wn , ti , tin , mo , tan , cu , cual , and combinations thereof . metals are preferred for reduced electrical resistance and high speed applications . referring to fig1 b , a conventional lithographic patterning and etching process is then carried out to pattern a bottom electrode portion 14 a over the mixed mode region 10 a of the substrate , while removing the bottom electrode material 14 a over the logic region 10 b of the substrate to expose the dummy dielectric layer 13 . for example , a resist etching mask pattern ( not shown ) is first formed followed by an etching process . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a dry and / or wet etching process may be used , preferably anisotropic , to pattern the bottom electrode portion 14 a . referring to fig1 c , conventional cmos manufacturing processes are then carried out to form a dummy gate structure e . g ., 16 a over the mixed mode region 10 a of the substrate while simultaneously forming gate structures e . g ., 16 b and 16 c over the logic region , 10 b , of the substrate . for example , a gate electrode material such as polysilicon is deposited by conventional processes , e . g ., pecvd , lpcvd , followed by a lithographic patterning and etching process to form sacrificial gate electrode portions e . g ., 18 a , 18 b , 18 c . ldd regions e . g ., 20 a are then formed adjacent either side of the active gate electrode portions , e . g ., 18 b , by an ion implantation process , followed by formation of sidewall spacers e . g ., 22 a , 22 b , and 22 c , on either side of the respective gate electrode portions to form respective gate structures 16 a , 16 b , and 16 c . source / drain regions , e . g ., 24 a are then formed by a conventional ion implantation process adjacent to either side of the sidewall spacers , e . g ., 22 b of the active gate structures e . g ., 16 b . self - aligned silicide ( salicide ) regions , e . g . 25 a may be optionally formed over the respective source / drain regions , e . g ., 24 a , by conventional processes e . g ., forming a metal silicide such a tisi 2 or cosi 2 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that ion implantation processes for forming ldd regions and source / drain regions need not be , and preferably are not , carried out for dummy gate structures e . g ., 16 a and 16 c . for example , dummy gate structures having about the same dimensions as active gate structure 16 b , such as 16 c , may be formed on isolation ( insulator ) regions ( e . g ., 12 b ) of the logic region 10 b adjacent active gate structure ( e . g ., 16 b ) to aid in anisotropic etching process window control as well as improving a planarizing process such as chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ) in subsequent processes outlined in the following . it will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that dummy gate structure 16 a on the mixed mode region 10 a , subsequently used to form an mim capacitor structure , will be wider than the active gate structure 16 a , for example by a factor of two or greater , to provide a sufficient capacitance value . still referring to fig1 c , a first insulator layer 26 a , also referred to as a pre - metal dielectric ( pmd ) or interlevel dielectric ( ild ), is then deposited over the process surface including substrate regions 10 a and 10 b , followed by a conventional cmp process to planarize the surface to form the insulator layer 26 a about co - planar with and surrounding ( adjacent ) the gate structures . the insulator layer 26 a may be an conventional insulator material such as doped or undoped silicon oxide formed by spin - on , cvd , or pecvd processes , including such materials such as bteos , pteos , bpteos , pe oxide as well as low - k dielectrics such as carbon doped oxide and organo - silane glass ( osg ). referring to fig1 d , a plasma etching process is then carried out to selectively remove the gate electrode portions e . g ., 18 a , 18 b , 18 c of the respective gate structures , to form respective gate electrode openings e . g ., 19 a , 19 b , and 19 c . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art by those skilled in the art that the process surface may be lithographically patterned to form a resist etching mask ( not shown ) prior to etching . the etching process is preferably a plasma etching process e . g ., anisotropic reactive ion etching ( rie ) process . the etching process is carried out to expose the dummy dielectric layer 13 on the logic region 10 a , and expose the bottom electrode 14 a on the mixed mode region 10 a . following removal of the gate electrode material , a subsequent wet or dry etching process is carried out to remove the dummy dielectric ( dummy oxide ) layer 13 overlying the substrate at the bottom of gate electrode openings e . g ., 19 b and 19 c , while leaving the bottom electrode 14 a in place at the bottom of the gate electrode opening 19 a . referring to fig1 e , a dielectric film 28 , preferably a high - k dielectric film , for example , with a dielectric constant greater than about 10 , more preferably greater than about 20 , is then conformally deposited by conventional processes , e . g ., pvd , cvd , processes including atomic layer ( alcvd ) to line ( cover sidewall and bottom portions ) the gate electrode openings e . g ., 19 a , 19 b , and 19 c . the high - k dielectric material film 28 , for example , may include , but is not limited to high - k dielectrics such as tantalum oxide ( e . g ., tao 2 ), tantalum pentaoxide ( e . g ., ta 2 o 5 ), hafnium oxide ( e . g ., hfo 2 ), aluminum oxide ( e . g ., al 2 o 3 ), indium oxide ( e . g ., ino2 ), lanthanum oxide ( e . g ., lao 2 ), zirconium oxide ( e . g ., zro 2 ), yttrium oxide ( e . g ., y 2 o 3 ), and combinations thereof . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the thickness of the film will depend in part on design constraints of the cmos gate dielectric structures as well as a desired capacitance of an mim structure , e . g ., 50 angstroms to 1000 angstroms . still referring to fig1 e , following deposition of the high - k dielectric film 28 , an upper conductor material layer 30 , preferably including a metal , including the same or different conductor material as that used for the bottom electrode 14 a , is deposited by conventional processes e . g ., one or more of cvd , pvd , or electrodeposition , to fill the remaining portions of the gate structure openings over the high - k dielectric film . conductor material layer 30 formation will additionally include forming an excess thickness portion overlying the surface in a blanket deposition process . a metal conductor material is preferred for reduced electrical resistance in high speed applications . referring to fig1 f , a planarizing process , preferably a cmp process , is then carried out to remove excess conductor material layer 30 and excess dielectric film 28 overlying the insulator layer 26 a surface , to simultaneously planarize and complete formation of mim capacitor structure ( formerly dummy gate structure 16 a ) with an upper metal conductor electrode 30 a over a dielectric capacitor element 28 a in mixed mode region 10 a . gate structures 16 b and 16 c including metal conductor gate electrodes 30 b and 30 c are simultaneously formed over the logic region 10 b and over respective gate dielectric portions 28 b and 28 c , wherein the gate electrode 30 b is a real gate electrode . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the mim capacitor and gate structures will be about co - planar following the cmp planarization process . referring to fig1 g , conventional processes are then carried out to form a second insulator ( e . g ., ild ) layer 26 b including the same or different material as first insulator layer 26 a is then formed over the mim capacitor structure 16 a and gate structures 16 b and 16 c , followed by formation of conductive contacts by a damascene process , e . g ., 32 a , 32 b , to make electrical contact with the mim capacitor electrodes , and 32 c to make electrical contact with the source / drain regions e . g ., 24 a of active transistor structure 16 b . fig2 is a process flow diagram including several embodiments of the invention . in process 201 , a bottom electrode conductor is formed over an insulator region including a first region of a substrate . in process 203 , a dummy gate structure is formed over the bottom electrode in parallel with formation of an active gate structure on a second region of the substrate . in process 205 , a first ild layer is formed adjacent gate structures . in process 207 , the gate electrode portions of the gate structures are removed to form respective gate structure openings . in process 209 , a high - k dielectric film is formed to line the first and second gate structure openings . in process 211 , a second conductor is formed to fill the first and second gate structure openings . in process 213 , a planarization process ( cmp ) is performed to remove excess second conductor and high - k dielectric over the surface to form an mim capacitor from the dummy gate structure and a cmos transistor from the active gate structure . in process 215 , a second ild layer is formed to include electrical contacts to the mim capacitor electrodes and the cmos transistor . thus a device , such a mixed analog / digital ( logic ) device , an rf analog device , or a dram device including both an mim capacitor structure and cmos gate structure are achieved . the mim capacitor and cmos gate structure are formed in parallel with reduced processing steps and improved device performance . the cmos gate structure and mim capacitor electrodes with a metal conductor material , for example , improve the performance ( e . g ., operating speed ) of the cmos gate structure , thereby improving the operation of the mixed mode device . a conductor ( e . g ., metal ) cmos gate electrode , e . g ., a metal - oxide - semiconductor ( mosfet ) improves device speed by overcoming the depletion effects of polysilicon . formation of the mim capacitor formed by parallel compatible processes reduces the number of required processing steps and improves voltage - capacitance linearity . by utilizing the same high - k dielectric film for the mim capacitor and the cmos gate dielectric , processing steps are further reduced , and the capacitance of the mim structure and the performance of the cmos gate structure are improved , e . g . short channel effects ( sce ) are reduced . thus , both the mim capacitor and cmos gate structure can be scaled down with reduced cost and achieve gate improved performance for high speed applications . while the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements ( as would be apparent to those skilled in the art ). therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements .	7
referring more particularly to the drawings , fig1 shows a preferred embodiment of a shuttle type dot line printer adopting the teachings of the present invention . a platen 16 is pivotally mounted to side plates 12 and 14 which are fixed to a base frame 10 , and printing paper 18 is installed along the surface of the platen 16 . the printing paper 18 is held with paper guides 20 and 22 engaging with the edge sprocket perforations along the side margins of the paper , and rotation of an advance shaft 24 feeds the paper toward the direction of arrow a . a shuttle 26 is prepared on the base frame 10 so that the shuttle 26 can be driven in horizontal reciprocating motion to the directions b and c perpendicular to the paper feeding direction a , and a plurality of styluses are arranged along a line in the shuttle 26 in order to impact toward the printing paper 18 . the impact of the requested stylus toward the printing paper 18 linked with the reciprocating motion toward the b and c directions of the shuttle 26 enables simultaneous uniform imprinting along both directions ( line directions ) through an ink ribbon ( not illustrated ) in detail on the paper 18 . each of the stylus compositions and solenoid devices is not shown in detail in the figures , but every stylus is composed in the same manner with one in a normal dot printer in order to drive the shuttle 26 in reciprocating motion in the directions b and c , on the base frame 10 is fixed a drive motor 28 consisting of a dc motor , etc . its motor shaft has a flywheel 30 mounted thereon , and a crank shaft mechanism is prepared in front of the flywheel 30 , although it is not illustrated in the figures . th crank shaft engages with a connecting rod mechanism 32 . since the other end of the connecting rod 32 engages with the shuttle 26 by the shaft 34 , it is understood that the shuttle 26 is driven in reciprocating motion in the directions b and c through the crank mechanism including the connecting rod 32 in accordance with rotation of the drive motor 28 . the shuttle 26 mentioned above includes in its inside a plurality of styluses and stylus actuators to drive the stylus , the drive section of which is unitized as a hammer bank and is heavy . in the driving operation by the drive motor 28 there may be a problem which causes unnecessary oscillation ( or vibration ) or the like to the complete device because of its large inertia . in order to absorb this inertia the device is equipped with a counterweight 36 driven in reciprocating motion in the opposite direction to the shuttle 26 . the counterweight 36 is coupled with the above mentioned crank mechanism by the second connecting rod 38 . accordingly , the shuttle 26 and the counterweight 36 move in opposite directions from each other , and the employment of the counter forces from each other can cancel the counter force arising from the force of inertia and acceleration to delete the generation of oscillation applied to the complete device . the shuttle 26 and the counterweight 36 mentioned above are pivotally held by supports 40 and 42 which are fixed to the base frame 10 so as to move along the directions b and c . on the tail end of the motor 28 mounted thereon is a slit disc 44 and the position in the reciprocating motion of the shuttle 26 can be electrically detected by the slit disc 44 in cooperation with a photo - interrupter 46 . in fig2 shown therein is a portion of a drive circuit for the motor 28 . the drive electric current is supplied through the collector and emitter of a drive transistor 50 to the energizing coil of the motor 28 , and the motor 28 is controlled by the drive input signal of pulses supplied to its base input 52 . it is also possible that the input signal to the base input 52 can be any direct current controlling signal . as mentioned above , the rotation of the motor 28 is controlled by the drive transistor 50 . in this kind of motor driving circuit a comparativey large electric current flows through the drive transistor 50 , and there may be a problem that a sudden increase of the electric current flowing through the transistor 50 caused by an extraordinary load increase destroys the transistor 50 itself and also causes damage to the printer itself . in order to protect the transistor 50 from such destruction and to prevent damage to the printer itself , in the present invention the drive electric current for the motor 28 is compared with a reference value and regulated to be under a predetermined electric current . in other words , the drive current of the motor 28 is detected as the voltage between both ends of a resistor 54 and it is supplied to the inverted input terminal of a comparator 58 by way of a resistor 56 . on the other hand , the tapped value between resistors 61 and 62 is supplied to the noninverted input terminal of the comparator 58 as a reference value . accordingly , when the motor driving electric current exceeds the regulated electric current determined by the reference value of the resistors 61 and 62 , the comparator 58 outputs a stopping signal for stopping the motor 28 to a terminal 64 to switch off the above mentioned drive transistor 50 , and the cut - off of the electric current reliably prevents the drive transistor 50 from destruction , especially from heat destruction , and prevents damage to the printer itself by the high speed operation of the protection circuit . as mentioned hereinabove , according to the present invention , the drive electric current for the motor 28 can be always regulated to be under the predetermined electric current value , and the circuit can be well protected . in the shuttle type dot line printer , however , the motor 28 requires a large drive torque during its initial drive , and there arises a problem in that it is difficult to determine the reference value to be supplied to the above mentioned comparator 58 . in other words , since the shuttle includes in its inside the hammer bank having a plurality of styluses which is comparatively heavy , the motor 28 requires a large drive torque during its initial driving stage . this necessary torque lowers rapidly as the shuttle 26 is continuously driven in reciprocating motion after the initial stage is over . accordingly , when the reference value of the regulated electric current is determined on the basis of the necessary torque during the initial driving stage , there may be the problem of heat destruction of the drive transistor 50 due to the heating action of the transistor 50 during the continuous operation after the initial driving stage and the sensitivity to sudden load increases on the print head is reduced . on the other hand , when the reference value is determined in accordance with the light load torque in normal operation , a sudden large electric current flow frequently stops the motor 28 during the large load torque required in its initial driving stage . in such initial driving stage of the motor 28 the drive transistor 50 is in the cool state and strong enough to resist heat destruction , but , on the other hand , in the continuous operation in which the transistor 50 is put in a comparatively high temperature state it is troublesome to stop the motor 28 frequently . in the present invention , since in order to meet either case mentioned above the temperature in the vicinity of the drive transistor 50 is detected to be added to the reference value and the regulated electric current for the drive motor 28 is changed during the initial driving state or during the continuous operation , the protecting action can be extremely well performed in accordance with the real action . in other words , in fig2 a temperature detecting element , a thermistor 66 in the embodiment , is arranged in the vicinity of the drive transistor 50 in order to electrically detect the temperature in the vicinity of the transistor 50 . the thermistor 66 is connected to a power source determining the reference value on one end an grounded by way of a resistor 68 on the other end . the voltage between both ends of the resistor 68 is supplied to the noninverted input of the above mentioned comparator 58 by way of a resistor 70 together with the motor drive electric current mentioned hereinabove . consequently , in this embodiment , both the motor drive electric current and the above mentioned temperature detecting signal are compared with the reference value . in the initial driving stage of the motor , in other words , during the cool state of the drive transistor , the temperature detecting signal is comparatively small so that the electric current flow does not exceed the reference value even if the motor drive electric current becomes larger and its regulated electric current can be substantially increased . accordingly , in the initial driving stage of the motor when the initial electric current flows larger than the electric current in the continuous operation , there arise no such case which frequently happened in the prior art devices that the motor stops many times . on the other hand , when the motor is driven in the continuous operation , as the temperature rises up in the transistor 50 , the thermistor 66 increases the temperature detecting signal supplied to the comparator 58 , and the regulated value of the drive electric current substantially decreases to the drive motor 28 . furthermore , the comparator 58 immediately outputs the signal to stop the motor 28 in such an extraordinary case that the drive electric current increases due to an abnormal increases of the load torque or the other external factors . as described heretofore , according to the present invention , a change in the regulated value of the drive electric current between the cool state and hot state of the drive transistor performs the protecting action for the drive transistor and the printer itself extremely adequately for the operation of the dot printer and can achieve an extremely preferable protecting action without having complicated composition , since a single comparator can handle the regular electric current regulation and the temperature corrections to the value of the regulated electric current . the shuttle type dot line printer is described in this embodiment , but this invention applies to the other type of dot printer in the same manner .	5
the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . referring to fig1 , there is shown a connector assembly 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the connector assembly includes a first connector body 12 and a mating second connector body 14 . connector body 12 is illustrated as having a plurality of electrically conductive pin receptacles 16 , while second connector body 14 has a housing 14 a and a body segment 14 b having a plurality of electrical conductor pins 18 . it will be appreciated , however , that the connector system 10 could be configured such that the conductor pins 18 are included within the first connector body 12 and pin receptacles 16 are formed as part of the second connector body 14 . alternatively , connector body 14 could also be formed as a segmented assembly with the same number , or a different number of body segments as connector body 12 . the preferred embodiment shown in fig1 is therefore intended merely for illustrative purposes as to one preferred implementation of the connector assembly 10 . each pin receptacle 16 essentially forms an opening that has an electrically conductive sleeve or socket ( not shown ) inserted in it . each sleeve or socket is electrically coupled to a wire , and the wires collectively form a wiring harness 12 a . similarly , each pin 18 is coupled to a wire , and the wires collectively form a wiring harness 14 c . with reference to fig2 - 4 , connector body 12 includes a circular connector housing 20 having a flange 22 . the housing 20 holds a plurality of four pie - shaped connector body segments 24 a - 24 d positioned adjacent one another to form a circular configuration . again , a circular configuration is merely for illustrative purposes , and a greater or lesser plurality of independent body segments may be included . moreoever , the body segments need not be pie - shaped , but rather might be square , rectangular , or form any other geometric shape needed to form a desired / needed shape . fig5 illustrates connector body segments 24 a ′- 24 d ′ as an illustration that each of the body segments 24 could be rectangular shaped . fig6 illustrates segments 24 a ″- 24 d ″ as being square shaped . other possible shapes could be triangular , hexagonal , or pentagonal , just to name a few . the body segments 24 , 24 ′ and 24 ″ are preferably formed from high strength plastic such as diallyl phthalate , or even possibly from other metal or non - metal materials . referring further to fig3 and 4 , the connector body segments 24 a - 24 d can be seen in greater detail . each connector body segment 24 a - 24 d preferably includes a tab or rib 25 extending along a portion of its circumferential wall portion . a tab 23 can also be formed at a precise position on the housing 20 ( e . g ., at the 12 : 00 o &# 39 ; clock position ), and a mating notch 21 formed on the housing 14 a to enable precise alignment of the pins 18 to the receptacles 16 when the connector bodies 12 and 14 are matingly engaged . the housing 20 preferably includes a plurality of grooves 27 formed on an interior wall portion 20 a thereof . the connector body 12 also includes a retaining ring 28 having a plurality of openings 30 . threaded fasteners 32 extend through the openings 30 and into separate threaded blind holes 34 ( fig4 ) in the housing 20 . while only two holes 34 are visible in fig4 , it will be appreciated that four such holes are employed to each receive one of the fasteners 32 . when the independent body segments 24 a - 24 d are inserted into the housing 20 , they are positioned closely adjacent one another to form essentially a single , unitary connector body . ribs 25 help to precisely locate the body segments 24 a - 24 d relative to the housing 20 , and to key the position of the body segments 24 a - 24 d to the tab 23 . a principal advantage of the connector body 12 is that if one of the body segments 24 a - 24 d is damaged , then the entire connector body portion does not need to be replaced . rather , only the damaged connector body segment needs to be removed and replaced . forming the connector body portion as a plurality of independent body segments also allows easier updating of the connector body in the event modifications need to be made to one or more pin receptacles 16 because of changes to a portion of the wiring harness 12 a . for example , if only connector body segment 24 a becomes damaged , there is no need to remove and reconnect the wires connected to the pin receptacles 16 in body segments 24 b - 24 d ; only those wires connected to pin receptacles 16 of the damaged body segment 24 a need to be disconnected and re - connected to a new body segment 24 a . with a four segment connector body , this reduces the repair time by 75 %. similarly , if modifications to only one or more pin receptacles in body segment 24 a are required ( such as coupling different gage wiring to one or more pin receptacles ), then the time needed to implement this modification would be reduced by 75 % over that which would be needed if all of the pin receptacles 16 needed to be re - wired . accordingly , the connector body 12 can be repaired / altered / updated as needed with much greater ease and more quickly than would be the case if the entire connector body portion needed to be replaced because of repair or modification to only a few select pin receptacles 16 . referring to fig7 and 8 , a plurality of connector body segments 36 a - 36 d are illustrated to show an alternative preferred form of the body segments . connector body segments 36 a - 36 d each include a plurality of pin receptacles 37 . each body segment 36 a - 36 d also includes a groove or recess 38 and a protruding tab 40 formed on adjacent planar wall portions . the recesses or grooves 38 interlock with the tabs 40 when the connector body segments 36 a - 36 d are assembled together . fig9 shows the interlocking of one groove 38 and one tab 40 to help hold the connector body segments 36 a - 36 d in precise alignment with one another . it will be appreciated that any form of tongue and groove arrangement could also be implemented to allow the connector body segments 36 a - 36 d to be slidably engaged with one another . also , such an interlocking tongue and groove arrangement could be formed on interior facing surfaces of the body segments . the connector body 12 of the present invention also provides the advantage of enabling one of the connector body segments 24 to be assembled at a different work area or work station than the remainder of the body segments , and then all of the body segments 24 can be brought to a central location for final assembly . in some instances this may simplify and ease construction of the connector body 12 because all of the conductors needed to assemble the connector body component would not be required to be located in a single area . the various preferred embodiments have been described as forming an electrical connector body . however , it will be appreciated that the present invention could just as readily be implemented in optical applications , as well as virtually any other application where a plurality of independent connections need to be made via a pair of coupled connectors . the present invention is also not limited to use with pin or blade type conductors , but could also be implemented with a connector assembly having flat , abutting conductive contact elements . while various preferred embodiments have been described , those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the inventive concept . the examples illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit it . therefore , the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art .	6
the invention disclosed herein is , of course , susceptible of embodiment in many different forms . shown in the drawings and described herein below in detail are preferred embodiments of the invention . it is to be understood , however , that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and does not limit the invention to the illustrated embodiments . for ease of description , the container of the present invention is described herein below with reference to the container in its usual vertical upright orientation and terms such as upper , lower , vertical , horizontal , etc ., will be used herein with reference to this usual position . moreover , it is understood that the figures herein do not necessarily show details of the container or the nozzle thereof that are known in the art and that will be recognized by those skilled in the art as such . the detailed descriptions of these elements of the container and nozzle are not necessary to an understanding of the invention . accordingly , such elements are herein represented only to the degree necessary to aid in an understanding of the features of the present invention . an article in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 - 3 in the form of a molded thermoplastic container or ampoule 10 which may be fabricated by the well - known blow / fill / seal technique such as , for example , the technique shown and disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 671 , 763 to weiler . the molded thermoplastic material can be a conventional molding grade thermoplastic material such as high density polyethylene , low density polyethylene , polypropylene , and the like , compatible with the contemplated container contents . it is understood , of course , that containers or ampoules embodying the nozzle of the present invention can have a wide variety of shapes and capacities . the container 10 shown in fig1 and 2 includes a body portion 12 defining a reservoir configured to house a liquid contents 14 , a neck portion 16 unitary with the body portion 12 , a unitary nozzle 18 extending in a direction away from the neck portion 16 and terminating at upper end in a dispensing opening or orifice 20 ( fig3 ). nozzle 18 is provided with a constricted wall portion or constriction 42 between upstream nozzle portion 26 and downstream nozzle portion 36 . a hollow , removable twist - off cap or closure 22 occludes the orifice 20 and is unitary with the nozzle 18 . the orifice 20 is delineated from the cap 22 by a frangible web 24 ( fig3 ). preferably cap 22 is configured so that it can seat on the distal end portion of nozzle 18 after initial removal so as to provide a reclosure feature . referring specifically to fig3 the hollow cap or closure 22 includes a dome 29 defined by a circumferentially extending wall 33 which , in turn , defines a hollow interior cap portion 35 and a generally horizontal circumferentially extending base wall 37 unitary with frangible web 24 that circumscribes orifice 20 . a grip tab 41 extends unitarily upwardly from the top of the dome shaped wall 33 for facilitate twist - off of cap 22 when the contents 14 of container 10 is to be dispensed . the nozzle 18 comprises an upstream portion 26 extending upwardly from the container neck portion 16 , a constriction 42 , and downstream portion 36 . the downstream portion 36 terminates at the frangible web 24 . constriction 42 is defined by cylindrical wall portion 32 . the nozzle portions 26 and 36 , respectively , together define an interior fluid ingress passageway or chamber 38 in fluid flow communication with the fluid passageway defined by the neck portion 16 which , in turn , is in fluid flow communication with the fluid reservoir defined by the container body portion 12 . the cylindrical wall portion 32 defines constriction 42 which is in fluid flow communication with the fluid ingress passageway 38 . length l 1 of the downstream portion 36 and thus the upper chamber 44 is preferably greater than the inside diameter d 1 of the constriction 42 . preferably , the length l 1 is at least is about 0 . 1 inches ( about 2 . 54 mm ) while the constriction 42 has a width d 1 of about 0 . 01 to about 0 . 06 inches ( about 0 . 254 mm to about 1 . 524 mm ). the constriction 42 has a length l of about 0 . 06 to about 0 . 1 inches ( about 1 . 524 mm to about 2 . 54 mm ) depending upon the viscosity of the product contained in the ampoule 10 . the interior fluid ingress passageway 38 of upstream nozzle portion 26 preferably has an inside diameter of about 0 . 125 to about 0 . 25 inches ( about 3 . 17 mm to about 6 . 35 mm ). likewise , the interior fluid egress passageway 44 defined by downstream nozzle portion 36 has an inside diameter of about 0 . 125 to about 0 . 25 inches ( about 3 . 17 mm to about 6 . 35 mm ). the length of each of the nozzle portions 26 and 36 , respectively , is about twice the length of the wall portion 32 that defines constriction 42 . although not shown in any of the figures as a result of the normal handling of the ampoule 10 , a portion of the product within the container body 12 may travel through the nozzle 18 and be retained within the cap 22 . however , in accordance with the present invention , the generally “ hourglass ” configuration of nozzle 18 and , more particularly , the configuration , size , and placement of the plurality of the nozzle walls defining the same causes any liquid which travels into the nozzle 18 is kept from accumulating in cap 22 . the absence of any liquid in the hollow portion 35 of cap 22 eliminates or at least substantially minimizes any splashing of the container contents upon rupture of the frangible web 24 while opening the container . [ 0028 ] fig4 depicts an alternate nozzle embodiment 118 including a lower interior nozzle chamber or passageway 138 defined by upstream nozzle portion 126 extending unitarily convergingly upwardly from the ampoule neck portion ( not shown ) and terminating in a second frusto - conically shaped downstream nozzle portion 136 converging upwardly and unitarily inwardly at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the nozzle portion 126 . a third cylindrical circumferential nozzle portion 132 defines constriction 142 is situated therebetween . upper interior nozzle chamber or passageway 144 defined by downstream nozzle portion 136 which extends unitarily divergingly upwardly from the upper end of the cylindrical wall portion 132 at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the wall portion 132 and terminates at the frangible web ( not shown ) that delineates a removable cap . [ 0029 ] fig5 depicts a yet further nozzle embodiment 218 which includes constriction 242 defined by arched nozzle arched portion 272 . upstream interior nozzle passageway or chamber 238 is defined by upstream nozzle portion 226 which extends upwardly from the ampoule neck portion ( not shown ), and downstream interior nozzle passageway or chamber 244 is defined by downstream nozzle portion 236 which extends upwardly from the constriction 242 inwardly concavely shaped or arched nozzle portion 232 and terminating in the frangible web ( not shown ). [ 0030 ] fig6 depicts the container 10 of fig1 - 3 after the cap 22 has been twisted off nozzle 18 at the frangible web 24 and then subsequently seated over the nozzle 18 to reclose orifice 20 . the overcap 22 is removably sealed and secured over the nozzle 18 in a relationship wherein the free circumferential edge 46 of the horizontal base wall 33 of the cap 22 is in abutting frictional sealing engagement with the outer surface of the wall 36 that defines the nozzle 18 . as such , the base wall 33 of cap 22 provides a liquid tight seal between the nozzle 18 and the cap 22 . the foregoing description of the invention is illustrative . numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts or principles of this invention .	1
the present invention provides a compound having the structure of formula i wherein n = 0 - 2 and wherein when n = 1 , x is selected from ch 2 , o , nr a , co , and c ═ nor a and wherein when n = 2 , x = ch 2 wherein r a is selected from h , alkyl , heteroalkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl , cycloalkyl , — c (═ o ) r b , — c (═ o ) or b , — c (═ o ) nr b r c , — c (═ nr b ) r c , — nr b r c , heterocycloalkyl , aryl or polyaromatic , heteroaryl , arylalkyl and alkylaryl wherein each of said r b and r c is independently h , alkyl , or heteroalkyl , u and v are each independently selected from c ═ o , and o ═ s ═ o and wherein when u is c ═ o , v is not c ═ o , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from h , alkyl , heteroalkyl , cycloalkyl , arylcycloalkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl , aryl , heteroaryl , heterocycloalkyl , and each of said nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 can independently form heterocycloalkyl , r 5 and r 6 are each independently selected from h , oh , sh , alkoxy , thioalkoxy , alkyl , halogen , cn , cf 3 , no 2 , coor d , conr d r e , nr d r e , nr d cor e , nr d so 2 r e , and nr f conr d r e ; wherein r d , r e and r f are independently h , alkyl , heteroalkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , cycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkyl ; provided that if x is o , y is o and u and v are both o ═ s ═ o , then nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are not identical wherein r 1 and r 3 are each independently selected from h and lower alkyl , and wherein r 2 and r 4 are each independently selected from lower alkoxy ( loweralkyl ), di ( lower ) alkylamino ( lower ) alkyl , halobenzyl , morpholino ( lower ) alkyl , or nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are independently selected from piperidino , morpholino , piperazino , n - phenylpiperazino , ethylamino , or substituted glycine and that if x is ( ch 2 ) 2 , y is o or noh , and u and v are each o ═ s ═ o then r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are not all methyl and that if n = 0 , y is o or noh , and u and v are each o ═ s ═ o , then nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are not identical and of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 are each independently selected from c 1 - c 5 alkyl , c 10 alkyl , c 16 alkyl , c 17 alkyl , phenyl , benzyl , naphthalenyl , piperizino , pyridinyl , pyrazolyl , benzimidazolyl , triazolyl ; or nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are independently piperidino , morpholino , or piperazino . and that if x is co , y is o , and u and v are each o ═ s ═ o then nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are not identical , and wherein r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from methyl , ethyl , hydroxy - c 1 - c 3 - alkyl , sh , ro , cooh , so , nh 2 , and phenyl or wherein one or both of non - identical nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 is unsubstituted piperidino , n - methylpiperazino or n - methylhomopiperazino , and wherein when x is c ═ o or c ═ noh , y is o or noh , and u and v are each o ═ s ═ o and one of r 1 or r 2 and one of r 3 or r 4 is phenyl then the other of r 1 or r 2 and r 3 or r 4 is not h or alkyl , including all pharmaceutically acceptable salts , esters , amides , stereoisomers , geometric isomers , solvates or prodrugs thereof . in another embodiment , the invention provides a compound having the structure of formula ii wherein r 7 and r 8 are independently selected from h and so 2 nr 3 r 4 and one of r 7 or r 8 is hydrogen , or of formula iii wherein r 7 and r 8 are independently selected from h and so 2 nr 3 r 4 , wherein one of r 7 and r 8 is hydrogen and wherein in each of said formulas ii and iii the other substituents have the meanings as defined for formula i . in specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein a is nr 1 or wherein a is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 1 , or wherein a is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 2 , and r 1 and r 2 are as defined elsewhere herein . in specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein b is nr 1 , or wherein b is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 1 , or wherein b is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 2 , and r 1 and r 2 are as defined elsewhere herein . in other specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein c is nr 1 or wherein c is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 1 or m = 2 , and r 1 and r 2 are as defined elsewhere herein . in other specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein d is nr 1 or wherein d is ( cr 1 r 2 ) m , m = 1 or m = 2 , and r 1 and r 2 are as defined elsewhere herein . in additional specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein n = 0 , which results in the center x - containing ring being a 5 - membered ring . in other specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein x is o and n = 1 or wherein x is o and n = 2 . in specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein x is nr 1 , n = 1 , or wherein x is co and n = 1 , or wherein x is c ═ nor 1 , n = 1 and r 1 is as defined elsewhere herein . in specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein x is cr 1 r 2 , n = 1 or wherein x is cr 1 r 2 , n = 2 and wherein r 1 and r 2 are as defined elsewhere herein . in specific examples of the invention , the compound of formula i is a structure wherein y is o , or wherein y is nr 1 or wherein y is nor 1 and wherein r 1 is as defined elsewhere herein . in one embodiment of formula i , when y is o , x is not c ═ o and when x is c ═ o , y is not o . in a separate embodiment , y is o and x is c ═ o . in another embodiment of formula i , when e is o or nr 1 , either y is not noh or n is not 1 . in a separate embodiment of the latter , when e is o or nr 1 , n is 1 and y is noh . in specific examples of the compounds of formula i , u and v are each o ═ s ═ o . additional examples of the latter are compounds wherein x is ch 2 and n = 1 or 2 and y is o or s , or compounds wherein x is ch 2 and n = 1 or 2 and y is nor a , or nr a , or compounds x is o , and y is o or s , or compounds wherein x is o , and y is nor a or nr a , or compounds wherein x is nr a , and y is o or s , or compounds wherein x is nr a , and y is nor a , or nr a , or compounds wherein x is co and y ═ o , or compounds wherein x is co and y is nor a or nr a , or compounds wherein x is c ═ nor a and y is o , or compounds wherein x is c ═ nor a and y is nor a . in all embodiments of formula i , when x is c ═ o or c ═ noh , y is o or noh , and u and v are each o ═ s ═ o and one of r 1 or r 2 and one of r 3 or r 4 is phenyl then the other of r 1 or r 2 and r 3 or r 4 is not h or alkyl . thus , by way of non - limiting example , if x is c ═ o , y is noh , u and v are each o ═ s ═ o , and r 1 and r 4 are each phenyl , then r 2 is not h or alkyl and r 3 is not h or alkyl . in one embodiment of formula ii , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from h , alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkenyl , and alkynyl . in another such embodiment , r a is hydrogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from h , alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkenyl , and alkynyl . in an additional such embodiment , nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are each independently a 6 - to 15 - membered heterocycle , preferably a heterocycloalkyl . in specific embodiments of formula ii , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from h , alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkenyl , or alkynyl . in other such examples , r a is hydrogen and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from h , alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkenyl , or alkynyl . in additional examples , nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 are independently 6 - to 15 - membered heterocycle , preferably a heterocycloalkyl containing one nitrogen in the ring . in other embodiments , the compounds of the invention are derivatives of one of the following ring systems , especially disulfonamide derivatives thereof : the present invention also relates to compositions of compounds , including those in tables 1 - 13 , and having structures of formula i in a therapeutically effective amount in pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . wherein x = ch 2 and n = 0 - 2 ; or o , nr a , co , or c ═ nor a and n = 1 wherein r a is independently selected from hydrogen , alkyl , heteroalkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl , cycloalkyl , — c (═ o ) r b , — c (═ o ) or b , — c (═ o ) nr b r c , — c (═ nr b r c , — nr b r c , heterocycloalkyl , aryl or polyaromatic , heteroaryl , arylalkyl and alkylaryl wherein each of said r 8 and r c is independently h , alkyl , heteroalkyl , u and v are each independently selected from c ═ o and o ═ s ═ o and provided u is c ═ o , v can not be c ═ o , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are each independently selected from hydrogen , alkyl , heteroalkyl , cycloalkyl , arylcycloalkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl , aryl , heteroaryl , heterocycloalkyl , and each of said nr 1 r 2 and nr 3 r 4 can independently form heterocycloalkyl , r 5 and r 6 are selected from hydrogen , hydroxyl , sulfhydryl , alkoxy , thioalkoxy , alkyl , halogen , cn , cf 3 , no 2 , coor d , conr d r e , nr d r e , nr d cor e , nr d so 2 r e , and nr f conr d r e ; wherein r d , r e and r f are independently hydrogen , alkyl , heteroalkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , cycloalkyl , and heterocycloalkyl ; including all pharmaceutically acceptable salts , esters , amides , stereoisomers , geometric isomers , solvates or prodrugs thereof . the compounds of said compositions may also contain a multi - ring cycloalkyl or heterocycloalkyl bridge structure ( as shown in the tables ) containing a total of up to 12 atoms an up to 4 heteroatoms selected from n and o . the present invention also provides therapeutic compositions of any of the compounds of the invention , such as the compounds of tables 1 to 13 . the compounds of the invention may be in the form of pharmaceutically acceptable salts , esters , amides , stereoisomers , geometric isomers , solvates or prodrugs thereof . where a compound of the invention is a stereoisomer , the latter may be an enantiomer or a diastereomer . where said compound is a enantiomer ( or contains a chiral center , for example , a chiral carbon atom ), the form of the compound used for pharmaceutical purposes may include either enantiomer or the racemate , although one of said enentiomers may be preferred , such as where it is the active form or is more active than the other enentiomer . where said compound of the invention is a geometric isomer ( e . g ., contains a carbon pair with substituents attached in cis - or trans - configuration ), either the cis - form , or the trans - form , may be preferred for pharmaceutical use , although mixtures of the cis - and trans - forms may be used in the methods of the invention to the extent they have the desired pharmaceutical effect . a “ pharmaceutically - acceptable salt ” is a cationic salt formed at any acidic ( e . g ., carboxylic acid ) group , or an anionic salt formed at any basic ( e . g ., amino ) group . many such salts are known in the art , as described in wo 87 / 05297 ( johnston et al ., published sep . 11 , 1987 incorporated by reference herein ). examples of suitable acid salts include acetate , adipate , alginate , aspartate , benzoate , benzenesulfonate , bisulfate , butyrate , citrate , camphorate , camphorsulfonate , cyclopentanepropionate , digluconate , dodecylsulfate , ethanesulfonate , formate , fumarate , glucoheptanoate , glycerophosphate , glycolate , hemisulfate , heptanoate , hexanoate , hydrochloride , hydrobromide , hydriodide , 2 - hydroxyethanesulfonate , lactate , maleate , malonate , methanesulfonate , 2 - napthalenesulfonate , nicotinate , nitrate , oxalate ; palmoate , pectinate , persulfate , 3 - phenylpropionate , phosphate , picrate , pivalate , propionate , salicylate , succinate , sulfate , tartrate , thiocyanate , tosylate and undecanoate . other acids , such as oxalic , while not in themselves pharmaceutically acceptable , may be employed in the preparation of salts useful as intermediates in obtaining the compounds of the invention and their pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts . preferred cationic salts include the alkali metal salts ( such as sodium and potassium ), and alkaline earth metal salts ( such as magnesium and calcium ) and organic salts . preferred anionic salts include the halides ( such as chloride salts ), sulfonates , carboxylates , phosphates , and the like . compounds of the present invention that contain one or more acidic functional groups are capable of forming pharmaceutically acceptable salts with pharmaceutically acceptable bases . the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable salts ” in these instances refers to the relatively non - toxic , inorganic and organic base addition salts of compounds of the present invention . these salts can likewise be prepared in situ during the final isolation and purification of the compounds , or by separately reacting the purified compound in its free acid form with a suitable base , such as the hydroxide , carbonate or bicarbonate of a pharmaceutically acceptable metal cation , with ammonia , or with a pharmaceutically acceptable organic primary , secondary or tertiary amine . representative alkali or alkaline earth salts include the lithium , sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium , and aluminum salts and the like . illustrative examples of some of the bases that can be used include sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , choline hydroxide , sodium carbonate , n + ( c 1 - 4 alkyl ) 4 , and the like . representative organic amines useful for the formation of base addition salts include ethylamine , diethylamine , ethylenediamine , ethanolamine , diethanolamine , piperazine and the like . this invention also envisions the quaternization of any basic nitrogen - containing groups of the compounds disclosed herein . water or oil - soluble or dispersible products may be obtained by such quaternization . such salts are well understood by the skilled artisan , and the skilled artisan is able to prepare any number of salts given the knowledge in the art . furthermore , it is recognized that the skilled artisan may prefer one salt over another for reasons of solubility , stability , formulation ease and the like . determination and optimization of such salts is within the purview of the skilled artisan &# 39 ; s practice . in another aspect , the present invention relates to compositions of any of the compounds of the invention , preferably wherein such compound is present in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and in a therapeutically effective amount . such compositions will generally comprise an amount of such compound that is not toxic ( i . e ., an amount that is safe for therapeutic uses ). selected examples of compounds of the invention include , but are not limited to , any or all of the compounds of tables 2 - 13 . any and all such compounds are specifically claimed for their use in any and all of the methods of the invention . in each indicated structure , the ligand is attached via the atom marked with an asterisk (*). for example , in table 1 the sulfur atoms of the core structure are attached to the indicated r group at the asterisked nitrogen of the r column of the table . in accordance with the foregoing , the present invention is directed to use of the compounds of the invention as active ingredients for medicaments , in particular for medicaments useful for the treatment of tumors . the compounds of the invention will thus be present in pharmaceutical compositions containing compounds of formulas i or ii as active ingredients , in admixture with pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles and excipients , which includes any pharmaceutical agent that does not itself induce the production of antibodies harmful to the individual receiving the composition , and which may be administered without undue toxicity . pharmaceutically acceptable carriers include , but are not limited to , liquids such as water , saline , glycerol and ethanol , and the like , including carriers useful in forming sprays for nasal and other respiratory tract delivery or for delivery to the ophthalmic system . a thorough discussion of pharmaceutically acceptable carriers , diluents , and other excipients is presented in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ( mack pub . co ., n . j . current edition ). use of such carriers is well known to those skilled in the art and wilt not be discussed further herein . also in accordance with the foregoing , the present invention relates to a method for preventing or treating a disease associated with a change in levels of expression of particular sets of genes in a mammal comprising administering to said mammal an effective amount of a compound of the invention . compounds according to the present invention will have the effect of reducing size and number of tumors , especially primary tumors , in a mammal , especially a human , in need of such treatment . a statistically significant change in the numbers of primary tumor or metastasizing cells will typically be at least about 10 %, preferably 20 %, 30 %, 50 %, 70 %, 90 %, or more . in accordance with the present invention , the agents described herein may be combined with other treatments of the medical conditions described herein , such as other chemotherapies , radiation treatments , immunotherapy , surgical treatments , and the like . the compounds of the invention may also be administered in combination with such other agents as painkillers , diuretics , antidiuretics , antivirals , antibiotics , nutritional supplements , anemia therapeutics , blood clotting therapeutics , bone therapeutics , and psychiatric and psychological therapeutics . determination of the appropriate treatment dose is made by the clinician , e . g ., using parameters or factors known in the art to affect treatment or predicted to affect treatment . generally , the dose begins with an amount somewhat less than the optimum dose and it is increased by small increments thereafter until the desired or optimum effect is achieved relative to any negative side effects . the specific dose of compound administered according to this invention to obtain therapeutic and / or prophylactic effect will , of course , be determined by the particular circumstances surrounding the case , including , for example , the specific compound administered , the route of administration , the condition being treated , and the individual being treated . a typical daily dose ( administered in single or divided doses ) will contain a dosage level of from about 0 . 01 mg / kg to about 50 - 100 mg / kg of body weight of an active compound of the invention . preferred daily doses generally will be from about 0 . 05 mg / kg to about 25 mg / kg and ideally from about 0 . 1 mg / kg to about 10 mg / kg . factors such as clearance rate , half - life and maximum tolerated dose ( mtd ), while not specifically recited herein , may be readily determined by one of ordinary skill in the art using standard procedures . an effective amount of a therapeutic will modulate the symptoms typically by at least about 10 %; usually by at least about 20 %; preferably at least about 30 %; or more preferably at least about 50 %. alternatively , modulation of migration will mean that the migration or trafficking of various cancer cell types is affected . such will result in , e . g ., statistically significant and quantifiable changes in the numbers of cells being affected . this may be a decrease in the numbers of target cells being attracted within a time period or target area . rate of primary tumor progression , size , or growth may also be monitored . in another aspect , the present invention relates to a method for preventing or treating a disorder modulated by altered gene expression , wherein the disorder is selected from the group consisting of cancer , cardiovascular disorders , arthritis , osteoporosis , inflammation , periodontal disease and skin disorders , comprising administering to a mammal in need of such treatment or prevention a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of the invention . in a preferred embodiment , the present invention relates to a method of preventing , treating or ameliorating cancer or tumor metastasis in a mammal comprising administering to said mammal an effective a compound of the invention , preferably where said mammal is a human . the compounds of the invention will commonly exert a therapeutic effect by modulation of one or more genes found in a cell , especially a mammalian cell , such as a cancer cell , preferably colon cancer and most preferably adenocarcinoma . thus , a compound , or compounds , of the invention can be used to determine or demarcate a set of genes by determining modulation of such set of genes by one or more compounds of the invention . for example , where a set of genes is found to be up regulated in cancer cells versus otherwise normal cells , especially normal cells of the same tissue or organ as the cancer cells , a set of genes can be determined by their common property of being modulated ( based on a change in expression of the genes , such as a change in rate or amount of rna transcribed or the amount of polypeptide produced by said expression ) by contacting such genes , or a cell containing such genes , with one or more of the compounds of the invention . the extent of such modulation may , of course , be related to the amount of said compound , or compounds , used in the contacting . such modulation may include the increased expression of all the determined genes ( i . e ., the genes of the set ), the decreased expression of all genes of the set , or the increase in expression of some of the genes of the set and decreased expression of others . thus , a gene not modulated by the test compound ( the compound used in contacting the genes or cell containing them ) is not considered a member of the set . thus , the present invention relates to a gene set wherein expression of each member of said gene set is modulated as a result of contacting said gene set with a compound of the invention . in specific embodiments , expression of each member of said gene set is increased as a result of said contacting or is decreased as a result of said contacting . in another preferred embodiment , the gene set is present in a cell . such a gene set will commonly be related to a specific disease process , such as a set of genes all of which are modulated by a compound of the invention wherein such compound has a specific therapeutic effect , such as being an anti - neoplastic agent . the present invention also relates to a method for ameliorating cancer or tumor metastasis in a mammal comprising administering to said mammal an effective amount of a compound of the invention . especially contemplated are uses of the compounds of table 1 . in selected embodiments , said cancer is a sarcoma or said cancer is a carcinoma . specific cancers contemplated by the methods of the invention include , but are not limited to , one or more of colon cancer , adenocarcinoma , rectal cancer , colorectal cancer , breast cancer , lung cancer , ovarian cancer , adenomatous polyposis , and hepatocellular carcinoma . the invention also provides convenient methods for the synthesis of compound of formula i , according to the general synthetic pathway presented in scheme 1 . the starting sulfonyl chlorides 1 can be obtained by direct chlorosulfonylation of the corresponding aromatic ring system or by chlorination of an appropriate sulfonic acid derivative . compounds 1 are reacted with 6 or 7 - membered cyclic amines to give secondary sulfonamides 2 . compounds 2 can be additionally transformed into derivatives 3 which in some cases serve as prodrugs with modified physico - chemical and pharmacological properties such as solubility in water , modified protein binding properties , stability in plasma , toxicity , and others . most of the compounds disclosed herein were prepared from the corresponding sulfonyl chloride derivatives according to the general synthetic pathway presented in scheme 1 . the following schemes and examples are intended as an illustration of and not a limitation upon the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . anthraquinone - 2 , 7 - disulfonylchloride ( 1215 mg , 3 mmole ) was dissolved in 100 ml dcm . the solution was cooled to − 50 ° c . to this solution was added 1 ml ( 8 mmole ) of heptamethyleneimine , followed by 1 ml of diisopropylethylamine . the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hrs . solvent was evaporated and the residue was treated with 1n hcl , filtered off , washed with water and dried . crude material was crystallized from chloroform - hexane to give 1 . 014 g ( 91 %) of yellow compound 1 - 27 . h 1 - nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 8 . 70 ( 2h , d , c1 and c8 ), 8 . 47 ( 2h , d , c4 and c5 ), 8 . 22 ( 2h , dd , c3 and c6 ), 3 . 22 ( 8h , m ), 1 . 70 ( 20h , m ). the product from example 1 ( 1 . 0 g , 1 . 706 mmole ), 5 ml of pyridine and hydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 1 . 5 g , 21 . 5 mmole ) was stirred at 95 ° c . for 36 hrs . pyridine was evaporated and the residue was stirred with 1 n hcl ( 50 ml ) for several minutes . white product was collected by filtration , washed with water and dried . crude material was then crystallized from dcm - hexane to give 970 mg ( 97 %) of a white compound 2 - 22 . h 1 nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 9 . 05 ( 1h , dd ), 8 . 75 ( 1h , dd ), 8 . 35 ( 1h , dd ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd ), 7 . 90 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 20 ( 8h , m ), 1 . 70 ( 20h , m ). a mixture of compound 2 - 22 ( 620 mg , 1 . 0 mmole ), 35 ml of dcm and 2 . 2 ml of 1m sodium ethoxide in ethanol was stirred with heating until a clear solution was formed . to the solution was added 100 ml of ether and the mixture was sonicated for 5 min . yellow solid of product was collected by filtration , washed with ether and dried to give 660 mg ( 100 %) of the title compound . compound 2 - 22 ( 442 mg , 0 . 75 mmole ), 4 ml of anhydrous chloroform and 400 mg of edac were stirred at 60 ° c . for 1 hr . the reaction mixture was condensed and chromatographed by hplc . combined fractions containing the desired product ( mh + = 899 ) were acidified by addition of 5 ml of 1n hcl and evaporated to dryness . the product was dissolved in distilled water and lyophilized to give 530 mg ( 68 %) of white title compound . to a solution of compound 2 - 22 × 2na ( 320 mg , 0 . 5 mmole ) in dmso ( 2 ml ) tert - butyl 3 - bromopropylcarbamate ( 180 mg , 0 . 75 mmole ) was added and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h . water was added to the reaction mixture and precipitated products were extracted with ethyl acetate . the extract was dried with sodium sulfate , evaporated , and the residue was stirred with 4n hcl / dioxane ( 5 ml ) for 1 hr . solvent was evaporated and the residue was dissolved in methanol and purified by preparative hplc . fractions containing the major product were acidified with hydrochloric acid and evaporated . the residue was dissolved in water and lyophilized to provide the title compound as dihydrochloride salt ( 170 mg , 44 % yield for 2 steps ). ms 703 ( mw ). the title compound was isolated as a second major product from example 5 . yield : 20 % after 2 steps . ms 646 ( mw ). a mixture of 10 - methylacridin - 9 ( 10h )- one ( 4 . 2 g , 20 mmole ) and chlorosulfonic acid ( 100 ml , 1 . 5 mole ) was heated at reflux for 5 hours . reaction mixture was then condensed , cooled down to room temperature and poured carefully on 500 g of ice . the yellow precipitate of product was collected by filtration , washed with water and dried to provide 8 . 1 g of the title compound . this material was used for next step without purification . to a solution of 10 - methyl - 9 - oxo - 9 , 10 - dihydroacridine - 2 , 7 - disulfonyl dichloride from example 7 ( 810 mg , 2 mmole ) in thf ( 20 ml ) was added 3 , 5 - dimethylpiperidine ( 2 ml , 15 mmole ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 6 hours . solvent was evaporated and the residue was treated with 1 n hcl ( 50 ml ) and stirred for 10 minutes . yellow product was collected by filtration , washed with water and methanol and dried . crude material was crystallized from chloroform - ethanol to provide 900 mg ( 80 %) of yellow 11 - 4 . ms 560 ( mh + ). a mixture of compound 11 - 4 ( 560 mg , 1 mmole ), anhydrous toluene ( 10 ml ) and lawesson &# 39 ; s reagent ( 820 mg , 2 mmole ) was refluxed for 4 hrs . toluene was removed by evaporation . to the residue methanol ( 20 ml ) was added , stirred for few minutes at room temperature and the product was collected by filtration and dried to give 500 mg of the title compound . ms 576 ( mh + ). to a solution of 2 , 7 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethylpiperidin - 1 - ylsulfonyl )- 10 - methylacridine - 9 ( 10h )- thione ( 290 mg , 0 . 5 mmole ) in pyridine ( 5 ml ) was added hydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 210 mg , 30 mmole ) and the mixture was stirred at 100 ° c . for 8 hrs . solvent was removed and the residue was treated with water to remove excess of hydroxylamine . crude material was crystallized from methanol - water to give 245 mg ( 85 %) of the title compound . ms 575 ( mh + ). a mixture of 2 , 7 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethylpiperidin - 1 - ylsulfonyl )- 10 - methylacridine - 9 ( 10h ) thione ( 145 mg , 0 . 25 mmole ), pyridine ( 5 ml ) and dimethylaminopropylamine ( 0 . 125 ml , 1 mmole ) was stirred at 100 ° c . for 4 hrs . solvent was partially evaporated and reaction product was precipitated by addition of methanol . precipitate was collected by filtration , washed with methanol and dried to give 137 mg ( 85 %) of the title compound . ms 644 ( mh + ). anthraquinone - 2 , 7 - disulfonylchloride ( 10 g , 24 . 7 mmol )) was dissolved in 200 ml dcm . the solution was cooled to − 50 ° c . to this solution was added 4 - tert - butylcyclohexanamine ( 8 . 43 g , 54 mmol ), followed by triethyl amine ( 8 . 6 ml , 61 : 7 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 4 hrs . solvent was evaporated and the residue was treated with meoh , filtered off , and dried to obtain 15 g ( 95 %) of the product ( 1 - 36 ) as yellow powder . n 2 , n 7 - bis ( 4 - tentbutylcyclohexyl )- n 2 -( 3 -( dimethylamino ) propyl )- 9 , 10 - dioxo - 9 , 10 - dihydroanthracene - 2 , 7 - disulfonamide ( 13 - 1 ) and n 2 , n 7 - bis ( 4 - certbutylcyclohexyl )- n 2 , n 7 - bis ( 3 -( dimethylamino ) propyl )- 9 , 10 - dioxo - 9 , 10 - dihydroanthracene - 2 , 7 - disulfonamide ( 1 - 70 ) to an ice cold solution of the sulfonamide ( 1 - 36 , 6 . 82 g , 10 . 61 mmol ) in anhydrous dmf ( 100 ml ) under argon was added nah ( 95 . 0 %, 697 mg , 27 . 58 mmol ). the solution was stirred for 5 min , and then 3 - chloro - n , n - dimethylpropan - 1 - amine hydrochloride ( 2 . 18 g , 13 . 8 mmol ) was added . after 10 min , the reaction mixture was transferred to a pre heated oil bath at 40 ° c . and stirred for 3 days . lcms showed the presence of monoalkylated and bisalkylated products ( ratio , 65 : 25 ) together with unreacted starting material . after cooling , 1n naoh was added to the reaction mixture and extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure . the crude mixture was purified by silica gel column chromatography . the unreacted starting material was recovered when the column was eluted with 40 % etoac in hexane . pure monoalkylated product ( 13 - 1 , lcms , ms 728 . 0 ( mh +)) was obtained when eluted using etoac alone and the bisalkylated product ( 1 - 70 , lcms , ms 813 . 2 ( mh +)) was isolated with 5 % triethylamine in etoac as the eluent . the fractions collected were evaporated under reduced pressure to dryness to get 13 - 1 ( 3 . 02 g , 53 %) and 1 - 70 ( 1 . 10 g , 17 %). the dioxime ( 6 - 1 ) was prepared following the general procedure using monoalkylated sulfonamide ( 13 - 1 , 2 g , 2 . 7 mmol ), excess hydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 2 . 7 g , 27 . 5 mmol ) and pyridine ( 50 ml ) at 95 ° c . for 36 hrs . after cooling , excess hydroxylamine was removed by filtration , washed with pyridine and the filtrate was evaporated under reduced pressure to dryness . to this was added excess of aqueous 1n hcl , the oxime was precipitated out , filtered to collect the colorless precipitate and dried . the oxime ( 6 - 1 ) was further purified by crystallization or hplc to get it as a colorless hcl salt ( 1 . 42 g , 65 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d6 ) δ : 13 . 04 - 13 . 01 ( m , 1h ), 12 . 94 - 12 . 89 ( m , 1h ), 10 . 48 ( br s , 1h ), 9 . 18 - 9 . 07 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 87 - 8 . 78 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 40 - 7 . 78 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 75 - 3 . 05 ( m , 16h ), 2 . 72 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 96 - 0 . 76 ( m , 28h ). following the general procedure described above , the dioxime ( 2 - 65 ) was prepared as hcl salt ( 0 . 710 g , 63 %) from the corresponding anthraquinone derivative ( 1 - 70 , 1 g , 1 . 23 mmol ), excess hydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 1 . 2 g , 12 . 3 mmol ) and pyridine ( 25 ml ) at 95 ° c . for 36 hrs . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d6 ) δ : 13 . 09 - 13 . 07 ( m , 1h ), 12 . 98 - 12 . 95 ( m , 1h ), 9 . 14 - 9 . 08 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 89 - 8 . 82 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 35 - 7 . 92 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 75 - 3 . 04 ( m , 16h ), 2 . 72 - 0 . 77 ( m , 46h ).	2
fig1 illustrates a side perspective view of the present invention . fig1 discloses , among other components , a base member further comprising a base 10 . the base 10 serves as a support for the other components of the present invention . in the preferred embodiment , the base 10 comprises three eights inch aluminum flat bar . however , any durable material may be used . the forgoing notwithstanding , the base 10 should be light enough for a user to carry by hand , but heavy enough to support the other components and partially absorb the kinetic energy created when a rifle is fired while secured to the shooting rest . referring briefly to fig3 , in the preferred embodiment , the base is a rectangular prism like shape which further comprises a central compartment 10 c comprised of two sidewalls 10 a and two end - walls 10 b , with an open top and bottom . this central compartment 10 c is accessible from either the top or the bottom of the base 10 , for containing other components . in the preferred embodiment , the base 10 further comprises a plurality of anchor crossbars 63 . the base also comprises one or more attachment units which may be removably connected to the anchor crossbars 63 of the base 10 . this allows the base member of the present invention to be securely attached to an unmodified support surface by means of an attachment unit or units . one example of an attachment unit is a primary attachment member 53 as discussed more fully below in reference to fig5 . the user may also employ one or more strap members 110 as attachment units to attach the base to the support surface . an attachment unit may also be any other similar device that can releaseably attach the present invention to an unmodified support surface such as chains , cords , clamps , ropes , or the like . fig1 also discloses a primary adjustment member further comprising a vertical adjustment unit 11 . in the preferred embodiment , the vertical adjustment unit 11 is further comprised of two triangular shaped sidewalls 11 a and a rectangular shaped top - wall 11 b attached to each sidewall 11 a . referring briefly to fig3 , the vertical adjustment unit 11 further comprises a crossbar 33 connecting each sidewall 11 a . the vertical adjustment unit 11 is placed inside the central compartment 10 c of the base 10 and the crossbar 33 is pivotally affixed to the sidewalls 10 a of the base 10 . pivotally affixed means that one component is permanently attached to another component in such a manner that the first component can pivot relative to the second component . this configuration allows the vertical adjustment unit 11 to pivot when the base 10 is stationary . when a rifle is placed in the present invention , the pivoting action of the vertical adjustment unit 11 allows the user to adjust the vertical position of the barrel and thereby adjust the weapons aim in the vertical plane . the primary adjustment member further comprises one or more primary retaining units 12 . in the preferred embodiment , the primary adjustment member comprises two primary retaining units 12 . these primary retaining units 12 are placed in contact with the vertical adjustment unit 11 . the primary retaining units 12 prevent the vertical adjustment unit 11 from pivoting without some form of user adjustment , and thereby perform the function of adjustably retaining the primary adjustment member 11 in position relative to the base member . in the preferred embodiment , each primary retaining unit 12 further comprises two slots . the primary retaining unit 12 is then placed so that each slot encloses a portion of each vertical adjustment unit sidewall 11 a . referring briefly to fig3 , in the preferred embodiment , the primary adjustment unit further comprises one or more support units 12 . the two primary retaining units 12 are connected by the support units 31 . in the preferred embodiment , the support units 31 comprise two springs . in this configuration , the slot contact between the primary retaining units 12 and vertical adjustment unit sidewalls 11 a coupled with the pressure from the support units 31 prevent the retaining units 12 and the vertical adjustment unit 11 from moving without user adjustment as discussed herein below in reference to fig3 . fig1 also discloses a cradle member further comprising a horizontal adjustment unit 13 . the horizontal adjustment unit 13 is pivotally affixed to the top - wall 11 b of the vertical adjustment unit 11 by a vertical crossbar 19 . this allows the cradle member to pivot freely in the horizontal plane and thereby allows the user to change the horizontal aim of a rifle , when said rifle is present . in the preferred embodiment , the horizontal adjustment unit 13 comprises a rear section 13 a , a raised section 13 b , and a rail section 13 c . the primary adjustment member further comprises a horizontal control unit 17 . referring briefly to fig6 , the vertical adjustment unit 11 further comprises two attachment points 11 c , attached to the vertical adjustment unit side - walls 11 a . the horizontal control unit 17 is rotationally connected to each of the attachment points 11 c of the vertical adjustment unit 11 . rotationally connected means that the components are connected in such a way that at least one of the components can rotate while remaining connected to the other component or components . the primary adjustment member further comprises a horizontal connection unit 62 attached to the horizontal adjustment unit 13 of the cradle member . the horizontal connection unit 62 is rotationally connected to the horizontal control unit 17 . this causes the horizontal control unit 17 to be rotationally connected to the horizontal adjustment unit 13 . in the preferred embodiment , the horizontal control unit 17 further comprises adjustment handles . in this configuration , the orientation of the horizontal adjustment unit 13 is controlled by turning the adjustment handles of the horizontal control unit 17 , which causes the horizontal control unit 17 to rotate . the rotation of the horizontal control unit 17 causes the horizontal connection unit 62 to move along the horizontal control unit 17 , which moves the attached horizontal adjustment unit 13 in the horizontal plane . the cradle member further comprises a receiving unit 41 connected to the horizontal adjustment unit 13 . in the preferred embodiment , the receiving unit 41 should be slidably connected to the rail section 13 c of the horizontal adjustment unit 13 , allowing the receiving unit 41 to slide to any position on the rail section 13 c to accept rifles of different lengths . however , the receiving unit 41 should be prevented from sliding onto the raised section 13 b or sliding free of the rail section 13 c . the purpose of the receiving unit 41 is to be capable of securely receiving the forward portion of a rifle . the forward portion of a rifle may be the rifle barrel or the forestock . the operation of the receiving unit 41 is discussed in greater detail below in reference to fig4 . the cradle member further comprises a primary stock support unit 21 , affixed to the rear section of the horizontal adjustment unit 13 a . when in use , the butt stock of a rifle may be placed against the primary stock support unit 21 and the barrel placed in the receiving unit 41 . because the entire cradle moves when the rifle is aimed , using the horizontal adjustment unit 13 and vertical adjustment unit 11 , the primary stock support unit 21 consistently supports the butt stock of the rifle regardless of the position of either the horizontal adjustment unit 13 or the vertical adjustment unit 11 . this ensures that stress is distributed evenly on the rifles butt stock when the rifle is fired . the primary stock support unit is discussed in greater detail in relation to fig2 herein below . in the preferred embodiment , the cradle member also comprises a secondary stock support unit 16 connected to the primary stock support unit 21 . the secondary stock support unit 16 supports the stock of any rifle placed in the cradle and prevents the rifle from sliding down the primary stock support unit 21 . as can be seen in fig2 , the secondary stock support unit 16 connects to the primary stock support unit 21 by a threaded bolt and can be adjusted vertically to accommodate different rifles . the secondary stock support unit 16 may also comprise a retaining strap 16 a which may be placed around a rifle stock and attached via velcro , snaps , or similar means to further restrict the rifles movement . it should be noted that while the secondary stock support unit 16 is useful to restrict unwanted rifle movement , its presence is not required for the normal operation of the present invention . the receiving unit 41 and the primary stock support unit 21 are capable of retaining the rifle without the need of the secondary stock support unit 16 . the secondary stock support unit 16 also assists the user by holding the rifle as the barrel or forestock of the rifle is being secured in the receiving unit 41 . in the preferred embodiment , the cradle member may also comprise one or more secondary retaining units 18 . in the preferred embodiment , the secondary retaining unit 18 is a bolt , or similar structure , that can be rotationally connected to the horizontal adjustment unit 13 a and to the vertical adjustment unit 11 in such a way that engaging the secondary retaining unit 18 prevents the horizontal adjustment unit 13 a from moving . this performs the function of granting additional support to the horizontal control unit 17 , and helps prevent the cradle from making unwanted horizontal movements . it should be noted that while the horizontal lock is useful , it is not required for the proper function of the present invention . fig2 illustrates a sectional view of the primary stock support unit 21 of the present invention . the primary stock support unit 21 further comprises one or more recoil dampening devices 21 a for adjustably dampening the recoil of any rifle that is fired while secured in the present invention . the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises eight recoil dampening devices 21 a that can be removed or replaced by the user to increase or decrease the resistance of the dampening action . it should be noted that optimal operation of the present invention is achieved when the recoil dampening devices 21 a create enough resistance to partially compress when a rifle is fired . if the recoil dampening devices 21 a completely compress due to low resistance or do not compress at all due to high resistance , the rifle is more likely to bounce , decreasing the accuracy and reliability of the rifle &# 39 ; s aim while secured in the present invention and subjecting the rifle to potential damage . since each rifle exerts a different amount of recoil pressure when fired , the user may remove or replace the recoil dampening devices 21 a until the optimal resistance is achieved . in the preferred embodiment , the primary stock support unit 21 further comprises a front plate 21 c , a rear plate 21 d , and four tension supports 21 b . the tension supports 21 b are affixed to the rear plate 21 d and slidably connected to the front plate 21 c by the tension support heads 21 e . in this configuration , under most conditions , the pressure exerted by the recoil dampening devices 21 on the front plate 21 c forces the front plate 21 c to slide down the tension supports 21 b to the tension support heads 21 e and remain at a maximum distance from the rear plate 21 d . when a weapon is fired in the present invention , the front plate 21 c transfers the recoil pressure to the recoil dampening devices 21 a and slides along the tension supports 21 b toward the rear plate 21 d . once the recoil pressure has been absorbed and distributed throughout the shooting rest , the front plate 21 c returns to its standard position as noted above . it should be noted that , in an alternate embodiment , the tension supports 21 b could be affixed to the front plate 21 c and slideably connected to the rear plate 21 d without significantly effecting the overall function of the present invention . in the preferred embodiment , the primary stock support unit 21 further comprises a stock support pad 21 f . the purpose of the stock support pad 21 f is to further dampen the recoil of any rifle fired while secured to the present invention . the stock support pad 21 f also reduces possibility that the rifle will receive a scratch or gouge from impact with the primary stock support unit 21 . however , it should be noted that the stock support pad 21 f may be omitted without significantly affecting the overall function of the present invention . fig3 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the base of the present invention . as mentioned above , the central compartment 10 c contains several of the present inventions components . as mentioned above , the sidewalls of the vertical adjustment unit 11 a are placed inside the central compartment 10 c and the crossbar 33 connects to each sidewall 11 a and is pivotally connected to the sidewalls of the base 10 a . the retaining units 12 retain the vertical adjustment unit 11 in position and are connected by one or more support units 31 . the vertical adjustment unit 11 further comprises a vertical control unit 32 . the vertical control unit 32 is affixed to both end - walls 10 b of the base 10 and is rotationally connected to one or both of the primary retaining units 12 . the vertical control unit 32 is preferably a threaded rod , bolt , or a like device . the vertical control unit 32 is also preferably attached to an adjustment handle . the vertical control unit 32 turns when the handle is turned . the rotational connection between the primary retaining units 12 and the vertical control unit 32 causes the primary retaining units 12 to move along the vertical control unit 32 . the movement of the primary retaining units 12 along the vertical control unit 32 forces movement in the vertical adjustment unit 11 which in turn changes the vertical aim of the cradle member . in this configuration , movement of the handle of the vertical control unit 32 changes the vertical aim of any rifle in the shooting rest . fig4 illustrates a sectional view of the receiving unit 41 of the present invention . the receiving unit 41 comprises a slide member 41 d which is slidably connected to the rail section of the horizontal adjustment device 13 c . in the preferred embodiment , the slide member 41 d comprises two openings which enclose each rail of the rail section 13 c . the receiving unit 41 also comprises two fulcrum units 41 c affixed to the slide member 41 d . the receiving unit 41 also comprises two gripping units 41 a . each gripping unit 41 a is attached to a fulcrum unit 41 c . the receiving unit 41 further comprises a central post 41 e affixed to the slide member 41 d . the receiving unit 41 also comprises a receiving control unit 41 b . the receiving control unit 41 b is preferably a threaded rod , bolt , or like device . the receiving control unit 41 b should have one or more handles and should be rotationally connected to each gripping unit 41 a and the central post 41 e . the threads on the receiving control unit 41 b should run counter clockwise on one side of the central post 41 e and clockwise on the other side of the central post 41 e . in this configuration , the center of the receiving control unit 41 b will remain inside the center post 41 e when the receiving control unit 41 b is manipulated by the user . because the threads on each end of the receiving control unit 41 b are oriented in opposite directions , as mentioned above , the gripping units 41 a each move in opposite directions when the receiving control unit 41 b is manipulated by the user . the gripping unit 41 a attachment to the fulcrum unit 41 c , in combination with the aforementioned directional motion by each gripping unit 41 a in response to the receiving control unit 41 b , causes the gripping units 41 a to grip or release above the slide member 41 d when the receiving control unit 41 b is manipulated by a user . this gripping action allows the receiving unit to securely receive the barrel of a rifle and release the rifle when the user desires . also , the receiving unit 41 may comprise a barrel foam support 41 f to prevent a rifle that has been securely received by the receiving unit 41 from scratching against the slide member 41 d and possibly scarring the rifle . fig5 a side perspective view of a primary attachment member 53 attached to a support surface . in the preferred embodiment , the primary attachment member 53 comprises a threaded rod , or similar device , a clamp unit 52 , and a link unit 51 . the threaded rod is rotationally connected to a clamp unit 52 via the link unit 51 . the clamp unit 52 may be any device that is capable of securely attaching to a support surface . the primary attachment member 53 further comprises a base connection unit 54 connected to the threaded rod . the base connection unit 54 is capable of releasably attaching to anchor crossbar 63 the base 10 . this configuration has the effect of securely attaching the base 10 to a support surface and preventing the present invention from bouncing when a rifle is fired . in the preferred embodiment , the primary attachment member 53 further comprises a handle 55 which is affixed to the threaded rod . the handle 55 is present to allow the user to twist the threaded rod through the link unit 51 and thereby adjust the length of the primary attachment member 53 as needed to properly attach to the base 10 as it sits on a given support surface . fig6 illustrates a front plan view of the base 10 . as indicated above , the base 10 comprises an anchor crossbar 63 . the present view cuts away a section of the anchor crossbar 63 to show the connections between the horizontal control unit 17 and the horizontal connection unit 62 and attachment points 11 c , as discussed above . it should be noted that the anchor crossbar 63 is not altered by its depiction in this figure . it should also be noted that this figures depiction of the width of the sidewalls 11 a of the vertical adjustment unit 11 has been exaggerated from the preferred embodiment to show the sidewalls 11 a , the attachment points 11 c , and a portion of the anchor crossbar 63 . the method of use of the present invention is now discussed hereinbelow . the user should place the adjustable recoil reducing shooting rest on a support surface . the support surface should be strong enough and stable enough to hold the present invention and a rifle , however , the support surface does not need any particular modifications . the base 10 of the present invention should then be securely attached to the support surface by means of any combination of attachment units as discussed hereinabove . the user may then place the rifle in the cradle of the shooting rest . the rifle should be secured in the cradle member by placing the buttstock of the rifle against the primary stock support 21 and the barrel should be securely received by the receiving unit 41 . the resistance of the primary stock support 21 should be adjusted by replacing or removing recoil dampening devices 21 a from the primary stock support 21 until the desired resistance is achieved . the user may then adjust the vertical aim of the rifle by manipulating the vertical control unit 32 of the vertical adjustment unit 11 . the user may also adjust the horizontal aim of the rifle by manipulating the horizontal control unit 17 of the horizontal adjustment unit 13 . once the rifle has been aimed to the user &# 39 ; s satisfaction , the rifle may be fired repeatedly at the same target or location . it should be noted that the foregoing disclosure sometimes labels components with terms like front , rear , bottom , top , primary , secondary , side , horizontal , vertical , and the like . these terms are used for ease of identification purposes only and are not intended as limiting language . a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the orientation of many of the components contained herein can be changed to an equivalent structure without significantly affecting the overall function of the present invention . this disclosure is intended to cover and does cover all such equivalent embodiments . while the present invention has been described above in terms of specific embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these disclosed embodiments . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains , and which are intended to be and are covered by both this disclosure and the appended claims . it is indeed intended that the scope of the invention should be determined by proper interpretation and construction of the appended claims and their legal equivalents , as understood by those of skill in the art relying upon the disclosure in this specification and the attached drawings .	5
referring firstly to fig1 there is shown a fefe - pbii apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention comprising a vacuum chamber 1 the pressure in which can be reduced to any desired level by means of a vacuum pump 9 . within the vacuum chamber is provided an implantation chamber 2 in which is located a sample holder 6 for supporting a sample 5 to be implanted with ions . the implantation chamber 2 is a smaller chamber made of an insulating material such as glass which serves to protect the remainder of the vacuum chamber from contamination by the vapor that is supplied to the chamber 2 as will be discussed below . the implantation chamber 2 , being made of an insulating material , also serves to electrically isolate the sample holder 6 from the exit opening 3 of the feed conduit 4 for reasons that will be understood from the description below . the implantation chamber 2 may be removed completely if the vacuum chamber 1 is to be used as part of a conventional pbii apparatus . the vacuum chamber 1 can also be removed completely if the implantation chamber 2 is also used as the vacuum chamber to conduct fefe - pbii . sample holder 6 is formed at the end of a conductive rod 7 which extends though a wall of the vacuum chamber 1 through an insulating ring 8 . an upper region of the vacuum chamber 1 is provided with a conventional plasma generating means 22 which may take any conventional form . plasma generating means 22 is provided simply to enable the apparatus to function in a conventional manner ( with the implantation chamber 2 removed ) in addition to the novel manner to be described below , and plasma generating means 22 will therefore not be described in detail . to one side of the vacuum chamber 1 there is provided a means for vaporizing a solid material 18 . this vaporizing means comprises an evaporation chamber 17 , a heating device 16 and a thermally insulating shield 15 designed to ensure that heat generated by the heating device 16 is directed into the evaporation chamber 17 for greater efficiency rather than externally of the evaporation chamber 17 . at the top of the evaporation chamber 17 there is formed a neck 23 that connects the evaporation chamber 17 to the feed conduit 4 that leads through a side wall of the vacuum chamber 1 to the top of the implantation chamber 2 where the feed conduit 4 is formed with an exit opening 3 into the implantation chamber 2 located above the sample 5 . if it is desired to form a plasma containing ions of an element with a low melting point , such as for example sulfur , a sample of sulfur ( solid material 18 ) is placed within the evaporation chamber 17 and is vaporized to form a vapor 19 by the application of heat through heating device 16 . heating device 16 may be any convenient heating device such as , for example , a high frequency heating device . in the embodiment of fig1 the heating device 16 surrounds the evaporation chamber 17 , but alternatively the heating device 16 may be located simply at the bottom of the evaporation chamber 17 . the vaporized sulfur is then allowed to escape from the evaporation chamber 17 through the neck 23 of the evaporation chamber which neck 23 has a diameter that is relatively small compared to the size of the evaporation chamber 17 so that the sulfur vapor may be in a quasi - equilibrium state within the evaporation chamber 17 . generally , the ratio of the entrance area of the neck 23 to the top area of the evaporation chamber 17 should be more than 4 . the sulfur vapor 19 that escapes from the evaporation chamber 17 is fed to the feed conduit 4 through an input valve 12 controlled by manually operable valve control means 14 . input valve 12 is provided with a valve heating means 13 similar to heating device 16 in order to prevent the sulfur vapor being deposited in the input valve 12 or in the feed conduit 4 . the vaporized sulfur then passes along the feed conduit 4 ( which is surrounded by an insulating wall 11 again to prevent cooling and deposition of the sulfur ) to the exit opening 3 into the implantation chamber 2 . optionally , means may be provided for supplying an inert carrier gas such as argon to facilitate the transfer of the sulfur vapor along the feed conduit 4 . the carrier gas can be fed in from side wall of the evaporation chamber 17 or other places around the chamber not shown here . it should also be noted that the evaporation chamber 17 and heating device 16 , input valve 12 and input valve heating means 13 , together with the first part of the feed conduit 4 surrounded by a thermally insulating wall 11 , form an integral unit for vaporizing solid state materials and other materials and for supplying the resulting vapor into the pbii apparatus . this integral vaporizing and supply means is connected to the remainder of the pbii apparatus by means of a quick release flange 10 . by means of the quick release flange 10 , the integral vaporizing and supply means may be removed if not needed and in its place a supply conduit for a gaseous plasma forming material may be used if the material to be implanted is one that is gaseous under standard conditions . alternatively the feed conduit 4 may be closed off altogether and plasma may be supplied to the vacuum chamber 1 in a conventional manner elsewhere , and the implantation chamber 2 may be removed , thus allowing an embodiment of the invention to be integrated into a conventional pbii apparatus . as discussed above , the sample 5 in which the ions are to be implanted is supported on a sample holder 6 made of a conducting material and the sample holder 6 is supported on an electrically conductive rod 7 . in use of the embodiment of fig1 , the conductive rod 7 and the sample holder 6 are connected to a source of negative potential and a highly negative voltage ( eg 15 kv ) is applied to the sample holder 6 . the negative potential may be applied as a series of pulses , or in a long - pulse pseudo dc manner . in contrast the feed conduit 4 , thermally insulating wall 11 , and the shield 15 surrounding the evaporation chamber 16 are all electrically grounded , therefore an electric field is established between the exit opening 3 of the feed conduit 4 ( which is grounded and thus acts as an anode ) and the negatively charged sample holder 6 . the area of the exit opening 3 is much less than that of the sample holder 6 . the electrons in the plasma as well as the secondary electron exited from the sample holder 6 will all fly to the exit opening 3 , a focused electric field is formed between the exit opening 3 and the sample holder 6 . to form this focused electric field , the ratio of the anode ( exit opening 3 ) to cathode ( sample holder 6 ) should be more than 6 . the electric field acts to ionize the sulfur vapor entering the implantation chamber 2 through the exit opening 3 forming an electron cloud / plasma 20 . sulfur ions are then accelerated in the direction of arrows 21 under the influence of the electric field and are accelerated towards the sample 5 in which they are then implanted . it is important to note that by applying a high negative voltage to the sample holder 6 an electric field is established that serves both to ionize the sulfur vapor entering the implantation chamber 2 , and also to accelerate the resulting sulfur ions towards the surface of the sample . fig2 shows as an example the potential distribution between the negatively charged sample holder 6 marked b in the figure , and the grounded exit opening 3 marked a in the figure when a negative voltage of 15 kv is applied to the sample holder 6 . electrons formed by the ionization of the sulfur vapor will move in the direction that the potential changes the fastest and the force on them is along the direction of an equipotential surface . secondary electrons will also be emitted from the sample holder 6 and these electrons will also travel in the same direction and will move towards the exit opening 3 which forms the anode . the electrons resulting from the ionization of the sulfur vapor and the secondary electrons from the sample holder 6 will thus be focused on the outlet 3 and will form the electron cloud 20 shown in fig1 . the presence of this electron cloud 20 will in turn further assist in the generation of sulfur ions by the interaction of the electron cloud with the sulfur vapor exiting the exit opening 3 . fig3 illustrates the potential ( shown on the y axis ) between the sample holder 6 forming the cathode , and the exit opening 3 forming the anode . as mentioned above , the vaporizing source is preferably a quasi - equilibrium source in order to control the input vapor flow and implantation stability . to achieve this quasi - equilibrium the interior of the evaporation chamber 17 is relatively large with a large internal area . the feed conduit 4 is relatively long and with a small internal diameter ( eg 6 mm ). the ratio of the length of the feed conduit 4 to the internal diameter should be more than 4 . in the presently described preferred embodiment of the invention , the mean free path of the vaporized sulfur atoms is much larger than the diameter of the feed conduit 4 and thus the vapor enters the feed conduit 4 in the form of a laminar flow . as discussed above , when the vapor flows into the implantation chamber a glow discharge is created under the influence of the high negative potential applied to the sample holder 6 this creating a plasma and beginning the implantation process . however , to maintain a steady - state glow discharge the pressure in the implantation chamber must exceed the breakdown pressure . an analysis of the conditions for establishing the breakdown pressure shows that the determining factors are the pressure in the evaporation chamber 17 , and the length and diameter of the feed conduit 4 . p imp = pressure in the implantation chamber 2 p source = pressure in the evaporation chamber 17 ( if a carrier gas is used p source reflects the combined pressure of the vapor and the carrier gas ) and is determined by the evaporation rate and the gas flow rate u tube = conductance of the feed conduit 4 determined by the length and diameter of the conduit 4 and the average speed of the vaporized atoms s pump = the pumping speed of pump 9 from eq . 1 it can be seen that by selecting an appropriate pressure in the evaporation chamber ( to be determined by selecting the size of the evaporation chamber , and the applied temperature which will determine the evaporation rate ), appropriate dimensions for the feed conduit 4 , and a suitable pumping speed for pump 9 , the pressure in the implantation chamber can be set so that in the steady state it is greater than the breakdown pressure and a steady - state glow discharge can be established . it will also be noted that as implantation takes place if the particles in the implantation chamber 2 are used up , the pressure in the implantation chamber will fall and if it falls below the breakdown pressure the glow discharge will fail and the implantation process will stop until the pressure in the implantation chamber rises above the breakdown pressure again . to achieve stable operation therefore there should be sufficient vaporized atoms in the implantation chamber such that p imp & gt ; p breakdown . that is to say it will thus be seen that by appropriate design of the key parameters such as the length and diameter of the feed conduit 4 , the evaporation rate in the evaporation chamber 17 , and the pumping rate of the pump 9 , a steady - state glow discharge can be established and continuous implantation of atoms into the sample can take place . should the particle consumption be such that the pressure in the implantation chamber falls below the breakdown pressure implantation will stop but will recommence once the pressure has increased to a level above the breakdown pressure . fig4 is a plot showing the concentration of sulfur atoms ( y axis ) as a function of depth ( x axis ) into a silicon sample in the following example . in this example a negative voltage of 15 kv is applied to the sample holder for a period of one hour . the negative voltage was applied to the sample holder 6 as pulses at a frequency of 100 hz and with the pulses having a duration of 250 μs . the voltage was then increased to a negative voltage of 25 kv , again pulsed as before , for a further two hours . sulfur was evaporated from the solid state in the evaporation chamber 17 and fed through feed conduit 4 using argon as the carrier gas . fig4 shows the resulting sulfur distribution using x - ray spectroscopy and shows measured results contrasted with simulated analog results ( obtained using trim software ) without carrier gas .	2
the method and apparatus of the invention may be used to transform color gamut from one color space to another color space . for example , the method and apparatus may be used to transform images in rgb color space to printer color space ( cmyk color space . fig1 portrays two overlapping hue leaves in lab space . in lab space , a line extending perpendicular to the l axis defines a range of colors having constant hue and varying saturation . colors farther away from the l axis , but on a constant hue line , are more saturated . within the lab space , b is associated with a range between yellow and blue , while a is associated with a range between red and green . if a is positive , the color associated is reddish , while a negative a exhibits greenish color . when the b value is positive , the color exhibited is yellow , while a negative b value exhibits a bluish color . as positions within the lab space swing toward the negative b axis , the colors turn more bluish . with respect to lines drawn perpendicularly from the l axis , each value along this line exhibits a constant hue . the method may be used to transform images in srgb display space into printer space . the method divides the rgb display space into at least three separate areas using vector math , and remaps those areas linearly into the same number of complementary areas in the printer &# 39 ; s color space . referring again to fig1 the upper triangle ( triangle abd in solid lines ) represents an srgb hue leaf and the lower triangle ( triangle ab ′ d in long dashed lines ) represents a printer &# 39 ; s hue leaf . transforming color gamut from a first color space ( e . g ., srgb ) to a second color space ( e . g ., printer &# 39 ; s space ) can be accomplished by a continuous , one — one and onto mapping from abd to a subset of ab ′ d , which removes part of the lower gamut from the color space . a subset of ab ′ d is desired because , if saturated colors close to b and on the line bd are mapped to b ′ d , then they will not only lose a great deal of lightness , since black will be added , they will also be dull . so a point b ″ will be created on the line ab ′ such that this will lighten and desaturate the extremes of the resultant gamut . further a gamma function will be used as a multiplier on vector db ″ to lighten and saturate the resultant colors in the printer gamut . the actual mappings are vector math mappings from triangle acd to itself ( identity mapping ), abc to ab ″ c and bcd to b ″ cd . the first area , acd , represents colors in the center of the gamut and can be called a “ safe ” area , because this area is preserved without change . the second area , abc , is the upper gamut of the rgb color space ( including white to full color ), which is mapped into a complementary area on the printer space , ab ″ c ( which may or may not include the full saturation at that hue leaf ). the third area , bcd , is the lower gamut ( full to black ), which is mapped to b ″ cd . further the vector db ″ will be use a gamma function on its multiplier to lighten and saturate the resultant colors in the triangle b ″ cd . this produces a one — one , onto and continuous mapping , as was desired . further , even if a hue leaf is not a perfect triangle and has points outside the triangle , that spatial relationship will be preserved with this method . sample mapping of hue leaf in first color space to hue leaf in second color space : step 1 : find the most saturated point in each hue leaf . in vector math , any plane can be described with two vectors ( v p1 and v p2 ) and a displacement vector from the origin ( v p0 ). so any two non - parallel vectors with a common origin describe a plane p such that for all points p in the plane p , there exist two scalar points a and b such that : referring to fig2 in the case of a hue leaf , v p1 can be constrained to be the lab space vector from point ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) to point ( 100 , 0 , 0 ), and v p2 to be the vector from point ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) to the point in the source space to be mapped ( point m ). ( note : we could also use the white point and black to which both the target space and printer spaces have been normalized .). as for example , in the case of a tessellated space , consider each line segment in each gamut to determine the most saturated point in the hue leaf containing point m . further , since we are only interested in the part of the plane which is part of the hue leaf , this constrains the scalars a and b to be greater than or equal to 0 . to take into account the effect of round off error , define a positive epsilon such that the scalars a and b must be greater than or equal to − epsilon . to find the most saturated point in hue leaf , first check to see if a line segment is parallel to the plane and can thus be trivially ignored . compute the cross product of v p1 and v p2 . this will result in a vector v cp , which is perpendicular to the plane . then compute the dot product of v cp and the line segment normalized to the origin . if the result is 0 ( epsilon ≦ dot product ≦ epsilon ), then the line segment is perpendicular to v cp and thus parallel to the plane , and should be ignored . if the line segment is parallel to the plane then the intersection of the plane and the line containing the vector defining the line segment ( denoted as v l1 ), is computed . point p ∈ line l iff ∃ a scalar c such that v l0 is the vector displacement from the origin to the beginning of v l1 . combining equations 1 and 2 : avp 1 + bvp 2 + vp 0 = cvl 1 + vl 0 ( 3 ) avp 1 + bvp 2 − cvl 1 = vl 0 − vp 0 ( 4 ) solve for a , b and c with cramer &# 39 ; s rule . after comparing all line segments with the plane , select the intersection that matches the following criteria : 3 ) intersection has greatest magnitude of saturation in lab space of any line segment intersection which meets criteria 1 and 2 . when the most saturated point for both gamuts on each hue leaf has been found , then compute point b ″ on the printer space . step 2 : find most saturated point in both color gamuts on hue leaf to find safe area . calculate the intersection of vector db ( l 1 ) with vector ab ″ ( l 2 ). this means trying to solve the equation : av l1 + v l01 = bv l2 + v l02 ( note that these scalar values a and b are different values from the previous a and b ). since there are only two unknowns , only two equations are needed . however , it should be noted that for a hue leaf , x / y is a constant , and only z is independent of the other two . thus always use the z equation . further do not use either x when x = 0 or y when y is 0 , so use the x equation when y = 0 and the y equation when x = 0 . since x and y will never equal 0 at the same time , it is easiest to always pick the equations of the larger one . so when x & gt ; y the derivation will be : axl 1 zl 1 − bxl 2 zl 1 = xl 02 zl 1 − xl 01 zl 1 azl 1 xl 1 − bzl 2 xl 1 = zl 02 xl 1 − zl 01 xl 1 b ( zl 2 xl 1 − xl 2 zl 1 )= xl 02 zl 1 − xl 01 zl 1 − zl 02 xl 1 + zl 01 xl 1 b =( xl 02 zl 1 − xl 01 zl 1 − zl 02 xl 1 + zl 01 xl 1 )/( zl 2 xl 1 − xl 2 zl 1 ) a =( zl 02 − zl 01 + bzl 2 )/ zl 1 b =( yl 02 zl 1 − yl 01 zl 1 − zl 02 yl 1 + zl 01 yl 1 )/( zl 2 yl 1 − yl 2 zl 1 ) if a & lt ;= 1 + epsilon , and b & lt ;= 1 + epsilon , then the intersection point is av l1 + v 01 . if a & lt ;= 1 + epsilon , and b & gt ; 1 + epsilon , then the intersection point is v l2 + v 02 . if a & gt ; 1 + epsilon , and b & lt ;= 1 + epsilon , then the intersection point is v l1 + v 01 . if a & gt ; 1 + epsilon , and b & gt ; 1 + epsilon , then recalculate the intersection of vectors db ″ ( l 1 ) and ab ( l 2 ). safe area ( center gamut ) point c , in lab space , is calculated as a percentage ( 0 & lt ; val & lt ; 1 ) in from the intersection point : step 3 : determine which triangle should be used to compute the vector relationship . the appropriate triangle ( in fig1 ) for the vector transformation , needs to be determined . is the point in the safe area ( adc ), in or above the upper triangle ( abc ), or is it in or below the lower triangle ( bcd )? the equation to see where a point is in a plane is as follows : again , as with the previous equations there are only two unknowns , so only two equations are need . note again that for a hue leaf , x / y is a constant , and only z is independent of the other two . thus , use the z equation . as before , do not use either x when x = 0 or y when y is 0 , so use the x equation when y = 0 and the y equation when x = 0 . since x and y will never equal 0 at the same time , it is easiest to always pick the equations of the larger one . so when x & gt ; y the derivation will be : b ( zp 2 xp 1 − xp 2 zp 1 )= aptzp 1 − xp 0 zp 1 − zptxp 1 + zp 0 xp 1 b =( xptzp 1 − xp 0 zp 1 − zptxp 1 + zp 0 xp 1 )/( zp 2 xp 1 − xp 2 zp 1 ) b =( yptzp 1 − yp 0 zp 1 + zp 0 yp 1 )/( zp 2 yp 1 − yp 2 zp 1 ). a =( bzp 2 + zpt − zp 0 )/ zp 1 first apply this method to the safe area ( acd ) and determine a and b . set v p1 ≡ da , v p2 ≡ dc , and v p0 ≡ the null vector . if a and b & gt ;− epsilon , a and b & lt ; 1 + epsilon , and ( a + b )& lt ; 1 + epsilon , then the point is in the safe area of lab space and can be left as is ( triangle adc in display space maps to triangle adc in printer space and point m ′= point m ). if not in the safe area , then next apply the method to the upper triangle ( abc ). set v p1 ≡ ac , v p2 ≡ ab , and v p0 ≡ da . if a & amp ; b & gt ;− epsilon , a & amp ; b & lt ; 1 + epsilon , and ( a + b )& lt ; 1 + epsilon , then the point is in the upper triangle . if not , then if a & lt ;− epsilon and b & gt ; 0 , then point m is above the upper triangle and should still be mapped as part of the upper triangle ( triangle abc in display space maps to triangle ab ″ c in printer space and point m ′= av p1 ′ + bv p2 ′ + v p0 ′ , where v p1 ′ ≡ ac , v p2 ′ ≡ ab ″, and v p0 ′ ≡ da ). if the point is not in or above the upper triangle , then apply the method to the lower triangle ( bcd ). set v p1 ≡ dc , v p2 ≡ db , and v p0 ≡ the null vector . it is important to note that the colors on the lower triangle need to be lightened and increased in saturation to have a pleasing appearance for sky and forest scenes . so b is modified by a gamma function to increase b in a nonlinear way ( a power function is sufficient as b ranges between 0 and 1 ). then use a and b to compute point m ′ as part of the lower triangle ( triangle bcd in display space maps to triangle b ″ cd in printer space and point m ′= av p1 ′ + bv p2 ′ + v p0 ′ , where v p1 ′ ≡ dc , v p2 ′ ≡ db ″, and v p0 ′ ≡[ 0 , 0 , 0 ]). referring to fig3 an apparatus 100 for transforming a digital color image from a first color space to a second color space includes a color input device 10 , which provides a digital color image comprising a plurality of data elements within a first color gamut , such as rgb . data elements are provided to processor 20 which uses the lookup table 50 stored in memory 30 to find a correspondence to a data value in a second color space . once this correspondence has been found , the data value in the second color space is provided to output color device 40 . the lookup table 50 has been generated using the method described above . the invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments for convenience only . modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding this specification taken together with the drawings . the embodiments are but examples , and various alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art from this teaching which are intended to be encompassed by the following claims .	7
various non - limiting embodiments described herein provide a “ voltage - out ” digital to analogue converter ic ( dac ) follower low - pass filter with high current direct coupled output - stage . the dac of the present disclosure capable of generating low impedance such that the dac can be directly coupled to an analog component such as , for example , audio headphones . the term “ directly coupled ” refers to the dac &# 39 ; s capability to connect directly to audio headphones at the output - stage without dc block capacitors in series with the output signal . accordingly , the dac circuit is capable of connecting directly to a voltage - out digital to analogue converter integrated circuit ( ic ). the capability to directly couple the audio headphones , for example , allows for the omission of output capacitors from the output stage design . accordingly , the frequency response dependency on the impedance of the connected headphone caused by the output capacitors found in conventional audio systems is eliminated . referring to fig1 , a pre - amplifier circuit 100 is illustrated according to a non - limiting embodiment . the pre - amplifier circuit 100 includes a microphone pre - amplifier stage 102 ( i . e ., circuit ), a psu 104 , a digital - to - analog converter stage 106 , and a headphone amplifier stage ( 108 ). the microphone pre - amplifier stage includes a direct injection ( di ) unit that provides a high impedance source signal and a low impedance xlr connection operable without a line or mic switch . the di unit may connect a high - impedance source signal ( e . g . high - impedance , line level , unbalanced source signal ) to a low - impedance , microphone level , balanced input . the xlr connection may include an xlr electrical connector that connects the high - impedance source signal to the low - impedance , microphone input to provide a balanced audio interconnection . according to a non - limiting embodiment , the di unit may provide electrical ground isolation between input and output , and they match the impedance of the source signal to that of a load . for example , a di unit may be implemented with a high input impedance and a low output impedance may be used to match an input device ( e . g ., guitar , bass , etc .) to the input stage of a second device ( e . g ., mixing device ). in at least one embodiment , the di unit is an active electrical di unit that receives phantom power output generated by the psu 104 . the pre - amplifier circuit further includes self - biasing input component ( e . g ., transistor pairs ) that bias input to an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ). the self - biasing input components may be implemented as junction gate field effect transistor ( jfet ) pairs or operation amplifier pairs . in this manner , a low cost , high current dc coupled headphone output is provided . turning now to fig2 , the digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) stage 106 will be described in greater detail . the dac stage 106 ( i . e ., dac circuit 106 ) converts an output digital signal into an analog signal , which can then be used by an analog output device such as , for example , audio headphones . unlike conventional audio systems , however , the dac circuit 106 is capable of filtering the audio - band high frequency noise without requiring a separate low pass filter stage , followed by a second separate headphone amplifier stage . the dac circuit 106 includes a first output stage ( dac2 out a ) and a second output stage ( dac out b ). each output stage ( dac2 out a and dac2 out b ) includes a first operation amplifier ( opamp ) circuit 052 and a second opamp circuit 051 . in at least one non - limiting embodiment , two dual channel opamps can be employed . in another embodiment , a single quad channel opamp can be employed . the first opamp 052 circuit is configured as a low - pass filter circuit . the inverting pin 2 of opamp 053 is connected to a first output ( dac2a n ) of the dac 200 . the non - inverting pin 3 of the opamp 053 is connected to a second output ( dac2a p ) of the dac 200 . the output pin 1 of the opamp 053 a / 053 b is connected to the second opamp circuit 051 . in at least one embodiment , the opamp circuit 052 includes a feedback circuit path . the feedback circuit path includes a first node connected to the output of the second opamp circuit 05 and a second node connected to the input of the opamp circuit 052 ( e . g ., the inverting input pin of the opamp 053 a / 053 b ). the second opamp circuit 051 includes a first unity gain opamp 054 a , a second unity gain opamp 054 b , and a third unity gain opamp 054 c . the first unity gain opamp 054 a , second unity gain opamp 054 b , and third unity gain opamp 054 c are each connected to the output pin 1 of opamp 053 a / 053 b to receive the filtered output signal . the three unity gain opamps 054 a , 054 b and 054 c are nested inside a feedback loop defined by the first opamp circuit 052 . accordingly , the dac circuit 106 is capable of delivering four times ( 4 ×) the current of an ordinary single op - amp low pass stage . each output stage ( dac2 out a and dac2 out b ) 106 further includes a load sharing resistor network 049 a and 049 b , respectively . the first sharing resistor network 049 a includes resistors r 72 , r 77 , r 87 and r 95 . the second sharing resistor network 049 includes resistors r 107 , r 110 , r 120 and r 123 . the first sharing resistor network 049 a is configured to prevent currents circulating between the unity gain opamps 054 a , 054 b and 054 c included in the first output stage dac2 out a . the second sharing resistor network 049 b is configured to prevent currents circulating between the unity gain opamps 054 a , 054 b and 054 c included in the second output stage dac2 out b . the first output stage ( dac2 out a ) and the second output stage ( dac2 out b ) each include an integrator dc servo circuit 050 configured to generate a low impedance . in this manner , the dac circuit 106 can be connected directly to an analog component such as audio headphones , for example , without the need to implement separate conventional dc block capacitors . a first dc servo circuit 050 includes a first opamp 055 a and a second dc servo circuit 050 includes a second opamp 055 b . the first and second opamps 055 a and 055 b generate a virtual ground reference point which and operates in conjunction with resistors 048 a and 048 b , respectively , to generate the impedance applied to the non - inverting input of opamps 053 a and 053 b , respectively . the inverting input of opamps 053 a and 053 b has the same resistor values as the non - inverting input , 048 a and 048 b , respectively , to equalize the input impedance of the first operation amplifier ( opamp ) circuit 052 in the first and second output stages ( dac2 out a and dac2 out b ), respectively . the dc servo circuits 050 are configured with equalized impedances for inverting and non - inverting inputs . accordingly , the dc offset is maintained as low as possible and avoids miss - match of the input legs of a respective dc servo circuit 050 . as presented above , various non - limiting embodiments provide a dac circuit 106 that includes gain opamp buffers 051 that are nested inside a respective feedback - loop of a low pass filter circuit defined by the first opamp circuits 052 . the dc servo circuits 050 are also designed as part of an impedance equalized differential low pass input stage where the virtual ground of the dc servo integrator output 050 is utilized as part of the overall design . the dc servo circuits also ensure that there is no dc voltage or dc leakage at the headphone amplifier output stage . also , the dac circuit 106 provides a single circuit block configured to perform low - pass filtering for a voltage output dac converter , and current buffering which drives low impedance headphones without the use of a second separate filtering stage provided by conventional output stage filtering capacitors . as used herein , the term “ module ” refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a microprocessor , a computer processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , a microcontroller including various inputs and outputs , and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality . the module is configured to execute various algorithms , transforms , and / or logical processes to generate one or more signals of controlling a component or system . when implemented in software , a module can be embodied in memory as a non - transitory machine - readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit ( e . g ., a microprocessor ) and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method . a controller refers to an electronic hardware controller including a storage unit capable of storing algorithms , logic or computer executable instruction , and that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute instructions . the corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material , or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . while the preferred embodiments to the invention have been described , it will be understood that those skilled in the art , both now and in the future , may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow . these claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described .	7
fig1 shows a sectional view through an automatic ( automated ) parking brake 1 for a vehicle , which parking brake can exert a clamping force , for holding the vehicle , by means of an actuator 2 ( brake motor ) which is in the form of a dc motor in the present case . the actuator 2 drives a spindle 3 , in particular a threaded spindle , which is mounted in an axial direction . at its end which is averted from the actuator 2 , the spindle 3 is provided with a spindle nut 4 which , when the parking brake 1 is in the applied state , bears against an inner end face or a rear face of a brake piston 5 . in the event of a rotary movement of the actuator 2 and a resulting rotary movement of the spindle 3 , the spindle nut 4 is shifted in the axial direction . the spindle nut 4 and the brake piston 5 are mounted in a brake caliper 6 which engages over a brake disk 7 in the manner of tongs . a respective brake lining 8 , 8 ′ is arranged on both sides of the brake disk 7 . in the event of an application process of the parking brake 1 , the electric motor ( actuator 2 ) rotates , as a result of which the spindle nut 4 is moved toward the brake disk 7 in the axial direction until it exerts a predetermined maximum clamping force on the brake piston 5 . the actuator 2 is actuated by means of a control unit , not shown in fig1 , which may be , for example , a control device of an electronic stability system , such as an abs ( anti - lock brake system ), esp ( electronic stability program ) or ehb ( electrohydraulic brake ). fig2 shows a detail of a control unit of this type with an h - bridge circuit 9 . the h - bridge circuit 9 comprises a total of four switching elements t 1 to t 4 which may be , in particular , transistors , and preferably mosfets . the h - bridge circuit 9 generates an actuator actuating signal which is supplied to the actuator 2 , shown in fig1 , via lines 13 , 13 ′. the h - bridge circuit 9 is actuated in such a way that the polarity of the actuating signal is reversed depending on the desired rotation direction of the actuator 2 . specifically , the switching elements t 1 and t 4 are switched on and the switching elements t 2 and t 3 are switched off in order to generate a first rotation direction of the actuator 2 , while the switching elements t 2 and t 3 are switched on and the switching elements t 1 and t 4 are switched off in order to generate an opposite second rotation direction of the actuator . furthermore , the control unit comprises a current - measuring unit 11 which , in the present case , has a shunt resistor r which is connected in the supply voltage path u b of the h - bridge circuit 9 . the shunt resistor r is connected to a measuring amplifier 17 which serves to measure the current ( actuator current ) resulting from the operation of the h - bridge circuit 9 and received by the actuator 2 . during normal operation of the parking brake , the actuator current is used to determine the clamping force of the actuator with the aid of a suitable algorithm . fig3 shows a schematic equivalent circuit diagram or an electrical model of an automatic parking brake 1 having a dc motor as actuator 2 . in this case , the actuator 2 and the feed lines 13 , 13 ′ form a load which is connected to the control unit . the feed lines 13 , 13 ′ which are connected to the h - bridge circuit 9 are each illustrated as feed line resistors r w since these mainly exhibit a non - reactive behavior . in the inoperative state , the brake motor can be approximately described by a motor inductance l mot and a winding resistance r mot . furthermore , the dc motor generally comprises an interference - suppression capacitor c x which is intended to improve the electromagnetic emission behavior of the motor and which is connected in parallel with the motor inductance l mot and the winding resistance r mot . in the event of a short circuit ks , indicated in fig4 , between the two feed lines 13 , 13 ′ in the automatic parking brake system , which results , for example , from damage and resulting contact of the two feed lines 13 , 13 ′, the load owing to the short circuit in the motor inductance l mot still exhibits a non - reactive behavior on account of the line resistance r . this line resistance r w moves in the milliohm range , so that a high dc current would be necessary in order to be able to distinguish between an intact line and a defective line during driving and consequently detect the short circuit . as was mentioned in the introductory part , it is , however , not possible to supply a high dc current for checking the functioning of the parking brake system during driving because , in the case of an intact line , this would result in a movement of the actuator 2 and therefore the generation of a clamping force . therefore , this possible way of identifying a short circuit is restricted to use during operation of the parking brake 1 when the vehicle is stationary . in contrast , the method according to the disclosure allows short - circuit identification at any time during driving of the vehicle , without the risk of the automatic parking brake 1 being operated . to this end , the method makes use of the fact that the actuator 2 can indeed be operated in opposite rotation directions and therefore can be operated with two different current directions , but on account of the mass inertia of the actuator 2 , this can no longer take place starting from a specific frequency of the actuating signal . therefore , when the frequency of the actuating signal exceeds a specific limit value which depends on the mass inertia of the actuator 2 , the actuator 2 will not move in spite of an actuating signal being supplied . the actuating signal is a current which is generated by actuating the switching elements t 1 to t 4 of the h - bridge circuit 9 and by providing a suitable supply voltage u b . as has already been described , the current direction and therefore the rotation direction of the actuator 2 can be changed by corresponding actuation of the switching elements t 1 to t 4 of the h - bridge circuit . movement of the actuator 2 during driving is prevented due to high - frequency actuation of the actuator 2 which therefore causes high - frequency polarity reversal of the actuator 2 . in other words , a stationary state of the actuator 2 remains uninfluenced by the high - frequency actuating signal . the high - frequency actuating signal can now advantageously be used without the risk of operation of the automatic parking brake 1 during driving of a vehicle for short - circuit identification in the automatic parking brake system . in the present case , the term “ high - frequency ” is to be understood to mean a frequency on account of which the actuator 2 remains in the stationary state on account of its mass inertia . fig5 shows a graph with exemplary actuating signals of the switching elements t 1 to t 4 of the h - bridge circuit 9 and of the resulting actuator current which is measured by means of the current - measuring unit 11 . the switching elements t 1 to t 4 are switched at a high frequency in order to generate a high - frequency actuating signal which is supplied to the actuator 2 via the lines 13 , 13 ′. in this case , the switching elements t 1 and t 4 and , respectively , t 2 and t 3 are switched on alternately . the current direction of the actuating signal is consequently switched over at the same frequency . the frequency can be , for example , 25 khz in order to reliably preclude movement of the actuator 2 . the frequency of the actuating signal is advantageously also outside the range which is audible to humans , so that the vehicle occupants cannot hear that the functioning of the automatic parking brake system is being checked . the functioning of the automatic parking brake system can now be fully checked owing to the high - frequency actuating signal being generated and supplied : in the event of a short circuit ks of the feed lines 13 , 13 ′ as shown in fig4 , a high alternating current flows through the low - resistance line resistor during the functional test . this alternating current , which is identified by i ks in fig5 , can be detected in the current - measuring unit 11 of the control unit . the measured current can be compared , for example , with a prespecified threshold value in order to therefore reliably draw the conclusion that there is a high alternating current which is generated as a result of a short circuit . in the event of the motor feed lines 13 , 13 ′ not having a short circuit , but rather an interruption , no current can flow in the automatic parking brake system and consequently no current is measured in the current - measuring unit 11 . in fig5 , the measurable current consequently has the value zero and is identified by i break . consequently , if no measurable current results from the test actuation of the switching elements t 1 to t 4 , the conclusion can be drawn that there is a line interruption in the parking brake system . if , however , the feed lines 13 , 13 ′ of the parking brake system are neither short - circuited nor interrupted , the high - frequency actuating signal will flow through the interference - suppression capacitor c x of the actuator 2 and be detected in the form of a low idle current of from less than 100 ma to a few amperes in the current - measuring unit 11 during testing . in this case , the magnitude of the idle current depends on the value of the capacitor c x and of the actuating frequency . in fig5 , the measurable idle current of the capacitor c x is identified by i ok . this current has a periodically fluctuating profile which is typical of capacitors and can be easily identified . therefore , overall , three different states of an automatic parking brake system can be reliably determined by the method according to the disclosure by means of high - frequency actuation of the actuator 2 during driving of the vehicle . the actuator currents resulting from the high - frequency actuation can be measured by the current - measuring unit 11 which is already present in conventional parking brake systems . in this case , three cases can occur depending on the state of the parking brake system , said cases indicating an interruption , a short circuit in the system or an intact state . the actuator current resulting from the high - frequency actuation and measured by the current - measuring unit 11 is zero , has a high short - circuit level or a low idle - current level , depending on the state of the system . if a capacitor is not provided in the actuator 2 , said actuator can be retrofitted for carrying out the method according to the disclosure for short - circuit identification , or another suitable passive or possibly also an active component is integrated into the parking brake system , and in particular into the actuator 2 , in order to identify an intact state . owing to high - frequency actuation of the h - bridge circuit 9 , the risk of movement of the actuator 2 during driving of a vehicle is precluded , wherein a movement can result in an intact state of the automatic parking brake system . in order to evaluate the currents measured during testing , a suitable algorithm can be implemented in the respective control device , said algorithm comparing the measured current with threshold values and in this way being able to determine the state of the automatic parking brake system . in this case , the threshold values are preferably matched to the respective frequency used and , in particular , also to the parameters of the passive component ( capacitor c x ). in the event of a fault in operation being identified , in particular in the event of an interruption or a short circuit , a fault in the functioning of the automatic parking brake system can already be indicated to the driver during driving . furthermore , an emergency parking brake function can be initiated if necessary , said emergency parking brake function causing , for example , fully hydraulic operation of the parking brake in the stationary state of the vehicle until the fault in operation of the automatic parking brake system is remedied .	5
the non - flammable hydraulic fluid of the present invention comprises a fluorinated ctfe oil , a refined naphthenic oil , a phenolic antioxidant , a sulfur corrosion inhibitor , a metal deactivator , and an aliphatic ester . the ctfe oil is the major component of the fluid , comprising at least about 75 % by volume of the formulated composition . such ctfe oils can be prepared using a variety of techniques . a fluorinated ctfe oil which is suitable for use in this invention is commercially available in various grades from the occidental chemical corporation as fluorolube (®) oil . the fluorinated ctfe oil is inherently non - flammable and is the only non - flammable component of the fluid . in order to preserve the overall non - flammable character of the fluid , and to meet user specifications , it has been found necessary to employ amounts of fluorinated ctfe oil of at least about 75 % by volume of the fluid . a refined naphthenic oil is needed as a cosolvent for the other components of the fluid and to plasticize and expand the seals . naphthenic oils are preferred over paraffinic and aromatic oils . a typical naphthenic oil which is useful for this purpose is exxon 3146 oil which is manufactured and sold by the exxon corporation . amounts of naphthenic oil in the range of from about 5 % to about 20 % by volume of fluid are generally suitable . the phenolic antioxidant of the present invention is used to prevent oxidation of the seals as well as hydrocarbon components of the fluid . phenols which are useful for this purpose include various alkylated phenols , hindered phenols and phenol derivatives such as t - butyl hydroquinone , butylated hydroxyanisole , polybutylated bisphenol a , butylated hydroxy toluene , alkylated hydroquinone , 2 , 6 - ditert - butyl - para - cresol , 2 , 5 - ditert - aryl hydroquinone , and the like . a preferred phenolic antioxidant is irganox (®) l - 130 , a t - butyl phenol derivative manufactured and sold by the ciba geigy co . amounts of phenolic antioxidant in the range of from about 0 . 01 % to about 5 % by weight of fluid are acceptable . phosphites can also be used in combination with the aforementioned phenolic antioxidants . an aliphatic ester is incorporated in the fluid as a swelling agent for the nitrile rubber seals in the hydraulic circuit . the primary utility of this component is to prevent shrinkage of the nitrile rubber seals by replacing components of the seal which are extracted by the fluid . preferred aliphatic esters are those having a low freeze point ( i . e . less than about - 40 ° c .). particularly preferred are the adipate esters such as diisodecyl adipate , dioctyl adipate , diisobutyl adipate , di -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) adipate , n - octyl adipate , n - decyl adipate , and alkoxy adipate esters such as dibutoxyethoxyethyl adipate , dibutoxyethyl adipate , dibutoxy adipate , and the like . mixtures of the foregoing adipate esters can also be used . particularly suitable adipate esters include plasthall 7006 , an alkyl alkylether diester adipate manufactured and sold by c . p . hall corp ., and thiokol tp - 95 , a dibutoxyethoxyethyl adipate manufactured and sold by the thiokol chemical corp . preferably , the adipate ester is present in an amount of from about 1 % to about 15 % by volume of fluid . surprisingly , aromatic esters have not been found to be as effective as aliphatic esters . for instance , phthalates , such as diisodecyl phthalate , contribute to the formation of a precipitate or sludge in the fluid and should therefore be avoided . similarly , phosphate esters are not compatible with the nitrile rubber seals and should also be avoided . the sulfur corrosion inhibitor functions to reduce the corrosion of copper and copper - bearing hydraulic system components due to the presence of sulfur and sulfur compounds in the hydraulic fluid . suitable sulfur corrosion inhibitors include amoco 158 , an alkyl thiodiazol which is manufactured and sold by the amoco chemicals corp ., and elco 461 , which is manufactured and sold by the elco corporation . the sulfur corrosion inhibitor can be suitably present in an amount of from about 0 . 001 % to about 1 % by weight of fluid . a metal deactivator is also incorporated in the hydraulic fluid . this component functions as a film - forming agent or complexing agent for copper or copper - bearing surfaces and acts to prevent further corrosion . a particularly preferred metal deactivator is du pont dmd , an n , n - disalicylidene - 1 , 2 - propanediamine manufactured and sold by the e . i . du pont de nemours & amp ; co . other useful metal deactivators include vanlube (®) 601 , 691 , 704 , and 793 , which are manufactured and sold by the r . t . vanderbilt co . amounts of metal deactivator of from about 0 . 005 % to about 2 % by weight of fluid are suitable . other additives , such as rust inhibitors and lubricity enhancers , can also be incorporated in the hydraulic fluid . a particularly useful rust inhibitor which serves to inhibit ferrous metal corrosion is nasul (®) bsn , a barium dinonylnaphthalene sulfonate manufactured and sold by the r . t . vanderbilt co . the rust inhibitor , if present , can be suitably present in an amount of from about 0 . 01 % to about 5 % by weight of fluid . the formulated hydraulic fluid is prepared by blending the various additive components with the base stock fluid , i . e ., the fluorinated ctfe oil , until a uniform mixture is obtained with no separation of the components . the order of addition of the components is not critical . the following examples are intended to further illustrate the various embodiments and advantages of the present invention without limiting it thereby . example 1 illustrates the effect of the formulated hydraulic fluid of this invention on nitrile rubber and fluoroelastomeric o - ring seals and naval brass strips using a static test simulation of an operational hydraulic system . o - ring seals were placed in a jar containing sample fluid in a circulating air oven to simulate an actual hydraulic system . the sample fluid formulation contained the following ingredients in the relative proportions as indicated below : the manufacturer &# 39 ; s designations for these additives have been previously defined elsewhere in the specification . the o - rings were placed in the jar containing the fluid and covered to minimize exposure to air during the test . a naval brass strip ( alloy c - 464 ) was also placed in the sample jar . the sample was tested in an oven at 225 ° f . for 72 hours . the o - rings were removed , dried and tested for hardness ( using a shore durometer ), tensile and elongation strength . the volume change was also measured , and the appearance of the seals was visually observed . naval brass corrosion was determined by removing and cleaning the brass strip , and measuring the weight loss . in the table seals a and b designate o - rings fabricated from sulfur - cured nitrile rubber and peroxide - cured nitrile rubber , respectively . seal c designates an o - ring fabricated from viton . the o - rings were approximately 1 . 25 inches in diameter ( o . d .). the original values of the elongation stress of o - rings from the same lot are set forth in parenthesis to the right of the corresponding values obtained after the test . table i__________________________________________________________________________ percent percent stress @ retention retention percent percent percent 100 % of of weight lossseal volume change in elongation tensile @ elongation oftype change hardness ( psi ) break @ break naval brass__________________________________________________________________________a * + 7 . 4 - 0 . 7 859 ( 560 ) 80 65 0 . 0060b * + 6 . 9 - 4 . 1 950 ( 758 ) 85 81 0 . 0051c * + 20 . 9 - 11 . 0 701 ( 735 ) 75 75 0 . 0068__________________________________________________________________________ * represents the average of two tests . as shown in the table , all seals had excellent physical property retention . the percent weight loss of the naval brass strip was negligible . the brass strips which were removed from the jars appeared slightly discolored but otherwise bright . following the procedure of example 1 , o - rings were tested for comparative purposes using the non - flammable hydraulic fluid formulation of copending commonly assigned application ser . no . 519 , 940 , filed aug . 3 , 1983 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein . this formulation contained the following ingredients in the relative proportions as indicated below : the results are set forth in table ii , with the seal types corresponding to those in example 1 . table ii__________________________________________________________________________ percent percent stress @ retention retention percent percent percent 100 % of of weight lossseal volume change in elongation tensile @ elongation oftype change hardness ( psi ) break @ break naval brass__________________________________________________________________________a + 11 . 3 + 16 . 4 ( 560 ) 7 11 5 0 . 1182b + 19 . 1 + 4 . 0 ( 758 ) 16 17 0 . 0354c + 26 . 4 - 11 . 0 655 ( 735 ) 74 85 0 . 2510__________________________________________________________________________ * samples did not reach 100 % elongation . as shown in the table , seals a and b experienced significant hardening and failed the elongation and tensile strength tests . the percent weight loss of the naval brass strip was also significant . the brass strips which were removed from the jars contained a black coating . while various embodiments and exemplifications of this invention have been shown and described in the specification , modifications and variations thereof will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art . it is to be understood , therefore , that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations which are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention .	2
fig1 shows a realtime messaging system 100 that includes an illustrative message monitor arrangement configured according to the present invention . the arrangement generally comprises a message server 102 , a user or subscriber telephone 104 , a caller telephone 106 , and a client computer 108 . also shown in fig1 is private branch exchange ( pbx ) 110 , to which the subscriber telephone 104 is interconnected , although a pbx 110 is not a required component of the messaging system 100 . the message server 102 may be any telephony messaging system , such as the intuity audix ®, or anypath ® messaging systems of lucent technologies inc . the message server 102 is generally a stored program controlled apparatus , having a processor 112 for executing control programs stored in storage 114 to provide subscribers with messaging services . storage 114 may be any computer - readable storage medium . storage 114 also includes a database 116 for providing message mailboxes for each subscriber of the messaging service and for storing associated information . in general , the caller telephone 106 establishes a connection to the subscriber telephone 104 , and the telephones 104 and 106 are in turn interconnected to the message server 102 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 the communication link between the caller telephone 106 and the subscriber telephone 104 is made at least partially through a pbx 110 . however , the pbx 110 is not necessary to the present invention , and the connection can be made between the caller telephone 106 and the subscriber telephone 104 entirely over the public switched telephony network ( pstn ) 118 , such as where the caller telephone 106 and the subscriber telephone 104 are not part of a pbx 110 . alternatively , the connection between the subscriber telephone 104 and the caller telephone 106 could be entirely over a pbx 110 , for instance , where the telephones 104 and 106 are part of the same business establishment . the message server 102 is , according to the illustrated embodiment , connected to the pbx 110 by a communications line 120 . the communications line 120 may be a standard analog tip - ring telephony interface , or a ti line or other high band - width communications link . in an alternative embodiment , such as where the subscriber telephone 104 is not part of a pbx 110 , the link between the message server 102 and the subscriber telephone 104 may be made over the pstn 118 . similarly , the connection between the message server 102 and the caller telephone 106 may be made over the pstn 118 . alternatively , the connections between the telephones 104 and 106 , and between the telephones 104 and 106 and the message server 102 , may be made using internet protocol ( ip ) telephony techniques , for example voice over internet protocol telephony based upon the itu h . 323 standard . a telephony interface 122 is provided as an interface between the communications line 120 and the message server 102 . the telephony interface 122 generally comprises hardware and low level operating programs for interfacing the control programs of the message server 102 with the communications line 120 . the client computer 108 generally includes a processor 124 , storage 126 , a speaker 128 , a microphone 130 , and a network interface 132 . the client computer 108 is interconnected to the message server 102 by a computer network 134 . the computer network 134 may be any local area network ( lan ) or wide area network ( wan ). for instance , the computer network 134 may be the public internet or a private intranet . the computer network 134 is interconnected to the message server through the server network interface 136 . in general , the client computer 108 may comprise any device capable of communicating over a computer network and having an associated speaker and microphone . therefore , although the client computer 108 is generally a personal computer equipped with a speaker 128 and a microphone 130 , other devices may be used in its place . for instance , the client computer 108 may comprise a web browser device having an associated microphone for use in connection with a television and an internet connection . other suitable devices include personal information managers ( pims ) configured for connection to a network and having a speaker and a microphone . according to the present invention , control programs stored in the storage 114 of the message server 102 include a telephony user interface ( tui ) module 138 , a message monitor server 140 , and a remote transmission protocol ( rtp ) service module 142 . although these software modules are mentioned separately , they may be included in a single control program . the database 116 serves to store information concerning individual subscribers , such as the subscribers &# 39 ; telephone numbers , the subscribers &# 39 ; personal greetings , a mailbox containing stored messages for each subscriber , and a registry of subscriber telephone numbers to be monitored , as will be described in greater detail below . the storage 126 associated with the client computer 108 generally includes a message monitor application program 144 for communicating messaging information between the message server 102 and the client computer 108 across the computer network 134 , and for presenting the client with a gui for controlling functions of the realtime messaging system 100 . the functionality of the system 100 illustrated in fig1 in providing a message monitoring capability is illustrated in fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c . referring now to fig2 a , message monitoring is initiated by the subscriber when he or she logs in at step 200 . the client log in 200 typically requires the subscriber ( i . e ., the user ) to enter their telephone number and an authentication code . generally , the login 200 is accomplished by starting the message monitor program 144 stored in the client computer 108 and selecting the option to log in by pressing the log in button 302 in the message monitor window 304 ( see fig3 ). the monitoring of new calls in realtime can be selected by checking the appropriate box 306 in the message monitor window 304 . the message monitor program , through a remote procedure call ( rpc ) request , such as a traditional rpc mechanism , java rmi , active x or dcom / com , informs the message server that monitoring of new calls is desired . this request is identified by the ip address and socket of the client computer 108 and the message monitor program 144 . at step 202 , the message server 102 authenticates the log - in by accessing administrative records in the database 116 to verify that a valid telephone number and authentication code pair have been entered . at step 204 , the address and socket of the client computer 108 and message monitor program 142 used to log in the subscriber are registered in the message monitor server 140 , and the subscriber telephone 104 number is registered in the tui interface module 138 for monitoring . when a caller seeks to establish a communications link with a subscriber , for example , by placing a telephone call to a monitored subscriber telephone 104 , and the subscriber telephone 104 , for example , is busy or is not taken off - hook within a specified number of rings ( step 206 ), the unanswered call is redirected to the tui interface module 138 of the message server 102 by the pbx ( or pstn ). the techniques used for the redirection of the unanswered call are well known in the art . the tui interface module 138 retrieves the personal greeting corresponding to the subscriber telephone 104 from the database 116 and plays that message to the caller telephone 106 through , in the illustrated example , the telephony interface 122 , the communications line 120 , and the pstn 118 . at the same time , the tui interface module 138 , at step 208 , queries the registry of monitored extensions to determine whether monitoring of the called telephone number has associated with it the command to monitor all incoming telephone calls . if monitoring is not enabled , the stored subscriber greeting is presented to the caller at step 210 , and the caller may record a message for the subscriber at step 212 , which is stored in the subscriber &# 39 ; s mailbox in the database 116 . the tui interface module 138 then returns to step 206 to await additional incoming calls . if client monitoring is enabled , the subscriber &# 39 ; s personal greeting is retrieved from the database 116 and played to the caller at step 214 normally . in addition , and at substantially the same time as performing step 214 , the tui interface module 138 alerts the message monitor server 140 that a message requiring monitoring is being received . the message monitor server 140 retrieves the ip address information corresponding to the client computer 108 , and sends an asynchronous message to the client computer 108 over the network 134 ( step 216 ) using a tcp / ip remote procedure call to provide notification that a realtime telephone call is coming in to the subscriber &# 39 ; s mailbox . according to one embodiment of the present invention , notification consists of presenting a new call notification window 308 on the visual display of the computer 108 , alerting the subscriber of the incoming call ( see fig3 ). in addition , caller identification ( caller id ) information may be presented to the user as part of the new call notification in a provided box 310 . in response to the notification , the subscriber may specify any of several actions . the subscriber may choose to monitor the caller ( step 222 ) by pressing the “ monitor caller ” button 312 in the notification window 308 . pressing the “ monitor caller ” button 312 causes a request to monitor to be sent over the computer network 134 to the rtp service module 142 . the tui interface 138 then sets up a remote transmission protocol audio session . referring now to fig2 b , the incoming message is recorded normally ( step 224 ), and a copy of the audio message is simultaneously provided to the client at the registered ip address ( step 226 ) by the rtp service module 142 by duplicating the bytes of audio data comprising the incoming message . the audible message is output through the speaker 128 associated with the client computer 108 in realtime . the audio message is provided by the message monitor server 140 to the client computer 108 through the computer network 134 as a remote transmission protocol ( rtp / rtcp ) audio stream . accordingly , an asynchronous protocol , such as tcp / ip , is used in combination with an audio transmission protocol , such as the international telecommunications union ( itu ) g - 711 , g - 723 or g - 729 transmission protocols to provide a voice over internet protocol audio stream . the simultaneous recording of the incoming message 224 and playback of the message at the registered ip address 226 continues until either the caller telephone 106 is placed on hook or a maximum message recording time has been reached ( step 228 ), in which case the system returns to step 206 ( fig2 a ) to await further incoming telephone calls . while monitoring the message being recorded , the subscriber may choose to ignore the call by pressing the “ ignore call ” button 314 ( step 230 ) in the notification window 308 , in which case the message monitor server 140 ceases to provide the audio message to the client computer 108 ( step 232 , fig2 b ), the rtp service module 142 tears down the rtp audio stream connection , and the incoming message continues to be recorded normally ( step 220 , fig2 a ). with reference again to fig2 a , as yet another option , the subscriber may choose to barge in at step 234 by hitting the “ barge - in ” button 316 in the notification window 308 in response to an incoming telephone call . where the subscriber chooses to barge in 234 , the caller is notified that the subscriber is available to take the call at step 236 ( fig2 c ). recording of the message is discontinued ( step 238 , fig2 c ), and a two - way rtp audio communications session is then established between the rtp service module 142 of the message server 102 and the client computer 108 , over the network 134 ( step 240 , fig2 c ). at this same time , the tui interface module 138 stops recording the message from the caller in the database 116 , and discards any portion of the message that has already been recorded . the subscriber and the caller may then conduct a normal conversation , with the subscriber using the speaker 128 and microphone 130 of the client computer 108 for the output and input of audible signals respectively , and with at least the portion of the transmission circuit between the message server 102 and the client computer 108 comprising the network 134 . therefore , at least a portion of the telephone conversation is transmitted asynchronously over the network 134 , with the message server 102 providing an ip telephony gateway functionality . upon selection of the “ barge in ” function , the gui running on the client &# 39 ; s computer 108 displays a call in progress window 402 ( see fig4 ). the call - in - progress window 402 presents the subscriber with a “ hang up ” button 404 to allow the subscriber to terminate the call . at step 242 ( fig2 c ), upon the detection of on - hook at the caller end , or the pressing of the “ hang up ” button 404 by the subscriber , the two - way audio session is discontinued . the system then returns to step 206 ( fig2 a ) to await the next incoming telephone call . the subscriber may also choose to barge into a call that is being monitored ( step 244 , fig2 b ) by selecting the “ barge in ” button 316 . the system then proceeds as described above where the subscriber has selected the “ barge in ” button 316 ( step 234 , fig2 a ) upon notification of the incoming call ( step 216 ). however , in this instance the rtp audio session will have already been enabled , thus all that is required to provide two - way communications is to enable the microphone 130 associated with the client computer 108 . the subscriber may also take no action , in which case the incoming message is recorded normally ( step 220 ) until the caller telephone 106 sends an on - hook signal or a maximum message record time is reached . the subscriber may also choose to begin monitoring the call ( step 222 ), to barge in to the call ( step 234 ), or to ignore the call ( step 218 ) and cause the notification window 308 to be hidden , by pressing the appropriate button 312 , 314 or 316 while the incoming message is being recorded . various of the functions performed by the message server 102 and the client computer 108 , according to one embodiment of the present invention , are illustrated in fig5 . in particular , fig5 illustrates generally some of the communications that can take place between the message server 102 and the client computer 108 . to discontinue monitoring of telephone calls to the subscriber telephone 104 , the subscriber can terminate the message monitor application program 144 by pressing the exit button 318 or by closing the program 144 using the close button 320 . when the user terminates the message monitor application program 144 , the monitoring of the subscriber &# 39 ; s extension is unregistered from the tui interface module 138 . of course , various modifications to the system 100 described above can be contemplated . for instance , certain of the various user operations may be selected by default , such as where the subscriber desires to monitor every incoming telephone call , by adding provisions for default settings to the described embodiment . according to one embodiment of the system 100 , when multiple calls are received at the subscriber telephone 104 , the message monitor application program 144 may present the user with multiple notification windows 308 . the subscriber may choose to listen to the messages , ignore , or to barge in by activating the appropriate button 312 , 314 , or 316 in the notification window 308 . according to a further embodiment , the system 100 may allow the subscriber to select all internal or external calls for monitoring where the subscriber telephone is part of a private branch exchange , or to monitor only messages originating from selected caller telephone 106 extensions or line numbers . according to yet another embodiment , the system 100 may allow a single mailbox to be monitored from multiple client computers 108 . for example , a group may monitor a single subscriber telephone 104 . when a call is received at the subscriber telephone 104 , one or more members of the group may monitor the call , and one or more members may barge in . when multiple members barge in , a conference call is established . the system 100 may also allow the monitoring of a plurality of telephones 104 from a single client computer 108 . such variations can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages , and it is intended that such variations be covered by the appended claims . the foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . further , the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . consequently , variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings , within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art , are within the scope of the present invention . the embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such or in other embodiments and with various modifications required by their particular application or use of the invention . it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art .	7
reference is now made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures . referring now to fig1 the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a voice activated vehicular telephone system 10 which includes a portable telephone 12 removably coupled ( both physically and electrically ) through a line 14 to a holder 16 which is electrically coupled to an external antenna 11 through a radio frequency ( rf ) coaxial line 18 and to a voice adapter ( va ) 20 through a multi - conductor line 22 . the va 20 is further connected to a power source ( e . g ., an automobile battery , not shown ) through a line 23 ( including raw power , ignition - switched power , and ground ), to a speaker 28 through a speaker line 27 , and to an external control unit ( ecu ) 26 through a line 24 . refer now to fig2 for a schematic block representation of the portable telephone 12 of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . portable 12 includes , at least , an external interface 41 accommodating a front keypad 42 , a display 40 ( such as a liquid crystal or other type of display ), an rf antenna 30 , up / down keys 36 , 38 , an internal speaker 32 , an internal microphone 34 , and an input / output ( i / o ) connector 39 . keypad 42 includes a numeric keypad 44 including a full complement of digit keys and “”, “#” keys . keypad 42 also includes a send key 46 , a clear key 48 , an end key 50 , a recall key 52 , a store key 54 , a menu key 56 , an emergency dialing key 58 , an alpha - numeric key 60 , and a power key 62 . these keys are all used in normal cellular telephone functionality , and , when appropriate , the function of particular keys are described below as the functions relate to the present invention . moreover , other components of the portable 12 will be described below in more detail in reference to fig4 . fig3 is a schematic block representation of the ecu 26 of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . constructed for being mounted to a surface within an automobile ( such as a dash , or , alternately , the inside surface of a windshield ), the ecu 26 includes a rigid vehicular mounting structure 69 supporting a reduced keypad 193 , a microphone 70 , and a mute indicator light 92 . the reduced keypad 193 includes a send key 72 , an end key 74 , an emergency dialing key 76 ( also a special type of “ quick dial ” key ), quick dial ( qd ) keys 78 , 70 , 82 , 84 , labeled “ 1 ”, “ 2 ”, “ 3 ”, and “ 4 ”, respectively , a down key 86 , an up key 88 , a mute key 90 , a directory ( dir ) key 94 , and a voice activated dialing ( vad ) key 96 . the ecu 26 further includes an i / o connector 182 coupled to internal supporting circuitry of the ecu 26 as is discussed below . turn now to fig4 for a block diagram representation of the portable telephone 12 according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . portable 12 internally includes a microprocessor 108 , memory 115 having memory allocated for various functions ( described in detail below ), keys circuitry 112 , display circuitry 114 , audio processing / interface / microprocessor support circuitry 106 , speaker and microphone circuitry 110 , transmitter and receiver circuitry 104 , rf relay 102 connected to antenna 30 , i / o connector 39 , and battery circuit 128 . through various conductors , microprocessor 108 is coupled to memory 115 , display circuitry 114 , keys circuitry 112 , audioprocessing / interface / microprocessor support circuitry 106 , and to i / o connector 39 through line 136 . battery circuit 128 of portable 12 is coupled to i / o connector 39 through line 129 and through other lines ( not shown ) to various components of portable 12 which require power and ground from battery circuit 128 , as would be understood by one reasonably skilled in the art . audio processing / interface / microprocessor support circuitry 106 is further coupled through line 138 to i / o connector 39 , through a line to transmitter and receiver circuitry 104 , and through a line to speaker and microphone circuitry 110 . transmitter and receiver circuitry 104 is coupled through a line to rf relay 102 , which alternates between connecting the line from transmitter and receiver circuitry 104 to an rf line coupled to portable antenna 30 and a connection to line 134 coupled through i / o connector 39 and an rf line of line 14 through the holder 16 and rf line 18 to external antenna 11 ( fig1 ). during operation , the particular state of rf relay 102 at any given time ( i . e ., whether transmitter and receiver circuitry 104 is coupled to portable antenna 30 or through i / o connector 39 to external antenna 11 ) is determined by whether portable 12 is electronically coupled to the holder 16 ( fig1 ). it should also be understood that additional lines not shown are connected through i / o connector 39 ( as with other connectors of this first preferred embodiment ) as necessary and as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art ( e . g ., digital and analog grounds , other sensing lines , etc .) consideration is now given to a more detailed description of memory 115 of portable 12 , according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in fig4 . it should be understood that , although not specifically delineated in fig4 memory 115 encompasses all on - board memory of portable 12 associated with microprocessor 108 of portable 12 . thus , in addition to other memory areas not specifically delineated , memory 115 includes , at least , program memory 118 , nam ( number assignment module ) memory 120 , assigned user storage 116 , scratchpad memory 126 , and current dialing sequence memory 122 . memories 116 , 118 , 120 , 122 , and 126 may include both nonvolatile and volatile memory . program memory 118 stores executable programs which run , as determined by microprocessor 108 , during any operation of portable 12 . nam memory 120 stores the telephone number for the portable 12 , electronic serial number information , personal & amp ; vehicle options , and other parameters required for proper operation of the phone , etc . assigned user storage 116 stores telephone numbers and assigned alpha - numeric descriptions ( names ) in a scrollable and individually addressable arrangement ; scratchpad memory 126 temporarily stores unassigned telephone numbers in scrollable form ; and current dialing sequence memory 122 temporarily stores the telephone number which will be used to initiate the next call . speaker and microphone circuitry 110 supports the internal speaker 32 and microphone 34 ( fig2 ) which are operational when the portable 12 is not in a handsfree mode , and keys circuit 112 supports normal key entry on cellular telephone keypad 42 ( fig2 ) and up / down keys 36 , 38 ( fig2 ) of portable 12 . display circuitry 114 is associated with controlling display 40 of portable 12 . reference is now made to fig5 which is a block diagram representation of the holder 16 . connectors 139 and 140 combine and couple data signal lines and audio signal lines 150 through holder 16 for data and audio communication between portable 12 and va 20 ( fig1 ) through lines 14 and 22 . the connector 140 also couples rf signals through the holder 16 over an rf signal line 141 to coaxial connector 6 connected to the rf line 18 , and eventually the external antenna 11 ( fig1 ). a power line 144 couples power through the connector 139 to rapid charger circuitry 143 and dc - to - dc converter / power supply 142 , which in turn couples power through line 145 to the connector 140 and line 14 for powering the portable 12 and controlling the antenna relay 102 ( fig4 ). the rapid charger circuitry 143 also receives a control signal from the va 20 ( fig1 ) coupled through the connector 139 and line 147 to suspend battery charging while a call is in process . a thermal indicator line 146 also enables the charger 143 to sense battery temperature in the portable 12 ( fig1 ) and adjust accordingly as it supplies charging current over line 148 . when the portable 12 is mechanically engaged into the holder 16 ( fig1 ), an on - hook / off - hook switch 149 is closed . the movement of the switch 149 grounds a circuit internal to the holder 16 , an action which is signaled on line 151 . attention is next directed to fig6 which is a block diagram representation of the voice adapter ( va ) 20 in the first preferred embodiment . the va 20 includes , at least , an interface /( i / o ) processor 159 ( an acceptable example of which is the 80c51 ) which is coupled to holder 16 ( fig1 ) through lines 156 , 157 , and 158 , the connector 155 , and line 22 , and also coupled to the ecu 26 ( fig1 ) through synchronous clock line 160 and synchronous data lines 161 and 162 , a connector 9 , and line 24 . line 156 is coupled to line 151 of fig5 to notify the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 of the mechanical engagement of the portable 12 into the holder 16 ( fig1 ) to evoke handsfree capabilities . serial data lines 157 and 158 provide for asynchronous data communication between the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 and the microprocessor 108 in the portable 12 ( fig4 ) after traveling through line 22 , the holder 16 , and line 14 ( fig1 ). the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 is also coupled to a voice processing unit ( vpu ) 166 . one example of an acceptable vpu 166 includes a digital signal processor ( dsp ) ti 320c541 with handsfree operation provided through software . another example of an acceptable vpu 166 includes a microprocessor / application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ) combination with separate hardware for handsfree functionality . thus , the codecs 165 , 169 discussed below are omitted in the non - dsp embodiment since the handsfree functionality is handled through separate hardware . according to this first preferred embodiment , the vpu 166 is coupled to a mic / spkr codec 169 which is a microphone / speaker coder - decoder that is coupled to the microphone 70 of ecu 26 ( fig3 ) through a line 170 , connector 9 , and line 24 , and is also coupled to speaker 28 ( fig1 ) through a speaker amplifier 171 , a connector 8 , and line 27 . when the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 detects a hook switch close at the holder 16 via line 156 , the portable 12 is notified through the data line 158 to cease using the internal microphone and speaker 34 , 32 , respectively , ( fig2 ). simultaneously , the vpu 166 is instructed to enable operation of the mic / spkr codec 169 by passing digitized voice back and forth between the rx / tx codec 165 and the mic / spkr codec 169 . thus the vpu 166 handles the handsfree audio signal conditioning including handsfree echo canceling , noise reduction , etc . the rx / tx codec 165 is a receive / transmit coder - decoder that is in turn coupled through line 163 , the connector 155 , line 22 , through the holder 16 ( fig5 ), through line 14 , through the i / o connector 39 ( fig4 ), and line 138 to the audio processing / interface / microprocessor support circuitry 106 of portable 12 . furthermore , the vpu 166 is coupled to ram memory 167 and rom memory 168 , including both volatile ( with limited backup power ) and nonvolatile memory , respectively . rom memory 168 includes static information , such as program memory , standard tables ( including speaker independent voice recognition template memory ), and standard prompts . however , ram memory 167 includes directory memory for storing recorded user - defined names and numbers , voice recognition template memory for those user - defined names , and personal / vehicle options memory . raw , unswitched , vehicular battery power is coupled through line 23 , a connector 7 , and a line 177 to a portable / ignition detector 176 . ignition - switched vehicular battery power is also coupled through line 23 , connector 7 , and a line 178 to the portable / ignition detector 176 . a portion of the raw battery power coupled to the portable / ignition detector 176 is voltage regulated and coupled through a line 153 to a capacitor 181 . the capacitor 181 is normally charged by the power coupled through the line 153 to provide back - up power to the ram 167 . for example , if the vehicle battery dies or is disconnected as it is during normal vehicle service operations , the residual charge on the capacitor 181 is used to maintain power to the ram 167 to maintain the integrity of information stored therein for a period of time until the battery is charged again or a new battery is installed in the vehicle . switched battery power ( approximately 12 volts ) is coupled from portable / ignition detector 176 through lines 154 , 173 , and 174 to various other subsystems of the first preferred embodiment including various other components of the va 20 . this includes any portion of system 10 requiring switched battery power , including : i ) holder 16 ( fig1 ) through line 174 , connector 155 , and line 22 ; ii ) ecu 26 through line 173 , connector 9 , and line 24 ; iii ) through line 173 to the speaker amplifier 171 which is in turn coupled through the line 172 and the connector 8 to drive the speaker 28 ; iv ) through line 154 to a voltage regulator 175 on - board va 20 which is used to regulate power coupled to any other portion of the system 10 requiring regulated power ( i . e ., power coupled after the voltage regulator 175 as vcc to the other subsystems of system 10 or components of va 20 ). the portable / ignition detector 176 of the va 20 is also coupled through a line 179 to detect if the portable 12 ( fig1 ) has been electrically connected to the holder 16 for the purpose of enabling operation of all modules in system 10 . the portable / ignition detector 176 is coupled to the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 through a line 5 to receive an indication of whether a call is in process for holding after ignition dies and for assisting in charge control , as well as letting the interface /( i / o ) processor 159 know when the vehicle ignition key has been turned to the on position . in addition , the portable / ignition detector 176 is coupled to the holder 16 through a line 180 to control battery charging . when the portable 12 ( fig1 ) is not electrically connected to the holder 16 ( line 179 ), power is switched off from being provided by the portable / ignition detector 176 to other elements , except for power to the capacitor 181 . this situation is also true when the ignition key is determined to be in the off position ( line 177 ), except when a call is in process ( line 5 ). at this point , for a more detailed discussion of the ecu 26 , reference is made to fig7 which is a block diagram representation of the ecu 26 . the ecu 26 includes , at least , a connector 182 , microcontroller circuitry 191 , a reduced keypad 193 , an led 192 , backlights 187 , voltage regulators 185 and 188 , a 2 - stage preamplifier 183 , and the microphone 70 . the ecu 26 is coupled to line 24 through connector 182 for propagating signals sent between ecu 26 and va 20 ( fig6 ). the microcontroller circuitry 191 of ecu 26 is coupled to the connector 182 through clocked logic 189 and a line 190 . moreover , the microcontroller circuitry 191 controls activation of the led 192 as directed by the va 20 ( fig6 ), continually polls the reduced keypad 193 to detect key presses and key releases ( noop &# 39 ; s ) before notifying the va 20 through the clocked logic 189 and line 190 , and receives power from voltage regulator 188 . the voltage regulators 185 and 188 are coupled to the connector 182 through a line 186 , while the voltage regulator 188 is also coupled to the clocked logic 189 . the backlights 187 are coupled to the connector 182 likewise through the line 186 and provide light to the reduced keypad 193 . the reduced keypad 193 is also coupled to the voltage regulator 188 . in addition , the voltage regulator 185 is coupled to the 2 - stage preamplifier 183 , which is in turn coupled to the connector 184 and the microphone 70 which detects user audio sounds and generates representative signals transmitted to the va 20 ( fig6 ). note that , in general , in the figures , the directions of arrowheads on any lines coupling any subsystems of the system 10 , or any of the components thereof , are meant to indicate the direction of flow of signals therebetween . lines coupling these subsystems , or subsystem components , having more than one arrowhead indicate that signals are coupled in more than one direction . up until now the discussion has centered mainly on the structural relationships between the various subsystems , and components thereof , of the first preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention . the focus hereinbelow presently shifts more to a description of the functional relationships of these subsystems and components , and to methods of the first preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention . thus , along with the specified flowcharts , also refer to one or more of fig1 - 7 to see the various structural elements . at the heart of the present invention is the va 20 . the va 20 , in combination with the ecu 26 , enables a user to control all basic call processing functions through an integrated combination of voice commands and operation of the ecu 26 , including , at least , the following : i ) generating signals for placing a call ; ii ) generating dtmf signals while a call is in process ; iii ) entering digits into scratchpad memory while a call is in process ; iv ) answering calls ; v ) terminating calls ; vi ) placing calls by selecting names in a user directory having numerous locations ( the directory memory ), such as “ home ”, “ office ”, or “ mom ” in the va 20 ; vii ) placing calls by selecting memory location numbers in numerous memory locations in the portable 12 ; viii ) muting ; ix ) volume changes ; x ) quick dialing ; and xi ) programming and / or deleting phone numbers in both the numerous memory locations in the portable 12 ( by memory location number ) and / or in the directory memory in the va 20 ( by voice label ). in implementing the above described first preferred embodiment , the different operational modes of the system 10 will be described in some detail , including an idle mode 200 ( discussed below in reference to fig8 ) and a call - in - process ( cip ) mode 1060 ( discussed below in reference to fig2 ). however , before discussing these modes , which occur after power - on and initialization of the system 10 , ( with the portable 12 positioned in the holder 16 in handsfree mode ), consideration is given specifically to the events that occur upon power - on and initialization of the va 20 . accordingly , on power - up , the va 20 enters its initialization or wake - up mode and initializes all circuits ( including audio processing ) to their default settings . also , in wake - up mode , the portable 12 ( if powered - on and initialized ) will send a term vers req ( terminal version request ) command to the va 20 over a reverse data connection ( including lines 14 , 150 , 22 , and 157 of fig5 and 6 ) to determine which peripherals are attached to system 10 . for instance , if a 3 - watt booster is also coupled to the va 20 , then the va 20 must accommodate the portable 12 and intercept the term vers req command , send a response ( a config command ) to the portable 12 such as , for example , 00h = no 3 - watt booster or 01h = 3 - watt booster attached , and forward the term vers req command to the ecu 26 through line 24 . communication from the va 20 to the portable 12 is accomplished through a forward data connection , including lines 158 , 22 , 150 , and 14 . the ecu 26 , upon receipt of the ter vers req command , will also send a response ( term vers status ) which will be passed to the portable 12 via the va 20 to indicate the type of control unit ( i . e ., the ecu 26 ) which is attached . this response will allow the portable 12 to specifically control and interface to the ecu 26 based on a list of control units that the portable 12 is capable of supporting . in addition , in wake - up mode , the portable 12 will send a volume command to the va 20 which the va 20 will use to set a volume level for voice prompts ( discussed below ) and user - programmed label playback . the va 20 will then reply with a keytones on command to indicate the presence of the vpu 166 in the system , and enter its idle mode ( also described below ). however , the va 20 will not go into its idle mode if the portable 12 sends a key control stop data command to the va 20 to indicate that the portable 12 is in its initialization routines and that no forward data should be sent . the va 20 will pass the key control stop data command on a reverse data line though line 24 to the ecu 26 , but no forward data will be accepted by , or transmitted to , the portable 12 on a forward data line through line 22 until a key control send test command is received at the va 20 from the portable 12 . once the initialization routines of the portable 12 have been completed , the portable 12 will send the key control send test command to indicate their completion and that the forward data line is again active . this command is passed by the portable 12 through the holder 16 and the va 20 to the ecu 26 . once the portable 12 and the va 20 are powered - on and initialized , the system 10 enters the idle mode 200 fig8 ). before discussing idle mode 200 ( see fig8 ) of system 10 further , it should be noted that for the system 10 , there is another parallel operating mode which , for certain processing modes of the va 20 , allows the va 20 to receive ( over coupled lines as described above ) and process commands from the portable 12 to perform other activities . these commands include , as an example , a keytone volume command from the portable 12 which functions to pause a current processing state of the va 20 to set an audio output volume level for speaker 28 according to the command parameters and then return va 20 to its current processing state . another command which can be received by the va 20 from the portable 12 is an alert tone start command , which causes the va 20 to cancel any voice activated dialing operation in progress , and then the va 20 goes to an incoming call mode 230 ( described below in reference to fig9 ). similarly , commands received by the va 20 produce corresponding actions by the va 20 as follows : i ) transfer to v - ch ( voice - channel ) causes the va 20 to go to call in process mode ; ii ) audio mute enable causes the va 20 to set an audio mute signal to on ( for those implementations including a signal output to mute a car stereo while a call is in process ); iii ) audio mute disable causes the va 20 to set the audio mute signal to off ; iv ) horn on causes the va 20 to set a horn alert signal to on ( for those implementations including a signal output to use an automotive horn to alert a user of an incoming call ; v ) horn off causes the va 20 to set the horn alert signal to off ; vi ) booster power on causes the va 20 to set a booster enable line to on , to set power level = 000 , and to set an internal booster power flag on ; vii ) booster power off causes the va 20 to set the booster enable line to off and set the internal booster power flag to off ; viii ) set booster power level causes va 20 , if booster power flag = on , to set booster power control lines to a booster power level indicated by this command , and if booster power flag = off , to ignore this command ; ix ) va dtmf enable causes the va 20 to enable dtmf tone detector function in the va 20 ; and x ) va dtmf disable causes the va 20 to disable the dtmf tone detector function in the va 20 . without implying anything about the other commands above , the last two commands are not required in the preferred embodiment . note also that the va 20 forwards all commands from the portable 12 to the ecu 26 and key presses and status responses from the ecu 26 to the portable 12 except for the up 88 and down 86 keys as they apply to a directory scroll mode 510 which is described in more detail in relation to fig1 . when the vpu 166 is actively processing voice commands ( i . e ., active mode = not in idle mode ), any 10 second period where no voice command is detected will cause the va 20 to forward “ rcl ” “ rcl ” ( i . e ., two recall commands as if a user pressed the recall key twice on the portable 12 ) keystrokes to the portable 12 to abort any commands in process and to retain the current dialing sequence on the display 40 . then the va 20 will issue two audible beeps over the speaker 28 , and then return to idle mode 200 . also , similar results will occur if the va 20 receives a vad not ready , an off hook , or a dc loop on command . while in active mode , the va 20 will recognize a user saying “ help ” or “ terminate ” ( global keywords recognized at almost any time ). the function of the “ help ” verbal command is to request a voice synthesized response over the speaker 28 from the va 20 as to valid keywords for the va 20 at the particular time the voice command is issued . the va 20 responds to “ help ” by playing back an initial prompt for that entry point plus acceptable keywords for the benefit of the user . on the other hand , the “ terminate ” verbal command functions to cancel active mode . the va 20 responds to “ terminate ” to cancel any operations in process by sending the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” keystroke commands to terminate any commands in process and retain a dialing sequence on the display 40 . the va 20 also issues a key tones on command to the portable 12 , issues two ( 2 ) audible beeps or “ bye ” on the speaker 28 , and the system 10 ( the va 20 ) returns to the idle mode 200 . note , however , that during active mode , if any improper keystroke on the ecu 26 is detected by the va 20 , active mode will be aborted , the va 20 will issue two ( 2 ) beeps over the speaker 28 , and the va 20 will return to idle mode 200 . the up and down commands will be passed through to the portable 12 in response to a user pressing the up 88 and down 86 keys on the ecu 26 for volume control or intercepted for directory scroll functions ( described below ). note also that there are recognition prompts which are voice synthesized by the va 20 and issued over speaker 28 if the va 20 cannot recognize a verbal command from the user . such global prompts include , at least , “ please repeat ” and “ louder , please ”. the former is heard over the speaker 28 if the user says a word which is detected by the va 20 , but the word is not close enough in sound to any active key word recognized by the va 20 . on the other hand , the latter is heard over the speaker 28 if the user says a word , but the word is not sufficiently detected by the va 20 , perhaps because the user spoke at too low a volume . returning now to fig8 in idle mode 200 , before decision block 204 , a vru pers pref command may be sent from the portable 12 which indicates a user &# 39 ; s personal preference options to va 20 . as a result of this , personal preference options are set per data in the vru pers pref command and idle mode 200 continues . the portable 12 may also send a vru vehicle options command which transmits vehicle configuration options to the va 20 to be set per data in the vru vehicle options command and idle mode 200 continues . if an incoming call is detected by system 10 , then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 204 through incoming mode step 206 to incoming mode 230 ( fig9 ) which is described below . as discussed below , “ global ” keywords of the system 10 are not active when system 10 is in idle mode 200 . if , however , there is no incoming call in step 204 , flow proceeds along the no branch of step 204 to step 208 in which it is determined if there is any user action . if there is no user action , flow proceeds along the no branch of step 208 and the system 10 returns to step 204 . if , however , the user acts , flow proceeds to step 210 in which it is determined if a key has been pressed ( either on the portable 12 or the ecu 26 ). if a key has been pressed , flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 210 through key idle mode step 212 to key idle mode 260 ( fig1 ) which is described below . on the other hand , if no key has been pressed , then flow continues along the no branch of step 210 to step 214 where it is ascertained whether or not voice activation has been enabled . note that if , at any time , voice activation enable = off is set by a command to the va 20 , or such is the initialization state , voice recognition algorithms within the vpu 166 are not enabled during the idle mode 200 . when voice activation is not enabled , flow proceeds along the no branch of step 214 and system 10 returns to step 204 . alternatively , when voice activation is enabled , flow moves along the yes branch of step 214 to step 216 where the va 20 determines if the user has said “ voice control ”. in other words , the user &# 39 ; s speech is picked up by microphone 70 of ecu 26 for conversion to an audio signal which is coupled through line 24 to va 20 for recognition and processing . if the speech detected by the va 20 is not “ voice control ” ( or some other activation phrase ), flow moves along the no branch of step 216 and system 10 returns to step 204 . if , however , the user has said “ voice control ”, then flow instead follows the yes branch of step 216 and the va 20 issues an audible beep in step 218 through the speaker 28 . flow now continues to step 220 , wherein a keytones off command is issued from the va 20 to the portable 12 signifying that the va 20 desires to enter the ready mode . this is followed by step 222 in which it is determined if the host ( portable 12 ) is ready . if the portable 12 is not ready ( i . e ., a vad not ready command is sent from the portable 12 and received at the va 20 ), then flow moves along the no branch of step 222 and system 10 moves back to step 204 . alternatively , if the host ( portable 12 ) is ready ( i . e ., a vad ready command is received at the va 20 ), then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 222 and system 10 goes through ready mode step 224 to ready mode 320 which is discussed in more detail below in relation to fig1 . for the system 10 in idle mode 200 as introduced above , the user says “ voice control ” to go to the ready mode step 224 for voice activated dialing ( vad ). note that the voice control command is disabled by a voice activation enable = off command in the personal preference option word . when the voice activation enable = off is set , the voice control command ( keyword ) will not be detected by the va 20 . however , as indicated in step 218 , a single audible beep is issued over the speaker 28 after detection by the va 20 of the complete voice activation phrase ( voice control command ). note also that the user must pause approximately 0 . 5 to 2 seconds between the words “ voice ” and “ control ” in saying “ voice control ” aloud for proper detection by the va 20 . if this phrase is not completed after 2 seconds , the system 10 resets to step 204 along the no branch of step 216 . fig9 is a flow chart representation of an incoming mode 230 of operation of the system 10 . proceeding through the steps of fig9 a telephone ring is audibly output in step 234 . the system 10 flow then proceeds to step 236 , where it is determined if any of the up or down control keys 88 or 86 , respectively , of the ecu 26 , or the up or down keys 36 or 38 , respectively , of the portable 12 have been pressed by the user . if any of the keys 36 , 38 , 86 , or 88 have been pressed , then the yes branch of step 236 is followed to adjust ring volume in step 238 after which flow proceeds to step 255 ( described below ). if none of the keys 36 , 38 , 86 , or 88 have been pressed , then flow proceeds along the no branch of step 236 to step 240 , after which it is ascertained if the send key 46 on the portable 12 or the send key 72 on the ecu 26 have been pressed . in step 240 , if either of send keys 46 or 72 have been pressed , the flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 240 to cip ( call in process ) mode 1060 , which is detailed below in relation to fig2 , through cip mode step 242 . if send keys 46 or 72 have not been pressed , however , flow follows the no branch of step 240 to step 244 where it is ascertained if voice answer is enabled ( i . e ., has the voice answer enable = on command been received by the va 20 ). if voice answer is not enabled , then flow follows the no branch of step 244 to step 255 . if the incoming call is still in process , the yes branch of step 255 is taken back to step 236 . on the other hand , if the call is no longer in process , the no branch of step 255 is taken to step 246 . if , on the other hand , in step 244 , voice answer is enabled , then the yes branch of step 244 is taken to step 250 , in which the va 20 determines if the user has said the word “ answer ”. if “ answer ” has not been detected in step 250 , flow proceeds along the no branch of step 250 to step 255 with subsequent flow from step 255 as above . alternatively , if the keyword “ answer ” has been detected in step 250 , the yes branch of step 250 is taken to step 252 , wherein a send command is sent to the portable 12 as if the send key 72 was pressed , and flow proceeds to cip mode 1060 ( fig2 ) through step 254 now that the incoming call has been answered . note that in incoming mode 230 , if voice answer enable = off is set , the voice recognition algorithms of the va 20 are not active at that point . reference is now made to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a key idle mode 260 of operation of system 10 . as discussed above , if the flow of system 10 proceeds along the yes branch of step 210 in fig8 then the flow moves to key idle mode 212 , which is the same as moving to key idle mode 262 of fig1 and the steps thereafter . in fig1 , in step 264 , it is determined whether the key that was pressed to get to 212 in fig8 is an ecu 26 key . if an ecu 26 key was not pressed , system 10 flow proceeds along the no branch of step 264 to step 265 , where it is determined if the end key 50 of portable 12 is the key that was pressed . if the end key 50 was pressed , the flow moves along the yes branch of step 265 to step 266 to see if the host ( portable 12 ) is ready ( i . e ., whether the va 20 has received a vad ready command from the portable 12 ). if the host is not ready , the flow follows the no branch of step 266 through idle mode step 267 back to the idle mode 200 of fig8 . however , if the host is ready , then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 266 through ready mode step 268 to a ready mode 320 which is discussed in more detail below in relation to fig1 . going back to step 265 , if , on the other hand , the end key 50 of the portable 12 was not pressed , then flow follows the no branch of step 265 to step 270 where normal portable 12 key processing will occur . this is followed by flow proceeding to step 272 , where it is ascertained whether a call is ever in process . if there is a call in process , the flow moves along the yes branch of step 272 to cip mode 1060 , which is discussed in more detail below in relation to fig2 , through cip mode step 274 . if , instead , there is no call in process , then flow moves along the no branch of step 272 to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 286 . note that back in step 264 , if an ecu 26 key was pressed instead , then the flow of system 10 proceeds along the yes branch of step 264 to step 276 to ascertain whether the key that was pressed is one of the quick dial ( qd ) keys 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , or 84 ( fig3 ). note that each of the qd keys 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , and 84 of the ecu 26 is capable , according to the user &# 39 ; s preference and with a single touch of the user &# 39 ; s finger , of causing the portable 12 to dial a particular stored telephone number . accordingly , if one of the qd keys 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , or 84 was pressed , then the flow moves along the yes branch of step 276 to step 278 where the portable 12 initiates the call , followed by flow to cip mode in step 1060 ( fig2 ) through cip mode step 280 . however , if one of the qd keys was not pressed , then flow continues along the no branch of step 276 to step 282 to see if one of the up 88 or down 86 keys of the ecu 26 was pressed instead . if one of the up 88 or down 86 keys was pressed , then flow goes along the yes branch of step 282 to step 283 , wherein the portable 12 responds with a volume adjustment command to the va 20 , and the flow continues to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 286 . considering again step 282 , if one of the up 88 or down 86 keys of the ecu 26 was not pressed , then flow continues along the no branch of step 282 to step 288 , wherein it is determined whether the send key 72 of the ecu 26 is the key that was pressed . if the send key 72 was pressed , then the flow of system 10 moves along the yes branch of step 288 to step 290 to determine if any digits occupy the current dialing sequence memory 122 of the portable 12 . if there are no digits in the sequence , flow proceeds along the no branch of step 290 to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 286 . if , however , the current dialing sequence is available in the current dialing sequence memory 122 , then the flow continues along the yes branch of step 290 to step 292 to begin a call , and then to cip mode 1060 ( fig2 ) through cip mode step 294 . if the send key 72 was not pressed , then the flow moves along the no branch of step 288 to step 296 to determine if the end key 74 of the ecu 26 is the key that was pressed . if the end key 74 was pressed , then flow moves along the yes branch of step 296 to step 298 to determine whether the portable 12 is ready ( has a vad ready command been received by the va 20 ). if the portable 12 is ready in step 298 , then flow goes along the yes branch of step 298 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 300 . on the other hand , if the portable is not ready in step 298 , then flow follows the no branch of step 298 to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 302 . considering again step 296 , if the end key 74 was not pressed , then flow proceeds to step 304 to determine if the vad key 96 is the key that was pressed on ecu 26 . note that the vad 96 key functions to turn on voice activated dialing in the va 20 . if the vad 96 key was pressed , then system 10 flow moves along the yes branch of step 304 to step 305 , wherein a key tones off command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 . the flow of system 10 then moves to step 306 in which it is determined whether the portable 12 is ready ( whether a vad ready command is received from the portable 12 ). if the portable 12 is not ready in step 306 , then flow moves along the no branch of step 306 to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 302 . if , however , the portable 12 is ready in step 306 , then flow goes along the yes branch of step 306 to digit entry mode 400 , which is described in more detail below with reference to fig1 , through digit entry mode step 308 . considering step 304 again , if the vad key 96 is not the key that was pressed on the ecu 26 , then flow moves along the no branch of step 304 to step 310 , wherein it is determined whether the dir key 94 of the ecu 26 is the key that was pressed . if the dir key 94 was pressed , then the flow continues along the yes branch of step 310 to step 311 , wherein a key tones off command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 . the system 10 flow then continues to step 312 , wherein it is determined as to whether the portable 12 is ready . if the portable 12 is ready in step 312 , then flow goes along the yes branch of step 312 to directory recall mode 480 , which is discussed in more detail below in reference to fig1 , through directory recall mode step 314 . in contrast , in step 312 , if the portable 12 is not ready , then flow moves along the no branch of step 312 to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 316 . considering step 310 again , if the dir key 94 of the ecu 26 is not the key that was pressed , then the flow continues along the no branch of step 310 to step 317 where an error tone is played since the mute key 90 must have been the ecu key pressed , and such a function , while not in call - in - process ( cip ) mode , is improper . after step 317 , the system 10 proceeds to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 316 . attention is now directed to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a ready mode 320 of operation of system 10 . the flow of system 10 to ready mode through step 224 that was discussed above in reference to fig8 and through steps 268 and 300 that were discussed above in reference to fig1 , proceeds to ready mode 322 and steps thereafter of fig1 . in step 324 , the va 20 voice synthesizes and prompts the user with the word “ ready ” over the speaker 28 . then , in step 326 , it is determined whether the user has responded to the “ ready ” prompt by saying the word “ dial ” aloud for the va 20 to recognize that the user wants to say a phone number to the portable 12 for dialing or storage . if the user responds by saying “ dial ”, as detected in step 326 , then the flow of system 10 follows along the yes branch of step 326 to digit entry mode 400 , which is described in more detail below with reference to fig1 , through digit entry mode step 328 . however , as would be detected in step 326 , if the user has not said “ dial ”, then the flow proceeds along the no branch of step 326 to step 330 , where it is determined whether the user has said “ directory ” to indicate to the va 20 that the user wants to enter directory recall mode 480 ( fig1 ) through directory recall mode step 332 . if the user says “ directory ”, as detected in step 330 , then flow goes along the yes branch of step 330 to directory recall mode 480 through directory recall mode step 332 . thus , the user is able to access special memory locations in the assigned user storage 116 by user - programmed voice labels by saying the word “ directory ”. alternatively , as would be detected in step 330 , if the user does not say “ directory ”, then flow goes along the no branch of step 330 to step 334 , where it is determined if the user responds by saying the word “ send ” to indicate to the va 20 that the user wants to initiate a call using the current dialing sequence stored in the current dialing sequence memory 122 of the portable 12 . the user says “ send ”, as detected in step 334 , to dial the current dialing sequence that was previously input into the memory 122 . if the user says “ send ” as detected in step 334 , then flow continues along the yes branch of step 334 to step 336 , wherein the va 20 determines if the current dialing sequence number is available . the number availability is determined by the va 20 by sending “ rcl ” “ rcl ” ( i . e ., two recall ) command key strokes to the portable 12 and then evaluating the number of digits in the current dialing sequence memory 122 after such digits are sent from the portable 12 to the va 20 in response . if the number of digits = 0 , as ascertained in step 336 , the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) moves along the no branch of step 336 and the system 10 ( the va 20 ) prompts the user with “ no number ”, followed by flow to digit entry mode 400 ( fig1 ) through digit entry mode step 328 . however , in step 336 , if the number is available , then flow moves along the yes branch of step 336 to step 344 , wherein , if the last audible command from the user was not “ verify ”, then flow proceeds along the no branch of step 344 to step 350 , in which the dialing number sequence from the current dialing sequence memory 122 is repeated . this is followed by flow to step 346 , wherein a send command key stroke is transmitted to the portable 12 to initiate a call , and , in turn , flow moves to wait ( waiting for ) cip mode 1030 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig2 , through wait cip mode step 348 ( i . e ., wait cip mode step 348 goes to wait cip mode 1032 in fig2 ). considering step 344 again , if the last audible user command was “ verify ”, then the user has recently heard the dialing sequence and flow moves along the yes branch of step 344 to step 346 , wherein a send command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 to activate the call without repeating the dialing sequence . this is also followed by flow to wait cip mode 1030 ( fig2 ) through wait cip mode step 348 . consideration is now given again to step 334 , wherein , if the user has not said “ send ”, flow instead continues along the no branch of step 334 to step 340 . in step 340 , it is determined if the user responded with an audible “ recall ”. the user says “ recall ” to access numbers stored in the va directory or portable memory . if the user responded with an audible “ recall ”, then flow moves along the yes branch of step 340 to recall mode 460 , which is described below in more detail in reference to fig1 and the steps after recall mode 462 , through recall mode step 342 . however , if the user did not respond by saying “ recall ”, as would be detected in step 340 , then the system 10 ( the va 20 ) flow continues along the no branch of step 340 to step 352 , in which it is ascertained if the user responded with an audible “ store ”. the user says “ store ” to save the current dialing sequence . if the user did respond with “ store ”, as detected in step 352 , then the flow goes along the yes branch of step 352 to store mode 670 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig1 and the steps after store mode 672 , through store mode step 354 . alternatively , as would be detected in step 352 , if the user did not respond by saying “ store ”, then flow proceeds along the no branch of step 352 to step 356 , wherein it is determined if the user responded with an audible “ delete ”. the user says “ delete ” to erase memory location contents either in the memory of the portable 12 or in the directory of the va 20 . if the user responded with an audible “ delete ”, as detected in step 356 , then the flow of system 10 goes along the yes branch of step 356 to delete memory mode 880 , which is described in more detail below in fig2 after delete memory mode 877 , through delete memory mode step 358 . in contrast , if the user did not say “ delete ”, as would be detected in step 356 , then flow continues along the no branch of step 356 to step 360 , where a determination is made whether the user responded with an audible “ verify ”. the user says verify to hear the current dialing sequence . if the user did respond with “ verify ”, then the flow moves along the yes branch of step 360 to step 362 where the current dialing sequence is queried as above . if the current dialing sequence is not available ( number of digits = 0 ) in step 362 as similarly determined above , then flow moves along the no branch of step 362 to step 364 , in which the system 10 ( the va 20 ) prompts the user with “ no number ”. for either of these last prompts , the flow of system 10 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 366 , i . e ., to the audible “ ready ” prompt of step 324 . alternatively , back in step 362 , if the current dialing sequence is available , then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 362 to step 368 in which the current dialing sequence is played back to the user digit by digit and flow then also moves to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ), i . e ., to the audible “ ready ” prompt of step 324 , through ready mode step 366 . however , if the first stored digit =“ n ” or “ n ”, then the system 10 ( the va 20 ) prompts the user with a “ secret memory ” instead of announcing the digits . considering again step 360 , if the user does not respond with “ verify ”, as would be detected in step 360 , then flow continues along the no branch of step 360 to step 370 , wherein it is ascertained if the user responded with an audible “ playback ”. the user says “ playback ” to hear a list of directory names from assigned user storage 116 . if the user did respond with “ playback ”, then the flow moves along the yes branch of step 370 to directory playback mode 870 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig2 and steps after directory playback mode 871 , through directory playback mode step 372 . however , as would be in step 370 , if the user did not respond with “ playback ”, then the system 10 flow goes along the no branch of step 370 to step 374 , in which it is determined if the user responded with an audible “ clear ” or “ cancel ”. the user says “ clear ” or “ cancel ” to exit ready mode 320 and return to idle mode 200 . if the user says one of these words ( i . e ., “ clear ” or “ cancel ”), the flow moves along the yes branch of step 374 to step 376 , in which the va 20 issues two beeps over the speaker 28 to notify the user and then sends a key tones on ( vad idle ) command to the portable 12 in step 378 before returning to idle mode 200 through idle mode step 380 . alternatively , going back to step 374 , if the user did not respond with a “ clear ” or “ cancel ”, as would be detected in step 374 , then the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) continues along the no branch of step 374 to right after step 324 ( i . e ., step 326 ). it should be understood that if the user does not respond with any of the audible responses detectable in the ready mode 320 , the system 10 continues to stay in ( loop within ) the ready mode 320 as indicated by the no branch of step 374 until a time - out occurs . attention is now directed to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a digit entry mode 400 of the system 10 and referred to above . digit entry mode 400 follows from step 328 in fig1 . once in digit entry mode , after step 402 , the system 10 prompts the user with “ number please ” in step 404 . note that the global keywords discussed above are not active in digit entry mode 400 . in step 406 , it is determined if the user responds by saying any of the digits “ 0 - 9 ” ( including the letter “ o ”, which is interpreted as if the user said “ zero ”), “ pound ” (#),“ star ” (), or “ stop ”. if the user does respond with any of these words , the flow of the system 10 proceeds along the yes branch of step 406 to step 408 , wherein a single beep is issued from the system 10 over the speaker 28 for digit recognition confirmation . then , instep 410 , the digit key stroke commands corresponding to the response in step 406 are sent to the portable 12 . note that the word “ stop ” is the voice command for a pause command ( function ) in system 10 . note also that the pause command ( function ) is implemented by an “ end ” key stroke from the va 20 to the portable 12 as any character in a dialing sequence except the first character . after step 410 , the va 20 stores the digit key stroke commands of step 410 in ram 167 . following step 412 , the system 10 flow again proceeds back to step 406 . considering step 406 again , if instead the user did not respond by saying “ 0 - 9 ”, “ pound ” (#),“ star ” (), or “ stop ”, the system 10 flow continues along the no branch of step 406 to step 414 , wherein it is determined if the user responded with a “ verify ”. the user says “ verify ” to terminate the ability of the system 10 to detect spoken digits and to hear the current dialing sequence played by the system 10 . if the user said “ verify ”, as detected in step 414 , the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) proceeds to step 416 , wherein a “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command is sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 to access all digits of the current dialing sequence . if the number of digits = 0 , then the system 10 prompts the user in step 426 with “ no number ” and flow proceeds to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 428 . however , if the current dialing sequence is available , as determined in step 416 , then the flow of the system 10 goes to step 418 where the current dialing sequence is played back digit by digit to the user over the speaker 28 . after step 418 , the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) goes to step 420 , to determine if the user responds with a “ clear ” or a “ cancel ” as determined in step 420 . if the user responded with “ clear ” or “ cancel ”, as detected in step 420 , then flow continues through the yes branch of step 420 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 428 . if , on the other hand , the user does not say “ clear ” or “ cancel ” as determined in step 420 , then flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) proceeds along the no branch of step 420 to step 430 , wherein it is determined whether the user said “ send ”. the user says “ send ” to dial the current dialing sequence . if the user said “ send ”, as detected in step 430 , then flow moves along the yes branch of step 430 to step 436 , in which the va 20 transmits a “ send ” key stroke command to the portable 12 , followed by flow to wait cip mode 1030 ( fig2 ) through wait cip mode step 438 . however , back at step 430 , if the user did not say “ send ”, then flow goes along the no branch of step 430 to step 432 , in which it is determined whether the user said “ store ”. the user says “ store ” to save the current dialing sequence in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 or in the directory memory of the va 20 . if the user said “ store ”, as detected in step 432 , then the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) is along the yes branch of step 432 to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 434 . however , if the user did not say “ store ”, then the flow goes along the no branch of step 432 back to step 420 . considering again step 414 , if the user did not say “ verify ”, then the flow of the system 10 ( the va 20 ) continues along the no branch of step 414 to step 422 , wherein it is determined whether the user said “ clear ”. if the user says “ clear ”, as detected in step 422 , the last digit in the current dialing sequence is erased from the working memory of the va 20 and the current dialing sequence memory of the portable 12 . if the user said “ clear ”, then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 422 to step 424 , in which the existence of a current dialing sequence in the portable 12 is determined . if there is no current dialing sequence ( an initial condition is digits = 0 ), then flow proceeds along the no branch of step 424 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 428 . alternatively , if there exists a current dialing sequence in step 424 , then flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 424 to step 440 to erase the last digit in both memories in the portable 12 and in the va 20 . in step 442 it is determined if there still exists at least one digit left in the current dialing sequence after erasing the last digit . if the current dialing sequence still exists , the flow proceeds along the yes branch of step 442 back to step 406 . however , if the final digit was cleared and there is no longer the current dialing sequence , then the flow goes along the no branch of step 442 back to the digit entry mode 400 starting with the “ number please ” prompt in step 404 . now considering again step 422 , if the user did not say “ clear ”, then flow goes along the no branch of step 422 to step 446 , in which it is ascertained if the user said “ cancel ”. the user says “ cancel ” to clear an entire current dialing sequence from the va 20 memory and the portable 12 . if the user did not say “ cancel ”, as would be detected in step 446 , then the flow follows along the no branch of step 446 back to step 406 . however , if the user said “ cancel ”, then the flow follows along the yes branch of step 446 to step 450 , wherein the existence of the current dialing sequence is determined as above . if the current dialing sequence exists ( i . e ., if an initial condition is digits & gt ; 0 ), then flow moves along the yes branch of step 450 to erase the current dialing sequence completely from memory 126 and ram 167 in step 451 , followed by flow back to digit entry mode 400 ( fig1 ) through digit entry mode step 444 . to send a “ cancel ” command , a “ clear ” command which includes a one ( 1 ) second hold before the associated noop ( in the preferred embodiment ) is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 . in contrast , back at step 450 , if there is no current dialing sequence ( i . e ., if an initial condition is digits = 0 ), then the flow of the va 20 proceeds along the no branch of step 450 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 428 . attention is now directed to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a recall mode 460 of the system 10 . for the system 10 , any discussions herein of “ to recall mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the recall mode 460 and steps below recall mode 462 . once the va 20 has entered the recall mode 460 , in step 464 , the va 20 voice synthesizes and audibly prompts the user with the words “ recall directory or memory ?”. the va 20 then determines if the user responds by saying the words “ directory ” ( step 466 ), “ memory ” ( step 470 ), “ cancel ” or “ clear ” ( step 474 ). note that when a “ y ” or an “ n ” are observed in an output branch of any particular step of any of the figures , it is understood to mean flow of the va 20 along the yes ( or affirmative ) branch and the no ( or negative ) branch in accordance with a response required ( whether from the user or any subsystem of the system 10 ) in the particular step . if the user responds with any of the words being expected in the steps 466 , 470 , or 474 , then the system 10 flow proceeds to directory recall mode 480 ( fig1 ) through recall mode step 368 , or to recall host memory mode 610 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig1 , through recall host memory mode step 472 , or to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 476 , respectively . if none of the responses expected in steps 466 , 470 , or 474 are detected from the user by the va 20 , then the system 10 flow continues to loop back from step 474 along the no branch thereof to step 466 . now attention is drawn to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a directory recall mode 480 of the operation of the system 10 . for the system 10 , any discussions herein of “ to directory recall mode ”, followed by a numerical reference ( e . g ., to directory recall mode 368 of fig1 , etc . ), represent a flow to the directory recall mode 480 and steps therein below directory recall mode 482 . in step 484 , it is determined whether the va 20 directory is empty ( i . e ., if the number of directory entries = 0 ). if the directory is empty , the va 20 prompts ( as above ) with “ directory empty ” in step 486 , followed by flow to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 488 . alternatively , if the directory is not empty as determined in step 484 , then step 490 follows , wherein the system prompts ( as above ) with “ name please ”. note that the global keywords discussed above are not active . if the user responds with “ clear ” as expected in step 492 , the directory recall mode 480 is aborted and operation proceeds to the ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 488 . however , if the user responds with some other speech , as determined in step 496 , the va 20 attempts to find the closest match to this other speech in step 498 . for example , the user may say a name to access a user programmed directory memory in the va 20 . in this case , the va 20 plays back a closest voice label match for confirmation by the user . after playing back the closest voice label , va 20 , according to step 500 , sends and holds a clear key stroke command for a period of time ( e . g ., for 1 . 5 seconds ) followed by digit key strokes for the directory dialing sequence associated with the selected directory location to the portable 12 . flow then proceeds to a directory confirmation mode 550 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig1 , through directory confirmation mode step 502 . note that , in the figures , it is to be understood that a double bracket in a step is used to indicate that a command which is within the double brackets is being sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 , wherein the double bracketed command corresponds to holding down a key ( e . g ., the send key 46 ) for a period of time . holding down a key delays the associated noop ( key release ) command . alternatively , back at step 496 , if the user , instead , presses the up 88 or down 86 keys on the ecu 26 , as determined in step 504 , which are intercepted in step 506 along with associated noops ( note that noops are key release associated signals ) by the va 20 , then the key strokes are not forwarded to the portable 12 . flow then proceeds to a directory scroll mode 510 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig1 , through directory scroll mode step 508 . note that , back at step 504 , if the user does not press the up 88 or down 86 keys on the ecu 26 , then the flow of the va 20 goes back to step 492 . consideration is now given to fig1 , which is a flow chart representation of the directory scroll mode 510 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to directory scroll mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the directory scroll mode 510 and steps therein below directory scroll mode 512 . in directory scroll mode 510 , the pressing and releasing of t up 88 or down 86 keys is intercepted along with the associated noops as above . in step 514 a first name stored in a directory or a next name in a scrolled direction stored in a directory if entering the directory scroll mode 510 from a directory confirmation mode 550 ( described below in more detail in reference to fig1 ), is played back . in step 516 , a clear key command ( corresponding to a pressing of the clear key 48 of the portable 12 ) is sent to the portable 12 and held for a period of time ( e . g ., for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ), as above , followed by digit keystrokes ( the directory number ) for a current dialing sequence corresponding to the selected directory name is sent to the portable 12 . if the up 88 or down 86 keys remain depressed , ( i . e ., no noop key has been intercepted as determined in step 518 ), the directory entries ( names ) are correspondingly scrolled up or down , the clear command is repeated to clear the portable 12 current dialing sequence memory , and the corresponding directory digits are sent to the portable 12 in step 520 after such time as the noop is received . note that in the first preferred embodiment , whenever scrolling occurs , directory entries are scrolled at a rate ( the scrolling rate ) of one ( 1 ) entry per second as a circular queue . also , note that the up 88 key scrolls in ascending order , while the down 86 key scrolls in descending order . after step 520 , the system 10 flows back to step 518 . in contrast , in step 518 , if there is a noop key that has been intercepted ( including at the completion of scrolling ), then the pressing of the up 88 or down 86 keys , as determined in step 522 , whose corresponding commands are not sent to the portable 12 , cause the next name to be played back in step 524 to the user over speaker 28 . the next name is associated with a particular scrolling position , corresponding with the pressing of the up 88 or down 86 keys , in the directory to be played back in step 524 . then the flow of the va 20 returns to step 516 above as indicated in fig1 . alternatively , in step 522 , if the up 88 or down 86 keys are not pressed , then , in step 526 , it is determined if the user wants to play back the current name . if the user says ‘ playback in step 526 , then the current name is played back over the speaker 28 in step 528 . whether the user says “ playback ” in step 526 or not , in step 530 , it is determined if the user says “ verify ”. the user says “ verify ” to hear a dialing sequence stored for the current directory entry . if the user says “ verify ”, then the current dialing sequence is played back to the user in step 532 . regardless of whether or not “ verify ” is said by the user in step 530 , it is determined in step 534 if the user wants to activate a call corresponding to the digits stored in the current dialing sequence in the portable 12 . if the user says “ send ” as ascertained in step 534 , the send key command is sent to the portable 20 from the va 20 in step 536 and the va 20 flow proceeds to wait cip mode 1030 ( fig2 ) through wait cip mode step 538 . if the user does not say “ send ” as determined in step 534 , then it is determined in step 540 whether the user says “ delete ”. the user says “ delete ” to delete the current entry from the directory . if the user says “ delete ”, then the va 20 flows to a delete directory confirmation mode 905 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through delete directory confirmation mode step 542 . however , if the user does not say “ delete ” in step 540 then it is ascertained whether the user says “ clear ” or “ cancel ” in step 544 . if the user says “ clear ” or “ cancel ” as determined in step 544 , then directory scroll mode 510 is aborted and the flow of the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 546 . alternatively , if the user does not say “ clear ” or “ cancel ”, then the flow of the va 20 returns to step 522 as indicated in fig1 . consideration is next focused on fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a directory confirmation mode 550 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to directory confirmation mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the directory confirmation mode 550 and steps therein below directory confirmation mode 552 . in step 554 , the va 20 prompts the user with the word “ correct ”. if the user says “ yes ”, as determined in step 556 , to confirm the name , then in step 558 a directory template is updated , followed by a send key stroke command being sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 560 , and then the va 20 flows to wait cip mode 1030 ( fig2 ) through wait cip mode step 562 . however , if the user does not say “ yes ” as determined in step 556 , but instead says “ no ” as determined in step 564 ( the user says “ no ” to reject the current label or name ), and if it is on the first or second try to match the name as ascertained in step 566 , then , in step 568 , a next closest match is selected by the va 20 , and the voice label associated with that match is played to the user . in step 570 , the va 20 transmits a clear key stroke command for a period of time ( e . g ., delaying transmission of a noop command for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ) followed by digit keystrokes ( the directory number ) for a current dialing sequence corresponding to the next closest name . subsequent to step 570 , the flow of the va 20 goes back to directory confirmation mode 550 ( to step 554 ) as indicated in fig1 . alternatively , in step 566 , if it is on the third or more try to match the name , then the user is prompted with “ please retry ” in step 572 and the directory confirmation mode 550 is canceled by transmitting and holding down in step 574 ( again , for 1 . 5 seconds in the preferred embodiment ) a clear key stroke command from the va 20 to the portable 12 , followed by flow to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 576 . going back to step 564 , if the used does not say “ no ”, then it is detected in step 578 if the user said “ verify ” instead . the user says “ verify ” to hear the current dialing sequence . if the user says “ verify ” and if the current dialing sequence is secret ( i . e ., the number of digits =“ n ” or “ n ” for the current dialing sequence ), as determined in step 584 , then the user is prompted in step 586 with “ secret memory protected ”, and the directory confirmation mode 550 is restarted back at step 556 . however , if the current dialing sequence is not secret in step 584 , then the current dialing sequence is played back digit by digit to the user over the speaker 28 in step 588 and the directory confirmation mode 550 is also restarted back at step 556 . considering again step 578 , if the user does not say “ verify ”, and if the user says “ clear ” instead , as detected in step 590 , then the attempt to recall by current name is aborted and the flow of the va 20 goes to directory recall mode 480 through directory recall mode step 592 . alternatively , if the user does not say “ clear ” for step 590 , then it is determined in step 594 whether the user said “ cancel ”. the user says “ cancel ” to abort the directory recall function and the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 596 . moreover , in step 594 , if the user does not say “ cancel ”, then it is ascertained in step 598 whether the user said “ store ”. the user says “ store ” to save the recalled dialing sequence . if the user says “ store ”, then the va 20 goes to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 600 . if “ store ” is not detected in step 598 , flow is transferred to step 602 where it is determined if the up 88 or down 86 key was pressed . if either key was pressed , flow is transferred to the directory scroll mode 510 ( fig1 ) through directory scroll mode step 604 , otherwise the directory confirmation mode 550 is restarted back at step 556 , as indicated in fig1 . attention is now centered on fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a recall host memory mode 610 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to recall host memory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the recall host memory mode 610 and steps therein below recall host memory mode 612 . in recall host memory mode 610 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location please ” in step 614 . note that the global keywords are not active during digit recognition and are disabled in step 616 . in step 620 , it is determined whether the user indicates a memory location number in response to the “ location please ” prompt of step 614 by saying aloud digits ( e . g ., two digits in the first preferred embodiment ), as indicated by “ 0 - 9 ” in step 620 , in order to access the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 . note that in saying the digits , the user actually says aloud a particular combination from amongst any of the digits “ zero ”, “ one ”, “ two ”, “ three ”, etc . up to “ nine ”, where saying the letter “ o ” is recognized by the va 20 as if the user said “ zero ”. in step 622 , if the user has verbally identified a memory location number , the va 20 accumulates a 2 - digit location number in & lt ; xx & gt ; format corresponding to the user &# 39 ; s response or the va 20 generates a 2 - digit location number in “ 0 & lt ; x & gt ;” format if the second digit is not spoken within three ( 3 ) seconds ( in the first preferred embodiment ) of the first digit ( where x represents digits spoken by the user ). note that , although not specifically shown in fig1 , if the user says “ clear ” in step 622 , then the recall host memory mode function in process will be canceled and the va 20 returns to step 614 . after step 622 , if the user has said digit ( s ) aloud , the va 20 sends a “ rcl ” key stroke command plus an “& lt ; xx & gt ;” command ( the 2 - digit key strokes in step 622 ) to the portable 12 in step 624 ( where xx now corresponds to the 2 - digit number ). the portable 12 is then checked to see if memory ( the assigned user storage 116 ) of portable 12 is o . k . in step 626 . if the memory ( in the assigned user storage 116 ) of portable 12 is not o . k ., and it is determined that the memory location ( the assigned user storage 116 ) corresponding to the 2 - digit number & lt ; xx & gt ; is empty in step 628 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ; empty ” in step 618 , followed by restarting the recall host memory mode 610 in step 614 . however , if the memory location is not empty in step 628 , then it is determined in step 630 if there is a memory location number error , and if there is an error , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ; invalid or restricted ” in step 632 , followed by restarting the recall host memory mode 610 in step 614 . alternatively , if there is no error in step 630 , then the recall host memory mode 610 is restarted in step 614 . going back to step 626 , if the memory ( the assigned user storage 116 ) of portable 12 is , instead , o . k . ( i . e ., available ), then the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ;” in step 644 . in step 646 , if the user says “ verify ” to hear a current dialing sequence , then a “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 to access all digits of the current dialing sequence in step 648 . the current dialing sequence is then played back over the speaker 28 digit by digit in step 650 unless a first digit =“ n ” or “ n ” is obtained from the portable 12 by the va 20 , in which case the va 20 prompts the user with “ secret memory protected ”. after step 650 , the flow of the va 20 continues back to step 646 . in considering step 646 again , if the user does not say “ verify ”, then it is ascertained in step 652 if the user responds instead with “ send ”, in which case , the user wants to dial the current dialing sequence . if the user says “ send ”, then a send key stroke command is transmitted to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 654 and flow proceeds to wait cip mode 1030 through wait cip mode step 656 . alternatively , if the user does not say “ send ”, and instead responds with “ recall ” as detected in step 658 , in which case the user wants to recall another portable 12 memory location . if the user says “ recall ”, flow is transferred to step 614 . if the keyword “ recall ” is not detected in step 658 , and if , instead , it is determined that the user said “ cancel ” or “ clear ”, as detected in step 660 , the va 20 sends a clear key stroke command to the portable 12 in step 662 and then flow returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 664 . note that , going back to step 620 , if the user does not say any of the digits “ 0 - 9 ”, then it is determined whether the user instead responds with either “ clear ” ( in step 634 ) or “ cancel ( in step 638 ). for either response , the current recall function is aborted and a clear key stroke command is sent and held ( again for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ) from the va 20 to the portable 12 in steps 636 ( for “ clear ” in step 634 ) or 640 ( for “ cancel ” in step 638 ). however , the va 20 restarts the recall host memory mode 610 in step 614 from step 636 , whereas the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 642 from step 640 . consideration is now directed to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a store mode 670 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to store mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the store mode 670 and steps therein below store mode 672 . in step 674 , a current dialing sequence is accessed as described above with the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command being sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 . if the number of digits = 0 ( i . e ., there is no current dialing sequence ), then va 20 prompts the user with “ no number ” in step 675 and then goes to digit entry mode 400 ( fig1 ) through digit entry mode step 676 . however , if there is a current dialing sequence and if digits =“ n ” or “ n ” is returned to the va 20 , then it is determined in step 678 that the current dialing sequence is secret and the va 20 prompts the user with “ secret memory protected ” in step 680 and goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 682 . however , if there is a current dialing sequence and it is not secret ( step 678 ), then the va 20 prompts the user with “ store directory or memory ?” in step 684 . if the user responds with “ directory ” ( detected in step 686 ), or with “ memory ” ( detected in step 690 ), or with “ cancel ” or “ clear ” ( detected in step 694 ), the va 20 flows to store directory mode 700 , which will be described in more detail below in reference to fig1 , through store directory mode step 688 , or to store host memory mode 780 , which will be described in more detail below in reference to fig2 , through store host memory mode step 692 , or to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 682 , respectively . if none of these responses are detected in steps 686 , 690 , or 694 , then the va 20 flows back to step 686 . consideration is now given to fig1 which is a flow chart representation of a store directory mode 700 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to store directory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the store directory mode 700 and steps therein below store mode 702 . in step 703 , it is determined if there is enough room for storing information in the directory memory of the va 20 . if there is no room , then in step 705 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ memory full ” and the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 707 . however , if there is room in storage 116 as determined in step 703 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ name please ” in step 704 . note that the global keywords are not active in the store directory mode 700 . after step 704 , it is determined in steps 706 and 712 whether the user responded to the prompt of step 704 with “ clear ” or with some other speech ), respectively . if the user responded with “ clear ”, as detected in step 706 , then the store directory function of the store directory mode 700 is aborted and the va 20 goes to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 710 . however , if the user does not say “ clear ” as would be detected in step 706 , and if the user also does not respond with some other speech , as would be detected in step 712 , then flow goes back ( loops back ) to step 706 as indicated in fig1 . but , if the user responded with other speech ( i . e ., the system 10 assumes that the user has said a name to use as the voice label for user programmed memory ( ram 167 ) in the va 20 ), then the va 20 evaluates the name for similarity with existing labels in step 714 ( compare ). if the comparison is too similar in step 716 , the va 20 goes to directory overwrite mode 740 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through directory overwrite mode step 718 , otherwise the user is prompted with “ again ” in step 720 for training the va 20 one ( 1 ) more time . note that the training of the va 20 one ( 1 ) more time after step 720 will not occur if the user says “ clear ” as detected in step 721 , in which case the va 20 goes back to step 704 of the store directory mode 700 . however , if the user does not say “ clear ” as would be detected in step 721 , and if the user does not repeat the name one ( 1 ) more time as detected in step 723 , then the system keeps recycling back to step 721 . alternatively , if the user says the name one ( 1 ) more time as detected and recorded in step 723 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ storing & lt ; seq & gt ; under & lt ; name & gt ;. correct ?” in step 722 , where & lt ; seq & gt ; is a current dialing sequence and & lt ; name & gt ; is the user programmed voice label recorded in step 723 . steps 724 , 732 , 734 , and 738 then detect whether the user responds to the prompt of step 722 with “ yes / store ”, or “ no ”, or “ clear ”, or “ cancel ”, respectively . if the user says “ yes ” or “ store ” as detected in step 724 , then the va 20 stores the current dialing sequence and the associated voice label in the user programmed directory memory ( in ram 167 ) of the va 20 in step 726 , which is followed by the issuance of a single beep over the speaker 28 from the va 20 for user confirmation and then return to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 730 . however , if the user does not say “ yes ” or “ store ” as detected in step 724 , but instead , says “ no ” as detected in step 732 , then the va 20 cancels the directory store in process and the store directory mode 700 is respecified by va 20 going to step 704 . moreover , if the user does not say “ no ” as detected in step 732 , but , instead , says “ clear ” as detected in step 734 , then the va 20 cancels the directory store in process and returns to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 736 to respecify the store mode operation of the store mode 670 . furthermore , if the user does not say “ clear ” as detected in step 734 , but instead says “ cancel ” as detected in step 738 , then the directory store function of the directory store mode 700 is aborted and the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 730 . alternatively , if neither “ yes / store ”, or “ no ”, or “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” is a response of the user , then the va 20 goes back to step 724 . consideration is now given to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a directory overwrite mode 740 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to directory overwrite mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the directory overwrite mode 740 and steps therein below directory overwrite mode 742 . in step 744 , the user is prompted with “ similar name exists . overwrite & lt ; name & gt ;”, where & lt ; name & gt ; is the user programmed voice label of an existing directory memory location . the user may respond to the prompt of step 744 with “ yes / store ”, “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” as detected in steps 746 , 760 , 764 , and 768 , respectively . if the user says “ yes ” or “ store ” ( detected in step 746 ), then the va 20 prompts the user with “ again ” in step 748 for the user to speak the name one ( 1 ) more time to complete directory training and record the name , and then the user is prompted with “ storing & lt ; seq & gt ; under & lt ; name & gt ;. correct ?” in step 750 . if the user responds to the prompt in step 750 with a “ yes ” or “ store ” as detected in step 752 , then the selected directory entry is overwritten in step 754 , and the va 20 issues two ( 2 ) beeps over the speaker 28 in step 756 , and then returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 758 . on the other hand , the user may not respond to the prompt in step 750 with “ yes ” or “ store ”, but may respond instead with “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” as detected in steps , 772 , 774 , and 776 , respectively . for a response of “ no ” to the prompt in step 750 , the store directory function in process is canceled and the store directory function is restarted ( respecified ) by going to store directory mode 700 ( fig1 ) through store directory mode step 762 . however , for a response of “ clear ”, instead , to the prompt in step 750 , the store directory function in process is canceled and the store mode function is restarted by going to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 766 . moreover , for a response of “ cancel ”, instead , to the prompt in step 750 , the store function in process is canceled and the store function is aborted , followed by a return to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 770 . furthermore , if the user does not respond to the prompt in step 750 with either “ yes / store ”, “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ”, then the flow of the va 20 returns ( loops back ) to step 752 of directory overwrite mode 740 . going back to step 746 , if the user does not respond to the prompt in step 744 with “ yes ” or “ store ”, then the user may instead respond with “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” as detected in steps 760 , 764 , and 768 , respectively . if the user responds with either “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” to the prompt in step 744 , then the flow of the va 20 proceeds to step 762 from step 760 like from step 772 , to step 766 from step 764 like from step 774 , and to step 770 from step 768 like from step 776 , respectively . however , if neither “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” are responded to the prompt in step 744 , then the flow of the va 20 returns ( loops back ) to step 746 of the directory overwrite mode 740 . attention is next focused on fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a store host memory mode 780 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to store host memory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the store host memory mode 780 and steps therein below store host memory mode 782 . in step 784 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location please ”. the user may respond to the prompt in step 784 with a location number as indicated by “ 0 - 9 ” in step 784 in order to store in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 . note that going from step 786 to step 788 in fig2 is completely analogous to going from step 620 to step 622 in fig1 and will not be repeated here . also note that , although not specifically shown in fig2 , if the user says “ clear ” in step 788 , then the store host memory mode function in process will be canceled and the va 20 returns to step 784 . after step 788 , the va 20 prompts the user in step 790 with “ storing in location & lt ; xx & gt ;, correct ?”. as detected in steps 802 , 808 , 810 , and 814 , the user may respond to the prompt in step 790 with “ yes ” or “ store ”, “ cancel ”, “ clear ”, or “ no ”. if the user responds to the prompt in step 790 with “ yes ” or “ store ”, then a current dialing sequence is stored in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 by sending a “ sto ” ( i . e ., store ) key stroke command plus an “& lt ; xx & gt ;” command ( the xx key strokes ) to the portable 12 in step 804 ( where xx now corresponds to the 2 - digit number of step 788 as above ). after step 804 , the flow of the va 20 proceeds to verify host store mode 820 , which is described in more detail below in reference to fig2 , through verify host store mode step 806 . however , if the user instead responds with “ cancel ” to the prompt of step 790 , as detected in step 808 , then the store host memory operation is canceled and the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 800 . moreover , if the user instead responds to the prompt of step 790 with “ clear ”, as detected in step 810 , then the store host memory operation is canceled and the va 20 goes to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 812 . furthermore , if the user instead responds to the prompt of step 790 with “ no ”, as detected in step 814 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 784 to restart the store host memory mode 780 and to respecify a memory ( assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 ) location number . alternatively , if the user does not respond to the prompt of step 790 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 802 . going back to step 786 , in response to the prompt in step 784 , if the user does not verbally specify location digits , the user may instead respond to this prompt with “ clear ” or “ cancel ” as detected in steps 792 and 798 , respectively . if the user responds with “ clear ” as detected in step 792 , and if the first digit of the location has already been detected by the va 20 in step 794 , the store host memory function in process is canceled and the va 20 goes back to step 784 to restart the store host memory 780 . however , if the first digit has not been detected in step 794 , then the va 20 goes to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 796 . alternatively , if the user instead responds to the prompt in step 784 with “ cancel ” as detected in step 798 , then the store host memory function in process is canceled and the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 800 . note that if the user does not respond to the prompt in step 784 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 786 . attention is now directed to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a verify host store mode 820 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to verify host store mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the verify host store mode 820 and steps therein below verify host store mode 822 . in step 824 , it is determined whether memory store to the portable 12 was without error . if the memory store to the portable 12 was successful ( i . e ., host o . k .) in step 824 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ stored in & lt ; xx & gt ;” in step 826 and the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 828 . however , if the memory was not successful , as determined in step 824 , then there may be a memory location number error or a restricted memory error ( bad location ) as determined in step 830 , or there may be too many digits as determined in step 836 , or the host ( the portable 12 ) memory location may have been occupied as determined in step 840 . for a memory location error as determined in step 830 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ; invalid or restricted ” in step 832 and the va 20 goes to store host memory mode 780 ( fig2 ) through store host memory mode step 834 to restart the store host memory mode 780 . however , for too many digits as determined in step 836 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ;- too many digits ” in step 838 and the va 20 goes to store host memory mode 780 ( fig2 ) through store host memory mode step 834 to restart the store host memory mode 780 . moreover , for the host memory occupied as determined in step 840 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ; occupied . overwrite ?” in step 842 . note that if none of the determinations expected in any of steps 824 , 830 , 836 , or 840 occurs , then the flow of the va 20 returns ( loops back ) to step 824 as indicated in fig2 from step 840 . returning to step 842 , the user may respond to the prompt of step 842 with “ yes / store ”, “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” as determined in steps 844 , 852 , 858 , and 864 , respectively . if the user responds to the prompt of step 842 with “ yes ” or “ store ”, as detected in step 844 , then a second “ sto ” ( store ) key stroke command is sent to the portable 12 in step 846 from the va 20 to overwrite the selected memory location in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 . the va 20 then issues a single beep in step 848 over the speaker 28 and returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 850 . however , if the user instead responds with “ no ”, as detected in step 852 , to the prompt of step 842 , then the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command is sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 854 to cancel the store operation currently in process , and the va 20 goes to store host memory mode 780 ( fig2 ) through store host memory mode step 856 to restart the store host memory mode 780 . moreover , if the user instead responds with “ clear ”, as detected in step 858 , to the prompt of step 842 , then the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command is also sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 860 to abort the memory store operation , and the va 20 goes to store mode 670 ( fig1 ) through store mode step 862 to restart the store mode 670 . furthermore , if the user instead responds with “ cancel ”, as detected in step 864 , to the prompt of step 842 , then the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command is also sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 866 to abort the store operation , and the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 850 to restart the ready mode 320 . note that if none of the possible “ yes / store ”, “ no ”, “ clear ”, or “ cancel ” responses is said by the user , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 844 from step 864 . consideration now centers on fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a directory playback mode 870 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to directory playback mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the directory playback mode 870 and steps therein below directory playback mode 871 . as detected in step 873 , if no numbers are in a directory memory of the va 20 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ memory empty ” in step 874 , and then the flow of the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 875 . however , in step 873 , if numbers are instead detected in the directory memory , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ directory names ” in step 872 , and then plays back ( voice synthesizes from the va 20 and outputs over the speaker 28 a names list ) all directory names in memory location order from the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 in rapid fire mode ( i . e ., with no pause between labels ) in step 879 . note that the global keywords are not active in the directory playback mode 870 . while step 879 is in process , the va 20 will intercept any up 88 or down 86 key stroke commands and associated noops from the user pressing these keys on the ecu 26 in step 876 during directory playback mode 870 and proceed to directory scroll mode 510 ( fig1 ) through directory scroll mode step 878 . these up 88 or down 86 key stroke commands and associated noops are not forwarded to the portable 12 ( the microprocessor 108 ). note that in step 876 , if no up 88 or down 86 key stroke commands and associated noops are detected by the va 20 , then the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 875 . attention is next steered to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a delete memory mode 880 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to delete memory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the delete memory mode 880 and steps therein below delete memory mode 877 . in step 881 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ delete directory or memory ”. the user may respond to the prompt in step 881 with “ directory ”, “ memory ”, “ erase ”, or “ cancel / clear ” as detected in steps 882 , 884 , 886 , or 888 . if the user responds with “ directory ” as detected in step 882 , then the va 20 goes to delete directory mode 890 to delete a directory entry in the directory memory ( ram 167 ) of the va 20 as will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through delete directory mode step 883 . however , if the user responds instead with “ memory ” as detected in step 884 , then the va 20 goes to delete host memory mode 980 to delete a memory in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 as will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through delete host memory mode step 885 . moreover , if the user responds instead with “ erase ” as detected in step 886 , then the va 20 goes to erase directory mode 940 to delete all directory entries in the directory memory ( ram 167 ) of the va 20 as will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through erase directory mode step 887 . furthermore , if the user responds instead with “ cancel ” or “ clear ” as detected in step 888 , then the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 889 to return to ready mode 320 . note that if the user does not respond to the prompt of step 881 with the expected “ directory ”, “ memory ”, “ erase ”, or “ cancel / clear ”, then from step 888 , the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 882 . consideration is now given to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a delete directory mode 890 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to delete directory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the delete directory mode 890 and steps therein below delete directory mode 892 . in step 894 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ name please ”. note that in the delete directory mode 890 , the global keywords are not active . the user may respond to the prompt of step 894 with “ clear ”, a name , or up 88 or down 86 key presses as detected in steps 896 , 900 , and 906 , respectively . if the user responds with “ clear ” as detected in step 896 , then the delete directory function in process of the delete directory mode 890 is aborted and the va 20 returns to delete memory mode 880 ( fig2 ) through delete memory mode step 898 . however , skipping step 900 for the moment , if the user responds instead by pressing the up 88 or down 86 keys ( during the directory recall function for the directory scroll mode 510 ), as detected in step 906 , then these key press commands and their associated noops are intercepted by the va 20 . these intercepted key press commands and their associated noops are not forwarded to the portable 12 ( the microprocessor 108 ), and the va 20 goes to directory scroll mode 510 ( fig1 ) through directory scroll mode 908 . otherwise , if these up 88 or down 86 keys are not pressed as would be detected in step 906 , and if the expected responses are not detected in steps 896 and 900 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 896 from step 906 . now considering step 900 , if the user instead says aloud the name of a user programmed va 20 memory ( in the ram 167 ) in response to the prompt in step 894 , as detected in step 900 , then , in step 902 , the va 20 selects a closest label match ( compare ) for confirmation by the user ( see step 910 below ), but the closest label match is not output to the user over the speaker 28 . the va 20 then sends , in step 904 , a clear key stroke command held for a period of time as above ( held for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ), followed by dialing sequence digit key strokes ( corresponding to the closest label match ) terminated with the “ rcl ” “ rcl ” key stroke command to the portable 12 to display digits . the va 20 then prompts the user with “ deleting & lt ; name & gt ;. correct ?” in step 910 for confirmation . note that the delete directory confirmation mode 905 of the system 10 , which was discussed above in regard to delete directory confirmation mode step 542 of directory scroll mode 510 ( fig1 ), flows into step 910 as indicated in fig1 . in response to the prompt of step 910 , the user may say “ yes ”, “ no ”, “ cancel ”, “ clear ”, or the user may press the up 88 or down 86 keys , as detected in steps 912 922 , 928 , 930 , and 934 . if the user responds to the prompt in step 910 with “ yes ”, as detected in step 912 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ deleting ” in step 914 . the directory entry is then deleted in step 916 , followed by a clear key stroke command held down for a period of time as above ( held for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ) in step 918 , and then the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 920 . however , if the user instead responds to the prompt of step 910 with “ no ” as detected in step 922 , and if on the first or second try to match the name as determined in step 924 , then a next closest directory name match is used in step 926 to restart step 904 ( confirmation with the next closest directory name is restarted ) using a voice label of this next closest directory match . but , on a third try as detected in step 924 , the va 20 goes ( confirmation is canceled and the user is prompted with “ please retry ”, which is not shown in fig2 ) to step 894 to restart the delete directory mode 890 . going back to step 922 , if the user does not respond to the prompt in step 910 with “ no ”, and if the user instead responds with “ cancel ”, as detected in step 928 , then the delete directory function in process of the delete directory mode 890 is canceled and the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 920 . moreover , if the user , instead , responds to the prompt in step 910 with “ clear ”, as detected in step 930 , then the delete directory function in process of the delete directory mode 890 is also canceled and the va 20 goes to the delete memory mode 880 ( fig2 ) through delete memory mode step 932 . furthermore , if the user instead responds to the prompt in step 910 by pressing the up 88 or down 86 keys , then the key stroke commands associated with the pressing of these keys , along with the associated noops , as detected in step 934 , are intercepted by the va 20 and are not forwarded to the portable 12 by the va 20 as above , and the va 20 goes to directory scroll mode 510 ( fig1 ) through directory scroll mode step 936 . attention is now drawn to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of an erase directory mode 940 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to erase directory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the erase directory mode 940 and steps therein below erase directory mode 942 . in step 944 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ erasing entire directory . correct ?”. the user may respond to the prompt of step 944 with “ no / clear ”, “ cancel ”, or “ yes ”, as detected in steps 946 , 950 , and 954 . if the user responds to the prompt in step 944 with “ no ” or “ clear ”, as detected in step 946 , then the va 20 goes to the delete memory mode 880 ( fig2 ) through delete memory mode step 948 to respecify the delete function thereof . however , if the user instead responds to the prompt of step 944 with “ cancel ”, as detected in step 950 , then the erase function of the erase directory mode 940 is aborted and the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 952 . moreover , if the user instead responds to the prompt in step 944 with “ yes ”, as detected in step 954 , then the va 20 prompts with “ are you sure ?” in step 956 . the user may now respond to the prompt in step 956 with “ yes ”, “ no / clear ”, or “ cancel ”, as detected in steps 958 , 960 , and 964 , respectively . note that if none of the above expected responses occurs as detected in steps 946 , 950 , and 954 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 946 from step 954 . for a “ yes ” response to the prompt of step 956 , as detected in step 958 , the va 20 prompts the user with “ erasing all directory entries ” in step 966 . then , in step 968 , all the directory entries are erased , followed by return to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 970 . alternatively , for a “ no / clear ” response to the prompt of step 956 , as detected in step 960 , the va 20 returns to the delete memory mode 880 ( fig2 ) through delete memory mode step 962 to respecify the delete function of the delete memory mode 880 . in contrast , for a “ cancel ” response to the prompt in step 956 , as detected in step 964 , the va 20 returns to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 970 . note that if none of the expected responses are detected in steps 958 , 960 , or 964 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 958 from step 964 . reference is now made to fig2 which is a flow chart representation of a delete host memory mode 980 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to delete host memory mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the delete host memory mode 980 and steps therein below delete host memory mode 982 . in step 984 , the clear key stroke command is sent and held for a period of time ( e . g ., for 1 . 5 seconds in the first preferred embodiment ), and then the va 20 prompts the user with “ location please ” in step 986 . the user may respond to the prompt in step 986 , as detected in step 988 , by saying a memory location number aloud , such as a combination of digits chosen from the digits 0 - 9 as indicated in step 988 by “ 0 - 9 ”, and which is analogous to step 786 of fig2 . as before , if the user says the letter “ o ”, the va 20 interprets this as “ zero ”. the user may also respond to the prompt of step 986 by saying either “ clear ” or “ cancel ”, as detected in steps 990 and 996 , respectively . for a digit response to the prompt of step 986 , as detected in step 988 , a 2 - digit location number ( meant to correspond to a memory location in the assigned user storage 116 of the portable 12 ) is accumulated in step 1000 , as above . after this accumulation , a “ sto ” key stroke command plus an & lt ; xx & gt ; key stroke , where xx is representative of the 2 - digit location number as before , is sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 1002 . the command sent in step 1002 is used to check for a memory location number error , and if there is an error as detected in step 1004 ( valid ? ), the va 20 prompts the user with “ location invalid ” in step 1006 , and the va 20 then goes back to step 984 to restart the delete host memory mode 980 . however , if there is no location error as would be detected in step 1004 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ deleting location & lt ; xx & gt ;. correct ?” in step 1008 . the user may respond to the prompt in step 1008 with “ yes ”, “ no / clear ”, or “ cancel ”, as detected in steps 1010 , 1012 , and 1014 , respectively . if the user responds with “ yes ” to the prompt in step 1008 in order to delete location xx , as detected in step 1010 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ o . k .” in step 1016 . step 1016 is followed by a “ sto ” key stroke command being sent to the portable 12 to complete the memory erase key sequence , which is followed by the va 20 returning to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 1020 . however , if the user responds to the prompt in step 1008 with “ no ” or “ clear ”, as detected in step 1012 , then the va 20 goes to step 984 to return to the delete host memory mode 980 to respecify the delete function . alternatively , if the user responds to the prompt in step 1008 with “ cancel ”, as detected in step 1014 , then a clear key stroke command is sent to the portable 12 to abort the delete operation in process and to also return the va 20 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 1020 . note that if none of the expected responses to the prompt in step 1008 is detected in steps 1010 , 1012 , or 1014 , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 1010 . returning to step 986 , as indicated above , the user may respond with “ clear ”, as detected in step 990 , instead of responding to the prompt in step 986 with digits for detection in step 988 . if the first digit , as would be detected in step 988 , has not yet been detected in step 988 , as determined in step 992 , then the delete host memory operation of the delete host memory mode 980 is canceled and the va 20 goes to delete memory mode 880 ( fig2 ) through delete memory mode step 994 . alternatively , if the first digit has already been detected in step 988 , as determined in step 992 , then the delete host memory operation in process is canceled and the va 20 goes to step 984 to restart the delete host memory mode 980 . again , going back to step 986 , however , if the user instead responds to the prompt in step 986 with “ cancel ”, as detected in step 996 , then the delete host memory operation in process is canceled to return the va 20 to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 998 . however , if none of the expected responses are detected in steps 988 , 990 , or 996 then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 988 from step 996 . consideration is now directed to fig2 , which is a flow chart representation of a wait cip ( waiting for cip ) mode 1030 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to wait cip mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the wait cip mode 1030 and steps therein below wait cip mode 1032 . note that during wait cip mode 1030 , any other operation in process in the va 20 is terminated . if a setting of the va 20 , i . e ., voice termination , is not enabled ( voice termination enable = off ), then voice recognition algorithms in the wait cip mode 1030 should be turned off in the va 20 . also note that all global keywords are not active in the wait cip mode 1030 . in step 1034 , the va 20 determines whether there is a memory location number error ( i . e ., is the memory location number valid ). if the memory location number is not valid , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ invalid or restricted call ” in step 1036 , followed by the va 20 going to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 1038 . on the other hand , if the memory location number is valid as determined in step 1034 , then it is determined in step 1040 whether the memory location is empty . if the memory location is empty , as detected in step 1040 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ location & lt ; xx & gt ; empty ” in step 1042 ( where xx represents the memory location combination number as above ), and then the va 20 goes to ready mode 320 ( fig1 ) through ready mode step 1038 . alternatively , if the memory location is not empty as determined in step 1040 , then the va 20 prompts the user with “ dialing ” in step 1044 . now if the setting of the va 20 , i . e ., the voice termination , is enabled ( voice termination enable = on ), as determined in step 1046 , and if the user responds to the prompt in step 1044 with “ call quit ”, as detected in step 1050 , then the va 20 sends an end key stroke command in step 1052 to the portable 12 to terminate the call in process ( cip ). following step 1052 , the va 20 issues two ( 2 ) beeps in step 1054 over the speaker 28 , and then the va 20 goes to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 1056 . note that back in step 1046 , if the setting of the va 20 , i . e ., the voice termination , is , instead , not enabled ( i . e ., voice termination = off ), as determined in step 1046 , then the va 20 goes to cip mode 1060 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig2 , through cip mode step 1048 . now , if voice termination = off , and if the user responds to the prompt in step 1044 with “ call quit ”, then this response is not detected at all in step 1050 since step 1050 is skipped as indicated in fig2 . however , if the setting of the va 20 , i . e ., the voice termination , is enabled ( voice termination enable = on ), as determined in step 1046 , and if the user does not respond to the prompt in step 1044 with “ call quit ”, as would be detected in step 1050 , then the va 20 also goes to cip mode 1060 ( fig2 ) through cip mode step 1048 . attention is now focused on fig2 , which is a flow chart representation of a cip ( call in process ) mode 1060 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to cip mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the cip mode 1060 and steps therein below cip mode 1062 . in cip mode 1060 , any other operation in process in the va 20 is terminated . if voice termination enable = off , voice recognition algorithms of the va 20 are not active in the cip mode 1060 . also , note that the global keywords are not active in the cip mode 1060 . in the cip mode 1060 , in step 1064 , it is determined whether the va 20 is set for voice termination enabled . for voice termination enabled , if the user says “ call quit ”, as detected in step 1066 , then an end key stroke command is sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 in step 1068 to terminate the call in process . following step 1068 , the va 20 issues two ( 2 ) beeps in step 170 over the speaker 28 , and then the va 20 returns to the idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step 1072 . note that if the voice termination is not enabled , as determined in step 1064 , then if the user says “ call quit ”, it is not detected at all in step 1066 since step 1066 is skipped as indicated in fig2 . note also that , as determined in step 1064 , if the voice termination is not enabled , or if it is enabled and the user does not say “ call quit ”, as determined in step 1066 , then the va 20 goes to step 1074 , wherein it is determined whether the va 20 processing is to be aborted . in step 1074 , the va 20 processing is aborted if a transfer to c - ch ( cellular - channel ) command is received at the va 20 , in which case the va 20 goes to idle mode 200 ( fig8 ) through idle mode step . if the user presses the vad key 96 on the ecu 26 to activate dtmf dialing by voice , as detected in step 1076 , the va 20 does not wait to receive an associated noop from the ecu 26 as indicated in step 1078 , but rather , the vad key 96 command is forwarded by the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1080 ( as with other key presses in previous charts even though not shown ). step 1080 is followed by sending a keytones off command from the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1082 , and then the va 20 waits for up to two ( 2 ) seconds ( time - out in the first preferred embodiment ) for the portable 12 to respond to the keytones off command in step 1084 . if the host ( the portable 12 ) is ready , as determined in step 1086 , the portable 12 is in dtmf manual dial mode and the va 20 ( the portable 12 ) goes to cip - voice tones mode 1120 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig3 , through cip - voice tones mode step 1088 . however , back in step 1086 , if the host ( the portable 12 ) is not ready , then the vad key 96 key press command is ignored and the va 20 stays in the cip mode 1060 , going to step 1090 , which will be described below . considering step 1076 again , if the user does not press the vad key 96 of the ecu 26 , as detected in step 1076 , then it is determined in step 1090 whether the user presses the dir key 94 of the ecu 26 instead to activate the scratchpad entry ( the scratchpad memory 126 of the portable 12 ) by voice . if the user presses the dir key 94 on the ecu 26 to activate scratchpad entry by voice , as detected in step 1090 , the va 20 does not wait to receive an associated noop from the ecu 26 as indicated in step 1092 , but rather , the dir key 94 command is forwarded by the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1094 . step 1094 is followed by sending a keytones off command from the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1096 , and then the va 20 waits for up to two ( 2 ) seconds ( time - out in the first preferred embodiment ) for the portable 12 to respond to the keytones off command in step 1098 . if the host ( the portable 12 ) is ready ( vad ready is received at the va 20 ), as determined in step 1100 , the portable 12 has entered silent scratchpad mode and the va 20 goes to cip - voice pad mode 1150 , which will be described below in more detail in reference to fig3 , through cip - voice pad mode step 1102 . however , back in step 1100 , if the host ( the portable 12 ) is not ready , then the dir key 94 key press command is ignored and the va 20 stays in the cip mode 1060 , going to step 1104 to determine whether the user presses the mute key 90 . if the mute key 90 is pressed , as detected in step 1104 , then the portable 12 , through the va 20 , sends a command to the ecu 26 to toggle the ecu mute indicator ( light ) 92 status in step 1106 . step 1106 is followed by step 1108 in which the ecu 26 actually toggles the status of the mute condition indicator , followed by the va 20 going back to step 1064 and staying in the cip mode 1060 . note that for any other key press on the ecu 26 , this other key press is ignored by the va 20 and the va 20 stays in the cip mode 1060 . considering step 1104 again , if the mute key 90 on the ecu 26 is not pressed by the user , as determined in step 1104 , then the va 20 goes back to step 1064 and stays in the cip mode 1060 . moreover , considering step 1090 again , if the dir key 94 on the ecu 26 is not pressed by the user , as determined in step 1090 , then the va 20 goes to step 1104 and stays in the cip mode 1060 also . consideration now centers on fig3 , which is a flow chart representation of a cip - voice tones mode 1120 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to cip - voice tones mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the cip - voice tones mode 1120 and steps therein below cip - voice tones mode 1122 . the cip - voice tones mode 1120 allows dtmf tone dialing by voice as long as the vad key 96 on the ecu 26 is depressed by the user . in step 1124 , the va 20 issues a single beep as a confirmation of being in the cip - voice tones mode 1120 . note that the portable 12 is now in a dtmf manual dial mode . in step 1126 , any audio signals received from the user or the distant party ( e . g ., still during the cellular telephone call ) are muted and are not sent out over the audio lines to the portable 12 or the speaker 28 , respectively . now in step 1128 , the user says aloud a digit ( i . e ., the user says aloud one digit at a time for each passage through step 1128 ) chosen from the digits 0 - 9 , #, or , as indicated by “ 0 - 9 , #, ” in step 1128 . the saying of the digit aloud is picked up by the microphone 70 of the ecu 26 and converted to an audio signal which is recognized by the va 20 to generate a key command which is sent to the portable 12 to generate a dtmf tone ( a dtmf tone is generated which corresponds to the digit said aloud ). note that , again , saying the letter “ o ” is recognized as if the user says “ zero ”. note also that , as the user says the digit aloud , it is not necessary to provide a confirmation tone for the digit recognized by the va 20 since a dtmf tone will be generated anyway by the portable 12 in the dtmf manual dial mode . in step 1130 , a digit key stroke corresponding to the recognized digit , as well as a noop associated with the vad key 96 being depressed , are sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 . this is followed by outputting the dtmf tone for the digit , which was said aloud by the user , over the speaker 28 to be heard by the user , as well as transmitting the dtmf tone from the portable 12 ( e . g ., during a cellular telephone call ) in step 1132 . the dtmf tone may be required to access features during a cellular telephone call to a system external to the va 20 , for example , to receive bank account information . note that there are numerous other application which may be envisioned for the va 20 in accordance with the present invention . returning to fig3 , it is determined , in step 1134 , by the va 20 whether the user has released the vad key 96 on the ecu 26 by detecting an associated noop . if the vad key 96 is not released by the user , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 1128 to receive a next digit said aloud by the user . however , if the noop associated with the release of the vad key 96 on the ecu 26 is detected in step 1134 , then a keytones on command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1136 , followed by re - enabling audio signals again in step 1138 ( e . g ., by the va 20 during a cellular telephone call ). after step 1138 , the va 20 goes to cip mode 1060 ( fig2 ) through cip mode step 1140 . reference is now made to fig3 , which is a flow chart representation of a cip - voice pad mode 1150 of operation of the va 20 . for the va 20 , any discussions herein of “ to cip - voice pad mode ”, followed by a numerical reference , represent a flow to the cip - voice pad mode 1150 and steps therein below cip - voice pad mode 1152 . the cip - voice pad mode 1150 allows scratchpad entry ( to scratchpad memory 126 of the portable 12 ) by voice as long as the dir key 94 of the ecu 26 is depressed . in step 1154 , the va 20 issues a single beep as a confirmation of being in the cip - voice pad mode 1150 . note that the portable 12 is now in a silent scratchpad mode . in step 1156 , any audio signals received from the user or the distant party ( e . g ., still during the cellular telephone call ) are muted and are not sent out over the audio lines to the portable 12 or the speaker 28 , respectively . now in step 1158 , if the user says aloud a digit , as for the cip - voice tones mode 1120 , ( i . e ., the user says aloud one digit at a time for each passage through step 1158 ) chosen from the digits 0 - 9 , #, or , as indicated by “ 0 - 9 , #, *” in step 1158 , the saying of the digit aloud is picked up by the microphone 70 of the ecu 26 and converted to an audio signal which is recognized by the va 20 to generate a digit to be stored in the scratchpad memory 126 of the portable 12 . note that , again , saying the letter “ o ” is recognized as if the user says “ zero ”. note also that , as the user says the digit aloud , the va 20 will provide a confirmation tone for each digit recognized by the va 20 since keytones = off in the portable 12 ( see step 1162 below ). in step 1160 , a digit key stroke corresponding to the recognized digit , as well as an associated noop , are generated in the va 20 and sent to the portable 12 from the va 20 . this is followed by outputting the confirmation tone for the digit , which was said aloud by the user , over the speaker 28 to be heard by the user in step 1162 , which is , in turn , followed by the portable 12 storing the generated digit in the scratchpad memory 126 of the portable 12 in step 1164 . now , in step 1166 , it is determined by the va 20 whether the user has released the dir key 94 on the ecu 26 by detecting an associated noop for a key release of the dir key 94 . if the dir key 94 is not released by the user , then the va 20 goes back ( loops back ) to step 1158 to receive a next digit said aloud by the user . however , if the noop associated with the release of the dir key 94 on the ecu 26 is detected in step 1166 , then a keytones on command is sent from the va 20 to the portable 12 in step 1168 , followed by re - enabling audio signals again in step 1170 . after step 1170 , the va 20 goes to cip mode 1060 ( fig2 ) through cip mode step 1172 . it is intended that the scope of the present invention also include various other embodiments . accordingly , it should be understood that the each of the embodiments disclosed herein , including the first preferred embodiment , includes features and characteristics which are considered independently inventive . thus , the disclosure of variations and alterations of the preferred embodiment is intended only to reflect on the breadth of the scope of the present invention without suggesting that any of the specific features and characteristics of the first preferred embodiment are more obvious or less important . regarding specific application of the many inventive aspects of the present invention , a variety of environmental and economic considerations are understood to contribute to the alteration or omission of selected inventive aspects . for example , while the ecu of the first preferred embodiment does not include a display or all of the keys present on conventional primary control units , such is not the case with some other embodiments of the present invention where conservation of vehicle space is not a concern or the drivers of a particular type of car prefer to see those elements . nonetheless , other inventive aspects of the present invention are included in those larger ecu &# 39 ; s , such as , for example , at least one of the vad and dir keys integrated to invoke associated unique functions of the first preferred embodiment discussed above . likewise , mere removal of the ecu internal microphone to another location in the vehicle is certainly contemplated depending on vehicle shapes and noise patterns . furthermore , other embodiments of the present invention include enabling portable telephones alone ( no ecu ) to take full advantage of a va through new keystroke combinations of current keys on the portable telephone , as well as the addition of new designated keys . still other embodiments include a full - function handset automotive system instead of the portable / holder system of the first preferred embodiment . while the embodiments of the present invention which have been disclosed herein are the preferred forms , other embodiments of the present invention will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art in view of this disclosure . therefore , it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention and that the scope of the present invention should only be limited by the claims below . furthermore , the corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material , or acts for performing the functions in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed .	8
the novel features of the present invention are embodied in an exemplary vegetable - drying apparatus , illustrated in fig1 through 3 of the accompanying drawings . it includes a stand 10 , a drum - shaped holder 12 rotatably supported on the stand , a basket 14 received by the drum , a motor 16 for rotating the drum and basket , and a brake 17 for arresting rotation of the drum and basket . the basket 14 is molded of polypropylene plastic , which is easily sanitized , well recognized as suitable for use in food - handling equipment , and sufficiently flexible for present purposes . being approximately cylindrical , the basket 14 has a flat bottom 18 , an open top end 19 and is slightly tapered inwardly toward the bottom after the manner of an inverted truncated cone for ease of insertion in the drum 12 , as shown in fig1 and 2 ( the taper being imperceptible in the drawings ). in cross - section , the basket is circular . a plurality of evenly spaced substantially vertical elongated openings or slots 20 extend up the sides of the basket 14 approximately parallel to its rotational axis , although at a small angle to the axis due to the taper of the basket . the sides are thus divided into relatively narrow , vertical , adjacent bands 21 . additional openings in the sides of the basket 14 are formed by three horizontal rows of smaller round perforations 22 . the drum 12 , which is made of stainless steel , is also generally cylindrical , with a flat bottom 23 and an open top 24 , and slidably receives the basket 14 . an annular portion of the sidewalls of the drum 12 forms a ring - shaped protrusion 25 that is radially offset toward the center . the sides of the basket 14 come close to the ring 25 but leave a small clearance . near the bottom of the drum 12 are a plurality of inwardly projecting buttons 26 that contact the sides of the basket 14 when it is inserted between them . drain holes 27 are provided about the circumference of the drum bottom 23 ( fig1 a ) and additional openings 28 that allow water to escape under centrifugal force are provided in three horizontal rows on the sides of the drum 12 . when the drum 12 is rotated , the bands 21 that form part of the basket sidewalls flex outwardly under centrifugal force to engage the ring 25 . since the bands 21 are all of equal flexibility , they each bend an equal amount and , therefore , hold the basket 14 in the center of the drum 12 and prevent it from getting out of round or escaping from the drum during rotation . the bending of the bands 21 also causes the slots 20 to widen , particularly at their centers , so that water carried by the lettuce can escape through the slots as well as the perforations 22 . centrifugal force also causes water to be expelled from the drum 12 through its drain holes 27 and sidewall openings 28 . the function of the ring 25 is to hold the sides of the basket 14 at a fixed distance from the sides of the drum 12 , allowing a generally annular space between the basket and the drum to provide a path for the escaping water . this feature of the invention can be omitted to reduce manufacturing cost since a smaller but adequate path will exist in the absence of the ring 25 due to the bowed configuration of the basket 14 during rotation . the stand 10 on which the drum 14 is supported has four equally - spaced , elongated legs 32 at its corners that are connected intermediate their ends by horizontal braces 34 and at the top by an open frame 36 . suction cups 38 at the bottom ends of the legs 32 securely position the apparatus on any suitable flat surface . four integrally formed , slidably removable , polypropylene plastic panels 40 extend vertically between the legs 32 to form a shield 42 that surrounds the drum 12 . water expelled from the drum 12 is thus confined by the shield 42 . the corners of the shield 42 where the panels 40 meet are rounded for ease of sanitization and cleaning . alternatively , a cylindrical splash shield may be employed . to position the shield 42 , a downturned lip 44 extends about its outer top edge and engages an upstanding flange 45 on top of the frame 36 . since the shield 42 is received by the stand 10 without any fastening device , it can be freely removed for cleaning without using tools . the basket 14 can be removed from the drum 12 through the large center opening of the frame 36 and becomes a convenient container to store or serve the lettuce after processing . a drip pan 46 , made up of channel - shaped members connected end - to - end to form the sides of a square , is positioned beneath the lower edges of the shield 42 to collect the water that runs off , and a drain spout 48 in the pan floor 50 can be connected to a waste pipe or holding tank ( not shown ). a disk - shaped horizontal turntable 52 is centrally located between the legs 32 and rotatably mounted atop a vertical drive shaft 54 . bearings 56 that position the shaft 54 are mounted on two vertically spaced , horizontal cross - pieces 58 that extend between the braces 34 , or between opposite sides of the drip pan 46 . the bottom 23 of the drum 12 is permanently attached to the top of the turntable 52 for rotation with the turntable . the electric motor 16 is attached to one of the legs 32 and drives the shaft 54 via two speed - reducing pulleys 66 and 68 and a v - belt 70 , thereby supplying the power to rotate the basket 14 , drum 12 and turntable 52 . to stabilize the shaft 54 and eliminate vibrations attributable to any unbalanced loading of the basket 14 , a flywheel 72 is attached to the lower end of the shaft 54 below the cross - pieces 58 . the weight of the flywheel 72 should be at least equal to that of the basket 14 , plus its contents . rotation of the basket 14 can be halted by the brake 17 which is attached to one of the cross - pieces 58 . the motor 16 and the brake 17 are controlled by a main switch 76 and an adjustable timer 78 in series with the main switch is mounted on one of the legs 32 . when the main switch 78 is closed , the dryer is operated by simply setting the timer 78 to the number of seconds of rotation desired . the brake 17 , as shown schematically in fig3 includes a brake shoe 80 attached to the end of a pivotable arm 81 that is biased by a brake spring 82 against the circumferential outer edge of the flywheel 72 . frictional engagement of the brake shoe 80 with the flywheel 72 prevents rotation . accordingly , the flywheel 72 performs the double function of stabilizing the rotation of the basket 14 and interacting with the brake shoe 80 to arrest rotation of the basket . this use of one component to perform two functions reduces the size , weight , cost and complexity of the dryer . when a current is supplied through the main switch 76 and the timer 78 to a motor circuit 84 , it is simultaneously supplied to a parallel brake circuit 86 , energizing a coil 88 which electro - magnetically attracts the brake shoe 80 away from the flywheel 72 to permit rotation . the inclusion of the timer 78 is important since it permits the lettuce to be dried to a predetermined extent and each successive lettuce batch is dried for the same time period without the variations in drying time that would result if the operator &# 39 ; s judgement were relied upon in this respect . it should be noted that when the dryer is not in operation , no current passes beyond the timer 78 , even though the brake 17 is applied , and the danger of electrical shock to persons loading or unloading the device is greatly reduced or eliminated despite the typically wet environment in which it is used . the main switch 76 can be opened to further reduce the danger of shock when , for instance , the dryer is being cleaned , to prevent current from passing to the timer 78 . the optimum speed of rotation and drying time can vary from a matter of seconds to a few minutes , depending upon such factors as the size of the basket 14 , the wetness of the lettuce , and the degree of drying desired . it should be noted that the term &# 34 ; drying &# 34 ; as used herein does not necessarily imply removing all the water from the lettuce since it is generally desirable to allow water to remain making the lettuce more palatable and assisting in the retention of salad dressing . by way of example , good results have been achieved by rotation a twenty - inch diameter basket for 45 seconds at a speed of 600 r . p . m . the relatively short processing time permits lettuce removed from cold storage to be dried before its temperature rises objectionably . it should be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides a safe , convenient , easily sanitized , and self - centering apparatus for quickly drying lettuce and other vegetables . it should be highly desirable for restaurant use . while a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described , it will be apparent from the foregoing that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	0
the cloning of a novel extracellular calcium - responsive gene ( hcarg ) in the rat parathyroid gland from shr is described here . hcarg mrna and protein levels were higher in cultured ptc and in several organs of shr , compared to their normotensive counterparts . they were negatively regulated by extracellular calcium , i . e . lowering extracellular calcium led to increases in hcarg mrna . the identification of an extracellular calcium - sensing receptor from the parathyroid gland has provided novel insights into the mechanisms of direct action of extracellular calcium on several cell types . the calcium sensor has also been localized in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum , in the tubular region of the kidney cortex , the thyroid , adrenal medulla , lung , and blood vessels ( 1 , 32 , 33 ). as shown here , hcarg mrna levels are also detected in several of these tissues . the calcium receptor is a member of the superfamily of g protein - coupled receptors activating phospholipase c ( 34 , 35 ). in the parathyroid gland , it is a key mediator of inhibition of pth expression by high calcium ( 36 ). the calcium sensor has been shown , in the kidney , to be directly related to inhibition of tubular reabsorption of calcium and magnesium in the thick ascending loop ( for review , see 34 ). in ptc cultures prepared from human or bovine parathyroids , low extracellular calcium ( 0 . 3 mm ) has been demonstrated to increase pth secretion and mrna levels whereas augmentation of calcium in the incubation medium reduces pth mrna . similar regulation was observed for phf in rat parathyroid cells ( 9 ). the present inventors show here that hcarg expression is regulated in a manner similar to pth and phf in ptc isolated from the rat . to date , very few extracellular calcium - negative responsive genes have been cloned . parathormone was the first gene described to possess a negative calcium - responsive element ( ncare ) in its 5 ′ flanking region ( 37 ). several types of ncare have been reported . type 2 is a regulatory element consisting of a palindromic core sequence and several upstream t nucleotides originally described in the pth gene . its transcriptional inhibitory activity is orientation - specific . the ncare core is present in an alu - repeal in 111 copies in the human genome , suggesting the possibility that other genes may possess functional ncare ( 38 ). with the properties described in the present study , hcarg may be one of them . hcarg is not only expressed in the parathyroid gland but also in most organs tested , although at highly variable levels . elevated hcarg levels have been noted consistently in the tissues of genetically hypertensive animals , suggesting abnormalities of hcarg regulation in several organs of shr that could be due to either : 1 ) decreased extracellular calcium levels ; 2 ) an abnormal response to extracellular calcium ; 3 ) abnormal transcription / stability of hcarg mrna in hypertensive rats , or 4 ) a combination of these . a state of negative calcium balance has been described in shr that could support the first possibility . on the other hand , 2 - fold higher hcarg mrna levels were observed in ptc from shr than from wky at normal calcium concentration ( fig2 c ). thus , the modest reduction of calcemia in hypertension will not be the sole explanation of increased levels , suggesting increased expression or decreased degradation of this gene product in hypertension . no homologous protein sequence to the hcarg open reading frame was found in the swissprotein database . the hcarg coding sequence contains 1 consensus motif known as the ef - hand or hlh ca motif ( fig3 , dashed box ). this motif generally consists of a 12 - residue , ca - binding loop flanked by 2 a - helices . eight of the 10 most conserved amino acids are present in hcarg protein . usually , the basic structural / functional unit consists of a pair of calcium binding sites rather than a single hlh motif . the hcarg coding sequence contains only 1 ef like motif but it is possible that its high a - helix content favors coiled - coil interactions and dimerization of the protein . pairing of the 2 ef - hand motifs may enhance its calcium function . hodges and collaborators ( 39 , 40 ) have demonstrated that domain iii of troponin c ( a synthetic 34 - residue calcium - binding domain ) can form a symmetric 2 - site homodimer in a head - to - tail arrangement in the presence of calcium ( 41 ). similarly , a 39 - residue proteolytic fragment containing calcium - binding site iv of troponin c was shown to form a dimer ( 42 ). these studies and others ( 43 - 45 ) have demonstrated that dimerization of single hlh structures controls calcium affinity and that even homodimers can bind 2 calcium molecules with positive cooperativity ( 40 ). hydrophobic interactions at the interface between calcium - binding sites appear to stabilize the calcium domains . the present inventors &# 39 ; in vitro translation studies showed the appearance of a protein band of about 43 kda under non - reducing conditions . hcarg protein might form reductant - sensitive , non - covalent homodimers compatible with its putative high a - helix content , but the existence of a functional calcium domain in hcarg protein remains to be established . several characteristics of hcarg are similar to those of s100a2 protein , a calcium binding protein of the ef - hand type that is preferentially expressed in the nucleus of normal cells but down - regulated in tumors ( 44 ). as with hcarg , s100a expression is down - regulated by calcium ( 46 , 47 ). the present inventors also cloned the human homolog of hcarg from a vsmc cdna library , using a 437 - bp fragment of rat hcarg as a probe . the coding sequence was found to be 80 % homologous to the rat sequence and to contain the putative ef - hand domain . a restriction fragment length polymorphism permitted the present inventors to localize the hcarg locus on chromosome 7 of rats ( fig1 ). the gene was assigned within a 4 . 4 - cm region on the long arm of chromosome 7 between mit 3 and mit 4 genes . by analogy , the present inventors suggested the assignment of hcarg on human chromosome 8q21 - 24 . in a recent search of hcarg homologous sequences in genbank , homologies were found with 3 chromosome 8 clones containing zfp7 . it was , therefore , possible to localize hcarg on chromosome 8q24 . 3 , confirming the present inventors &# 39 ; initial assignment ( fig1 ). this region contains loci involved in several bone diseases , including osteopetrosis and multiple exostosis and several human neoplasms ( 48 , 49 ). many dna - binding proteins utilize zinc - containing motifs to bind dna . other classes of dna binding proteins have a dna - recognition domain at their n terminus that dimerizes to form a 2 - chain coiled - coil of a - helices , also known as a “ leucine zipper .” the present inventors identified 4 overlapping “ leucine zipper ” regions conserved in the rat and human sequence , and the high a - helix content of hcarg makes it a possible dna - binding protein . the present inventors are currently investigating this possibility . it has been shown that nuclear receptors require the ligand - dependent recruitment of co - activator proteins to effectively stimulate gene transcription ( 50 ). the nuclear receptor interaction domain of these factors is highly conserved and contains the consensus sequence lxxll ( where x is any amino acid ). this motif is sufficient for ligand - dependent interaction with nuclear receptors ( 51 ). the present inventors have identified 1 of these motifs in hcarg . nuclear localization of hcarg protein makes this gene a potential transcription regulator . recently , a new transcription factor from the rat kidney ( kid - 1 ) was identified ( 52 - 55 ). it was reported that kid - 1 mrna levels declined after renal injury secondary to ischemia ( 55 ). similarly , decreased hcarg mrna levels are seen when epithelial cells are de - differentiated and proliferate ( following ischemia and reperfusion ). in the model of unilateral ischemic injury , it was shown that contralateral uninephrectomy attenuates apoptotic cell death and stimulates tubular cell regeneration ( 28 - 31 ). the present inventors demonstrate here that hcarg mrna levels decreased 3 and 6 h after ischemia in contrast to c - myc expression which is correlated with hyperplastic responses ( 31 ). the present inventors also observed that its levels are lower in all fetal organs tested when compared to adult organs , and lower in tumors and the cancerous cell lines tested . it is possible that the gene product may exert a negative effect on growth . this was confirmed by the stable expression of hcarg in hek293 cells . the present inventors found that hcarg overexpression had a profound inhibiting effect an hek293 cell proliferation . this was shown not only by lower cell number but also by lower dna synthesis , suggesting that the effect seen was not due to a death promoting effect of hcarg . included within this invention are nucleic acid sequences having 60 % or greater homology to all or part of the sequence of the gene for hcarg of the rat as shown in fig1 . furthermore , this invention includes nucleic acid sequences having 60 % or greater homology to all or part of the translated portion of the gene for hcarg of the rat . this would include nucleic acid sequences whose codon usage has been modified to suit a particular host . sense , antisense and mrna sequences are encompassed by the term “ nucleic acid sequences .” also included within this invention are nucleic acid sequences having 60 % or greater homology to all or part of the sequence of the gene coding for hcarg of the human as shown in fig4 . furthermore , this invention includes nucleic acid sequences having 60 % or greater homology to all or part of the translated portion of the gene for hcarg of the human . this would include nucleic acid sequences whose codon usage has been modified to suit a particular host . again , sense , antisense and mrna sequences are encompassed by the term “ nucleic acid sequences .” furthermore , proteins encoded by all or part of the nucleic acid sequences of the gene for hcarg of the rat and of the human are within this invention . one protein would include the amino acid sequence for the hcarg protein of the rat as shown in fig4 ( top lines ; seq id no : 2 ). another protein would include the amino acid sequence for the hcarg protein of the human as shown in fig4 ( bottom lines ; seq id no : 5 ). again , proteins having 60 % or greater homology to all or part of these proteins are within this invention . it will be appreciated that a protein encoded by the genes of this invention may be modified by substituting amino acids for like amino acids . for example , a basic amino acid may be substituted with a different basic or non - basic amino acid . the substitutions would be chosen so as not alter the properties of the protein encoded by the genes of this invention . mimetics of the protein may also be used in the methods and compositions of the invention . the term “ mimetic ” refers to compounds which have a related three dimensional structure , i . e ., compounds which have the characteristic structure of the protein encoded by the dna sequences of this invention . mimetics may be based on the biologically active portion of the proteins of this invention and may try to mimic the three dimensional structure of that active portion . there is abnormal calcium transport , concentration and binding in patients with hypertension including calcium leak in cortical tubules . this invention provides additional solutions for patients having hypertension and other diseases caused by abnormal calcium levels . in addition to hypertension , abnormal modulation of calcium levels can lead to a number of other diseases , disorders or abnormal physical states including hyperthyroidism , osteoporosis , osteopetrosis , heart failure , insulin dependent and independent diabetes , disorders of the central nervous system including stroke , cancer ( including breast , thyroid , colon , kidney and leukemia ), arteriosclerosis , gastrointestinal diseases , inflammatory bowel disease and asthma . the nucleic acid sequence of this invention could be used ( 1 ) for the treatment of diseases related to the modulation in calcium levels , ( 2 ) to develop pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of diseases related to the modulation in calcium levels , or ( 3 ) to diagnose diseases related to the modulation in calcium levels . as certain types of cancer are characterized by an increase in intracellular free calcium , the nucleic acid sequence could be used to generate immunological assays ( or markers ) for these types of cancers and to develop pharmaceutical compositions to treat these types of cancers . similarly , all or part of the proteins encoded by the nucleic acid sequences of this invention or antibodies to the proteins could be used to generate immunological assays ( or markers ) to test for diseases , disorders or abnormal physical states associated with abnormal modulation of calcium levels . the assays could be screening assays to determine whether a product enhances or inhibits calcium levels or whether a product has had its intended effect in enhancing or inhibiting calcium levels . in the assays of this invention , the complexes may be isolated by conventional methods known to those skilled in the art , such as isolation techniques , for example , chromatography , electrophoresis , gel filtration , fractionation , absorption , polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis , or combinations thereof . the complexes or free protein or mimetics may be assayed using known methods . to facilitate the assay , antibody against the protein or mimetic may be labeled or a labeled compound may be used . detectable markers or labels which would serve to identify the complexes could include fluorescein , hrp and biotin . the invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions to treat patients having abnormal modulation of calcium levels . the compositions could include ( 1 ) nucleic acid sequence for use in gene therapy in which the sense sequence of the hcarg gene is used in liposomes or a recombinant vehicle , for example , to enhance the gene , ( 2 ) nucleic acid sequence for use in gene therapy in which the antisense sequence of the hcarg gene is used in liposomes or a recombinant vehicle , for example , to suppress the gene , ( 3 ) a protein or mimetic which competes with the protein encoded by the nucleic acid sequences of this invention thus suppressing the native protein &# 39 ; s effect , ( 4 ) a protein encoded by the nucleic acid sequence of this invention to enhance the native protein &# 39 ; s effect . the composition could include an acceptable carrier , auxiliary or excipient . the pharmaceutical compositions may be used as an agonist or antagonist of the interaction of a protein encoded by hcarg and a receptor . the compositions can be for oral , topical , rectal , parenteral , local , inhalant or intracerebral use . there may be in solid or semisolid form , for example pills , tablets , creams , gelatin capsules , capsules , suppositories , soft gelatin capsules , gels , membranes , tubelets . the compositions of the invention may also be conjugated to transport molecules to facilitate transport of the molecules . the pharmaceutical composition can be administered to humans or animals . dosages to be administered depend on patient needs , on the desired effect and on the chosen route of administration . the pharmaceutical compositions can be prepared by known methods for the preparation of pharmaceutically acceptable compositions which can be administered to patients , and such that an effective quantity of the active substance is combined in a mixture with a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle . suitable vehicles are described , for example in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ( remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , mack publishing company , easton , pa ., usa 1985 ). on this basis , the pharmaceutical compositions include the active compound or substance in association with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable vehicles or diluents , and contained in buffered solutions with a suitable ph and iso - osmotic with the physiological fluids . the methods of binding the compound to the vehicles or combining them with diluents is well known to those skilled in the art . the composition could include a targeting agent for the transport of the active compound to specified sites within cells , tissues or organs . compounds could be targeted to cells such as vascular smooth muscle , renal or cardiac cells , for example . the invention also relates to a composition for use in gene therapy . liposomes or a recombinant molecule , for example could contain a sense or antisense sequence of the nucleic acid molecule of this invention . in the case of a recombinant molecule , the molecule would contain suitable transcriptional or translational regulatory elements . suitable regulatory elements may be derived from a variety of sources , and they may be readily selected by one or ordinary skill in the art . if one were to upregulate the expression of the gene , one would insert the sense sequence and the appropriate promoter into the vehicle . if one were to down regulate the expression of the gene , one would insert the antisense sequence and the appropriate promoter into the vehicle . these techniques are known to those skilled in the art examples of regulatory elements include : a transcriptional promoter and enhancer or rna polymerase binding sequence a ribosomal binding sequence , including a translation initiation signal . additionally , depending on the vector employed , other genetic elements , such as selectable markers , may be incorporated into the recombinant molecule . the recombinant molecule may be introduced into cells of a patient using in vitro delivery vehicles such as retroviral vectors , adenoviral vectors , dna virus vectors and liposomes . they may also be introduced into such cells in vivo using physical techniques such as microinjection and electroporation or chemical methods such as coprecipitation and incorporation of dna into liposomes . the compositions may also be delivered in the form of an aerosol or by lavage . the present invention also provides for methods in which a patent suffering from a condition requiring modulation of calcium levels is treated with an effective amount of a composition . isolation of a novel cdna whose expression is negatively regulated by extracellular calcium in the shr parathyroid gland using sense candidate primers ( from a putative amino acid sequence of phf ( 24 )) and a hybrid oligo dt primer , 3 ′- race experiments , performed on total rna extracted from shr ptc cultured in low - calcium medium , generated 1 major 700 - bp fragment that was digested and cloned in the bamh i site of psp72 . as a bamh i site was present in the 700 - bp fragment , a recombinant plasmid containing a 300 - bp insert was isolated and sequenced . this fragment was used to screen the ptc library and to generate new oligonucleotide primers to extend the cdna towards the 5 ′- and 3 ′- ends by race . from 7 overlapping dna fragments isolated in the above experiments and from shr ptc cdna library screening , a 1100 - bp cdna was reconstituted ( fig1 a ). the rat 1100 - bp reconstituted cdna sequence contained an open reading frame of 224 codons preceded by 2 in - frame stop codons and followed by the most frequent variant of the poly a tail ( fig1 b ). a 342 - bp intron was localized at position - 52 from the translation initiation site . poly a rna was isolated as described and analyzed by northern hybridization with the 32 p labeled 300 - bp fragment ( fig2 a ). two bands were detected with this probe , at approximate lengths of 1 . 2 and 1 . 4 kb these results suggest either the existence of 2 genes or differential splicing . furthermore , they indicate that the reconstituted 1100 - bp cdna is almost full length cdna , estimated at 1 . 2 kb by the major band in the northern hybridization experiments . regulation of the expression of this novel gene was investigated by competitive rt - pcr assay in ptc from wky and shr . cells between 5 and 12 passages were tested in these studies . in wky ptc , lowering of ambient calcium from 2 . 0 mm to 0 . 3 mm induced a rapid 2 - fold increase in the mrna levels of this novel gene at 2 h , which lasted up to 48 h ( fig2 b ). this calcium regulation was detected in wky ptc up to about 12 passages but disappeared in long term cultures . lowering of calcium concentrations in the cell medium also increased the mrna levels of this novel gene in shr ptc but to a lesser extent than in wky cells ( data not shown ). the present inventors then compared its mrna levels between 2 normotensive rat strains ( brown norway , bn ./ x . or wky ) and hypertensive animals ( shr ). the present inventors observed that the mrna levels of this novel gene were significantly higher in ptc derived from shr ( fig2 c left panel ) compared to normotensive wky rats at normal calcium . similarly , when the present inventors extracted rna ( fig2 c right panel ) or proteins ( fig2 d ) directly from the kidneys , the present inventors found significantly higher levels of this novel gene in hypertensive rats . these results clearly show that this novel gene is negatively regulated by extracellular calcium concentrations and that its levels are significantly higher in genetically hypertensive rats compared to 2 normotensive strains . the present inventors , therefore , named this gene hypertension - related , calcium - regulated gene ( hcarg ). the deduced protein contained 224 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 22456 da . the estimated pi of the protein was 6 . 0 . it comprised no known membrane - spanning motif but had an estimated 67 % a - helix content . the absence of a putative signal peptide sequence suggested an intracellular protein . there were 2 cysteines in the sequence , indicating possible intra - or inter - molecular disulfide bridges ( cys 64 - cys - 218 ). the protein had several putative phosphorylation sites for c - and a - kinases and 1 potential asn - glycosylation site ( asn 76 ). to confirm that hcarg mrna encodes a peptide of expected size , the hcarg cdna inserted into psp72 was incubated in vitro in a coupled transcription / translation labeling system . it was transcribed by t7 rna polymerase , and translated in rabbit reticulocyte lysate . as shown in fig3 ( lane 4 ), hcarg mrna directed the synthesis of a peptide with a molecular mass of 27 kda which closely corresponded to the molecular weight calculated from the amino acid sequence . page analysis of the reaction product in the absence of the reducing agent 03 - mercaptoethanol showed bands of 27 and 43 kda ( fig3 , lane 5 ). these results suggest possible intramolecular or intermolecular disulfide bridges and the formation of homodimers or heterodimers with other protein ( s ) present in the lysate . the present inventors then used a 439 - bp cdna fragment of rat hcarg (+ 1 to + 440 in fig1 ) to screen a human vsmc cdna library . the present inventors identified several positive clones that were purified , subcloned in pbluescript vector and sequenced . the present inventors obtained a 1355 - bp sequence containing full length human cdna , while all other clones contained only partial sequences . a recent sequence search in genbank revealed a region with complete dna sequence homology within 3 cosmids containing the zinc finger protein 7 ( zfp7 ) gene ( accession numbers af124523 , af146367 and af118808 ). although the nucleotide sequence of human hcarg could be found in these cosmids , the present inventors are the first to assign an expressed gene sequence to this dna region . sequence comparison between human hcarg and rat hcarg showed 80 % identity at the nucleotide level ( data not presented ) and , similarly , 80 % homology at the amino acid level ( fig4 ). analysis of protein structure with the prosearch database revealed 4 overlapping putative “ leucine zipper ” consensus motifs ( fig4 underlined ). further analysis revealed homology to the ef - hand calcium - binding motif ( 8 out of the 10 most conserved amino acids ) ( fig4 dashed box ). we also identified a nuclear receptor - binding motif ( fig4 bold and italics ). all these motifs were conserved in the rat and human amino acid sequence . the present inventors expressed gfp - hcarg in cos - 7 cells . fluorescence study showed that gfp - hcarg localized in the nucleus while cytoplasmic fluorescence was very faint ( fig5 b ). gfp , on the other hand , had a very diffuse localization ( fig5 a ). this result was confirmed by immunofluorescence using antibodies specific to hcarg ( fig5 c ) and by electron microscopy ( fig5 d ). electron microscopy was also performed on different tissues . in all tissues studied , hcarg was found in the nucleus with some labeling in protein synthesis sites . a human mte tm array was hybridized with human 32 p - labeled hcarg cdna as a probe . the array contained 76 polya rnas from various adult tissues , cell lines , fetal tissues and cancerous call lines . these arrays were normalized to 8 different housekeeping genes . analysis of the array showed that hcarg was expressed preponderantly in the heart , stomach , jejunum , kidney , liver and adrenal glands . comparison of hcarg expression in fetal to adult organs revealed that hcarg mrna was less expressed in all fetal tissues compared ( fig6 a ), particularly in the heart , kidney and liver . northern blots confirmed the lower abundance of hcarg in the fetal heart compared to all regions of the adult heart ( fig6 b ). the present inventors also compared hcarg mrna levels in various cancerous cell lines to normal tissues ( fig6 c ). hcarg mrna levels were decreased in all cancerous cell lines studied . they were also much lower in a glioblastoma , a partly differentiated renal cell carcinoma and a moderately differentiated hepatocellular tumor compared to the same amount of normal rna of adjacent tissues excised from the same operational site ( fig6 d ). in situ hybridization of hcarg mrna in the kidney and adrenal hcarg expression was determined in shr tissues by in situ hybridization . the labeled antisense riboprobe hybridized to the medulla and zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex ( fig7 ). in the kidney , labeling was almost exclusively located in the cortex and concentrated in the tubular component , contrasting with virtual absence of the signal in glomeruli ( fig7 ). in these organs , the signal was clearly greater in hypertensive rats compared to their normotensive controls ( lewanczuk et al . ; unpublished data ). the sense probe was used as a negative control and appropriately revealed a low signal under the present inventors &# 39 ; hybridization conditions , demonstrating specificity of the reaction ( fig7 lower panels ). the process of kidney injury and repair recapitulates many aspect of development . it involves de - differentiation and regeneration of epithelial cells , followed by differentiation ( 25 - 27 ). since the present inventors observed that hcarg mrna levels are lower in fetal than in adult organs , the present inventors evaluated hcarg expression after unilateral renal ischemia in uninephrectomized rats ( 19 ) as contralateral nephrectomy has been shown to stimulate cell regeneration ( 28 - 31 ). the present inventors noted that hcarg mrna declined rapidly to its lowest levels at 3 h and 6 h of reperfusion ( fig8 a ). these values then increased steadily to higher than baseline at 48 h of reperfusion . this was observed in both the kidney medulla ( fig8 a ) and cortex ( fig6 b ). in contrast to the decline in hcarg mrna levels , the proto - oncogene c - myc expression , which is correlated with hyperplastic response in mammalian cells , was rapidly increased following renal ischemia and reperfusion ( 31 ). c - myc mrna levels were low in control kidneys and increased dramatically in the post - ischemic kidney at 3 h of reperfusion , at a time when hcarg mrna levels were already reduced ( fig8 a and 8c ) hek293 cells were stably transfected with either plasmid alone or with plasmid containing rat hcarg . after transfection , several clones were examined for the determination of rat hcarg mrna levels . four clones hcarg clones 1 , 5 , 8 and 9 ) expressed variable amounts of rat hcarg mrna , as detected by northern blots , while no hcarg mrna levels were found in clones transfected with the plasmid alone ( fig9 ). clones expressing the highest levels of hcarg ( clones 8 and 9 ) were selected for cell proliferation studies . for these studies , cells that were transfected with the vector alone or polyclonal hcarg - transfected cells served as controls . the proliferation rates of the hcarg - transfected cell lines and vector control calls were examined under normal growth conditions ( 10 % fcs and g - 418 ) by counting cell numbers every day for a period of 8 days after plating . cell lines transfected with the vector alone ( neo clones 1 and 6 ) showed a similar growth rate as non - transfected cells ( not presented ) clones 8 and 9 expressing high levels of rat hcarg revealed a much lower proliferation rate than vector control cells while polyclonal cells expressing intermediate values of hcarg fell in between ( fig1 a ) consistent with a lower proliferation rate , stable hcarg transfection clones 8 and 9 showed much lower 3 h - thymidine incorporation than clones transfected with the empty vector ( fig1 b ). in order to investigate the cellular function of hcarg , we have studied the effects of ectopic overexpression of hcarg protein in hek 293 cells . stably transfected cell lines which expressed either plasmid alone ( pcdna1 / neo ) or plasmid containing rat hcarg ( pcdna1 / neo - hcarg ) were used in these studies . the level of [ 3h ]- thymidine incorporation was significantly lower in hcarg transfected clones compared to the vector control cell lines . cell cycle analysis revealed a g . sub . 2m phase accumulation of hcarg cells suggesting a cell cycle - dependent mechanism of growth suppression , which was associated with upregulation of the cyclin dependent kinase ( cdk )- inhibitor p21cip1 / waf - 1 , both at the mrna and protein level . the reduced cell proliferation was associated with some enhanced sensitivity to cell death by apoptosis and necrosis which was apparently secondary to cell cycle - dependent g 2 m phase accumulation . hcarg transfected cells had a larger size and a greater total protein content per cell , consistent with cellular hypertrophy . previous studies , including those using immunohistochemical techniques , have demonstrated atrial natriuretic peptide ( anp ) is present in the tubules of kidneys of several species including rat and human in vivo ( 68 - 70 ). furthermore , the developmental pattern of anp immunoreactivity in the rat was studied and found to coincide with the differentiation and maturation of the tubular epithelium ( 68 ). additional studies have provided evidence that an anp - like peptide is produced and secreted by primary cultures of neonatal and adult rat kidney cells ( 71 , 72 ). the human embryonic kidney cell line ( hek 293 ) is derived from renal cortical cells and exhibits several phenotypic characteristics of renal distal tubular cells , including a basal synthesis and release of an anp - like immunoreactivity ( or urodilatin ) ( 73 ). we assessed the direct functional effects of the novel gene hcarg , on cellular proliferation , cell cycle regulation and cell phenotype in vitro . since the hek 293 cell line is considered to be most representative of natriuretic peptide ( np )- secreting human distal cortical tubular cells , we have stably transfected these cells with hcarg in order to assess the direct effect of ectopic hcarg expression on several aspects of renal epithelial cell function in vitro . overexpression of the hcarg gene caused a 6 - 8 fold increase in the rate of anp release from hek 293 cells . light and electron microscopy revealed a lower incidence of mitotic figures as well as the development of more differentiated junctions in hcarg transfected cells only . in conclusion , hcarg gene transfer to hek 293 cells in vitro caused a change in cell phenotype which was manifest as : a reduction in cell growth : increased cell doubling time ; cell cycle g 2 m phase accumulation ; increased cell size and total protein content per cell and increased synthesis and secretion of an anp - like immunoreactivity . taken together , all of these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that hcarg can suppress cell proliferation in a cell cycle - dependent manner , and induce features characteristic of differentiation in vitro , apparently by affecting cell cycle progression which is associated with up - regulation of p21 cp1 / waf - 1 . because bacteria are unable to post - translationally modify proteins as mammalian cells , a bacterial protein may be inactive . we express the hcarg protein in mammalian cells to circumvent this problem . gene transfer techniques to cos7 cells are used routinely in the lab . the expression vector is pcdnaneol ( invitrogen ) available in the lab . the cloned hcarg is inserted as a hind iii - bgi ii fragment in hind iii - bamhi sites in the vector to place the gene under the cmv promoter . a plasmidic neo gene enables the selection of stable transformants . high expression is selected by northern blots and protein is purified when antibodies are available . various biological activities however , are tested immediately on cells expressing hcarg . the initial candidate activities are calcium channel function calmodulin - phosphodiesterase activator activity , cell proliferation , cell death and apoptosis . gene therapy : the intracellular function of a protein can be also studied by inhibition of its expression by antisense molecules recently , antisense oligonucleotides have been used extensively to inhibit expression of specific genes ( 65 ). although , the exact mechanism of this inhibition is not known , evidence suggest that rnase h - like activity degrades rna oligonucleotide duplexes ( 61 ). while modified oligonucleotides such as methylphosphonates diffuse freely across the cell membrane , unmodified and modified oligonucleotides have been shown to be actively transported into living cells by binding to membrane receptors ( 63 , 66 ). it is therefore possible to inhibit the expression of specific genes and their gene products by adding specific antisense molecules to the culture medium . we explore the capacity of the oligonucleotide antisense spanning the translation initiation site of hcarg to inhibit phf as well as cpa synthesis . parathyroid cells or other cells expressing hcarg , phf or cpa are treated with antisense oligonucleotides . cells are incubated in medium containing up to 100 μm antisense oligonucleotide . lipofection helps to increase the percentage of uptake of oligonucleotides in certain cells . fresh antisense molecules are added every 24 hrs . after 24 to 48 hrs cell culture medium is tested for the presence of phf activity and intracellular cpa activity is assessed . non - sense and sense oligonucleotides are used as control for determination of specificity of the effect . other parameters such as cyclic nucleotides and intracellular calcium levels are also measured since they may constitute an additional step to define the mechanism of action of hcarg . we have initiated studies on the regulation of hcarg . hormonal signal transduction pathways are stimulated by different agonists , in cultural parathyroid cells incubated in low or normal calcium medium . our initial studies showed that tpa , a protein kinase c agonist , ( protein kinase c is the main target on intracellular calcium and is involved in the phosphorylation regulation of many target proteins including , ionic channel , contractile proteins and hormonal receptors ) increases the mrna levels of hcarg when cells are incubated in normal calcium medium . these data suggest that protein kinase c could mediate , inside of the cell , these effects of extracellular calcium . interestingly , the calcium sensor is linked to the protein kinase c pathway . other hormonal systems are tested for their effects on hcarg expression . these include glucocorticoid , catecholamine &# 39 ; s , vitamin d , prohormone , growth factors , cytokines . these tests define the mechanisms controlling hcarg synthesis and delineate their anomalies in disease states . with the obtention of the cdna coding for the hcarg from human and rat and the putative full length open reading frame , our research includes genomic structure , search of genetic control elements . our research relates to the pathophysiological regulation of its expression and to in vitro expression of a functional protein . southern blot analysis was performed on 10 μg genomic dna of shr and bn . 1x rats with the following restriction enzymes bamh1 , bgiii , ecori , hindiii , kpni and psti . the probe consisted of the 32p - labeled fragment of 860 bp of hcarg shown in fig1 . a clear rflp genotyping for the b bn . 1x allele ( 12 kb ) or s ( shr ) allele ( 2 . 2 kb ) was then detected with the bgi ii restriction enzyme ( fig1 ) in the 33 recombinant inbred strains . the strain distribution pattern of this rflp was then analyzed by pearson &# 39 ; s correlation for segregation with 500 markers localized in the rat genetic map using the map manager program of manly ( version 2 . 6 . 5 ). the address of ratmap is “ http :// www . ratmap . gen . gu . se .” northern blot and in situ hybridization experiments have shown that rat tissues which demonstrate a significant expression of hcarg are the parathyroid gland , the medulla and inner cortical section of the adrenal gland , the cortical tubular segments of the kidney and the brain cortex and medulla . in most organs , the expression was higher in shr than in normotensive rat . the effect of dietary sodium and calcium is tested on hcarg expression in these organs in salt sensitive and salt - resistant hypertensive rat strains with a protocol previously described in chang et al , ( 60 ) and tremblay et al . ( 67 ). these earlier reports have shown an increased in cpa activity by high sodium intake and normalization by high dietary calcium suggesting that this factor could be a biological marker of salt sensitivity in the population . we have recently detected the expression of hcarg in human lymphocytes . this is a readily available source of human rna and we have developed a semi - quantitative rt - pcr assay to quantify the mrna levels of hcarg in humans . human samples are obtained from controls and patients with abnormal calcium metabolism such as patients with cardiovascular diseases , osteoporosis , atherosclerosis and cancer . in addition , biopsies of cancer tissues are obtained . we have already detected the mrna of hcarg in colon cancer as well as in breast cancer . these studies use hcarg as a biological marker of abnormal calcium metabolism in humans . rat and human hcarg are inserted into bacterial expression vectors in order to produce large amounts of hcarg protein . for hcarg , we use the pmal - c2 ( new england biolabs ) to generate a fusion protein of hcarg following the maltose - binding protein . a blunt hcarg cdna obtained by pcr and starting at the initiator methionine is inserted in the xmnl site of pmal - c2 . this strategy places the hcarg product next to the factor xa cleavage site of the fusion protein . because protein expression in e . coli varies according to the vector used and the nature of the protein expressed , we prepare other fusion proteins . the pgex - 5x plasmid ( pharmacia ) allows for the introduction of genes to produce glutathione s - transferase fusion proteins . the vector exists in three frames and has extensive restriction insertion sites for easy insertion of foreign gene . for example , the cloned rat hcarg is inserted in the ecori - xhoi sites to produce the fusion protein with hcarg product localized after a factor xa cleavage site . in both systems , the fusion proteins enable the rapid purification of the expressed protein through affinity chromatography . crude bacterial extracts containing cytoplasmic proteins are analyzed . according to the amount of protein synthesized , purification steps are determined or crude extract is used directly . to generate antibodies by injection into rabbits , urea extracted aggregates , sds - page purified bands or protein extracts are used ( 64 ). cell cultures . parathyroid cells ( ptc ) were isolated from shr and wistar - kyoto ( wky ) rats . primary cultures were passaged in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle &# 39 ; s medium ( dmem ) with 10 % fetal calf serum ( fcs ), as described previously ( 9 ). they were then maintained in ham f12 medium containing a low ( 0 . 3 mm ) or normal ( 2 . 0 mm ) total calcium concentration for 2 or 48 h . cos - 7 or hek293 cells were cultured in dmem containing 10 % fetal calf serum . all cell types were maintained in 5 % co 2 at 37 ° c . ischemia - reperfusion . shr were anesthetized with light flurane , and the right kidney was removed through a mid abdominal incision . the left kidney was subjected to warm transient ischemia by occlusion of the left renal artery and vein with a micro - clip , as described previously ( 19 ). the skin incision was temporarily closed . after 80 min of occlusion , the clip was removed , and the wound was closed with a 2 - 0 suture . the rats had access to water immediately after surgery . shr parathyroid cdna library . parathyroid glands were remove from 100 12 - week - old shr and frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen . the glands were added to a guanidinium thiocyanate solution and homogenized in this solution . poly a rna was obtained by phenol - chloroform extraction , ethanol precipitation and isolated on an oligo ( dt ) column . poly a rna was stored in ethanol at − 80 ° c . until used . the cdna library was constructed with poly a rna as template and the zap - cdna synthesis kit ( stratagene , la jolla , u . s . a .). a summary of the protocol is as follows : mrna was reverse - transcribed from an xhoi - linker oligo ( dt ) primer using moloney - murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase . second strand synthesis was then produced with dna polymerase i in the presence of rnaseh . the cdna was then extracted using phenol / chloroform , precipitated with sodium acetate , washed with 80 % ethanol and resuspended in sterile water . cdna termini were blunted by incubation with the klenow fragment of dna polymerase i and dntps . cdna was again precipitated and washed . ecori adaptors were added using t4 ligase , and the ends phosphorylated with t4 polynucleotide kinase . this mixture was then digested with xhoi to release adaptors and residual linker - primer from the 3 ′ end of the cdna . the resulting mixture was separated on a sephacryl s - 400 column . eluted cdna was precipitated with 100 % cold ethanol and resuspended in sterile water . cdnas were ligated into the uni - zap xr vector using t4 dna ligase , thus forming the cdna library , and packaged into gigapack ii gold packaging extract . the packaged products were plated onto xl1 - blue mrf ′ cells and recombinant numbers determined . the library was then amplified by mixing the packaging mixture with host bacteria ( xl1 - alue mrf ′ cells ). the library was stored at − 80 ° c . until screened . to screen the cdna library , phages were plated onto bacterial host plates ( xl1 - blue mrf ′) and incubated overnight . after chilling at 4 ° c . for 2 h , a nitrocellulose filter was overlaid for 2 min . the fitter was then denatured in 1 . 5m nacl / 0 . 5m naoh , neutralized in 1 . 5m nacl with 0 . 5 tris - cl ( ph 8 . 0 ). the filter was then rinsed and the dna crosslinked to it with uv light . hybridization was performed with digoxigenin - dutp labeled probes ( roche molecular biochemicals , laval , canada ) derived from 3 ′- and 5 ′- race ( rapid amplification of cdna ends ), products described below . rna and cdna preparation . total rnas were prepared from rat cells and organs according to the standard guanidinium thiocyanate - phenol - chloroform method ( 20 ) and kept at − 70 ° c . until used . mrna was extracted from total rna with the polyattract system ( promega , nepean , canada ). cdnas , unless stated , were synthesized with random hexamers for first strand synthesis and reverse / transcribed . radiolabeled dna probes were prepared by the random priming technique or polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ) amplification with 32 p - dctp . r 5 ′ race . four mixtures of degenerate oligonucleotide primers were initially designed according to the putative amino acid sequence of phf with the following degenerate sequence : 5 ′ ta ( t / c ) tci gti tci ca ( t / c ) tt ( t / c ) ( a / c ) g 3 ′. from initial race experiments ( described below ), 1 unique sequence primer tac tcc gtg tcc cac ttc cg was selected for its ability to generate reverse transcription ( rt )- pcr dna fragments from ptc total rna and used subsequently as candidate primer for 3 ′- race . in brief , for 3 ′- race , total rna from ptc was reverse - transcribed with a hybrid primer consisting of oligo ( dt ) ( 17 - mer ) extended by a unique 17 - base oligonucleotide ( adaptor ). pcr amplification was subsequently performed with the adapter , which bound to cdna at its 3 ′- ends , and the candidate primer mentioned above ( 21 ) for 5 ′- race , rt was undertaken with an internal primer derived from the sequence of the cdna fragment generated by 3 ′- race . a da homopolymer tail was then appended to the first strand reaction products using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase . finally , pcr amplification was accomplished with the hybrid primer described previously and a second internal primer upstream to the first one ( 21 ). subcloning . the dna fragments generated from the race experiments were separated by electrophoresis , isolated from agarose gel and extracted by the phenol - chloroform method ( 20 ). psp72 plasmid ( promega ) was digested at the smai site and ligated to blunt dna fragments with t4 dna ligase . transformed dh5a e . coli bacteria were grown and recombinant bacteria were selected by pcr . similarly , hcarg was subcloned in pcdna1 / neo ( invitrogen , carlsbad , u . s . a .). to determine the subcellular localization of hcarg protein in mammalian cells , the coding region of hcarg was fused to green fluorescent protein ( gfp ) cdna and was transfected in the cells . briefly , the entire coding region of hcarg was amplified by pcr with the primers atg tct gct tto ggg got gca gct cca tac ttg cac cat ccc and taa tac gac tca cta tag gga gac , gel purified , and fused in - frame to gfp in pfgfp - c1 ( clontech , palo alto , u . s . a .) through a blunt hind iii site . pegfp - hcarg was then sequenced similarly , the coding sequence of hcarg was fused in frame to glutathione s - transferase ( gst ) in pgex - 3x ( amersham pharmacia biotech , baie d &# 39 ; urfe , canada ) through a smai site and a blunt ecori site . sequencing . double - stranded sequencing of cloned cdna inserts was performed with sequenase version 2 . 0 ( united states biochemical , cleveland , u . s . a .). 5 μg of recombinant plasmid template were denatured , annealed with t7 or sp6 primers , and labeled with 35 s - datp by extension , using the chain termination method of sanger according to the manufacturers protocol cloning of human hcarg . a 439 - bp cdna fragment of rat hcarg was 32 p - labeled and served as a probe for screening a human vsmc cdna library . cdna from positive phages was purified and the fragments were cloned in pbluescript . all fragments were sequenced . we obtained a 1355 - bp fragment containing the coding region of hcarg . northern blot hybridization , dot blot hybridization and competitive rt - pcr . 2 μg of poly a rna from ptc or 10 μg of total rna from kidneys were denatured at 68 . degree . c . and separated on denaturing formamide 1 % agarose gel . the gel was transferred onto nitrocellulose by vacuum transfer with 20 + ssc . the membrane was exposed to uv light to fix rna , and pre - hybridized in a solution containing sspe , sds . denhardt &# 39 ; s and dextran sulfate for at least 4 hours . hybridization was performed overnight in the same buffer containing . sup . 32p labeled probes generated from cdna clone ( s ) by pcr or random labeling method . 1 μg of total rna was used in dot blot experiments . a human multiple tissue expression ( mte tm ) array ( clontech ) and human fetal and tumor panel northern territory tm rna plots ( invitrogen , carlsbad calif ., u . s . a ) were hybridized with 32 p - labeled human hcarg cdna according to the manufacturers specifications . for quantitative determinations of hcarg mrna , total rna was extracted from ptc and reverse - transcribed . a hcarg competitor was constructed using the pcr mimic construction kit ( clontech ) with the following composite primers : gca cga gcc aca gcc agc tac ccc agc cac cca ttt gta cc ( seq id no : ______ ; sense ) and tgt gac tgt cag cgg gat gga gtc cga gat gta gag ggc ( seq id no : ______ ; antisense ). the 344 - bp dna obtained was cloned into psp72 and transcribed with sp6 rna polymerase . the resulting rna was quantified by photometry and subsequently used in competitive rt - pcr . the competitive reaction contained 1 or 2 μg total rna with increasing amounts of competitor crna along with 32 p - labeled nucleotide . two primers tgt gac tgt cag cgg gat gg ( seq id no : ______ ) and gca cga gcc aca gcc agc tacc ( seq id no : ______ ) flanking the hcarg intron were employed to amplify a 186 - bp cdna fragment . pcr was performed : 15 sec at 95 . degree . c ., 20 sec at 68 . degree . c ., 30 sec at 72 . degree . c ., for 30 cycles , followed by a 5 min elongation step at 72 ° c . 10 μl of the pcr were loaded on 1 . 8 % agarose gel , then dried and exposed in a phosphorimager cassette for quantification . in situ mrna hybridization . tissues from shr and wky rats were rinsed in phosphate buffer , fixed in 4 % paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin . 3 - to 5 -. mu . m sections were cut and mounted on microscope slides pretreated with aminopropylthiethoxysilane . the slides were first dried at 37 ° c ., then at 60 ° c . for 10 min prior to use . the probe applied was a unique 3 ′- race 300 - bp fragment ( 3r 290 in fig2 a ) which had been subcloned into the bamh i site of a psp72 vector . briefly the dna was purified and linearized with hindiii and ecor1 digestion followed by phenol - chloroform extraction . after gel confirmation , the dna was transcribed using t7 or sp6 polymerases to create sense and antisense riboprobes which were labeled with digoxigenin - utp using a tailing reaction . they were validated by dot blot hybridization with template dna . prehybridization of slides was undertaken after de - waxing in xylene , followed by progressive ethanol - water hydration ( 95 % to 50 %). the slides were rinsed in phosphate - buffered saline ( pbs ) and incubated with proteinase k ( 20 μg / ml ) for 20 min at room temperature . after this digestion , they were rinsed successively in glycine buffer , pbs and then dehydrated in ethanol . actual prehybridization was done with 50 % formamide , 0 . 2 % sodium docdecyl sulfate ( sds ), 0 . 1 % sarcosyl , 5 . times . standard sodium citrate ( ssc ; nacl ( 0 . 15m ), sodium citrate ( 0 . 015m , ph 7 . 0 )) and 2 % blocking reagent ( roche molecular biochemicals ) for 1 h at 60 ° c . hybridization was performed by adding the probe ( 200 ng / ml ) to 50 g . of 4 . times . ssc and 50 % formamide per section . the slides were incubated overnight at 60 . degree . c . in a chamber humidified with 4 . times . ssc and 50 % formamide . during hybridization , a coverslip was placed over the tissue section after hybridization , it was removed and the sections rinsed with 4 × ssc , then washed with 4 × ssc for 15 min and in 2 × ssc for 15 min , at room temperature . finally , the sections were washed with 0 . 1 % ssc for 30 min at 60 . degree . c . hybridization was detected by color reaction . for coloration , the sections were washed with buffers 1 and 2 of the dig luminescent detection kit ( roche molecular biochemicals ). they were then incubated with anti - dig alkaline phosphatase antibody ( 1 : 500 ) in buffer 2 for 40 min , washed twice in buffer 1 for 15 min and in buffer 3 for 2 min . incubation in the color solution ( nbt / x - phos ) was carried out for 45 min , after which the slides were washed in distilled water and dry - mounted with geltol . in vitro translation . the full length of the hcarg coding sequence was synthesized by rt - pcr with specific primers and inserted downstream of the t7 promoter into the psp72 vector . in vitro transcription and translation were performed using a tnt - 17 - coupled reticulocyte lysate system ( promega ) in the presence of 35 s - methionine a plasmid containing the luciferase gene supplied by the manufacturer was used as a control . the synthesized proteins were analyzed by 15 % sds polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ( page ). in the absence or presence of β - mercaptoethanol . radioactive protein bands were detected by scanning with a phosphorimager . antibody production . e . coli cells transformed with pgex - 3 were grown in lb medium containing 50 μg / ml ampicillin at 37 ° c . until a595 nm = 0 . 5 . isopropyl - b - d - thiogalactopyranoside was added to a final concentration of 0 . 1 mm , and the cells were cultured for 2 h purification of gst - hcarg was performed according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s protocol . polyclonal antisera with antibodies recognizing hcarg were produced by immunization of rabbits with gst - hcarg protein . immunocytological reaction at the electron microscopic level . rat tissues ( liver , anterior pituitary , spleen , heart and adrenal gland ) were quickly removed and fixed in 4 % paraformaldehyde with 0 . 05 % glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer solution for do min . a part of the specimens was cryoprotected in 0 . 4m sucrose phosphate buffer solution for 30 min at 4 ° c ., then frozen in a cold gradient of fuming nitrogen ( biogel , cfpo , saint priest , france ) to − 4 ° c ., and immersed in liquid nitrogen , as described previously ( 22 ). ultrathin frozen sections of 80 nm thickness were obtained using a dry sectioning method at − 120 ° c . with an ultrarut s microtome ( lelca , lyon , france ). the other part of the specimens was dehydrated before embedding in lowicryl k4m with the afs system ( leica ) ( 23 ). sections were mounted on 400 mesh collodion - carbon - coated nickel grids . for ultrastructural localization of hcarg protein , the grids were first placed in buffer containing 0 . 1 m phosphate buffer , 0 . 15 m nacl , and 1 % albumin , ph 7 . 4 , for 10 min . they were then incubated for 1 h with polyclonal igg raised against hcarg protein at concentrations of 1 : 1000 and 1 : 50 for ultrathin frozen sections and lowicryl sections respectively . after 10 - min washing in the same buffer , antigen / antibody complexes were revealed with anti - rabbit igg conjugated with 10 nm gold particles in buffer containing 0 . 05 m tris , 0 . 15 m nacl , 1 % albumin , ph 7 . 6 , for 1 h . the grids were washed in the same buffer and fixed with 2 . 5 % glutaraldehyde . the specificity of the immunocytological reaction was tested on sections with omission of primary antibody and incubation of the primary antibody with particle - adsorbed antigen . no signal was observed on these tissue sections . before observation in a philips cm 120 electron microscope at 80 kv , the cryosections were contrasted in 2 % uranyl acetate , embedded in 8 % methylcellulose , and the lowicryl sections were contrasted for 20 min in 5 % uranyl acetate . transfection and subcellular localization . cos - 7 cells were plated at . about . 30 - 50 % confluency 1 day prior to transfection which was performed with 5 μg / well of pegp - hcarg or pcdna1 / neo - hcarg , according to the calcium phosphate method . after 24 h , the cells were fixed with 4 % paraformaldehyde in pbs for 30 min at room temperature . following 3 washes with pbs , cells transfected with pegfp - hcarg or pcdna1 / neo - hcarg were mounted on coverslips . the cells were permeabilized with 0 . 3 % triton x - 100 for 12 min , blocked with 1 % bsa - 1 % gelatin for 15 min , incubated with hcarg antibodies at 37 ° c . for 1 h , washed in 0 . 5 % bsa , incubated with anti - rabbit fitc - labeled antibodies and washed again . fluorescence and immunofluorescence were detected with a zeiss fluorescence microscope . stable transfection . hek293 cells were plated in a 100 - mm plate at a density of 0 . 5 × 10 6 cells / plate . they were transfected with the control plasmid pcdna1 / neo ( invitrogen , faraday , u . s . a .) or with the plasmid containing rat hcarg using a standard calcium phosphate coprecipitation method . 48 h after transfection , the cells were plated in 150 - mm plates in the presence of 400 μg / ml g418 ( life technologies , burlington , canada ). after 2 weeks , the clones were picked and the level of ectopic hcarg expression was determined by northern hybridization . cell counting and 3 h - thymidine incorporation . the rate of stable clone cell proliferation was measured by counting the number of cells after plating , cells were seeded at a density of 0 . 1 × 10 6 cells / 6 - well plate , with triplicate plates for each cell line . every 24 h , the calls were trypsinized and counted in a hemocytometer hek293 cells which stably expressed either neo control plasmid or hcarg were used for the estimation of dna synthesis by 3 h - thymidine incorporation . the clones were trypsinized at 90 % confluency , counted in a standard hemocytometer and inoculated at an identical initial cell density of 40 , 000 cells / ml in dmem containing 10 % fbs and g418 at 400 μg / ml . all cells were inoculated in poly - d - lysine - pretreated 24 - well plates in a volume of 1 ml / well ( 40 , 000 cells / well ). they were allowed to attach and grow for a period of 24 - 48 h . the growth media were then replaced by dmem containing 0 . 2 % fbs and g418 ( 400 μg / ml ) for a period of 48 h to synchronism the cells . after the synchronization period , the cells were supplied with fresh medium containing 10 % fbs and allowed to grow for 48 h . [. sup . 3h ]- thymidine , 1 μci / ml ( icn ) was added to the cells for the last 4 h of the 48 h - growth period . at the end of incubation , the medium was removed and the monolayers washed twice with pbs . the cells were then fixed with ethanol : acetic acid ( 3 : 1 , v : v ), and dna was digested / extracted with 0 . 5n pca at 80 - 90 ° c . for 20 min . the above results show that modulation of the expression of hcarg has at least an effect on cell proliferation . overexpression of hcarg gene leads to inhibition of cell proliferation . this effect of overexpressing the gene ( which could be replaced by administering the protein itself ) indicates that the gene or the protein , peptide or mimetics are useful at least against proliferative diseases such as cancer . as well , since vascular cells express hcarg , having these cells to overexpress the gene ( or alternatively putting the cells in contact with the hcarg protein , peptide or mimetic ) would reduce cell proliferation provoked by different stimuli ( such as occurring during restenosis or atherosclerosis , for example ). of course , any condition where cell proliferation would need to be increased would be treated the opposite way e . g . by silencing the hcarg gene or by inhibiting the activity of the gene product . another immediate use for the probes or primers capable of hybridizing with hcarg gene or for the antibodies capable of binding the hcarg protein is the detection of a ca - dependent condition . high levels are associated to low calcemia while low levels are associated with high calcemia and high calcium - dependent disorders . as shown above , certain types of hypertension as well as hypocalcemia correlates with high levels of hcarg , while a “ high calcium ” disease like cancer correlate with low levels of the same . although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof and annexed figures , it can be modified , without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention . any such modification is under the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims . 1 . brown , e . m ., gamba , g ., riccardi , d ., lombardi , m ., butters , r ., kifor , o ., sun , a ., hediger , m . a ., lytton , j ., and hebert , s . c . 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fig1 - 4 illustrate a first connector 10 and a second connector 12 in a separated condition . connectors 10 and 12 are substantially identical to one another , the exceptions lying in appendages which permit connectors 10 and 12 to be identified as a pair and releasably attached to one another as hereinafter described . both connectors 10 and 12 include a non - conductive , plastic body 14 of essentially rectangular shape . a locking arm 64 is attached to body 14 to extend substantially parallel with the surface of the body , and a hole 65 passes through the locking arm . connector 10 includes a hinged rear holder 15 which pivots about integral hinge 16 . hinge 16 permits rear holder 15 to pivot between a closed position and an open position for installation of metal contacts 24 as hereinafter described . fig1 illustrates rear holder 15 in the closed position . rear holder 15 on connector 10 includes a notch 42 located near the middle of the rear holder . connector 12 includes a rear holder 17 which is pivotally secured to the connector by using integral hinge 18 . rear holder 17 is pivotable between an open position and a closed position , similar to that of rear holder 15 . rear holder 17 on connector 12 includes a projection 44 extending outwardly from the middle of the rear holder . notch 42 on rear holder 15 and projection 44 on rear holder 17 are positioned such that the projection aligns with the notch when connectors 10 and 12 are mated together . therefore , no obstruction results from projection 44 in rear holder 17 . referring to fig3 and 4 , each of connectors 10 and 12 includes a substantially planar surface 19 proximate rear holders 15 , 17 . both connectors 10 and 12 also have an open portion 20 in the connector body 14 proximate the forward end thereof . open portion 20 is located adjacent mating surface 19 on the same side of the connector . a plurality of terminal slots 22 are located in both connectors 10 and 12 . terminal slots 22 are arranged parallel to one another and extend through body 14 from front to back . a plurality of electrical terminals 24 are inserted into terminal slots 22 from the back of the connector . rear holder 15 or 17 must be in the open position to permit insertion of terminals 24 into terminal slots 22 . after terminals 24 are inserted into the connector , the rear holder is pivoted from the open position to the closed and latched position , thereby securing the terminals within the connector . each terminal 24 has a wire 26 attached at one end which may be bundled together to form a wiring harness ( not shown ). when terminals 24 are fully inserted into slots 22 , a resilient electrical contact portion 25 of each terminal is exposed by open portion 20 in body 14 . therefore , contact portion 25 is unprotected and susceptible to damage during shipping and handling . to form the first part of a multi - point interconnection for connector bodies 10 and 12 , a first mating element 28 is positioned centrally along mating surface 19 on connector 10 . a second mating element 30 is disposed centrally along mating surface 19 of connector 12 . as shown in fig8 first mating element 28 includes a body portion 31 having a pair of support structures 34 extending downwardly and outwardly from the body portion . a cylindrical rail 32 is located at the distal end of each support structure 34 . cylindrical rails 32 are arranged in a substantially parallel manner . a lock projection 36 extends perpendicularly from body portion 31 of first mating element 28 at a position approximately midway between cylindrical rails 32 . second mating element 30 includes a body portion 37 having a pair of parallel , cylindrical channels 38 extending into the body portion , as illustrated in fig8 . the size , shape , and positioning of cylindrical channels 38 are complementary to cylindrical rails 32 and corresponding support structure 34 of first mating element 38 , such that cylindrical rails 32 and support structures 34 slide into cylindrical channels 38 when elements 28 , 30 are aligned with one another as shown in fig8 and urged into engagement . second mating element 30 further includes a retaining cavity 40 which aligns with and receives lock projection 36 when mating elements 28 and 30 are mated together . after cylindrical rails 32 begin to slide into channels 38 , lock projection 36 contacts body 37 between channels 38 . further urging of mating elements 28 , 30 toward engagement causes lock projection 36 to deflect upward sufficiently to slide over the upper surface of body 37 until the lock projection reaches retaining cavity 40 and snaps downward into detented engagement therewith . this interaction between lock projection 36 and retaining cavity 40 maintains mating elements 28 , 30 securely together . referring again to fig2 the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a pair of retaining ribs 46 extending outwardly from mating surface 19 of first connector 10 . a pair of corresponding retaining channels 54 are formed on mating surface 19 of second connector 12 . retaining ribs 46 and retaining channels 54 are registrable with one another , such that when first mating element 28 engages second mating element 30 , each retaining rib 46 is in alignment with a corresponding retaining channel 54 . fig7 illustrates a detailed view of the complementary retaining rib 46 and retaining channel 54 . retaining rib 46 has a generally convex shape defined by a pair of flat side walls 48 spaced apart from one another and arranged in a substantially parallel relationship . side walls 48 extend outwardly from and are continuous with mating surface 19 of first connector 10 . a pair of expanded arcuate portions 50 are continuous with and extend outwardly from side walls 48 . a flat planar surface 52 is located between expanded portions 50 and is continuous therewith . retaining channel 54 has a generally concave shape defined by a pair of support walls 56 extending outwardly from mating surface 19 of second connector 12 . support walls 56 include a pair of side walls 58 arranged in a parallel , spaced apart relationship . support walls 56 further include a pair of arcuate inner surfaces 60 , each being continuous with a side wall 58 . a planar surface 62 is located between and continuous with both arcuate inner surfaces 60 . as fig7 illustrates , arcuate inner surfaces 60 create an enlarged portion of channel 54 and is dimensioned such that retaining rib 46 can slidably enter retaining channel 54 . referring to fig1 , each connector 10 , 12 is matable with a mating receptacle 66 on a vehicle component . a flexible printed circuit 68 is secured to receptacle 66 . an aperture 70 in receptacle 66 receives connector 10 or 12 such that flexible printed circuit 68 makes electrical contact with contact surfaces 25 of terminals 24 . when connector 10 , 12 is fully inserted into receptacle 66 , a lock pawl 72 projecting into aperture 70 is in latching engagement with hole 65 in locking arm 64 to retain the connector in proper engagement . to remove connector 10 , 12 from engagement with receptacle 66 , locking arm 64 is pressed toward the surface of body 14 until lock pawl 72 is clear of hole 65 , thus allowing the connector to be withdrawn from the connector . it would also be possible to design a mating receptacle 66 including structures similar to retaining ribs 46 , retaining channels 54 , and mating elements 28 and 30 positioned to operatively engage the existing connector mating structures ( 46 , 54 , 28 and 30 ) to secure the connector within the receptacle . thus , the inventive mating structure may act to join connectors 10 and 12 during shipment as well as to secure the connectors to receptacle 66 . fig9 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention . the alternate embodiment includes a pair of connectors 10 &# 39 ;, 12 &# 39 ; each having an outer housing 14 and an open portion 20 . first connector 10 &# 39 ; includes a first mating element 28 and second connector 12 &# 39 ; includes a second mating element 30 . a retaining rib 46 and a retaining channel 54 are disposed on first connector mating surface 19 on opposite sides of first mating element 28 . similarly , a retaining rib 46 and a retaining channel 54 are disposed on second connector mating surface 19 on opposite sides of second mating element 30 . retaining rib 46 and retaining channel 54 on first connector 10 &# 39 ; are registrable with the corresponding channel 54 and rib 46 on second connector 12 &# 39 ; for mating the two connectors . an additional embodiment of the present invention ( not shown in the drawings ) includes a pair of retaining channels 54 disposed on first connector 10 and a corresponding pair of retaining ribs 46 disposed on second connector 12 . except for the different arrangement of retaining ribs 46 and retaining channel 54 , the remaining portions of connectors 10 and 12 are the same as described with respect to the above embodiments . in operation , a wiring harness ( not shown ) is constructed which includes connectors 10 and 12 populated with terminals 24 and corresponding wires 26 ( as shown in fig1 ). after all terminals 24 and wires 26 are inserted into the connectors , hinged rear holders 15 and 17 are pivoted from the open position to the closed position , thereby securing the terminals within connector housing 14 . typically , this assembly step is performed at a wiring harness assembly facility . once both connectors 10 and 12 have been populated with terminals 24 , the two connectors are identified as a complemental pair and are mated by juxtaposing the mating surfaces 25 of the connectors as shown in fig1 . in the juxtaposed relationship , electrical contact surfaces 25 are facing one another . as shown in fig6 all wires 26 are routed in the same direction , and mating elements 28 , 30 as well as retaining ribs 46 and retaining channels 54 are facing one another . as connectors 10 and 12 are moved toward one another , first mating element 28 engages second mating element 30 while , at the same time , retaining ribs 46 engage retaining channels 54 . when connectors 10 and 12 are mated together , lock projection 36 extending from first mating element 28 detentingly engages retaining cavity 40 , thereby securing the two connectors together . the interaction between lock projection 36 and retaining cavity 40 prevents the two connectors from inadvertently separating from one another during subsequent shipping and handling . additionally , retaining ribs 46 and retaining channels 54 prevent the connectors from rotating due to torque forces applied to the connectors . as shown in fig6 when connectors 10 and 12 are mated together , electrical contact portions 25 confront one another and are therefore protected by the opposing connector . since the opposing connector protects the electrical contact portions 25 , no protective housing or covering device is required . thus , when the wiring harness arrives at the vehicle assembly location and the connectors 10 and 12 are ready for installation into the vehicle , the two connectors are simply separated from one another and mated to the corresponding vehicle component . to separate connectors 10 and 12 , the connectors are urged in the opposite direction from that used to mate the connectors . to release the connectors , a sufficient force is required to overcome the engagement between lock projection 36 and retaining cavity 40 . once that interaction is overcome , rails 32 on first mating element 28 slide out of channels 38 on second mating element 30 . similarly , retaining ribs 46 slide out of retaining channels 54 . as shown in fig1 , after connectors 10 and 12 have been separated , either connector may then be mated to a complementary electrical connector such as receptacle 66 , thereby making electrical contact with flexible printed circuit 68 . the alternate embodiment of fig9 operates in a manner similar to that described above with reference to the preferred embodiment . the differences illustrated in fig9 are in the arrangement of retaining ribs 46 and retaining channels 54 . the interactions of the mating structures are similar to the interactions in the preferred embodiment . although particular embodiments of the invention have been described as used with a particular type of connector , it will be understood that the inventive concepts contained in the present invention are applicable to a variety of different connectors used in a variety of applications .	7
the change in the corneal surface using the surgical device of the present invention will be determined by an optical correction formed into a custom made member or insert based upon a doctor &# 39 ; s prescription . the prescription is similar to the prescription a doctor might give to an optical laboratory for the purpose of grinding lenses for eye glasses or for contact lenses . fig1 illustrates a particular prescribed corrective portion which is to be removed from a patient &# 39 ; s eye . this lenticular cut portion 40 which is to be removed from an eye has two surfaces 41 , 42 which form a positive meniscus ( crescent ) in shape . this prescriptive correction is mathematically converted to the optical equivalent 43 seen in fig2 . equivalent 43 has a planar side 44 and a convex side 45 . in accordance with the invention , the optical prescription is sculpted into a flat face 11173 of an insert 1117 shown in fig3 . the insert 1117 is then inserted into applicant &# 39 ; s instrument 1100 . the instrument is placed against the eye such that the eye is in contact with the insert . a knife edge is moved under the insert and an equivalent cornea portion of the eye is cut off thereby altering the curvature of the cornea by precisely the prescribed amount . the prescriptive member or insert 1117 as shown in fig3 has surface 11173 profiled to correspond to the plano convex shape of fig2 . as shown in fig3 corrective portion 11172 of the insert 1117 corresponds to the equivalent shape 43 . the insert 1117 is carried by a device 1100 shown in its entirety in fig7 and which is described in greater detail below . the device 1100 serves to hold the insert 1117 in position on an eye while a knife blade is passed under the insert and immediately adjacent thereto . in accordance with the invention a vacuum chamber is formed by a suction ring carried by the device 1100 and the eye adjacent to the lower surface of the insert 1117 . application of partial vacuum to this chamber raises the innerocular pressure of the eye causing the cornea of the eye to be urged into contact with the prescriptive portion of the insert 1117 . fig4 , and 6 illustrate the sequence of operation on an eye 50 in schematic form . the eye 50 is shown schematically without the device of the present invention in fig4 . in fig5 the surgical device 1100 which is not shown is placed into contact with the eye and a partial vacuum is applied to the sclera 52 . the vacuum is adjusted to a level such that forces are applied to the cornea 51 by the suction ring raising the innerocular pressure in the eye 50 and forcing the eye to bulge outwardly causing the cornea 51 to fill the prescriptive concave depression 11172 of the insert 1117 . the portion of cornea 51 filling the depression 11172 in the insert 1117 is rapidly but smoothly excised by a knife 1115 oscillating from side to side . knife 1115 is advanced across the eye at a predetermined rate in a plane parallel and adjacent to the flat face 11173 of the insert 1117 . the knife 1115 has a knife edge which is flat on its upper surface and beveled on its lower surface 11153 . after the cut has been made , the partial vacuum is released . as shown schematically in fig6 when the vacuum is released the cornea 51 will return to its normal shape less the disk portion 56 excised by the cut . the disk 56 is of a lenticular cut of the required refraction so that the remaining cornea 57 has precisely the proper refractive power for emmetropia ( normal vision ). all the components to assemble the device 1100 are shown in fig7 and the exploded assembly drawing of fig8 . as shown in fig7 and 8 , device 1100 includes a single piece body 1102 . body 1102 carries a pin registration plate 1103 . the plate 1103 has two registration pins 1105 which are press fit into apertures in the plate 1103 . plate 1103 is retained on base 1102 by means of a locking pin 1104 which is pressed into corresponding apertures in plate 1103 and body 1102 . a suction plate 1101 is assembled to the body 1102 at one end by means of two apertures which engage the pins 1105 . at the other end , the suction plate is retained on the body by means of a retaining screw 1119 which extends through the body 1102 . captured between the suction plate 1101 and the body 1102 is the optical insert 1117 and a knife 1115 . the knife 1115 and the insert 1117 are for purposes of clarity not shown in 29 in the actual positional relationship relative to the body 1102 and the plate 1101 . an actuator holder 1109 is fastened to the base 1102 by means of screw fasteners 1110 . a linear actuator 1112 is captured in and supported in the holder 1109 . a set screw 1111 is used to secure the actuator in position . the suction plate includes through bores which are in communication with apertures in the vicinity of the suction ring to form a suction chamber . the through bores exit the rear of the suction plate and are connected to a vacuum source by , for example , a vacuum manifold 1114 . the actuator 1112 has a piston 11121 extending from its one end . a motor holder 1106 is secured to the piston 11121 by means of fasteners 1107 . the motor holder 1106 carries a blade drive motor 1108 . the motor holder also carries the knife 1115 on its bottom surface . the linear actuator 1112 serves to advance the knife 1115 such that knife 1115 traverse the area of the suction ring plate 1111 which carries the suction ring . while the knife 1115 is advanced , the blade motor 1108 drives the knife 11115 such that the leading edge of the knife oscillates from side to side . turning now to fig9 and 11 , the suction ring plate 1101 includes a suction ring 11011 . suction ring 11011 has a stepped portion produced by an inner aperture 11012 in the plate 1101 . a square corner or shoulder 11013 is formed which will exert a force against the sclera of an eye . this force in conjunction with the forces exerted by the peripheral edge of suction ring 11011 against the eye will cause the eye to generate equilibrium forces which urge the eye into contact with the insert 1117 . the aperture 11012 has a diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the prescriptive insert 1117 which is positioned above the aperture 11012 . the plate 1101 includes two through bores 11014 . bores 11014 have one end which opens into the interior of the suction ring 1101 at openings 11015 and at the other end each has a port 11016 which receives the vacuum manifold 1114 . as shown in fig1 , beveled edges are used at the edges of the suction ring 11011 and shoulder 11013 . the suction plate includes a recess 11017 in its top surface . the recess 11017 is sized to receive the knife 1115 and to retain the knife in planar position such that it may be moved forward and back in reciprocating movement within the plane immediately above the suction ring 11011 and immediately below the insert 1117 . the recess is of a width such that the knife 1115 may also pivot from side to side within the same plane as the reciprocating movement . a second recess 1108 is provided which allows the pivot pin 11061 which extends downward from the motor holder 1106 to freely slide back and forth as the knife 1115 is advanced and retracted . the one piece body assembly 1102 is shown in detail in fig1 , 13 and 14 . the body 1102 includes an insert receiving aperture 11021 . the rear portion of the body 1102 includes a recess 11022 which receives the pin registration plate 1103 . the recess is sized such that the plate 1103 is firmly held in place . a pin 1104 is inserted through apertures 11023 to retain the plate 1103 . the plate 1103 has two registration pins 1105 which are received in corresponding apertures in the suction plate 1101 . the other end of the suction plate 1101 is removeably retained against the bottom of the body 1102 by means of screw 1119 which is received in bore 11023 . body 1102 has a central aperture 11024 in which the motor holder 1106 and the blade drive motor 1108 may reciprocate back and forth . the body 1102 includes apertures 11024 which receive screws that fasten the actuator holder 1109 to the body 1102 . prior to assembling the suction plate 1101 to the body 1102 , the prescriptive insert 1117 is slid into the aperture 11021 . stop pins 1118 carried in the body 1102 limit the movement of the insert 1117 in the upward axial direction . when the suction plate 1101 is coupled to the base 1102 , the suction plate 1101 prevents movement of the insert 1117 in the axial downward direction . thus the insert 1117 is captured in the body 1102 . it should be noted that although stop pins are utilized in this embodiment , the through bore aperture 11021 could be stepped to provide a shoulder against which the upper surface of the insert 1117 rests . in addition , the knife 1115 is captured between the body 1102 and the suction plate 1101 . the insert is shown in fig1 , 16 and 17 . the insert 1117 of this embodiment includes an alignment scale 11171 which is laser etched into its upper surface , along with cross hairs . a keyway 11172 integrally formed in the insert 1117 engages a corresponding lug 11025 on the body 1102 to provide precise registration of the insert 1117 in the device 1100 . alternatively , the keyway or groove 11172 may extend axially only over a portion of the insert rather than along its entire length . in this alternate instance , the lug would be no longer than the keyway or groove and could be a pin rather than a lug . the motor holder is shown in fig1 , 18a , and 19 . motor holder 1106 includes a motor receiving ring 11061 to receive the blade motor 1108 . a linear actuator 1112 is secured to the device 1100 by utilizing the actuator holder 1109 . the linear actuator is a commercially available device and includes a piston 11121 which extends from the actuator 1112 and which is coupled to the motor holder 1106 by fasteners 1113 . the knife motor 1108 is shown in fig2 and 21 . the shaft 11082 of the motor 1108 terminates in eccentric 11081 which engages the aperture 11152 of the knife 1115 . the eccentric is formed by a bearing 11082 on shaft 11081 . the bearing 11082 is pressed onto the shaft 11081 such that it is off center to form an eccentric . alternatively the shaft 11081 could have its end machined into an eccentric . with the rear end of the knife pinned to the holder 1106 by pivot pin 11061 , the rotation of the eccentric in the slot 11152 in the knife 1115 will cause the front edge of the knife 1115 to swing from side to side in an arc . the knife 1115 is shown in detail in fig2 and 21 . the knife includes a pivot hole 11151 which engages a pivot pin 11061 of the motor holder 1106 . the knife also includes aperture 11152 which receives eccentric 11081 on the output shaft 11082 of motor 1108 . the aperture or slot 11152 is of a width corresponding to the diameter of the eccentric 11081 and a length which is at least twice the distance of the center of the eccentric to its furthest point . by utilizing an eccentric 11081 in conjunction with a pivot pin , as the motor shaft 11082 turns , the knife 1115 will swing side to side through an arc to enhance cutting as the knife is reciprocally advanced . it has been found that the knife 1115 is ideally formed of zirconium . zirconium is particularly advantageous because with zirconium , an extremely smooth and flat upper surface may be obtained on the knife 1115 . with zirconium the top of the cutting edge may be made flat and the bottom surface 11151 may be beveled so that a chisel edge is found to achieve extremely smooth cuts . in contrast , with stainless steel , as the knife is sharpened a wire is formed along the cutting edge . this wire may be eliminated by back stropping of the edge . however , after backstropping , the top edge of the knife will be concave as shown in fig2 . with the top edge concave , cuts of the cornea will not have the prescriptive accuracy desired . operation of the device is simple . the physician places a custom made insert such as insert 1117 into the cutting instrument 1100 . the physician then places the instrument 1100 over the patient &# 39 ; s eye with the insert 1117 , which is made of a clear material , over the cornea . the physician centers the insert on the eye and activates a vacuum source so that the suction size will retain the eye in position relative to the insert . the physician then activates knife motor 1108 , and activates the linear actuator 1112 which automatically advances the knife a preset distance at a predetermined speed which is approximately 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 mm / sec . when the knife advances to the preset point , the knife motor 1108 and linear actuator 1112 are automatically turned off and the partial vacuum is released . the entire procedure from centering of the optical zone to the completion of the cut should take no more than 30 seconds . a patch is placed over the patient &# 39 ; s eye and the operation is complete . with the present invention , highly precise corrections may be made because highly precise sculpting or grinding apparatus are commercially available to form the prescriptive corrective recess in the inserts . these apparatus in combination with computer technology allow forming the recess 11172 of the insert 1117 to exactness within two tenths of a micron . visual positional alignment is achieved using crosshairs 11171 as shown in fig1 which allows the surgeon to look through the insert to align the crosshairs 11171 with the optical center of the eye after which the vacuum is applied . insert 1117 is transparent and is preferably made of an acrylic plastic such as the well known pmma . equivalent materials include materials used for the manufacture of eye glasses or hard contact lens . the insert 1117 may be alternatively provided with a convex , planar or irregular correction formed into the flat face 11173 of the insert 1117 to provide corresponding corrective cuts in the cornea . irregular corrections for such defects as astigmatism may be formed into the insert 1117 by means of a laser or by use of optical grinding machines . the resulting insert is shown in fig2 . thus , the refractive correction for any degree of myopia , hyperopia , or astigmatism can therefore be precisely and predictably formed into an insert . fig2 illustrates a negative meniscus cut which will correct for hyperopia and the resulting cut 471 which is produced in an eye 50 is shown in fig2 . fig2 illustrates an insert which will produce a lamellar cut . fig3 illustrates how an insert which provides multifocal corrections may be shaped . the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . many modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited by the claims appended hereto .	0
referring to fig1 a , 1b , 4 , 5 , 6 and 6a , quick change coupling 10 comprises a male component 12 and a female component 14 . male component 12 includes tubular housing 16 ( see fig5 for section ) having an axial bore 18 running therethrough , the left end thereof ( looking at fig5 ) having a plurality of diametrically opposed slots 20 , one being shown , cut therein . the right end of bore 18 flares outwardly at 22 , to connector body chamber 24 , which opens on the right end of housing 16 . the bottom of housing 16 at chamber 24 includes longitudinal slot 26 extending through the wall thereof . the exterior of housing 16 includes o - ring grooves 28 and 30 , threads 32 , annular shoulder 34 , cylindrical coupling bolt seat 36 , reduced diameter cylindrical retainer lock seat 38 , and cylindrical guide nose 40 having o - ring grooves 42 and 44 therein . coupling surface is terminated by chamfer 46 . roll pin aperture 48 and alignment port 50 extend from connector body chamber 24 to coupling seal surface 40 . referring again to fig1 a and 1b , housing 16 is shown threaded to threads 54 of tubular logging tool housing 52 , o - rings 56 and 58 disposed in grooves 28 and 30 ( filled by o - rings ) creating a pressure - tight seal with inner wall 62 of housing 52 . edge 53 of housing 52 abuts annular shoulder 34 of housing 16 . strip type circuit board carrier 60 is shown disposed in slots 20 , and is secured to housing 16 by set screws ( not shown ) protruding through the wall of housing 16 . coupling bolt 64 including alternate knurled gripping surfaces 66 and wrench flats 68 as well as exterior threads 70 to the right thereof , is mounted on seat 36 of housing 16 in free rotational relationship with respect thereto , and is maintained thereon by retainer lock 72 , which is placed over lock seat 38 of housing 16 in two pieces and tack welded together at diametrically opposite locations 74 , as shown in fig4 . o - rings 76 and 78 are disposed in grooves 42 and 44 of housing 16 . connector chamber 24 contains coupling sleeve 80 therein , which is maintained in housing 16 via roll pin 82 extending through aperture 48 . like housing 16 , sleeve 80 has an alignment port 84 extending therethrough , in order to facilitate alignment of the two parts for insertion of roll pin 82 . sleeve lock 86 extends between sleeve 80 and the inner wall of connector body chamber 24 , and is secured to sleeve 80 by roll pin 88 . socket connector body 90 , which may comprise by way of example and not limitation , a bendix size 17 - 99 female insert for tri - start connector is maintained in connector body chamber 24 between sleeve 80 and sleeve lock 86 . female coupling component 14 includes tubular coupling sleeve 100 having a relatively uniform outer surface pierced by relief ports 102 , which extend to the interior . the left end of coupling sleeve 100 , as seen in fig1 a on the right , carries internal threads 104 adapted to mate with threads 70 on coupling bolt 64 to the right of internal threads 104 is smooth inner wall 106 , pierced by pressure relief ports 102 , which terminates at inwardly extending radial shoulder 108 . to the right of shoulder 108 , coupling seal surface 110 extends to a second radial shoulder 112 , which extends outwardly to internal threads 114 , which lead to coupling body seal surface 116 , terminating at edge 118 . threads 114 are made up with threads 122 on the exterior of coupling body 120 , until edge 118 on coupling sleeve 100 abuts radial exterior shoulder 124 on coupling body 120 . the exterior 126 of body 120 is of substantially the same diameter as sleeve 100 , and is defined between the aforementioned shoulder 124 and a second radial shoulder 128 , adjacent to which threads 130 extend toward o - ring grooves 132 and 134 . tool housing 140 , which may carry instruments or other devices ( not shown ) to be electrically connected through coupling 10 to circuit board or boards ( not shown ) on circuit board carrier 60 in tool housing 52 , carries threads 142 on its interior which mate with threads 130 on coupling body 120 . the inside wall 144 of tool housing 140 provides a sealing surface against which o - rings 146 and 148 , disposed in grooves 132 and 134 bear when coupling body 120 is made up with tool housing 140 , edge 141 abutting radial shoulder 128 . referring to the lower side of coupling body 120 as depicted in fig1 b , anchor pin apertures 150 and 152 having countersunk recesses 154 and 156 extend through the wall of coupling body 120 . threaded anchor pins 158 and 160 extend through apertures 150 and 152 and engage threaded apertures 164 and 166 in key 162 which extends longitudinally from the major portion 168 of coupling location stabilizer 170 , shown in fig6 and 6a . as may be seen in fig6 and 6a , stabilizer 170 is essentially tubular in shape , with key 162 extending longitudinally from a portion of the wall thereof . at the end of key 162 , tab 172 protrudes slightly in laterally circumferential directions . the interior of the major portion 168 of stabilizer 170 comprises a stepped chamber 174 defined by inner walls 176 and 178 , connected by radial annular wall 180 . pin guide slot 182 extends through the wall of major portion 168 into chamber 174 . pin coupling sleeve 190 is slidably disposed within stabilizer 170 . guide pin 192 , which extends from the wall of sleeve 190 into guide slot 182 of stabilizer 170 , maintains rotational alignment of the two components . coil spring 194 , which bears against shoulder 196 on sleeve 190 and radial wall 180 on stabilizer 170 , biases sleeve 190 to the left . pin connector body 200 , which may be a bendix size 17 - 99 male insert for tri - start connector , is disposed within sleeve 190 , and is maintained therein by sleeve lock 202 , having annular lip 204 extending radially inward thereon . sleeve lock 202 is secured to coupling sleeve 190 by roll pins 206 ( one shown ). a plurality of connector pins 208 ( one shown for example and not by way of limitation ) protrude longitudinally to the left toward socket connector body 90 . it will be understood , of course , that electrical conductors ( not shown ) extend between circuit boards ( not shown ) mounted on circuit board carrier 60 and socket connector body 90 , and between pin connector body 200 and instruments or other devices ( not shown ) within tool case 140 . these items have been omitted for purposes of clarity and because connector bodies 90 and 200 and the electrical connectors , instruments or other devices which may be employed therewith are well known in the art and do not form part of the invention claimed herein . referring to fig1 - 3 and 5 of the drawings , the operation of quick change coupling 10 will be hereafter described . in fig1 a and 1b , male component 12 is shown partially inserted into tubular coupling sleeve 100 of female component 14 . guide nose 40 of housing 16 is disposed adjacent coupling seal surface 110 inside sleeve 100 . slot 26 in housing 16 ( not shown ) has just begun to engage tab 172 of key 162 protruding from stabilizer 170 . connector pins 208 have not engaged socket connector body 90 . in fig2 a and 2b , slot 26 in housing 16 has securely engaged key 162 of stabilizer 170 , preventing relative rotation between housing 16 and stabilizer 170 . guide nose 40 of housing 16 has entered coupling body 120 , but socket connector body 90 is still out of contact with connector pins 208 . however , proper alignment of pins 208 with their respective sockets in socket connector body 90 is assured by key 112 and slot 26 . external threads 70 on coupling bolt 64 have engaged internal threads 104 on sleeve 100 , and bolt 64 has been rotated to partially mate up threads 70 with threads 104 . as a result , o - ring 78 on guide nose 40 of housing 16 has contacted the leading edge of coupling seal surface 110 at radial shoulder 108 . in fig3 a and 3b , threads 70 of coupling bolt 64 have been fully made up with threads 104 in coupling sleeve 100 , and housing 16 has thereby been drawn into sleeve 100 , whereat o - rings 76 and 78 on guide nose 40 sealingly abut coupling seal surface 110 . socket connector body 90 has been disposed against pin connector body 200 in alignment therewith , connector pins 208 being received in their associated sockets ( not shown ) in socket connector body 90 . continued threading of connector bolt 64 to sleeve 100 after initial engagement of socket connector body 90 with pin connector body 200 results in the movement of pin coupling sleeve 190 to the right ( as seen in comparing fig1 b and 3b ) against the bias of coil spring 194 , which acts between shoulder 196 on pin coupling sleeve 190 and radial wall 180 on stabilizer 170 . rotational movement of pin connector body 200 with respect to stabilizer 170 , and therefore housing 16 , is prevented by upstanding guide pin 192 , which is rotationally constrained by pin guide slot 182 in stabilizer 170 . of course , the longitudinal extent of pin guide slot 182 allows sufficient movement of pin connector body 200 to the right so as to avoid damage to connector bodies 90 and 20 , as well as other components . therefore , as shown fully made up in fig3 a and 3b , quick change coupling 10 provides a fluid and pressure tight seal with o - rings 76 and 78 sealingly engaging seal surface 110 . the respective male and female components 12 and 14 of coupling 10 may be readily and easily disengaged from each other , and reengaged again or made up with other mating coupling components associated with other logging tool housings containing different instruments or other devices . moreover , proper alignment of the electrical connections for instruments or other devices in adjacent tool housings is assured by the constraint of key 162 in slot 26 while the constrained engagement of such connections is assured by the biasing action of spring 194 . while the quick change coupling of the present invention has been described as having utility as a coupling for logging tools , the invention is not so limited , having equal utility wherever a reliable , easy to use sealed coupling for electrical connections is desired . moreover , while the present invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment , many additions , deletions and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention . for example , the positions of the pin and socket connector bodies may be reversed ; the sealing o - rings between sleeve 100 and guide nose 40 may be carried on interior grooves in coupling seal surface 110 and act against the exterior of a guide nose 40 without grooves therein ; coupling bolt 64 may carry a lug or lugs thereon which engage a slot or continuous thread inside sleeve 100 , or may have a slot thereon engaged by a lug or lugs protruding radially inward from sleeve 100 ; other types of biasing means such as belleville springs or a resilient elastomeric sleeve may be employed in lieu of coil spring 194 ; coupling sleeve 100 and coupling body 120 may be made as a single piece ; and others .	7
turning now to the drawing where the showings are intended to depict a preferred embodiment of the present invention but not limit the invention thereto , fig1 - 4 show a portable grain moisture meter ( 10 ) having a front face plate assembly ( 12 ) which includes a graphic lcd display ( 14 ) and a keypad ( 16 ) for user inputs . the moisture meter ( 10 ) is a capacitive type grain moisture meter , which uses a constant grain volume as the capacitance dielectric material . the signal attenuation across the grain varies with moisture content of the dielectric and therefore is proportional to the grain moisture . such a device is generally described in prior art u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 761 , 810 and 3 , 781 , 673 the contents of which are incorporated by reference and the reader is referred thereto for further details of the structure and operation of such devices . in the grain moisture meter ( 10 ), a constant volume is provided by pouring grain into a test cell ( 20 ), all the way up to rim ( 36 ). as it is poured , grain falls between an inner ( 26 ) and an outer ( 28 ) electrode filling the cell ( 20 ). the test cell ( 20 ) has a temperature transducer ( 30 ) bonded to the outer electrode ( 28 ) via thermal epoxy . the grain temperature compensation utilizes this transducer to adjust grain moisture readings accordingly . referring more particularly to fig2 - 3 , the test cell ( 20 ) is shown to have a cap ( 18 ) having inside threads ( 22 ), which mate to outer surface threads ( 24 ) formed in the top section ( 32 ) of the tester ( 10 ). the cap ( 18 ) contains a plunger plate ( 40 ), which is slightly smaller than the diameter of the test cell ( 20 ) and is used to compress the grain sample in the test cell ( 20 ) as the cap ( 18 ) is screwed on to the threaded top portion ( 24 ) of the tester . referring particularly to fig3 it will be seen that the plunger ( 40 ) is threaded onto a screw ( 34 ) extending through the cap ( 18 ) by complementary threads on the screw ( 34 ) and the plunger ( 40 ). the plunger ( 40 ) exerts pressure on the grain in the test cell ( 20 ) of increasing magnitude as the cap ( 18 ) is threaded on to the outside threads ( 24 ) of the top of the tester ( 32 ). referring now to fig5 - 6 , the electronic circuitry located internally in a cavity ( 45 ) of the tester ( 10 ) which co - ordinates and records the measurements taken by the tester ( 10 ) to display a grain moisture content on the readout display ( 14 ) of the tester ( 10 ) will be explained . to initiate a moisture measurement , the user first turns the tester ( 10 ) on by depressing an on / off switch ( 37 ) located on the keypad ( 16 ). the user then removes the cap ( 18 ) and pours grain into the test cell ( 20 ) and fills it to the rim ( 36 ). during this fill period a microprocessor ( 50 ) reads the output value of a strain gage bridge circuit ( 52 ) connected to the microprocessor ( 50 ) by line ( 53 ). as the grain is being poured into the cell ( 20 ) the microprocessor ( 50 ) monitors the change in dielectric constant within the cell ( 20 ) in a known manner . the initial value of the strain gage , also known as the unloaded strain value was saved by the microprocessor ( 50 ) as a value stored in rom . the user upon filling the test cell ( 20 ) places the cap ( 18 ) on the tester ( 10 ) and begins to screw it down . the microprocessor ( 50 ) reads the strain gage ( 44 ) compression value and compares it to a set point value stored in rom . when the compression value changes a predetermined amount from the unloaded strain value reaching the loaded set point , the microprocessor ( 50 ) sends a signal to the lcd display ( 14 ) along line ( 55 ) to actuate a display thereon reading testing . the microprocessor also sends a simultaneous signal along line ( 57 ) to a piezoelectric buzzer ( 62 ) to actuate an audible signal lasting a few seconds . these signals alert the user that no further compaction is necessary since the readings for calciulating the moisture have been initiated . reaching the set point compression value is the trigger point that initiates the microprocessor ( 50 ) to output a signal to a capacitance measuring circuit ( 59 ) along line ( 61 ) to read the dielectric constant of the grain in the test cell ( 20 ) using the electrodes ( 26 , 28 ) in a known manner and to send this value back to the microprocessor along line ( 63 ) to use this value to determine the moisture content in a known manner . any further compaction of the grain by the user continuing to screw the cap ( 18 ) is ignored since the only value used for moisture calculation is this trigger value of the dialectric constant measurement . this repeatable trigger point takes moisture measurements with the same compaction applied to the grain each time independently of the user and his subjective opinion of proper compaction . this improves moisture reading repeatability over the prior art devices as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 663 , 650 which required a user to subjectively identify proper compaction . simultaneously with the initial strain gage readings and successive readings up to the set point reading being obtained and stored , the bottom of the test cell ( 38 ) starts to flex after the cell is full and the user screws down the cap ( 18 ). since the bending arm ( 42 ) is mounted flush with the bottom of the test cell ( 38 ) the strain gage ( 44 ) also flexes . this causes a change in strain gage resistance , which translates to a voltage difference at the output of the wheatstone bridge ( 52 ). a gain of 1000 through analog devices instrumentation opamp ( 58 ) amplifies this voltage difference . this amplified voltage is directly input to and digitized by the microprocessor ( 50 ) analog input port as shown in the block diagram ( fig5 ). the wheatstone bridge ( 54 ) must be balanced since the three resistors and the strain gage ( 44 ) are not ideal and all have some resistance tolerance associated with them . the resistors are 0 . 1 % and the strain gage ( 44 ) is 0 . 3 % tolerance . linear technologies ltc1661 digital to analog converter ( 56 ) is used for balancing the wheatstone bridge ( 54 ). this is a know method for balancing strain gage circuits . the microprocessor ( 50 ) adjusts the digital to analog converter ( 56 ), via a 74hc595 serial to parallel latch ( 60 ) and microprocessor ( 50 ) i / o lines , until the bridge is nulled . this nulled value is actually a predetermined value rather than a value of zero volts . the microprocessor ( 50 ) also receives a signal along line ( 65 ) from the temperature trsansducer ( 30 ) mounted on the outside of test cell ( 20 ) to be used for compensating the moisture measurement for temperature in aknown manner . from the foregoing it will be seen that the present tester automatically provides repeatable value moisture sensing based upon a repeatable compaction irrespective of different users and how much they continue to compact the device after moisture measurement is automatically initiated . certain modifications and additions have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability . as an example , details of the , construction and operations of well - known circuit elements are deleted . however , all such are intended to be included in the scope and understanding of the following claims .	6
the trus probe currently used for prostate biopsies is designed with an “ end - firing ”, curvilinear ultrasound transducer , which allows the needle trajectory to remain within the 2d scan field of view during insertion ( fig1 a ). this configuration eliminates the possibility of acquiring parallel biopsy images either in the axial or sagittal planes as the probe is limited to rotational , fan - like movements pivoted around the anus ( see fig2 ). using this probe , 3d image acquisition would require some form of mechanical assembly , as is done in 3d prostate ultrasound , or would require the physician to complete a continuous sweep of the prostate while the trus probe is tracked by a 6 degrees of freedom ( dof ) spatial tracking device . the first option would not adhere to current clinical procedure and more importantly would remove the “ free - hand ” control and range of motion that many physicians prefer . the second option would have little impact on the biopsy procedure ; however , to generate a 3d image from a continuous free - hand sweep ( or multiple sweeps ) would require correcting for prostate deformation caused by the physician inserting and retracting the trus probe ( leading to vary the pressure on the rectal wall ) as they move between the prostate apex and base . the prostate deformation problem can be more directly controlled and minimized by the physician when they are collecting static 2d images as opposed to a continuous 3d scan . designed around these constraints , our algorithm utilizes a collection of non - parallel 2d biopsy images to effectively reconstruct a patient - specific prostate model . the inventors have developed a superior system and improved on numerous techniques for 3d prostate model formation from ultrasound images proposed and may be grouped into two general approaches . the first utilizes a form of a 3d deformable shape model to iteratively morph its contour to determine the prostate surface within a 3d us image . while these may be effective techniques for prostate modeling , as stated previously , 3d images are not easily attainable under the current prostate biopsy procedure . the second group uses a collection of 2d prostate boundaries and carries out some form of surface interpolation or parametric fitting to generate the 3d surface . tutar et al . used fourier descriptors to model serial prostate sections . to minimize the number of parameters , cylindrical coordinates were used and a parallel orientation of all 2d prostate image slices was assumed . this assumption fails to adhere to the restrictions of the biopsy probe movement . furthermore , each of these techniques only incorporates serial prostate slices ; however , to accurately model the distal ends of the prostate , it is necessary to utilize data from orthogonal slices . this added information eliminates the dominant variability in shape and volume measurements caused by independent user selection of distal end slices in serial contour sections . our innovative method for a 3d prostate model , utilizes an algorithm that involves the collection of 2d trus biopsy images , rapid segmentation of the 2d prostate boundary using a deformable contour , followed by 3d surface fitting using radial basis functions ( rbfs ). dynamic - deformable contours have been shown to accurately segment the prostate boundary with high precision , while requiring minimal user input . radial basis functions can effectively interpolate point data generated from a non - standard grid , which would allow for nonparallel trus image acquisition . also , the polyharmonic radial functions have multiple characterizations making them effective for interpolation of disperse data with large information gaps . they have also been used successfully for modeling patient - specific prostheses and vertebrae . rapid segmentation of the 2d deformable contours combined with the general nature of rbfs make them an ideal combination for 3d prostate model reconstruction from multiple , non - parallel 2d trus biopsy images . as an example , we report on our model reconstruction algorithm tested on simulated 2d trus biopsies generated from 3d ultrasound images of real biopsy patients &# 39 ; prostates . the prostate capsule shape and volume accuracy of the reconstructed prostate models are compared to 3d manually segmented prostates , which serve as our “ true ” prostate model . the accuracy and variability of the reconstruction technique is evaluated as a function of the number of 2d trus biopsy images incorporated in the model reconstruction . this indicates the minimum number of biopsy images required to accurately reconstruct a 3d prostate model . our proposed prostate model reconstruction algorithm involves acquiring multiple 2d trus biopsy images , rapidly segmenting the prostate capsule from the 2d images , and finally fitting a 3d surface using radial basis functions . this technique utilizes prostate biopsy images from transverse axial and oblique sagittal approximately orthogonal views ( see fig3 ). these views are collected and integrated into prostate reconstruction , as together they provide superior estimation of the distal and proximal prostate shape when compared to parallel image acquisition alone . during the biopsy procedure , but prior to any needle insertions , the physician gathers a representative collection of 2d trus images of a patient &# 39 ; s prostate . the corresponding 3d position and orientation for each 2d image is recorded using some form of 6 degrees of freedom tracking device ( magnetic , optical , etc .) calibrated and attached to the trus probe . images are gathered in both the transverse axial and oblique sagittal ( approximately ) orthogonal planes ( see fig3 ). it should be noted that , within the current clinical biopsy procedure , image acquisition could easily be performed during a 5 - 10 minute patient exploratory time that occurs prior to any needle insertion . along with image acquisition , the prostate boundary in each 2d image is segmented using the semi - automated segmentation technique described by ladak et al . ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 778 , 690 ). this technique uses a dynamic deformable contour ( ddc ) to rapidly fit the prostate boundary from a 2d ultrasound image . the ddc was chosen because it requires the minimal user interaction since only 4 - 6 user - defined prostate boundary points are necessary to generate a 2d contour with a boundary accuracy greater than 95 %. the ddc is iteratively deformed by dynamically moving each vertex , vi , according to its force calculation : f i tot = w i int f i int + w i img f i img + w i d v i ( 1 ) where f i int is the internal or curvature force to maintain contour smoothness , f i img is the image or external force used to drive contour an edge , and vi is the damping force based on the vertex velocity , and w i int , w i img i , and w i d are weighting parameters , which as an example can be set to be w i int = 0 . 3 , w i img = 1 . 0 , w i d =− 0 . 5 , as recommended in . once the 2d prostate boundaries are collected from both orthogonal orientations , a 3d prostate surface is fitted using radial basis functions ( rbfs ). rbfs are an effective interpolation approach that has been used in a variety of medical and non - medical applications . rbfs are well suited for our biopsy application as they do not restrict input boundary points to lie within a regular grid , which is not feasible for free - hand trus image collection . also , the variable characterization of polyharmonic rbfs is extremely effective at interpolating large “ data - free ” gaps within the input model , which make rbfs ideal for interpolating a sparse collection of trus biopsy images . biharmonic splines were used as the basic function , which has been shown to be the smoothest interpolant . interpolation using rbfs uses a function s : r 3 → r that approximates the input function f : r 3 → r , where { f ( xi ): i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n } represents the set of input prostate boundary points . for our application , the surface approximation , s ( x ), is of the form : where p 1 is a first order polynomial , \|\| represents the euclidean norm , and φ ( r )= r for biharmonic splines . as a side note , the inputs xi are often referred to as “ radial centers ”. the coefficients , λi , are determined by requiring that s satisfy the interpolation condition : s ( xi )= f ( xi ), i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n ( 3 ) in the case of noisy input data ( as could be caused by poor 2d prostate segmentations or noise in tracking the trus probe ), spline smoothing of s ( x ) may be done by minimizing : where ρ is an input smoothing constant ≧ 0 and \| s \| 2 is a measure of the energy in the second derivative of s . this affects equation 3 by : s ( xi )= f ( xi )+ ρλ i , i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n ( 6 ) as an example ρ = 5 was heuristically selected for prostate model reconstruction when noise was added to the trus image position ( as described in section 3 . 4 ). once the rbf , s ( x ), has been estimated , then a simple iso - surfacing technique is used to generate the patient &# 39 ; s 3d prostate model . to test the efficacy of our reconstruction algorithm , we used 3d trus images , obtained from patients prior to prostate biopsies , to extract 2d images , which were used to simulate real 2d trus biopsy images . it is advantageous to use simulated 2d biopsy images in place of 2d images obtained during the biopsy procedure , because the “ true ” 3d prostate volume and shape can be calculated from the original 3d trus image and is perfectly matched with the simulated data . as a result , the 3d prostate information can be used to quantify the accuracy and variability of our reconstruction model . all simulated biopsy trus images were examined by an expert radiologist and urologist to ensure that the 2d trus images used in our evaluation resembled trus images obtained during the biopsy procedure . to demonstrate our model reconstruction technique , we obtained 3d us images ( voxel dimensions of 0 . 154 × 0 . 154 × 0 . 154 mm 3 ) of 10 patients &# 39 ; prostates using a “ side - firing ”, linear array trus probe mounted on a rotational mover . the “ side - firing ” trus probe is different from the “ end - firing ” trus probe ( fig1 a ) used in the prostate biopsy procedure , and the mechanized rotational system makes this system not sensible for the current clinical biopsy procedure . all patients were clinically selected to undergo the prostate biopsy procedure and were of mean age 69 . 6 ± 9 . 1 years . the prostate volumes ranged from 22 cm 3 to 70 cm 3 , with an average size of 47 . 8 ± 12 . 9 cm 3 , as typically found at the time of biopsy . a 3d model of each patient &# 39 ; s prostate , which was used as our “ true ” boundary , was generated from the 3d prostate images using the radial reslicing method and manual segmentation as described by wang et al . in this technique , 60 2d prostate boundary segmentations were completed at a radial reslicing angle of 3 ° about the anterior / posterior axis through the center of the prostate . this method was selected over parallel step planimetry because of its superior estimation of the volume and capsule boundary at either end of the prostate . the 3d planimetry prostate models were considered our “ truth ” models for prostate capsule boundary and volume comparison . 2d trus image slices were extracted from the 3d us patient images using a fanned rotation about an off - image point assumed to be equivalent to the rotational pivot formed by the anus ( fig2 ). since the 2d trus biopsy probe is end - firing ( fig1 a ), the fulcrum formed by the anus dictates the angle at which the 2d trus biopsy probe is positioned and the corresponding orientation of the acquired biopsy image . in the simulation , the point of rotation was placed 3 . 9 cm from the prostate apex to match the normal anatomical distance from the prostate to the anus . the angle formed between the 3d trus prostate image and rotation point was selected heuristically , with aid of an expert radiologist , by observing the 2d trus image formed at different angles . after the rotation point was determined , fanned acquisition of 2d trus images was completed in both the transverse axial and oblique sagittal views . 11 transverse axial and 7 oblique sagittal 2d prostate images , spanning the prostate , were generated for each patient . the angle of rotation between consecutive slices was constant for each individual acquisition sweep and was determined based on user - defined , arbitrarily selected rotational start and end points for each patient &# 39 ; s prostate ( fig2 ). because the start and end points were selected independently for each patient , angles between consecutive slices were not constant across patients , which is desirable to limit any effect of reconstruction bias related to structured angle orientations . in general , the inter - slice angles were between 2 °- 3 ° in the transverse axial direction and 4 . 5 °- 5 . 5 ° in the sagittal direction . this corresponds to approximately 1 . 4 - 2 . 0 mm and 3 . 1 - 3 . 8 mm distance between slices at the posterior edge of the prostate ( the edge adjacent to the rectal wall ) for the transverse axial and sagittal views respectively . labeling of the 2d biopsy images was consistent across all patients . transverse images were labeled 1 - 11 starting from the prostate apex moving towards the prostate base , and sagittal images were labeled 1 - 7 moving from right to left across the prostate . after the 2d trus biopsy images were simulated , each patient &# 39 ; s prostate data was composed of 7 sagittal and 11 transverse axial images . these images were used in the model reconstruction algorithm ( described in sec . 2 ) to generate each patient &# 39 ; s 3d prostate models . multiple prostate models were reconstructed for each patient by varying the total number of sagittal and transverse axial biopsy images used in the model reconstruction . this was done to examine how the accuracy of our reconstructed prostate models varied as the prostate boundary information was increased . the number of images used in reconstruction varied from 1 sagittal , 2 axial trus images to 7 sagittal , 7 axial images . also , the specific combination of 2d biopsy images used for reconstruction was varied for a given number of s sagittal and t transverse images such that , for patient i , a set of prostate volumes , vs , t , i =[ vs , t , i ] m was formed , where m represents the number of prostate volumes reconstructed using different combinations of s sagittal and t transverse axial 2d biopsy images . table 1 outlines the different groups of image combinations and number of volumes calculated within each group . noise was added to the orientation and position information for each simulated 2d trus biopsy image to better replicate results that could be expected from obtaining tracked 2d trus images . noise in the image location is caused by errors in the 6 dof tracking device used to localize the 2d trus images in 3d . due to the nature of the prostate biopsy procedure , it was assumed that tracking of the probe would be done at a marker on the handle end of the trus probe , which is external to the patient &# 39 ; s body and is about 25 - 30 cm from the ultrasound transducer . this distance has significant implication to the trus image localization as any errors in tracking the marker angulation off of the probe axis results in both angulation and position errors for the trus image . to model appropriate noise for our simulated biopsy images , we used a gaussian random number generator to build translational errors in the x , y , z direction , εx , εy , εz , as well as a rotational error , ε θ , rotated about a random vector in r 3 . this generated noise was applied to “ virtual marker ” locations for each simulated 2d trus biopsy image , which was then used to calculate the appropriate noisy image transform . noise was generated independently for each simulated 2d trus biopsy image and was assumed to be gaussian and uniformly distributed around the true marker location ( ie . μ = 0 ). standard deviation values for the gaussian random number generator were set at 0 . 3 mm for each translational axis and 0 . 5 ° for angulation error . these values are conservative estimates of the upper boundary for optical and magnetic tracking systems ( wiles et al ., 2004 ; tang and cleary , 2003 ; corral et al ., 2003 ). the “ virtual marker ” to trus image distance was set at 28 . 5 cm , which corresponds to an ergonomically reasonable marker location on a conventional atl c9 - 5 trus biopsy probe ( philips medical systems , seattle , wash .). this noise generation was run 10 times for each patient , which produced 10 sets of noisy locations of the 2d trus biopsy images for each patient . the accuracy of our 3d prostate reconstruction was demonstrated for all 10 patients using volume - and shape - based metrics to compare each patient &# 39 ; s reconstructed 3d models with their “ true ” prostate model obtained from the original 3d trus images . these metrics provide localized , regional information on prostate surface errors as well as a demonstration of our volume measurements . volume based metrics assess the global accuracy of the reconstructed model &# 39 ; s volume compared to the “ true ” volume . these values are clinically important as prostate cancer therapies are directed or modified based on the volume of the gland . ( 1 ) volume error , ve ( v , v ), described in equation 7 , is used to calculate the signed volume error of a reconstructed prostate volume , v , compared to the gold standard , v as a percentage of the “ true ” volume . ( 2 ) absolute volume error , ave ( v , v ), described in equation 8 , is used to calculate the absolute volume error of a reconstructed prostate volume , v , compared to the gold standard , v , as a percentage of the “ true ” volume . ( 3 ) sensitivity , s ( v , v ), described in equation 9 , is used to calculate the proportion of the reconstructed prostate volume , v , that is correctly overlapped with the “ true ” volume , v . where the true positive volume , tpv , represents the “ correctly ” overlapped volume of the models , such that tpv = v ∩ v . ( 4 ) difference ( or error ), df ( v , v ), described in equation 10 , is used to calculate the proportion of the volume that is not correctly overlapped with the gold standard volume , v . where fpv = v − tpv and fnv = v − tpv , represent the false positive volume and false negative volume , respectively . shape based metrics evaluate the local contour shape of reconstructed prostate models by comparing the surface distances between a reconstructed model and the “ truth ” model . these metrics demonstrate how closely a reconstructed model represents the patient - specific prostate shape . the distance between two prostate surfaces was calculated using a modified implementation of the symmetric hausdorff distance calculation . in these calculations , both the reconstructed prostate model surface and the “ true ” 3d model are symbolically viewed as continuous surfaces , s and s * respectively . the euclidean surface error can be determined for each point pεs , by calculating the minimum distance to the surface s : where \|•\| denotes the vector norm . the signed surface error can then be determined by adding an inside (−)/ outside (+) function to equation ( 11 ): d ( p , s , c )=└( p − p * min )·( p − c )┘× d ( p , s ) ( 12 ) where c represents the reconstructed prostate model centroid and [ p − p min ·( p − c )] uses the vector dot - product to determine the location of the reconstructed model point relative to the “ truth ” model surface . unlike volumetric measurements , distance measures are locally computed and 18 , and therefore , allow for both global and regional valuation of prostate shape within each of the metrics . to evaluate significant anatomical regions independently , we divided the prostates into three equal regions along the axial axis ( see fig4 ). these regions correspond to the approximate prostate base , mid - gland and apex , which are the three regions targeted separately in the clinical sextant biopsy method . ( 1 ) mean distance error , md ( r , s , c ), described in equation 13 , is used to calculate the mean of the signed distances ( equation 12 ) from a region of the reconstructed prostate surface , { r : r ⊂ s }, to the “ true ” surface , s . ( 2 ) mean absolute distance error , mad ( r , s ), described in equation 14 , is used to calculate the mean of the distance error ( equation 11 ) from all points within a region of the reconstructed prostate surface , { r : r ⊂ s }, to the corresponding nearest point on the “ true ” surface , s . as described section 3 . 3 , a set of prostate volumes , vs , t , i , is defined as the set of size m of all unique prostate volumes for patient i that incorporate s 2d sagittal images and t 2d transverse images for model formation . therefore , s , t , i ( j )= vs , t , i , j ; 0 & lt ; j ≦ m , where vs , t , i , j represents a specific combination of s sagittal and t transverse images and m is the total number of different combinations for s sagittal and t transverse images . for a particular metric , f ( v , g ), where v represents a reconstructed model and g represents the patient &# 39 ; s corresponding “ truth ” model , the mean and variance were calculated for each combination of sagittal and transverse images . this provides an estimation of the intra - patient accuracy and variability for different combinations of sagittal and transverse images . to examine inter - patient statistics , the global mean and deviation was calculated across all i patients : to evaluate our tolerance to noise , similar equations were used as above , except in equation ( 15 ), vs , t , i ( j ) is substituted with the mean metric value for all noise iterations , k = 1 , 2 , . . . k , such that : qualitative examination of our reconstructed 3d prostate models demonstrate our 3d reconstruction algorithm is capable of capturing the 3d surface topology of each patient &# 39 ; s prostate ( example see fig5 ). as expected , 3d models formed from an increased number of 2d prostate boundaries better characterize the prostate capsule shape and aberrations in the reconstructed prostate surface ; however , with as few as 6 - 7 2d trus images , a reasonable estimation of the prostate surface can be obtained , demonstrating the increased efficiency of the 3d system . when we overlayed a patient &# 39 ; s 3d prostate model on their original 3d prostate image , there was strong agreement between the prostate model and the trus image prostate boundary . this held true for cross - sections not aligned with any of the 2d slices used for model reconstruction ( fig6 ). the mean results of our volume and shape - based metrics ( section 3 . 5 . 1 & amp ; 3 . 5 . 2 respectively ) across all 10 patients , as outlined in section 3 . 5 . 3 , provide a quantitative evaluation of both the accuracy of the prostate shape and volume across a range of prostate shapes and sizes . fig7 shows plots of both the signed volume error , ve ( v , v ), ( fig7 a ) and absolute volume error , ave ( v , v ), ( fig7 b ). the volume error values are plotted in ascending order according to the number of 2d trus images used in reconstruction . both the mean volume error and mean absolute volume error decreased as more 2d trus images were incorporated into the model reconstruction before appearing to plateau at about 7 trus images ( 4 sagittal and 3 transverse axial ), where the mean volume error and absolute volume error were − 2 . 4 ± 3 . 3 % fig8 shows how accurately the reconstructed prostate model &# 39 ; s volume overlaps with the true prostate volume , s ( v , v ), ( fig8 a from equation 9 ) and to what fraction they differ in volume , df ( v , v ), ( fig8 b from equation 10 ). the independent variable within the plots is organized in ascending order according to the number of 2d trus images used in model reconstruction . fig8 a shows that on average with as few as 5 trus biopsy images ( 2 sagittal , 3 transverse axial ), over 90 % of a patient &# 39 ; s true prostate volume is contained within the reconstructed prostate model . the volumetric difference error between the reconstructed prostate models and “ true ” prostate ( fig8 b ) fell within 15 % quickly and then plateaued around 12 %. the volume sensitivity was 0 . 93 ± 0 . 02 and the volume difference was 0 . 12 ± 0 . 01 for 4 sagittal and 3 transverse images , which for both plots was on the plateau of the mean curves . fig9 shows the plots measuring the mean signed distance , md ( v , v ), and the mean unsigned ( absolute ) surface distance error , mad ( v , v ), as outlined in equations 13 and 14 respectively . similar to what was seen in fig7 , the general decrease in the boundary error appears to reach a point of diminishing returns at about 7 trus images where md ( v , v )=− 0 . 13 ± 0 . 21 mm and mad ( v , v )= 0 . 87 ± 0 . 14 mm . when the reconstructed prostates were split into their three clinical regions — apex , mid - gland , and base ( see fig4 ), the mean unsigned surface error showed the greatest error in the prostate base , followed by the apex ( see fig1 ). further evaluation showed that the anterior portion of the prostate base was the least accurate sector . the addition of noise into the 3d position and orientation information of the 2d biopsy images led to a general increase in a both volume and shape based error for the 10 patients &# 39 ; reconstructed prostate models . once again , the general trend in all of the mean curves ( fig1 , 12 , 13 ) was toward decreasing the error as additional prostate boundary images were added . the mean volume error , ve ( v , v ), plot ( fig1 a ) still displayed a systematic underestimation of the prostate volume as was seen in fig7 a . the mean absolute volume error , ave ( v , v ), ( fig7 b ) generally increased with the introduction of noise as the volume error for 7 trus images ( 4 sagittal and 3 transverse axial ) was 6 . 7 ± 3 . 2 % as compared to 3 . 2 ± 2 . 4 % that was observed in the noise - free testing . the overlapped volume calculations showed a drop in the sensitivity , s ( v , v ), ( compared to the noiseless version ) with a plateau at about 90 % ( fig1 a ) and an increase in the volume difference , df ( v , v ), to a plateau at about 15 % ( fig1 b ). the values at 4 sagittal , 3 transverse biopsy images generally deteriorated with the introduction of noise from s ( v , v )=− 0 . 93 ± 0 . 02 and df ( v , v )= 0 . 12 ± 0 . 01 in the case with no noise to s ( v , v )= 0 . 88 ± 0 . 03 and df ( v , v *)= 0 . 18 ± 0 . 04 in the case with noise . fig1 shows the signed and unsigned distance errors of the reconstructed prostate models after the introduction of noise to the data . the signed distance error plot ( fig1 a ) shows little change in the mean values from the case without noise ( fig9 a ), except for an increase in the standard deviation values . there is a general increase in the unsigned mean boundary error ( fig1 b ), with a plateau at about a 1 . 3 mm error for 7 trus images used in the model reconstruction . the signed and unsigned mean boundary errors at 4 sagittal , 3 transverse biopsy images increased to − 0 . 20 ± 0 . 25 mm and 1 . 34 ± 0 . 20 mm from the case without noise of − 0 . 13 ± 0 . 21 mm and 0 . 87 ± 0 . 14 mm , respectively . our results demonstrate that with as few as seven 2d trus biopsy images ( 4 sagittal and 3 transverse ), a reasonable 3d model of a patient &# 39 ; s prostate can be made with an average mean unsigned prostate surface boundary error of 0 . 87 ± 0 . 14 mm and volume error of − 2 . 4 ± 3 . 3 % in the ideal case without noise and 1 . 34 ± 0 . 20 mm and − 5 . 3 ± 4 . 1 % with the introduction of noise . the inclusion of more than 7 trus images does not appear to provide a significant improvement in estimating the prostate volume and shape using our reconstruction methods . using fewer than 7 trus images ( such as 3 sagittal and 3 transverse ) appears to destabilize the consistency of the reconstruction algorithm , resulting in a prostate model with greater volume and shape variability across patients . overall , the absolute surface boundary errors were on average less than 1 . 5 mm , for the minimum of 7 trus biopsy images , even with the addition of noise . this value is clinically acceptable as the common diameter of a prostate biopsy needle is 2 mm . our signed distance and volume measurement also showed a bias in our model reconstruction algorithm toward underestimation of the prostate boundary . this underestimation likely occurs because significant interpolation is required to fill the data gaps between our sparsely sampled set of 2d trus prostate images . as a result , rapid changes in topology are not captured as well and likely lead to these inaccuracies . as we would expect , when the prostate is broken down into its different clinical regions , we see that areas of high curvatures ( prostate base and apex ) have a higher level of an boundary error compared to those with more gradual change ( mid - gland ). the greatest boundary errors appear concentrated in the anterior portion of the gland base , which is at the interface of the prostate with the bladder . this interface lies primarily within the transition zone of the prostate . interestingly , the transition zone has a significantly lower incidence of pca . to improve the overall model accuracy in this region ( and for the prostate overall ), it would be optimal to either increase the number of transverse axial trus biopsy images collected from the base region or increase the number of mid - sagittal images , to ensure that the rapid change in surface topology in the anterior base region could be accurately modeled . from a clinical utility perspective , six to seven 2d trus images are currently collected ( for medical and legal record ) as part of a regular biopsy procedure . reconstruction of the prostate model from seven 2d trus images would likely only add an addition 1 - 2 minutes , most of which would be setting the seed - points for the semi - automatic segmentation of the prostate boundary from the 2d images . this could fit easily within the 5 - 10 min clinical patient workup prior to any needle insertion . the number of 2d trus images collected could also be increased for patient &# 39 ; s with irregular prostate shapes involving an extensive curvature ; however , our results suggest that for most prostates , 7 trus images appear to be the ideal number when comparing the increased procedural time vs . model accuracy trade off . developing an accurate , completely automated 2d prostate segmentation technique would reduce the procedural time cost for prostate model reconstruction and would also allow for additional 2d trus images to be used in model reconstruction . we have proposed and tested a 3d prostate model reconstruction algorithm that is capable of accurately reconstructing a patient - specific prostate from a sparse collection of non - parallel , sagittal and axial 2d trus biopsy images . a ) a novel system including methodology , design and algorithms for 3d tissue model formation using parallel or non - parallel 2d images . b ) use of the above tissue model formation a per a ) for use in modeling the prostate c ) use of the prostate model formation as per b ) for use with biopsy images for surgical and biopsy implementation , recording , tracking , and planning . d ) use of the above tissue model formation as per a ) for use in kidney , vasculature , brain , and tumor .	6
referring now to the drawings , wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views , fig1 - 16 illustrate a process for forming raised metallic contacts , or bumps , on electrical circuits . as may be appreciated by one skilled in the art , although fig1 - 16 depict a process for forming raised metallic contacts on a two layer electrical circuit , any number of circuit layers may be formed utilizing the teachings of the present invention . as best illustrated by fig1 a base substrate 10 is provided which is defined by a laminate comprised of a conductive layer 12 ( such as copper , for example ), a dielectric layer 14 , and a conductive layer 16 ( such as copper , for example ). the dielectric layer 14 must not comprise a material which is resistant to etching by a laser or plasma process , such as a glass reinforced dielectric layer or a dielectric layer reinforced with ceramic particles . suitable dielectric materials include , but are not limited to polyimides and polyimide laminates , epoxy resins , organic materials , or dielectric materials comprised at least in part of polytetrafluoroethylene . a preferred dielectric material may be obtained from w . l . gore & amp ; associates , inc . under the tradename speedboard ™ dielectric materials . the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 is important . this thickness will define the height of the resulting raised metallic contacts which are formed by the teachings herein . additional detail on the significance of dielectric layer 14 will be described below . photoresist 18 is applied to copper layers 12 and 16 , respectively , and is processed in a conventional manner to form openings on copper layer 12 where the raised metallic contacts are to be formed . the copper in an exposed area 20 is etched away by any suitable conventional copper etchant , such as a cupric chloride based etchant solution . fig2 illustrates the base substrate 10 after the copper within the exposed area 20 has been etched away . an exposed portion 22 of dielectric layer 14 is shown . the photoresist 18 may then be removed from the substrate . the exposed dielectric portion 22 is ablated away with a laser to define a &# 34 ; well &# 34 ; 24 into which a metallic contact will be formed , as shown in fig3 . as should be understood , the copper layer 12 functions as a mask to permit ablation of the exposed dielectric portion 22 . the copper layer 16 acts as a stop and will define the bottom of the well 24 . the ablation of the exposed dielectric portion 22 may be accomplished by any laser suitable for selective ablation of organic dielectrics , without removing a copper layer . lasers which operate in ultra violet wavelengths are particularly well suited , such as excimer lasers , and frequency tripled or quadrupled yag lasers . however , other types of lasers are also suitable . the laser may be operated either in a scanning mode , in which the surface of the substrate is swept with a large laser spot , or in a focused beam . in addition to laser ablation of the exposed dielectric portion 22 , other processes may be employed to selectively remove the exposed dielectric portion 22 , such as but not limited to plasma etching , reactive ion etching , or chemical etching . however , a laser ablation process is particularly well suited , as it permits more control over the shape of the well 24 . simple diffraction will provide a tapered conical shape in the case of scanning mode laser ablation process . after the well 24 has been defined , the base substrate 10 is processed in any suitable manner which deposits a surface conductive layer 26 , such as copper , on the side walls of the well 24 . suitable processes include , but are not limited to a conventional electroless copper plating operation , sputtering , evaporation , or deposition of a conductive coating which allows direct electrodeposition , or any other suitable process . additional electrolytically deposited copper may be added to thicken this deposit , thereby providing a more robust surface for additional process steps . fig4 illustrates the base substrate 10 after this conductive deposition step . the base substrate 10 is then coated with photoresist 28 on both sides of the base substrate , and the photoresist is processed to define patterns on conductive layer 12 , into which additional metal is deposited to simultaneously form at least one metal &# 34 ; bump &# 34 ; contacts and traces for an electric circuit . in one embodiment of the present invention , a sacrificial layer of nickel 30 is first deposited to act as a diffusion barrier during subsequent lamination operations . a layer of gold 31 , which will ultimately form the top layer of the bump contact is then deposited . thereafter , and a second layer of nickel 34 is deposited to form a diffusion barrier . a layer of copper 36 , which will comprise the bulk of the metal , is then deposited . fig5 illustrates a substrate with the metals deposited as described . after deposition is complete , the photoresist 28 is removed from the base substrate 10 . the base substrate 10 may then be treated in a conventional oxide process , such as is common in the production of printed circuits . the rough oxide formed on the surface of the exposed copper of the base substrate will serve to provide adequate adhesion of the metal to a dielectric material in subsequent lamination processes . as best seen by reference to fig6 in one embodiment of the present invention a layer of a dielectric prepreg material 33 , and a &# 34 ; cap &# 34 ; layer of copper 32 may be laminated onto the base substrate 10 . the temperature , pressure , and time required for the lamination process should be as specified by the manufacturer of the particular dielectric prepreg used . this copper layer 32 will form the base for a second metal layer of the electric circuit . the dielectric prepreg material may be similar to that used to form the dielectric layer 14 . during this lamination process , resin from the dielectric prepreg material 33 will flow into and fill the void space remaining in the well 24 . fig7 illustrates a via 40 which is formed to interconnect the top conductive layer 32 to the conductive layer 12 . via 40 is formed using the same process as described for the formation of the well 24 , except that the deposition of the contact and diffusion barrier metals are not necessary . as best illustrated in fig8 the top metal layer of the base substrate is then coated with photoresist 42 . conductive layer 16 is then etched away using a suitable etchant . fig8 illustrates base substrate 10 after the bottom conductive layer 16 has been etched . the photoresist 42 is then removed from conductive layer 16 . after the conductive layer 16 has been etched away , the now exposed dielectric material 14 is removed by any suitable process which will selectively remove dielectric from a conductor such as copper . suitable processes include but are not limited to plasma etching , laser ablation , reactive ion etching , or chemical etching . care must be taken that all of the dielectric material 14 is removed from the conductive layer 12 , as any remaining dielectric material 14 will prevent the conductive layer 12 from being etched away in subsequent process steps . fig9 depicts the base substrate 10 after the dielectric material 14 has been removed . the top layer of the base substrate 10 is then coated with photoresist to protect it from the etchant which is used to remove the exposed conductive layer 12 and surface conductive layer 26 . any suitable etchant may be employed . it may be desirable to employ an etchant that will not only remove the conductive layers 12 and 26 , but also the sacrificial nickel layer 30 , such as cupric chloride , for example . however , the cupric chloride etchant will not etch the gold beneath the nickel , thus , and in this embodiment of the present invention , a copper / nickel / gold metallurgy remains to form the metallurgy for a bump 50 , as well as the metallurgy of the interconnecting traces . the photoresist may then be removed from the circuit . fig1 illustrates a finished circuit made in accordance with the teachings of one embodiment of the present invention . as best seen with reference to fig1 - 10 , the height of the bump 50 is determined by the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 , minus the sum of the thickness of the copper layer 12 , the surface conductive copper layer 24 , and the diffusion barrier of nickel 30 . as the various conductive layers 12 , 24 , and 30 may be made quite thin , the bump height is largely determined by the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 . to maintain consistent height of the bumps across a large panel , one need only control the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 . it is common that dielectrics available today offer thickness control of ± 10 % or better , thus the planarity of the bumps created will approach ± 10 %. the ability to control the bump height by controlling the thickness of the dielectric layer 14 , and the degree of planarity achievable by this method is a significant improvement over the method of etching depressions in a mandrel , as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 197 , 184 . as best seen with reference to fig1 - 16 , in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , process steps are described which permit a base substrate 10 , with raised metallic contacts 50 , to be laminated and electrically connected to a multilayer circuit board . turning to fig1 , the base substrate 10 is shown as made by the process steps which are described referencing fig1 - 5 . the base substrate 10 is laminated to a multilayer circuit board 80 with a dielectric prepreg material , as best seen by reference to fig1 . the temperature , pressure , and time required for the lamination process should be as specified by the manufacturer of the particular dielectric prepreg used . the multilayer circuit board may have any number of configurations . however , the side which is to be laminated to the base substrate 10 must have a series of pads 60 arranged such that vias 40 may later connect these pads to the base substrate 10 , as best seen by sequentially viewing fig1 - 16 . the opposite side of the multilayer circuit board may be finished prior to lamination , or may have only an unfinished copper layer , in which case this layer will be finished at the same time as the side with the raised contacts . the top metal layer of the multi - layer circuit board 80 is then coated with photoresist to protect it from an etchant which is used to etch the conductive layer 16 from the base substrate 10 . any suitable etchant may be used . the photoresist is then removed from the multi - layer circuit board 80 . after the conductive layer 16 has been etched away , the now exposed dielectric material 14 is removed by any suitable process for removing a dielectric material from a conductor , such as copper , to thereby expose the raised metallic contacts 50 , as best seen in fig1 . such a suitable process may include , but is not limited to a plasma etching process , laser ablation , reactive ion etching , or chemical etching , for example . care must be taken to remove all of the dielectric material from the conductive surface , as any remaining dielectric material will prevent the conductive material from being etched in subsequent process steps . the top layer of the multi - layer circuit board 80 is then coated with photoresist to protect it from the etchant which is used to remove the exposed conductive layer 12 . any suitable etchant may be employed . it may be desirable to employ an etchant that will not only remove the conductive layer 12 , but also the sacrificial nickel layer 30 , such as cupric chloride , for example . however , the cupric chloride etchant will not etch the gold beneath the nickel , thus , and in this embodiment of the present invention , a copper / nickel / gold metallurgy remains to form the metallurgy for a bump 50 , as well as the metallurgy of the interconnecting traces . the photoresist may then be removed from the circuit . fig1 illustrates a finished circuit made in accordance with the teachings of the present invention . vias 40 are then drilled in the base substrate 10 for circuit interconnection . these vias may be either blind or through vias . the base substrate 10 is then processed in a conventional electroless copper plating operation such as is common in printed and flexible circuit manufacturing operations . the electroless copper deposits a layer of copper on the base substrate 10 and on the surface of the side walls of the vias . additional electrolytically deposited copper may be added to thicken the deposit , and provide a more robust surface for additional process steps . fig1 illustrates the base substrate 10 after such copper deposition . as may be appreciated by one skilled in the art , any suitable process which deposits a conductor may be used in place of the electroless copper process , such as but not limited to sputtering , evaporation , or deposition of a conductive coating which allows direct electrodeposition . the base substrate is then coated with photoresist 28 on both sides , and the photoresist is processed to define patterns into which additional metal is deposited to form via and pad connections . additional copper would likely be deposited . also , a final etch resistant metal such as nickel , gold or solder may then be deposited . fig1 illustrates a base substrate with the metals deposited as described hereinabove . after deposition is complete , the photoresist 28 is removed from the base substrate . the base substrate 10 is then etched in a suitable copper etchant to remove the copper from the areas which were previously covered with photoresist . the circuit may then be routed from a panel . a completed substrate is shown in fig1 . although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above , those skilled in the art readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages which are described herein . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention , as defined by the following claims .	8
referring firstly to fig1 to 3 , the invention can be seen as a guide system for temporary fitting to one of the elongate track members 1 of an assembled and operational portable timber mill . portable timber mills generally incorporate two such tracks adapted for placement either side of a timber log whereby the sawing facility of the portable mill , be it either a handsaw or chainsaw unit , can be moved in a controlled fashion along the length of a timber log . the guide of the invention is adapted for use with the elongate track system of such a portable mill whereby an electric router or random orbital sander can be caused to move along the existing tracking system of a portable mill so as to provide a high level of finish to timber boards previously sawn by the portable mill . the guide of the invention includes a housing 2 adapted for temporary mounting onto one or other of the elongate tracks of the portable mill such that the housing can move backward and forward along the length of the elongate track the housing is provided as a “ pull - apart ” or opening unit having an internal face member 3 which incorporates two top track wheels 4 and a single oblique track wheel 5 which is orientated at a 45 degree angle . the internal face member has a rear member 6 hinged thereto at 7 via a bridging bracket 31 . the rear member 6 is provided with a bottom track wheel 8 . in this manner the housing can be readily opened up for fitting at any point along the length of the track without requiring fitting from the end of the track . once fitted to the track the housing is clipped together to fully and securely embrace the track . the top track wheels and oblique track wheel are provided with a “ v ” groove tread such that the top track wheels straddle the raised side 9 of the generally channel - shaped elongate track 1 . the oblique track wheel 5 is positioned such that its “ v ” groove tread rides along the lower edge 10 of the elongate track . once the internal face member 3 and top track wheels 4 are positioned on the elongate track the rear member 6 can be hinged down such that the bottom track wheel 8 located toward the lower end of the rear member is brought to bear on the lower side 11 of the elongate track . in order to ensure snug engagement of all the wheels the rear member and internal face member are joined together by way of a tensioning device 12 which takes the form of an over centre latch connected at one end to the housing rear member and connected at its other end to the internal face member . in order to ensure most efficient clamping at the contact points , being the respective wheels , the tensioner is preferable fitted at or near the oblique track wheel 5 such that when the tensioner is drawn together the “ v ” groove in the oblique track wheel is caused to snugly engage both adjacent faces of the lower edge 10 of the elongate track . fitted to the internal face member 3 is a carriage means 13 . the carriage is made up of a transmission housing 14 , the transmission housing is provided with a set of roller bearings 15 which are positioned on shaped guides 16 so as to be diagonally orientated for receipt of the four exposed surfaces of the guide arm 17 fitted within the transmission housing , the guide arm is formed of channel section mounted diagonally within the carriage means such that it is self - centring and able to move longitudinally in and out of the carriage means but incapable of moving radially relative to the carriage means . the roller bearings 15 are adjustable and able to be brought into snug engagement with the sides of the guide arm to ensure smooth movement in an orthogonal direction with respect to the elongate track . the guide arm 17 is provided at a lower end 18 thereof with protruding tynes 19 which serve as a mounting means for fitting of the machine tool of choice , for example an electric router or an electric random orbital sander . the tynes are fitted to the guide arm by way of a mounting plate 20 . the mounting plate has adjustable bolts 21 , a fine adjustment screw 22 and tilt slots 23 which allow a fill range of adjustments to ensure that the machine tool is accurately and correctly aligned for travel parallel with the elongate track 1 . the movement of the guide arm is controlled by way of a screw - operated height adjuster 24 fitted to a second end 25 of the carriage means . the screw thread is adapted to engage a suitable captive threaded section of the guide arm such that movement of the height adjuster allows fine tuning and accurate adjustment of the guide arm for controlling depth of cut of the machine tool . the movement of the housing back and forth along the length of the elongate track can be locked by way of a locking mechanism comprising pivoted locking lever 26 which is adapted to activate a locking shoe 27 to act against a spring means 28 to selectively cooperate with stops of indentations 29 positioned on the elongate track . in this manner the longitudinal movement of the carriage can be arrested if so desired . in use the guide of the invention would be used as an accessory with a portable timber mill where once a log has been milled into planks , the milling machinery would be removed from its elongate tracks and in place thereof would be fitted the guide of the invention . the housing 2 would be opened and the guide positioned by placing top track wheels 4 on the raised side 9 of the elongate track . the weight of the guide and fitted tool would cause the housing to rotate about the top track wheels thereby causing the oblique track wheel 5 to bear upon the lower edge 10 of the elongate track the rear member of the housing would then be lowered down about its hinged region 7 such that the bottom track wheel 8 is brought to bear on the lower side 11 of the elongate track . the over centre tensioning clip would then be fastened and suitably adjusted such that all of the guide wheels are satisfactorily engaged to the elongate track so as to allow free movement back and forth of the guide along the elongate track . the height adjuster 24 would then be operated to raise or lower the guide arm 17 such that the machine tool fitted to the lower end thereof could be adjusted to a suitable height and depth of cut for machining the wooden slabs laid on the bed of the mill . once the correct height of the guide arm is located the guide arm could be locked by a vertical brake 30 and once the machine is turned on it could then be guided back and forth along the length of the timber slab so as to surface dress and / or sand the freshly machined slab . in this manner the invention provides for the first time a ready and economical means of surface dressing large dimensioned timber slabs fresh from milling without the need to relocate to separate machinery . the guide of the invention is adapted for use and cooperation with existing portable mill machinery and can be readily configured to fit any number of portable mill designs currently available . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive .	1
the present invention is not limited to a specific embodiment illustrated herein . referring now to fig1 , and 3 the preferred embodiment of the overall control system will be described . for safety and product reliability reasons , before the control system can start to control the fuser system , the input voltage must be determined . to accomplish this , the duty cycle of the power control electronics is ramped from 0 to 0 . 25 over a t 1 period 1000 . the ramp interval may be shorter of longer , however , the preferred embodiment uses t 1 = 1s . also , the final value of 0 . 25 correlates to the maximum value of the duty cycle for the highest specified input voltage of 220 vrms . other fuser systems may have a different value associated with the maximum voltage . in particular , the power electronics in the preferred embodiment exhibit a power usage of : p = v 2  d r where d = duty cycle . thus , limiting the duty cycle ( d ) to 0 . 25 insures the maximum power drawn from a 220 vrms source is no greater than the amount of power drawn from a 110 vrms source when d = 1 . the duty cycle is held 1001 at 0 . 25 for a period of time t 2 − t 1 . the exact amount of time t 2 − t 1 must be determined for each application as it depends on the thermal mass and transport lag of the fuser system . a time of 20 seconds was used for the fuser system of the printer under test . the temperature slope ( δt / δt ) is determined from the time interval δt and the fuser temperature δt 1002 . from the temperature slope , the source voltage can be determined 1003 . in particular , line 701 of fig2 corresponds to an input voltage of 110 vrms while line 702 corresponds to an input voltage of 220 vrms . to insure safe and reliable operation of the fuser , a maximum duty cycle ( d max ) is assigned based on the source voltage 1004 . in the preferred embodiment d max was empirically determined such that if the source voltage is ≦ 110 vrms , then d max = 1 . 0 ; if source voltage = 127 vrms , then d max = 0 . 75 ; and if the source voltage = 220 vrms , then d max = 0 . 25 . if the duty cycle is not already at d max 1005 , then it is ramped up to d max over a 1 second period 1006 t 3 . referring to fig3 given an input voltage of 220 vrms , d max has already been reached by t 2 . for a system operating at a lower voltage , the duty cycle is increased from 0 . 25 to d max as shown in line 802 . after the duty cycle has reached d max , the temperature control process for maintaining the proper temperature is invoked . knowledge of the exact process is not necessary for one skilled in the art to understand the present invention . with renewed reference to fig1 once printing is complete , the fuser enters the idle mode 1008 , by reducing d max by 50 %. the printer may exit the idle mode 1010 to enter either the printing mode or the power save mode . if the printer enters power save , mode , 1011 , power to the fuser if turned off by setting the duty cycle to 0 ( 1013 ). to exit either power save or idle mode , d max must be reset 1012 to its original value as determined in 1004 . a view of the arrangement of the temperature control system and the configuration of the physical components showing the pulse width modulator 401 , power source , power electronics 301 , fusing system 302 , and temperature controller 400 is given in fig4 . the temperature control system of fig4 utilizes only one feedback quantity , the temperature of the fusing system 302 . this results in the lowest cost implementation as an extremely low cost microcontroller ( 4001 of fig5 ) may be used to implement the control system 400 . the fuser temperature is sampled by a / d converter 4000 and used by the microprocessor 4001 that is executing the temperature control program 1007 . the result of the temperature control program 1007 is supplied to d / a converter 4002 . the analog output from d / a converter 4002 controls pwm 401 . one skilled in the art will understand that the pwm may reside within the microcontroller 4001 thereby eliminating the need of d / a converter 4002 and pwm 401 while the above has been described in terms of controlling the power input to the heating element by directly changing the duty cycle , one skilled in the art will understand that the same task could be performed , for example , by changing the phase control of kaieda or the number of ihc of barrett . although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated , and that form described , it is readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims .	6
reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing figures to refer to the same or like parts . an exemplary embodiment of the in - line agitator of the present invention is shown in fig1 and is designated generally throughout by reference numeral 10 . in accordance with the invention , the present invention for in - line agitation of feedstocks includes a drive assembly 12 , coupling assembly 14 , and agitator 18 . agitator assembly 10 is generally connected to a delivery conduit 16 , such as , a hollow hose , tube , braided cable , or the like . agitator 18 is preferably received within delivery conduit 16 and is coupled to drive assembly 12 via coupling assembly 14 . agitator 18 preferably extends along the length of delivery conduit 16 and is moved by drive assembly 12 to agitate feedstocks being passed through the delivery conduit 16 . agitator assembly 10 can be more easily described with reference to the exploded view depicted in fig2 . in a preferred embodiment , drive assembly 12 includes a motor 20 such as , but not limited to , an air motor model no . 1up - nrv - 11 , manufactured by gast manufacturing corp , benton harbor , mich ., and a reduction drive or gear assembly 28 , such as but not limited to model no . gr - 11 , also manufactured by gast manufacturing corp . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other motors , such as electric motors and hydraulic motors , to name a few , can be used in lieu of pneumatic motors such as motor 20 , and that a wide variety of gear assemblies are operative with the present invention . an air inlet fitting 22 having an air adjustment valve 24 associated therewith for controlling air flow to motor 20 , and an optional muffler 26 are preferably connected to motor 20 . motor 20 and gear assembly 28 are typically connected with fasteners such as set screws 50 . coupling assembly 14 can be configured in a number of ways and preferably includes a housing or sleeve 34 for receiving a first coupling 36 , a coupling insert 38 , a second coupling 40 , a drive shaft 42 , a crushnut 44 , a bushing 46 , packing rings 48 , a packing spacer 52 , and a t - adapter 54 . coupling assembly 14 is preferably mated to gear assembly 28 with a spacing plate 30 positioned therebetween using fasteners , such as screws 32 threadably received through sleeve 34 . drive shaft 42 is coupled to gear assembly 28 at one end , and to agitator 18 within t - adapter 54 with fasteners such as set screws 51 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the remainder of the above - mentioned components of coupling assembly 14 are connected with fasteners such as set screws 53 and the like . packing rings 48 slidable received onto drive shaft 42 , together with crushnut 44 , bushing 46 , and packing spacer 52 form a seal within coupling assembly 14 when coupling assembly 14 is assembled as shown in fig1 . as will be described in greater detail below , the seal prevents feedstocks from entering the sleeved portion of coupling assembly 14 during operation of the delivery system . as shown in fig3 the preferred agitator 18 is preferably an elongated flexible cord or line constructed of nylon or some other material compatible with the chemicals , cleaners , and other feedstocks typically used in spray applications . the preferred agitator 18 is a multi - sided structure as shown clearly in the cross - sectional view of fig4 . the multiple sides provide increased surface area , and thus increased agitation and turbulence when agitator 18 is moved within conduit 16 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art , however , that agitator 18 can be formed to take on any number of shapes , including , but not limited to , a tubular member having either a singular radial dimension or a plurality of radial dimensions . moreover , agitator 18 can also include a plurality of agitating devices positioned within delivery conduit 16 . in a more complex embodiment of the present invention , one or more agitators 18 can be positioned within delivery conduit 16 , and delivery conduit 16 can be moved with respect to the one or more agitators 18 positioned therein . in such an embodiment , the one or more agitators 18 can be in a fixed position with respect to delivery conduit 16 , or the one or more agitators can also be moved with respect to delivery conduit 16 as delivery conduit 16 is itself moved . in such an embodiment , the motion of the one or more agitators 18 is preferably in a direction opposite the direction of motion of delivery conduit 16 . like agitator 18 , delivery conduit 16 is preferably manufactured from a material that is substantially impervious to the chemicals , compounds , and / or solutions that form the feedstocks carried by delivery conduit 16 . in a preferred embodiment , delivery conduit 16 is a hollow teflon ® tube . those skilled in the art will recognize , however , that delivery conduit 16 can also be a braided cable made from a non - corrosive metal , a flexible nylon hose , or the like . a first preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention is shown schematically in fig5 . in - line agitator assembly 10 is connected to a control unit 56 , such as a computer , an air supply system 58 , and a feedstock supply reservoir 60 . in the preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention , feedstock supply reservoir 60 houses a feedstock 62 , and includes a mixing device 64 , such as a paddle , and a riser 66 for delivering feedstock 62 to agitator assembly 10 . feedstock 62 is transported through riser 66 and into delivery conduit 16 where agitator 18 is rotated by in - line agitator assembly 10 . as feedstock 62 passes through delivery conduit 16 en route to a discharge device 68 , agitator 18 is moved with respect to deliver conduit 16 to mix feedstock 62 passing therethrough . generally speaking , feedstock 62 is pre - mixed within feedstock supply reservoir 60 by rotation of mixing device 64 as indicated by directional arrow 70 . accordingly , agitator 18 further mixes feedstock 62 after feedstock 62 leaves feedstock supply reservoir 60 . in a first preferred system for in - line mixing of a feedstock during delivery of the feedstock to a target , such as specialized spray coating and spray painting systems , control unit 56 is connected to in - line agitator assembly 10 , air supply system 58 , feedstock supply reservoir 60 , and discharge device 68 via cable 72 . control until 56 sends and receives signals from agitator assembly 10 , air supply system 58 , and feedstock supply reservoir 60 , and discharge device 68 to control the mixing rate , flow rate , composition , and discharge rate of feedstock 62 . feedstock 62 , such as highly loaded coating materials are continuously mixed within the delivery conduit 16 by agitator 18 so that the required composition of coating material 69 is discharged from discharge device 68 onto the target ( not shown ). as shown more clearly in fig6 agitator 18 is moved through feedstock 62 as indicated by directional arrow 74 within conduit 18 . due , at least in part , to the torque applied to one end of agitator 18 by agitator assembly 10 , agitator 18 generally moves in a helical path within delivery conduit 16 . as a result , agitator 18 typically contacts inner walls 72 of delivery conduit 16 , thereby dislodging any sediment that may otherwise build - up along inner wall 72 of delivery conduit 16 . solids such as metals are thereby maintained in suspension within feedstock 62 as feedstock 62 enters discharge device 68 . a second embodiment of a system for in - line mixing of feedstocks during delivery of the feedstock to a target is illustrated in fig7 . in - line agitator assembly 10 is connected to an air supply system 58 , a first supply reservoir 76 , and a second supply reservoir 78 . interposed between each supply reservoir 76 and 78 is a metering device 80 and regulator 82 . a control unit 56 is preferably connected to each of the above - described components of the system via cables to send and receive data to control such parameters as flow , pressure , rate , and composition . in the second preferred embodiment of the system of the present invention , first supply reservoir 76 preferably contains a catalyst 84 , and second supply reservoir 78 preferably contains a resin 86 . catalyst 84 and resin 86 can optionally be mixed within their respective reservoirs by mixing elements 88 , and 90 , respectively . for specialty coating applications , catalyst 84 and resin 86 are delivered through metering devices 80 and regulators 82 in the desired quantities to an adapter 92 which merges the paths of resin 84 and catalyst 86 into delivery conduit 16 . catalyst 84 and resin 86 are mixed within delivery conduit 16 by agitator 18 to suspend resin 86 within catalyst 84 so that the desired composition of coating material 94 is delivered from discharge device 68 . this embodiment of the system of the present invention is particularly well suited for feedstocks that are highly unstable in suspension as the system maintains the feedstock ( catalyst 84 and resin 86 ) in separate flow paths until the feedstocks reach delivery conduit 16 . in this way , clogging of system components is significantly reduced , as is the loss of materials due to suspension losses . the invention will be further described by the following example which is intended to be exemplary of the invention . acomparison was made between the first preferred embodiment of the coating system of the present invention as described above with reference to fig5 and a control coating system . the control coating system was an identical coating system absent the operation of the in - line agitator . the comparison included two runs , and in both runs , the discharge end of the 28 foot delivery conduit was elevated to approximately 6 feet above floor level , while the opposite end of the delivery conduit was maintained at about floor level . as a result , the solid material within the feedstock naturally gravitated toward the floor within the delivery conduit , thus making it more difficult to prevent settling in the first run . a well mixed feedstock suspension was maintained in a constantly agitated supply reservoir or pressure pot . the feedstock contained a solid known to quickly settle out of the suspension prior if to delivery from the spray gun . more specifically , the feedstock contained a specialty infra - red ( i . r .) coating that included a plurality of heavy metal flakes in a low viscosity polyurethane paint having poor homogeneity . as a first step , a 200 cc sample of feedstock was removed from the pressure pot and found to weigh 250 . 6 grams . the feedstock was then delivered into a 28 foot teflon ® delivery conduit having a 0 . 25 inch inner diameter ( i . d . ), and was continuously agitated within the elongated agitator for a period of 15 minutes . after 15 minutes of mixing within the conduit , a 200 cc sample of feedstock was removed from the conduit . the measured weight of this 200 cc sample was approximately 246 . 4 grams indicating that approximately 4 . 2 grams of solid material had settled out of the suspension within the delivery conduit during mixing . the delivery conduit of the coating system was then drained and flushed for the second run of the experiment . following drainage and flushing , the well mixed feedstock from the pressure pot was delivered into the delivery conduit of the spraying system for the control run . following 15 minutes without agitation within the delivery conduit , a 200 cc sample of feedstock was removed from the delivery conduit . the weight of this sample was approximately 204 . 3 grams . accordingly , approximately 46 grams of solid material was lost from the suspension during the control run . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	8
directing attention to fig1 an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the water - flow detector according to the invention , is shown . while the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment . the embodiment includes a mechanical assembly 10 and an electrical assembly 11 . the mechanical assembly 10 includes a paddle ( or vane ) 12 that is intended to be inserted within a pipe 14 of a sprinkler - type fire suppressant system . the vane 12 is attached to an arm 15 which passes through a water seal 17 ( fig3 ) and is mounted on a pivot 18 . an actuator member 21 is attached to the end 16 of the arm 15 opposite the vane 12 . the electrical assembly 11 includes a radiation source 22 ( fig3 - 5 ) a radiation detector 23 , a timer 24 ( fig5 ) and a means for providing an indcation of water flow which preferably is relay 25 . the electrical assembly 11 is mounted on the mechanical assembly 10 so that actuator member 21 will move ( see fig3 and 4 ) between radiation source 22 and radiation detector 23 when vane arm 15 pivots . water flow in pipe 14 in a direction into the drawing of fig2 causes the arm 15 to pivot and member 21 to move between source 22 and detector 23 ( fig4 ) to interrupt the radiation passing from source 22 to detector 23 . this causes the electrical output of detector 23 to change which actuates timer 24 ( fig5 ) which counts for a selected delay time and then actuates relay 25 to provide an indication of the water flow . the relay 25 would generally be connected into a fire control panel ( facp ) ( not shown ) and switching it may sound an alarm , flash annunciator lights showing where the flow is occurring , and / or send a signal to a central station where fire fighters would be alerted . turning now to a more detailed description of the preferred embodiment ( and referring to fig1 and 2 ), the mechanical assembly 10 includes u - bolt 30 , nuts 31 and 32 , pipe saddle 33 , gasket 34 , vane 12 , actuator arm 15 , plate 59 , actuator member 21 , spring 39 , screws 45 and support 46 . a cover 35 encloses the top portion of the electrical assembly 11 and mechanical assembly 10 . the details of the water seal 17 and pivot 18 are shown in the partially - exploded views of fig3 and 4 . pivot arm 18a is clamped between the under surface of seal 17 and the upper surface of ring 19 , which is formed in the top portion of pipe saddle 33 . seal 17 comprises a rubber or rubber - like wafer 17a and a thin metal disk 17b . the flexibility of the seal wafer 17a permits the pivot 18 and arm 15 to move . except for actuator member 21 and spring 39 , the mechanical assembly 10 is conventional and thus only these parts will be discussed in further detail . for example , such assemblies are incorporated in the series wfd and wfd - 10 vane - type water flow indicators available from notifier company , 3700 north 56th street , lincoln , nebr . 68504 . actuator member 21 preferably comprises a hollow cylindrical portion 40 and a rectangular portion 41 . the cylindrical portion 40 has an inside diameter 42 that is smaller than the end of arm 15 . the rectangular portion 41 is preferably approximately 1 / 4 inch long by 1 / 2 inch high ( along the direction of the axis of cylinder 40 ) and 1 / 16 inch thick . it is preferably molded in one piece of a resilient insulative material , such as rubber , silicon rubber , or a flexible plastic material . cylinder 40 is forced over the end 16 of arm 15 and its elasticity holds it in place . spring 39 is a coil spring similar to the return spring of the conventional devices referred to above , except that its spring constant is slightly less since it does not have to act against the dashpot to return the vane to normal . spring 39 preferably includes a hook 38 on one end , which is hooked over arm 15 to connect it to the arm . screw 45 is screwed into the other end of spring 39 to adjustably attach it to support 46 as in the conventional devices . spring 39 and screw 45 are preferably made of stainless steel or other non - corrosive material . turning to fig3 and 4 , the electrical assembly 11 includes circuit board 50 , insulative cylinders , such as 51 , screws 53 and 54 , washers such as 55 , source 22 , detector 23 and switch 60 ( fig1 ), as well as other electrical parts which are shown in fig5 . for clarity , only the parts named above are shown in fig1 and 4 . circuit board 50 is attached to supports 57 and 58 which , are molded into the conventional support plate 59 , by means of screws 53 and 54 and lock washers such as 55 . in fig4 screw 54 , washer 55 , and cylinder 51 , are shown in exploded view in order to more clearly show their relationship . screw 54 passes through hole 36 and cylinder 51 and screws into support 57 . a similar screw 53 ( fig1 ) passes through a washer ( not shown ), hole 37 and another cylinder ( not shown ) and screws into support 58 . the cylinders , such as 51 , are preferably approximately 3 / 4 inch long and 1 / 2 inch in diameter and act as spacers to separate circuit board 50 and plate 59 . the source 22 and detector 23 are preferably attached to the circuit board by means of their leads ( not shown ) and are preferably spaced approximately 1 / 4 inch apart on either side of the position of member 21 when arm 15 is fully pivoted due to water flow . switch 60 is preferably placed so that it is easily accessible . screws 53 and 54 and washers such as 55 are preferably made of stainless steel or other non - corrosive material , cylinders , such as 51 , are made of teflon or other rigid insulative material , and circuit board 50 is made of conventional materials . the electrical assembly 11 is preferably enclosed in a case 56 which is open at the side facing plate 59 and is preferably made of fiber board , cardboard or other insulative material . fig5 shows the preferred electrical circuit according to the invention . it comprises radiation source 22 , radiation detector means 23 , timer 24 ( which includes timer integrated circuit chip 62 , resistors 63 and 64 and capacitor 65 ) relay 25 , transistors 70 and 71 , zener diode 73 , diodes 74 , 75 and 76 , capacitor 77 , and resistors 78 through 86 . the numbers , such as 16 , located next to the lines into chip 62 are the pin numbers of the chip . resistors 78 and 79 are connected in series between the 120 - volt ac &# 34 ; hot &# 34 ; input 87 and the anode of diode 76 . the 24 - volt dc input 88 connects between resistors 78 and 79 . the cathode of diode 76 connects to the high circuit voltage line 90 . capacitor 77 is connected between the high voltage line 90 and the circuit common or ground 89 . resistor 80 , and source 22 are connected in series between high line 90 and the number 16 pin ( high voltage terminal ) of timer chip 62 . zener diode 73 is connected between the number 16 pin and the number 8 pin ( low voltage terminal ) of timer 62 . the number 8 pin is also connected to ground . the collector of detector 23 ( which is preferably a photo - transistor ) is connected to the number 16 pin of timer 62 , while its emitter is connected to the number 12 pin ( reset terminal ) through resistor 82 and to ground through resistor 83 . the dotted line between source 22 and detector 23 indicates that these components are physically placed so that radiation can flow from one to the other . the number 10 pin of timer 62 is connected to the number 11 pin through resistors 63 and 64 . capacitor 65 is connected between the number 9 pin of timer 62 and the line between resistors 63 and 64 . the number 11 pin is also connected to the collector of transistor 71 through resistor 81 . the emitter of transistor 71 is connected to ground through diode 75 with the cathode of the diode toward ground . the base of transistor 71 is connected to the base of transistor 70 and to pole 95 of switch 60 . pole 95 is also connected to pin 7 of timer 62 through resistor 84 . poles 91 through 93 of switch 60 are connected to the 3 , 2 , and 1 pins , respectively , of timer 62 . pole 97 is connected to the number 15 pin of timer 62 . poles 94 and 96 are connected to pole 95 . moveable contact 100 connects pole 94 to 97 , and may be moved to connect poles 91 , 92 and 93 to poles 94 , 95 and 96 , respectively , as shown by the dashed lines . the emitter of transistor 70 is connected to ground through resistor 86 . the collector of transistor 70 is connected to one side of the coil 98 of relay 25 . the other side of the coil 98 of relay 25 is connected to the high voltage line 90 . diode 74 is connected across coil 98 . the switch 99 of relay 25 is connected to an alarm ( not shown ) or other device to signal that water flow has occurred . radiation source 22 is preferably an infrared emitting diode , such as the emitter half of a general electric h23b1 emitter - detector pair . detector 23 is preferably a photo - transistor , such as the detector half of the general electric h23b1 . timer 62 is preferably a mc14060b available from motorola semiconductors and includes a 14 - bit binary counter and an oscillator . transistors 70 and 71 are preferably type 2n3643 . relay 74 is preferably a type t71l5d132 - 12 made by p & amp ; b ( amf ). switch 60 is a four - position switch with connections as shown . all diodes are preferably type 1n4004 . zener diode 73 is preferably a type 2n5232b ( 5 . 7 volt , 1 / 2 watt ). capacitor 65 is preferably a 0 . 0047 m farad capacitor , and capacitor 77 is 10 m farad . resistors 63 and 83 are 100k ohm , 91 and 84 are 10k ohm , 78 is a 1 . 75k ohm , 5 watt , 80 is 3 . 3k ohm , 1 / 2 watt , 79 is a 100k ohm , 1 / 2 watt , and 64 , 82 , 85 and 86 are 470k ohm , 47k ohm , 4 . 7k ohm , and 18 ohm , respectively . the function of the components is as follows . resistors 78 and 79 function as current limiting / voltage dropping resistors when the circuit is connected to 120 vac . resistor 79 performs the current limiting / voltage dropping function alone when operating on low voltage d . c . ( 18 - 32 v f . w . r . or filtered ). diode 76 provides rectification on ac power and polarity reversal protection on d . c . capacitor 77 provides filtering and transient absorption . the series circuit comprised of resistor 80 , source 22 , and zener diode 73 provides approximately 5 . 7 volts of ripple free dc across zener diode 73 to operate timer 62 . resistor 80 limits the current through source 22 . when operatng from an initiating circuit of a fire alarm control panel ( facp ), the current through this series string appears approximately as a 4 . 7k ohm end - of - line resistor . this current also causes source 22 to emit infrared light to illuminate photodarlington 23 . zener diode 73 also provides transient voltage protection for timer 62 . photo - transistor 23 saturates when illuminated by source 22 . this applies approximately 4 . 5 to 5 volts to the reset pin of timer 62 through current limiting resistor 82 . the application of this &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; voltage to this pin holds the internal counter reset and inhibits the oscillator . when the illumination from source 22 is blocked , photo - transistor 23 becomes cut - off from radiation . this causes the voltage at pin 12 to go &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; due to the pull - down resistor 83 . this &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; appearing at pin 12 removes the reset from the counter and allows the oscillator to run . timer 62 contains an onboard oscillator which uses resistors 63 and 64 and capacitor 65 as frequency determining components . the preferred frequency of oscillation is 91 hz which yields a period of 11 ms . the counter contained in timer 62 is a 14 stage binary counter with several of the intermediate stage outputs available . the 2 13 ( pin 3 ), 2 12 ( pin 2 ), 2 11 ( pin 1 ), 2 9 ( pin 15 ) and 2 3 ( pin 7 ) outputs are wired to the delay selection switch 60 . this provides the following time intervals : 2 13 × 11 ms = 90 sec ; 2 12 × 11 ms = 45 sec ; 2 11 × 11 ms = 22 . 5 sec ; 2 9 × 11 ms = 5 . 6 sec ; and 2 3 × 11 ms = 88 ms or approximately 0 sec . these outputs are normally &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; and go &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; when the counter reaches the count represented by the power of 2 shown . transistor 70 , resistor 86 , diode 75 and the base - emitter junction of transistor 71 forms a constant current source of approximately 30 ma . the use of a constant current source has two benefits : it allows relay 74 to operate over a large voltage range ; and it provides a predictable and controlled current to activate the facp initiating circuit . the current source functions as follows . when the output of timer 62 that is selected by switch 60 goes &# 34 ; high &# 34 ;, base current to transistor 70 flows through resistor 85 . this allows collector current to flow through relay 25 and also resistor 86 . base drive is also provided to transistor 71 via resistor 85 . when the collector current flowing in resistor 86 creates a voltage drop equal to the forward voltage drop across diode 75 , any additional base current available through resistor 85 will be diverted into the base of transistor 71 . the collector current of transistor 70 is therefore maintained at the current that will produce about 0 . 6 v across resistor 86 . since resistor 86 is an 18 ohm resistor , this current level would be 0 . 6 / 18 or approximately 30 ma . in addition to being part of the constant current source , transistor 71 provides another function . upon receiving base current from resistor 85 , transistor 71 will conduct to common pulling pin 11 of timer 62 &# 34 ; low &# 34 ;. this causes the oscillator to stop and allows the counter to hold its count . with the counter suspended at the count that initiated the time out sequence , transistors 70 and 71 will be assured of a continuous supply of base current . this keeps relay 25 pulled in and the alarm current flowing . when source 22 again illuminates detector 23 , a reset signal will be presented to pin 12 of timer 62 resetting the counter . this causes the counter output that was previously &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; to go back &# 34 ; low &# 34 ;, removing base drive from transistors 70 and 71 which releases relay 25 and restores normal &# 34 ; end - of - line &# 34 ; current . should switch 60 , for some reason , not make contact , resistor 84 will provide base current for transistors 70 and 71 ( via resistor 85 ) when the 2 output goes &# 34 ; high &# 34 ;. this will happen 88 m sec after the reset is removed from pin 12 . this causes an alarm to be transmitted substantially immediately upon flow detection . normally , the junction of resistors 84 and 85 is held &# 34 ; low &# 34 ; by the output selected by switch 60 so that the &# 34 ; high - going &# 34 ; excursions of the 2 output are not seen by transistors 70 and 71 . once a timing cycle has been initiated , but not completed , restoring illumination to detector 23 will reset the counter to zero as well as stop the timing process . this ensures that no residule count exists at the start of a new timing cycle thereby eliminating integration effects when presented with a series of short duration periods of flow . should the source 22 fail or the optics become coated with dirt , the alarm or other indication of water flow will be generated , thereby providing a fail - safe condition . the water - flow detector according to the invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and at the same time is less expensive and more reliable . it has discrete time settings that require no trial and error adjustment . timing accuracy is typically within + or - 5 %. there is no physical contact required between the flow sensing mechanism and the delay timer / alarm signaling circuitry . additionally , the circuit has been designed in such a way that components affected by the environment will fail safe ; i . e ., their failure will result in either an alarm upon failure or an alarm with no delay when flow is detected . a feature of the invention is that it provides the mechanical - to - electrical transducer at an earlier point in the system than previous water - flow detectors that were deemed to be reliable and safe enough to be used in fire alarm systems . the simplicity of the electronic circuit is one reason for its reliability . it is noted that a number of electronic components , such as source 22 and transistor 71 , perform multiple functions and the action of detector 23 on the circuit is simple and direct . these factors permit the number of parts used to be minimized , reducing the chances of failure of the system . a novel water - flow detector which provides an electronic time - delay function with sufficient reliability and fail - safe features to be used in a fire - alarm system has been described . it is evident that those skilled in the art may now make many uses and modifications of the specific embodiment described , without departing from the inventive concepts . for example , other equivalent electronic parts may be used . the mechanical system for responding to the water - flow may be modified . indicator means other than a relay may be used . consequently , the invention is to be construed as embracing each and every novel feature and novel combination of features present in the detection system described .	6
the gameboard of the preferred embodiment fig1 is of the usual rectangular shape and could be manufactured of cardboard or any other suitable material . the gameboard is characterized by providing trading symbols thereon . a different letter of a complete alphabet , printed in each of the playing spaces bordering a center area , represents the symbols means provided in said playing spaces . the center area of the board shows indicia related to the play of the game . the space 57 and 58 on the gameboard and opposite space thereon have been provided for the &# 34 ; game average &# 34 ; indicator , also referred to as the index . space 72 is provided for the placement of the news cards used during the news release period . step no . 3 the letter symbols provided in said gameboard serve as a &# 34 ; make believe &# 34 ; means wherefrom a player makes his / her selection and may buy or sell securities of a well known corporation located anywhere in the world , as well as , investing in his / her neighborhood stores or any other business concern selected . the players favorite company &# 39 ; s shares may be bought and sold during the play of the game . the initial of the company &# 39 ; s first name indicates the game trading symbol under which its stock is traded . for example : general electron shares may be bought and sold using the letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; and also , george &# 39 ; s company shares may be bought and sold using the same letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ;. also , the trading symbols provide variation of play , offering the players different approaches to play the game as follows : for example : a plurality of the trading letter symbols on the gameboard fig1 may be designated to represent the game green chips also called &# 34 ; income chips &# 34 ; thereby providing the players with another approach to play the game . instructions for play are set as follows : the players receive a $ 100 game currency dividend for each 100 shares owned as of the end of the game . also , these trading letter symbols quotations can not rise or fall over one point during each quotation changes period . in order to determine the price changes of the green chips letter symbols when rolling the die , the players disregard the value of the numbers on the face up die . instead , if the result of the rolled die show a plus value , the price of the called letter symbol is increased by one point ; and if the die shows a minus value , the price is decreased by one point . if the die show no change the price is left unchanged . another example : before starting to play the players may determine to play the game in a bull market mode or in a bear market mode . the variation in play occurs during the quotation changes step in which the players using the game special die disregard the minus and plus readings and consider only the digital reading on the face up side of the rolled die in determining the price changes in the game trading symbols . the players do not employ the green chips playing style when playing these game variations . the value of all the game trading symbols during the quotations changes step are changed following the same rule , as follows : bull market mode . this variation features a bull market stage wherein investment values are rising . . . and the digital reading on each side of the special game die represents a plus value . bear market mode . this variation features a bear market stage wherein investments values are falling . . . and the digital reading on each side of the special game die represents a minus value . the game average components , also called to game average index is provided by a designated number of the game trading symbols in the game board and represents a significant characteristics in a family type and party game simulating a stock exchange or the like . the game average record form fig8 c has been specially designed in conjunction with the designated trading symbols on the gameboard representing the game average index in combination with the play of the game , and provides a player with means for determining the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; game average figure fig5 . 57 and 58 for game purposes , the game average is determined as follows : you record the opening prices of each of the game average symbols index 50 at $ 100 per share . you also record the game average 1000 51 opening figure . at the end of the game , you record the closing price 52 of each of the game average symbols index and the price change 53 of each symbol , which is the difference between the closing and the opening prices . if the total of the plus changes 54 is larger than the total of the minus changes 55 the game average is increased by the difference 56 . if the total of the minus changes 55 is larger than the total of the plus changes -- the game average is decreased by the difference . the game average figures recorded in this form in the close 57 and change 58 spaces , are also the figures to be posted in the gameboard fig5 average indicator 57 and 58 spaces . the trading play pieces , fig3 are used during the trading session . the preferred embodiment game is equipped with trading play pieces players and each set contains ten buy play pieces and ten sell pieces . the buy pieces are in one color and the sell pieces are in another color . each player &# 39 ; s trading play pieces bears a different number to distinguish the trading play pieces of each player from those of each other player . game currency fig6 d . an equal amount , in different denominations , of game currency is provided for each player , and the total player &# 39 ; s amount of game currency is doubled to provide for the game funds to be placed in a pot or container to be passed around from one player to another during the trading session . step no . 1 . the trading play pieces sets equipment provided with the game and the game currency bills may be increased to provide equipment to include other players . the informative play pieces , fig2 are used during the quotation changes step to post changes of the prices of the stocks represented by the trading symbols on the board . the prices posted apply to both buy and sell transactions and the prices do not change until all the players have completed their trading turn during the same trading session . each informative play piece bears a digital . the player places one , or more digitals next to each other to form the required number . the informative play pieces are also used to post the game average figure 57 nad 58 and the game 59 and session number in progress 60 . a container with sections for each of the informative play pieces denominations may be provided with the game . the container also has another section for the up , down , no change and close pieces . the trading play pieces fig3 and the informative play pieces fig2 may be made of a plastic material . the shape of the play pieces may differ from those illustrated . special die , fig4 a set of two die specially designed is provided with the game . one die bears the numbers 1 , 2 and 3 . the other die bears the numbers 3 , 4 and 5 . the &# 34 ; plain &# 34 ; numbers indicate a plus value and the &# 34 ; encircled &# 34 ; numbers indicate a minus value . the value of the numbers appearing face up on the rolled die are to be combined . for example fig4 shows a face up combination value of plus 2 61 . ______________________________________1 and 3 = up 4 ○ 1 and 3 = up 21 and 4 = up 5 ○ 1 and 4 = up 31 and 5 = up 6 ○ 1 and 5 = up 41 and ○ 3 = down 2 ○ 1 and ○ 3 = down 41 and ○ 4 = down 3 ○ 1 and ○ 4 = down 51 and ○ 5 = down 4 ○ 1 and ○ 5 = down 62 and 3 = up 5 ○ 2 and 3 = up 12 and 4 = up 6 ○ 2 and 4 = up 22 and 5 = up 7 ○ 2 and 5 = up 32 and ○ 3 = down 1 ○ 2 and ○ 3 = down 52 and ○ 4 = down 2 ○ 2 and ○ 4 = down 62 and ○ 5 = down 3 ○ 2 and ○ 5 = down 73 and 3 = up 6 ○ 3 and 4 = up 13 and 4 = up 7 ○ 3 and 5 = up 23 and 5 = up 8 ○ 3 and ○ 3 = down 63 and ○ 3 = unch . ○ 3 and ○ 4 = down 73 and ○ 4 = down 1 ○ 3 and ○ 5 = down 83 and ○ 5 = down 2______________________________________ the players may pre - determine whether to play the game using either one of the die , or to use both die . in a variation of the game , an extra player may participate in the play of the game , serving as the &# 34 ; market maker &# 34 ; for directing the movement of the prices of the stocks represented by the game trading symbols , thereby replacing the special game die fig4 . the objective of the market maker player is to provide another interesting feature to the trading game in accordance with pre - determined instructions for play applicable to the market maker marketing approach . financial transactions -- each player settles his / her financial transactions with the player at his / her left side , using his / her allotted game currency fig6 d . the acting broker -- for game purposes , during the trading session , the player assisting the player at his / her right side is called the acting broker . the acting investor -- also , for game purposes , during the trading session , the player in his / her turn as he / she buys or sells securities is called the acting investor . two ways to play the game . a player places his / her trading play pieces fig3 in any playing space selected by him / her directly from the gameboard fig1 . for example : regular trading -- a player seeks to buy low and to sell higher at a later time . short trading -- a player seeks to sell high and to buy lower at a later time . closed out investments -- a player &# 39 ; s buy and sell trading play pieces placed on the board in the same letter symbol space , cancel each other out and both are removed from the board . for example , when a player purchases a stock , he / she places the &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; play piece fig3 and pays for the purchase using his / her game currency fig6 d . when the player sells the stock he / she places the &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; play piece fig3 next to his / her buy play piece in the same space , and then receives the proceeds of the sale in game currency fig6 d from the &# 34 ; game funds &# 34 ; container . both buy and sell play pieces thereby cancel each other out and are then removed from the board . the trading play pieces fig3 remaining placed on the board fig1 at game end are valued as follows : the &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; trading play pieces as assets and the &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; play pieces as liabilities . the player , in turn , liquidates his / her entire portfolio holdings using the game &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; prices posted on the gameboard as shown in fig5 . the player receives the proceeds of his / her assets in game currency fig6 d . after all the players have liquidated their portfolio holdings and counted their game currency , the player having accumulated the most game currency over his / her start - up funds wins the game . the use of the work sheet fig7 is an optional feature and not essential in determining a player &# 39 ; s score . new cards fig6 -- the cards contain witty messages , fun news and rumors provided for amusement ; and include dividend payment notices . the news cards are shuffled and placed face down on the gameboard fig1 for the players to draw a card from the top of the cards pile during the news release period . fun - gram forms fig6 b -- each card provides a blank space thereon for a player to write in his / her own message to another player during the news release period , also referred to as the fun - roundtable . after the drawings of the news cards , one by each player , have been completed , the players may then use the fun - gram forms . the players may at the same time also discuss simulated business and entertainment news and views , amusing rumors and the like . the stock certificate fig6 b is an optional feature of the game . when a player places his / her &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; trading play pieces on the game board , the player pays his / her acting broker the current per share price using his / her game currency fig6 d . the acting broker deposits the game currency received in the game funds container . the stock certificates are kept in the game funds container and the acting broker may fill in a stock certificate identifying the investment and number of shares purchased . the stock certificate is kept by the player until he / she sells this investment and returns the stock certificate to his / her acting broker . stock certificates printed in a different color paper may identify short sales . the preferred embodiment is equipped for 2 to 4 players . the players may elect to play a single or double game . each player is given by the game organizer $ 100 , 000 in game currency denominations as follows : 6 of each 500 , 5 , 000 and 10 , 000 bills and 7 of 1 , 000 . also 10 buy trading play pieces and 10 sell trading play pieces . for a double game the players receive 2 additional 50 , 000 bills . as the players complete some of their trading transactions during the game , the trading play pieces may be used again . the remaining game currency is placed in a container which may be provided with the game . also , a standard die cup may be provided with the specially designed set of two die . the news cards , including the dividend notice cards are shuffled and placed face down at the center board space 72 . the fun - gram forms are kept apart for a player using same during the news release period . the informative play pieces are kept in a sectional container making them readily available to be used during the quotation changes step . the gameboard fig1 may be placed at the center of a table . the players determine who is to start the game and then , continue to play in that order during each step of the game . the others follow in order to that player &# 39 ; s left . the game does not offer any advantage to the player taking his / her turn first over the player taking his / her turn last . the current price of the stocks traded under any of the trading symbols on the gameboard does not change until all the players have taken their trading turns during the same trading session . one set of instructions for play , contained in a booklet , is to be followed by all the players alike during every step of the game . for example , instructions for play may have been provided for as follows : the starting price for the stocks represented by the 26 letter symbols on the gameboard is $ 100 per share . a player , in turn , executes his / her trading transactions by means of his / her &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; trading play piece fig3 . each trading play piece has a quantity value of 100 shares . each player shall use no more than two trading play pieces per turn , and may use his / her two trading play pieces in one transaction or may elect to make two different transactions . a player may only by and sell shares in quantities of 100 or 200 per turn . a player , in turn , may complete and close out any or all his / her trading transactions during the game , however he / she can not increase his / her trading allowance . the value of his / her trading play pieces remaining placed on the board at game - end is included in his / her score . at the end of the 5th session , or 10th session in a double game , each player , in turn , liquidates his / her entire portfolio holdings , if any , using the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; prices of the last session played . when a player places his / her &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; play piece on the board , he / she pays the current price to his / her acting broker , who shall deposit the game currency bills in the &# 34 ; game funds &# 34 ; container . as a player &# 39 ; s places his / her &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; play pieces , he / she shall be paid the current price with &# 34 ; game fund &# 34 ; bills by his / her acting broker . for example : the current price for the stocks represented by the letter symbol &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; is $ 110 . if a player &# 34 ; buys &# 34 ; 100 shares of k - market shops , he / she places one buy play piece in the letter symbol &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; space , and pay $ 11 , 000 in game currency to the acting broker . another example : a player , in turn , has chosen to buy 100 shares of general electron . another player , in his / her turn , want to buy or sell 100 shares of georges company . in both transactions , the companies first name initial is &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; and would be traded under the same letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; at the current market prices . after all the players have taken their trading turns , the game proceeds with the quotation changes step . the roll of the dice determines the price movement of the stocks represented by the letter symbols on the gameboard under which the stocks are traded . playing in the same order as in step no . 1 , each player calls out , one per turn , in alphabetical order , only the &# 34 ; traded &# 34 ; letter symbols on the gameboard . after a player calls a &# 34 ; traded &# 34 ; symbol , he / she rolls the two die once and then posts the resulting price in the letter symbol space accordingly , using the informative play pieces fig2 . for example : beginning with the letter symbol &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, if it was traded , a player , in turn , may call out the name of his / her favorite company whose initial of the first name is &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;, or the player may simply call out the letter &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;. then , the player rolls the two die once , and posts the resulting price in the letter symbol &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; space accordingly . said resulting price is obtained as follows : the letter symbol &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; shows a current market price of $ 112 posted in the letter symbol &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; space . for example : the rolled dice show a face up combined value of &# 34 ; plus 2 &# 34 ; fig4 . then , using the informative play pieces fig2 the player changes the $ 112 price to the resulting price of $ 114 . if the value of the rolled die shows no change , the price remains the same . instructions for play may also include how to play the game with variations within the scope of the invention . the players may elect to call , roll the dice for , and change the price of any &# 34 ; non - traded &# 34 ; stock letter symbol during each quotation changes period . all players , in turn , draw a card from the top of the fun news cards pile placed on the gameboard fig1 . if the card contains a fun message , the players return the card by placing it face down at the bottom of the pile . if the card contains a dividend or game currency message , the players keep the card till the end of the game for inclusion of its value in their score . the players , in any order , may use the fun - gram forms to write in their own entertaining message to send to each other . when a player receives a fun - gram message he / she should read it to the other players . during the news release period , also referred to as the fun - roundtable , the players may orally exchange witty and amusing news , rumors or the like merely for laughs . the variety of the entertaining messages in the game &# 34 ; news cards &# 34 ; are also intended to serve as a means to help a player to use his / her imagination in creating his / her own amusing message in a fun atmosphere . after step no . 3 has been completed , the game moves on to the next trading session or step no . 1 of the game . the game ends after all the steps of session 5 in a single game , or session 10 in a double game , have been completed by all the players . the prices resulting from the last quotation changes period are the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; prices for the game . the value of the player &# 39 ; s trading play pieces remaining placed on the board are included in their score . a player receives the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; price for each of his / her &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; trading play pieces remaining placed on the board . a player pays the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; price for each of his / her &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; trading play pieces remaining placed on the board . a player also collects the monetary fun value of any news cards held by him / her at the end of the game . each player then counts his / her game currency , and the player having achieved the largest gain wins the game . ______________________________________game currency on hand - after buying & amp ; $ 62 , 000selling during the gameplus his / her &# 34 ; buy &# 34 ; play pieces assets 60 , 000remaining on the boardplus dividends received from news cards at 500game - end total $ 122 , 500less his / her &# 34 ; sell &# 34 ; play pieces liabilities 11 , 000placed on the boardplayer &# 39 ; s game currency held at game - end $ 111 , 500less player &# 39 ; s game currency start - up funds 100 , 000player &# 39 ; s gain or score $ 11 , 500______________________________________ it is provided to help a player plan his / her moves and to improve his / her skill . fig7 illustrates a player &# 39 ; s filled in &# 34 ; work sheet &# 34 ; sample form as follows : a player bought during session 1 column 62 100 shares trading under letter symbol &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; for $ 100 per share , and also bought 100 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; at $ 100 per share . session 2 column 63 shows said player bought 200 shares under the letter symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; at $ 105 per share . session 3 64 shows that said player bought 100 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; for $ 110 per share and also shows said player sold &# 34 ; short &# 34 ; 100 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; for $ 120 per share . session 4 column 65 shows said player bought 200 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; for $ 105 per share . session 5 column 66 shows said player sold 100 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; for $ 110 each share , and also sold 100 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; for $ 110 each share . as the prices during the game and the new prices are posted on the gameboard , the player using the &# 34 ; work sheet &# 34 ; keeps track of the prices paid / received for his / her investments . if you are playing a double game you use one form for each game . the foregoing disclosed game of this invention may also be equipped to be played by a group of players . for example : equipment for a &# 34 ; party &# 34 ; game includes one set of trading play pieces fig3 for each player ; equal amount of game currency fig6 d in different denominations for each player and a sufficient amount of the game currency bills for the game funds container and an adequate supply of news cards fig6 which may include party give away prizes . a market maker player may replace the use of the special die fig4 for directing the price changes of the trading symbols fig5 during the quotation changes period . the market maker player may use the fun - gram forms to provide clues , market trends and other useful hints to the players during the game for them to figure out the market maker &# 39 ; s pricing strategy . the market maker posts the new prices in each of the trading symbol spaces as shown in fig5 using the informative play pieces fig2 . the gameboard fig1 is placed at the center of a large table . the player , in turn , places his / her trading play piece fig3 in any trading symbol space or outside the board pointing to the selected trading symbol space fig5 . the players may play a single or double game . from the foregoing disclosure , it is apparent that the game of this invention provides a competitive and entertaining game for players with or without any knowledge of the world of finance , and that the multiple objectives of this game invention have been fully accomplished . it is to be understood that variations and changes may be made in the preferred embodiment of this invention to provide other type of games , without departing from the scope of this invention . hereafter , as a matter of clarification and where distinction is required , the game of this invention is referred to as the &# 34 ; 5 sessions game &# 34 ; and when linked together with the method of continuing playing it is referred to as the &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ;. when employing the method of continuing playing the &# 34 ; 5 sessions game &# 34 ; is played as previously disclosed in the foregoing specifications , systematically employing the combination of adapted record forms . the method of continuing playing provides a &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ; contest formed by a plurality of succeeding &# 34 ; 5 sessions games &# 34 ; to be played over an undetermined period of time and by a varying group of players . the &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ; closes at the end of every &# 34 ; 5 sessions game &# 34 ; and re - opens in the following game for continuing playing with each of the contest elements having the same standing as held at the end of the previous 5 sessions game . for example : trading symbols on the gameboard fig1 &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; quotations at game - end are carried over from one game to the next . game average closing figure 57 is also similarly carried over ; and the player starts the next game with the same portfolio holdings number of shares held at the end of the previous completed game . the quotation record form fig8 ; order form fig9 ; game score form fig1 and cumulative record form fig1 are provided in combination with one another making possible the accomplishment of the steps comprising this invention method of continuing playing . informative play pieces fig2 may be used in conjunction with the quotation record form fig8 . trading play pieces fig3 are replaced by the order form fig9 . 4 game currency bills fig6 d are replaced by the combined forms fig9 and 12 . before starting to play a new game , the gameboard fig1 is prepared to display in each one of the trading letter symbols spaces the previous &# 34 ; 5 sessions game &# 34 ; closing prices , shown in said previous quotation record form fig8 column 89 , and which now represent the starting prices for continuing playing . also , said column 89 prices are carried over to the next game quotation record form , session 1 column 84 for continuing playing . a player participating in the &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ; is provided with five order forms fig9 one for each session of the game ; one game score form fig1 and one comulative record form fig1 per game . a player &# 39 ; s filled in samples fig1 and fig1 show said player &# 39 ; s portfolio value and &# 34 ; paper &# 34 ; score to date . an actual score is achieved only after a player has converted his / her entire portfolio holdings into game currency , within the rules , regardless of the position taken by the other participants in the contest . the player with the highest actual score is the &# 34 ; champion &# 34 ; until another player finishes his / her participation in the game with a higher actual score . each player liquidating his / her entire portfolio with a profit wins the game . an actual score is final and not cumulative in future &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ;. a player can better his / her previous score as a new player . game absences -- the method of continuing playing of this invention makes provision for a player to absent himself / herself from some of the 5 sessions games comprising a continuous game , and for the player &# 39 ; s entire portfolio number of shares to be carried over from the last game played to the present game for continuing playing . new players -- the method of continuing playing also makes possible that new players may enter the game and play in a 5 sessions game comprising a continuous game contest in progress . game numerical order -- the 5 sessions game is numbered consecutively as played , and when a player enters the continuous game at a later date , he / she records the number of the game 91 in progress , date 92 , and his / her name 93 in said player &# 39 ; s game record forms . each acting investor &# 39 ; s record forms fig9 and 12 are o . k &# 39 ; d and initialed by each player &# 39 ; s acting broker . a player &# 39 ; s acting broker during one game is not necessarily his / her acting broker in the next game . a player &# 39 ; s acting broker is the player sitting at his / her left side . when a large group of players are participating in the game and comprise more than one group , the players determine the consecutive order of play for each group . this order is maintained thru out the game . commission -- a player using an order form in the continuous game , pays $ 10 for each transaction shown therein . fig9 . for example : rules for play applicable to the continuous game may be indicated as follows : a player may buy and / or sell up to 100 shares per trading session . a player may conductg a single 100 shares transaction or may divide the trading allowance into 2 or more transactions in any multiple of 10 shares . a player executes his / her trading transactions by filling in the trading data in the &# 34 ; order form &# 34 ; fig9 . the quantities of the trading transactions are recorded by filling in the total number of shares , and prices are recorded on a per share basis . for example : filled in order form sample fig9 shows a player prepared a form during one trading session showing a purchase of 50 shares 75 of stock traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; for $ 95 per share 76 ; said player also bought 10 shares 75 traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; for $ 105 per share 76 ; said player also sold 20 shares 78 traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; for $ 110 per share 79 ; and also sold 20 shares 78 traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; for $ 120 per share 79 . said player &# 39 ; s order form shows in the purchases column 77 the amounts of $ 4750 and $ 1050 totaling $ 5800 81 ; and sales column 80 showing the amounts $ 2200 and $ 2400 totaling $ 4600 82 . commission 83 at a rate of $ 10 per transaction shows a total of $ 40 in this order form . the players in turn participate in the quotation changes step , as outlined in the foregoing detailed description of the preferred 5 sessions game embodiment of this invention . in addition , one quotation record form fig8 per game is used and filled in by each player , in turn , during the quotation changes step . the prices resulting from the present quotation changes period are recorded in the next trading session column . the prices established during the 5th quotation changes period are the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; prices for the game played . these prices are later transferred to the next quotation record form and are the opening prices to be used in session 1 84 of the following game . for example : filled in sample of the quotation record form fig8 shows a $ 100 start - up , buy or sell price for the stocks traded during session 1 84 under any of the game trading letter symbols ; columns 85 , 86 , 87 and 88 show the changes in the prices for all of the traded letter symbols resulting from the roll of the die during each quotation changes period ; close column 89 shows the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; prices for the game played . an empty space in a trading symbol &# 39 ; s line shows that said trading symbol had not been called out . three dots in a trading symbol &# 39 ; s line space columns 89 and 90 indicate that said trading symbol had not been traded and the starting price remains unchanged ; trading letter symbols &# 34 ; c &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; lines show no early trading and that later in the game these letter symbols were called , the die rolled and the price changes recorded . the difference in the price between the first column 84 and the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; column 89 quotations of each of the stock letter symbols , is the price change 90 for each letter symbol of the game . the players , in turn , participate in the news release period as outlined in the foregoing detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the game of this invention . each player uses one game score form for each 5 sessions game . for example : filled in sample fig1 shows a player completed his / her form as follows : &# 34 ; quantities carried over &# 34 ; column 95 down the line shows said player &# 39 ; s entire portfolio holdings at the end of the previous game . said player &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; owned &# 34 ; shares recorded in plain numbers and said player &# 39 ; s shares &# 34 ; sold short &# 34 ; recorded in encircled numbers . &# 34 ; trading session &# 34 ; columns show said player recorded , in the corresponding stock symbol line and session number columns , his / her current game trading data as shown in his / her 5 current order forms , using quantity data only . buy data recorded in plain numbers and sell data recorded in encircled numbers . column 96 shows said player during session 1 bought 50 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; and 50 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; k &# 34 ;; during session 2 97 said player bought 10 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; and 90 shares under letter symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;; said player , during session 3 98 sold 10 shares under letter symbol &# 34 ; b &# 34 ;, also , sold 50 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ;, and sold 20 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; i &# 34 ;, and also bought 20 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;; during session 4 98 said player sold &# 34 ; short &# 34 ; 10 shares of stock traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; n &# 34 ;, bought 50 shares to replace some stock previously sold &# 34 ; short &# 34 ; under letter symbol &# 34 ; p &# 34 ; and bought 40 shares under letter symbol &# 34 ; u &# 34 ;, during session 5 100 said player bought 50 shares traded under letter symbol &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; and sold 50 shares under letter symbol &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;. said sample &# 34 ; game score &# 34 ; form also shows that said player up - dated his / her portfolio holdings using the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; qty column 101 as follows : letter symbol &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; line 109 recorded data as follows : no shares carried over from previous game , 10 shares bought during session 2 and 10 shares sold during session 3 leaving a total of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; qty . column ; letter symbol &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; line 110 shows 60 owned shares carried over and 50 shares bought totaling 110 shares in the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; qty . column ; letter symbol &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; line shows 50 owned shares carried over column 95 and 50 shares sold during session 3 leaving no balance ; letter symbol &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; line 112 shows 20 owned shares carried over , 20 shares sold during session 3 and 50 shares bought during session 5 leaving a total of 50 owned shares in the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; qty . column 101 ; down the line said player &# 39 ; s portfolio holdings had been up - dated to show said player &# 39 ; s entire portfolio holdings in the &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; qty . column 101 to be carried over to the following game score form fig1 to be recorded in the quantities carried over column 95 for continuing playing . &# 34 ; close &# 34 ; price column 102 , shows the closing prices at the end of said game for the stocks represented by the letter symbols related to said player &# 39 ; s up - dated portfolio column 101 . said closing prices are recorded in said game &# 34 ; quotation record &# 34 ; form fig8 column 103 shows said player &# 39 ; s portfolio number of shares owned multiplied by the &# 34 ; closing &# 34 ; price and valued at $ 12 , 650 ; $ 6 , 500 ; $ 16 , 500 ; $ 12 , 000 ; $ 3 , 600 and $ 2 , 000 resulting in a total 105 of $ 53 , 250 . short sales column 104 shows recorded values of $ 2 , 100 : $ 6 , 000 and $ 1 , 150 totaling $ 9 , 250 in 106 . this form serves as a current status of a player &# 39 ; s paper score updated thru the last game played . in this form , the player records the latest game results , accumulates the figures and carries them over from game to game . each player uses one cumulative record form for each 5 sessions game . for example : filled in sample fig1 shows a player completed his / her form as follows : line 1 to line 5 show purchases and sales amounts from said player &# 39 ; s 5 trading order forms fig9 filled in during the 5 sessions of this game . lines 8 , 11 , 14 and 17 show carried over amounts for each of these items from said player &# 39 ; s previous game cumulative record form fig1 , lines 10 , 13 , 16 and 19 respectively . line 9 shows said player totaled the commissions in his / her 5 trading order forms fig9 for this game and recorded the total thereon . line 12 shows said player &# 39 ; s total purchases from line 6 . line 18 shows any income credit that said player received from &# 34 ; news cards &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; green chips &# 34 ; dividends during the game . lines 10 , 13 , 16 and 19 show said player added on the &# 34 ; carried over &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; this game &# 34 ; recorded amounts for each one of these items and recorded each total on the &# 34 ; cumulative &# 34 ; lines therein . these recorded cumulative amounts are later carried over to said player &# 39 ; s next game cumulative record form fig1 , on lines 8 , 11 , 14 and 17 for continuing playing . line 24 shows said player &# 39 ; s portfolio assets value from said player &# 39 ; s game score form fig1 , regular trading line 105 . ( said player &# 39 ; s game score form not illustrated herein ). line 25 shows said player &# 39 ; s portfolio liabilities value from said player &# 39 ; s game score form fig1 , short trading line 106 . line 26 shows amounts from line 20 , 22 and 25 added and the total recorded thereon . line 27 shows lines 21 , 23 and 24 added and the total recorded thereon . line 28 shows said player &# 39 ; s up - dated credit amount from line 27 . line 29 shows said player &# 39 ; s up - dated charge amount from line 26 . line 30 shows said player deducted line 29 from line 28 to arrive at said player &# 39 ; s gain score up - dated thru this game . if line 29 amount is larger than line 28 amount , the the credits amount is deducted from the charges amount and the difference is recorded and bracketed thereon to show a loss score . actual score -- an actual score is achieved only after a player has liquidated his / her entire portfolio holdings in accordance with the instructions for play . each player at the end of the 5 sessions game completes his / her game score form fig1 and his / her cumulative record form fig1 . said forms are o . k &# 39 ; d and initialled by each player &# 39 ; s acting broker . the game re - opens with the same quotations and game average figure as it had previously closed at . each player transfers his / her entire portfolio holdings number of shares from his / her game score fig1 column 101 to the new game score form column 95 to be used during the current game . each player also transfers his / her cumulative records from his / her cumulative record form fig1 lines 10 , 13 , 16 and 19 to the new cumulative record form to be used during the current game lines 8 , 11 , 14 and 17 respectively . each player participating in the &# 34 ; continuous game &# 34 ; decides how many 5 sessions games to play . each player plans his / her moves which offer the best means of winning the game independently from the other players . each player liquidating his / her entire portfolio holdings with a profit wins the game . the player with the highest actual score on record is the champion until another player finishes his / her own game with a higher score . a separate championship record form fig8 b is maintained for players participating in the 5 sessions game and for players participating in the continuous game of this invention . when a player &# 39 ; s portfolio holdings number of shares at the beginning of the 5 sessions game is under 1000 shares , and the player wishes to liquidate his / her entire portfolio in order to achieve an actual score , he / she may , during one session or over a period of 5 sessions of the game , liquidate his / her entire portofolio . mixed transactions of buy and sell orders are permitted . the outlined detailed description of the 5 sessions game preferred embodiment of this invention and the continuous game version may be practiced together during the course of the same game . for example : a player may use the trading play pieces fig3 and the game currency fig6 d during the play of the continuous game , said player terminates his / her participation in the game , as outlined in the preferred embodiment of this invention . it is to be understood that multiple variations of the features of the trading game of this invention and method of continuing playing have &# 34 ; become &# 34 ; apparent in the light of the foregoing disclosure . any variations described within the foregoing specifications have been introduced as examples and are not to be considered limiting in any way . accordingly , it is understood that the game of this invention may be practiced and the method of continuing playing of this invention , may be employed with changes and modifications from those that have been specifically disclosed herein ; and that each specific term herein includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose , including the various features of novelty herein set forth , taken either singly or in &# 34 ; combination &# 34 ; and which have been introduced by means of illustrations and are not intended to be limiting in any way .	0
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below while referring to the drawings attached . fig3 and 4d show schematically the configuration of a semiconductor memory device according to a first embodiment of the invention , which has the memory cell section s 1 and the capacitor section s 2 on a semiconductor substrate . floating - gate type transistors , which constitute memory cells , are arranged in the memory cell section s 1 . capacitors are arranged in the capacitor section s 2 , in which the section s 2 is divided into the first subsection s 2 a and the second subsection s 2 b . the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a are designed to be applied with a first voltage . the capacitors in the second subsections s 2 b are designed to be applied with a second voltage higher than the first voltage . one of the capacitors in the subsections s 2 a and one of the capacitors in the subsection s 2 b are shown in fig3 for simplification of description . the semiconductor memory device according to the first embodiment of fig3 and 4d is fabricated in the following way . first , as shown in fig4 a , a sio 2 layer ( not shown ) with a thickness of 3 nm to 20 nm is formed on the surface of a p - type semiconductor substrate ( e . g ., a single - crystal silicon substrate ) 10 . a sin x layer ( not shown ) with a thickness of 100 nm to 200 nm is formed on the sio 2 layer and is patterned to have a specific plan shape . then , a sio 2 layer is selectively formed on the exposed surface of the substrate 10 from the patterned sin x layer , forming an isolation dielectric 14 . the isolation dielectric 14 thus formed defines active regions 10 a on the substrate 10 . then , a first gate dielectric layer 12 with a thickness of 5 nm to 15 nm is selectively formed on the exposed surface of the substrate 10 in the active regions 10 a by a thermal oxidation process . an n - type polysilicon layer with a thickness of approximately 50 nm to 200 nm , which is doped with an appropriate dopant such as phosphorus ( p ), is formed over the entire substrate 10 to cover the isolation dielectric 14 and the active regions 10 a . after a patterned resist film 18 is formed on the polysilicon layer , the polysilicon layer is selectively etched to form floating gates 20 on the gate dielectric layer 12 in the memory cell section s 1 and lower electrodes 22 on the isolation dielectric 14 in the capacitor section s 2 using the film 18 as a mask . in this etching process , recesses 23 are formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a to be applied with the relatively lower first voltage . the depth of the recesses 23 is equal to the thickness of the lower electrodes 22 . no recesses are formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the second subsection s 2 b to be applied with the relatively higher second voltage . the state at this stage is shown in fig4 a . the above - described process steps are the same as those in the method of fabricating the prior - art semiconductor memory device shown in fig2 a to 2 d except for the recesses 23 are formed in the lower electrodes 22 . after the patterned resist film 18 is removed , a dielectric layer 24 with a thickness of approximately 10 nm to 20 nm is formed over the substrate 10 by a thermal oxidation or cvd process , covering the floating gates 20 in the memory cell section s 1 and the lower electrodes 22 in the capacitor section s 2 . the layer 24 has a three - layer structure ; i . e ., the layer 124 is formed by a sio 2 sublayer , a sin x sublayer , and a sio 2 sublayer stacked in this order . thus , the layer 24 is a so - called “ ono ” layer . next , an n - type polysilicon layer 26 with a thickness of approximately 100 nm to 200 nm is formed on the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 over the entire substrate 10 . after a patterned resist film 28 is formed on the polysilicon layer 26 , the polysilicon layer 26 and the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 are selectively etched to define the memory cell section s 1 and the capacitor section s 2 on the substrate 10 using the film 28 as a mask . the state at this stage is shown in fig4 b . as seen from fig4 b , the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the memory cell sections s 1 forms a second gate dielectric layer 24 a and at the same time , the remaining polysilicon layer 26 in the memory cell section s 1 forms control gates 30 . the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the capacitor section s 2 forms a capacitor dielectric layer 24 b . subsequently , after the patterned resist film 28 is removed , a patterned resist film 32 is formed on the polysilicon layer 26 thus patterned . then , the polysilicon layer 26 is selectively etched to define the capacitors in the capacitor section s 2 using the film 32 as a mask . the state at this stage is shown in fig4 c . as seen from fig4 c , the remaining polysilicon layer 26 in the capacitor section s 2 is divided to form upper electrodes 34 . thereafter , the patterned resist film 32 is removed , resulting in the structure shown in fig4 d . specifically , in the memory cell section s 1 , the first gate dielectric layer 12 , the floating gate 20 , the second gate dielectric layer 24 a , and the control gate 30 in each of the active regions 10 a constitute the floating - gate type transistor . in the capacitor section s 2 , the lower electrode 22 , the common capacitor dielectric 24 b , and the upper electrode 34 constitute the capacitor . as explained above , with the semiconductor memory device according to the first embodiment , each of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a has the recesses 23 formed on the lower electrode 22 , thereby increasing its capacitance . due to the formation of the recesses 23 , the withstand voltage of the capacitor dielectric 24 b of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a lowers compared with the case of no recesses being formed . however , the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a are designed to be applied with the first voltage lower than the second voltage . as a result , the formation of the recesses 23 will not cause any disadvantage relating to the withstand voltage . on the other hand , each of the capacitors in the second subsection s 2 b , which are designed to be applied with the second voltage higher than the first voltage , has no recess . therefore , the withstand voltage of the capacitor dielectric 24 b is prevented from degrading in the subsection s 2 b . accordingly , the capacitance of the capacitors can be increased without degrading the withstand voltage and without increasing the chip area . in other words , the chip area of the capacitor section s 2 is reduced . moreover , with the fabrication method according to the first embodiment , the recesses 23 are additionally formed in the etching process of selectively etching the lower electrodes 22 in the first subsection s 2 a of the capacitor sections s 2 . thus , no additional process step needs to be added to the prior - art fabrication method shown in fig2 a to 2 d . this means that the method can be carried out comparatively easily with existing fabrication facilities at a low cost . fig5 and 6d show schematically the configuration of a semiconductor memory device according to a second embodiment of the invention . this device has the same configuration as the device according to the first embodiment except that the size of the upper electrodes 34 is smaller than the lower electrodes 22 for the capacitors in both the first and second subsections s 2 a and s 2 b of the capacitor sections s 2 . therefore , the explanation about the same configuration as the first embodiment is omitted here for simplification of description . the semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment of fig5 and 6d is fabricated in the following way . first , as shown in fig6 a , in the same way as the first embodiment , the isolation dielectric 14 for defining the active regions 10 a is formed on the surface of the substrate 10 . then , the first gate dielectric layer 12 is selectively formed on the exposed surface of the substrate 10 in the active regions 10 a . an n - type polysilicon layer with a thickness of approximately 50 nm to 200 nm is formed over the entire substrate 10 to cover the isolation dielectric 14 and the active regions 10 a . after a patterned resist film 18 is formed on the polysilicon layer , the polysilicon layer is selectively etched to form floating gates 20 on the gate dielectric layer 12 in the memory cell section s 1 and lower electrodes 22 on the isolation dielectric 14 in the capacitor section s 2 using the film 18 as a mask . in this etching process , the recesses 23 are formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a to be applied with the relatively lower first voltage . no recesses are formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the second subsection s 2 b to be applied with the relatively higher second voltage . the state at this stage is shown in fig6 a . the above - described process steps are the same as those in the method of fabricating the semiconductor memory device of the first embodiment as shown in fig4 a to 4 d except that the lower electrodes 22 are formed to be larger than the first embodiment . after the patterned resist film 18 is removed , a dielectric layer 24 with a thickness of approximately 10 nm to 20 nm is formed over the substrate 10 by a thermal oxidation or cvd process , covering the floating gates 20 in the memory cell section s 1 and the lower electrodes 22 in the capacitor section s 2 . next , an n - type polysilicon layer 26 with a thickness of approximately 100 nm to 200 nm is formed on the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 over the entire substrate 10 . after a patterned resist film 28 is formed on the polysilicon layer 26 , the polysilicon layer 26 and the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 are selectively etched to define the memory cell section s 1 and the capacitor section s 2 on the substrate 10 using the film 28 as a mask . the state at this stage is shown in fig6 b . as seen from fig6 b , the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the memory cell section s 1 forms a second gate dielectric layer 24 a and at the same time , the remaining polysilicon layer 26 in the memory cell section s 1 forms control gates 30 . the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the capacitor section s 2 forms a capacitor dielectric layer 24 b . subsequently , after a patterned resist film 28 is removed , a patterned resist film 32 is formed on the polysilicon layer 26 thus patterned . then , the polysilicon layer 26 is selectively etched to define the capacitors in the capacitor section s 2 using the film 32 as a mask . the state at this stage is shown in fig6 c . as seen from fig6 c , the remaining polysilicon layer 26 in the capacitor section s 2 is divided to form upper electrodes 34 . unlike the first embodiment , as seen from fig6 c , the upper electrodes 34 are considerably narrower than the lower electrodes 22 , which are narrower than the first embodiment . thus , the upper electrodes 34 are not overlapped with the side faces 22 a of the lower electrodes 22 . in other words , the parts of the capacitor dielectric 24 b opposing to the side faces 22 a of the lower electrodes 22 do not provide the capacitor function . this means that the withstand voltage of the capacitor dielectric 24 b can be improved or raised without increasing the thickness of the dielectric 24 b . this is because the parts of the capacitor dielectric 24 b opposing to the side faces 22 a of the lower electrodes 22 tend to be thinner than the parts on the horizontal , upper surfaces of the lower electrodes 22 . thereafter , the patterned resist film 32 is removed , resulting in the structure shown in fig6 d . specifically , in the memory cell section s 1 , the first gate dielectric layer 12 , the floating gate 20 , the second gate dielectric layer 24 a , and the control gate 30 in each of the active regions 10 a constitute the floating - gate type transistor . in the capacitor section s 2 , the lower electrode 22 , the common capacitor dielectric 24 b , and the upper electrode 34 constitute the capacitor . as explained above , with the semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment , in addition to the same advantages as those in the first embodiment , there is an additional advantage that the withstand voltage of the capacitor dielectric 24 b is improved or raised without increasing the thickness of the dielectric 24 b ( i . e ., without degrading the performance of the transistors or memory cells in the memory cell section s 1 ). there is another additional advantage that the no additional process step needs to be added to the prior - art fabrication method shown in fig2 a to 2 d by simply adjusting the area of the upper electrodes 34 . in a variation of the second embodiment , the size of the upper electrodes 34 of the capacitors in only the second subsection s 2 b of the capacitor section s 2 , which are applied with the second voltage higher than the first voltage , is smaller than the lower electrodes 22 for the capacitors . in this case , the upper electrodes 34 of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a of the capacitor section s 2 , which are applied with the first voltage , has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment of fig4 d . there is an additional advantage that the capacitance of the capacitors in the subsection s 2 a is increased . this is because the side faces 22 a are used for capacitor function . in other words , the chip area of the capacitor section s 2 is decreased . in the methods of the above - explained first and second embodiments , the formation of the floating gates 20 in the memory cell section s 1 and the formation of the lower electrodes 22 in the capacitor section s 2 are carried out in the same process step . therefore , it is difficult to leave the conductive material for the floating gates 20 ( and the lower electrodes 22 ) in the recesses 23 . taking this fact into consideration , the formation of the floating gates 20 and the formation of the lower electrodes 22 are carried out in different process steps in the method of the third embodiment . as a result , capacitor function is generated at the bottoms of the recesses 23 of the lower electrodes 22 and thus , there is an additional advantage that the obtainable capacitance of the capacitors is further increased ; in other words , the chip area is decreased . fig7 and 8d show schematically the configuration of a semiconductor memory device according to the third embodiment of the invention . this device has the same configuration as the device according to the first embodiment except that the depth of the recesses 23 of the lower electrodes 22 is smaller than the thickness of the lower electrodes 22 . therefore , the explanation about the same configuration as the first embodiment is omitted here for simplification of description . the semiconductor memory device according to the third embodiment of fig7 and 8d is fabricated in the following way . first , as shown in fig8 a , in the same way as the first embodiment , the isolation dielectric 14 for defining the active regions 10 a is formed on the surface of the substrate 10 . then , the first gate dielectric layer 12 is selectively formed on the exposed surface of the substrate 10 in the active regions 10 a . an n - type polysilicon layer with a thickness of approximately 50 nm to 200 nm is formed over the entire substrate 10 to cover the isolation dielectric 14 and the active regions 10 a . after a patterned resist film 18 is formed on the polysilicon layer , the polysilicon layer is selectively etched to form floating gates 20 on the gate dielectric layer 12 in the memory cell section s 1 and lower electrodes 22 on the isolation dielectric 14 in the capacitor section s 2 using the film 18 as a mask . in this etching process , unlike the method of the first embodiment , the recesses 23 are not formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the first subsection s 2 a to be applied with the relatively lower first voltage . the state at this stage is shown in fig8 a . after the patterned resist film 18 is removed , a patterned resist film 21 is formed on the substrate 10 to cover the floating electrodes 20 and the lower electrodes 22 . using the film 21 as a mask , the lower electrodes 23 are selectively etched , forming the recesses 23 in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors only in the first subsection s 2 a to be applied with the relatively lower first voltage . no recesses are formed in the lower electrodes 22 of the capacitors in the second subsection s 2 b to be applied with the relatively higher second voltage . the state at this stage is shown in fig8 b . at this time , the conductive material for the floating gates 20 and the lower electrodes 22 ( i . e ., the n - type polysilicon film ) is left at the bottoms of the recesses 23 . the thickness of the remaining polysilicon film in the recesses 23 is set as 30 nm to 100 nm . after the patterned resist film 21 is removed , a dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 with a thickness of approximately 10 nm to 20 nm is formed over the substrate 10 by a thermal oxidation or cvd process , covering the floating gates 20 in the memory cell section s 1 and the lower electrodes 22 in the capacitor section s 2 . next , an n - type polysilicon layer 26 with a thickness of approximately 100 nm to 200 nm is formed on the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 over the entire substrate 10 . after a patterned resist film 32 is formed on the polysilicon layer 26 , the polysilicon layer 26 and the dielectric ( ono ) layer 24 are selectively etched to define the memory cell section s 1 and the capacitor section s 2 on the substrate 10 using the film 32 as a mask . the state at this stage is shown in fig8 c . as seen from fig8 c , the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the memory cell section s 1 forms the second gate dielectric layer 24 a and at the same time , the remaining polysilicon layer 26 in the memory cell section s 1 forms the control gates 30 . the remaining dielectric layer 24 in the capacitor section s 2 forms the capacitor dielectric layer 24 b . the remaining layer 26 in the section s 2 forms the upper electrodes 34 of the capacitors . unlike the first embodiment , as seen from fig8 d , the depth of the recesses 23 is less than the thickness of the lower electrodes 22 and therefore , each of the lower electrodes 22 is continuous over its whole area . thus , the capacitor function is generated at the bottoms of the recesses 23 of the lower electrodes 22 . this means that there is an additional advantage that the capacitance is further increased ( or , the chip area is further decreased ) along with the same advantages as those in the first embodiment . it is needless to say that the invention is not limited to the above - described first to third embodiments . any change may be added to the invention . for example , the plan shape of the capacitors in the capacitor section s 2 may be changed optionally . the size , shape and number of the recesses 23 may be changed optionally . while the preferred forms of the present invention have been described , it is to be understood that modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention . the scope of the present invention , therefore , is to be determined solely by the following claims .	7
in one aspect of the present disclosure , a method is provided for the collection and storage of product information in a database from which it can be quickly and efficiently searched by a user and the results displayed . as illustrated in fig1 , the first step 1001 of the method is the collection of product information and associated vendor information from the internet or from other sources . the collecting of product and vendor information can be carried out in a variety of ways . some of the information may already reside at a website server in association with other applications and functions . for example , a vendor &# 39 ; s site will already contain data relating to the vendor and the products sold by the vendor . this data may be retrieved by using known “ scraper ” technology and loaded into a database at step 1002 . the data may be subsequently combined with additional information collected from other sources . for example , the additional information may be collected manually by a human operator at step 1001 who examines various sources such as third - party websites , publications , brochures , manufacturer specification sheets , vendor advertisements , etc ., for pertinent data . the human operator at step 1002 then loads this information into an information storage device such as a database contained on a server . for example , the operator may examine and record the inventory and pricing information displayed on a vendor &# 39 ; s website . alternatively , information may be collected directly from a server controlling the third - party information source . for instance , a vendor may sell or provide a list of its inventory and the prices for the products in the inventory in electronic form . the list then may be transferred directly from the third - party server to the information storage device . as mentioned above , the information also may be obtained automatically through the use of programs that search for desired information on a distributed network such as the internet . scraper programs automatically examine third - party websites and create an output forwarding desired contents of the website to the information storage device . for example , a scraper program can be designed to search the website of a vendor for the prices of products sold by the vendor . the scraper may run either in real time , upon a request by the user , or in batch mode so that the vendor &# 39 ; s prices are periodically examined and stored , such as on a weekly basis . generally , there is a different scraper program for each type of information from each information source . in this way , a scraper can be designed specifically to locate desired information on the third - party website and to interpret the format of this information . the scrapers preferably create an output using extensible markup language (“ xml ”) to return information from the third - party site in a usable format . xml is a web language similar to the standard hypertext markup language (“ html ”), but the xml rules are more complex to allow more varied uses . in particular , xml is more interactive and better suited for electronic commerce because the coding contains markers the simplify the standardization of information over the internet . this feature allows the use of intelligent agents that seek out consistent information and then act on what they find . furthermore , the parsers in xml can be small and fast and can read complex hierarchical structures . the information may be gathered through a combination of all the above methods in order to gather the information in the most efficient manner . as the information is gathered , it is deposited into a storage device such as a database on a server for storage and easy future access . it is well known to use databases to store and organize data . for instance , the following example shows a database containing information on two vendors that sell the same product . in this example , the same product is sold at vendor a and vendor b . vendor a charges $ 1 for the product , has the product in stock , and has a vendor rating of 4 . 5 . the database further indicates that a profile for vendor a is stored in the file , a . doc . similarly , vendor b sells the product for $ 2 , does not have the product in stock , has a vendor rating of 4 . 3 , and has a profile stored in the file b . doc . the information collected will typically contain one or more product identifiers , such as a upc , a manufacturer model number , a distributor part number , a vendor - specific sku , etc . the information will further include data such as the product name , type of product ( domain ), and various attributes of the product with specific values for each listed attribute . in order to have the ability to perform a parameterized or even accurate search on such information , it is necessary to have consistent and normalized data in the database . for example , a search for “ xga ” will not retrieve as a “ hit ” data for a laptop computer in which screen size is specified as “ 1024 . times . 768 ,” even though these two terms refer to the identical type of display . accordingly , the present disclosure provides a normalization engine that translates or normalizes a list of attributes and values describing an object ( product ) into a list containing a canonical representation for each attribute and value , in addition to a canonical domain describing the product in general ( such as “ notebook ” to describe a portable computer , which also may be identified as a “ laptop ” computer ). for example , the domain “ laptop ” would be normalized to refer to the domain “ notebook ,” where “ notebook ” would be selected by the data entry operator as the canonical representation . similarly , attribute / value pairs , such as “ screen_size - xga ” would be normalized to “ display res = 1024 . times . 768 .” this is carried out by maintaining a list of aliases or translations for canonical domains , attributes and values in the database . each known alias for a canonical domain term , attribute term , and value term is listed in the alias list in the database with a corresponding entry identifying the canonical representation into which the alias will be translated as the object or product information is being loaded into the database . an operator may add entries by detecting new synonyms for a canonical term in an object file and indicating the canonical term for the detected synonym . all existing occurrences of the synonym term in the database are then translated into the indicated canonical term , and the synonym is then added to the alias list , such that subsequent data entries containing that synonym will thereafter automatically be translated into the canonical representation for entry into the database . before the loaded information at step 1002 can be assimilated into the database , it is first determined at step 1003 whether the information pertains to an existing product already stored in the database . if so , the new information is merged into the listings for the existing product . in case of a conflict with pre - existing information for the product , a choice may be made as to which information should take precedence . if the new information can be confirmed as corresponding to updated information with respect to the stored information , then the new information may be written in place of the pre - existing information in the database . otherwise , the pre - existing information can be selected to take precedence over the newly loaded information . fig2 shows a product map or table 2000 containing a list of known product identifiers 2001 , and their corresponding core product identifier 2002 . the core product identifier can be an arbitrary integer selected by the operator to identify a particular product , which may be known by various identifiers , as mentioned above . in the example , both product id # 2 and product id # n refer to the same core product , as indicated by the same core product identifier , 790 , contained in the map . at step 1004 it is determined whether or not the product identifier contained in the new information is found in the product map 2000 . if not , at step 1005 a new product listing is created in the database with the associated attribute / value pairs for the product . when a new domain , attribute or value is added to the database it is marked as “ new .” new data items will not be displayed as part of a search result until an editor or operator has reviewed them to determine their appropriate display representation , sorting order , and whether or not they can be identified as aliases for pre - existing information in the database . if the identifier is found , at step 1006 normalization of the domains , attributes and values is initiated . it is noted that translations are performed in a product - specific manner ; thus , the attribute alias list for the attribute “ display_res ” for a laptop does not apply to a pda device or a desktop pc . similarly , the value alias list for the value “ 1024 . times . 768 ” for a laptop would be specific to the attribute “ display_res ” within the laptop domain and would not apply to a value for an attribute . thus , at step 1007 the domain name of the object is compared against a domain alias list , and translated into its canonical representation as indicated in the alias list . once the canonical domain name is obtained , each of the attributes is compared with the alias list of attributes associated with the canonical domain name map at step 1008 , and each value of the attribute / value pair is then compared with the canonical attribute map at step 1009 . at step 1010 it is determined whether additional attribute / value pairs exist in the new information that need to be normalized . if so , the process returns to step 1008 . if not , the process ends at step 1011 . alternatively , all of the attributes can be translated together at step 1008 , and then all of the values associated with each attribute can be translated together at step 1009 . according to the disclosure , all information in the entire database can be updated to normalize data already in the database in real time as the aliases are added to the database , by maintaining the translation rules together with the data set in the database . additionally , the normalization process enables all attribute information to be normalized to a common unit base ( e . g ., normalizing all units of length into millimeters , etc .). an example of such a domain map 3000 is shown in fig3 . each core product identifier 3001 has a canonical domain 3002 , which in turn is associated with a number of canonical attributes 3003 , 3004 , 3005 . for each of the attributes an alias list is maintained containing all known aliases for the canonical attribute . the same applies to values for each attribute . the values are sorted in numerical order where possible ; for values which are not simple numbers , the sorting order can be defined by the operator on a per attribute basis . by identifying the same attribute values as pointing to the same product , it is possible to effect product and domain merges in the database automatically by defining a threshold overlap level by which attributes for separate product records in the database are the same . once the two ( or more ) separately stored product records have been identified as pertaining to the same product , the records can be merged into a single record in the database containing all of the product attributes in one location . the domain editor is a java application user interface used to manipulate data in the database , such as setting the display characteristics for the domain and attribute strings , allowing the operator to translate and normalize attribute and value information , editing of data values , merging attributes , and merging domains . by setting a threshold level of overlap , the normalization engine can automatically suggest to a user possible domain merges or product merges . further , if the product information contains multiple identifiers , each of the identifiers can be compared with the stored product identifiers , and any new identifiers may be added to the map as being associated with or mapped to the canonical representation found for at least one of the identifiers . this can be done since it is known that all the identifiers pertain to the same product , as they were bundled together in the information collected . in this way , the database can be made to “ learn ” new product aliases as more and more information is loaded into it , thereby associating more and more of the information stored in the database as information is added . an association engine makes it possible to associate previously orphaned pieces of data with product records , as more aliases are added and associations made in the database . as illustrated in fig1 , the present disclosure provides a name database 10 containing data locations 1 for storing multiple different identifiers for each of a number of products . the name database 10 may be an array with columns 20 that represent product attributes , and rows 30 that represent the different identifiers for each attribute . the name database 10 is further characterized by an indication of the relationships between the different identifiers in separate classes . for example , fig1 illustrates arrows 60 that link the different existing identifiers for a similar product . the direction of the arrow 60 in fig1 shows a horizontal pattern used for hierarchical databases . however , arrow 60 may travel in any direction , in accordance with the possible relationships among the data in the name database 10 . a name database , linking to information found at several different sources in this example , the manufacturer produces two models , model r that is red and model b that is blue . however , the manufacturer does not provide information on the prices of the models . vendor 1 sells a model with a sku of 10 for $ 2 and vendor 2 sells a model with a sku of 100 for $ 3 . however , neither vendor 1 nor vendor 2 indicates which model corresponds to the sku employed by the vendor . only through accessing the naming database can a consumer recognize that vendor 1 sells model r and vendor 2 sells model b . in this way , the naming database serves as a modern rosetta stone to associate the proprietary nomenclature from one source of product information with another source . in the embodiment demonstrated in example 1 , the name database includes no information on the products , but instead only provides the identifiers and their interrelationships . it should be appreciated however , that the naming database could also include product information , as seen in the following example . in this example , the name database has combined the databases of example 1 , and information on a new model g is provided . as a result , the illustrated hierarchical database provides all known information on models r , b , and g . new model g , as indicated in the database , has a green color , costs $ 3 and is available as sku 20 at vendor 1 and as sku 200 at vendor 2 . in this example , new types of information are added to the database as additional columns and additional products are added as new rows . in this example , as well as in example 1 , the relationships between the product identifiers are defined by the rows 30 and columns 20 . in particular , different identifiers for the same product appear in the same row 30 , and identifiers for different products from the same source appear in the same column 40 . in addition , fig1 illustrates product information columns 40 in the name database 10 . as described above , the product information database 10 may include virtually any type of data related to the product . for example , the product information columns 40 may contain links to third party reviews of the particular product or to an internet discussion regarding the product . conversely , the product information may provide information on similar , competing products or indicate possible vendors for purchase to the product . the product information may further include related advertisements or pictures of the product . as seen in the cost column of example 2 , data entries may be redundant in a hierarchical base . to address this concern , the present disclosure preferably uses a relational database , as illustrated in the following example . with this relational database , a vector in the form of [ model , sku 1 , sku 2 , color , cost ] shows the relative relationship between the data in each column , rather than merely looking horizontally . in this example , the relationship vectors are [ 1 , 1 , 0 , 1 , 1 ], [ 2 , 0 , 1 , 2 , 2 ], and [ 3 , 2 , 2 , 3 , 2 ]. in other words , [ 1 , 1 , 0 , 1 , 1 ], corresponds to the first model ( r ), which has the first listed value of sku 1 ( 10 ), no value of sku 2 , the first listed color ( red ) and the first listed cost ($ 2 ). it should be appreciated that other database formations are possible and are well known in the field . the database structures illustrated in fig1 and the above examples may be easily modified to form different structures that perform the same function . for example , the name database 10 may be restructured so that new rows contain new data types and new columns contain additional members of known data types . similarly , the name database 10 may be multi - dimensioned . for instance , the name database 10 may have three dimensions : one to store the different products ; a second to store the different names for the same product ; and a third to store the various data about the product . in one embodiment , name database 10 assigns a universal sku 50 to every product . the universal sku 50 may be , for example , an alphanumeric code . in this way , the name database 10 has a system for labeling the various products , which does not have to be altered as changes are made to the identifiers for the product . in another embodiment , the name database 10 is formed using sql to permit easy additions and changes to the name database 10 . in order to make use of the normalized and associated information that is stored in the database , it must be capable of being queried by clients and presented or displayed in a readily understandable format . queries against a standard relational database unfortunately do not perform satisfactorily to accommodate a large number of simultaneous clients ( as is typically experienced by a website server ), or to present a sophisticated user interface or display , even for a small number of users . consequently , according to another aspect of the present disclosure a product information server is provided which enables the information to be traversed and compared with query terms quickly . according to this aspect of the disclosure , the object information is compiled into a compact , flat file format . the compact file format takes each character string for each piece of information and “ tokenizes ” it by assigning to it a unique integer . although it is possible that the token may be arbitrarily chosen , according to the preferred embodiment of the disclosure the value of the integer assigned to the character string is equal to the offset of the location of the string in the data block . in this way , each token points to the beginning of its corresponding character string in the block . consequently , the server is able to go immediately to the location of the start of the character string in the block based on the value of the token , so as to retrieve the string for display . the character strings and unique integer values are placed in a look - up table 4100 as shown in fig4 b . each character string is stored in a field 4102 which is associated with a unique integer value field 4101 . in the example , the integer 2 identifies the character string “ pentium ®”, while the character string “ cpu ” is identified by integer 6598 . each of the tokens representing each product in the database is then written into a file 4001 having a format as shown in fig4 a . conventionally , information to be presented to a user in a table format is arranged in a file in product sequence order , with each product name being followed by all of the attribute data associated with the product . when organized into a table format , each row represents a specific product , each column represents a specific attribute of the product , and each intersection of row and column contains a token for a character string corresponding to the attribute value . such a file is sometimes referred to as being in “ row major ” format . when carrying out a parameter search on such a file , a great deal of irrelevant information is retrieved from the database ( usually on a hard disk ) and placed into memory . this has the double negative effect of using up the memory resources of the system and making the search take longer because of the need to scan through irrelevant information . for example , if a search is desired for laptop computers having a minimum amount of memory , according to the conventional database file format all attribute information is retrieved for all laptop products , in addition to the attribute search term specified . thus , the search requires a substantial amount of time because all the irrelevant attribute information pertaining to each product in the database must be traversed in the course of identifying the pertinent attribute information specified by the user . according to the disclosure , instead of arranging information in “ row major ” format , the product information server extracts the information from the native database and organizes it in “ column major ” format , wherein all attribute values of like attributes are arranged in sequence adjacent to each other . for example , all monitor display sizes are arranged next to each other , then all display resolutions arranged next to each other , then all hard disk sizes are arranged next to each other , then all processor clock speeds are arranged next to each other , etc . in this way , an attribute - based search may be performed much faster , by allowing the search to jump immediately to the start of the location of the relevant attribute specified by the user , and to retrieve all the relevant attribute information and only the relevant attribute information into memory to perform the search . as shown in fig4 a , n prod 4003 is an integer identifying the number of products in the file , n attr 4005 is an integer identifying the number n of attributes in the file . each of the n attributes is represented by an attribute value integer “ attr i mval ” 4007 . the integer 4007 identifies the attribute . each of the values in turn are identified by the “ val i prod i ” integers 4009 . additionally , an attribute may be multivalued , such that the integers 4007 would correspond to an offset for an “ mval list i ” 4013 , which is an n - tuple , each of the n integers in the n - tuple pointing to a separate value of the attribute in the look - up table . in a query , the file 4001 is traversed and all corresponding integers are retrieved . the associated character strings are then obtained from the look - up table 4100 and are appropriately formatted for display at the client . as shown in fig5 , the present disclosure provides a system 400 to implement the method of the disclosure to achieve the desired information display . in particular , system 400 comprises a server 410 that contains a storage device 420 for storing the desired vendor and product information . the server also contains a database engine 425 that adds collected information data to the storage device 420 and creates an output using the information stored in the storage device 420 . the system 400 further includes a user &# 39 ; s processing device 450 , such as a personal computer , and a connection 440 to allow the transfer of information between the server 410 and the processing device 450 . the processing device 450 includes a web browser 460 which provides an output to a display device 480 , such as a display monitor , and which accepts an input from an input device 470 , such as a keyboard or mouse . in addition to the storage device 420 , the server 410 also optionally contains scraper programs 430 for the collection of data , as previously described . the connection 440 is preferably a distributed network , such as the internet , to allow a plurality of users to have simultaneous connection to the server . fig6 illustrates a screen shot of a website containing information on a product specified by a user as being of interest and vendors that sell that product . the website displays a name 10 for the product , a list price 30 , a composite user rating 40 based upon user ratings 45 in various categories 46 , a ranking 50 of the product in a class 55 of similar products , features 60 of the product , vendors 70 who sell the product , a price 80 for the product at each of the vendors &# 39 ; sites , user reviews 90 , and access to industry reviews 100 . the name 10 is generally the manufacturer and model name but may be any identifier used for the product . the name 10 may be carried over from a third - party site or arbitrarily created at the website . similarly , the list price 30 is a number either given by the product &# 39 ; s manufacturer or distributor or arbitrarily assigned by the website . the list price 30 alerts a user to the relative value of the product to allow better evaluation of the prices 80 offered by the vendors 70 . for instance , a computer selling for $ 500 is generally a good value if its list price is $ 1000 , but not if the list price is $ 100 . while the list price is generally higher than the actual price offered 80 by the vendors , this is not necessarily true , especially with rare , collectable items that may sell for much more than the list price . the consumer product rating is formed , as described above , by surveying a plurality of users and combining these ratings . as illustrated in fig6 , some of the vendors 70 may be identified prominently , so as to encourage the user to patronize these vendors . as further illustrated in fig6 , the website may optionally display any of the following : an image 20 of the product ; a rate - it - now display 110 to allow the user to add a user review 90 and rating 40 of the product ; a helpfulness evaluation 120 of the information ; complementary products 130 that may be purchased along with the desired product ; or a discussion link 140 to usenet and / or other discussion areas regarding the product and / or related products . because of limitations on the size of the display , the website may not all display of the product and vendor information at the same time . the information is then nested , and the consumer may access this information by performing an action such as clicking a pointing device ( mouse ) over one of the displayed objects . for example , to find more information about one of the vendors 70 , the user selects the vendor to be redirected to a sub - page , as shown in fig7 a . the sub - page then provides more specific information for the vendor 70 , such as the vendor &# 39 ; s address 71 ; telephone number 72 ; shipping practices 73 ; payment policy 74 ; return policy 75 ; a rating of the vendor 76 ; reviews of the vendor 77 ; and an indication 78 of the product name 10 , product prices 80 , and availability 150 . the website may allow the user to select a product by reviewing a list of product categories 180 , as illustrated in fig7 b . one the user selects a category of products , the user may then select a particular product from a product list 190 from that class , as shown in fig7 c . alternatively , the product list 190 may be formed by displaying the highest rated products 170 . as illustrated in fig8 , the website may further contain a decision guide 300 which asks the user general questions 310 such as the user &# 39 ; s age , occupation , and hobbies . the decision guide then uses this information to select a product for the user . this feature is helpful for a user who may not have sufficient technical knowledge to select a product based upon the features of that product . in this way , the product list 190 is formed to meet the specific needs of the user . for a user who understands the product features , the website may assist the user in identifying products containing user - desired features . a narrow - your - choices option 160 of fig6 redirects the user to a display , such as illustrated in fig9 . the narrow - your - choices option 160 asks the user to specify or select one or more feature options 161 for the product of interest . after the user has selected the desired feature options 161 , the user sends a “ display products ” instruction 162 to the website to display the products meeting the chosen feature options 161 . in this way , the product list 190 can be formed with products having the desired features . the disclosure thus having been described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure . any and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	6
reference is now made to fig1 - 13 , in which like numerals designate like elements throughout the several views . generally , the present invention relates to innerspring constructions such as those , designated by the reference numeral 2 in fig1 - 4 , 12 and 13 . this invention also relates to methods for producing innerspring constructions 2 such as the preferred method illustrated in fig5 a - 5d . additionally , the present invention is directed to apparatus , designated generally by the numeral 10 , for use in producing innerspring constructions 2 such as the apparatus illustrated in fig6 - 11 . referring now to fig1 - 4 , it should be noted that strings 20 , 20 &# 39 ;, and 20 &# 34 ; of pocketed coils 11 are aligned in adjacent rows and are assembled together to form part of an innerspring construction 2 , which may be provided with border wires and upholstery as known in the art to create an innerspring mattress . when installed , each string of coils 20 is aligned generally along a string plane &# 34 ; x &# 34 ;, best illustrated in fig1 with the longitudinal axes of the individual spring coils 11 lying substantially within such plane x . as shown in fig1 the strings of coils 20 also include longitudinal , outwardly - extending , top seams 12 . the top seams 12 of the pocketed coils 11 in each row of coil strings 20 are offset in a &# 34 ; zig - zag &# 34 ; fashion so that the &# 34 ; seam plane &# 34 ; y of each particular individual pocketed coil 11 is at an angle &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to the string plane x of its associated string . in one preferred embodiment , this angle a is approximately 30 degrees . other angles are contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for purposes of this application a &# 34 ; seam plane &# 34 ; of a pocketed coil is a plane which includes the central longitudinal axis of the coil , as well as including the longitudinal axis of each of the two seams on each side of the pocketed coil . referencing fig2 - 4 , sections of an innerspring construction 2 according to the present invention are shown , which include spring coils 8 shown in fig3 enclosed within pocketing material 9 to form the pocketed coils 11 , such as pocketed coils 11a , 11b , 11c , and 11d best illustrated in fig2 and 4 . as shown in fig4 pocketed coil 11a is bonded to coil 11c which is positioned in the next adjacent column of the next adjacent row of the construction 2 by a &# 34 ; hot melt &# 34 ; or other suitable glue , weld or appropriate interconnecting bond 14 . pocketed coil 11b is likewise bonded to the next adjacent coil 11d in the next adjacent column of the next adjacent row of the construction 2 by a bond 14 formed by gluing , welding or the like . no glue or other bonding material is present at contact points such as 13 illustrated in fig4 . a transverse pocket seam 15 is formed between pocketed coils 11a and 11b , and another transverse pocket seam 15 is formed between pocketed coils 11c and 11d . in the method of the present invention as best illustrated in fig5 a - 5d , a plurality of finite strings 20 of pocketed coils 11 , are assembled to create an innerspring construction 2 which may be upholstered by techniques known in the art . as illustrated in fig5 a - 5d , a string 20 of pocketed coils 11 is &# 34 ; snapped &# 34 ; into place by traversing coil roller assembly 44 and held by a plurality of generally c - shaped harp members 30 which number one more than half the number of pocketed coils 11 . the coil string 20 is then urged into biasing contact with a previously - processed stationary string 20 , and held in place by an appropriate bonding technique known in the art such as by gluing . the string 20 is then released from the harps 30 by a stripper plate 34 and the process is repeated . as best illustrated in fig6 a preferred embodiment of the apparatus 10 of the present invention can be seen for assembling coil strings 20 into an innerspring construction 2 and for bonding the strings 20 together with glue . in fig6 the apparatus 10 is viewed from its left side , with the coil strings 20 being viewed from their ends , as the strings 20 travel through the apparatus 10 without a substantial change in orientation . a coil string 20 is moved from a position 22 outside and above the apparatus 10 ( shown in phantom ) to a position at 22a inside an upwardly - opening loading chute 36 , which is defined at its bottom by a retractable floor gate 37 , which supports the weight of the string 20 at position 22a . the gate 37 is periodically pivoted out of the way from its &# 34 ; loading &# 34 ; to its &# 34 ; discharge &# 34 ; position by one or more air cylinders 45 or other means known in the art . when the gate 37 is retracted , the string 20 drops under the influence of gravity atop a slightly inclined supporting surface 46 in front of the harps 30 and in a traversing path of the coil roller assembly 44 . at this point the coil string 20 is in position to be inserted into the harps 30 . the harps 30 are part of one of two harp assemblies 48 , each of which includes upper and lower mounting bars or rods 31 ( seen in fig7 ) interconnected with the harps 30 . the harp assemblies 48 are rigidly but detachably mounted to a pusher bar assembly 32 . two harp assemblies 48 are used so that the harp assemblies may be more easily manipulated by the operator during the changeover process described later . referring now to fig5 a - 5d and fig7 the pusher bar assembly 32 is movable forwardly and rearwardly relative to the frame 49 of the apparatus 10 to bring two pocketed coil strings 20 , 20 &# 39 ; into contact for gluing . the pusher bar assembly 32 includes a frame 51 and a stripper plate 34 and is interconnected with the harp assemblies 48 . the stripper plate 34 is mounted for periodic forward and rearward movement relative to the frame 51 of the pusher bar assembly 32 . the forward movement of the stripper plate 34 in conjunction with rearward movement of the pusher bar assembly 32 as illustrated by arrows in fig5 d causes the coil string 20 to be &# 34 ; stripped &# 34 ; from the grip of the harps 30 and without impacting the bonding of adjacent coil strings such as 20 &# 39 ; as discussed elsewhere in this application . the coil roller assembly 44 ( seen in fig5 - 7 ) is part of a traverse assembly 40 ( identified in fig5 a and 5b ), which also includes a tracking wheel cluster 42 ( identified in fig8 ), and glue applicators 43 . the coil roller assembly 44 of traverse assembly 40 , as illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , includes a pair of rotatably mounted rollers 61 and a center face plate 62 . as previously discussed , after dropping from the loading chute 36 , a particular coil string 20 is in position in front of the harps 30 of the pusher bar assembly 34 and is in proper alignment with the substantially parallel path of the coil roller assembly 44 as best illustrated in fig5 a . the coil roller assembly 44 then performs its sequential snapping or &# 34 ; zipper &# 34 ; action , thus securing the coil string 20 to the harp assembly 48 , such that the coil string 20 is in the position 22b in fig6 which is the same position as the coil string 20 in the harp assembly 48 shown in fig5 b . referencing fig5 a - 5d and 6 , a detailed explanation of an important part of the process and the apparatus for its implementation is now made . a harp assembly 48 ( one of two ) is indexed back and forth from a loading position as shown in fig5 a and 5b to a bonding position shown in fig5 c . referring now to fig5 a , a coil string 20 is positioned in front of the generally c - shaped harps 30 with the locating assistance of one of two retractable locating pins 63 ( the other of the two locating pins being positioned at the distal end of the coil string ) which extend up from a slightly inclined supporting surface 46 which supports the bottom ends of the coils 20 . the supporting surface 46 , preferably , is inclined at an angle of about 10 degrees from horizontal and the locating pins 63 are at an angle of about 90 degrees relative to the horizontal with an included angle of about 80 degrees relative to the support surface 46 . of course , variations in the angular configuration of parts is contemplated within the scope of this invention . in order to assure the correct positioning of the falling coil string 20 in relation to the harps 30 at the starting end of the string 20 , the retractable locating pin 63 rises from beneath the surface 46 of the apparatus 10 at an angle of 10 degrees forward of vertical relative to the surface 46 . preferably , the retractable locating pin 63 is located on a centerline c between second and third harps 30 from the starting end . the incline angle of the retractable locating pin 63 and the location of the pin 63 centered between the second and third harps 30 causes the falling spring coil 20 to be guided to a position which assures the proper starting action of the apparatus 10 . as the movement of the leading edge of traverse assembly 40 approaches the next coil 11 in the coil string 20 , the retractable pin 63 retracts beneath the surface 64 to avoid interference with the path of the traverse assembly 40 . as shown schematically in fig5 a and 5b , a coil roller assembly 44 traverses back - and - forth alongside the harps 30 such that the coils 20 are sequentially snapped into place much like a &# 34 ; zipper &# 34 ; action and are held in place by the harps 30 . it may be understood that as the individual harps 30 are fixed relative to each other and are spaced apart less than two coil diameters , the snapping action is provided by the pocketed coils 11 radially deforming and then recovering as they are forced into the grip of the harps . as shown in fig5 a , the coil roller assembly 44 is at an angle prior to engaging the coil string 20 . this is provided by two positioning plates , one each positioned proximate the extreme sideward positions of the traverse assembly , which &# 34 ; cock &# 34 ; the coil roller assembly to an appropriate angle . the coil roller assembly 44 is pivotably mounted relative to the traverse assembly by an appropriate bearing 78 ( see fig7 ). as further shown in fig5 a - 5d , as the coils 11 are snapped forwardly into place by the rollers 61 , hot - melt glue is sprayed forwardly onto a second , downstream , string of coils 20 &# 39 ; which have already been processed by the pusher bar assembly 32 . after the traverse assembly 40 has finished snapping one string 20 into place and applying glue to a second string 20 &# 39 ;, the traverse assembly 40 is moved out of the way of the pusher bar assembly 32 . as shown in fig5 c , the first string of coils 20 is then pushed into forwardly - biased contact with the second string of coils 20 &# 39 ; in a &# 34 ; belly to belly &# 34 ; fashion between adjacent pocketed coils 11 in adjacent columns of adjacent rows of coil strings 20 , 20 &# 39 ; such that a glue bond 14 is initiated as the glue sets . this bias causes the second string of coils 20 &# 39 ; to be indexed out of the location identified by &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; in fig5 b to another downstream location identified as &# 34 ; h &# 34 ;, and causes the first string of coils 20 to be situated at location &# 34 ; g &# 34 ; as shown in fig5 c . any coil strings located further downstream of the second string ( such as 20 &# 34 ; in fig1 or 13 ) will also be indexed rearwardly by the force of the pusher bar assembly 34 . it should be understood that the first and second strings 20 , 20 &# 39 ; will eventually make up part of a finished innerspring construction such as 2 in fig1 - 4 , 12 and 13 . one cycle of the process , under one preferred embodiment , includes loading of a first string 20 into the harps 30 with simultaneous glue application to a second string 20 &# 39 ;, pressing the two strings together , and ejecting the first string from the harps . it should be understood that for each two consecutive cycles , each of the locating pins 63 will have indexed upwardly and downwardly once . as shown in fig5 d , after the above - referenced indexing has occurred , the stripper plate 34 is indexed forwardly relative to the pusher bar assembly 32 to urge the first string of coils 20 out of the grasp of the harps 30 . at the same time , the pusher bar assembly 32 is retracted rearwardly relative to the stationary frame 49 of the apparatus 10 , such that the stripper plate 34 is substantially static and , in an embodiment of this invention , a slight bias is maintained on the first string 20 to encourage proper glue bonding . subsequently , the pusher bar assembly 32 and its stripper plate 34 are retracted to their &# 34 ; loading &# 34 ; positions as shown in fig5 a . the process may then be repeated to add additional coil strings . however , in order to make maximum use of the time of the traverse assembly 40 , the process is repeated in a &# 34 ; mirror - image &# 34 ; fashion , with the zipper action being initiated from an the opposite direction . in order to accomplish this result , a second locating pin 63 is located at the opposite end of the overall apparatus 10 . it is important to note that during the indexing step outlined above , the harps 30 perform a predominance of the pushing of the first string against the second string . particularly , the substantially straight leading segments 33 ( see fig7 ) of the harps 30 are urged against every other transverse seam 15 of the coil strings 20 . this is advantageous in that a &# 34 ; centering &# 34 ; action is obtained , with the harps 30 tending to seek center positions between pocketed coils 11 . this centering action results in improved repeatable alignment of the pocketed coils 11 to create an improved innerspring construction 2 . another advantage of the use of the harps 30 is that the &# 34 ; zig - zag &# 34 ; twisting of the pocketing material or fabric 9 around the spring coils 8 tends to tighten the fabric 9 around the coils 8 more tightly than when the coils strings 11 are not yet installed . this is advantageous in that there is less slack in the fabric and in the overall innerspring construction 2 such as shown in fig1 which results in less play and , thus , more structural integrity and dimensional stability in the unit . the amount of tightening is variable by varying harp size for a given coil diameter . referring now to fig6 upper and lower pressure plates 26 , 27 , respectively , are used to maintain integrity of the innerspring assembly 2 under construction , as the pocketed coils 11 therebetween are maintained in slight axial compression while still capable of being indexed . as shown in fig6 the latest pocketed coil string 20 placed between the pressure plates 26 , 27 at position 22c is the string 20 to which the glue has been applied and this string 20 at position 22c is formed adjacent strings 20 &# 39 ; and 20 &# 34 ; at positions 22d and 22e , respectively , to form a construction 2 . referring now to fig8 the tracking wheel cluster 42 is shown which rides within a stationary channel 54 to allow the traverse assembly 40 to be driven back and forth along its path by a belt as discussed later in this application . the channel 54 extends across and above the paths of the coils . two pairs of rubber wheels 56 , 57 , are positioned within the channel 54 , with the two lower wheels 57 rigidly mounted to the traverse head bracket 58 , and the two upper wheels 56 spring loaded upwardly into the bracket by means known in the art . the channel 54 , having a rearwardly directed opening , is rigidly mounted relative to the frame of the apparatus 10 , and includes four inclined portions &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;, which center the rollers and reduce their tendency to drag or bind . the pusher bar assembly 32 , best illustrated in fig6 includes a pair of linear bearing blocks 53 which ride upon a pair of elongate parallel guide rods 65 , which guide the assembly 34 along its linear path . the assembly 32 is driven back and forth by a pair of pneumatic cylinders 66 or other means known in the art . a torsion tube 67 having appropriate size linkage assemblies 68 provide alignment for the pusher bar assembly 32 . as previously discussed , the individual harps 30 preferably are fixed relative to each other and are spaced apart less than two coil diameters to allow for the snapping effect caused by the coil pairs deforming and then recovering as they are forced into the grip of the harps . therefore , it may be necessary to change harps whenever coil diameter is changed . this is readily achieved by the use of known releasable latches which allow the harps to be releasably mounted relative to the pusher bar assembly . when coil diameters are changed , the center - to - center distance between the coils is also changed . therefore , the timing of the triggering of the glue applicators will also have to be changed , as discussed later . reference is now made to fig9 - 11 , which illustrate an operator panel 70 and a set - up panel 71 , both of which allow an operator ( not shown ) to set up and operate the apparatus 10 . fig1 illustrates an operator panel 70 which allows an operator to initiate a machine cycle from either side , manually feed a string of coils 20 , read the number of strings processed , or provide additional glue , if for example the machine experienced downtime after hot glue was applied . a string counter 72 is also included to show the amount of strings processed . finally , an integer dial gauge 76 is also included to allow the operator to select from a number of preset settings corresponding to regularly used string diameters and string lengths . for example , a dial setting of &# 34 ; 001 &# 34 ; may correspond to a twin size , dial settings of &# 34 ; 002 &# 34 ; may correspond to a full size , and a dial settings of &# 34 ; 003 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 004 &# 34 ; may correspond to queen and king sizes , respectively . fig1 illustrates a set - up control panel 71 , which allows the operator to set the glue spot lengths , glue spot locations , stripper plate &# 34 ; in &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; out &# 34 ; locations , inserter &# 34 ; in &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; out &# 34 ; locations , glue head location , and mode of operation ( manual or automatic ). as previously discussed , the traverse assembly 40 is driven side - to - side along a transverse path ( i . e ., transverse to the travel of the coil strings within the apparatus 10 ) defined by rollers 44 guided by channel 54 . in reference to fig9 it may be seen that an electric motor / gearbox combination 73 is used to drive a flexible ribbed or notched belt 75 which is substantially continuous but for the existence of the traverse assembly 40 in line with the belt 75 . the motor and gearbox assembly 73 is used to drive the belt intermittently in opposite directions such that the traverse assembly 40 is likewise driven intermittently side - to - side to perform its aforementioned duties . a rotary encoder 74 such as known in the art is provided in operable association with the belt in order to assign a particular integer value readable by a central controller , not shown ) to a particular location of the traverse head . it may be understood that such information can be used to set suitable glue application locations suitable to the particular coil diameters used , and can also be used to confirm that the traverse assembly is on a particular side and ready for processing of a particular string in a particular direction . fig9 also illustrates a valve v1 which is a diverter valve which controls the movement of the pusher bar assembly by diverting air to an appropriate air cylinder such as cylinder 66 or cylinders . valve v2 is a diverter valve which controls the movement of the stripper plate by diverting air to an appropriate air cylinder of cylinders . v4 is a valve for controlling glue flow . pr1 and pr3 are proximity switches which sense extreme forward and rearward positions of the pusher bar assembly . in a preferred embodiment of this invention , the motor 73 and the valves v1 and v2 are controlled by appropriate microprocessors such mitsubishi model no . fx - 32mr and the switches pr1 , pr3 and rotary encode 74 provide signals to such microprocessor . with reference to fig1 and 13 , it should be noted that although dimensional properties may vary , the offset &# 34 ; zig - zag &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; quad &# 34 ; string configuration 80 shown in fig1 and the alternating patterned string configuration 82 shown in fig1 may also be constructed in accordance with the present invention in addition to the repeating &# 34 ; zig - zag &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; chevron &# 34 ; pattern 84 shown in fig1 . it should be understood that to provide a configuration such as shown in fig1 , every string would have to be &# 34 ; jogged &# 34 ; one coil width relative to a previous coil string . this could be done by the use of two alternately indexed harp sets being offset one coil size to each other . with regard to the construction illustrated in fig1 , an alternative apparatus would be required to allow for ease of production of the alternating rows of &# 34 ; zig zag &# 34 ; and straight alignment with the attacment bonding between adjacent pocketed coils 11 in consecutive , adjacent string rows . while this invention has been described in specific detail with reference to the disclosed embodiments , it will be understood that many variations and modifications may be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the appended claims . for example , there is no requirement that the invention be limited to the use of ultrasonically welded coil strings ; seam sewing or other attachment may also be used . also , it should be noted that the apparatus 10 may be used with manual feed by an operator , or by automatic feed . coil strings from differing coilers may also be used , such as to provide a mattress having firmer edges by the use of firm coil springs at the appropriate edge locations .	0
with reference to fig1 and 2 , numeral 50 designates , as a whole , a bearing seal assembly which is suitable for being installed on either side of a bearing unit 10 . the bearing unit 10 is adapted for receiving a shaft ( not shown ) for rotation about an axis x , and includes an outer ring 20 , an inner ring 30 axially extended on both sides , and a single row of balls 40 . the outer ring 20 has two inner circumferential grooves 22 adjacent to both sides of the balls 40 and an outermost convex spherical surface 21 which accommodates moderate misalignment but without permitting axial displacement . each circumferential groove 22 is laterally bounded towards the balls 40 by a respective annular surface 24 which is perpendicular to the axis x and is arranged axially inwardly with respect to a relevant outwardly facing wall 23 of the outer ring 30 . the inner ring 30 is rotatable with respect to the outer ring 20 . inner ring 30 provides an outer cylindrical surface 32 faced toward the outer ring 20 and an inner cylindrical cavity 31 in which the shaft is to be secured for rotation about the axis x . the bearing seal assemblies 50 are fitted at the axially outer ends of the outer ring 20 , thereby sealingly bridging the annular space between the inner ring 30 and outer ring 20 , in order to prevent contaminants from entering the bearing unit 10 while keeping the lubricating grease within it . as better shown in fig2 , each assembly 50 includes an annular sheet metal stiffening insert 70 and a multi - lip resilient annular gasket 60 of elastomeric or rubber - like material ( preferably made from acrylonitrile - butadiene rubber ) which is coupled by vulcanization with the insert 70 . the insert 70 comprises : an outer edge 71 which is suitable for being crimped into the relevant groove 22 to anchor the assembly 50 in its working position , a disc annular portion 73 which extends radially inwardly from the edge 71 and is perpendicular to the axis x in order to abut the relevant annular surface 24 , and an axially angled or conical portion 75 which is linked to the disc annular portion 73 by the edge 71 . the insert 70 further comprises another axially angled or conical portion 72 which is parallel to the portion 75 and linked to the disc annular portion 73 at the radially inner circumference of the disc - annular portion 73 ). the metal insert 70 serves also as a barrier against solid contaminants and since the outer edge 71 is crimped into the relevant groove 22 , such a plastic deformation provides a steady mounting of the assembly 50 onto the bearing unit 10 . furthermore , due to the fact that the outer edge 71 is plastically deformed and the disc annular portion 73 abuts against the relevant surface 24 , these two portions define a rigid support for the angled portion 72 which in turn defines an elastic support for the gasket 60 so as to allow the gasket 60 to be always kept in contact with the surface 32 , as better explained herein after . in the preferred embodiment of the invention the multi - lip sealing gasket 60 is vulcanized to the insert 70 and comprises : a main body 69 which is in direct contact with the angled portion 72 and five lips 61 - 65 which extend generally radially inwardly from the main body 69 . of these five lips , the lips 61 and 65 are non - contacting lips as they are radially spaced apart from the surface 32 and are located at the opposite axial ends of the main body 69 so as to protect and axially contain the lips 62 - 64 between them . the lips 62 - 64 are intermediate contacting lips and are arranged to slide against the outer cylindrical surface 32 ( shown in phantom in fig2 ) of the inner ring . it should be noted that in the appended drawings the resilient sealing gasket 60 is depicted in its non - deformed condition . the non contacting lip 61 is an axially outermost lip and defines a labyrinth seal to prevent inwardly acting coarse contaminants from damaging the inner lips 62 - 64 . the lip 61 is a conical lip axially delimited by two conical , axially outwardly and radially inwardly tapering surfaces 61 s . the lip 61 is also provided with a free end 61 e which terminates closely adjacent the surface 32 without contacting it . the non - contacting lip 65 is the axially innermost lip and projects closely adjacent the surface 32 and acts as a grease retainer for keeping , although only partially , the lubricating grease within the bearing unit 10 . the lip 65 defines another labyrinth seal and it is inwardly axially delimited by a conical tapering surface 65 s which is joined to an axially recessed , radial flat surface 69 s of the main body 69 in order to facilitate the recirculation of the grease within the bearing unit 10 . the lip 64 is adjacent to the lip 65 and shares with the lip 65 a common root portion 68 originating for the main body 69 . the lip 64 is shaped as a conical wall . it is longer and more flexible than lip 65 , and extends substantially parallel to the lip 61 from the root portion 68 and in an axially opposite direction with respect to the lip 65 . the lip 64 defines with the lip 65 an intermediate annular cave 64 s which is able to receive some lubricating grease which may leak from the lip 65 . the lip 63 , which extends substantially parallel and adjacent to the lip 64 , is shaped as a conical wall and has a thickness which is almost twice that of the lip 64 . the lip 63 is provided with a root portion 67 located approximately in the middle of the main body 69 and originates from an axially inner position with respect to the root portion 68 . opposite to the root portion 67 , the lip 63 is provided with a sturdy contacting lip 66 with a tip about 90 degrees wide and which defines with the lip 63 and the lip 64 a further cave 63 s . the diameter at the bottom of cave 63 s is greater than the bottom diameter of cave 64 s . the cave 63 s extends into the main body 69 so as to partially split the two root portions 68 and 67 . besides being pre - greased with specific lubricating grease , the cave 63 s is also able to receive some of the lubricating grease which may leak passing over lip 64 . this will help to further reduce the wear of the lip 66 . the lip 62 is the only contacting lip which does not originates for the main body 69 as it originates directly from the lip 63 and it is provided with a root portion 62 r extending from the lip 63 nearby the lip 66 . also lip 62 is shaped as a conical wall , but it is the longest and most flexible among the lips above mentioned . the lip 66 , the lip 62 and the main body 69 define a further cave 66 s which is outwardly radially delimited by a bottom cylindrical surface 62 s whose diameter is greater than the diameter at the bottom of cave 63 s . due to the above construction and arrangement , the lip 63 acts as the main sealing lip and is able to exert the greatest value of radial pressure against the surface 32 , whereas the second lip 64 is able to exert a medium value of radial pressure and lower than that of the value of the radial pressure of lip 63 . finally , the lip 62 will be able to exert a lower radial pressure as compared to the other two contacting lips 64 and 63 , and is able to act as an anti - dust lip to protect the main lip 63 . whilst it is not desired to be bound to any specific theory in this connection , tests carried out by the applicant show that , as a result of the above arrangement , the lip 63 acts as a pivot or fulcrum when some misalignment takes place between the shaft and the stationary parts of the bearing . as a result , the contact radial pressure exerted by the lip 62 will increase , whereas the radial pressure of the lip 64 will decrease or vice versa , depending on the direction of the relative inclination between the inner and outer bearing rings . however , in the worst misalignment conditions , at least one of the lips 62 , 64 , on opposite sides of the lip 66 , will remain in sliding contact with the inner ring 30 together with the main lip 66 , but without increasing the overall pressure , owing to their thin , elongate and flexible construction . therefore , the sealing assembly 50 assures that at least two sliding lips are permanently in sliding contact with the inner ring , like a dual barrier stopping contaminants from entering the bearing . finally , in order to increase the overall sealing performances of the above described assembly 50 , the sealing gasket 60 further comprises a static seal 160 in form of a layer which is made of the same material of the main body 69 and which covers almost completely the side of the annular portion 73 which abuts the surface 24 . while a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed , it is to be understood that such disclosure has been merely for the purpose of illustration and that the invention is not to be limited in any manner thereby . various modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing example . the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the appended claims .	5
fig1 is an overall system block diagram illustrating various types of participating conference call equipment , in accordance with the present invention . a host 3 , such as a server or other type of hardware , is connected to a memory 1 and to a plurality of telephones 5 and 7 , such as desktop telephones . the host 3 may also be connected to a cellular telephone 9 , and a personal computer 11 , such as a desktop computer , laptop computer , or personal digital assist ( pda ). the connections to the host 3 may be wired or wireless , through a publicly switched telephone network ( pstn ), over a local area network ( lan ), via the internet 13 , or any other known type of communication connection . although fig1 illustrates the memory 1 as a separate element from the host 3 , it is within the scope of the invention that the memory 1 may be incorporated into the host 1 . fig2 is a block diagram of the telephone 5 of fig1 . the telephone 5 includes a controller 21 . the controller 21 is connected to user inputs 23 , a speaker 25 , a microphone 27 , an input / output port 31 , an interrogator 33 , a memory 35 and a display 37 . one of more of these elements may be optional , depending upon the embodiment and features desired , as further discussed hereinafter . fig3 is a perspective view illustrating the external features of the telephone 5 . as can be seen in fig3 , the interrogator 33 is embedded within a housing of the telephone 5 . in the illustrated embodiment , the interrogator 33 is a radio frequency identification ( rfid ) reader . such rfid readers transmit a signal 39 to power a passive rfid tag and read a code emitted from the rfid tag , in a known manner . in fig3 , user inputs 23 are depicted as push buttons , however the push button type inputs could be replaced by inputs via a touch screen in combination with the display 37 , or even voice recognition software to receive user inputs . the port 31 is illustrated as a dedicated side port , however the port 31 may be any type of port including a wireless link or part of an rj - type jack typically used on telephones . fig4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an rfid tag 41 used in connection with the present invention . the rfid tag 41 is embedded within a fob 43 . the fob 43 may be an ornamental object attached to a key ring 45 . alternatively , the fob 43 could be worn about a person &# 39 ; s wrist or neck , or other portion of a person &# 39 ; s body or clothing . when polled by the interrogator 33 , the rfid tag 41 would emit a specific code associated to the identity of the person possessing the rfid tag 41 . the code would be deemed a “ person specific attribute ,” such that the code uniquely identifies the person to the conferencing system . fig5 illustrates yet another embodiment of the location of the rfid tag 41 . the rfid tag may be embedded within an employee id card 47 . alternatively , the rfid 41 may be embedded in other types of cards for carrying in a person &# 39 ; s wallet , purse or pocket . now a method of operating the present invention will be described with reference to fig6 . when a person believes that he is scheduled for a conference call that person presses a key of the user inputs 23 on the telephone 5 labeled “ conference call .” see step s 101 . the input is received by the controller 21 . in step s 103 , the controller 21 activates the interrogator 33 to read codes of rfid tags 41 in the vacinity of the interrogator 33 ( e . g . within 15 feet , within 25 feet ). there may be more than one rfid tag 41 within the vacinity , such as when several co - workers are gathered in one office . next , in step s 105 , the controller 21 transmits the read code or codes from the rfid tag or tags to the host 3 . in step s 107 , the host 3 compares the code of the rfid tag 41 to data in the memory 1 . the data in the memory 1 includes a list of all scheduled conference calls presently controlled by the host 3 , and a list of potential participants , who are authorized to participate in the various conference calls . if the code of the rfid tag 41 fails to match a participant code stored in the memory 1 for an ongoing or pending conference call , the host 3 alerts the controller 21 of this result , and processing proceeds to step s 109 . if the code of the rfid tag 41 matches a participant code stored in the memory 1 for an ongoing or pending conference call or calls , the host 3 alerts the controller 21 of this result , and processing proceeds to step s 111 . in step s 109 , the controller 21 causes the display 37 to display a message that the user is not scheduled or authorized for any ongoing or pending conference call . a pending conference call may be defined as a conference call scheduled to take place within the next few minutes ( e . g . within the next 5 minutes , or within the next 10 minutes ). the display 37 may also inform the user as to the user &# 39 ; s next scheduled conference call , as that information stored in the memory 1 could be transmitted from the host 3 to the controller 21 . this feature would provide a convenient manner for an employee to check or verify his scheduled conference calls on a regular basis . in step s 111 , the controller 21 is placed into communication with the conference call via the host 3 . the controller 21 may immediately connect the conference call to the speaker 25 and microphone 27 of the telephone 5 . alternatively , the controller 21 may place the conference call on hold . then , at the discretion of the user , the conference call may be taken off of hold and made active on the speaker 25 and microphone 27 . at any time during the conference call , the user may push another button of the user inputs 23 to receive real - time data about the conference call . the real - time data may be displayed on the display 37 . the real - time data may include preset data , such as the topic of the conference call , originator of the conference call , a list of all authorized participants , start time and scheduled end time . the preset data would be stored in the memory 1 of the host 3 during the scheduling process of the conference call by the originator of the conference call . the real - time data may also include current data , such as a list of those actually on the conference call at the present moment , a list of those that were once present but have since dropped out of the conference call , the time each participant joined the conference call , the total time each participant participated , the location of each participant ( e . g . the participant &# 39 ; s telephone 5 could transmit a location code associated with the telephone 5 ( e . g . room 1 a - 205 , boardroom , cellular phone ) to the host 3 along with the code of the rfid tag 41 ). if a user were authorized to join more than one ongoing or pending conference call , then the host 3 would alert the controller 21 as to this situation . the controller 21 would cause the display 37 to list the authorized conference calls , such as by topic or originator . the user would be prompted to select one of the conference calls , such as by pressing a number on a keypad of the telephone 5 . for example , the menu on the display might read , “ accounting forecasts conference — press 1 ,” and “ new client development conference — press 2 .” a benefit of the present invention is that the user need not remember a dial - in telephone number for the host 3 , a conference call code , or a password , as the code of the rfid will bypass these procedural steps . further , the user may easily move from room to room within a building and quickly and easily rejoin the conference call , as other telephones throughout the building of the employer may have the interrogator 33 of the present invention . a further optional feature of the present invention would be to have the interrogator 33 periodically scan the vacinity for codes from rfid tags 41 ( e . g . every few seconds or every minute ), once a conference call was in progress on the telephone 5 . such a feature would enable the controller 21 to know if the authorized user is no longer present in the vacinity of the telephone 5 . if it were sensed that the authorized user had left the vacinity , the controller 21 could disconnect the telephone 5 from the conference call . when the authorized user returned , he would reconnect to the conference call , if needed . if the periodic scanning by the interrogator were employed on a constant basis , as opposed to only when a conference call was in session on the telephone 5 , it would also be possible to bypass the step of requiring the user to press the “ conference call ” button of the user inputs 23 . rather , the employees desktop telephone 5 would simply scan the vacinity periodically and if a code of an rfid tag 41 were sensed , the controller 21 would poll the host 3 to see if the user associated with the code were authorized to be in a conference call . if so , the conference call would be placed on hold and an audible beep or ring would alert the user that a conference call was on hold on his desktop telephone 5 . further , the display 37 could display information about the conference call that is on hold . the periodic scanning feature during a conference call could also improve the accuracy of the real - time data by updating the list of participating parties on a periodic basis . for example , if an authorized participant enters a room where another authorized participant is already engaged in the conference call , the second authorized participant would be sensed during a periodic scan by the interrogator 33 and added to the list of actual participants . likewise , if an authorized participant left the room where other authorized participant were on a conference call , his absence from the conference call would be noted by the controller 21 , reported to the host 3 , and his name removed from the participating list . this real - time data could also be archived in the memory 1 of the host 3 , so that records of individual conference calls and the attendance times of the participants could be reviewed at later dates , as needed . fig7 illustrates a second telephone 5 ′, which is an alternative to the telephone 5 of fig3 . the difference between the telephones 5 and 5 ′ resides in the modified interrogator 33 ′. the modified interrogator 33 ′ is not an rfid scanner capable of scanning for a person specific attribute , like an rfid tag 41 in a vicinity of the telephone 5 . rather , the modified interrogator 33 ′ would be a local scanner , which could only scan for a person specific attribute immediately presented to the interrogator 33 ′. examples of the person specific attributes readable by the modified interrogator 33 ′ could be a bar code 61 on an employee id 63 , as illustrated in fig8 . of course , the bar code 61 could be printed on a different type card for carrying in the person &# 39 ; s wallet , pulse or pocket . the modified interrogator 33 ′ could also take the form of a scanner to sense one or more physical characteristics of a person . for example , a finger print scanner , a retina scanner , or even software ran by the controller 21 to recognize a voice pattern of the user , as received by the microphone 27 . the modified interrogator 33 ′ of fig7 has tradeoffs in drawbacks and benefits , as compared to the rfid scanning interrogator 33 of fig3 . a drawback would be that the periodic scanning embodiment of operation for the modified interrogator 33 ′ would not be conveniently employable . if periodic scanning for the remaining presence of an authorized user were to be employed with the modified interrogator 33 ′, the user would need to periodically present the physical attribute ( e . g . finger print ) or bar code to the local scanner , which would be time consuming . as a benefit , if a physical characteristic of a person is to be scanned , the person can always log into a conference call . the risk that an employee id or fob was forgot at home is not an issue . the illustrated controller 21 could be a microprocessor , dedicated circuitry , a personal computer , or various combinations of hardware and software to enable operation of the conferencing equipment , as disclosed above . although fig3 and 7 illustrate a desktop type telephone 5 and 5 ′, the principals of the invention are equally applicable a cellular telephone 9 or a personal computer 11 interfacing with the host 3 . also , as an alternative embodiment , the placement of the interrogator and specific attribute may be reversed . in the alternative embodiment , each employee would carry an interrogator . the interrogator could be a separate piece of equipment , or more preferably would be integrated into a cellular telephone and be powered by the cellular telephone &# 39 ; s battery . the specific attribute would be a unique label ( e . g . rfid tag , bar code ) attached to each communication device throughout the business complex . in the alternative embodiment , when a person is scheduled for a conference call that person is sent a notification from his home presence system . the notification reminds the user of the conference and asks him if he would like to use a local device for the call . if yes , the interrogator of the cellular telephone is thereby activated to read a code of an rfid tag placed on a nearby piece of conference call equipment . next , the cellular telephone transmits the read code from the rfid tag to the host . a display of the cellular telephone may display messages to the user regarding the conference call status , as described in conjunction with fig6 , above . the display of the cellular telephone may also inform the user as to the user &# 39 ; s next scheduled conference call , as that information stored in the memory could be transmitted from the host to the cellular telephone . this feature would provide a convenient manner for an employee to check or verify his scheduled conference calls on a regular basis . if the employee is scheduled for a conference call , the communication device associated with the read rfid tag is placed into communication with the conference call via the host . the rfid tag , which was read by the interrogator of the cellular telephone and transmitted to the host , may contain enough information ( e . g . telephone number , internet address , network address ) for the host to forward the conference call directly to the communication device . alternatively , the host may be connected to a memory which stores a database of rfid codes , which are each linked to the telephone number , internet address , or network address for the particular communication device associated with the rfid code . the communication device may immediately have the conference call connected to its speaker and microphone . alternatively , the conference call may be placed on hold . then , at the discretion of the user , the conference call may be taken off of hold and made active on the speaker and microphone . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims .	7
the present invention is directed to the use of activated carbon in the manufacture of odor absorbing packaging material . in the preferred embodiment , the packaging material is prepared using a printing process . for this purpose , activated carbon is dispersed in an ink vehicle to produce an odor sorbing ink composition which may be printed on packaging material such as paperboard using conventional printing technology . in an effort to assess the merits of the present invention , seven different water based binder systems , were chosen for evaluation using westvaco &# 39 ; s nuchar sa activated carbon . the purpose of the evaluation was to see if odor sorbing coatings could be prepared for application to paperboard . initially it was discovered that activated carbon was not easily dispersed in either polyvinyl acetate , styrene - butadiene or acrylic binder systems . it was speculated that the activated carbon absorbed the surfactants from these binder systems . on the other hand , the activated carbon was readily dispersed in starch , polyvinyl alcohol , polyester and sodium silicate binder systems . however , since both the starch and polyvinyl alcohol binders were found to require a cooking step , development work was concentrated on the use of the polyester and sodium silicate binder systems . in order to determine the effectiveness of such coatings , a number of coating formulations were prepared using sodium silicate and polyester as the binder systems . a mixture of 100 grams sodium silicate at 38 . 3 % solids and 9 . 6 grams of activated carbon were dispersed in 10 grams of water . upon thorough mixing , a coating formulation having about 40 % solids was achieved with the solids content consisting of about 20 % carbon and 80 % binder . the carbon concentration of the coating was about 8 %. drawdowns of this coating were applied to the uncoated side of printkote bleached paperboard ( a product of westvaco corporation ), using a no . 12 wire wound rod at a coat weight of about 26 lbs / ream ( ream size 3000 ft 2 ), to a nominal thickness of about 1 . 2 mils . the weight of carbon in the applied coating was about 2 . 2 mg / in 2 . a mixture of 100 grams sodium silicate at 38 . 3 % solids and 19 . 2 grams of activated carbon were dispersed in 20 grams of water . a final coating formulation having a solids of about 41 % was obtained with the solids content consisting of about 33 % carbon and 67 % binder . the carbon concentration of the coating was about 14 %. this formulation was applied to the uncoated side of paperboard samples as described in example 1 at a coat weight of about 26 lbs / rear to a nominal thickness of about 1 . 2 mils . the weight of carbon in the applied coating was about 3 . 8 mg / in 2 . a mixture of 86 . 7 grams polyester at 28 % solids an 12 grams of activated carbon were dispersed in 10 grams of water . this mixture produced a coating formulation having about 33 % solids with the solids content consisting of about 33 % carbon and 67 % binder . the carbon concentration in the coating was about 11 %. drawdowns of this coating formulation were applied to the uncoated side of printkote bleached paperboard samples as described in examples 1 and 2 at a coat weight of about 20 lbs / ream , to a nominal thickness of about 1 . 2 mils . the weight of carbon in the applied coating was about 2 . 2 mg / in 2 . samples of the coated paperboard ( 1 inch by 4 inch ) from examples 1 , 2 and 3 were placed in 250 mil . high density polyethylene ( hdpe ) jars each containing a one gallon food storage bag and sealed with a screw cap . a jar with a bag and no coated paperboard sample , and an empty jar were also prepared . after 24 hours , the jars were tested by opening the screw caps and sniffing the contents . the empty jar had no discernable odor . meanwhile , the jar containing a food storage bag and no coated paperboard sample had a distinct odor . however , the jars containing the food storage bags and the coated paperboard samples from examples 1 , 2 and 3 had reduced odor , with example 2 being judged best followed by example 3 , and example 1 . this test demonstrated that the odor sorbing coatings were effective to reduce odor , and that the odor sorbing effect was directly related to the concentration of carbon in the applied coatings . further development work showed that a similar odor absorbing effect could be achieved with odor sorbing coatings prepared using either starch or polyvinyl alcohol as the binder system . coating formulations useful for the present invention preferably have a solids content of from about 30 - 45 % depending upon the method of application . coat weights may range from about 3 - 26 lbs / ream ( ream size 3000 ft 2 ), and the activated carbon content of the coating may range from about 20 - 95 %, depending upon the degree of odor absorption desired . accordingly it will be seen that the novelty of the present invention lies in the combination of the use of odor sorbing coatings containing activated carbon applied to the inner surfaces of paperboard cartons . the odor sorbing capacity is directly related to the concentration of carbon in the applied coating . therefore , the amount of carbon necessary for any given application will depend upon the strength of the odor desired to be eliminated or absorbed . for the purposes of the present invention , an effective application of activated carbon is intended to mean sufficient carbon to absorb substantially all of the odor generated by a packaged product . since the total amount of carbon required for any specific application cannot be defined with any specificity , a trial and error process may be involved . however , based on the tests conducted in examples 1 - 3 , it is believed that an effective carbon concentration will lie within the range of about 1 - 10 mg of carbon per cubic inch of the carton interior volume . fig1 of the drawing illustrates a typical paperboard blank 10 suitable for making cartons characterized by the present invention . the surface of the blank 10 is partially shaded at 11 to show the area where the odor sorbing activated carbon coating is applied . substantially the entire surface has been shaded to demonstrate that in order to achieve the best results , substantially all interior surfaces are preferably coated with the odor sorbing coating leaving only the unshaded areas 12 for glue application . it is contemplated that for some applications , the interior surfaces of only certain major panels of the carton blank may need to be coated with odor sorbing material to achieve the desired degree of odor absorption , or the panels may only need to be coated in patterns leaving parts of each panel uncoated . in fig2 the blank 10 is typically constructed from paperboard 13 with an outer clay coated surface 14 suitable for printing graphics , and an inner activated carbon coated surface 11 . the order in which the graphics and odor sorbing coating maybe applied to the paperboard is not important , except that when the graphics are applied after the odor sorbing coating , solvents and other materials used in the inks to print the graphics may be absorbed by the activated carbon layer thereby reducing its effectiveness to absorb odors from the packaged products . this can be offset to some extent with the use of low volatility water based inks for the graphics printing step , or by increasing the amount of activated carbon applied to the paperboard in the carbon application step to compensate for any loss of effectiveness . it will thus be seen that the present invention is useful for packaging products which have objectionable odors or aromas . the invention is particularly useful for packaging such products which might come into contact with food to prevent the odors or aromas from causing off - tastes to the food . finally the invention would be useful for packaging products which might otherwise pick up odors or off - tastes from the surrounding atmosphere including other components of the package . thus while only preferred embodiments of the present invention have been fully shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and substitutions could be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	8
the following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention . although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred , the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted , or otherwise used , as limiting the scope of the disclosure , including the claims . in addition , one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application , and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment , and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure , including the claims , is limited to that embodiment . the present disclosure is directed to utilizing a dual output , first - in - first - out (“ fifo ”) buffer to provide additional timing in combinational logic , thereby curing certain timing and synchronizing problems previously unsolved by resolver shadows lasting a single cycle . one of the fifo outputs is the data pointed to by the read pointer , while the other output is the next data to be read out . a select signal determines which of the two outputs is used . to utilize the shadow , two parallel cones of logic are connected to each output , and combined ( e . g ., muxed together ) prior to the subsequent latch via the select signal . as such , each path has a minimum evaluation time of at least one cycle plus resolver uncertainty , and each deque from the fifo buffer may use the resolver shadow to buy additional time , up to 1½ to 2½ cycles , depending on resolver delay and input to output clock skew . following is the basic description of a synchronizing fifo of the prior art . the signals connected to a typical , single output , synchronizing fifo come from two different clock domains . the write clock domain contains various signals . the write clock domain includes inputs : “ in_clk ” that is a clock signal , “ in_reset ” that indicates when to reset the registers , “ in_data ” that includes the data to be passed through the fifo , and “ enq ” that indicates when to write the “ in_data ” to the registers , and outputs : “ full ” that indicates when the registers of the buffer are all full . the read clock domain contains also contains various signals . the read clock domain inputs include : “ out_reset ” that indicates when to reset the registers , and “ deq ” that indicates when to the write the data out of the registers , and the read clock domain outputs include : “ out_data ” that includes the data to be passed out of the fifo , and “ empty ” that indicates that the registers of the buffer are empty . in operation , both sides of the single output synchronizing fifo are reset using the appropriate reset signals to clear out the write and read pointers , so both point to entry 0 . when both the read pointer and write pointer match , the “ empty ” signal is asserted high . when the difference between the read and write pointers equals the depth of the fifo , the “ full ” signal is asserted high . typically , the read and write pointers have one more bit than the minimum based on the depth , to resolve the ambiguity of matching pointers indicating empty or full ( i . e : for an 8 entry deep fifo , only 3 bits are needed for the pointers ). if the pointers “ match ,” it could indicate either a full or empty condition . as long as the “ full ” signal is deasserted , data can be written into the single output fifo . when writing data into the fifo , the data is driven into “ in_data ” and the “ enq ” signal is asserted high . when the “ enq ” signal is sampled high , the data is written into the latch array , and the write pointer is incremented . the write pointer is then grey coded , synchronized into the read clock domain and binary encoded . the write pointer is then compared to the read pointer . since the write pointer is currently greater than the read pointer , the “ empty ” signal is de - asserted low . once the read clock domain detects that the “ empty ” signal is deasserted low , the “ out_data ” may be used ( i . e ., the data is valid for use on the backend of the fifo ) and “ deq ” is asserted high . when the “ deq ” signal is sampled high , the read pointer is incremented . the read pointer is then grey coded , synchronized into the write clock domain and binary encoded . the read pointer is then compared to the write pointer . as long as the difference between the read and write pointers is less than the depth of the fifo , the “ full ” signal is de - asserted low . if more than one data entry is currently written into the fifo , data can be read out of the fifo on each read clock until the empty signal is asserted high . this is why the output timing budget is single cycle . by comparison , the dual output synchronizing fifo of the present disclosure employs a single input , dual output latch array . fig1 shows a block diagram of an illustrative dual output synchronizing buffer logic in accordance with the present disclosure . the depth of the fifo 124 shown in fig1 is 4 registers , though in embodiments of the present disclosure , a fifo of any practicable depth may be employed . the addition of a second data output port and a select signal enables an increase in the output timing budget beyond a single cycle . the write clock domain includes inputs : “ in_clk ” 100 that is the clock signal , “ in_reset ” 102 that indicates when to reset the registers , “ in_data ” 104 that includes the data to be passed through the fifo , and “ enq ” 106 that indicates when to write the “ in_data ” 104 to the registers , and outputs : “ full ” 108 that indicates when the registers of the buffer are all full . the read clock domain inputs include : “ out_clk ” 110 that is the clock signal out , “ out_reset ” 112 that indicates when to reset the registers , and “ deq ” 114 that indicates when to the write the data out of the registers , and the read clock domain outputs include : “ out_data_even ” 120 and “ out_data_odd ” 122 that includes the data to be passed out of the fifo alternatingly , a select signal “ out_data_sel ” 118 that provides an indication of whether to read out the data from the even output 120 or the odd output 122 , and “ empty ” 116 that indicates that the registers of the buffer are empty . when the first piece of data is enqued into the dual output synchronizing fifo of the present disclosure , the data is latched into the latch array and shows up on the “ out_data_even ” port 120 . at the same time , the “ out_data_sel ” 118 signal is set to the value of 0 . this data enqued into the fifo is available from the time it shows up on the “ out_data_even ” 120 port until the “ empty ” 116 signal is deasserted low , which is greater than 1 cycle , just like the case of the first write to a standard synchronizing fifo as discussed above . when the second piece of data is enqued into the fifo , the data is latched into the latch array and shows up on the “ out_data_odd ” port 122 . this second piece of data will also be available in the read clock domain for greater than 1 cycle because of the synchronizing delay of the write pointer . in preferred embodiments , the data is available in the read clock domain for at least 1½ to 2½ cycles . subsequent writes alternate between even and odd entries of the latch array . the timing savings are the result of having two parallel branches of logic off of each of the out_data ports 120 , 122 . the two parallel branches of logic from the out_data ports 120 , 122 may then be combined in a mux controlled by the select signal “ out_data_sel ” 118 , and fed to a latch qualified by the “ empty ” signal 116 . thus , even if more than one data entry is written into the fifo , data can be read out of the fifo on each read clock until the “ empty ” signal 116 is asserted high , which will be longer than a single cycle . this is why the output timing budget is improved . some advantages of the present disclosure are that timing may be improved without adding additional states to the logic and without forcing improvements in the timing of the logic that comes after the synchronizer . certain latencies can thus be cured . referring now to fig2 , a flowchart is shown of a method for timing improvements by a dual output synchronizing buffer . while the “ full ” 108 signal is low , the data is written to the dual output fifo 124 as in_data 104 ( block 200 ). the method continues with asserting the “ enq ” signal , and latching the data into the latch array ( block 202 ). the write pointer is incremented ( 204 ). the method continues with a comparison of the write pointer to the read pointer ( block 206 ). a determination is made as to whether the write pointer is greater than the read pointer ( block 208 ). if not , the “ full ” signal 108 remains deasserted , returning to block 200 . if the write pointer is greater than the read pointer , the “ empty ” signal 116 is deasserted . a determination is made at block 212 as to whether the select signal out_data_sel 118 is deasserted , and if not , the “ deq ” signal is asserted , and data from the odd port is used . the data from out_data_odd is valid for greater than one timing cycle . if the select signal out_data_sel 118 is asserted , the “ deq ” signal is asserted , and the data from the even port is used . the data from out_data_even is valid for greater than one timing cycle . the method can continue repeating as long as there is data moving in and out of the fifo . the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications .	6
fig1 illustrates an aircraft 1 , for example a drone , carrying a radar according to the invention in the presence of another aircraft 2 , situated at a distance r , in a situation where a potential risk of collision between the two aircraft exists . differentiation and dimensioning of the radar distance and speed detection domain as a function of the speeds of the carrier 1 and of the intended targets 2 , of the altitude of the carrier and of the minimum notice time for avoiding the collision segmentation of the distance / speed domain so as to process separately the zones where the targets appear in contrast against the ground clutter , from the zones where the targets appear in contrast against the internal noise of the radar receiver . dynamic adaptation of the waveform of the radar as a function both of the speed and of the altitude of the carrier , so as to optimize the probability of detection as a function of context . under these conditions , the utilization of the radar resources is optimized continually and the target detection capabilities are enhanced , notably at low altitude . two speed domains notably can be considered . a first domain is the so - called “ exo - clutter ” domain , that is to say the domain in terms of target speed , in which a doppler analysis of conventional “ mti ” type , known to the person skilled in the art , systematically places the target outside of the doppler zone of the ground clutter when a waveform with no speed ambiguity is used . this domain corresponds to rather fast targets that could collide with the carrier 1 . more precisely , the speeds satisfy the following sufficient condition : v carrier being the modulus of the speed of the carrier with respect to a fixed reference marker on the ground , that is to say the absolute speed of the carrier , and vrr target being the relative radial speed of the target with respect to the carrier . it is positive in the case of an approach and only the case where this speed is positive has to be considered in the case of obstacle avoidance . typically , the maximum speed of the carrier 1 is for example v carrier = 100 m / s , and the maximum speed of the target 2 , with respect to the ground , is for example vr = 300 m / s , thus giving a maximum approach speed vrrmax = 400 m / s . for these targets , the radar of the carrier 1 must detect sufficiently far to avoid a collision . typically , the minimum notice time tp in the most unfavourable case , corresponding to a not very agile aircraft , is tp = 22 seconds , which leads to a minimum range of the order of 6 nm . this therefore entails favouring the range budget by using the maximum power available . stated otherwise , it is important to guarantee a thermal signal - to - noise ratio greater than a certain minimum value throughout the distance domain of interest . the rf power available for transmission , for a given antennal definition , is dimensioned with respect to this speed domain , matching the minimum range requirement , 6 nm for example . the separation of the targets , which are not separated by angular criteria relating to the selectivity of the antennal system , can be performed by means of the doppler effect , on condition that the coherent integration time is sufficient . for example , an integration time of 50 ms leads to a doppler resolution of 20 hz and to a separating power of 0 . 32 m / s in the x band , this being sufficient when limiting oneself to realistic multi - target scenarios . however , the distance resolution is not a dimensioning criterion . likewise , a mediocre distance measurement accuracy may be suitable ( class 100 m ) in so far as a relative inaccuracy in terms of distance has no impact on the decision as to whether to change trajectory with a view to avoiding the collision . a second domain to be considered is the endo - clutter domain , that is to say the domain for which the relative speed of the targets 2 is lower than the speed of the carrier 1 and for which no waveform of the lrf , mrf or hrf modes defined previously can enable the target to be placed against just the thermal noise background of the radar . the following relation is then satisfied : for these targets , by considering the typical values above , the maximum approach speed is vrr = 100 m / sec and the consequent minimum range requirement is 2200 m . in this domain , the range budget is no longer the dimensioning element , and it is important to decrease the clutter power intercepted by the radar by minimizing the distance and speed resolution cell , the characteristics of the antenna having been defined elsewhere . moreover , below a certain distance , corresponding to the minimum reaction time to avoid the obstacle , detection becomes pointless , thus further limiting the distance domain instrumented in this mode . for example , by estimating this time at 5 seconds , a blind zone of 500 m may be accepted . according to the invention , for each of the two speed domains characterized above by relations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), a waveform and a corresponding processing , which are described below , are defined . fig2 presents an exemplary waveform adapted to the targets 2 whose relative speed is higher than the speed of the carrier 1 of the radar . the speed of the target is for example determined conventionally by means of a doppler frequency analysis , the speed of the carrier being captured elsewhere and transmitted to the radar processing means . for this first domain , a waveform that is non - ambiguous in doppler frequency is chosen so as to eliminate the spectral aliasings in order to guarantee visibility of the targets in contrast against thermal noise with the highest possible shape factor . the waveform is sinusoidal with n frequencies , fig2 illustrating the case where n = 2 . fig2 therefore presents an example where frequencies f 1 and f 2 are transmitted simultaneously . the waveform e ( t ) is then represented by a curve 22 , which is the sum of a sinusoid of frequency f 1 and of a sinusoid of frequency f 2 . in fig2 , for the sake of legibility the sinusoids are shifted with respect to the zero value represented by the time axis t . in reality , they would have zero mean . this case with two frequencies may be generalized to n frequencies . as regards the resulting wave 22 , a continuous waveform with low instantaneous band is chosen . the coherent integration time is determined so as to satisfy two contradictory criteria : it must be as great as possible so as to obtain better sensitivity and better speed separating power ( minimum doppler filter width ); it must not exceed the stationarity time of the observed targets as compared with the possible phase and amplitude fluctuations of the signal received , which are related notably to the relative motions . stated otherwise , the motion of the target never being either perfectly constant or reduced to the motion of a single bright point , the resulting spectral spreading must remain below the passband of a doppler filter . it is possible to exceed this duration , but significant losses appear . typically , this time is of the order of 50 ms for an x - band radar , this corresponding to a doppler discrimination of the order of 0 . 3 m / s in the x band . in order to estimate the distance to the detected targets , the radar waveform is modulated in phase or in frequency , amplitude modulation being notably excluded since the requirement is to profit from the maximum power available continually . conventional solutions based on phase or frequency code modulation , of the fsk or “ chirp ” type , over the coherent integration time are not suitable . indeed , they introduce distance ambiguities which are complex to eliminate , having regard to the distance / speed domain to be processed , and are of the order of 6 nm × 400 m / s as a general rule . as indicated previously , according to the invention , during the coherent integration time the radar simultaneously transmits two sinusoidal signals spaced apart in frequency , one at a first frequency f 1 and the other at a second frequency f 2 , the spacing between these frequencies being low enough for it to be possible to consider the doppler frequency of the echoes received to be equal for these two frequencies ; being wide enough for it to be possible to unambiguously separate the signals received from the targets originating from the two spectral components at f 1 and at f 2 into two processing channels , having regard to the doppler shift of the targets or of the ground clutter , which is not known a priori . however , a maximum interval is fixed for this doppler effect . this interval is determined a priori by considering the spans of “ plausible ” speeds of the targets and of the carrier of the radar . being wide enough for a distance measurement to be possible on the basis of a differential phase measurement at reception , and being so with acceptable accuracy . being low enough for it to be possible to correctly manage the ambiguities inherent in all phase measurements ( see the waveform used below ). it should be noted that the invention is described in respect of an application with two simultaneous frequencies , but that it may be extended to an application with n discrete frequencies transmitted simultaneously . fig3 presents , by means of a schematic diagram , an exemplary embodiment of a radar according to the invention . it comprises for example a low - frequency δf / 2 continuous sinusoidal wave generator 31 . the signal provided by this generator 31 , at frequency δf / 2 , is transposed to the frequency f 1 and to the frequency f 2 , where : for this purpose , a mixer 32 receives on one input the signal at δf / 2 originating from the generator 31 and receives on another input a signal at the frequency f 0 originating from an rf pilot 33 . the mixer 32 outputs sinusoidal signals at the frequencies f 1 and f 2 . the low - power signals provided by the mixer 33 are amplified by a power amplification chain 34 , the amplified signals being provided to a transmission antenna 35 which transmits a signal at two frequencies f 1 and f 2 . on reception , the signals are captured by a reception antenna 36 which may be the same as the reception antenna on condition that isolation circuits , not represented , are provided between the transmit and receive channels . the signals received are amplified , at the antenna output 36 , by a low noise amplifier 37 . the output of the amplifier is linked to a demodulation circuit 38 . the radar receiver separately processes the two noisy sinusoids received in two channels , filtered around f 1 and around f 2 respectively . this filtering may be analogue or digital . a coherent demodulation 38 is then performed in each of the two respective channels so as to form , in analogue or digital fashion , two channels i and q , 381 , 382 . it should be noted that , in return for certain additional constraints on the choice of the parameters of the waveform , a demodulation providing only the real signal “ i ” is possible . the two signals originating from the two channels i , q are for example digitized by means of an analogue - digital converter 39 . a spectral analysis is then performed , for example by fourier transform 40 , on each of the channels relating respectively to f 1 or to f 2 . in the event that a target is present , the spectral analyses on the channels f 1 or f 2 provide a spectral line at the frequency f d − δf / 2 on the channel f 1 and , respectively , at the frequency f d + δf / 2 on the channel f 2 . these two spectral lines have similar amplitudes , to within the noise and tolerances on the circuits . if these two spectral lines satisfy certain detection conditions , a target is declared “ detected ” by detection means 30 . this target is characterized , notably , by the doppler frequency f d and the differential phase between these two spectral lines : r the distance of the target 2 considered with respect to the carrier 1 ; δf the gap between the frequencies f 1 and f 2 . φ 0 is a “ phase at the origin ” term . according to the rf chain production method , this term is zero or else it needs to be calibrated periodically . in the latter case , the methods are assumed to be known and they consist for example in reinjecting , during calibration sequences , the signal transmitted directly into the receiver , with a zero distance . in the subsequent description it is therefore assumed that φ 0 = 0 . from the measurement of the differential phase according to the above relation ( 3 ), an estimation of the distance to the target is deduced : the phase measurement being to within modulo π , the distance measurement is therefore also ambiguous to within it was seen previously that the frequency gap δf must be greater than the doppler frequency band of the targets in order to be able to definitely separate the pathways relating to f 1 and to f 2 . the above - mentioned typical values of relative speed vrr of the target alone justify a gap δf , so that the distance measurement in the domain considered , of the order of 6 nm , is necessarily rendered ambiguous . moreover , the higher δf , the more locally accurate the distance measurement , for given phase noise , but the greater the risk of the measurement being ambiguous . it is therefore necessary to remove these ambiguities . for this purpose , use is made of n pairs of frequencies spaced apart by δf i with iε [ 1 , n ], where n is greater than 1 . these pairs of frequencies may be transmitted : each of the two solutions does indeed present certain advantages but also certain drawbacks . it is also possible to contemplate solutions which hybridize these two modes of operation . fig4 a and 4 b illustrate respectively the transmission of sequential pairs of frequencies and the transmission of simultaneous pairs of frequencies , these pairs being used to remove the distance ambiguity . to illustrate the transmission of these pairs , a case of application to three frequencies , that is to say the case where n = 3 , is considered . in the case of fig4 a , the radar always transmits two frequencies simultaneously , but the pair of frequencies is modified sequentially . thus , the radar simultaneously transmits frequencies f 1 and f 2 , and then simultaneously transmits the frequency f 1 and a frequency f 3 and finally simultaneously transmits the frequencies f 2 and f 3 before resuming the simultaneous transmission of f 1 and f 2 , and so on and so forth . more particularly , fig4 a illustrates by means of a curve 41 the frequency gap as a function of time , this gap successively taking the values δfa , δfb and δfc , which correspond to the three successively transmitted pairs of frequencies , doing so cyclically , where : fig4 b represents by means of three curves the three simultaneously transmitted sinusoids and also the resulting wave by means of a curve 45 . for legibility reasons , the sinusoids are represented shifted although they would have zero mean in reality . in this case the signal received , corresponding to the transmission of the total signal 45 , is firstly separated into three channels . for this purpose , the intervals between each of the three sequences are greater than the maximum doppler frequency f d to be taken into account . once the channels have been separated , the differential phases are computed by constructing pairs : the differential phases associated with these pairs are thereafter used in a manner similar to the sequential case relating to fig4 a . one benefit of the simultaneous mode as compared with the sequential mode is that it makes it possible to remove the ambiguity over a shorter period of time . it is not necessary to wait for the transmission of all the frequencies . this shorter period of time makes it possible for example to carry out the frequency diversity on the mean value of the n - tuple ( f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , . . . fn ) in a general case with n frequencies . this has notably the advantage of reducing the effect of the fluctuation in the radar cross section rcs of the target 2 and of obtaining more stable detection . an ambiguity removal method is described notably in french patent application no . 09 00241 filed on 29 jan . 2009 . fig5 presents a pulse waveform adapted to the targets 2 whose relative speed is less than the speed of the carrier 1 . for this second operating domain , the sought - after range rmax and the distance to be instrumented are also given by the following relation : where t is the reaction time necessary to avoid a collision . t is equal to 22 seconds for the most unfavourable case , the distance to be instrumented is then rmax = vpmax . t = 2200 m , this corresponding to a round trip propagation time of τ = 2rmax / c = 14 . 6 μs . t is equal to 5 seconds for the most favourable case , the blind zone possibly extending up to rmin = vpmax . t = 500 m for a carrier at 100 m / s , this corresponding to a round trip propagation time of τ = 2rmax / c = 3 . 33 μs . the sought - after range being lower than in the first mode of operation described above , and the peak power of the radar having been dimensioned for the first mode , the shape factor may be degraded in the ratio of the intended ranges to the power 4 , i . e . for example ( 2200 / 12964 ) 4 = 8 . 4 10 − 4 , again taking the previously stated typical values . the power to be transmitted in this second mode is therefore not a dimensioning element , and a pulsed waveform with moderate shape factor may advantageously be used . in order to minimize the ground clutter power in the radar confusion cell , a waveform that is doppler - unambiguous in the clutter band is chosen . advantageously , the duration of recurrence is for example adapted continually as a function of the speed of the carrier . it is also for example adapted to the reaction time of the carrier so as to avoid a collision . for a carrier speed vp , the recurrence frequency fr of the radar is then greater than the minimum recurrence value frmin = 4vp / λ , the ground clutter being distributed between the frequencies − 2vp / λ and + 2vp / λ . again taking the typical values , for example vpmax = 100 m / sec , it follows that frmin & gt ; 12500 hz . the maximum duration of recurrence trmax is then equal to 80 μs . for example tr = 77 μs is chosen , this corresponding to an ambiguous distance ctr / 2 = 11550 m , c being the speed of light . the distance domain to be instrumented being small compared with the ambiguity distance , it is then possible to populate the recurrence of duration tr with several pulses 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 . these pulses are spaced apart by a time tr similar to the propagation time corresponding to the limit of the instrumented domain with the objective of optimizing the radar range budget . the pulses 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 are frequency coded so as to maintain the furthest possible ambiguity distance . in the example of fig5 , four frequencies are used . inside a recurrence period tr covering these four frequencies , the first pulse is coded at a frequency f ′ 1 , the second pulse is coded at a frequency f ′ 2 , the third pulse is coded at a frequency f ′ 3 and the fourth pulse is coded at a frequency f ′ 4 . the number of frequencies used may be equal to 1 or to another integer greater than 1 , this value depending notably on the compromise sought between the mean power and the usable domain . on this basis , by adapting the reception processing to the recurrence period tr where the transmission frequency is fi , only the pulses received at the frequency fi are detected . by way of example , it is possible to choose tr = 15 . 4 μs in a scheme with 4 frequencies . the distance ambiguity is rejected at a distance corresponding to a propagation time of 4 tr and the ambiguous echoes are attenuated in a ratio 4 4 , i . e . 24 db with respect to the non - ambiguous echoes at the limit of the instrumented domain , this being sufficient . the pulse width is chosen to be as large as possible , its maximum value being bounded by the acceptable blind distance , i . e . 3 . 33 μs for a carrier at 100 m / s for example . in order to reduce the clutter power intercepted by the radar , pulse compression , for example “ chirp ”, may be used . a modulation band of the order of 10 mhz , giving a resolution of 15 m , may be used . globally , this optimization of the waveform makes it possible to increase the sensitivity of the radar and thus to detect slow targets of very low radar cross section , rcs , at low altitude : the shape factor is optimized to maximize the mean power transmitted and therefore the sensitivity ; the radar resolution cell is minimized , thereby reducing the power of the ground clutter and increasing the detection capability for very low speed targets ; the distance and speed ambiguities are easily rejected . this second waveform illustrated by fig5 and the associated processing may be implemented in accordance with the schematic of the figures of fig3 by adding thereto a transmission pulse modulation device , and optionally a pulse compression device . other waveforms may be used , apart from a pulse wave , for the second domain target speeds lower than corresponding to the relative speeds of targets below the speed of the carrier . advantageously , the waveform is adapted continually as a function of the speed and altitude of the carrier , and of the position and relative speed of the target . this adaptation is also dependent on the reaction time of the carrier in avoiding a collision . as regards the schematic diagram of fig3 , the latter may be supplemented with a stage of computational beam - forming in the reception circuits in the case of a radar with computational beam - forming on reception . in this case , transmission may advantageously be carried out on one or more wide - aperture fixed beams . the transmission part of this schematic diagram uses an analogue mixer 32 balanced to generate two symmetric frequencies around a mean value f 0 , these two frequencies being contained in the same signal , which is thereafter amplified to a required power . this simple system may nonetheless have certain drawbacks : it uses an analogue hardware component , a balanced mixer , where residuals of the central frequency f 0 may be found at output ; it does not make it possible to produce the simultaneous waveform with three or more frequencies ; it obliges the power amplifier 34 to work on a signal of non - constant amplitude , which is detrimental to its efficiency and may induce various troublesome spurious effects . an alternative solution is for example to separately transmit n sinusoidal signals of distinct frequencies , n being greater than or equal to 2 . this multiple generation may be carried out by digital synthesis systems . likewise , it may be beneficial to amplify the power of these n sinusoidal signals separately . the power amplifiers can then operate in a non - linear or saturated regime . finally , to eliminate the losses of a power summation system , the radar can transmit these n amplified sinusoidal signals by n antennas , each being assigned to an amplifier .	6
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention , and as shown in fig3 a and 3b , there is provided an electrical connecting device having a contactor 10 . contactor 10 of fig3 a includes an easily transformable , elongated conductive member 11 and a coil - shape spring 12 . the conductive member 11 is provided within the coil - shape spring 12 along the longitudinal direction thereof and , for example , is formed of a metal wire to transfer current . at both ends of the conductive member 11 , metal balls 11a or other similar disc - like contact elements are provided . the coil - shape spring 12 is compressed , as shown in fig3 b , when the metal ball 11a is in contact with an external electrode such as that of a semiconductor to provide a contact pressure . in this case when the spring 12 is compressed , the conductive member 11 deforms as shown in fig3 b . the metal ball 11a has a diameter preferentially larger than the internal diameter of the coil - shape spring 12 . in this manner , the conductive member 11 is never or not allowed to be removed from the coil - shape spring 12 . even when the coil - shape spring 12 is formed of a conductive material , current is transferred along the shortest route through the conductive member 11 . therefore , the coil - shape spring 12 may be formed of either a conductive material or a nonconductive material . as explained , in the contactor for the electrical connecting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the coil - shape spring 12 provides elasticity to generate a contact pressure , while the transformable conductive member 11 provides a current transfer route . since the route of the conductive member 11 is short , and in particular shorter than through the coil - shape spring , an excellent current transfer characteristic is realized resulting in small inductance and resistance . moreover , since the current transfer route does not change even during contact with the external electrode , a stable current transfer characteristic also may be realized . fig4 a to fig4 f show modifications to the contactor for the electrical connecting device in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention . in the contactor 10a of fig4 a , both ends of the conductive member 11a are welded to the coil - shape spring 12 . in the contactor 10b of fig1 b , both ends of the conductive member 11b are fixedly hooked to the coil - shape spring 12 . in the contactor 10c of fig4 c , a plurality of conductive members 11c are provided and both ends thereof are welded to the coil - shape spring 12 . in the contactor 10d of fig4 d , the conductive member 11d is provided on the outside or at the external side of the coil - shape spring 12 and both ends thereof are welded to the coil - shape spring 12 . in the contactor 10e of fig4 e , the conductive member 11e is arranged on the outside of the coil - shape spring 12 and both ends thereof are fixedly hooked to the coil - shape spring 12 . in the contactor 10f of fig4 f , a plurality of conductive members 11f are arranged on the outside of the coil - shape spring 12 and both ends thereof are welded to the coil - shape spring 12 . the modified contactors of fig4 a - 4f operate and can achieve the same or similar functions as the contactor shown in fig3 a and 3b and as described earlier . particularly , for the contactors shown in fig4 c or fig4 f , when a plurality of conductive members are provided , resistance and inductance of the current transfer route may further be reduced in comparison with the case where only one conductive member is provided . an electrical connecting device is shown in fig5 a and 5b and now will be described hereafter in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig5 a , electrical connecting device 18 includes contactors 10 , a guide plate 20 , screws 22 , screw stoppers 23 and a substrate 24 . the guide plate 20 is provided with a plurality of holes 21 corresponding to the positions of the external electrodes 31 of a semiconductor device 30 and contactors 10 are positioned in the corresponding holes 21 . land patterns 25 are formed on one side of the substrate 24 to correspond with the holes 21 and contactors 10 located therein as shown in fig5 b . the guide plate 20 is fixed to the substrate 24 with the screws 22 and screw stoppers 23 . where the electrical connecting device 18 is applied to an ic package , the pitch of the electrical connecting device 18 can be 2 . 54 mm to as little as 0 . 5 mm in a particularly fine pitch , and the quantity of contactors accordingly could be from 10 to as many as 1 , 000 . where the electrical connecting device 18 is applied to a bare chip , the pitch of the electrical connecting device 18 can be 0 . 3 mm to as little as 0 . 04 mm in a particularly fine pitch , and the quantity of contactors accordingly could be a few to as many as a few thousands . fig5 b is an enlarged view of portion &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; for the electrical connecting device shown in fig5 a . as shown in fig5 b , the contactors 10 are arranged within the holes 21 of the guide plate 20 so that these contactors 10 are in contact with corresponding land patterns 25 . as embodied herein , hole 21 has an inwardly tapered internal wall where the internal diameter of the center area of the hole , for example , is narrowed as shown in fig5 b . accordingly , the contactor 10 is prevented to be removed from the hole 21 . the land pattern 25 is provided with a wiring 26 for connection with test equipment 49 . the electrical connecting device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention can be electrically connected stably to the external electrode 31 of the semiconductor device 30 and the semiconductor device 30 can be tested easily by the test equipment 49 . moreover , since the structure of the contactors 10 and guide plate 20 is comparatively simple , it may be divided easily into small sections and it can be used with a semiconductor device 30 where a plurality of external electrodes 31 are arranged in a fine pitch . an electrical connecting device 18a according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig6 and will now be described . in fig6 the elements like those elements for the device in fig5 a and 5b are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated herein . in the embodiment of the electrical connecting device 18a of fig6 a contactor 10g is used in place of the contactor 10 . in the embodiment of the device shown in fig6 reliability of the electrical connection can be improved by mechanical coupling between the contactor 10g and land pattern 25 . the contactor 10g is coupled to the land pattern 25 at the end part of the contactor using a metal coupling means . such a metal coupling means , for example , could be a metal ball or disc - like element 11b fused using solder and fixedly coupled to the land pattern 25 . as another example , a wire bonding technique can be applied . first , a ball at an end of a wire which is through a capillary is made using a hydrogen torch or electrical spark method . next , the ball is secured at the land pattern 25 by mechanical pressure from the capillary and after the securing step , the wire is cut with appropriate length . next , a coil - shape spring is provided around the remaining wire on the land pattern 25 . finally , a metal ball 11a is made using a hydrogen torch or electrical spark method . however , the metal coupling means need not be so limited to these examples . an electrical connecting device 18b according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig7 and will no be described . in fig7 the elements like those elements for the device in fig5 a and 5b are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated here . in the embodiment of the electrical connecting device 18b in fig7 two guide plates 20a and 20b having a plurality of corresponding holes 27 are stacked together . the corresponding holes 27 of the two guide plates have stepped portions 27a facing each other where the guide plates join together . within the space formed by the stepped portion 27a of the guide plate 20a and the respective stepped portion 27a of the guide plate 20b , contactors 10h having connecting parts 11c connected in series are fitted therein . this arrangement prevents the contactor 10h from being removed from its respective hole 27 . an electrical connecting device 18c according another embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig8 and will now be described below . in fig8 the elements like those elements for the device in fig7 are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated here . in the embodiment of the electrical connecting device 18c of fig8 two guide plates 20a and 20b having a plurality of corresponding holes 27 are again stacked together . the corresponding holes 27 of the two guide plates have stepped portions 27a facing each other where the guide plates join together . within the space formed by the stepped portion 27a of the guide plate 20a and the stepped portion 27a of the guide plate 20b , a relaying member 13 is fitted therein . contactors 101 have connecting parts 11c connected in series through the relaying member 13 . this structure prevents the contactors 101 from being removed from the holes . the method of securing between the metal ball of the contactor 101 and land pattern 25 or relaying member 13 is the same as the securing method for the embodiment of fig6 . a contactor 10j and 10k having a modified structure for the electrical connecting device is shown in fig9 a and fig9 b according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig9 a and fig9 b , the elements of this contactor 10j and 10k that are like those elements of the contactor 10 in fig3 a and fig3 b are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated herein . contactor 10j of fig9 a includes a conductive member 11 , a coil - shape spring 12 and a metal end piece 14 connected to both ends of the conductive member 11 for contact . as shown in fig9 a , the metal end piece 14 for contact has a recess 14a and reliable electrical connection can be established by fitting a ball type external electrode of a ball - grid - array (&# 34 ; bga &# 34 ;) type semiconductor device into the recess 14a . the further modified contactor 10k of fig9 b includes a conductive member 11 , a coil - shape spring 12 and a metal end piece 15 connected to both ends of the conductive member 11 for contact . as shown in fig9 b , the metal end piece 15 for contact has a sharp end point 15a and reliable electrical connection can be established by pushing the end point 15a to a pin type external electrode of a quadrille - flat - package (&# 34 ; qfp &# 34 ;) type semiconductor device and to the electrode like the land pattern 25 of the substrate 24 for the device of fig5 b . in the contactors shown fig9 a and fig9 b , as explained above , reliable electrical connection can be established by providing the metal end piece for contact suitable for the shape of the electrode to be connected . it is not required to provide a metal end piece for contact having the same shape at both ends of the contactor . for example , the metal end piece 14 for contact in the contactor of fig9 a can be provided at one end and the metal end piece 15 for contact in the contactor of fig9 b can be provided at the other end . fig1 is a schematic view showing a connection for an electrical connecting device using a contactor having metal end pieces of the types shown in fig9 a and fig9 b . in fig1 , the elements for the device like those in fig5 a and fig5 b , and fig9 a and fig9 b are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated here . in this electrical connecting device 18d of fig1 , contactors 10l have the metal end piece 14 for contact provided at one end and the metal end piece 15 for contact at the other end . moreover , the recess 14a of the metal end piece 14 for contact and the sharp end point or end part 15a of the metal end piece 15 for contact are respectively provided with a metal plating 16 of au to improve the electrical connection . the ball - type external electrode 31 of the semiconductor device 30 is positioned into the recess 14a of the metal end piece 14 for contact , while the end part 15a of the metal end piece 15 for contact is pushed into contact with the land pattern 15 of the substrate 24 . thereby , reliable electrical connection can be established between the ball type external electrode 31 of the semiconductor device 30 and the land pattern 25 . a method for manufacturing a contactor for an electrical connecting device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 a - 11d and will now be described below . as shown in fig1 a , in making the contactor 10 a wire 42 is fed from a wire reel 40 and is then inserted into the inside portion of the coil - shape spring 12 which is fixed to a clamping jig 41 . fig1 b shows the condition in the subsequent step where the wire 42 is inserted into the coil - shape spring 12 . in this condition and in the next step shown in fig1 c , the wire 42 is thermally cut at both ends of the coil - shape spring 12 , for example , by a hydrogen torch method . the wire 42 also may be thermally cut , for example , by an electrical discharging process . when the wire 42 is thermally cut , and as shown in the subsequent step of fig1 d , the wire 42 is hardened in the form of a sphere at the cutting end , to provide the conductive member 11 inserted into the coil - shape spring 12 and with metal balls or similar disc - like elements 11a at both ends of the conductive member 11 . as explained above , the contactor and the other components for the electrical connecting device according to preferred embodiments of the present invention may be produced easily by simple processes which are quite suitable for mass - production . as will now be described and as illustrated in fig1 , there is provided an arrangement for semiconductor device test equipment utilizing the electrical connecting device according to embodiments of the present invention . the semiconductor device test equipment shown in fig1 includes a tester 50 , a test head 51 , a wiring 52 connecting the test head 51 and tester 50 and a contactor 53 using the electrical connecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention provided at the test head 51 . an lsi 60 is fitted to the contactor 53 to test the lsi 60 , for example a bga type lsi , with the tester 50 . the semiconductor device test equipment of fig1 is available in the related art , except for use of the electrical connecting device of the present invention , for example , the embodiment of the device shown in fig5 a . therefore , a detailed explanation thereof is omitted herein . a method for testing a semiconductor device utilizing the semiconductor device test equipment in fig1 now be described in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . the semiconductor testing method is also illustrated in fig1 a through 13c . in fig1 a through fig1 c , the elements of the electrical connecting device used in this testing method that are like those elements of the electrical connecting device in fig5 a and fig5 b are designated by like reference numerals and the same explanation is not repeated here . as shown in fig1 a , this testing method uses a contactor 53 which includes a guide plate 20 arranging contactors 10 corresponding to an arrangement of external electrodes 61 of lsi 60 . the electrical connection between the external electrode 61 and contactor 10 is established by inserting the lsi 60 into the contactor 53 . fig1 b shows the condition or subsequent step where the lsi 60 is inserted into the contactor 53 . under this condition , various electrical tests are executed on lsi 60 using the appropriate test equipment . after the test , in the next step , the lsi 60 is removed from the contactor 43 as shown in fig1 c . as explained above , this method of testing a semiconductor device can be executed under a stable and excellent electrical connecting condition , while the semiconductor device is loaded or unloaded easily . these advantages of conducting the semiconductor device test according to the processes shown in fig1 a through fig1 c are achievable by using the semiconductor test system shown in fig1 provided with an electrical connecting device according to the present invention . although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention , the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents .	6
the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown . as those skilled in the art would realize , the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways , all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure . the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive . like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification . further , since sizes and thicknesses of constituent members shown in the accompanying drawings are arbitrarily given for better understanding and ease of description , the present disclosure is not limited thereto . in the drawings , the thickness of layers , films , panels , regions , etc ., may be exaggerated for clarity . in the drawings , for better understanding and ease of description , the thicknesses of some layers and areas are exaggerated . in addition , unless explicitly described to the contrary , the word “ comprise ” and variations such as “ comprises ” or “ comprising ” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements . further , in the specification , the phrase “ on a plane ” means viewing the object portion from the top , the phase “ on a rear ” means viewing the objection from the bottom , and the phrase “ on a cross - section ” means viewing a cross - section of which the object portion is vertically cut from the side . a catalyzed particulate filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to various devices obtaining energy by burning a fossil fuel and exhausting a gas generated in a process thereof into the atmosphere , as well as a vehicle . in the present specification , the catalyzed particulate filter is applied to a vehicle , however it is not necessary that the catalyzed particulate filter must be applied to a vehicle . an engine to generate power is mounted to the vehicle . the engine converts chemical energy into mechanical energy by combusting a mixture in which the fuel and air are mixed . the engine is connected to an intake manifold to inflow the air to inside a combustion chamber and is connected to an exhaust manifold such that the exhaust gas generated in a combustion process is collected in the exhaust manifold and is exhausted to the outside of the vehicle . an injector is mounted in the combustion chamber or the intake manifold to inject the fuel to the inside of the combustion chamber or the intake manifold . the exhaust gas generated in the engine is exhausted outside of the vehicle through an exhaust device . the exhaust device may include an exhaust pipe and an exhaust gas recirculation ( egr ) device . the exhaust pipe is connected to the exhaust manifold to exhaust the exhaust gas outside the vehicle . the exhaust gas recirculation device is mounted on the exhaust pipe such that the exhaust gas exhausted from the engine passes through the exhaust gas recirculation device . also , the exhaust gas recirculation device is connected to the intake manifold such that a part of the exhaust gas is mixed with the air to control a combustion temperature . the combustion temperature may be controlled by on / off - controlling an egr valve ( not shown ) provided at the exhaust gas recirculation device . that is , by on / off - controlling the egr valve , the amount of the exhaust gas supplied to the intake manifold is controlled . in the exhaust device , a particulate filter mounted at the exhaust pipe for collecting the particulate matter included in the exhaust gas may be further included . the particulate filter may be a catalyzed particulate filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure to purify various materials as well as the particulate matter included in the exhaust gas . next , the catalyzed particulate filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings . first , the catalyzed particulate filter according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig1 to fig3 . fig1 is a perspective view of a catalyzed particulate filter according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the catalyzed particulate filter of fig1 , and fig3 is a rear view partially showing an inflow channel and an outflow channel of the catalyzed particulate filter of fig1 . as shown in fig1 to fig3 , the catalyzed particulate filter 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one inflow channel 10 and at least one outflow channel 20 in a housing . a plurality of inflow channels 10 and outflow channels 20 are divided by a wall 30 . also , a supporting member 40 may be disposed inside at least one outflow channel 20 . the inflow channel 10 and the outflow channel 20 may be all collectively referred to as cell . also , the shape of the housing is a cylinder shape and the shape of the cell may be quadrangle , however the shape of the housing and the shape of the cell are not limited to such a shape and may be formed of various shapes . referring to fig2 and fig3 , the inflow channel 10 extends along a flow of the exhaust gas . a front of the inflow channel 10 is opened such that the exhaust gas inflows inside the particulate filter 1 through the inflow channel 10 . a rear of the inflow channel 10 is blocked by a first plug 12 . accordingly , the exhaust gas inside the particulate filter 1 may be not released outside the particulate filter 1 through the inflow channel 10 . the outflow channel 20 may extend along the flow of the exhaust gas and may be disposed to be parallel to the inflow channel 10 . in an embodiment , at least one inflow channel 10 is positioned near the outflow channel 20 . for example , if the shape of the cell is quadrangle , the wall 30 enclosing the outflow channel 20 has four surfaces . at least one surface among four surfaces of the wall 30 enclosing the outflow channel 20 may be positioned between the outflow channel 20 and the inflow channel 10 neighboring thereto . if the shape of the cell is quadrangle , the outflow channel 20 is enclosed by four neighboring inflow channels 10 , and the inflow channel 10 is enclosed by four neighboring outflow channels 20 , however it is not limited thereto . the front of the outflow channel 20 is blocked by the second plug 22 such that the exhaust gas may not inflow inside the particulate filter 1 through the outflow channel 20 . the rear of the outflow channel 20 is opened such that the exhaust gas inside the particulate filter 1 may be outflowed outside the particulate filter 1 through the outflow channel 20 . the wall 30 is disposed between the inflow channel 10 and the outflow channel 20 neighboring to each other , thereby defining a boundary . the wall 30 may be a porous wall 30 in which at least one micropore is formed . the porous wall 30 fluid - communicates the inflow channel 10 and the outflow channel 20 neighboring each other . accordingly , the exhaust gas inflowing to the inflow channel 10 may be moved to the outflow channel 20 thorough the porous wall 30 . in an embodiment , the porous wall 30 does not pass the particulate matter included in the exhaust gas . when the exhaust gas moves from the inflow channel 10 to the outflow channel 20 through the porous wall 30 , the particulate matter included in the exhaust gas is filtered by the porous wall 30 . the porous wall 30 may be manufactured from aluminum titanate , codieriteor silicon carbide , etc . a catalyst 50 may be coated to the porous wall 30 . however , such a catalyst 50 coating arrangement is not limited thereto . that is , depending on a design intention , various catalysts 50 such as a three - way catalyst , an oxidation catalytic , a hydrocarbon trap catalyst , a selective catalytic reduction ( scr ) catalyst , etc . may be coated to the wall 30 . also , the catalyst 50 of two or more kinds may be coated to the wall 30 . for example , the three - way catalyst may be coated on the inner wall of the inflow channel 10 , and the selective reduction catalyst may be coated on the inner wall of the outflow channel 20 . the supporting member 40 may be disposed inside the outflow channel 20 . the supporting member 40 may be a plurality of structures for absorbing the catalyst as a ball shape , and the structures of the ball shape may fill at least part of an inside of the outflow channel 20 . the supporting member 40 according to a present exemplary embodiment is the structure of an oval shape as one example , however various other structure shapes may be provided and / or employed . the supporting member 40 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of the porous ball and the catalyst supporting ball . for example , the supporting member 40 may be the ceramic ball , and further may be an alumina ball including al 2 o 3 . the catalyst 50 may be coated to the supporting member 40 . that is , depending on a design intention , various catalysts 50 such as a three - way catalyst , an oxidation catalytic , a hydrocarbon trap catalyst , a selective catalytic reduction ( scr ) catalyst , etc . may be coated to the supporting member 40 . also , the catalyst 50 of two or more kinds , or constituent materials , may be coated to the supporting member 40 . for example , the three - way catalyst and the selective reduction catalyst may be sequentially coated to the supporting member 40 . furthermore , the three - way catalyst may be coated to the part of the supporting member 40 and the selective reduction catalyst may be coated at the remaining part . the kind of the catalyst 50 coated to the supporting member 40 may be the same as or different from the kind of the catalyst 50 coated to the wall 30 . when the supporting member 40 is the porous material , the catalyst 50 is coated to the surface of the supporting member 40 and the inner pore of the supporting member 40 . alternatively , when the supporting member 40 is the non - porous material , the catalyst 50 may be coated to the surface of the supporting member 40 . further , the amount of the catalyst 50 coated to the supporting member 40 may be more than the amount of the catalyst 50 coated to the wall 30 . the wall 30 executes the function of a filter such that the catalyst 50 may be thinly coated to the wall 30 , however the supporting member 40 does not execute the function of the filter such that the catalyst 50 may be thickly coated to the supporting member 40 . the supporting member 40 coated with the catalyst 50 may be formed by together coating a catalyst slurry and an junction member to the supporting member 40 including at least one among the porous ball or the catalyst supporting ball . also , a drying process and a baking process may be sequentially executed to fix the supporting member 40 inside the outflow channel 20 after inserting the supporting member 40 inside the outflow channel 20 . in such a case , the drying process may be executed at 100 - 140 ° c . for 1 - 3 hours , and the baking process may be executed at 400 - 600 ° c . for 1 - 3 hours . as described above , the particulate filter 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include the supporting member 40 filled inside the outflow channel 20 such that the amount of the coated catalyst 50 may increase . here , the amount of the catalyst 50 means the amount of the catalyst coated per unit length or unit area . also , the supporting member 40 may only be formed in the outflow channel 20 that is the channel in the outlet direction , but may not be formed in the inflow channel 10 such that an increasing of back pressure may be minimized . next , the particulate filter according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig4 and fig5 . fig4 is a cross - sectional view of a catalyzed particulate filter according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , and fig5 is a rear view partially showing an inflow channel and an outflow channel of the catalyzed particulate filter of fig4 . the catalyzed particulate filter according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as the catalyzed particulate filter according to the above - described first exemplary embodiment except for the structure of the supporting member such that an overlapping description is omitted . referring to fig4 and fig5 , the supporting member 40 of the particulate filter 1 according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be at least one of metal foam , metal fiber , wire mesh , ceramic foam , and ceramic fiber as the porous structure . here , the material of the metal foam , the metal fiber , and the wire mesh may include at least one of aluminum ( al ), copper ( cu ), nickel ( ni ), manganese ( mn ), magnesium ( mg ), iron ( fe ) and titanium ( ti ). also , the material of the ceramic foam and the ceramic fiber may include at least one among silicon ( si ), carbon ( c ) and nitrogen ( n ). like the first exemplary embodiment , the catalyst 50 may be coated to the surface of the supporting member 40 , and the amount of the coated catalyst 50 may increase through the supporting member 40 . also , the supporting member 40 is formed to the outflow channel 20 that is the channel of the outlet direction , but is not formed in the inflow channel 10 such that an increasing of the back pressure may be minimized . next , a particulate filter according a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig6 . fig6 is a cross - sectional view of a catalyzed particulate filter according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . the catalyzed particulate filter according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as the catalyzed particulate filter according to the above - described second exemplary embodiment except for the supporting member such that the overlapping description is omitted . referring to fig6 , the catalyzed particulate filter according to the third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include the catalyst 50 formed while filling at least part of an inside of the outflow channel 20 . here , the catalyst 50 may be formed of at least one of the catalyst foam and the catalyst fiber . that is , without the supporting member 40 of the catalyst 50 , the catalyst 50 is itself formed of the foam , the fiber and / or the mesh shape . the method forming the catalyst 50 inside the outflow channel 20 of the catalyzed particulate filter according to the third exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to fig7 to fig9 . fig7 to fig9 are views sequentially showing a manufacturing process of a catalyzed particulate filter according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure . fig7 to fig9 only show the outflow channel 20 of the particulate filter 1 , for convenience . first , as shown in fig7 , the cell of the particulate filter 1 including the outflow channel 20 formed by being enclosed by the wall 30 coated with the catalyst 50 in four directions is manufactured . also , as shown in fig8 , a foam template 45 of the size corresponding to the size of the internal space of the outflow channel 20 is manufactured . in this case , because the foam template 45 must be removed through the drying and baking processes after executing the function of fixing the catalyst that will be described later , the foam template 45 may be formed of at least one of carbon , polymer and a styrofoam . next , referring to fig9 , after inserting the foam template 45 inside the outflow channel 20 of the particulate filter 1 , the catalyst slurry is packed inside the outflow channel 20 to be uniformly coated to the foam template 45 . next , by removing the foam template 45 through the drying and baking processes and hardening the catalyst 50 , the catalyst 50 that was coated to the foam template 45 may be formed of a catalyst foam shape that is similar to the original shape of the foam template 45 , thereby completing the particulate filter according to the third exemplary embodiment shown in fig6 . as described above , in the catalyzed particulate filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , as the supporting member is formed inside at least one outflow channel and the catalyst is coated to the supporting member , the catalyst loading amount may increase while minimizing the increasing of back pressure . also , since the catalyst loading amount and the contact area ( time ) of the fluid and the catalyst may increase while maintaining the thickness of the wall , filter performance and catalyst performance may be sufficiently obtained . while this disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments , but , on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	5
the various embodiments of the invention relate to improvements over conventional acls . in particular , fields are added to the acl , which specify conditions for when the acl should evolve . these extra conditions are thus additional dimensions that the acl must consider . this allows a single acl to be used for many purposes and to adapt to changing conditions . embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example of a simple work process , involving only a few work nodes , privileges , and people . it should however be realized that in a real life scenario , this process can be extended to much more complex work processes and involve many more privileges and people , as is typical in conventional work processes within corporations and other organizations . just like conventional acls , the acls in accordance with the various embodiments of this invention are initially set up by a computer system administrator . here , however , the administrator may not only set up static acls , as is currently the case , but can also define dynamic conditions that causes the acl to evolve . for example , a user may have read privileges for a month , and after the month has passed , the user may get both read and write privileges . in three months , the user may also get edit privileges , and in four months , he may obtain delete privileges . this is one example of how an acl can evolve based on time . as will be seen below , the acl can also evolve based on factors other than time , for example , if person gets promoted from manager to vice president , then the acl privileges may change . in some embodiments , the acl “ evolution conditions ” are part of the acl itself . in other embodiments , the acl can reference information outside the acl , where the conditions are specified . for example , if a multi - dimensional acl in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is a collection of conditions ( month of year , for example ), then for each month , an external regular acl can be referenced . alternatively , if the multi - dimensional acl is implemented as a collection of conventional acls , then the multi - dimensional acl can point to external conditions ( e . g ., month ). the acl knows when to evolve based on various mechanisms , such as polling , or through a trigger that gets invoked when a certain system administrator defined condition is fulfilled , such as a retrieve or import operation , and so on . in a content management system , the acl can be stored on a library server , similar to conventional acls . the library server contains the definitions of what the content management system is capable of doing . whenever a user tries to perform an operation on an object , the content management system checks with the library server whether the proposed operation is allowed by the acl . fig1 shows a document x passing through a workflow process which has n work nodes , labeled 1 , 2 . . . n . document x has an associated acl , which defines the operations people in various positions can perform on document x . in the implementation shown in fig1 , the acl contains three types of operations ( read , write and modify ) for the following groups of people : ceo , president , vice president , director , managers , and janitors . at each stage of the work flow process , document x is reviewed and either rejected or approved . suppose the ceo initiates document x in a work process that details an acquisition of a rival company . at node 1 , because it is still early in the potential acquisition , such information should only be disclosed to the ceo and to the president . as such , the acl for document x ( not the acl for work node 1 ) will be used to filter out all access by anyone else , and give the ceo read , write and modify access and give the president read access , as indicated in the acl . once approved , document x proceeds to node 2 , at which the ceo retains the same privileges as in node 1 , and the president is also granted write and modify access . at each subsequent stage of the workflow process , the acl allows more and more people access , as the proposal outlined in document x is becoming more realistic , and thus can be publicized . as can be seen in the above example , in this case , a set of privileges is associated with a particular group of people . for each privilege , a condition can be assigned . if that condition is met , the privilege can be enabled or disabled . in the above case with the acquisition process , the condition is the current stage of the acquisition process . that is , different level of access is granted to different people during different stages of the acquisition process . furthermore , it is important to note that in the above example , there is only a single acl throughout all the work nodes , unlike current implementations , in which a separate acl is needed for each work node . this distinction is important , as in a typical real - life computer system the number of work nodes ( and thus the number of acls ) grows to be extremely large . with the design in accordance with the embodiments described herein , only one acl will be necessary . in the above example , the acl evolved based on the nodes in the workflow process , but more generally speaking , the acl can evolve based on a variety of factors . for example , the acl can evolve based on time , work process , last modified time , who last modified the acl , who last accessed the acl , how many versions the acl has , and so on . with this ability to adapt , acls become much easier to manage and use . the invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment , an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements . in a preferred embodiment , the invention is implemented in software , which includes but is not limited to firmware , resident software , microcode , etc . furthermore , the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer - usable or computer - readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system . for the purposes of this description , a computer - usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain , store , communicate , propagate , or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system , apparatus , or device . the medium can be an electronic , magnetic , optical , electromagnetic , infrared , or semiconductor system ( or apparatus or device ) or a propagation medium . examples of a computer - readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory , magnetic tape , a removable computer diskette , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk . current examples of optical disks include compact disk - read only memory ( cd - rom ), compact disk - read / write ( cd - r / w ) and dvd . a data processing system suitable for storing and / or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus . the memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code , bulk storage , and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution . input / output or i / o devices ( including but not limited to keyboards , displays , pointing devices , etc .) can be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening i / o controllers . network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks . modems , cable modem and ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters . a number of implementations of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the various embodiments of the invention have been described above with reference to accessing documents in a computer system . however , it should be clear that the same principles can be applied within other areas as well . for example , the acls can be implemented in car keys , which are primarily electronic these days , and only allow unlocking of the doors to the car and starting of the engine if certain conditions are fulfilled , e . g ., depending on the sobriety of the driver , the time of day , and so on . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	6
in the formula given above for the zeolite of the zsm5 type , the symbol m preferably represents potassium , sodium or hydrogen . however , and as long as the value 0 . 9 + 0 . 2 is adhered to , the symbol m can represent more than one cation . very particularly , there may be mentioned the combinations of the sodium cation with one or more monovalent or divalent cations such as potassium , barium , calcium or strontium . m may also wholly or partly consist of one or more tetraalkylammonium cations , with the alkyl groups preferably containing from 2 to 5 carbon atoms . the zsm5 zeolites which can be used in the process according to the invention , their processes of preparation and their x - ray diffraction diagrams are described in french patent 1 , 587 , 860 , of which the contents are incorporated herein by reference . amongst these zsm5 zeolites there may very especially be recommended the zeolites of the formula ( expressed in molar ratios ) the process according to the invention can be carried out in a liquid phase or in the vapor phase . this adsorption - desorption process can be carried out at between about 25 ° and 350 ° c . and preferably between 100 ° and 300 ° c ., and over a large range of pressure ( for example , the pressure can range from about 1 bar to about 30 bars ). the mixture of the isomeric dichlorotoluenes can be brought into contact with the zeolite in a conventional apparatus for adsorption separation . in particular , apparatus permitting continuous or discontinuous operations may be used . the shape and dimensions of the said apparatus can be optimized by a man skilled in this art and do not per se form a subject of the present invention . in general , the zeolite employed in the adsorption - desorption apparatus , for example in an adsorption column , is in the form of particles whose size can be between 0 . 1 and 10mm and preferably between 0 . 5 and 3mm . the above mentioned zeolite is brought into contact with the mixture of isomeric dichlorotoluenes . though the adsorption capacity of this type of zeolite towards the five above mentioned isomers makes it possible per se to effect a separation starting from the five isomers , it is only possible to pass over the zeolite a mixture which only contains some of these isomers : thus it is possible , after having separated the 2 , 3 - and 3 , 4 - isomers , ( which boil at about 209 ° c .) by distillation from the 2 , 4 - 2 . 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers ( which boil at about 201 ° c . ), only to subject the above mentioned fractions to the adsorption - desorption process , since the zeolite zsm5 differently adsorbs the 3 , 4 - and 2 , 3 - isomer , in the one case , and the 2 , 4 -, 2 , 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers , in the other case . of course , mixtures in which at least one of the above mentioned isomers has beforehand been concentrated can be treated by the process according to the invention . the total or partial mixture of isomers , as specified above , is partially adsorbed on the zeolite . the non - adsorbed dichlorotoluenes can be collected at the outlet of the adsorption - desorption apparatus . the zeolite is then brought into contact with an eluent , that is to say a compound which allows the isomers to be displaced and hence to be separated . preferably , a compound whose activity toward the zeolite is of the some order as that o the dichlorotoluenes concerned is chosen . by way of illustration of eluents which can be used in the process according to the invention there may be mentioned especially hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , carbon dioxide , helium , hydrocarbons , and especially alkanes such as methene , ethane , propane , n - hexane , n - heptane an n - octane , cycloalkanes , especially cyclolhexane , monocyclic or polycyclic aromatic compounds which are optionally substituted and / or halogenated , such as benzene , toluene , ethylbenzene , cumene tetrahydronaphthalene , decahydronaphthalene , monochloro - toluenes and dichlorotoluenes , and also polar compounds such as water or ammonia . after a treatment with the desorbing agents or eluents , the isomers can themselves be separated from the said agents by using conventional methods , for example distillation . the process according to the invention makes it possible , in general terms , to modify the composition of mixtures containing the five isomeric dichlorotoluenes , because of the remarkable selectivity of the zsm5 zeolite . this selectivity is defined by the fraction : ______________________________________molar fraction of isomer ( i ) in the desorbatemolar fraction of isomer ( j ) in the desorbatemolar fraction of ( i ) in the initial mixturemolar fraction of ( j ) in the initial mixture______________________________________ this process very particularly makes it possible to separate into their constituents the two fractions respectively boiling a 201 ° c . and 209 ° c . and in the case of the fraction boiling at 201 ° c . and consisting of the 2 , 4 - 2 , 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers it allows the 2 , 6 - isomer to be obtained very efficiently . the examples which follow illustrate the invention . in the examples , the zeolite used was either a zsm5 zeolite or the mean molar formula in the form of particles of size 0 . 5 to 2mm ( examples 1 to 27 ) or a zeolite in which a part of the hydrogen ions have been replaced by potassium ions . this zeolite is prepared by impregnating the zeolite defined above with an aqueous potassium chloride solution ( 60 g / 1 ). the treatment is carried out at 90 ° c . for 3 hours and is followed by washing with water for 1 hour , the set of operations being repeated 3 times . the zeolite is dried for 10 hours and is then heated , before use , for 1 hour at 400 - 500 ° c . under a nitrogen atmosphere ( example 28 ). the mixture of isomeric dichlorotoluenes used consists either of the industrial product obtained by chlorination of toluene ( example 1 ), or consists of fractions of the said industrial product , boiling at about 209 ° c . and about 201 ° c . ( examples 2 and 3 ) or consists of binary compositions in which the proportions of the constituents have been varied ( examples 4 and subsequent examples ). the experiments are carried out in a column of 1 cm diamete and 1 m height , containing 10 g of zeolite . before the experiments , nitrogen at 450 ° c . is passed over the zeolite for 16 hours and the zeolite is then saturated with ethylbenzene . the adsorption temperature is 220 ° c . 10 cm 3 of the mixture of isomeric dichlorotoluenes are introduced into the column at a rate of 0 . 5 cm 3 / minute . thereafter 15 cm 3 of ethylbenzene are passed into the column at the same rate of 0 . 5 cm 3 / minute . the solution of isomeric dichlorotoluenes in ethylbenzene is collected and the molar composition of the desorbate is determined . the process described above is applied to an industrial of isomeric dichlorotoluenes . in the table which follows , the abbreviations have the following meanings : dct isomer : dichlorotoluene isomer entry mole %: molar fraction of the isomer concerned in the composition subjected to adsorption / desorption exit mole %: molar fraction of the isomer concerned in the desorbate . the selectivity is only given with reference to the 2 , 6 - isomer so as not to overload the table , but of course the relative selectivity for any 2 isomers can easily be calculated , employing the equation given earlier . ______________________________________dct isomer entry mole % exit mole % selectivity______________________________________2 , 5 - 36 . 5 37 . 2 1 . 7212 . 6 - 8 . 5 5 . 0 1 . 02 , 4 - 34 . 0 38 . 1 1 . 903 , 4 - 13 . 0 14 . 2 1 . 842 , 3 - 8 . 0 5 . 6 1 . 7______________________________________ the process is applied to the mixture of 2 , 3 - and 3 , 4 - isomers boiling at about 209 ° c . ( a fraction of the industrial product ). ______________________________________initial composition composition of the ( mole %) desorbate ( mole %) selectivity2 , 3 - 3 , 4 - 2 , 3 - 3 , 4 - 2 , 3 -/ 3 , 4 - ______________________________________49 . 7 50 . 3 37 . 9 62 . 1 1 . 615______________________________________ the process described above is applied to the fraction boiling at 201 ° c . ( a fraction of the industrial product ). ______________________________________ initial composition of selectivity composition desorbate 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 6 - ex - ( mole %) ( mole %) 2 , 5 -/ 2 , 6 - ample 2 , 5 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 4 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 4 - 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 5 - ______________________________________3 21 . 2 58 . 4 20 . 4 30 . 3 36 . 5 33 . 2 2 . 61 2 . 29 1 . 144 39 . 9 39 . 7 20 . 3 51 . 9 20 . 4 27 . 7 2 . 65 2 . 53 1 . 055 23 . 0 39 . 9 37 . 4 29 . 5 20 . 9 49 . 6 2 . 53 2 . 44 1 . 046 38 . 8 19 . 4 41 . 8 40 . 4 11 . 4 48 . 2 1 . 97 1 . 77 1 . 117 21 . 1 19 . 4 59 . 5 20 . 2 10 . 7 69 . 1 2 . 11 2 . 17 0 . 97______________________________________ the process described above is applied to compositions containing 2 or 3 isomers of the fraction boiling at 201 ° c . ______________________________________initial composition ofex - composition the desorbateam - ( mole %) ( mole %) selectivityple 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 4 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 4 - ( s ) ______________________________________ 8 -- 50 . 1 49 . 9 -- 6 . 8 53 . 2 . sup . s 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 5 - = 1 . 14 9 49 . 3 50 . 7 -- 27 . 5 72 . 5 -- . sup . s 2 , 5 -/ 2 , 6 - = 2 . 5610 50 . 3 -- 49 . 7 26 . 3 -- 73 . 7 . sup . s 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 6 - = 2 . 83______________________________________ the process is applied to mixtures of the 2 , 4 - and 2 , 6 - isomers in varying proportions . ______________________________________ initial composition of composition desorbateex - ( mole %) ( mole %) selectivityample 2 , 4 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 4 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 6 - ______________________________________11 10 . 8 89 . 2 50 . 5 49 . 5 8 . 4012 19 . 0 81 . 0 51 . 6 48 . 4 4 . 5513 24 . 7 75 . 3 58 . 6 41 . 4 4 . 3214 40 . 2 59 . 8 68 . 7 31 . 3 3 . 2715 48 . 7 51 . 3 71 . 9 28 . 1 2 . 7016 59 . 6 40 . 4 81 . 5 19 . 5 2 . 9817 75 . 0 25 . 0 86 . 3 13 . 7 2 . 1018 79 . 8 20 . 2 89 . 8 10 . 2 2 . 2319 89 . 4 10 . 6 93 . 3 6 . 7 1 . 59______________________________________ the process is applied to mixtures of the 2 , 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers in varying proportions . ______________________________________ initial composition of composition the desorbateex - ( mole %) ( mole %) selectivityample 2 , 5 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 -/ 2 , 5 - ______________________________________20 9 . 3 90 . 7 35 . 0 65 . 8 5 . 2621 10 . 0 90 . 0 31 . 2 68 . 8 4 . 0922 29 . 7 70 . 3 35 . 1 67 . 9 2 . 6023 48 . 8 51 . 2 67 . 2 32 . 8 2 . 1524 69 . 9 30 . 1 82 . 8 17 . 2 2 . 0925 87 . 4 12 . 6 93 . 2 6 . 8 2 . 00______________________________________ the experiment on the separation of mixtures of the 2 , 4 -, 2 , 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers is repeated in the liquid phase , in solution in decahydronaphthalene , at 25 and 90 ° c . ______________________________________ % of isomer relative % of the in the two solution isomersex - initial final initial finalample isomers at 25 ° c . at 90 ° c . at 25 ° c . at 90 ° c . ______________________________________ 2 , 6 - 10 . 06 10 . 04 9 . 75 50 53 55 . 326 and 2 , 4 - 10 . 06 8 . 94 7 . 89 50 47 44 . 7 2 , 6 - 10 . 05 10 . 25 9 . 70 50 58 . 7 58 . 6 and 2 , 5 - 10 . 05 7 . 22 6 . 85 50 41 . 3 41 . 4______________________________________ it emerges from this table that the absolute percentage of a 2 , 6 - isomer in the final solution is substantially identical to the starting percentage , while the reduction in concentration of the 2 , 4 - and 2 , 5 - isomers is evident . accordingly , there is also a high selectivity in the liquid phase . the zeolite containing potassium cations , the preparation of which has been described above , is used . on applying the technique of measurement mentioned earlier to the experiments carried out on the industrial mixture of example 1 , the following relative selectivities of the isomers are observed : ______________________________________selectivity______________________________________zeolite 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 -/ 2 , 6 - 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 5 - 3 , 4 -/ 2 , 3 - cation k 1 . 74 1 . 40 1 . 25 1 . 44example 1 1 . 90 1 . 72 1 . 10 1 . 57 ( reminder ) ( reminder ) ______________________________________ the process is applied to binary mixtures of 2 , 4 - 2 , 5 - and 2 , 6 - isomers , using a hu yk zeolite , that is to say a y zeolite in which the cations are potassium cations . ______________________________________initial composition ofex - composition the desorbateam - ( mole %) ( mole %) ple 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 4 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 5 - 2 , 4 - selectivity______________________________________29 -- 50 . 3 49 . 7 -- 42 . 9 57 . 1 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 5 - = 1 . 3530 49 . 5 50 . 5 -- 49 . 3 50 . 7 -- 2 , 5 -/ 2 , 6 - = 1 . 0531 50 . 9 -- 49 . 1 42 . 5 -- 57 . 5 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 6 - = 1 . 29______________________________________ it is found , by comparison with the results of examples 8 to 10 ( substantially equimolecular starting mixtures ) that while the 2 , 4 -/ 2 , 5 - selectivity is of the same order of magnitude , the 2 , 5 -/ 2 , selectivities , on the other hand , are substantially improved with the zeolites of the process of the invention . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to a 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 .	2
the following examples are given in order to illustrate the present invention and are not intended for limiting it . at first an alumina sintered body was manufactured which contained silicon as an impurity in an amount of 730 ppm ( 0 . 073 % by weight ) when calculated as silicon dioxide . and then , from the sintered body an specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was cut out . subsequently , a surface of the specimen was mirror - finished to a mirror surface having an center - line mean surface roughness ra of about 0 . 02 μm . the specimen was used for the following analysis . the specimen was placed in a ni — p plated chamber into which a nitrogen gas was introduced , and baked at a temperature of 500 ° c . then the temperature in the chamber was decreased to 400 ° c . and 100 % of a f 2 gas ( at 1 atm ) was introduced into the chamber , then the specimen was heat - treated for 5 hours therein . after the heat - treatment , the nitrogen gas was introduced into the chamber while keeping the temperature of 400 ° c ., and the specimen was subjected to a . stabilizing treatment for 4 hours therein . then , the temperature of the chamber was lowered to room temperature , and subsequently the specimen was taken out and washed and dried . as shown in fig5 a cloudy form was observed on the surface of the specimen by means of a scanning electron microscope . further , as shown in fig6 when a cross section was observed , a surface film was not seen clearly on the surface of the specimen ( 10000 × magnification ). by analyzing the surface of the specimen with an eds attached to the scanning electron microscope , a peak of fluorine was seen as shown in fig1 . fig2 shows a chemical state spectrum of al 2p on the surface of the specimen with an xps ( x - ray photoelectron spectrometry ). besides , in the fig2 “ alf 3 ( reference )” shows data of alf 3 powder and “ al 2 o 3 ( reference )” shows data of an alumina sintered body and “ example ” shows data of the aforementioned specimen . in the fig2 an abscissa axis is a bonding energy and an ordinate axis is a peak intensity ( arbitrary scale ). in the fig2 it is found that a peak shift value of the example is apart from that of alumina and near to aluminum trifluoride powder . from the peak shift , it is considered that the aluminum element exists not as alumina but as aluminum trifluoride . fig3 and 4 respectively show depth profiles ( a profile of the specimen in a depth direction ) obtained by the xps on the specimen . measuring conditions in the xps is shown below . a used machine is “ esca - 5700ci ” made by physical electronics co ., ltd ., which gives information as a mean value in a circle having a 0 . 8 mm diameter as viewed in plane and in a depth of about 100 angstrom . the information at certain depth is obtained while the specimen is dug from the surface in the depth direction by sputtering . in the sputtering an argon ion beam ( 3 kv ) was used and a sputtering rate was 3 . 93 nm / mm ( silicon dioxide ). in the fig3 an ordinate axis is a ratio of the number of atoms f , o , al , and c and an abscissa axis is a sputtering time ( min ). the length of sputtering time corresponds to the depth from the surface of the specimen . the sputtering time was limited to 100 min . in the fig4 an ordinate axis is a peak area of f , o , al , or c ( an observed signal strength ) and an abscissa axis is a sputtering time ( min ). the length of sputtering time corresponds to the depth from the surface of the specimen . as seen from the fig3 and 4 , the peak of f exists near to the surface of the specimen and as the detection line goes from the peak of f toward its right side , the amount of f rapidly decreases and it is replaced with oxygen . in the fig4 a distance from the surface of the specimen to a position where the peak strength of f becomes half was assumed to be the thickness of the film . an absolute of the depth can not seen from the measurement by means of the xps . therefore , the sputtering depth from the surface of the specimen after a sputtering time of 100 min was measured by a three - dimensional measuring device . consequently , a distance from the surface of the specimen to a position where the peak strength of f becomes half was 0 . 1 μm . further , with respect to the specimen a reduction in weight due to corrosion and an amount of the generated particles were measured . concretely , nf 3 gas and n 2 gas were flown at rates of 75 sccm and 100 sccm , respectively to obtain a mixed atmosphere at 0 . 1 torr . and then the mixed atmosphere was excited by means of an inductively coupled plasma at 13 . 56 mhz and 800 w to obtain a fluorine gas plasma . subsequently , in the plasma the specimen was kept for 5 hours at 550 ° c . to measure the reduction in weight regarded as “ reduction in weight due to corrosion ”. the smaller the reduced amount in weight due to corrosion , the higher its corrosion resistance . after the specimen was exposed to the fluorine gas plasma , the specimen was pressed with a mirror - finished face of a silicon wafer at 50 gf / cm 2 . next , the specimen was separated from the silicon wafer and then the number of the particles attached to the mirror face was counted by means of a particle counter commonly used in a semiconductor manufacturing plant . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 4 / cm 2 . a specimen was produced in the same manner as example 1 except that the treatment is conducted in 100 % of the f 2 gas at 450 ° c . for 60 hours , and analyzed . the results of the scanning electron microscope , xps and depth profile were approximately similar to the results of example 1 . and the thickness of the fluorine - containing film was estimated to be 5 . 0 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 5 / cm 2 . a specimen was produced in the same manner as example 1 except that the treatment was conducted in a mixing gas of 60 % of the f 2 gas and 40 % of the n 2 gas at the whole pressure of 1 atm for 120 hours , and analyzed . the results of the scanning electron microscope , xps and depth profile were approximately similar to the results of example 1 . and the thickness of the fluorine - containing film was estimated to be 0 . 1 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 2 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 5 / cm 2 . a specimen was produced in the same manner as example 1 except that the treatment was conducted in a mixed gas of 100 % of the f 2 gas at 500 ° c . for 60 hours , and analyzed . the results of the scanning electron microscope , xps and depth profile were approximately similar to the results of example 1 . and the thickness of the fluorine - containing film was estimated to be 10 . 0 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 21 / cm 2 . an alumina sintered body having a nominal purity of 99 % used for manufacturing a semiconductor which was commercially available was used . an amount of silicon in the sintered body was 0 . 9 % by weight as silicon dioxide . from the sintered body a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 and tested . a surface of the obtained specimen had a relatively rough appearance . the results of observation by the eds attached to the scanning electron microscope were the same as those of example 1 . further , the state spectrum of al 2p was observed by xps . from the result of peak shift , al appears to exist in the form of not oxide but fluoride . the thickness of the film is estimated to be 0 . 2 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 1 . 3 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 75 / cm 2 . an alumina sintered body having a nominal purity of 92 % used for manufacturing a semiconductor was used which was commercially available . the amount of silicon in the sintered body was 5 . 7 % by weight when calculated as silicon dioxide . a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced from the sintered body . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 and tested . a surface of the obtained specimen was very rough and many cavities could be observed . since a fluorine - containing film was not formed , the reduction in weight due to corrosion and the number of particles were not measured . a kind of yttria aluminate or y 3 al 5 o 12 was obtained by mixing yttria and alumina in appropriate contents , adding a small amount of silica gel as sintering aid thereto to obtain a mixing powder and sintering the obtained mixing powder . the amount of silicon in the sintered body was 4500 ppm ( 0 . 45 % by weight ) when calculated as silicon dioxide . a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced from the sintered body . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 except that the treatment was conducted in 100 % of the f 2 gas at 350 ° c . at 1 atm for 10 hours and tested . with respect to the obtained specimen the results of the scanning electron microscope and the eds attached thereto were the same as those of example 1 . further , by means of the xps the state spectra of al 2p and y were observed . from the results of the peak shift , both al and y exist in the form of not oxide but fluoride . namely , it is considered that aif 3 and yf 3 exist in the form of mixture . the thickness of the film was estimated to be 0 . 2 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 4 / cm 2 . a magnesia sintered body containing silicon of 0 . 3 % by weight as silicon dioxide was produced . a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced from the sintered body . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 except that the treatment was conducted in 100 % of the f 2 gas at 400 ° c . at 1 . 5 atm for 6 hours and tested . with respect to the obtained specimen the results of the scanning electron microscope and the eds attached thereto were the same as those of example 1 . further , by means of the xps the chemical state spectrum of mg was observed . from the results of the peak shift , it is considered that mg exists in the form of not oxide but fluoride . the thickness of the film was estimated to be 1 . 0 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 6 / cm 2 . an aluminum nitride sintered body was obtained by adding yttria as the sintering aid in an amount of 0 . 1 % by weight to aluminum nitride powder having a high purity and sintering the mixture . the amount of silicon in the sintered body was 50 ppm when calculated as silicon dioxide . from the sintered body a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 04 μm for the following analysis . this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 and tested . with respect to the obtained specimen the results of the scanning electron microscope and the eds attached thereto were the same as those of example 1 . further , by means of the xps the state spectrum of al 2p was observed . from the results of the peak shift , it is considered that al exists in the form of not nitride but fluoride . the thickness of the film was estimated to be 0 . 1 μm . from the results , the reduction in weight due to corrosion was less than 0 . 1 mg / cm 2 and the number of particles was 7 / cm 2 . a silicon nitride sintered body was obtained by adding yttria and magnesia as the sintering aids in an appropriate amount to silicon nitride powder . from the sintered body a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . when this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 , the specimen volatilized and disappeared . a silicon carbide sintered body was obtained by adding boron and carbon as the sintering aids in an appropriate amount to silicon carbide powder . from the sintered body a specimen having a size of 10 mm × 10 mm × 2 mm was produced . a side of the specimen was mirror - finished to the ra of about 0 . 02 μm for the following analysis . when this specimen was subjected to the same treatment as example 1 , the specimen volatilized and disappeared . as explained above , the corrosion - resistant member comprising the ceramic substrate and the fluorine - containing film which coats at least a part of the surface of the substrate according to the present invention can lead to a decrease of the change in weight due to corrosion and at the same time further control of the amount of generated particles .	2
the techniques and apparatus described herein allow a user to reach and maintain proper tensile or compressive forces on a bearing assembly or transmission component supported by the bearing assembly . the maintenance of proper tensile or compressive forces helps to reduce unnecessary maintenance and downtime that may result from an improper or unbalanced loading of bearing housings . proper adjustment also enhances the normal operation of components such as belt conveyors , chain drives , and so forth . turning to the drawings , and referring first to fig1 , a take - up frame assembly is illustrated as applied to lateral sides of a belt conveyor and is generally designated by reference numeral 10 . assembly 10 includes a shaft 12 supported on both ends by bearing assemblies 14 . to maintain appropriate loading on the bearing assemblies 14 and , consequently , also the shaft 12 , each bearing assembly 14 is positioned inside a take - up frame 16 . the take - up frame 16 is mounted on a support structure 18 . the support structure 18 may be any appropriate machine support such as a stand or a support framework . the take - up frame 16 provides a framework that allows the bearing assembly 14 to move linearly in order to adjust the tensile forces applied to the bearing assembly 14 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , through appropriate adjustment of the take - up frame 16 , and consequent movement of bearing assemblies 14 on either side of the shaft 12 , the tension on belt 22 may be adjusted to a level appropriate for the anticipated loading of the take - up frame assembly 10 and the belt . additionally , appropriate adjustment of the take - up frame 16 helps to properly situate the belt 22 on pulley 20 and avoids lateral creep . in the presently disclosed technique , visual feedback of applied force allows a user to readily discern proper adjustment . specifically , as will be described in greater detail below , a mechanical apparatus is provided to indicate force exerted on a bearing assembly 14 . as mentioned earlier , each bearing assembly 14 is mounted in a take - up frame 16 so that it is able to move to adjust the tensile or compressive forces on the belt 22 . a force transmission member 24 , such as a threaded rod , for example , is attached to the bearing assembly 14 . a hex nut 26 supports the force transmission member 24 within the take - up frame 16 . as the hex nut 26 or the transmission member 24 is turned , tensile or compressive forces are adjusted . specifically , as the hex nut 26 is tightened on the forced transmission member 24 , the bearing assembly 14 may move within the take - up frame in order to apply force to the belt 22 . alternatively , the hex nut 26 can be loosened in order to reduce the tensile forces applied to the bearing assembly 14 and the belt 22 . movement of the bearing assembly 14 towards the hex nut 26 is limited by an end plate 28 . the end plate 28 prevents the bearing assembly 14 from exiting the take - up frame 16 . as the take - up frame 16 may be used in harsh environments , such as in food processing plants or in mining operations , a cover 30 is provided to prevent debris from coming into contact with parts of the take - up frame 16 . the cover 30 is secured to the take - up frame 16 by a slotted guidepost 32 which fits over the threaded rod and is held in place by the hex nut 26 . the cover 30 and slotted guidepost 32 may be welded together at a 90 degree angle . additionally , a lower guide 36 and an upper guide 38 hold the cover in place , as can be seen in fig2 . a position indicating piece , such as a cone point set screw 40 is attached to the cover 30 in order to indicate movement of the cover 30 relative to the take - up frame 16 , as will be discussed in detail below . a side view of the take - up frame 16 is illustrated in fig2 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . as can be seen in this view , the cone point set screw 40 protrudes through the cover 30 so that the cone point is directed at a load indicating plate 42 mounted on the take - up frame 16 . movement of the cone point set screw 40 relative to the load indicating plate 42 indicates the amount of force being applied by the force transmission member 24 to the bearing assembly 14 . specifically , the cone point set screw 40 points to imprinted or inscribed numbers on a load indicating plate 42 . the load indicating plate 42 is attached to the take - up frame 16 and may have numbers imprinted , etched , or otherwise placed on it . alternatively , markings may be made directly to the take - up frame 16 itself , however , such an embodiment may be limited in its ability to be calibrated . as illustrated , the numbers may increase in steps of 400 , or in any other incremental step ( typically depending upon the range of force that can be applied to the take - up frame , and the reasonable subdivisions of the range ). alternatively , the load indicating plate 42 may simply have markings to indicate relative displacement of the cover 30 to the take - up frame 16 . furthermore , the load indicating plate 42 may have markings to indicate an ideal load level or a range of acceptability for a particular application . the numbers or markings on the load indicating plate 42 correspond to an amount of tensile or compressive force applied to the bearing assembly 14 by the force transmission member 24 . as such , units corresponding to the numbers may be in newtons , or pounds - force , for example . the amount of force applied can result from , and be approximated through the use of a spring mechanism such as belleville washers 44 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the force applied to the bearing assembly will depend upon the effective aggregate spring constant of the belleville washers , and the compression ( i . e ., change in aggregate length ) of the collection of washers , according to the force equation : f = kx , where f is force , k is the aggregate spring constant , and x is the compression of the set of washers or displacement of the bearing set . the belleville washers 44 may be positioned on the force transmission member 24 between an outboard washer 46 and an inboard washer 48 . the outboard washer 46 may be placed on the end plate 28 of the take - up frame 16 , while the inboard washer 48 is on the opposite side of the slotted guidepost 34 from the hex nut 26 . the belleville washers 44 have specific spring constants k that can be obtained from their manufacturer . moreover , the spring constant k can vary according to the stacking orientations of the washers . for example , the washers can be stacked in the same direction to provide a stiffer spring and maintain the constant k . the washers may also be stacked by alternating their orientation to provide a lower spring constant and greater displacement or deflection for the same applied force . using such stacking techniques allows for specific spring constants and deflection characteristics to be achieved . the effective aggregate constant k , then is generally the combination ( e . g ., average ) of the constants k , and is selected , along with the overall length of the collection of washers , to provide the desired tension and length adjustability ranges for the take - up frame assembly . once the spring constant k is known , the displacement of the belleville washers 44 is all that is needed to calculate the force applied to the bearing assembly . accordingly , an approximation of the amount of force applied to the bearing assembly 14 can be obtained by measuring the aggregate deflection or displacement of the belleville washers 44 . because the end plate 28 of the take - up frame 16 is fixed , and the cover 30 is attached to the opposite end of the washer stack , the aggregate displacement of the washers may be determined by measuring the amount of movement of the cover 30 relative to the take - up frame 16 . it should be noted that any suitable tension or compression arrangement may be used in place of the belleville washers shown in the figures and described here . these might include both tension and compression springs , compression members of various types ( e . g ., fluid cylinders ), and so forth . an initial calibration may be necessary to ensure accurate approximation of the force . specifically , when installing the take - up frame assembly 10 the cone point set screw 40 and the load indicating plate 42 may need to be properly aligned . as illustrated in fig3 , the load indicating plate has adjustment slots 50 configured to allow movement of the load indicating plate 42 . adjustment screws 52 are provided to secure the load indicating plate 42 to a take - up frame 16 . to calibrate the load indicating take - up frame , the load indicating plate 42 is moved so that the cone point set screw 40 is aligned with the zero position on the load indicating plate 42 , with the washers under substantially no compression . operation of the take - up frame assembly 10 includes the tightening or loosening of the hex nut 26 . initially , the tightening of the hex nut 26 will only move the bearing assembly within the take - up frame 16 . specifically , the bearing assembly will move towards the end plate 28 and remove slack from the belt 22 , or any other component supported by the bearing assembly . eventually , the slack is removed from the belt and tightening of the hex nut 26 provides tension force to the bearing assembly 14 ( i . e ., preloading ). as the belleville washers 44 are compressed between the outboard washer 46 and the inboard washer 48 , displacement occurs . the displacement of the belleville washers 44 allows the cover 30 to move parallel to the take - up frame 16 . consequently , the cone point set screw 40 moves relative to the load indicating plate 42 and a user can easily obtain an estimation of the forces being applied to the bearing assembly . turning to fig4 , a technique of operation for a load indicating take - up frame is shown and generally indicated by the reference numeral 60 . the technique 60 includes an initial calibration as indicated at box 62 . the calibration may include moving a load indicating plate 42 into alignment with a cone point set screw as discussed above , with no preload on the assembly . once the take - up frame has been calibrated , a hex nut 28 can be tightened on a force transmission member 24 to provide tension , as indicated at block 64 . initially , the tightening of the hex nut 26 will remove slack from a conveyor belt , chain assembly , or other system component . once the slack is removed , tensile or compressive forces will be applied to a bearing assembly 14 within the take - up frame 16 . as the tension increases , a spring member , such as belleville washers 44 , deforms or is displaced from an initial position . a cover 30 coupled to the spring member is displaced relative to the take - up frame 16 a distance corresponding to the displacement of the spring member . a user can consult the load indicating plate 42 and obtain an approximation of the amount of tension being applied to the bearing assembly 14 in the take - up frame 16 , as indicated at block 66 . specifically , a user can read a number value from the load indicating plate 42 that corresponds to the position of a cone point set screw 40 as discussed above . the number value correlates with the amount of force being asserted by the force transmission member 24 to the bearing assembly 14 . because the force feedback is purely mechanical , the feedback is instant , and requires no connection to any external power source or network . the ability to read the tension from the load indicating plate 42 allows a user to adjust the tension to a desired load , as indicated at box 68 . specifically , it may be necessary to have the tension in a take - up frame 16 be equal to the tension of another take - up frame supporting a common belt or chain assembly . as discussed above , imbalance in loading may cause premature wear on parts necessitating repair or replacement . as such , the technique 60 helps to reduce downtime and repair expenses by allowing proper and balanced loading . similarly , over time , the system components ( e . g ., a conveyor belt ) may wear or stretch , and proper force adjustment of the system will be facilitated by the same steps summarized above . while only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention .	5
hereunder , with reference to the attached drawings , a preferred embodiment is illustrated for the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power and a control method employing the same according to the present invention , in which an illumination sensor or a body - detecting sensor detects whether there is a change in light or whether there is a person around each of the lead - in holes under the interlocking or single - acting control ; the detected signal supplies or intercepts the commercial alternating current applied to each lead - in hole according to the interlocking or single - acting control condition ; the current value of respective appliances is selectively adjusted so that the outlet strip can be compatible with the appliances with different current capacity . fig2 is a block diagram showing the construction of a multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention . as shown , the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention comprises : an over - current interceptor 1 for intercepting or supplying a commercial alternating current by detecting the over - current or surge current flowing into an appliance due to a malfunction of the appliance ; a power part 2 for generating and outputting a motion voltage , which is to be provided from a commercial alternating current power to each part of the outlet strip through the rectification , smoothing and voltage regulation process , and a clock signal for driving a timer built in a control part 6 , which will be described below ; a motion condition setting part 3 for setting the condition according to a user &# 39 ; s switching operation regarding whether or not a sensor is used and whether appliances are interlocked or single - acted , and outputting a switching signal accordingly ; a sensor part 4 for detecting an illuminance or body motion and outputting a signal accordingly ; a current detecting part 5 for detecting a current flowing into an interlocked or single - acted appliance and outputting a signal accordingly ; a control part 6 which receives the switching signal and the detection signal , and outputs an on / off control signal for controlling an appliance , which is lead in each lead - in hole according to the interlocking or single - acting condition , with the standby or power - saving state ; and an output control part 7 for supplying or intercepting current flowing into each appliance according to the on / off control signal of the control part 6 . generally , the commercial alternating current power used in korea is the one for 220v and 60 hz . thus , the multi - tap ( concent ) of the present invention is set for 220v and 60 hz . however , if it is used in other country with different commercial alternating current , it is , of course , possible to adapt to the different power . the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention operates as follows . first , the over - current interceptor 1 intercepts or supplies a commercial alternating current power by detecting the over - current or surge current flowing into an appliance due to a disorder of an appliance . the power part 2 generates a motion voltage , which is to be provided from a commercial alternating current power to each part of the outlet strip through the rectification , smoothing and voltage regulation process . herein , the motion voltage generated by the power part 2 is mainly the direct current voltage of 5v to 12v , and the 12v is used for the power of each relay ry 1 - ry 6 built in the output control part 7 and 5v is used for the powers of the parts other than the above relays . also , the power part 2 generates a clock signal for driving a timer ( not shown ) built in the control part 6 . if the change of illuminance or the motion of a human body is not detected by the sensor part 4 , the timer is operated for a predetermined time period to automatically intercept the power applied to an interlocked or single - acted appliance . the timer and its function will be detailedly explained later . the motion condition setting part 3 sets the condition according to a user &# 39 ; s switching operation regarding whether or not a sensor is used and whether appliances are interlocked or single - acted , and outputs the switching signal to the control part 6 . herein , the interlocking condition can be set so that while a main appliance such as a mainframe of a computer is being connected to the main outlet con 1 , the appliances interlocked with the main appliance such as the peripherals of a computer can be supplied with or blocked from the power . if the user desires to use a television or an audio individually apart from the appliances which are set by the above interlocking condition and connected to the auxiliary outlets , the user can set a single - acting condition by a simple switching operation for the television or the audio . also , the motion condition setting part 3 can select by a user &# 39 ; s simple switching operation regarding whether only the illumination sensor is to be used or the illumination sensor and the body - detecting sensor are to be used at the same time . thereafter , the switching signal according to the interlocking or single - acting condition and the switching signal according to the selection of the sensor are transferred to the control part 6 . the sensor part 4 , as above described , comprises the illuminance sensor or the body - detecting sensor which can be alternatively selected by the user at the motion condition setting part 3 , and detects an illuminance or body motion to output the signal to the control part 6 . the current detecting part 5 detects a current flowing into an interlocked or single - acted appliance to output the detection signal to the control part 6 . thereafter , the control part 6 receives the switching signal and the detection signal and outputs an on / off control signal to control the power applied to each appliance which is interlocked or single - acted . in other words , the control part 6 receives the switching signal from the user &# 39 ; s switching to select the interlocking or single - acting condition , and receives the detection signal from each of the interlocked or single - acted appliances . and the control part 6 determines the detection signal transferred from the sensor part 4 and outputs an on - off control signal to the output control part 7 according to the interlocking or single - acting condition . herein , the control part 6 is : implemented with a microprocessor . the control method of the outlet strip according to the present invention will be detailedly explained in the description regarding fig9 and 10 . the output control part 7 supplies or intercepts the current flowing into each appliance according to the on / off control signal of the control part 6 . herein , the output control part 7 can be implemented with a relay device and supplies or intercepts the power to each appliance according to its own on - off state . fig3 - 8 are detail circuit diagrams showing each part of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power of fig2 . fig3 is a detail circuit diagram showing the over - current interceptor and the power part according to fig2 . as shown , the over - current interceptor 1 intercepts a commercial alternating current power by detecting the over - current or surge current flowing into an appliance due to a disorder of an appliance . once the reason for the over - current is eliminated , the power is supplied again by the user &# 39 ; s operation of a reset button . herein , the range of the interceptable over - current varies depending upon the over - current intercepting devices and can be predetermined and set at the initial manufacturing stage . the power part 2 converts the commercial alternating current power into a direct current power and supplies the same to each part of the outlet strip . specifically , the commercial alternating current power is stepped down into a predetermined alternating current voltage through a step - down transformer . next , the alternating current voltage is full - wave rectified through a bridge circuit formed with 4 diodes d 1 - d 4 . the full - wave rectified alternating current voltage is smoothed through a capacitor to be a direct current voltage of 12v . the 12v direct current voltage is used as an operating voltage for driving the relay devices of the output control part 7 . also , the direct current voltage of 12v is stepped down into the one of 5v through a constant voltage circuit and used for operating the microprocessor of the control part 6 , the motion condition setting part 3 , and the illuminance sensor and the body - detecting sensor of the sensor part 4 . meanwhile , the power part 2 generates a clock signal for driving the timer ( not shown ) built in the control part 6 . in other words , the alternating current voltage which was stepped down through the step - down transformer , generates an on - off signal through a transistor q 3 , and the on / off signal is used as a clock signal for driving the timer built in the microprocessor of the control part 6 . fig4 is a detail circuit diagram showing the motion condition setting part according to fig2 . as shown , the motion condition setting part 3 consists of an array resister ra 1 and switches sw 1 - sw 6 . the switches sw 1 - sw 6 are disposed outside of an outlet so that a user can choose whether the appliance corresponding to each of the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 is used in the interlocking condition or the single - acting condition . herein , if the main outlet con 1 is connected by an appliance , the on signal transferred from a terminal ct 1 is inputted to the control part 6 so that the control part 6 perceives that the main outlet con 1 is being used . on the contrary , if the main outlet con 1 is not connected by any appliance , the off signal outputted from the terminal ct 1 is transferred to the control part 6 so that the control part 6 perceives that the main outlet con 1 is not being used . thus , in this case , the outlet strip works under only single - acting control , not interlocking control . if the main outlet con 1 is connected by an appliance , i . e ., if an on signal is inputted to the terminal ct 1 , the user can select the interlocking or single - acting alternatively regarding each appliance corresponding to the auxiliary lead - in hole . con 2 - con 6 by turning on / off the switches sw 1 - sw 5 . of course , the on / off signals of the switches sw 1 - sw 5 are transferred to the microprocessor of the control part 6 so that the control part 6 can perceive which auxiliary outlets are interlocking controlled or single - acting controlled . the switch sw 6 is disposed outside of the outlet strip so that the user can select whether the switch should use an illumination sensor or use an illumination sensor and a body - detecting sensor at the same time . in this event , of course , the on / off signals corresponding to the above two options are transferred to the microprocessor of the control part 6 so that the control part 6 can determine whether to receive a signal from only the illumination sensor or both the illumination and body - detecting sensors . herein , after the control part 6 perceives the sensor to transfer the signal according to the on - off signal of the switch sw 6 , if no change of illumination or no movement of a human body is detected from the sensors , the timer built in the control part 6 is operated to switch each outlet to the standby state or the power saving state . the operation time of the timer can be variably set at the initial manufacturing stage . the terminal on / off is used when the body - detecting sensor of sensor part 4 is selected as an option . if the on signal is inputted from the terminal , it means that the body - detecting sensor would be used . if the off signal is inputted from the terminal , it means that the body - detecting sensor would not be used . of course , if the body - detecting sensor is not used , the user selects the illumination sensor or the timer by means of the switch sw 6 . fig5 and 6 are detail circuit diagrams showing the illumination sensor and the body - detecting sensor which are included in the sensor part 4 of fig2 . the operation of the illumination sensor 4 a shown in fig5 will be illustrated first . if the illumination cds sensor detects light , i . e ., a resistance corresponding to the light is detected , a comparator u 2 detects the change of illuminance by comparing the detected resistance with a reference resistance . at this time , an illumination detecting adjuster vr 1 can set the reference resistance representing the illuminance of light . thereafter , the comparator u 2 computes the difference between the resistance of the illumination cds sensor and the reference resistance , and a signal according to the computation is inputted to a transistor q 5 . the signal inputted to the transistor q 5 is converted into an on / off control signal and transferred to the control part 6 through a terminal cds . thus , the control part 6 determines a change of illuminance by the signal detected by the illumination sensor . according to the change of illuminance , electric power is supplied or intercepted to each interlocked or single - acted appliance so that the outlet can be switched into a standby state or a power saving state . the difference computed from the comparator u 2 is amplified through the transistor . according to the signal corresponding to the difference , a display ld 1 glows or flashes . herein , the flashing of the display ld 1 represents the change of illuminance , i . e ., the outlet strip is illuminated to a power saving or standby state . next , the operation of the body - detecting sensor 4 b of fig6 will be explained . the body - detecting sensor ss 2 detects a change from the blocking of light by a body movement . the detected signal is transferred to a two - stage amplifier . the amplified detected signal is transferred to a transistor q 6 to be converted to an on / off control signal , which is determined by the control part 6 . herein , an infrared sensor is mainly used as the body - detecting sensor . the terminal on / off is used if the body - detecting sensor is selected as an option . if two connectors cn 1 , cn 2 are connected with each other , an on signal is outputted . if they are disconnected , an off signal is outputted . however , as described above , the present invention is confined to only the case where the on signal is inputted from the terminal on / off . that is , the present invention will be described on the assumption that the two connectors cn 1 , cn 2 are interconnected . thereafter , the control part 6 detects the motion of a human body through the signal detected by the body - detecting sensor . according to the movement change , electric power is supplied or intercepted to each interlocked or single - acted appliance so that the outlet strip is controlled as the standby or power saving state . although it is not shown in the figures , the body - detecting sensor can include a display to visualize the change of movement like the illumination sensor 4 a . fig7 is a detail circuit diagram showing the control part of fig2 . the control part 6 receives the on / off signals the from the switches sw 1 - sw 5 of the motion condition setting part 3 through the respective terminals and perceives which auxiliary outlet ( s ) is / are is interlocked or single - acted . also , the control part 6 receives the on / off signal from the switch sw 6 through the terminal men and determines whether to receive the detection signal only from the illumination sensor or from both the illumination and the body - detecting sensors . also , the control part 6 receives the on signal of the terminal ct 1 when the main outlet con 1 is connected by an appliance , so that it perceives that the main outlet con 1 is being used . on the contrary , the control part 6 receives the off signal of the terminal ct 1 when the main outlet con 1 is not connected to any appliance , so that it perceives that the main outlet con 1 is not being used . accordingly , in this case , the outlet strip operates under single - acting control only , which is perceived by the control part 6 . the on / off signal of the terminal ct 1 is transferred from a first current detecting circuit 5 a which will be explained later regarding the detail circuit diagram of the current detecting part of fig8 . as explained above , the control part 6 is initially set by receiving the on / off signal from the sensor through the terminal men , and by receiving the on / off signal corresponding to the option of interlocking or single - acting function through the switches sw 1 - sw 5 . after the initial setting , the control part 6 performs the control to induce each appliance to a standby or power saving state , by the following process : detecting the change of illuminance and the movement of a human body by the on / off signal inputted to the terminals cds , irs ; detecting the variation of the current flowing into each appliance , which is interlocked or single - acted and connected to auxiliary lead - in hole con 2 - con 6 , by the current detecting part 5 ; receiving detection signal through the terminals ct 2 - ct 6 ; and outputting the on / off control signal to the output control part 7 . if neither of the two sensors perceives the change of illuminance nor the body motion , the control part 6 activates the built - in timer to control the appliance in the standby or power saving state . the operation of the control part 6 is performed by comprehensively determining the on / off signals transferred from each of the terminals sw 1 - sw 5 , main , men , ct 2 - ct 6 , clock , cds , irs , and by finally inputting the on / off control signal to the output control part 7 . at this time , the relay built in the output control part 7 are connected or disconnected according to the on / off control signals so that the power current flowing into the appliance connected to each lead - in hole con 1 - con 6 can be supplied or intercepted . this will be more explained in the detail circuit diagram of the output control part of fig8 . fig8 is a detail circuit diagram showing the current detecting part and the output control part of fig2 . the current detecting part 5 is composed of a first to sixth current detecting circuits 5 a - 5 f . the main outlet con 1 is connected to an appliance for interlocking control such as the mainframe of a computer . herein , the first current detecting circuit 5 a detects the current flowing to the appliance and outputs the on / off signal according to the use of the appliance for interlocking to the terminal main of the control part 6 through the circuit ct 1 . such operation is conducted at the initial setting stage of the control part 6 . meanwhile , the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are connected to the appliances such as the peripherals of a computer or the individually operating appliances . thereafter , if the control part 6 perceives the illuminance change or the body motion or the built - in timer operates to control the appliance in the standby or power saving state , the first to sixth current detecting circuits 5 a - 5 f detect the variation of the current flowing though the appliances , which are led into each lead - in hole con 1 - con 6 , and input the detection signals to the terminals main , ct 2 - ct 6 of the control part 6 . herein , the operations regarding a current transformer ct 11 - ct 16 , a comparator u 2 , and a transistor q 13 - q 18 , which are built in the first to sixth current detecting circuits 5 a - 5 f , are omitted since they are apparent to those skilled in the art . the sixth current detecting circuit 5 f has a current adjusting switch 5 - 1 therein . by means of the current adjusting switch 5 - 1 , the user can adjust the current value depending on the capacity of each appliance so that the outlet strip can be compatible with various appliances with different capacities . for example , with a outlet strip set by a single current capacity , a computer and a battery charger for a mobile phone handset cannot be used without adjusting the capacity since they have different capacities . thus , according to the adjustment of the current adjusting switch 5 - 1 , the amplifying rate of the current flowing to each appliance varies . the on / off control signal according to the variation is transferred to the control part 6 . the control part 6 can output an appropriate control signal to each appliance even though the appliances have different capacities . although it is not shown in the drawings , a current detecting sensor ( not shown ) detects the current of each appliance , which is being used , before the current adjusting switch 5 - 1 is operated . thereafter , the control part 6 may adjust the current adjusting switch 5 - 1 in compliance with the capacity of each appliance . herein , the current detecting sensor can be freely installed at the socket of the multi - tap ( concent ), at the side of each lead - in hole , etc ., at the discretion of the manufacturer or by the user &# 39 ; s preference . although the current adjusting switch 5 - 1 is connected to only the sixth current detecting circuit 5 f according to the drawings , it is only an example . the current adjusting switch can also be connected to one of the first to fifth current detecting circuits 5 a - 5 e . the output control part 7 is composed of a first to sixth output control part circuits 7 a - 7 f and operates as follows . the first to sixth output control part circuits 7 a - 7 f receive the on / off control signal according to the control operation of the control part 6 to induce the appliance to a standby or power saving state . the built - in relay elements are connected or disconnected do that the current flowing to each appliance , which is led into each lead - in hole con 1 - con 6 , can be supplied or intercepted . hereinafter , a serial control process of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention will be explained . fig9 is a motion flow chart showing a control method of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention , if an illumination sensor used . fig1 is a motion flow chart showing a control method of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention , if an illumination sensor and a body - detecting sensor are used at the same time . the control part 6 receives an on / off signal according to the user &# 39 ; s switching of sw 6 to determine whether the control is to be made by using only the illumination sensor or both the illumination sensor and the body - detecting sensor at the same time . with reference to fig9 , if only the illumination sensor is used , the control process of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention is as follows . first , an illumination sensor 4 a of the sensor part 4 detects a change of illuminance [ s 10 ]. if the change of illuminance is not detected , i . e ., there is no illuminance change , the timer built in the control part 6 operates for a predetermined time period to control an interlocked or single - acted appliance in a standby or power saving state [ s 11 ]. at this time , the predetermined time period can be set as the most efficient time for the power saving purpose . thereafter , the timer determines that the predetermined time period has passed [ s 12 ]. as a result , if a change of illuminance is detected before the predetermined time period has passed , then the control part 6 clears the timer [ s 13 ], and puts the main outlet con 1 as a standby state [ s 14 ]. if the main outlet con 1 is not used , only the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are monitored to determine whether they are used under interlocking or single - acting control . however , the control method of the present invention is confined to where the main outlet con 1 is interlocked with at least one auxiliary lead - in hole con 2 - con 6 . thereafter , the control part 6 determines which auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are interlocked or single - acted [ s 15 ]. the determination is made based on the on / off signal which is transferred to the terminals sw 1 - sw 5 from the motion condition setting part 3 according to the user &# 39 ; s switching operation . if a predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are used with interlocking control , the control part 6 determines whether the main outlet con 1 is being used at present [ s 16 ]. the determination is made based on the on / off signal of the terminal ct 1 which depends upon the variation of the current of the current detecting part 5 . if the main outlet con 1 is presently being used , the control part 6 turns on all the predetermined number of the interlocked auxiliary outlets [ s 17 ]. to perform this operation , the control part 6 outputs the on / off control signal to the relays of the output control part 7 . in other words , since the main outlet con 1 , which is in the standby state , is presently being used , the predetermined number ( or all ) of the auxiliary outlets , which are interlocked with the main outlet con 1 , are controlled to be on ( standby state ). however , as the result of s 16 , if the main outlet con 1 is not being used at present , the control part 6 turns off all the predetermined number of the interlocked auxiliary outlets [ s 18 ]. consequently , since the main outlet con 1 , which has been under the standby state , is presently not being used , the predetermined number ( or all ) of the auxiliary outlets , which are interlocked with the main outlet con 1 , are controlled to be off ( power saving state ). meanwhile , if a predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are used with single - acting control , the control part 6 turns off all the single - acted auxiliary outlets [ s 19 ]. this is independently performed by the control part 6 separately from the standby state of the main outlet con 1 . the following is an explanation regarding the control by the operation of the timer . if the predetermined time period has passed , the control part 6 determines which auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are interlocked or single - acted [ 520 ]. if a predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 are used with interlocking control , the control part 6 determines whether the main outlet con 1 is being used at present [ s 21 ]. as a result of s 21 , if the main outlet con 1 is presently being used , the control part 6 turns on all the predetermined number of the interlocked auxiliary outlets including the main outlet con 1 [ s 22 ]. however , as a result of s 21 , if the main outlet con 1 is not being used at present , the control part 6 turns off all the predetermined number of the interlocked auxiliary outlets including the main outlet con 1 [ s 18 ]. consequently , through such a process [ s 20 - s 23 ], the main outlet con 1 and the auxiliary outlets interlocked with the main outlet are all controlled to be on ( standby state ) or off ( power saving state ). meanwhile , as a result of s 20 , if a predetermined number of auxiliary outlets are only single - acting , i . e ., if a predetermined number of auxiliary outlets are individually used while the main outlet con 1 is not being used , the control part 6 determines whether the predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets which are single - acting are presently being used [ s 24 ]. this determination is made based on the on / off signal of the terminal ct 2 - ct 6 which depends on the variation of the current of the current detecting part 5 . if the predetermined number of the single - acting auxiliary outlets are presently being used , the control part 6 turns on all the predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets [ s 25 ]. to perform this operation , the control part 6 outputs the on / off control signal to the relay of the output control part 7 . however , as a result of s 24 , if the predetermined number of the single - acting auxiliary outlets are not being used presently , the control part 6 turns off all the predetermined number of the auxiliary outlets [ s 26 ]. consequently , through such a process [ s 24 , s 25 , s 26 ], the auxiliary outlets which are single - acting are all controlled to be on ( standby state ) or off ( power saving state ). the main outlet con 1 and the auxiliary outlets con 2 - con 6 , which are controlled in a power saving state or a standby state , repeat the above control process by the control part 6 which controls and determines according to the change of illuminance . next , if the illumination sensor and the body - detecting sensor are used at the same time , the control process of the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention is as follows . first , an illumination sensor 4 a of the sensor part 4 detects a change of illuminance or a movement of a human body [ s 30 ]. if the change of illuminance or the body movement is not detected , the timer built in the control part 6 operates for a predetermined time period to control an interlocked or single - acted appliance in a standby or power saving state [ s 31 ]. at this time , the predetermined time period can be set considering the most efficient mode for the power saving purpose . thereafter , the timer determines that the predetermined time period has passed [ s 32 ]. if a change of illuminance or a body motion is detected before the predetermined time period has passed , then the control part 6 clears the timer [ s 33 ], and puts the main outlet con 1 in a standby state [ s 34 ]. the following process s 35 - s 46 for the control is omitted since it is the same as the process in s 15 - s 26 . as described so far , the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention has the illumination sensor or the body - detecting sensor to detect the illuminance change or body movement around each lead - in hole which is under interlocking or single - acting control , has the control part to control each lead - in hole in a standby or power saving state according to the interlocking or single - acting condition by monitoring the detected signal , and is compatible with various appliances with different capacity by adjusting the electric current according to the respective appliances . while the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power and the control method of the present invention have been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , for the sensor part 4 , a phototransistor , other light sensor , a sound sensor , or a heat sensor can be used in addition to the cds sensor or the infrared sensor . also , multiple sensors can be used at the same time . also , although only six lead - in holes are shown in the above embodiment , the number of the lead - in holes can be set at the discretion of the manufacturer or the user . also , each part of the present invention , i . e ., an over - current interceptor , a power part , a motion condition setting part , a current detecting part ( current adjusting switch ), a control part , and an output control part can be installed within an appliance or a plug as well as the multi - tap ( concent ). as explained , the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power performs an interlocking control of the subordinated appliances by means of the illumination sensor or the body - detecting sensor . also , the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention has the illumination sensor or the body - detecting sensor , which is compatible with various appliances with different capacities by adjusting the electric current according to the respective appliances . also , the multifunctional outlet strip for intercepting a stand - by electric power according to the present invention detects the illuminance change or body movement around each lead - in hole which is under interlocking or single - acting control by the illumination sensor or the body - detecting sensor , and controls each lead - in hole in a standby or power saving state .	7
in the drawings , 1 indicates a number of articles which have a substantially round cross - section and which in at least one layer shall be arranged to constitute a parallelepipedic formation with the articles arranged in a scroll pattern . prior to the feeding of the articles into a packaging machine , the articles must be brought together to groups ( rows ) and the devices shown on the drawings are intended to bring about such formation of groups . the articles are conveyed to the grouping station on a belt conveyor 2 which has such a width that the articles will stand in one row only . at one end of the conveyor 2 there is arranged a stop , designed as a displaceable support 3 , which extends outside the belt conveyor 2 and a short distance out over a second belt conveyor 4 arranged perpendicularly to the first conveyor . the second conveyor has a width somewhat exceeding the largest occuring width of the parallelepipedic formation to which the articles shall be grouped . the displaceable support 3 constitutes , together with a second displaceable support 5 , which is arranged substantially parallel with the first support , two side walls of a feed opening 6 for the articles from the first conveyor belt 2 . the second support 5 is shorter than the first one and extends along one of the front side edges only of the second conveyor . in front of the feed opening 6 there is arranged a partition 7 between the two conveyors , which partition is vertically adjustable to such an extent that it can be lowered to a level below that of the conveyors , whereby transfer from the first conveyor 2 to the second conveyor 4 can take place . the transfer is brought about by means of a displaceable plunger 8 or the like , which has substantially the same width as the feed opening 6 or somewhat smaller width than this . the two supports 3 and 5 extend along the second conveyor a distance preferably corresponding to the diameter of one of the articles , and the conveyor belt 4 is at both side edges provided with displaceable side supports 9 and 10 , to which the supports 3 and 5 are displaceably attached . at the end of the conveyor belt 4 remote from the feed opening there is arranged a vertically adjustable stop 11 , which , when a sufficient number of rows of articles have been grouped on the conveyor 4 , will be raised so much that the first row of articles will be released and the entire formation can be transferred to the next processing station . the side supports 9 and 10 can be displaced sideways in relation to the supports 3 and 5 which form the side walls of the feed opening , a distance corresponding to a quarter of the article diameter if the articles shall be arranged in a scroll pattern formation with an equal number of articles in each row . in order to get the first row to take up a correct position in relation to the subsequent rows , a triangular filling piece 12 is arranged in one of the corners between a side support 9 , for instance , and the stop 11 , which filling piece is designed to form an angle of 120 ° with the stop . the filling piece 12 is preferably connected to the stop 11 . the device shown in fig2 and 3 operates as follows : the articles , e . g . bottles 1 , are conveyed in a single row on the belt conveyor 2 towards the support 3 . when the space on the conveyor belt in front of the feed opening 6 is filled with articles , the partition 7 will get an impulse , whereby it is lowered below the level of the conveyor belt , the plunger 8 at the same time receiving an impulse activating it to push the articles in front of the feed opening 6 onto the second conveyor belt 4 . the side walls 3 and 5 of the feed opening 6 are so adjusted relative to the side supports 9 and 10 at the conveyor belt 4 , so that a row of articles 1 will hit the articles of the preceeding row beside the middle line of these prior articles , whereby the articles just fed , due to the movement of the conveyor belt 4 , automatically will seek out and occupy the spaces between the articles of the preceeding row . see fig1 . by means of the above mentioned device , the articles are arranged in a scroll pattern formation with an equal number of articles in each row , but if a scroll pattern formation with an equal number of articles in each secnd row is desired , then the device according to fig4 is used . the main components of the embodiment shown in fig4 are designed mainly in the same manner as at the device according to fig2 and 3 , with the exception that one of the side walls of the feed opening is constituted by a movable stop member 13 , which is displaceable between two positions , thus that the stop member in one position -- position i is located inside one of the side supports 9 or 10 , respectively a distance corresponding to half the diameter of one article . at its second position -- position ii the stop member 13 is located in level with said side support whereby the entire feed opening in this position is free . the not shown drive of the stop member will receive an impulse when the plunger 8 is returned to its initial position beside the conveyor 2 , thus that a change in position is achieved after each feed movement . the plunger 8 is designed with a length corresponding to ( n - 1 ), i . e . to a length being one article less than the maximum number of articles in one row , and as the stop member 13 at every second time will be in position i , whereby the length of the feed opening is reduced by half the article diameter , then an article will be in front of the side support 10 and outside the length of the plunger 8 , which means that each second row will become one article shorter than the previous row . the device shown in fig4 has further been equipped with an additional belt conveyor 2a which conveys articles to be packed via a transfer disc 14 , which is rotatable and has to its purpose to transfer the articles from conveyor belt 2a . the additional conveyor belt 2a is driven at a velocity being lower than the velocity of the conveyor 2 , which means that the articles , when transferred to the more rapid conveyor belt 2 , will be spaced apart a short distance . the rotatable disc 14 , which is provided with guide shields 15 , 16 for directing the articles onto conveyor belt 2 , is driven at the same speed as the additional conveyor 2a , but it is also possible to let the disc be non - driven whereby the articles when transferred from the additional conveyor to the disc will give the disc a rotational speed which is directly proportinal to that of the additional conveyor . a first photocell 17 is arranged to scan a line over the conveyor belt 2 at a position just before the feed opening 6 , and to give a stopping pulse to the drive means ( not shown ) for the conveyor belt 2 and 2a and for the rotatable disc 14 when a row of articles has been formed between the stop member 13 and the line scanned by the photocell 17 . the stopping pulse is also used to activate the plunger 8 to push the row formed onto the second conveyor 4 . the photocell 17 is set in such a way that it will give a pulse only when an article has stopped in the scanned area but not when the spaced apart articles pass through the scanned line . it is therefore important that the articles as mentioned hereabove are spaced apart a short distance on the conveyor belt 2 in order not to cause the photocell to give a stopping pulse indicating a full row of articles before an entire row of articles has been formed . a second photocell 18 is arranged beside the second conveyor belt 4 . said second photocell 18 is adapted to work together with a reflector or a receiver 19 arranged diagonally on the opposite side of the second conveyor belt 4 . the photocell 18 is pivotable and the reflector is movable and adapted to be locked at any desired position along a path extending along a part of the conveyor belt 4 . the second photocell 18 and its reflector 19 can thereby be adjusted to scan any line within an area 20 of the conveyor belt 4 and this photocell arrangement is like the photocell 17 set to give an impulse only when the line scanned is broken during a time period by the articles to be packed . the row of articles moving with the conveyor belt 4 towards the stop 11 will however cause no impulse if only passing through the scanned line . the second photocell is arranged to give a signal when a row of articles has stopped in the scanned area and this signal tells subsequent packaging apparatuses when a complete parallelepipedic formation has been formed and the wrapping shall take place . during the time , when the second photocell 18 indicates articles , the plunger 8 is locked in its initial position even if the first photocell 17 indicates that a row is ready to be pushed over on the second conveyor belt 4 . it is possible to adjust the number of rows of articles in the package to be formed due to the adjustability of the photocell 18 and its receiver 19 . the invention is not limited to the shown and described embodiments , but a plurality of variations are possible within the scope of the invention . thus the articles may be fed in other ways and a plurality of articles may for instance be arranged upon each other .	1
it is to be understood that the figures are by no means meant as to limit the scope of the invention . fig1 shows a cuff 2 comprising a rack 5 , wherein the rack 5 comprises a coding element 1 . the rack 5 is designed to hold the monitor 3 , which is connected to the cuff 2 only via a hose 4 for inflating and deflating the cuff 4 . the hose 4 may be permanently attached to either the monitor 3 or the cuff 4 or may be disconnectable from both . thus the information encoded by the coding element 1 comprised in the rack 5 can be used to identify the particular cuff and / or the patient and / or can be used to allocate the blood pressure measurement outcome to the specific patient . fig2 shows a hose 4 , which comprises a coding element 1 . the hose 4 is permanently connected to a cuff 2 and can be reversibly attached to a monitor 3 . thus the information encoded by the coding element 1 comprised in the hose 4 can be used to identify the particular cuff 2 . not shown is the preferred embodiment , in which both the cuff 2 and the hose 4 comprise a coding element 1 so that the monitor 3 unambiguously indentifies both of these specific components and compares the obtained information with pre - determined information for a specific patient . in a preferred variant of this setting blood pressure measurement ideally would only be initialized when the obtained information matches the pre - determined information . fig3 shows a flowchart of the method , in which the system automatically compares the information read from the coding element 1 with pre - determined information . in the first step the components of the nibp system for instance the cuff 2 , the rack 5 , the hose 4 and the monitor 3 are assembled . then the information encoded by the coding element ( s ) 1 is read and subsequently the monitor 3 checks whether the different components are compatible or the obtained information is compared to predetermined information . for example the cuff size a specific patient requires is already known . in that case the monitor 3 can verify that the used cuff size matches the pre - determined cuff size . if the pre - determined data does not match the obtained data the system provides guidance to the operator for instance on which cuff size is the correct one for the specific patient . if the two sets of data match blood pressure measurement is initialized , preferably automatically . or if the information encoded by the coding element was read prior to application of the system to a patient , the system has to be applied before the measurement can be initialized . fig4 shows a flowchart of the method , in which the system automatically saves the outcome of the nibp measurement to the record of a patient . the system allocates the outcome of the measurement to the record of the patient through reading out a unique number or patient id encoded by the coding element . for example in the first step the components of the nibp system for instance the cuff 2 , the rack 5 , the hose 4 and the monitor 3 are assembled and the information encoded by a coding element 1 of at least one system component is allocated to the specific patient or specific patient data is written on coding element 1 . then the system is applied to the patient and blood pressure is determined . in the next step the information encoded by the coding element 1 is read to obtain patient specific information . for instance a unique identity number encoded by the coding element 1 was allocated to a specific patient and is now read from the coding element . this encoded information is used in the last step to save the outcome of the measurement to the record of the specific patient . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description . it is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .	0
in a first phase of the method , aln powder which can be sprayed by means of a plasma torch is produced by the following successive steps : dissolving an yttrium oxide ( y 2 o 3 ) precursor such as yttrium isopropionate or yttrium isopropoxide in isopropanol , with agitation , dispersing fine pure aln powder having a grain diameter of the order of 2 μm to 3 μm in the solution obtained in the preceding step to obtain an aln slip containing the equivalent of 2 % to 3 % yttrium oxide , by grinding or by vigorous agitation , for example by means of a turbine , using a stabilizing agent or a surfactant so that the suspension remains stable up to the point of atomization , atomizing the slip obtained previously in an inert atmosphere using an atomizer , the temperature and the spraying rate of the atomizer being adjusted so that the hollow spheres obtained are not crushed on the walls of the atomizer ; this kind of atomization produces a powder formed of hollow spheres whose diameter is from 40 μm to 150 am , the hollow spheres consisting of aln grains covered with a thin layer of yttrium oxide precursor and clumped by atomization , and optionally screening the atomized powder to eliminate fractions that are too fine or too coarse and retain only hollow aln spheres whose diameter is from 50 μm to 100 μm . in a second phase of the method , the aln powder obtained in the above manner is sprayed by means of a plasma torch onto a metal , for example aluminum , support , which is cooled by jets of compressed air on its opposite face to maintain an equilibrium temperature of the order of 150 ° c . the plasma torch can be a plasma arc torch , for example , whose temperature can be as high as 15 000 k , or an induction plasma torch with a temperature of a few thousand ° c . the spherical grains of aln are sprayed into the plasma with a variable flowrate and reach the cooled metal support partly molten , at a speed close to the speed of sound , to form a somewhat dense layer . during this spraying phase , the aln grains are protected from oxidation by the yttrium oxide precursor , which is decomposed in the plasma to yield the oxide and to react with the aln to generate an yttrium aluminum garnet ( yag ) phase . the number of passes of the plasma torch over the metal support is a function of the surface area and the required thickness of the aln substrate , each pass depositing from 40 μm to 60 μm of aln and a homogeneous surface being produced by partially overlapping the successive sweeps . in a variant of the fabrication method according to the invention , the powder is sprayed by means of a flow of air through the flame of an oxyacetylene torch so that the powder is sprayed onto the support at a high speed and at a high temperature . to encourage adhesion of the aln deposit during thermal cycling , an attachment sublayer can be produced on the metal support before spraying the aln . in the case of an aluminum support , for example , in order not to incur an excessive penalty in terms of cost and thermal resistance , the attachment sublayer can be a thin layer of oxide obtained by anodization and having a thickness of a few micrometers . in the case of a copper support , the support is preferably plated with nickel by a chemical method and possibly lightly plated with chromium . in a subsequent phase of the method , the aln substrate on its metal support is advantageously annealed at a low temperature to relieve residual stresses due to the difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the support and the aln ceramic . a fabrication method of the above kind produces an aln substrate whose thickness can be from 0 . 1 mm to 0 . 5 mm and which is therefore optimized for use as a support for electronic components in low - voltage applications . to improve the surface roughness of the aln substrate obtained in the above manner , for example for applications in power electronics in which it is necessary to plate the surface of the ceramic substrate with copper in order to braze semiconductor components to it , the surface of the aln substrate can advantageously be activated by an excimer laser to smooth the surface , after which copper can be deposited electrolytically on the activated areas . of course , the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described and shown , which has been offered by way of example only and can be modified without departing from the field of protection of the invention , in particular from the point of view of the composition of the various component parts or by substituting technical equivalents . thus in a variant of the method the yttrium oxide precursor used can be hexafluoroacetylacetonate , dissolved in tetrahydrofuran during the first step of the phase of preparing the aln powder . thus , in other embodiments of the method according to the invention , the oxide precursor used can be chosen from precursors of oxides of cerium , samarium , calcium or lanthanides . for example , the oxide precursor chosen can be samarium acetylacetonate , dissolved in an organic solvent such as tetrahydrofuran .	2
with reference to the number references of the figures of the accompanying drawings , the watch pointer according to the present invention , specifically designed for setting therein small diamonds or other stones , includes a flat strip - like pointer body having two rectilinear longitudinal opposite edges and a pointed outer tip , which pointer body , according to the invention , is provided with at least a stone housing seat or recess and preferably a plurality of aligned stone holding recesses , means being provided for anchoring in said recesses the stones to be set . with reference to fig1 to 9 , each stone housing seat comprises a recess , having a substantially half - spherical shape 10 , for housing the rear or bottom portion of or respective stone , or of tapering rectangular cross section 11 , if the stone has a rectangular cross section cut . in this connection it should be apparent that the recess can have any desired suitable shape and it can have either a closed or &# 34 ; perforated &# 34 ; bottom . laterally of the recess there are provided , on the two opposite longitudinal edges of the pointer , two anchoring strip clamp means , either individual 13 for a single stone ( in which case the stone clamp means 13 will have a length substantially corresponding to the stone diameter or length ), or multiple 12 for several stones arranged with an aligned relationship . in the case of &# 34 ; multiple &# 34 ; clamp means 12 provided for simultaneously clamping a plurality of aligned stones housed in a corresponding plurality of recesses , each clamp means will comprise a thin strip element having a length adapted to simultaneously firmly hold said plurality of stones , and the two stone clamping strips , extending along the two opposite longitudinal edges of the pointer , will also provide a pointer stiffening function , which is very important since usually these pointers are made of a very thin sheet metal material . the stones can be held , instead of using clamp elements , also by using a suitable glue 16 specifically designed for firmly anchoring the stones to the bottom of the recess 17 . as stated , the recess can be either of a closed type 14 , or of an open type 15 , that is the bottom of the recess can be either closed or perforated . in the latter case , then , if the stone is a clear one , it will be possible to see the colour of the watch dial . from the above disclosure it should be apparent that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects . in fact , the watch pointer according to the present invention allows an user to easily see the hour , owing to the good gloss of the stones with respect to the watch deal . this effect is further improved by suitably selecting the col ours of the stones , which must provide a suitable contrast with respect to the colour of the deal . the invention as disclosed is susceptible to several variations and modifications all of which will come within the scope of the invention . moreover , all of the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements . in practicing the invention , the used materials , provided that they are compatible to the intended use , as well the contingent size and shapes , can be any according to requirements .	6
the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the figures . fig1 illustrates a distributed computer system 10 which includes the present invention . distributed computer system 10 comprises servers 11 a , b , c , d , e with respective known applications 12 a , b , c , d , e that are accessed by customers via a network 17 such as the internet . applications 12 a , b , c depend on other servers 13 a , b , c and their respective applications 14 a , b , c , in order to function in their intended manner . for example , application 12 a is a business application , application 12 b is a web application and application 12 c is a middleware application , and they require access to databases 15 a , b , c managed by applications 13 a , b , c on servers 14 a , b , c , respectively . consequently , if databases 15 a , b , c , applications 14 a , b , c , servers 13 a , b , c or links 16 a , b , c between servers 11 a , b , c to servers 13 a , b , c , respectively , fail , then applications 12 a , b , c will be unable to function in a useful manner and may appear to the customer as “ down ” o “ slow ”, even though there are no defects inherent to applications 12 a , b , c . storage devices 17 a , b , c contain databases 15 a , b , c , respectively , and can be internal or external to servers 13 a , b , c . the database manager applications 14 a , b , c can be ibm db2 database managers , oracle database managers , sybase database managers , mssql database managers , as examples . end user simulated probes may also reside in servers 11 a , b , c , d , e and 13 a , b , c or on the inter / intranet and send notifications of events indicative of failures of applications 12 a , b , c , d , e , applications 14 a , b , c or databases 15 a , b , c to the event management console . the specific functions of the software applications 12 a , b , c , d , e are not important to the present invention . each of the servers 11 a , b , c , d , e includes a known cpu 111 , ram 112 , rom 113 , disk storage 115 , operating system 114 , and network interface card ( such as a tcp / ip adapter card ). each of the servers 13 a , b , c includes a known cpu 131 , ram 132 , rom 133 , disk storage 135 , operating system 134 , and network interface card ( such a s a tcp / ip adapter card ). in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , applications 14 a , b , c , monitor programs 35 a , b , c and databases 15 a , b , c reside on servers 11 a , b , c , respectively ; servers 13 a , b , c are not provided . known software monitoring agent programs 34 a , b , c , d , e are installed on servers 11 a , b , c , d , e , respectively to automatically monitor operability and in some cases , response time of applications 12 a , b , c , d , e , respectively ( i . e . stored in the respective computer readable storage 115 for execution by cpu 111 via computer readable ram 112 ). known software and database monitoring programs 35 a , b , c are installed on servers 13 a , b , c ( i . e . stored in the respective computer readable storage 135 for execution by cpu 131 via computer readable ram 132 ) to automatically monitor operability and response time of applications 14 a , b , c and databases 15 a , b , c . fig2 illustrates the function of software monitoring programs 34 a , b , c , d , e and software and database monitoring programs 35 a , b , c . software monitoring programs 34 a , b , c , d , e and software and database monitoring programs 35 a , b , c test operation of applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and applications 14 a , b , c by periodically “ polling ” processes running the applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and database manager applications 14 a , b , c ( step 200 of fig2 ). software and database monitoring programs 35 a , b , c test operability of databases 15 a , b , c by checking if respective database processes are running , or by executing script ( such as sql ) programs to attempt to read from or write to the databases 15 a , b , c ( step 200 ). ( monitoring programs 34 a , b , c , d , e and 35 a , b , c perform a type of monitoring based on a type of availability specified in the sla .) if monitoring programs 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c do not receive a response indicative of the respective program or database operating , then the respective monitoring program 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c concludes that the respective application or database is down ( decision 204 , no branch ), then the respective software monitoring program notifies an event management console 50 that the application or database is down or unavailable ( step 205 ). the notification includes the name of the application or database that is down , the name of the server on which the down application or database is installed and the time it was detected that the application or database was down . if the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c is not operating , this is likely due to an inherent problem with the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c . if the monitoring program receives a response to the ping that the application or database is operational ( decision 204 , yes branch ), then the monitoring program may simulate a client request ( or invoke a related monitoring program to simulate the client request ) for a function performed by the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c , and measure the response time of the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c ( step 208 ). next , the monitoring program determines if the application or database has responded within a predetermined , short enough time to indicate a functional state of the application ( decision 210 ). if so , then the respective application or database is deemed to be operational , and no notification is sent to the event management console ( decision 220 , no branch ) ( unless the application or database was down or slow to respond during the previous test and has just been restored , as described below with reference to decision 220 , yes branch ). refer again to decision 210 no branch , where the application or database has not responded in time , then the respective software monitoring program notifies the event management console 50 that the application or database is not functional or not performing as specified in the sla . this condition can also be considered technically operational or “ up ” but “ slow ” ( step 214 ). ( event management console 50 includes a known cpu 501 , ram 502 , rom 503 , disk storage 505 , operating system 504 , and network interface card such as a tcp / ip adapter card ). the notification also includes the identity of the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c that failed , the identity of the server 11 a , b , c , d , e or 13 a , b , c on which the failed application or database is installed or accessed , and the date / time the failure was detected . if the application 12 a , b , c , d , e is operating but slow to respond , this may be due to an inherent problem with the respective application 12 a , b , c , d , e or a problem with another component upon which the respective application 12 a , b , c , d , e depends such as a database 15 a , b , c , a database manager application 14 a , b , c or the server 13 a , b , c on which the database manager application executes . for example , if application 12 a cannot access requisite data from database 15 a , then application 12 a will appear to the monitoring program 34 a as either “ operational but slow ” or “ down ”, depending on the type of response that the monitoring program 34 a receives to its pings and simulated client requests to application 12 a . if the application 14 a , b , c is operating but slow to respond , this may be due to an inherent problem with the application 14 a , b , c , or a problem with server 13 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c ( or a connection to database 15 a , b , c if database 15 a , b , c is external to server 13 a , b , c ). for example , if application 14 a cannot access requisite data from database 15 a , then application 14 a will appear to the monitoring program 35 a as either “ operational but slow ” or “ down ”, depending on the type of response that the monitoring program 35 a receives to its pings and simulated client requests to application 14 a and database 15 a . in one embodiment of the present invention , only complete inoperability of an application or database is considered a “ failure ” to be measured against the availability requirements of the sla . in another embodiment of the present invention , both complete inoperability and slow operability ( with a response time slower than a specified time in the sla for the respective application or database ) are considered a “ failure ” to be measured against the availability requirements of the sla . however , when the failure is due to a (“ dependency ”) hardware or software component for which the service provider is not responsible for maintenance / operability , then the failure is not “ charged ” to the service provider and therefore , not counted against the service provider &# 39 ; s commitment under the applicable sla . fig3 illustrates the function of an event management program 52 within the event management console 50 . event management program 52 is stored in computer readable storage 505 for execution by cpu 501 via computer readable ram 502 . in response to the notification of the problem from the software monitoring program tool 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c ( decision 320 , yes branch ), the event management console 50 displays the information from the notification so that a problem ticket can be generated ( step 324 ). in one embodiment of the present invention , in response to the notification of the problem , the event management program 52 may invoke a known program function to integrate and automatically create the problem ticket . program 52 automatically creates the problem ticket by invoking the problem and change management program 55 , and supplying information provided in the notification from the monitoring program and additional information retrieved from a local database 52 and a configuration information management repository 56 , as described below ( step 326 ). in another embodiment of the present invention , in response to the display of the problem , an operator invokes the problem and change management program 55 to create a user interface and template to generate the problem ticket based on information provided in the notification from the monitoring program and additional information retrieved from local database 52 and configuration information management repository 56 ( step 326 ). fig4 ( a ) and ( b ) illustrate in more detail the function of problem and change management program 55 in computer 54 . ( computer 54 includes a known cpu 151 , ram 152 , rom 153 , disk storage 155 , operating system 154 , and network interface card such as a tcp / ip adapter card ). problem and change management program 55 is stored in computer readable storage 155 for execution by cpu 151 via computer readable ram 152 . based on the name of the application or database that failed , and its server provided in the notification from the software monitoring program 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c , program 55 obtains the following (“ granular ”) information from configuration information management repository 56 ( step 410 ): ( a ) “ resource id ” of the failed application 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c . ( b ) identity of any “ dependency ” application ( such as application 13 a , b , c ), server ( such as server 14 a , b , c ) or database ( such as databases 15 a , b , c ) upon which the failed application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c depends . ( the configuration information management repository 56 obtained this information either from an operator during a previous data entry process , or by fetching configuration tables of the applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c or databases 15 a , b , c to determine what other applications or databases they query for data or other support function . the dependency information is preferably stored in a hierarchical manner , for example , server - subsystem - instance - database . this facilitates determination of compliance with the sla at various component levels . ( c ) criticalities of applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c and database 15 a , b , c . this is used to determine the service provider &# 39 ; s “ grace period ” for fixing any problem without the outage being charged against the service provider under the sla . generally , the “ grace period ” for fixing a problem with a critical database is shorter than the “ grace period ” for fixing a problem with a noncritical database . ( d ) times / dates of scheduled ( i . e . “ normal ”) outages or “ maintenance windows ” for the servers 11 a , b , c , d , e , applications 12 a , b , c , d , e , servers 13 a , b , c , applications 14 a , b , c and databases 15 a , b , c . based on the name of the failed application provided in the problem notification , and the name ( s ) of the failed application &# 39 ; s dependency application ( s ), server ( s ) and database ( s ) read from the cim program ( or data managers , not shown , in problem and change management system 56 ), program 55 obtains from a local database 52 ( step 410 ): ( a ) name of service person or workgroup ( of service people ) responsible for maintenance of the failed application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c . ( b ) name of service person or workgroup responsible for maintenance of the server on which the failed application or database is installed . ( c ) name of service person or workgroup responsible for maintenance of any dependency application or database . ( d ) name of service person or workgroup responsible for maintenance of the server on which any dependency application or database is installed . ( e ) name of service person or workgroup responsible for maintenance of any other dependency hardware , software or database component . ( in the illustrated example , repository 56 resides on computer 58 which also includes a cpu , ram , rom , disk storage , tcp / ip adapter card and operating system . it should be noted that the division of the foregoing information between the configuration information management repository 56 with its remote database and the local database 52 is not important to the present invention . if desired , all the foregoing information can be maintained in a single database , either local or remote , or spread across additional supporting infrastructure databases .) the problem and change management program 55 may automatically insert into the problem ticket all of the foregoing information ( to the extent applicable to the current problem ), as well as the names of the failed application or database and server on which the failed application or database is installed , the time / date when the failure was detected , and the nature of the failure . alternatively , the operator retrieves this information from the event management console and uses the information to update required fields during the problem ticket creation process . thus , if the failed application or database is operational but slower than permitted in the sla ( decision 414 , no branch ), then the problem and change management program includes in the problem ticket an indication of unacceptably slow operation or operational but not functional condition ( step 422 ). if the application or database is not operational at all ( decision 414 , yes branch ), then the problem and change management program includes in the problem ticket an indication that the application or database is down ( step 434 ). also in steps 422 and 434 , the operator can override any of the information automatically entered by the problem and change management program based on other , extrinsic information known to the operator . next , the operator of program 55 decides to whom to assign the problem ticket , i . e . who should attempt to correct the problem . typically , the operator will assign the problem ticket to the support person or work group responsible for maintaining the application , database or hardware or software dependency component that failed , as indicated by the information from the local database 52 ( step 436 ). however , occasionally the operator will assign the problem ticket to someone else based on the type of application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c experiencing the problem , a likely cause of the problem , or possibly information provided by a knowledge management program 70 , as described below . distributed computer system 10 optionally includes knowledge management program 70 ( including a database ) on a knowledge management computer 76 to provide information for the operators on each of the problem notifications from the monitoring programs 34 a , b , c , d , e and 35 a , b , c ( step 438 ). program 70 includes cause and effect rules corresponding to some of the situations described by problem notifications so that the operator may identify patterns of failure , such as a same type of failure reoccurring at approximately the same time / day each week or month . this could indicate an overload problem at a peak utilization time each week or month . if the operator identifies any patterns to the current problem in program 70 , then the operator can update the problem ticket as to the possible root cause . the operator can use this information to determine to whom to assign the problem ticket and also enter this information into the problem ticket to assist the service person in correcting the problem and avoiding reoccurrence of the same problem in the future . for example , if there is an overload problem at a peak utilization time / day each week or month , then the service person may need to commission another server with the same application or database to share the workload during that time / day . system 10 also includes a reporting management program 60 which can reside on a computer 66 ( as illustrated ) or on computer 54 . ( computer 66 includes a known cpu , ram , rom , disk storage , operating system , and network interface card such as a tcp / ip adapter card .) the problem and change management program 55 sends problem ticket information ( individually or compiled ) to the reporting program 60 ( step 436 ) which evaluates information in the problem ticket including the scheduled / maintenance windows . in the case where the application or database is either down or unacceptably slow , the reporting program 60 system calculates whether the application or database was down or unacceptably slow during a scheduled / normal maintenance window of the application or database or any hardware or software dependency component . the reporting program 60 also determines and / or applies criticality of the failed resource and outage duration ( decision 440 ). if the application or database was down during a scheduled / maintenance window ( decision 440 , yes branch ), this is considered “ normal ” and not due to a failure of the application or database or fault of anyone . consequently , the reporting program 60 makes a record that this failure should not be charged against ( or attributed to ) the service provider or the customer ( step 444 ). conversely , if the failure did not occur during a scheduled maintenance window of the application or database or any hardware or software dependency component ( decision 440 , no branch ) ( and did not occur during any other outage or exception approved by the customer ), the reporting program 60 makes a record that this outage should be charged against ( or attributed to ) the entity responsible for maintenance of the failed application or database , or any failed hardware or software dependency component ( step 450 ). some time after the problem ticket is “ opened ”, a support person corrects the problem so that the failed application or database is restored , i . e . returned to the complete operational state . the monitoring program 34 a , b , c , d , e or 35 a , b , c will continue to check the operational state of the previously failed application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c by ( i ) pinging them and checking for a response to the ping , and ( ii ) simulating client - type requests , if the monitoring program is so programmed , and checking for timely responses to the client - type requests ( steps 200 , 204 yes branch , 206 , 208 , and 210 yes branch ). because the application or database was down or unacceptably slow during the previous test ( decision 220 , yes branch ), the monitoring program will notify the event management program 52 at its next polling time , that the application has been restored ( step 222 ). in response , the event management program 52 may notify the problem and change management program 55 that the application or database has been restored and the time / date when the restoration occurred . alternately , the support person specifically reports to the problem and change management program 55 the time / date that the failed application or database was restored or this is inferred from the time / date of “ closure ” of the problem ticket . in addition , the support person enters information into the problem ticket indicating the actual cause of the problem as determined during the correction process , i . e . what application , database , server or other computer , database or communications component actually caused application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c to fail or be slow , the outage duration , who was responsible for the problem ( customer vs . service provider ) and the actual reason for the failure . in either scenario , in step 460 , the problem and change management program 55 receives notification of the restoration of the previously failed application , and updates the respective problem ticket accordingly . periodically , the reporting program 60 collects from the problem and change management program 55 information describing ( a ) the duration of the failure of application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c , ( b ) whether a dependency hardware or software component caused application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c to fail or be slow , ( c ) the entity responsible for maintaining the failed application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c , the entity responsible for maintaining any dependency hardware or software component that caused application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c to fail or be slow , ( d ) whether the failure of application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c was caused by a scheduled or customer authorized outage of application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c , server 11 a , b , c , d , e or 13 a , b , c or other dependency hardware or software component that caused application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c to fail or be unacceptably slow ( step 470 ). some slas give the service provider a specified “ grace ” time to fix each problem or each of a certain number of problems each month without being “ charged ” for the failure . typically , the “ grace period ” ( if applicable ) is based on the criticality of the application or database ; a shorter grace period is allowed for the more critical applications and databases . when applicable , this “ grace period ” is recorded in the remote database of cim repository 56 or within problem management computer 54 . the reporting program 60 fetches this “ grace period ” information in step 410 . the reporting program 60 then subtracts the applicable grace period from the duration of each outage and charges only the difference , if any , to the service provider for purposes of determining down time and compliance with the sla . periodically , such as monthly , the reporting program 60 processes the failure information supplied by program 55 during the reporting period to determine whether the service provider complied with the sla for the application or database , and then displays reports for the service provider and customer ( step 560 of fig5 ). as explained in more detail below , reporting program 60 calculates and includes in the report the percent down time of each of the applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c and databases 15 a , b , c which is the fault of the service provider . thus , the program 60 does not count against the service provider any down or slow time of applications 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c ( i ) caused , directly or indirectly , by an application , database , server or other dependency software or hardware component for which the customer or any third party is responsible for maintenance , ( ii ) which occurred during a scheduled maintenance window or customer approved outage , or ( iii ) for which a “ grace period ” applied . for example , if application 12 a was unacceptably slow or down due to an outage of dependency application 14 a , the outage of application 12 a and application 14 a did not occur during a scheduled maintenance window , and the customer was responsible for maintaining application 14 a , then the unacceptably slow operation or inoperability of application 12 a would not be charged to the service provider . as another example , if application 12 a was unacceptably slow or down due to an outage of dependency database 15 a , the outage of application 12 a and database 15 a did not occur during a scheduled maintenance window , and the customer was responsible for maintaining database 15 a , then the slow operation or inoperability of application 12 a would not be charged to the service provider . as another example , if application 12 a was down due to a failure of server 11 a , the outage did not occur during a scheduled maintenance window of application 12 a or 11 a or other customer approved outage , and the customer is responsible for maintaining server 11 a , then the failure of application 12 a would not be charged to the service provider . the formula for calculating the percent down time or unacceptably slow response time attributable to the service provider is based on the following : ( a ) expected total number of minutes of availability each month = total minutes in month that application or database is expected to fully function as specified in the sla minus duration of scheduled maintenance windows as specified in the sla minus duration of customer approved outages ( for example , to install new software or updates at a time other than scheduled maintenance window ). ( b ) number of down time or unacceptably slow operation minutes attributable to service provider ( as determined above in fig4 ( a ) and ( b )). ( c ) percent failure charged to service provider = number of down time or unacceptably slow operation minutes divided by expected total number of minutes . the reporting program 60 also calculates the business impact / cost due to the downtime caused by the service provider , in excess of the down time permitted in the sla . the reporting program 60 obtains from the configuration information management repository 56 a quantification of the respective impact / cost ( per unit of down time ) to the customer &# 39 ; s business caused by the failure of the application 12 a , b , c , d , e or 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c . the unit impact / cost typically varies for each type of application or database . then , the reporting program 60 multiplies the respective impact / cost ( per unit of down time ) by the down time charged to the service provider for each application 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c in excess of the down time permitted in the sla to determine the total impact / cost charged to the service provider . then , the reporting program 60 presents to the service provider and customer the outage information including ( a ) the total down time of each of the applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c , ( b ) the percent down time of each of the applications or databases attributable to either the customer or the service provider , ( d ) the percent down time of each of the applications 12 a , b , c , d , e and 14 a , b , c or database 15 a , b , c attributable only to the service provider , and ( e ) the total business impact / cost of the failure of each application or database due to the fault of the service provider in excess of the outage amount allowed in the sla . each of the programs 52 , 55 , 56 , 60 and 70 can be loaded into the respective computer from a computer storage medium such as a magnetic tape or disk , cd , dvd , etc . or downloaded from the internet via a tcp / ip adapter card . based on the foregoing , a system , method and computer program for determining compliance of a computer program or database with a service level agreement have been disclosed . however , numerous modifications and substitutions can be made without deviating from the scope of the present invention . therefore , the present invention has been disclosed by way of illustration and not limitation , and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention .	7
in some embodiments of the invention , one or more routing intelligence units are stationed at the premises of a multi - homed organization , each of which controls one or more edge routers . these devices inject bgp updates to the edge routers they control , based on performance data from measurements obtained locally , or from a routing intelligence exchange — routing intelligence exchanges are further described in u . s . applications 60 / 241 , 450 filed oct . 17 , 2000 , 60 / 275 , 206 filed mar . 12 , 2001 , 09 / 903 , 441 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 080 , 161 , and ser . no . 09 / 903 , 423 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , still pending , which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . different configurations of these routing intelligence units and edge routers are illustrated in fig1 through 4 . in some embodiments illustrated in fig1 , one edge router 102 with multiple isps 104 and 106 is controlled by a single device 100 . fig2 illustrates embodiments in which the routing intelligence unit 200 controls multiple edge routers 202 and 204 , each of which in turn links to multiple isps 206 , 208 , 210 , and 212 ; fig2 also illustrates embodiments in which routers 203 205 controlled by the routing intelligence unit 200 are not coupled to spals . in fig3 , a single routing intelligence unit 300 controls multiple edge routers 302 and 304 , each of which is linked to exactly one isp 306 and 308 . in additional embodiments illustrated in fig4 , different routing intelligence units 400 and 402 , each connected to a set of local edge routers 404 , 406 , 408 , and 410 , may coordinate their decisions . in some embodiments of the invention , the routing intelligence units comprise processes running within one or more processors housed in the edge routers . other configurations of routing intelligence units and edge routers will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the routing intelligence units include a decision maker resource . at a high level , the objective of the decision maker is to improve the end - user , application level performance of prefixes whenever the differential in performance between the best route and the default bgp route is significant . this general objective has two aspects : one goal is to reach a steady state whereby prefixes are , most of the time , routed through the best available service provider access link ( i . e ., spal ), that is , through the spal that is the best in terms of end - to - end user performance for users belonging to the address space corresponding to that prefix . to achieve this goal , the decision maker will send a significant amount of updates to the router ( over a tunable period of time ) until steady state is reached . this desirable steady state results from a mix of customer - tunable criteria , which may include but are not limited to end - to - end user measurements , load on the links , and / or cost of the links . current measurements of end - to - end user performance on the internet show that fluctuations in performance are frequent . indeed , the reasons for deterioration of performance of a prefix may include , but are not limited to the following : the network conditions can vary along the path used by the packets that correspond to that prefix on their way to their destination . alternatively , the access link through which the prefix is routed can go down . the service provider to which the prefix is routed can lose coverage for that prefix . in such occurrences , the routing intelligence unit should detect the deterioration / failure , and quickly take action to alleviate its effect on the end - user . in order to optimize application performance , the routing intelligence unit converts measurements on the performance of routes traversing the edge - routers into scores that rate the quality of the end - to - end user experience . this score depends on the application of interest , namely voice , video and http web traffic . in some embodiments of the invention , by default , the routing intelligence unit attempts to optimize the performance of web applications , so its decisions are based on a score model for http . however , in such embodiments , the customer has the choice between all of voice , video , and http . in order to avoid swamping routers with bgp updates , in some embodiments of the invention , the maximum rate of update permitted by the prefix scheduler is offered as , for example , a control , such as a knob that is set by the customer . the faster the rate of updates , the faster the system can react in the event of specific performance deteriorations or link failures . however , the rate of updates should be low enough not to overwhelm the router . in some embodiments , the selected rate will depend on the customer &# 39 ; s setting ( e . g ., the traffic pattern , link bandwidth , etc . ); for example , faster rates are reserved to large enterprises where the number of covered prefixes is large . even when the rate of updates is slow , in some embodiments of the invention , the most urgent updates are still scheduled first : this is performed by sorting the prefix update requests in a priority queue as a function of their urgency . the priority queue is then maintained in priority order . the most urgent events ( such as loss of coverage , or link failure ) bypass this queue and are dealt with immediately . in case interface statistics are available , the decision maker may directly use the corresponding information to function in an optimized way . for example , in some embodiments of the invention , the decision maker can use bandwidth information to make sure that a link of lower bandwidth is not swamped by too much traffic ; in a similar manner , link utilization can be used to affect the rate of bgp updates sent to the router . finally , the prefix scheduler may use per - link cost information , as provided by the user to tailor its operation . for example , assume that the router is connected to the internet through two links : link 1 is a full t 3 , while link 2 is a burstable t 3 , limited to 3 mbit / sec . that is , whenever load exceeds the 3 mbit / sec mark on link 2 , the user incurs a penalty cost . combining information pertaining to per - link cost and utilization , the decision maker can attempt to minimize the instances in which load exceeds 3 mbit / sec on link 2 , thus resulting in reduced costs to the user . in some implementations , the decision maker may also use configurable preference weights to adjust link selection . the cost of carrying traffic may vary between links , or a user may for other reasons prefer the use of certain links . the decision maker can attempt to direct traffic away from some links and towards others by penalizing the measurements obtained on the less preferred links ; this encourages use of the preferred links , but still allows the less preferred links to carry any traffic which receives great benefit . even though information about spals ( e . g ., the bandwidth and utilization of each of the access links ) and prefixes ( e . g ., the load profile of a particular prefix ) is valuable and can be used effectively ( as described above ) to achieve a more optimal results ( according to the algorithm &# 39 ; s objective ), the decision maker is designed to work well even if the only available information is provided by edge stats measurements . in case the routing intelligence unit fails , the design is such that the edge router falls back to the routing that is specified in the bgp feed . the same behavior occurs in case performance routes fail . finally , in some embodiments of the invention , a flapping control algorithm is included in the design , avoiding the occurrence of undesirable excessive flapping of a prefix among the different access links . a diagram showing the high - level architecture of routing intelligence unit , and focused on its bgp settings is shown in fig5 . in the embodiments illustrated in fig5 , three bgp peering types may exist between a given routing intelligence unit 500 and the external world : one to control the local edge router or routers 502 that this particular routing intelligence unit 500 is optimizing , one to a routing infrastructure exchange ( rix ) 504 , and one to every other routing intelligence unit device with which it coordinates 506 , as further described in u . s . applications 60 / 241 , 450 , 60 / 275 , 206 , ser . nos . 09 / 903 , 441 , and 09 / 903 , 423 , which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . in the diagram shown in fig5 , the three external peering types are shown as the arrows at far left ( to the edge routers 502 and to rix 504 ) and far right 506 . in order for bgp updates to be propagated to the appropriate devices , some devices are configured to be route reflectors , and others as route reflector clients . in some embodiments of the invention , the decision maker is a reflector client on all its ibgp peering types . a diagram showing the high - level architecture of routing intelligence unit , and focused on its bgp settings is shown in fig5 . in the embodiments illustrated in fig5 , three bgp peering types may exist between a given routing intelligence unit 500 and the external world : one to control the local edge router or routers 502 that this particular routing intelligence unit 500 is optimizing , one to a routing infrastructure exchange ( rix ) 504 , and one to every other routing intelligence unit device with which it coordinates 506 , as further described in u . s . applications 60 / 241 , 450 filed oct . 17 , 2000 , 60 / 275 , 206 filed mar . 12 , 2001 , ser . no . 09 / 903 , 441 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 080 , 161 , and ser . no . 09 / 903 , 423 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , still pending , which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . in the diagram shown in fig5 , the three external peering types are shown as the arrows at fax left ( to the edge routers 502 and to rix 504 ) and far right 506 . in order for bgp updates to be propagated to the appropriate devices , some devices are configured to be route reflectors , and others as route reflector clients . in some embodiments of the invention , the decision maker is a reflector client on all its ibgp peering types . in the following , we describe each thread separately . in the description , we will refer to tables in the database , and to fields within these tables . the contents of this database are also explicated in u . s . applications 60 / 241 , 450 , 60 / 275 , 206 , ser . nos . 09 / 903 , 441 , 09 / 903 , 423 which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . this first thread 600 polls the database for changes in terms of per - spal performance , load , or coverage , and decides on which prefix updates to insert in a priority queue that holds prefix update requests . in some embodiments of the invention , such changes are checked for in 2 passes . the first pass looks for group level changes , wherein a group comprises an arbitrary collection of prefixes . groups are also described in u . s . applications 60 / 241 , 450 filed oct . 17 , 2000 , 60 / 275 , 206 filed mar . 12 , 2001 , ser no . 09 / 903 , 441 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , now u . s . pat . no . 7 , 080 , 161 , ser . no . 09 / 903 , 423 filed jul . 10 , 2001 , still pending , which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . in case a significant change in performance for a group is noticed , the group is unpacked into its individual prefixes ; the corresponding prefixes are checked and considered for insertion in the priority queue . the second pass captures prefixes for which there are no group - level performance changes . the circumstances under which an update request for a prefix is made may include any one or more of the following : 1 . in case a significant change in its performance score is witnessed on at least one of its local spals . 2 . in case a significant change in its performance score is witnessed on a foreign spal ( that is , a spal that is controlled by a different routing intelligence unit box in a coordinated system ). 3 . in case any of the local spals becomes invalid . 4 . in case an update pertaining to this prefix was received from the router . note that measurements reside at the group level ; hence , check 1 can be done in the first pass . on the other hand , all of checks 2 , 3 , and 4 are prefix - specific and may be performed in pass 2 : indeed , foreign performance updates are transferred through the back channel in bgp messages , and hence correspond to particular prefixes . also , spals may become invalid for some , and not necessary all prefixes in a group . finally , updates from the router relate to the change of winner spals for some prefixes , or to the withdrawal of other prefixes . ( in fact , any information that is transferred by bgp relates to prefixes .) in some embodiments of the invention , in the first pass , an asynchronous thread goes through all groups in the group_spal table , checking whether the new_data bit is set . this bit is set by the measurement listener in case a new measurement from a / 32 resulted in an update of delay , jitter , and loss in the database . delay , jitter , and loss , also denoted as d , v , and p , are used to compute an application - specific score , denoted by m . the scalar m is used to rate application - specific performance ; mos stands for “ mean opinion score ”, and represents the synthetic application - specific performance . in embodiments of the invention , mos may be multiplied by a degradation factor that is a function of link utilization , resulting in m . ( that is , the larger the utilization of a given spal , the larger the degradation factor , and the lower the resulting m .) in embodiments of the invention , users of the device may also configure penalty factors per spal . non - limiting examples of the uses of such penalty features include handicapping some links relative to others , to achieving cost control , or accomplishing other policy objectives . as a non - limiting example , provider x may charge substantially more per unit of bandwidth than provider y . in such a situation , the penalty feature allows the user to apply an m penalty to spal x . this will cause provider y to receive more traffic , except for those prefixes in which the performance of provider x is substantially better . one implementation of this embodiment is to subtract the penalty for the appropriate spal after m is computed . other implementations of the penalty feature will be apparent to those skilled in the art . even when new_data is set , the variation in d , v , and p can be small enough so that the change in the resulting scalar m is insignificant . hence , in some embodiments of the invention , the prefix is only considered for insertion in the queue in case the change in m is significant enough . the corresponding pseudo - code is shown below . in some embodiments of the invention , rolling averages are used to update measurements of delay , jitter , and loss , i . e ., where dnew , vnew , pnew represent the new delay , jitter , and loss measurements . algorithms for calculating mos for http ( 1 . 0 and 1 . 1 ) and for voice and video are also presented in u . s . provisional application no . 60 / 241 , 450 , filed oct . 17 , 2000 and 60 / 275 , 206 filed mar . 12 , 2001 . values used for the models employed by these algorithms in embodiments of the invention are presented in an xml format below . note that since mos is computed per group , a selection from the sets of the following parameters may be made to allow different optimization goals for each group . & lt ; module & gt ;& lt ; engine slot =“ 1 ”& gt ;& lt ; application model =“ http1 . 0 ” [ alpha =“ 0 . 9 ” beta =“ 0 . 9 ” gamma =“ 0 . 9 ” theta =“ 1 . 18 ” phi =“ 0 . 13 ” omega =“ 0 . 15 ” psi =“ 0 . 25 ”]/& gt ;& lt ;/ engine & gt ;& lt ;/ module & gt ; & lt ; module & gt ;& lt ; engine slot =“ 1 ”& gt ;& lt ; application model =“ http1 . 1 ” [ alpha =“ 0 . 9 ” beta =“ 0 . 9 ” gamma =“ 0 . 9 ” theta =“ 1 . 3 ” phi =“ 0 . 13 ” omega =“ 0 . 41 ” psi =“ 1 . 0 ”]/& gt ;& lt ;/ engine & gt ;& lt ;/ module & gt ; & lt ; module & gt ;& lt ; engine slot =“ 1 ”& gt ;& lt ; application model =“ voice ” [ alpha =“ 0 . 9 ” beta =“ 0 . 9 ” gamma =“ 0 . 9 ” theta =“ 1 . 5 ” phi =“ 6 . 0 ” omega =“ 23 . 0 ” psi =“ 0 . 0 ”]/& gt ;& lt ;/ engine & gt ;& lt ;/ module & gt ; & lt ; module & gt ;& lt ; engine slot =“ 1 ”& gt ;& lt ; application model =“ video ” [ alpha =“ 0 . 9 ” beta =“ 0 . 9 ” gamma =“ 0 . 9 ” theta =“ 1 . 0 ” phi =“ 4 . 0 ” omega =“ 69 . 0 ” psi =“ 0 . 0 ”]/& gt ;& lt ;/ engine & gt ;& lt ;/ module & gt ; the values presented above are given as examples only . many different models for deriving mos scores for different applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . in the second pass , an asynchronous thread goes through all prefixes in the prefix table . for each prefix , checks 2 , 3 , and 4 are made : new_incoming_bid in the prefix table indicates that a new bid was received from the coordination back channel ; new_invalid in the prefix_spal table indicates , for a particular ( prefix p , spal x ) pair a loss of coverage for prefix p over spal x . new_natural_data indicates the receipt by routing intelligence unit of an update message from a router , notifying it of a change in its natural bgp winner . in fact , the decision maker only asserts a performance route in case it is not the same as the natural bgp route ; hence , it can potentially receive updates concerning the natural bgp winners of given prefixes from routers to which it has asserted no performance route for those prefixes . ( if routing intelligence unit were to assert performance routes regarding a given prefix p to all routers irrespectively of the current bgp winner for that prefix , it will never receive an update from the router pertaining to changes in the natural bgp winner for prefix p . indeed , the performance route would always be the winner , so the router would assume there is nothing to talk about .) the following example illustrates the usefulness of the new_natural_data flag : assume that the decision maker controls 3 routers , each of which controls its individual spal . assume that the decision maker has just determined that prefix p will move to spal 1 . assume that prefix p believes that the natural bgp route for prefix p as saved by router 1 is spal 1 , the same as its current performance assertion . the decision maker &# 39 ; s logical operation is to withdraw prefix p &# 39 ; s last performance route ( say spal 3 ). however , it turned out that this bgp natural route has , in fact changed to spal 2 ; indeed , this could have happened during the previous assertion of a performance route for prefix p ( since , in this case , as mentioned above , the decision maker receives no updates for prefix p from the router , despite potential changes in prefix p &# 39 ; s natural bgp winner ). as a result of this discrepancy , all traffic pertaining to prefix p will be routed through spal 2 , the current natural bgp winner for prefix p , which is not the desired behavior . this is the primary reason for new_natural_data : as such an event occurs , the router sends an update back to the decision maker , communicating to it the change in natural route . the peer manager sees the change in natural bgp route and sets the new_natural_data flag to 1 ; consequently , the prefix is considered for re - scheduling during this pass , in thread 1 , as described above . note that in case of changes in the natural bgp route for a given prefix , the decision maker will need two passes through the priority queue before the prefix is routed through its appropriate performance route . finally , the accepting_data bit in the prefix table is checked . accepting_data is set to 0 by the peer manager to notify the decision maker not to assert performance routes for this prefix . this would primarily occur in case the prefix is withdrawn from the bgp tables in all local routers . in this case , in the router_prefix_spal table , the announced bit would be set to 0 on all routers and all spals for that prefix . clearly , a prefix is only considered for insertion in the queue in case accepting_data is set to 1 . note that asserting a performance route about a prefix that does not exist in any of the routers &# 39 ; bgp tables could be problematic , depending on the surrounding network environment . if the set of controlled routers do not emit routes to any other bgp routers , then it is acceptable to generate new prefixes . but if any propagation is possible , there is a danger of generating an attractor for some traffic . specifically , if the new route is the most specific route known for some addresses , then any traffic to those addresses will tend to forward from uncontrolled routers towards the controlled routers . this can be very disruptive , since such routing decisions could be very far from optimal . the mechanism can cope with this in a number of ways : prevent any use of a prefix unknown to bgp . this is achieved using the accepting_data check included in some embodiments of the invention . permit all such use , in a context where new routes cannot propagate permit such use , but mark any new prefix with the well - known community value no - advertise to prevent propagation permit such use , but configure the routers to prevent any further propagation ( in some embodiments , by filtering such prefixes ) deciding to insert a prefix update request in the priority queue : the schedule prefix function once a prefix p makes it through the checks imposed in either pass 1 or pass 2 , it is considered for insertion into the prefix update priority queue . schedule_prefix includes the related functionality , described below : first of all , a winner set of spals is re - computed for p ; this set includes spals for which the performance is close to maximal . after the winner set w is computed for p , the decision maker determines whether the current route for p is included in w . in case of a coordinated routing intelligence unit system , in some embodiments of the invention , the back channel is sent updates pertaining to prefix p even if the local prefix update request is dropped . for example , the performance on local links could have changed dramatically since the last time a bid was sent to the back channel for this prefix ; in the event of such an occurrence , an updated bid is sent to the back channel ( through the bgp peering set up for this purpose ). in case the current route is not part of the newly computed winner set , it is clear that prefix p is not routed optimally . before going ahead and inserting an update request for prefix p in the queue , the routing intelligence unit performs a check of the flapping history for prefix p . in case this check shows that prefix p has an excessive tendency to flap , no prefix update request is inserted in the queue . in some embodiments of the invention , before the prefix is inserted in the queue , a spal is chosen at random from the winner set . in case the winner set includes a remote spal controlled by a coordinated routing intelligence unit as well as a local spal , the local spal is always preferred . also , in some embodiments of the invention , the randomness may be tweaked according to factors pertaining to any one or more of the following : link bandwidth , link cost , and traffic load for a given prefix . finally , the state in the database is updated , and the element is inserted in the priority queue . the rank of the prefix update in the priority queue is determined by computing the potential percent improvement obtained from moving the prefix from its current route to the pending winner route . at the outset , a winner set of spals is re - computed for p ; this set includes spals for which the performance is close to maximal . in some embodiments of the invention , invalid spals are excluded from the winner set computation . bids from remote spals under the control of coordinated routing intelligence units may , in embodiments , be included in the winner set computation . since the bids corresponding to such remote routes are filtered through bgp , they are in units which are compatible with ibgp &# 39 ; s local_pref , which in some implementations is limited to 0 - 255 . therefore , one possible implementation is to multiply m by 255 . the converted quantity is referred to as mslp . for consistency , the m values computed for local spals are also are also converted to local_pref units . the new winner is then determined to be the set of all spals for which mslp is larger than mslp max - winner - set - threshold , where mspl max represents the maximum mslp for that prefix across all available spals , and winner - set - threshold represents a customer - tunable threshold specified in local_pref units . the related pseudo - code is shown below . after the winner set w is computed for p , the decision maker determines whether the current route for p is included in w . indeed , in such a case , the performance of that prefix can &# 39 ; t be improved much further , so no prefix update request needs to be inserted in the queue . even though an update request for a given prefix is ignored , the decision maker may still send an update to the back channel in certain embodiments . for example , even though the current route for prefix p is still part of the winner set , performance degradation could have affected all spals at once , in which case the bid that was previously sent to the back channel for prefix p is probably inaccurate . in some embodiments , one may solve this problem by implementing the following : the last bid for a given prefix is saved as my_bid in the prefix table ; a low and high threshold are then computed using two user - configurable parameters , bid - threshold - low and bid - threshold - high . in case of a significant difference between the mslp score on the current route and the last score sent to the back channel for that prefix ( i . e ., my_bid ) is witnessed ( that is , if the new score falls below ( 1 - bid - threshold - low )* 100 % or jumps to a value that is larger than ( 1 + bid - threshold - high )* 100 % of my_bid ), a bgp message is sent to the back channel , carrying the new bid for prefix p to remote coordinated routing intelligence units . pseudo - code illustrating the functionality described here is shown below . at this point , it is clear that prefix p is not routed optimally . in some embodiments of the invention , before proceeding with sending the update request to the edge router , the routing intelligence unit performs a check of the flapping history for prefix p . an algorithm whose operation is very close to the flapping detection algorithm in bgp monitors the flapping history of a prefix . the algorithm can be controlled by , in one embodiment , three user - controlled parameters flap_weight , flap_low , and flap_high and works as follows : the tendency of a prefix to flap is monitored by a variable denoted forgiving_mode that resides in the prefix table . forgiving_mode and other flapping parameters are updated in thread 2 right before a performance route pertaining to prefix p is asserted to the local routers . in case forgiving_mode is set to 1 , the tendency for prefix p to flap is considered excessive , and the prefix update request is ignored . conversely , in case forgiving_mode is set to 0 , prefix p has no abnormal tendency to flap , so it is safe to consider its update request . if a prefix survives to this point in thread 1 , it will deterministically be inserted in the queue . hence , all bits that were checked should be reset at this point so that some other pass on the prefixes does not reconsider and reschedule the prefix update request . for example , in case the prefix belongs to a group for which there was a significant change in m , the prefix will be considered for insertion in the queue in pass 1 , and should not be reconsidered in pass 2 . in some embodiments of the invention , before the prefix is inserted in the queue , a spal is chosen at random from the winner set . this way , traffic is spread across more than one spal , hence achieving some level of load balancing . in order to achieve some set of desirable policies , randomness can be tweaked in order to favor some spals and disregard others . for example , in case the winner set includes a remote spal controlled by a coordinated routing intelligence unit as well as a local spal , the local spal is always preferred . in other words , a remote spal is only the winner in case it is the only available spal in the winner set . also , depending on the weight of a prefix and the observed load on different links , one can tweak the probabilities in such a way that the prefix is routed through a spal that fits it best . ( this feature corresponds to the “ saturation avoidance factor ” — saf , described later in this document ) after a winner is selected , pending_winner in prefix_spal is updated to reflect the new potential winner . finally , the element is inserted in the priority queue . the rank of the prefix update in the priority queue is determined by computing the percent improvement ; that is , the percent improvement obtained from moving the prefix from its current route to the pending winner route . that is , percent - improvement =[ score ( pending_winner )− score ( current_route )]/ score ( current_route ). the special - spal - flag is part of the data structure for the update , as it will be used in the determination of which messages to send to the local routers . in this thread 602 , elements are taken out of the queue in a rate - controlled manner . in some embodiments of the invention , this rate is specified by the customer . the update rate is often referred to as the token rate . tokens are given at regular intervals , according to the update rate . each time a token appears , the head of the queue is taken out of the queue , and considered for potential update . in case the database shows that more recent passes in thread 1 have canceled the update request , it is dropped without losing the corresponding token ; the next update request is then taken out from the head of the queue ; this procedure is performed until either the queue empties , or a valid request is obtained . in some embodiments of the invention , when an update request that corresponds to prefix p is determined to be current ( thus , valid ), one or more of the following tasks are performed : the flapping state is updated for prefix p . the database is updated to reflect the new actual winner ; more specifically , the pending winner , chosen before inserting the prefix update request at the end of the first thread now becomes the current winner . the database is checked to determine the current state of each of the individual routers . accordingly , individual nlris are formed and sent to each of the routers . for example , no performance route is sent to an edge router in case the bgp winner for prefix p , according to that router is found to be the same . an nlri is sent to the back channel , describing the new local winner . finally , the database is updated to keep track of the messages that were sent to each of the routers , as well as the expected resulting state of these routers . in this thread 602 , elements are just taken out from the queue in a rate - controlled manner , according to an update rate that may be set by the customer . the update rate is often referred to as the token rate : indeed , tokens are given at regular intervals , according to the update rate . each time a token appears , the head of the queue is taken out , and considered for potential update . assume that the update request concerns prefix p . the prefix_spal table is checked to obtain the pending_winner and current_winner for prefix p . in case pending_winner and current_winner correspond to the same spal , this is an indication that a more recent pass in thread 1 has canceled the update request ; in this case , the update request is dropped , without losing the corresponding token ; the next token request is then polled from the head of the queue ; this procedure is performed until either the queue empties , or a valid request , for which pending_winner and current_winner are different , is obtained . having different pending and current winners reflects a valid update request . in this case , the decision maker should assert the winning route for prefix p ; correspondingly , a series of tasks are performed . first , the flapping state is updated for prefix p . in some embodiments of the invention , the tendency of a prefix to flap is monitored by a variable denoted interchange_rate that resides in the prefix table . the flap_weight parameter dictates the dynamics of interchange_rate ; more specifically , at this point in the algorithm thread , interchange_rate is updated using the last value of interchange_rate , as stored in the table , last_icr_time , also stored in the prefix table , and flap_weight . in case the new computed interchange_rate is below flap_low , routing intelligence unit considers the tendency for that prefix to flap to be low . on the other hand , when interchange_rate exceeds flap_high , the routing intelligence unit considers the tendency for that prefix to flap to be high . that is , the algorithm functions in the following fashion : in case forgiving_mode ( also in the prefix table ) is set to 0 , and interchange_rate exceeds flap_high , forgiving_mode is set to 1 . in case forgiving_mode is set to 1 , but interchange_rate drops below flap_low , forgiving_mode is set to 0 again , and the prefix update request survives this check . in case forgiving_mode is set to 1 and interchange_rate is larger than flap_low , or forgiving_mode is set to 0 , and interchange_rate is below flap_high , forgiving_mode does not change . note that the method presented above is only one technique for controlling flapping ; others will be apparent to those skilled in the art . in some embodiments of the invention , the two parameters flap_low , and flap_high are separated by an amount to avoid hysterisis between the two values . then , the decision maker updates the prefix_spal table to reflect this change ; more specifically , current_winner is moved to pending_winner in the table . at this time , the router_prefix_spal table is queried to capture the current state of each router in regards to prefix p . accordingly , different nlris are formed and sent to each of the routers . in some embodiments of the invention , the decision maker only asserts a performance route in case it is not the same as the natural bgp route ; indeed , if routing intelligence unit were to assert performance routes regarding a given prefix p to all routers irrespectively of the current bgp winner for that prefix , it will never receive an update from the router pertaining to changes in the natural bgp winner for prefix p . ( indeed , the performance route would always be the winner , so the router would assume there is nothing to talk about .) also , an nlri is sent to the back channel , describing to other routing intelligence units in a coordinated system the new local winner . finally , the database is updated to keep track of the messages that were sent to each of the routers , as well as the expected resulting state of these routers . prior to forming the nlris , the database is updated to include the new flap parameters and prefix - spal information ( i . e ., the new current spal for that prefix ). the bgp update sent to an edge router may be filtered out by the policy on the router . however , assuming the update is permissible , it may be made to win in the router &# 39 ; s bgp comparison process . one implementation is to have the edge router apply a high weight value to the incoming update . ( weight is a common bgp knob , supported in most major implementations of the protocol , but it is not in the original protocol specification .) this technique constrains the update so that it gains an advantage only on the router or routers to which the update is directly sent ; this is desirable if some other routers are not controlled by a device such as the one described here . it is also possible to send the update with normal bgp attributes which make the route attractive , such as a high local_pref value . if ( local_token available ) { get prefix at the head of the local update queue updateprefixspal ( prefix , spal ) updateflapstats ( prefix ) compute bid_low_threshold and bid_high_threshold from mslp ( prefix ) store bid_low_threshold and bid_high_threshold in prefix_group form nlri to send to local sbgp form nlri to send to backchannel sbgp } in some embodiments of the invention , a maximum queue size is to be chosen by the customer . in some embodiments , a small queue size may be chosen , so the maximum delay involved between the time instant a prefix update request is queued and the time instant it is considered by the second thread as a potential bgp update is small . for example , in case the token rate corresponding to a given link is 10 tokens per second , and we choose not to exceed a 2 second queuing delay , the queue should be able to accommodate 20 prefix update requests . note that this method is simple , and only requires the knowledge of the token rate and the maximum acceptable delay . it is desirable for the routing intelligence unit to remain conservative in the rate of updates it communicates to the edge - router . this is the function of the token rate , which acts as a brake to the whole system . in some embodiments of the invention , the responsibility for setting the token rate is transferred to the customer , who selects a token rate that best fits her bandwidth and traffic pattern . the feedback from the listener bgp is valuable as it describes the actual current state of the local edge routers . accordingly , in some embodiments of the invention , a separate routing intelligence unit thread modifies the content of the database according to the state it gets from the router ( s ). the routing intelligence unit can operate more subtly in case it is a perfect listener ; we consider the routing intelligence unit to be a perfect listener if it has knowledge of the individual bgp feeds from each individual spal . that is , in case the routing intelligence unit is connected to three access links , each connecting to a separate provider , the routing intelligence unit is a perfect listener if it has access to each of the three feeds handed by each of these providers . configuring routing intelligence unit as a perfect listener is desirable , as it allows the support of private peerings . for example , unless routing intelligence unit is configured as a perfect listener , when routing intelligence unit hears about a prefix , it can &# 39 ; t assume that coverage exists for that prefix across all spals . considering the scenario described above , a prefix that the routing intelligence units learns about could be covered by any of the three spals the router is connected to . for example , assume that only spal 1 has coverage for a given prefix p ; in case the routing intelligence unit asserts a performance route for that prefix across spal 2 , there is no guarantee that the traffic pertaining to that prefix will be transited by the service provider to which spal 2 is connected ( which we denote provider 2 ). in case provider 2 actually has a private peering with provider x that obeys some pre - specified contract , provider x could well monitor the traffic from provider 2 , and filter all packets that do not conform to that contract . in case this contract namely specifies that provider x will only provide transit to customers residing on provider x &# 39 ; s network , then the traffic pertaining to prefix p will be dropped . if routing intelligence unit were a perfect listener , it would only assert performance routes for prefixes across spals that are determined to have coverage for these prefixes . this behavior may be referred to as “ extremely polite .” in some embodiments , the routing intelligence unit is capable of avoiding the “ rocking the boat ” problem , which stems from unwanted propagation of prefixes which did not already exist in bgp . the routing intelligence unit can operate in “ impolite ” mode , where any prefixes may be used , or in “ polite ” mode , where only those prefixes which were previously present in bgp can be used . an announced bit resides in the router_prefix_spal table , and is set by the peer manager in case the routing intelligence unit hears about a prefix from any of the routers . this bit allows use of “ polite ” mode by the following procedure : in case the announced bit is set to 0 for all ( router , spal ) combinations in the router_prefix_spal table , then accepting_data is set to 0 in the prefix table . in case a catastrophic event occurs , such as a link going down , some embodiments of the invention send urgent bgp updates to the router . these urgent updates have priority over the entire algorithm described above . for example , in case a spal has lost coverage for a prefix , an urgent bgp message should be sent to the router , requesting to move the prefix to other spals . a list of urgent events upon which such actions may be taken , and a description of the algorithms pertaining to these actions , are described below . in some embodiments of the invention , a specific ( prefix p , spal x ) pair is invalidated in case there are reasons to believe that spal x no longer provides coverage to prefix p . one possible implementation is described as follows . measurements corresponding to a ( prefix , spal ) pair are assumed to arrive to the decision maker at something close to a predictable rate . a background thread that is independent from threads 1 and 2 computes this update rate , and stores a time of last update , the last_update_time . another background thread verifies that last_icr_time is reasonable given update_rate . for example , assuming that measurements come in following a poisson distribution , it is easy to verify whether last_icr_time exceeds a fixed percentile of the inter - arrival interval . as last_update_time increases , the decision maker becomes more and more worried about the validity of the path . in the current design , there are two thresholds : at the first threshold , the new_invalid and invalid flags are set in the prefix_spal table . as described in thread 1 above , setting the new_invalid flag for a ( prefix p , spal x ) pair will prevent any new update requests for prefix p to be routed through spal x . at this stage , no other action is taken . at the second threshold , the decision maker becomes “ very concerned ” about routing prefix p through spal x ; hence , an urgent check is made to see whether prefix p is currently routed through spal x , in which case an urgent nlri is created ( that is , an nlri that bypasses the entire queue system ) in order to route prefix through a different spal . some embodiments of the invention support a saturation avoidance factor , which measures the effect of a prefix on other prefixes . in some embodiments of the invention , the “ saturation avoidance factor ” ( saf ) pertaining to a given prefix may be taken into account when prefixes are sorted in the priority queue . this saf measures the effect of a prefix on other prefixes . that is , if , upon scheduling a prefix on a given link , its effect on the other prefixes already scheduled on that link is high ( i . e ., this effectively means that the aggregate load for this prefix is large ), its saf should be low . the lower the saf of a prefix , the lower its place in the priority queue . this way , the algorithm will always favor low load prefixes rather than high load prefixes . note that in some embodiments , the saf is not directly proportional to load . for example , a prefix that has a load equal to 0 . 75 c has a different saf whether it is considered to be scheduled on an empty link or on a link which utilization has already reached 75 %. in the later case , the saf should be as low as possible , since scheduling the prefix on the link would result in a link overflow . at times , the token rate may be slower than the responded feedback . in case link utilization information is obtained through interface - stats , the token rate may be slower than the rate at which utilization information comes in . also , the token rate may be slower than the rate at which edge - stats measurements come in . additionally , in some embodiments , each prefix is considered at a time . that is , pqservicerate is small enough so that no more than one token is handed at a time . for example , denoting by t the token rate obtained from the above considerations , pqservicerate is equal to 1 / t . if more than one token were handed at one time , two large prefixes could be scheduled on the same link , just as in the example above , potentially leading to bad performance . in some embodiments of the invention , the saf is a per - prefix , per - spal quantity . for example , assume that a prefix carries with it a load of 75 % the capacity of all spals . if we have a choice between two spals , spal 1 and spal 2 , spal 1 already carrying a load of 50 %, the other having a load of 0 %. in this case , moving prefix p to spal 1 will result in bad performance not only for itself , but also for all other prefixes already routed through spal 1 . in this case , the saf is close to 0 , even if performance data across spal 1 seems to indicate otherwise . on the other hand , the saf of moving prefix p to spal 2 is , by contrast , very good , since the total load on the link will remain around 75 % of total capacity , so delays will remain low . if , instead of carrying a load of 75 % capacity , prefix p carried a load of 10 % capacity , the results would have been different , and the saf of prefix p across spals 1 and 2 would have been close . in some embodiments of the invention , without knowing the load of a link , we can still measure the effect of moving a given prefix to a given spal through rtt measurements . that is , instead of measuring the load directly , we measure the end result , that is the amount by which performance of prefixes across a link worsens as a result of moving a prefix to it . in order to support saf , the schema may be include a load field in the spal table , and an saf field in the prefix_spal table . in some embodiments , the saf field is a per - prefix , per - spal information . edge - stats measurements may include measurements of delay , jitter , and loss ; using these measurements , an application - specific performance score may be obtained based on which a decision is made on whether to send an update request for this prefix . available bandwidth is a valuable quantity that is measured and included in the computation of the performance score in some embodiments of the invention . in some embodiments of the invention , token rates may differ on a per - link basis ( which dictates the use of different queues for each link ). in some embodiments , the token rate may be tailored to total utilization . lowly utilized links can afford relatively higher token rates without fear of overflow , whereas links close to saturation should be handled more carefully . some embodiments of the invention provide one or more of the following modes of operation : 1 . the default mode : the user specifies one token rate ( and , optionally , a bucket size ), shared equally among the prefixes updates destined to the different links . 2 . the enhanced performance mode : the user specifies a minimum token rate ( and , optionally , a bucket size ). depending on factors such as the total bandwidth utilization and the bandwidth of individual links , the prefix scheduler takes the initiative to function at a higher speed when possible , allowing better performance when it is not dangerous to do so . 3 . the custom mode : in this case , the user can specify minimum and maximum token rates ( and , optionally , bucket sizes ), as well as conditions on when to move from one token rate to another . using this custom mode , customers can tailor the prefix scheduler to their exact needs . even though the priority queue is sized in such a way that the delay spent in the queue is minimized , there is still an order of magnitude between the time scale of the bgp world , at which level decisions are taken , and the physical world , in which edge stats and interface stats are measured . that is , even though the queuing delay is comparable to other delays involved in the process of changing a route , prefix performance across a given link or the utilization of a given link can change much more quickly . for example , a 2 second queuing delay could be appropriate in the bgp world , while 2 seconds can be enough for congestion to occur across a given link , or for the link utilization to go from 25 % to 75 %. for this reason , in some embodiments of the invention , the winner set is re - evaluated at the output of the priority queue . the foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and equivalent arrangements will be apparent .	7
hereafter , in order to explain this invention in greater detail , the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing an image encoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig1 , a block dividing unit 1 carries out a process of dividing an image signal which is an inputted image and which is a target to be encoded into macro blocks , and outputting an image signal in units of a macro block to a predicting unit 2 as a split image signal . when receiving the split image signal from the block dividing unit 1 , the predicting unit 2 performs a predicting process on the split image signal within the frame or between frames to generate a prediction signal . particularly , when carrying out a motion - compensated prediction between frames , the predicting unit detects a motion vector in units of a macro block or each of subblocks into which a macro block is more finely divided from both the split image signal and a reference image signal showing a reference image stored in a memory 7 to generate a prediction signal showing a prediction image from both the motion vector and the reference image signal . after generating the prediction signal , the predicting unit then carries out a process of calculating a prediction error signal which is the difference between the split image signal and the prediction signal . furthermore , when generating the prediction signal , the predicting unit 2 determines parameters for prediction signal generation , and outputs the parameters for prediction signal generation to a variable length encoding part 8 . for example , the parameters for prediction signal generation include pieces of information such as an intra prediction mode showing how to perform a spatial prediction within the frame , and a motion vector showing an amount of motion between frames . a prediction processing unit is comprised of the block dividing unit 1 and the predicting unit 2 . a compressing unit 3 carries out a process of carrying out a dct ( discrete cosine transform ) process on the prediction error signal calculated by the predicting unit 2 to calculate dct coefficients while quantizing the dct coefficients to output compressed data which are the dct coefficients quantized thereby to a local decoding part 4 and the variable length encoding part 8 . the compressing unit 3 constructs a difference image compression unit . the local decoding part 4 carries out a process of carrying out inverse quantization of the compressed data outputted from the compressing unit 3 and performing an inverse dct process on the compressed data inverse - quantized thereby to calculate a prediction error signal corresponding to the prediction error signal outputted from the predicting unit 2 . an adder 5 carries out a process of adding the prediction error signal calculated by the local decoding part 4 and the prediction signal generated by the predicting unit 2 to generate a local decoded image signal showing a local decoded image . a local decoding unit is comprised of the local decoding part 4 and the adder 5 . a loop filter 6 carries out a process of performing a filtering process of compensating for a distortion superimposed onto the local decoded image signal generated by the adder 5 to output the local decoded image signal filtered thereby to the memory 7 as the reference image signal while outputting information about the filter which the loop filter uses when carrying out the filtering process to the variable length encoding part 8 . the loop filter 6 constructs a filtering unit . the memory 7 is a recording medium for storing the reference image signal outputted from the loop filter 6 . the variable length encoding part 8 carries out a process of entropy - encoding the compressed data outputted from the compressing unit 3 , the filter information outputted from the loop filter 6 , and the parameters for prediction signal generation outputted from the predicting unit 2 to generate a bit stream showing these encoded results . the variable length encoding part 8 constructs a variable length encoding unit . fig2 is a block diagram showing the loop filter 6 of the image encoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig2 , a frame memory 11 is a recording medium for storing only one frame of the local decoded image signal generated by the adder 5 . a region classifying unit 12 carries out a process of extracting a feature quantity of each of the of regions which construct a local decoded image shown by one frame of the local decoded image signal stored in the frame memory 11 to classify each of the regions into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity . a filter designing and processing unit 13 carries out a process of generating , for each class to which one or more regions included in the regions which construct the local decoded image belongs , a wiener filter which minimizes an error occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in each of the one or more regions which belong to the class , and using the wiener filter to compensate for the distortion superimposed onto the region . the filter designing and processing unit 13 also carries out a process of outputting filter information about the wiener filter to the variable length encoding part 8 . when receiving an image signal which is a target to be encoded , the block dividing unit 1 divides the image signal into macro blocks , and output an image signal in units of a macro block to the predicting unit 2 as a split image signal . when receiving the split image signal from the block dividing unit 1 , the predicting unit 2 detects parameters for prediction signal generation which the predicting unit uses to perform a predicting process on the split image signal within the frame or between frames . then , the predicting unit generates a prediction signal showing a prediction image using the parameters for prediction signal generation . particularly , the predicting unit detects a motion vector which is a parameter for prediction signal generation used for performing a predicting process between frames from the split image signal and the reference image signal stored in the memory 7 . after detecting the motion vector , the predicting unit 2 then generates the prediction signal by performing a motion - compensated prediction on the reference image signal by using the motion vector . after generating the prediction signal showing the prediction image , the predicting unit 2 calculates a prediction error signal which is the difference between the prediction signal and the split image signal , and outputs the prediction error signal to the compressing unit 3 . when generating the prediction signal , the predicting unit 2 also determines the parameters for prediction signal generation and outputs the parameters for prediction signal generation to the variable length encoding part 8 . for example , the parameters for prediction signal generation include pieces of information such as an intra prediction mode showing how to perform a spatial prediction within the frame , and a motion vector showing an amount of motion between frames . when receiving the prediction error signal from the predicting unit 2 , the compressing unit 3 calculates dct coefficients by performing a dct ( discrete cosine transform ) process on the prediction error signal , and then quantizes the dct coefficients . the compressing unit 3 then outputs compressed data which are the dct coefficients quantized thereby to the local decoding part 4 and the variable length encoding part 8 . when receiving the compressed data from the compressing unit 3 , the local decoding part 4 carries out inverse quantization of the compressed data and then carries an inverse dct process on the compressed data inverse - quantized thereby to calculate a prediction error signal corresponding to the prediction error signal outputted from the predicting unit 2 . after the local decoding part 4 calculates the prediction error signal , the adder 5 adds the prediction error signal and the prediction signal generated by the predicting unit 2 to generate a local decoded image signal showing a local decoded image . after the adder 5 generates the local decoded image signal , the loop filter 6 carries out a filtering process of compensating for the distortion superimposed onto the local decoded image signal , and stores the local decoded image signal filtered thereby in the memory 7 as the reference image signal . the loop filter 6 also outputs information about the filter which the loop filter uses when carrying out the filtering process to the variable length encoding part 8 . the variable length encoding part 8 carries out the process of entropy - encoding the compressed data outputted from the compressing unit 3 , the filter information outputted from the loop filter 6 , and the parameters for prediction signal generation outputted from the predicting unit 2 to generate a bit stream showing these encoded results . at this time , although the variable length encoding unit also entropy - encodes the parameters for prediction signal generation , the image encoding device can alternatively multiplex the parameters for prediction signal generation into the bit stream , which the image encoding device generates , and output this bit stream without entropy - encoding the parameters for prediction signal generation . hereafter , the process performed by the loop filter 6 will be explained concretely . fig3 is a flow chart showing the process performed by the loop filter 6 of the image encoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . first , the frame memory 11 of the loop filter 6 stores only one frame of the local decoded image signal generated by the adder 5 . the region classifying unit 12 extracts a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct the local decoded image shown by the single frame of the local decoded image signal stored in the frame memory 11 , and classifies each of the regions into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity ( step st 1 ). for example , for each region ( each block having an arbitrary size ( m × m pixels )), the region classifying unit extracts a variance of the local decoded image signal , the dct coefficients , the motion vector , the quantization parameter of the dct coefficients , or the like in the region as the feature quantity , and carries out the class classification on the basis of these pieces of information . in this case , m is an integer equal to or larger than 1 . for example , when the variance of the local decoded image signal in the region is used as the feature quantity in a case in which each of the regions is classified to one of class 1 to class n ( n is an integer equal to or larger than 1 ), ( n − 1 ) thresholds are prepared beforehand and the variance of the local decoded image signal is compared with each of the ( n − 1 ) thresholds ( th 1 & lt ; th 2 & lt ; . . . & lt ; th n - 1 ), and the class to which the region belongs is identified . for example , when the variance of the local decoded image signal is equal to or larger than th n - 3 and is smaller than th n - 2 , the region is classified to the class n − 2 . furthermore , when the variance of the local decoded image signal is equal to or larger than th 2 and is smaller than th 3 , the region is classified to the class 3 . in this case , although the example in which the ( n − 1 ) thresholds are prepared beforehand is shown , these thresholds can be changed dynamically for each sequence or each frame . for example , when using the motion vector in the region as the feature quantity , the region classifying unit calculates a mean vector which is the mean of motion vectors or a median vector which is the median value of motion vectors , and identifies the class to which the region belongs according to the magnitude or direction of the vector . in this case , the mean vector has components ( x and y components ) each of which is the mean value of the corresponding components of the motion vectors . in contrast , the median vector has components ( x and y components ) each of which is the median value of the corresponding components of the motion vectors . when the region classifying unit 12 classifies each of the regions into one of the classes 1 to n , the filter designing and processing unit 13 generates , for each class to which one or more regions included in the regions which construct the local decoded image belongs , a wiener filter which minimizes an error occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in each of the one or more regions which belong to the class ( steps st 2 to st 8 ). for example , in a case in which the local decoded image consists of four regions ( a region a , a region b , a region c , and a region d ) as shown in fig4 , when the regions a and c are classified into the class 3 , the region b is classified into the class 5 , and the region d is classified into the class 6 , the filter designing and processing unit generates a wiener filter which minimizes the error occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in each of the regions a and c belonging to the class 3 . the filter designing and processing unit further generates a wiener filter which minimizes the error occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the region b belonging to the class 5 , and also generates a wiener filter which minimizes the error occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the region d belonging to the class 6 . for example , in a case of designing a filter with a variable number of taps when generating a wiener filter which minimizes the error , the filter designing and processing unit 13 calculates a cost as will be shown below for each different number of taps , and then determines the number of taps and the coefficient values of the filter which minimize the cost . where d is the sum of squared errors between the image signal which is the target to be encoded in the region to which the target filter is applied , and the local decoded image signal filtered , λ is a constant , and r is the amount of codes which are generated in the loop filter 6 . although in this case the cost is given by the equation ( 2 ), this case is only an example . for example , only the sum of squared errors d can be defined as the cost . furthermore , another evaluated value such as the sum of absolute error values can be used instead of the sum of squared errors d . after generating a wiener filter for each class to which one or more regions belong , the filter designing and processing unit 13 determines whether or not each of the blocks which construct the local decoded image ( e . g . each of local regions which is smaller than each of the regions a to d which constructs the local decoded image ) is a block on which the filter designing and processing unit should perform the filtering process ( steps st 9 to st 16 ). more specifically , for each of the blocks which construct the local decoded image , the filter designing and processing unit 13 compares errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block between before and after the filtering process . for example , in a case in which the local decoded image consists of 16 blocks ( k ) ( k = 1 , 2 , . . . , and 16 ), as shown in fig5 , the filter designing and processing unit compares the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in each block ( k ) between before and after the filtering process . a block 1 , a block 2 , a block 5 , and a block 6 shown in fig5 correspond to the region a shown in fig4 , a block 3 , a block 4 , a block 7 , and a block 8 shown in fig5 correspond to the region b shown in fig4 , a block 9 , a block 10 , a block 13 , and a block 14 shown in fig5 correspond to the region c shown in fig4 , and a block 11 , a block 12 , a block 15 , and a block 16 shown in fig5 correspond to the region d shown in fig4 . although the filter designing and processing unit compares the sum of squared errors between before and after the filtering process , the filter designing and processing unit can alternatively compare either the cost ( d + λ · r ) shown by the equation ( 2 ) or the sum of absolute error values between before and after the filtering process . when the sum of squared errors acquired after the filtering process is smaller than the sum of squared errors acquired before the filtering process , the filter designing and processing unit 13 determines that the block ( k ) is a block which is a target for filtering . in contrast , when the sum of squared errors acquired after the filtering process is equal to or larger than the sum of squared errors acquired before the filtering process , the filter designing and processing unit determines that the block ( k ) is a block which is not a target for filtering . the filter designing and processing unit 13 then calculates the cost at the time when performing the filtering process which causes the cost to become a minimum in the steps st 1 to st 16 and the cost at the time when not performing the filtering process on the whole of the frame currently processed to determine whether or not to perform the filtering process on the whole of the frame currently processed ( steps st 17 to st 18 ). when , in step st 18 , determining to perform the filtering process on the whole of the frame , the filter designing and processing unit sets a flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) to 1 ( on ), and then performs the filtering process which causes the cost to become a minimum in the steps st 1 to st 16 and outputs the local decoded image signal on which the filter designing and processing unit has performed the filtering process to the memory 7 as the reference image signal ( steps st 19 to st 20 ). for example , when the region including the block ( k ) is the region b and the class to which the region b belongs is the class 5 , the filter designing and processing unit performs the filtering process on the block ( k ) by using the wiener filter of the class 5 , and outputs the local decoded image signal on which the filter designing and processing unit has performed the filtering process to the memory 7 as the reference image signal . at this time , when , in steps st 1 to st 16 , determining that the cost is minimized when the process of selecting whether or not to carry out the filtering process for each block is carried out ( at the time of the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag )= 1 ( on )), the filter designing and processing unit outputs the yet - to - be - filtered local decoded image signal for the block ( k ) on which the filter designing and processing unit has determined not to perform the filtering process to the memory 7 as the reference image signal , just as it is , without performing the filtering process on the block ( k ). in contrast , when , in steps st 1 to st 16 , determining that the cost is minimized when the process of selecting whether or not to carry out the filtering process for each block is not carried out ( at the time of the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag )= 0 ( off )), the filter designing and processing unit performs the filtering process on each of all the local decoded image signals in the frame by using the wiener filter of the class into which the region to which the local decoded image signal belongs is classified , and outputs the local decoded image signal on which the filter designing and processing unit has performed the filtering process to the memory 7 as the reference image signal . in contrast , when , in step st 18 , determining not to perform the filtering process on the whole of the frame , the filter designing and processing unit sets the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) to 0 ( off ), and outputs the yet - to - be - filtered local decoded image signal to the memory 7 as the reference image signal , just as it is ( steps st 21 to st 22 ). in steps st 2 to st 22 in the flow chart , “ min_cost ” is a variable for storing the minimum cost , “ i ” is an index of the number of filter taps tap [ i ] and a loop counter , and “ j ” is an index of the block size bl_size [ j ] and a loop counter . furthermore , “ min_tap_idx ” is an index ( i ) of the number of filter taps at the time when the cost is minimized , “ min_bl_size_idx ” is an index ( j ) of the block size at the time when the cost is minimized , and “ max ” is an initial value of the minimum cost ( a sufficiently large value ). a sequence in which n1 ( n1 & gt ;= 1 ) different numbers of filter taps , which are determined beforehand and each of which can be selected , are stored . a sequence in which n2 ( n2 & gt ;= 1 ) different block sizes ( bl_size [ j ]× bl_size [ j ] pixels ), which are determined beforehand and each of which can be selected , are stored . the flag showing whether or not to carry out the process of selecting whether or not to carry out the filtering process for each block in the frame currently processed . the flag showing whether or not to carry out the filtering process for the frame currently processed . step st 2 is the step of setting up initial values , and steps st 3 to st 8 are a loop for carrying out the process of selecting the number of filter taps . furthermore , step st 9 is a step of setting up initial values , and steps st 10 to st 16 are a loop for carrying out the process of selecting the block size and the process of determining whether or not to carry out the filtering process for each block having the selected block size . in addition , steps st 17 to st 18 are the steps of determining whether or not to perform the filtering process on the whole of the frame currently processed , steps st 19 to st 20 are the steps of carrying out the optimal filtering process which is determined in steps st 1 to st 16 with frame_filter_on_off_flag = 1 ( on ), and steps st 21 to st 22 are the steps of setting frame_filter_on_off_flag to 0 ( off ) and not carrying out the filtering process for the frame currently processed . after generating the wiener filter and then carrying out the filtering process in the above - mentioned way , the filter design and the processing unit 13 outputs the filter information about the wiener filter to the variable length encoding part 8 . the filter information includes the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) showing whether or not to carry out the filtering process for the frame currently processed . when this flag is set to on ( shows that the filtering process is carried out ), information as will be shown below is included in the filter information . ( 1 ) the number of wiener filters ( the number of classes to each of which one or more regions belong ) ( 2 ) information ( index ) about the number of taps of each wiener filter when all the filters are common in the frame , a common number of taps is included . when the number of taps differs for each filter , the number of taps of each filter is included . ( 3 ) information about the coefficients of an actually - used wiener filter ( a wiener filter of each class to which one or more regions belong ) even if a wiener filter is generated , no information about the wiener filter is included when the wiener filter is not actually used . the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) showing whether or not to perform the on / off operation ( whether or not perform the filtering process ) for each block in the frame currently processed . only when block_filter_on_off_flag is set to on , the block size information ( index ) and the on / off information about the filtering process for each block are included . in this embodiment , the example in which the pieces of information ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) are included in the filter information is shown . the number of wiener filters , the number of taps of each wiener filter , and the block size for on / off can be held by both the image encoding device and the image decoding device as information determined in common in the image encoding device and the image decoding device , instead of encoding and transmitting the pieces of information between them . furthermore , although in the above explanation fig3 is explained as a concrete example of the process performed by the loop filter 6 , steps st 9 to st 16 can be omitted and the process of not carrying out the on / off operation for the filtering process for each block (( 4 ) is not included in the filter information ) can be included as a part of the process performed by the loop filter 6 . as mentioned above , the filter information outputted from the filter designing and processing unit 13 is entropy - encoded by the variable length encoding part 8 , and is transmitted to the image decoding device . fig6 is an explanatory drawing showing an example of the bit stream generated by the variable length encoding part 8 . fig7 is a block diagram showing the image decoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig7 , when receiving the bit stream from the image encoding device , a variable length decoding part 21 carries out a process of variable - length - decoding compressed data , filter information , and parameters for prediction signal generation which are included in the bit stream . the variable length decoding part 21 constructs a variable length decoding unit . a predicting unit 22 carries out a process of generating a prediction signal showing a prediction image by using the parameters for prediction signal generation which the variable length decoding part 21 has variable - length - decoded . particularly , in a case in which a motion vector is used as a parameter for prediction signal generation , the predicting unit carries out a process of generating a prediction signal from the motion vector and a reference image signal stored in a memory 26 . the predicting unit 22 constructs a prediction image generating unit . a prediction error decoding unit 23 carries out a process of performing inverse quantization on the compressed data which the variable length decoding part 21 has variable - length - decoded , and then performing an inverse dct process on the compressed data inverse - quantized thereby to calculate a prediction error signal corresponding to the prediction error signal outputted from the predicting unit 2 shown in fig1 . an adder 24 carries out a process of adding the prediction error signal calculated by the prediction error decoding unit 23 and the prediction signal generated by the predicting unit 22 to calculate a decoded image signal corresponding to the decoded image signal outputted from the adder 5 shown in fig1 . a decoding unit is comprised of the prediction error decoding unit 23 and the adder 24 . a loop filter 25 carries out a filtering process of compensating for a distortion superimposed onto the decoded image signal outputted from the adder 24 , and then carries out a process of outputting the decoded image signal filtered thereby to outside the image decoding device and to the memory 26 as a filtered decoded image signal . the loop filter 25 constructs a filtering unit . the memory 26 is a recording medium for storing the filtered decoded image signal outputted from the loop filter 25 as the reference image signal . fig8 is a block diagram showing the loop filter 25 of the image decoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . in fig8 , a frame memory 31 is a recording medium for storing only one frame of the decoded image signal outputted from the adder 24 . a region classifying unit 32 carries out a process of extracting a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct a decoded image shown by the single frame of the decoded image signal stored in the frame memory 31 to classify each of the regions belongs into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity , like the region classifying unit 12 shown in fig2 . a filter processing unit 33 carries out a process of generating a wiener filter which is applied to the class into which each of the regions is classified by the region classifying unit 32 with reference to the filter information which the variable length decoding part 21 has variable - length - decoded to compensate for the distortion superimposed onto the region by using the wiener filter . although in the example of fig8 the loop filter 25 in which the frame memory 31 is installed as the first stage thereof is shown , in a case of performing a closed filtering process on each macro block , the loop filter can be constructed in such a way that the frame memory 31 disposed as the first stage thereof is removed , as shown in fig9 , and the region classifying unit 32 extracts a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct the decoded image of the macro block . in this case , the image encoding device needs to perform the filtering process on each macro block independently . when receiving the bit stream from the image encoding device , the variable length decoding part 21 variable - length - decodes compressed data , filter information , and parameters for prediction signal generation which are included in the bit stream . when receiving the parameters for prediction signal generation , the predicting unit 22 generates a prediction signal from the parameters for prediction signal generation . particularly , when receiving a motion vector as the parameter for prediction signal generation , the predicting unit generates a prediction signal from the motion vector and the reference image signal stored in the memory 26 . when receiving the compressed data from the variable length decoding part 21 , the prediction error decoding unit 23 performs inverse quantization on the compressed data and then performs an inverse dct process on the compressed data inverse - quantized thereby to calculate a prediction error signal corresponding to the prediction error signal outputted from the predicting unit 2 shown in fig1 . after the prediction error decoding unit 23 calculates the prediction error signal , the adder 24 adds the prediction error signal and the prediction signal generated by the predicting unit 22 to calculate a decoded image signal corresponding to the local decoded image signal outputted from the adder 5 shown in fig1 . when receiving the decoded image signal from the adder 24 , the loop filter 25 carries out the filtering process of compensating for the distortion superimposed onto the decoded image signal , and outputs the decoded image signal filtered thereby to outside the image decoding device as a filtered decoded image signal while storing the filtered decoded image signal in the memory 26 as the reference image signal . hereafter , the process carried out by the loop filter 25 will be explained concretely . fig1 is a flow chart showing the process carried out by the loop filter 25 of the image decoding device in accordance with embodiment 1 of the present invention . first , the frame memory 31 of the loop filter 25 stores only one frame of the decoded image signal outputted from the adder 24 . when the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) included in the filter information is set to on ( shows that the filtering process is carried out ) ( step st 31 ), the region classifying unit 32 extracts a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct the decoded image shown by the single frame of the decoded image signal stored in the frame memory 31 , and classifies each of the regions into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity , like the region classifying unit 12 shown in fig2 ( step st 32 ). when receiving the filter information from the variable length decoding part 21 , the filter processing unit 33 generates a wiener filter which is applied to the class to which each of the regions classified by the region classifying unit 32 belongs with reference to the filter information ( step st 33 ). for example , when the number of wiener filters ( the number of classes to each of which one or more regions belong ) is expressed as n , the number of taps of each wiener filter is expressed as l × l , and the coefficient values of each wiener filter are expressed as w i11 , w i12 , . . . , w i1l , . . . , w il1 , w il2 , . . . , w ill , the n wiener filters w i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n ) are shown as follows . after generating the n wiener filters w i , the filter processing unit 33 compensates for the distortion superimposed onto the single frame of the decoded image signal by using these wiener filters , and outputs the distortion - compensated decoded image signal to outside the image decoding device and to the memory 26 as the filtered decoded image signal ( step st 34 ). the filtered decoded image signal s hat is expressed by the following equation ( 4 ). a matrix s is a group of reference signals of l × l pixels including the decoded image signal s which is the target for filtering , and id ( s ) is the number ( filter numbers ) of the class which is determined by the region classifying unit 32 and to which the region including the signal s belongs . when performing the above - mentioned filtering process , the filter processing unit 33 refers to the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) included in the filter information , and , when the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) is set to 1 ( on ), refers to the block size information included in the filter information and then identifies the plurality of blocks ( k ) which construct the decoded image , and , after that , carries out the filtering process with reference to the information included in the filter information and showing whether or not to carry out the filtering process for each block ( k ). more specifically , when flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) is set to 1 ( on ), the filter processing unit 33 performs the filtering process on the decoded image signal in the block ( k ), on which the filtering unit is going to perform the filtering process , among the blocks which construct the decoded image , by using the wiener filter of the class to which the region including the block ( k ) belongs while outputting the yet - to - be - filtered decoded image signal in the block ( k ) which the filtering unit is not going to perform the filtering process to outside the image decoding device and to the memory 26 as the filtered decoded image signal , just as it is . in contrast , when flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) is set to 0 ( off ), the filter processing unit performs the filtering process on each of all the decoded image signals in the frame currently processed by using the filter corresponding to the class into which each of the regions is classified by the region classifying unit 32 . when the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) included in the filter information is set to off ( the filtering process is not carried out ) ( step st 31 ), the filter processing unit 33 does not perform the filtering process on the frame currently processed , and outputs each decoded image signal outputted from the adder 24 to outside the image decoding device and to the memory 26 as the filtered decoded image signal , just as it is ( step st 35 ). as can be seen from the above description , in the image encoding device in accordance with this embodiment 1 , the loop filter 6 includes the region classifying unit 12 for extracting a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct a local decoded image shown by a local decoded image signal outputted by the adder 5 to classify each of the regions into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity , and the filter designing and processing unit 13 for , for each class to which one or more regions , among the regions which construct the local decoded image , belong , generating a wiener filter which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image in each of the one or more regions belonging to the class to compensate for a distortion superimposed onto the one or more regions by using the wiener filter . therefore , the image encoding device implements the filtering process according to the local properties of the image , thereby being able to improve the improvement accuracy of the image quality . furthermore , in the image decoding device in accordance with this embodiment 1 , the loop filter 25 includes the region classifying unit 32 for extracting a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct a decoded image shown by a decoded image signal outputted by the adder 24 to classify each of the regions to the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity , and the filter processing unit 33 for referring to filter information which the variable length decoding part 21 has variable - length - decoded to generate a wiener filter which is applied to the class to which each region classified by the region classifying unit 32 belongs , and for compensating for a distortion superimposed onto the region by using the wiener filter . therefore , the image decoding device implements the filtering process according to the local properties of the image , thereby being able to improve the improvement accuracy of the image quality . in above - mentioned embodiment 1 , the loop filter in which the filter designing and processing unit 13 generates a wiener filter for each class to which one or more regions belong , and performs the filtering process on each of the blocks ( k ) which construct a local decoded image by using the wiener filter of the class to which the region including the block ( k ) belongs is shown . as an alternative , for each of the blocks , the loop filter can select a wiener filter which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k ) from among wiener filters which the loop filter generates for each class to which one or more regions belong , and can compensate for a distortion superimposed onto the block ( k ) by using the wiener filter selected thereby . fig1 is a flow chart showing the process carried out by the loop filter 6 of an image encoding device in accordance with embodiment 2 of the present invention . a filter designing and processing unit 13 generates a wiener filter for each class to which one or more regions belong , like that in accordance with above - mentioned embodiment 1 ( steps st 2 to st 8 ). in accordance with this embodiment 2 , the filter designing and processing unit does not use a flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) showing whether or not to carry out a process of selecting whether or not to carry out a filtering process for each block within a frame currently processed , but uses a flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) showing whether or not to select a filter which is to be used for each block within the frame currently processed . furthermore , the flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) is initially set to off in step st 40 , and is set to on only when step st 46 is carried out . as will be mentioned later , only when the flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) is set to on , a block size and filter selection information about each block are included in filter information . after generating a wiener filter for each class to which one or more regions belong , the filter designing and processing unit 13 selects an optimal process ( e . g . a process which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k )) from among a process of performing the filtering process on each of the blocks ( k ) which construct the local decoded image by selecting a wiener filter from among wiener filters which the filter designing and processing unit generates for each class to which one more regions belongs , and a process of not performing the filtering process on each of the blocks ( steps st 9 , and st 41 to st 47 ). more specifically , in a case of generating four wiener filters w 1 , w 2 , w 3 , and w 4 and carrying out the filtering process using each of the four wiener filters , the filter designing and processing unit selects the wiener filter w 3 which minimizes the sum of squared errors e for the block ( k ) if the sum of squared errors e in the block ( k ) has the following inequality among the four filters . where e w0 shows the sum of squared errors e at the time when any filtering process is not carried out . fig1 is an explanatory drawing showing an example of the selection of a wiener filter for each of the blocks ( k ) which construct the local decoded image . for example , the wiener filter w 2 is selected for the block ( 1 ), and the wiener filter w 3 is selected for the block ( 2 ). when determining to perform the filtering process on the frame currently processed by using the wiener filters selected , the filter designing and processing unit 13 sets the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) to 1 ( on ), and carries out the filtering process which minimizes the cost in steps st 1 to st 9 and st 40 to st 47 and outputs the local decoded image signal filtered thereby to a memory 7 as a reference image signal ( steps st 17 to st 20 ). in contrast , when determining not to perform the filtering process on the whole of the frame currently processed ( steps st 17 to st 18 ), the filter designing and processing unit sets the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) to zero ( off ), and outputs the yet - to - be - filtered local decoded image signal to the memory 7 as the reference image signal ( steps st 21 to st 22 ). after generating the wiener filters and then carrying out the filtering process in the above - mentioned way , the filter designing and processing unit 13 outputs the filter information about the wiener filters to a variable length encoding part 8 . the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) showing whether or not to carry out the filtering process within the frame currently processed is included in the filter information . when this flag is set to on ( shows that the filtering process is carried out ), information as will be shown below is included in the filter information . ( 1 ) the number of wiener filters ( the number of classes to each of which one or more regions belong ) ( 2 ) information ( index ) about the number of taps of each wiener filter when all the filters are common in the frame , a common number of taps is included . when the number of taps differs for each filter , the number of taps of each filter is included . ( 3 ) information about the coefficients of an actually - used wiener filter ( a wiener filter of each class to which one or more regions belong ) even if a wiener filter is generated , no information about the wiener filter is included when the wiener filter is not actually used . the flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) showing whether or not to select a filter for each block in units of a frame . only when block_filter_on_off_flag is set to on , the block size information ( index ) and the selection information about each block are included . in this embodiment , the example in which the pieces of information ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) are included in the filter information is shown . the number of wiener filters , the number of taps of each wiener filter , and the block size can be held by both the image encoding device and an image decoding device as information determined in common in the image encoding device and the image decoding device , instead of encoding and transmitting the pieces of information between them . a loop filter 25 in the image decoding device carries out the following process . fig1 is a flow chart showing the process carried out by the loop filter 25 of the image decoding device in accordance with embodiment 2 of the present invention . first , a frame memory 31 of the loop filter 25 stores only one frame of a decoded image signal outputted from an adder 24 . when the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) included in the filter information is set to on ( shows that a filtering process is carried out ) ( step st 31 ), and when the flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) included in the filter information is set to off ( step st 51 ), a region classifying unit 32 extracts a feature quantity of each of the regions which construct the decoded image shown by the single frame of the decoded image signal stored in the frame memory 31 , and classifies each of the regions into the class to which the region belongs according to the feature quantity ( step st 32 ), like that in accordance with above - mentioned embodiment 1 . in contrast , when the flag ( frame_filter_on_off_flag ) included in the filter information is set to on ( shows that the filtering process is carries out ) ( step st 31 ), and when the flag ( block_filter_selection_flag ) included in the filter information is set to on ( step st 51 ), the region classifying unit refers to the information about the size of each block , which is the unit for selection , and the filter selection information about each block among the pieces of information included in the filter information , and performs class classification for each block ( step st 52 ). after the region classifying unit 32 classifies each region ( each block ) into the class to which the region belongs , a filter processing unit 33 refers to the filter information outputted from a variable length decoding part 21 , and generates a wiener filter which is applied to the class to which each region ( each block ) classified by the region classifying unit 32 belongs ( step st 33 ), like that in accordance with above - mentioned embodiment 1 . after generating a wiener filter which is applied to each class , when ( block_filter_selection_flag ) is set to off , the filter processing unit 33 performs the filtering process on each of all the decoded image signals in a frame currently processed by using the generated wiener filters , and outputs each decoded image signal filtered thereby to outside the image decoding device and to a memory 26 as a filtered decoded image signal ( step st 53 ), like in the case in which the flag ( block_filter_on_off_flag ) is set to off in above - mentioned embodiment 1 . in contrast , when ( block_filter_selection_flag ) is set to on , the filter processing unit 33 compensates for the distortion superimposed onto the decoded image signal in each block by using the wiener filter which is selected for the block after generating the wiener filter which is applied to each class , and outputs the decoded image signal filtered thereby to outside the image decoding device and to the memory 26 as a filtered decoded image signal ( step st 53 ). the filtered decoded image signal s hat at this time is expressed by the following equation ( 5 ). a matrix s is a group of reference signals of l × l pixels including the decoded image signal s which is the target for filtering . id — 2 ( bl ) is the filter selection information in a block bl in which the decoded image signal s is included , i . e . the class number ( filter number ) of the block bl . id — 2 ( bl )= 0 shows a block on which any filtering process is not performed . therefore , any filtering process is not performed on the block . as can be seen from the above description , because the image encoding device in accordance with this embodiment 2 is constructed in such a way that , for each of the blocks ( k ) which construct a decoded image , the loop filter selects a wiener filter which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the decoded image signal in the block ( k ) from among wiener filters which the loop filter generates for each class to which one or more regions belong , and compensates for the distortion superimposed onto the block ( k ) by using the wiener filter selected thereby , there is provided an advantage of further improving the improvement accuracy of the image quality compared with above - mentioned embodiment 1 . in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the method of selecting , from among the process of performing the filtering process on each of the blocks ( k ) which construct a decoded image by using one of wiener filters which are generated for each class to which one more regions in a frame currently processed belongs , and the process of not performing the filtering process on each block , the process which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k ) is shown . as an alternative , from among a process of preparing one or more wiener filters in advance , and using one of the one or more wiener filters which have been prepared in advance , the process of using one of wiener filters which are generated for each class to which one more regions in a frame currently processed belongs , and the process of not performing the filtering process on each block , the loop filter can select the process which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k ). fig1 is a flow chart showing the process carried out by a loop filter 6 of an image encoding device in accordance with embodiment 3 of the present invention . because this embodiment 3 provides a wider choice of wiener filters compared with that in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the probability that an optimal wiener filter is selected is increased compared with above - mentioned embodiment 2 . because a method of selecting a wiener filter is the same as that shown in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the explanation of the method will be omitted hereafter . because the process carried out by an image decoding device is the same as that in accordance with above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the explanation of the process will be omitted hereafter . in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the method of selecting , from among the process of performing the filtering process on each of the blocks ( k ) which construct a decoded image by using one of wiener filters which are generated for each class to which one more regions in a frame currently processed belongs , and the process of not performing the filtering process on each block , the process which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k ) is shown . as an alternative , from among the process of using one of wiener filters which are generated for each class to which one more regions in a frame currently processed belongs , a process of using one of wiener filters which have been used for an already - encoded frame , and the process of not performing the filtering process on each block , the loop filter can select the process which minimizes the sum of squared errors occurring between the image signal which is the target to be encoded and the local decoded image signal in the block ( k ). fig1 is a flow chart showing the process on the first frame which is carried out by a loop filter 6 of an image encoding device , and is the same as the flow chart shown in fig1 in above - mentioned embodiment 2 . fig1 is a flow chart showing the process on the second frame and subsequent frames which is carried out by the loop filter 6 . as a reference method of referring to a wiener filter which has been used for an already - encoded frame , for example , reference methods as will be shown below can be provided . method ( 1 ) of referring to a wiener filter which has been used for a block at a position shown by a representative motion vector which is calculated in a block which is a target for filtering . method ( 2 ) of referring to a wiener filter which has been used for a block located in a frame which is the nearest in time to a block which is a target for filtering , and located at the same position as the target block . method ( 3 ) of referring to a wiener filter which has been used for a block having the highest cross - correlation among the blocks in the already - encoded frame . in the case of using the method ( 3 ), an identical block searching process needs to be carried out by the image encoding device and an image decoding device . because this embodiment 4 provides a wider choice of wiener filters compared with that in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the probability that an optimal wiener filter is selected is increased compared with above - mentioned embodiment 2 . because a method of selecting a wiener filter is the same as that shown in above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the explanation of the method will be omitted hereafter . because the process carried out by the image decoding device is the same as that in accordance with above - mentioned embodiment 2 , the explanation of the process will be omitted hereafter . the image encoding device , the image decoding device , the image encoding method , and the image decoding method in accordance with the present invention can improve the improvement accuracy of the imaging quality . the image encoding device and the image encoding method are suitable for use as an image encoding device or the like for and an image encoding method or the like of compression - encoding and transmitting an image , respectively , and the image decoding device and the image decoding method are suitable for use as an image decoding device or the like for and an image decoding method or the like of decoding encoded data transmitted by the image encoding device to reconstruct an image , respectively .	7
fig1 illustrates an implementation with multiple memory switches . as shown in fig1 , a processor switch psw is connected to a plurality of memory switches msw a through msw k by a plurality of external busses . processor switch psw includes a plurality of processors p a through p m . each processor p is connected to a processor crossbar pxb by an internal bus . each memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mc a through mc j . each memory controller mc is connected to a memory crossbar mxb by an internal bus . each processor crossbar pxb is connected to a plurality of memory crossbars mxb . processor crossbar pxb provides full crossbar interconnection between processors p and memory crossbars mxb . memory crossbars mb provide full crossbar interconnection between memory controllers mc and processor crossbar pxb . in one implementation , each of processor switch psw and memory switches msw is fabricated as a separate semiconductor chip . one advantage of this implementation is that the number of off - chip interconnects is minimized . off - chip interconnects are generally much slower and narrower than on - chip interconnects . fig2 illustrates an implementation with multiple processor switches and multiple memory switches . as shown in fig2 , a plurality of processor switches psw a through psw n is connected to a plurality of memory switches msw a through msw k by a plurality of external busses . each processor switch psw includes a plurality of processors p a through p m . each processor p is connected to a processor crossbar pxb by an internal bus . each memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mc a through mc j . each memory controller mc is connected to a memory crossbar mxb by an internal bus . each processor crossbar pxb is connected to a plurality of memory crossbars mxb . processor crossbars pxb provides full crossbar interconnection between processors p and memory crossbars mxb . memory crossbars mxb provide full crossbar interconnection between memory controllers mc and processor crossbars pxb . in one implementation , each of processor switches psw and memory switches msw is fabricated as a separate semiconductor chip . one advantage of this implementation is that the number of off - chip interconnects is minimized . fig3 illustrates an implementation with multiple memory tracks . as shown in fig3 , a memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mc a through mc j . each memory controller mc is connected to one of a plurality of memory tracks t a through t j by a memory bus . each memory track t includes a plurality of shared memory banks b a through b l . each memory track t can be implemented as a conventional memory device such as a synchronous dynamic random - access memory ( sdram ). in one implementation , memory switch msw and memory tracks t are fabricated as separate semiconductor chips . in another implementation , memory switch msw and memory tracks t are fabricated together as a single semiconductor chip . fig4 illustrates an implementation with an intermediate switch . as shown in fig4 , a plurality of processor switches psw a through psw n is connected to a plurality of memory switches msw a through msw k by a plurality of external busses and an intermediate switch isw . each processor switch psw includes a plurality of processors p a through p m . each processor p is connected to a processor crossbar pxb by an internal bus . each memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mc a through mc j . each memory controller mc is connected to a memory crossbar mxb by an internal bus . intermediate switch isw includes a switch crossbar sxb . each processor crossbar pxb is connected to switch crossbar sxb . each memory crossbar mxb is connected to switch crossbar sxb . processor crossbars pxb provides full crossbar interconnection between processors p and switch crossbar sxb . memory crossbars mxb provide full crossbar interconnection between memory controllers mc and switch crossbar sxb . switch crossbar sxb provides full crossbar interconnection between processor crossbar pxb and memory crossbar mxb . in one implementation , each of processor switches psw , memory switches msw and intermediate switch isw is fabricated as a separate semiconductor chip . one advantage of this implementation is that the number of off - chip interconnects is minimized . fig5 illustrates an implementation with multiple levels of intermediate switches . as shown in fig5 , a plurality of processor switches psw a through psw n is connected to a plurality of memory switches msw a through msw k by a plurality of external busses and intermediate switches isw . each processor switch psw includes a plurality of processors p a through p m . each processor p is connected to a processor crossbar pxb by an internal bus . intermediate switch isw includes a switch crossbar sxb . each processor crossbar pxb is connected to switch crossbar sxb . intermediate switch isw is connected to a plurality of intermediate switches isw a through isw l . each of intermediate switches isw a through isw l includes a switch crossbar sxb that is connected to a plurality of memory switches msw . for example , intermediate switch isw a includes a switch crossbar sxb a that is connected to memory switches msw aa through msw ak . as a further example , intermediate switch isw l includes a switch crossbar sxb l that is connected to memory switches msw la through msw lk . each memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mca through mc j . each memory controller mc is connected to a memory crossbar mxb by an internal bus . processor crossbars pxb provide full crossbar interconnection between processors p and switch crossbar sxb . switch crossbar sxb provides full crossbar interconnection between processor crossbars pxb and switch crossbars sxb a through sxb l . switch crossbars sxb a through sxb l provide full crossbar interconnection between switch crossbar sxb and memory crossbars mxb . memory crossbars mxb provide full crossbar interconnection between memory controllers mc and switch crossbars sxb a through sxb l . in one implementation , each of processor switches psw , memory switches msw and intermediate switches isw is fabricated as a separate semiconductor chip . one advantage of this implementation is that the number of off - chip interconnects is minimized . other implementations provide further layers of intermediate switches isw . advantages of these other implementations includes scalability . fig6 illustrates a process 600 according to one implementation . the process begins by implementing one or more processor switch chips ( step 602 ). according to one implementation , a processor switch chip includes one or more processors and a processor crossbar switch . the process continues by implementing one or more memory switch chips ( step 604 ). according to one implementation , a memory switch chip includes one or more memory controllers and a memory crossbar switch . in some cases , one or more memory banks may be implemented on the memory switch chip . the process continues by interconnecting one or more of the processor switch chips with one or more of the memory switch chips ( step 606 ). in one implementation of process 600 , the processor switch chips and memory switch chips are connected by connecting the processor crossbars to the memory crossbars , according to the current invention . however , for additional scalability , one or more intermediate crossbars may be implemented . in this case , the processor crossbar switches may be connected to the intermediate crossbars are connected to the processor crossbars and the memory crossbars . further scalability may be achieved by inserting additional layers of crossbar switches . fig7 illustrates one implementation . as shown in fig7 , a plurality of processor groups pg 0 through pg 7 is connected to a plurality of regions r 0 through r 3 . each region r includes a memory group mg connected to a switch group sg . for example , region r 0 includes a memory group mg 0 connected to a switch group sg 0 , while region r 3 includes a memory group mg 3 connected to a switch group sg 3 . each processor group pg includes a plurality of processor switches psw 0 through psw 7 . each processor switch psw includes a plurality of processors p 0 through p 3 . each processor p is connected to a processor crossbar pxb . in one implementation , each of processors p 0 through p 3 performs a different graphics rendering function . in one implementation , p 0 is a triangle processor , p 1 is a triangle intersector , p 2 is a ray processor , and p 3 is a grid processor . each switch group sg includes a plurality of switch crossbars sxb 0 through sxb 7 . each processor crossbar pxb is connected to one switch crossbar sxb in each switch group sg . each switch crossbar sxb in a switch group sg is connected to a different processor crossbar pxb in a processor group pg . for example , the processor crossbar pxb in processor switch psw 0 is connected to switch crossbar sxb 0 in switch group sg 0 , while the processor crossbar in processor switch psw 7 is connected to switch crossbar sxb 7 in switch group sg 0 . each memory switch msw includes a plurality of memory controllers mc 0 through mc 7 . each memory controller mc is connected to a memory crossbar mxb by an internal bus . each memory controller mc is also connected to one of a plurality of memory tracks t 0 through t 7 . each memory track t includes a plurality of memory banks . each memory track t can be implemented as a conventional memory device such as a sdram . each memory group mg is connected to one switch group sg . in particular , each memory crossbar mxb in a memory group mg is connected to every switch crossbar sxb in the corresponding switch group sg . processor crossbars pxb provide full crossbar interconnection between processors p and switch crossbars sxb . memory crossbars mxb provide full crossbar interconnection between memory controllers mc and switch crossbars sxb . switch crossbars sxb provide full crossbar interconnection between processor crossbars pxb and memory crossbars mxb . in one implementation , each of processor switches psw , memory switches msw and switch crossbars sxb is fabricated as a separate semiconductor chip . in one implementation , each processor switch psw is fabricated as a single semiconductor chip , each switch crossbar sxb is fabricated as two or more semiconductor chips that operate in parallel , each memory crossbar mxb is fabricated as two or more semiconductor chips that operate in parallel , and each memory track t is fabricated as a single semiconductor chip . one advantage of each of these implementations is that the number of off - chip interconnects is minimized . fig8 illustrates a process 800 according to one implementation . the process begins by implementing one or more processor switch chips ( step 602 ). according to one implementation , a processor switch chip includes one or more processors and a processor crossbar switch . the process continues by implementing one or more memory switch chips ( step 604 ). according to one implementation , a memory switch chip includes one or more memory controllers and a memory crossbar switch . in some cases , one or more memory banks may be implemented on the memory switch chip . the process continues by interconnecting one or more of the processor switch chips with one or more of the memory switch chips ( step 606 ). in one implementation of process 600 , the processor switch chips and memory switch chips are connected by connecting the processor crossbars to the memory crossbars , according to the current invention . however , for additional scalability , one or more intermediate crossbars may be implemented . in this case , the processor crossbar switches may be connected to the intermediate crossbars are connected to the processor crossbars and the memory crossbars . further scalability may be achieved by inserting additional layers of crossbar switches . referring to fig9 , a plurality of processors 902 a through 902 n is coupled to a plurality of memory tracks 904 a through 904 m by a switch having three layers : a processor crossbar layer , a switch crossbar layer , and a memory crossbar layer . the processor crossbar layer includes a plurality of processor crossbars 908 a through 908 n . the switch crossbar layer includes a plurality of switch crossbars 910 a through 910 n . the memory crossbar layer includes a plurality of memory crossbars 912 a through 912 n . in one implementation , n = 124 . in other implementations , n takes on other values , and can take on different values for each type of crossbar . each processor 902 is coupled by a pair of busses 916 and 917 to one of the processor crossbars 908 . for example , processor 902 a is coupled by busses 916 a and 917 a to processor crossbar 908 a . in a similar manner , processor 902 n is coupled by busses 916 n and 917 n to processor crossbar 908 n . in one implementation , each of busses 916 and 917 includes many point - to - point connections . each processor crossbar 908 includes a plurality of input ports 938 a through 938 m , each coupled to a bus 916 or 917 by a client interface 918 . for example , client interface 918 couples input port 938 a in processor crossbar 908 a to bus 916 a , and couples input port 938 m in processor crossbar 908 a to bus 917 a . in one implementation , m = 8 . in other implementations , m takes on other values , and can take on different values for each type of port , and can differ from crossbar to crossbar . each processor crossbar 908 also includes a plurality of output ports 940 a through 940 m . each of the input ports 938 and output ports 940 are coupled to an internal bus 936 . in one implementation , each bus 936 includes many point - to - point connections . each output port 940 is coupled by a segment interface 920 to one of a plurality of busses 922 a through 922 m . for example , output port 940 a is coupled by segment interface 920 to bus 922 a . each bus 922 couples processor crossbar 908 a to a different switch crossbar 910 . for example , bus 922 a couples processor crossbar 908 a to switch crossbar 910 a . in one implementation , busses 922 include many point - to - point connections . each switch crossbar 910 includes a plurality of input ports 944 a through 944 m , each coupled to a bus 922 by a segment interface 924 . for example , input port 944 a in switch crossbar 910 a is coupled to bus 922 a by segment interface 924 . each switch crossbar 910 also includes a plurality of output ports 946 a through 946 m . each of the input ports 944 and output ports 946 are coupled to an internal bus 942 . in one implementation , each bus 942 includes many point - to - point connections . each output port 946 is coupled by a segment interface 926 to one of a plurality of busses 928 a through 928 m . for example , output port 946 a is coupled by segment interface 926 to bus 928 a . each bus 928 couples switch crossbar 910 a to a different memory crossbar 912 . for example , bus 928 a couples switch crossbar 910 a to memory crossbar 912 a . in one implementation , each of busses 928 includes many point - to - point connections . each memory crossbar 912 includes a plurality of input ports 950 a through 950 m , each coupled to a bus 928 by a segment interface 930 . for example , input port 950 a in memory crossbar 912 a is coupled to bus 928 a by segment interface 930 . each memory crossbar 912 also includes a plurality of output ports 952 a through 952 m . each of the input ports 950 and output ports 952 are coupled to an internal bus 948 . in one implementation , each bus 948 includes many point - to - point connections . each output port 952 is coupled by a memory controller 932 to one of a plurality of busses 934 a through 934 m . for example , output port 952 a is coupled by memory controller 932 to bus 934 a . each of busses 934 a through 934 m couples memory crossbar 912 a to a different one of memory tracks 904 a through 904 m . each memory track 904 includes one or more synchronous dynamic random access memories ( sdrams ), as discussed below . in one implementation , each of busses 934 includes many point - to - point connections . in one implementation , each of busses 916 , 917 , 922 , 928 , and 934 is a high - speed serial bus where each transaction can include one or more clock cycles . in another implementation , each of busses 916 , 917 , 922 , 928 , and 934 is a parallel bus . conventional flow control techniques can be implemented across each of busses 916 , 922 , 928 , and 934 . for example , each of client interface 918 , memory controller 932 , and segment interfaces 920 , 924 , 926 , and 930 can include buffers and flow control signaling according to conventional techniques . in one implementation , each crossbar 908 , 910 , 912 is implemented as a separate semiconductor chip . in one implementation , processor crossbar 908 and processor 902 are implemented together as a single semiconductor chip . in one implementation , each of switch crossbar 910 and memory crossbar 912 is implemented as two or more chips that operate in parallel , as described below . referring to fig1 , in one implementation processor 902 includes a plurality of clients 1002 and a client funnel 1004 . each client 1002 can couple directly to client funnel 1004 or through one or both of a cache 1006 and a reorder unit 1008 . for example , client 1002 a is coupled to cache 1006 a , which is coupled to reorder unit 1008 a , which couples to client funnel 1004 . as another example , client 1002 b is coupled to cache 1006 b , which couples to client funnel 1004 . as another example , client 1002 c couples to reorder unit 1008 b , which couples to client funnel 1004 . as another example , client 1002 n couples directly to client funnel 1004 . clients 1002 manage memory requests from processes executing within processor 902 . clients 1002 collect memory transactions ( mt ) destined for memory . if a memory transaction cannot be satisfied by a cache 1006 , the memory transaction is sent to memory . results of memory transactions ( result ) may return to client funnel 1004 out of order . reorder unit 1008 arranges the results in order before passing them to a client 1002 . each input port 938 within processor crossbar 908 asserts a popc signal when that input port 938 can accept a memory transaction . in response , client funnel 1004 sends a memory transaction to that input port 938 if client funnel 1004 has any memory transactions destined for that input port 938 . referring to fig1 , an input port 938 within processor crossbar 908 includes a client interface 918 , a queue 1104 , an arbiter 1106 , and a multiplexer ( mux ) 1108 . client interface 918 and arbiter 1106 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . queue 1104 includes a queue controller 1110 and four request stations 1112 a , 1112 b , 1112 c , and 1112 d . in one implementation , request stations 1112 are implemented as registers . in another implementation , request stations 1112 are signal nodes separated by delay elements . queue controller 1110 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of input port 938 in passing a memory transaction from processor 902 to switch crossbar 910 will be described with reference to fig1 . for clarity it is assumed that all four of request stations 1112 are valid . a request station 1112 is valid when it currently stores a memory transaction that has not been sent to switch crossbar 910 , and a tagc produced by client funnel 1004 . internal bus 936 includes 64 data busses including 32 forward data busses and 32 reverse data busses . each request station 1112 in each input port 938 is coupled to a different one of the 32 forward data busses . in this way , the contents of all of the request stations 1112 are presented on internal bus 936 simultaneously . each memory transaction includes a command and a memory address . some memory transactions , such as write transactions , also include data . for each memory transaction , queue controller 1110 asserts a request reqc for one of output ports 940 based on a portion of the address in that memory transaction . queue controller 1110 also asserts a valid signal vc for each request station 1112 that currently stores a memory transaction ready for transmission to switch crossbar 910 . each output port 940 chooses zero or one of the request stations 1112 and transmits the memory transaction in that request station to switch crossbar 910 , as described below . that output port 940 asserts a signal ackc that tells the input port 938 which request station 1112 was chosen . if one of the request stations 1112 within input port 938 was chosen , queue controller 1110 receives an ackc signal . the ackc signal indicates one of the request stations 1112 . the request stations 1112 within a queue 1104 operate together substantially as a buffer . new memory transactions from processor 902 enter at request station 1112 a and progress towards request station 1112 d as they age until chosen by an output port . for example , if an output port 940 chooses request station 1112 b , then request station 1112 b becomes invalid and therefore available for a memory transaction from processor 902 . however , rather than placing a new memory transaction in request station 11112 b , queue controller 1110 moves the contents of request station 1112 a into request station 1112 b and places the new memory transaction in request station 1112 a . in this way , the identity of a request station serves as an approximate indicator of the age of the memory transaction . in one implementation , only one new memory transaction can arrive during each transaction time , and each memory transaction can age by only one request station during each transaction time . each transaction time can include one or more clock cycles . in other implementations , age is computed in other ways . when queue controller 1110 receives an ackc signal , it takes three actions . queue controller 1110 moves the contents of the “ younger ” request stations 1112 forward , as described above , changes the status of any empty request stations 1112 to invalid by disasserting vc , and sends a popc signal to client interface 918 . client interface segment 918 forwards the popc signal across bus 916 to client funnel 1004 , thereby indicating that input port 938 can accept a new memory transaction from client funnel 1004 . in response , client funnel 1004 sends a new memory transaction to the client interface 918 of that input port 938 . client funnel 1004 also sends a tag tagc that identifies the client 1002 within processor 902 that generated the memory transaction . queue controller 1110 stores the new memory transaction and the tagc in request station 1112 a , and asserts signals vc and reqc for request station 1112 a . signal vc indicates that request station 1112 a now has a memory transaction ready for transmission to switch crossbar 910 . signal reqc indicates through which output port 940 the memory transaction should pass . referring to fig1 , an output port 940 within processor crossbar 908 includes a segment interface 920 , a tagp generator 1202 , a tag buffer 1203 , a queue 1204 , an arbiter 1206 , and a multiplexer 1208 . tag generator 1202 can be implemented as described below . segment interface 920 and arbiter 1206 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . tag buffer 1203 can be implemented as a conventional buffer . queue 1204 includes a queue controller 1210 and four request stations 1212 a , 1212 b , 1212 c , and 1212 d . in one implementation , request stations 1212 are implemented as registers . in another implementation , request stations 1212 are signal nodes separated by delay elements . queue controller 1210 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of output port 940 in passing a memory transaction from an input port 938 to switch crossbar 910 will be described with reference to fig1 . arbiter 1206 receives a reqc signal and a vc signal indicating that a particular request station 1112 within an input port 938 has a memory transaction ready for transmission to switch crossbar 910 . the reqc signal identifies the request station 1112 , and therefore , the approximate age of the memory transaction within that request station 1112 . the vc signal indicates that the memory transaction within that request station 1112 is valid . in general , arbiter 1206 receives such signals from multiple request stations 1112 and chooses the oldest request station 1112 for transmission . arbiter 1206 causes multiplexer 1208 to gate the memory transaction ( mt ) within the chosen request station 1112 to segment interface 920 . arbiter 1206 generates a signal ldp that identifies the input port 938 within which the chosen request station 1112 resides . the identity of that input port 938 is derived from the reqc signal . tag generator 1202 generates a tag tagp according to the methods described below . arbiter 1206 receives the tagc associated with the memory transaction . the idp , tagc , and tagp are stored in tag buffer 1203 . in one implementation , any address information within the memory transaction that is no longer needed ( that is , the address information that routed the memory transaction to output port 940 ) is discarded . in another implementation that address information is passed with the memory transaction to switch crossbar 910 . arbiter 1206 asserts an ackc signal that tells the input port 938 containing the chosen request station 1112 that the memory transaction in that request station has been transmitted to switch crossbar 910 . now an example operation of output port 940 in passing a result of a memory transaction from switch crossbar 910 to processor 902 will be described with reference to fig1 . for clarity it is assumed that all four of request stations 1212 are valid . a request station 1212 is valid when it currently stores a memory transaction that has not been sent to processor 902 , and a tagc and idp retrieved from tag buffer 1203 . as mentioned above , internal bus 936 includes 32 reverse data busses . each request station 1212 in each output port 940 is coupled to a different one of the 32 reverse data busses . in this way , the contents of all of the request stations 1212 are presented on internal bus 936 simultaneously . some results , such as a result of a read transaction , include data . other results , such as a result for a write transaction , include an acknowledgement but no data . for each result , queue controller 1210 asserts a request reqp for one of input ports 938 based on idp . as mentioned above , idp indicates the input port 938 from which the memory transaction prompting the result originated . queue controller 1210 also asserts a valid signal vp for each request station 1212 that currently stores a result ready for transmission to processor 902 . each input port 938 chooses zero or one of the request stations 1212 and transmits the result in that request station to processor 902 , as described below . that input port 938 asserts a signal ackp that tells the output port 940 which request station 1212 within that output port was chosen . if one of the request stations 1212 within output port 940 was chosen , queue controller 1210 receives an ackp signal . the ackp signal indicates one of the request stations 1212 . the request stations 1212 within a queue 1204 operate together substantially as a buffer . new results from processor 902 enter at request station 1212 a and progress towards request station 1212 d until chosen by an input port 938 . for example , if an input port 938 chooses request station 1212 b , then request station 1212 b becomes invalid and therefore available for a new result from switch crossbar 910 . however , rather than placing a new result in request station 1212 b , queue controller 1210 moves the contents of request station 1212 a into request station 1212 b and places the new result in request station 1212 a . in this way , the identity of a request station 1212 serves as an approximate indicator of the age of the result . in one implementation , only one new memory transaction can arrive during each transaction time , and each memory transaction can age by only one request station during each transaction time . in other implementations , age is computed in other ways . when queue controller 1210 receives an ackp signal , it takes three actions . queue controller 1210 moves the contents of the “ younger ” request stations forward , as described above , changes the status of any empty request stations to invalid by disasserting vp , and sends a popb signal to segment interface 920 . segment interface 920 forwards the popb signal across bus 922 to switch crossbar 910 , thereby indicating that output port 940 can accept a new result from switch crossbar 910 . in response , switch crossbar 910 sends a new result , and a tagp associated with that result , to the segment interface 920 of that output port 940 . the generation of ta gp , and association of that ta gp with the result , are discussed below with reference to fig1 . tag buffer 1203 uses the received tagp to retrieve the idp and tagc associated with that tagp . tagp is also returned to tagp generator 1202 for use in subsequent transmissions across bus 922 . queue controller 1210 stores the new result , the tagp , and the idp in request station 1212 a , and asserts signals vp and reqp for request station 1212 a . signal vp indicates that request station 1212 a now has a result ready for transmission to processor 902 . signal reqp indicates through which input port 938 the result should pass . now an example operation of input port 938 in passing a result from an output port 940 to processor 902 will be described with reference to fig1 . arbiter 1106 receives a reqp signal and a vp signal indicating that a particular request station 1212 within an output port 940 has a result ready for transmission to processor 902 . the reqp signal identifies the request station 1212 , and therefore , the approximate age of the result within that request station 1212 . the vp signal indicates that the memory transaction within that request station 1212 is valid . in general , arbiter 1106 receives such signals from multiple request stations 1212 and chooses the oldest request station 1212 for transmission . arbiter 1106 causes multiplexer 1108 to gate the result and associated tagc to client interface 918 . arbiter 1106 also asserts an ackp signal that tells the output port 940 containing the chosen request station 1212 that the result in that request station has been transmitted to processor 902 . referring to fig1 , an input port 944 within switch crossbar 910 includes a segment interface 924 , a tagp generator 1302 , a queue 1304 , an arbiter 1306 , and a multiplexer 1308 . tagp generator 1302 can be implemented as described below . segment interface 924 and arbiter 1306 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . queue 1304 includes a queue controller 1310 and four request stations 1312 a , 1312 b , 1312 c , and 1312 d . in one implementation , request stations 1312 are implemented as registers . in another implementation , request stations 1312 are signal nodes separated by delay elements . queue controller 1310 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of input port 944 in passing a memory transaction from processor crossbar 908 to memory crossbar 912 will be described with reference to fig1 . for clarity it is assumed that all four of request stations 1312 are valid . a request station 1312 is valid when it currently stores a memory transaction that has not been sent to memory crossbar 912 , and a tagp produced by tagp generator 1302 . internal bus 942 includes 64 data busses including 32 forward data busses and 32 reverse data busses . each request station 1312 in each input port 944 is coupled to a different one of the 32 forward data busses . in this way , the contents of all of the request stations 1312 are presented on internal bus 942 simultaneously . each memory transaction includes a command and a memory address . some memory transactions , such as write transactions , also include data . for each memory transaction , queue controller 1310 asserts a request reqs for one of output ports 946 based on a portion of the address in that memory transaction . queue controller 1310 also asserts a valid signal vs for each request station 1312 that currently stores a memory transaction ready for transmission to memory crossbar 912 . each output port 946 chooses zero or one of the request stations 1312 and transmits the memory transaction in that request station to memory crossbar 912 , as described below . that output port 946 asserts a signal acks that tells the input port 944 which request station 1312 was chosen . if one of the request stations 1312 within input port 944 was chosen , queue controller 1310 receives an acks signal . the acks signal indicates one of the request stations 1312 . the request stations 1312 within a queue 1304 operate together substantially as a buffer . new memory transactions from processor crossbar 908 enter at request station 1312 a and progress towards request station 1312 d as they age until chosen by an output port . for example , if an output port 946 chooses request station 1312 b , then request station 1312 b becomes invalid and therefore available for a memory transaction from processor crossbar 908 . however , rather than placing a new memory transaction in request station 1312 b , queue controller 1310 moves the contents of request station 1312 a into request station 1312 b and places the new memory transaction in request station 1312 a . in this way , the identity of a request station serves as an approximate indicator of the age of the memory transaction . in one implementation , only one new memory transaction can arrive during each transaction time , and each memory transaction can age by only one request station during each transaction time . in other implementations , age is computed in other ways . when queue controller 1310 receives an acks signal , it takes three actions . queue controller 1310 moves the contents of the “ younger ” request stations 1312 forward , as described above , changes the status of any empty request stations 1312 to invalid by disasserting vs , and sends a popp signal to segment interface 924 . segment interface 924 forwards the popp signal across bus 922 to processor crossbar 908 , thereby indicating that input port 944 can accept a new memory transaction from processor crossbar 908 . in response , processor crossbar 908 sends a new memory transaction to the segment interface 924 of that input port 944 . tagp generator 1302 generates a tagp for the memory transaction . tag generators 1302 and 1202 are configured to independently generate the same tags in the same order , and are initialized to generate the same tags at substantially the same time , as discussed below . therefore , the tagp generated by tagp generator 1302 for a memory transaction has the same value as the tagp generated for that memory transaction by tagp generator 1202 . thus the tagging technique of this implementation allows a result returned from memory tracks 904 to be matched at processor 902 with the memory transaction that produced that result . queue controller 1310 stores the new memory transaction and the tagp in request station 1312 a , and asserts signals vs and reqs for request station 1312 a . signal vs indicates that request station 1312 a now has a memory transaction ready for transmission to memory crossbar 912 . signal reqs indicates through which output port 946 the memory transaction should pass . referring to fig1 , an output port 946 within switch crossbar 910 includes a segment interface 926 , a tags generator 1402 , a tag buffer 1403 , a queue 1404 , an arbiter 1406 , and a multiplexer 1408 . tags generator 1402 can be implemented as described below . segment interface 926 and arbiter 1406 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . tag buffer 1403 can be implemented as a conventional buffer . queue 1404 includes a queue controller 1410 and four request stations 1412 a , 1412 b , 1412 c , and 1412 d . in one implementation , request stations 1412 are implemented as registers . in another implementation , request stations 1412 are signal nodes separated by delay elements . queue controller 1410 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of output port 946 in passing a memory transaction from an input port 944 to memory crossbar 912 will be described with reference to fig1 . arbiter 1406 receives a reqs signal and a vs signal indicating that a particular request station 1312 within an input port 944 has a memory transaction ready for transmission to memory crossbar 912 . the reqs signal identifies the request station 1312 , and therefore , the approximate age of the memory transaction within that request station 1312 . the vs signal indicates that the memory transaction within that request station 1312 is valid . in general , arbiter 1406 receives such signals from multiple request stations 1312 and chooses the oldest request station 1312 for transmission . arbiter 1406 causes multiplexer 1408 to gate the memory transaction ( mt ) within the chosen request station 1312 to segment interface 926 . arbiter 1406 generates a signal ids that identifies the input port 944 within which the chosen request station 1312 resides . the identity of that input port 944 is derived from the reqc signal . tags generator 1402 generates a tag tags according to the methods described below . arbiter 1406 receives the tagp associated with the memory transaction . the ids , ta gp , and tags are stored in tag buffer 1403 . in one implementation , any address information within the memory transaction that is no longer needed ( that is , the address information that routed the memory transaction to output port 946 ) is discarded . in another implementation that address information is passed with the memory transaction to memory crossbar 912 . arbiter 1406 asserts an acks signal that tells the input port 944 containing the chosen request station 1312 that the memory transaction in that request station has been transmitted to memory crossbar 912 . now an example operation of output port 946 in passing a result of a memory transaction from memory crossbar 912 to processor crossbar 908 will be described with reference to fig1 . for clarity it is assumed that all four of request stations 1412 are valid . a request station 1412 is valid when it currently stores a memory transaction that has not been sent to processor crossbar 908 , and a tagp and ids retrieved from tag buffer 1403 . as mentioned above , internal bus 942 includes 32 reverse data busses . each request station 1412 in each output port 946 is coupled to a different one of the 32 reverse data busses . in this way , the contents of all of the request stations 1412 are presented on internal bus 942 simultaneously . some results , such as a result of a read transaction , include data . other results , such as a result for a write transaction , include an acknowledgement but no data . for each result , queue controller 1410 asserts a request reqx for one of input ports 944 based on ids . as mentioned above , ids indicates the input port 944 from which the memory transaction prompting the result originated . queue controller 1410 also asserts a valid signal vx for each request station 1412 that currently stores a result ready for transmission to processor crossbar 908 . each input port 944 chooses zero or one of the request stations 1412 and transmits the result in that request station to processor crossbar 908 , as described below . that input port 944 asserts a signal ackx that tells the output port 946 which request station 1412 within that output port was chosen . if one of the request stations 1412 within output port 946 was chosen , queue controller 1410 receives an ackx signal . the ackx signal indicates one of the request stations 1412 . the request stations 1412 within a queue 1404 operate together substantially as a buffer . new results from processor crossbar 908 enter at request station 1412 a and progress towards request station 1412 d until chosen by an input port 944 . for example , if an input port 944 chooses request station 1412 b , then request station 1412 b becomes invalid and therefore available for a new result from memory crossbar 912 . however , rather than placing a new result in request station 1412 b , queue controller 1410 moves the contents of request station 1412 a into request station 1412 b and places the new result in request station 1412 a . in this way , the identity of a request station 1412 serves as an approximate indicator of the age of the result . in one implementation , only one new memory transaction can arrive during each transaction time , and each memory transaction can age by only one request station during each transaction time . in other implementations , age is computed in other ways . when queue controller 1410 receives an ackx signal , it takes three actions . queue controller 1410 moves the contents of the “ younger ” request stations forward , as described above , changes the status of any empty request stations to invalid , and sends a popa signal to segment interface 926 . segment interface 926 forwards the popa signal across bus 922 to memory crossbar 912 , thereby indicating that output port 946 can accept a new result from memory crossbar 912 . in response , memory crossbar 912 sends a new result , and a tags associated with that result , to the segment interface 926 of that output port 946 . the generation of tags , and association of that tags with the result , are discussed below with reference to fig1 . tag buffer 1403 uses the received tags to retrieve the ids and ta gp associated with that tags . tags is also returned to tags generator 1402 for use in subsequent transmissions across bus 928 . queue controller 1410 stores the new result , the ta gp , and the ids in request station 1412 a , and asserts signals vx and reqx for request station 1412 a . signal vx indicates that request station 1412 a now has a result ready for transmission to processor crossbar 908 . signal reqx indicates through which input port 944 the result should pass . now an example operation of input port 944 in passing a result from an output port 946 to processor crossbar 908 will be described with reference to fig1 . arbiter 1306 receives a reqx signal and a vx signal indicating that a particular request station 1412 within an output port 946 has a result ready for transmission to processor crossbar 908 . the reqx signal identifies the request station 1412 , and therefore , the approximate age of the result within that request station 1412 . the vx signal indicates that the memory transaction within that request station 1412 is valid . in general , arbiter 1306 receives such signals from multiple request stations 1412 and chooses the oldest request station 1412 for transmission . arbiter 1306 causes multiplexer 1308 to gate the result and associated tagp to segment interface 924 , and to return the tagp to tagp generator 1302 for use with future transmissions across bus 922 . arbiter 1306 also asserts an ackx signal that tells the output port 946 containing the chosen request station 1412 that the result in that request station has been transmitted to processor crossbar 908 . referring to fig1 , an input port 950 within memory crossbar 912 is connected to a segment interface 930 and an internal bus 948 , and includes a tags generator 1502 , a queue 1504 , an arbiter 1506 , and multiplexer ( mux ) 1520 . tags generator 1502 can be implemented as described below . segment interface 930 and arbiter 1506 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . queue 1504 includes a queue controller 1510 and six request stations 1512 a , 1512 b , 1512 c , 1512 d , 1512 e , and 1512 f . queue controller 1510 includes a forward controller 1514 and a reverse controller 1516 for each request station 1512 . forward controllers 1514 include forward controllers 1514 a , 1514 b , 1514 c , 1514 d , 1514 e , and 1514 f . reverse controllers 1516 include forward controllers 1516 a , 1516 b , 1516 c , 1516 d , 1516 e , and 1516 f . queue controller 1510 , forward controllers 1514 and reverse controllers 1516 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of input port 950 in passing a memory transaction from switch crossbar 910 to a memory track 904 will be described with reference to fig1 . for clarity it is assumed that all six of request stations 1512 are valid . a request station 1512 is valid when it currently stores a memory transaction that has not been sent to a memory track 904 , and a tags produced by tags generator 1502 . the request stations 1512 within a queue 1504 operate together substantially as a buffer . new memory transactions from switch crossbar 910 enter at request station 1512 a and progress towards request station 1512 f until chosen by an output port 952 . for example , if an output port 952 chooses request station 1512 b , then request station 1512 b becomes invalid and therefore available for a memory transaction from switch crossbar 910 . however , rather than placing a new memory transaction in request station 1512 b , queue controller 1510 moves the contents of request station 1512 a into request station 1512 b and places the new memory transaction in request station 1512 a . in this way , the identity of a request station serves as an approximate indicator of the age of the memory transaction . in one implementation , only one new memory transaction can arrive during each transaction time , and each memory transaction can age by only one request station during each transaction time . in other implementations , age is computed in other ways . for each memory transaction , queue controller 1510 asserts a request reqm for one of output ports 952 based on a portion of the address in that memory transaction . queue controller 1510 also asserts a valid signal v for each request station that currently stores a memory transaction ready for transmission to memory tracks 904 . internal bus 942 includes 64 separate two - way private busses . each private bus couples one input port 950 to one output port 952 so that each input port has a private bus with each output port . each arbiter 1506 includes eight pre - arbiters ( one for each private bus ). each multiplexer 1520 includes eight pre - multiplexers ( one for each private bus ). each pre - arbiter causes a pre - multiplexer to gate zero or one of the request stations 1512 to the private bus connected to that pre - multiplexer . in this way , an input port 950 can present up to six memory transactions on internal bus 948 simultaneously . a pre - arbiter selects one of the request stations based on several criteria . the memory transaction must be valid . this information is given by the v signal . the memory transaction in the request station must be destined to the output port 952 served by the pre - arbiter . this information is given by the reqm signal . the memory bank addressed by the memory transaction must be ready to accept a memory transaction . the status of each memory bank is given by a bnkrdy signal generated by output ports 952 , as described below . the pre - arbiter considers the age of each memory transaction as well . this information is given by the identity of the request station 1512 . each output port 952 sees eight private data busses , each presenting zero or one memory transactions from an input port 950 . each output port 952 chooses zero or one of the memory transactions and transmits that memory transaction to memory controller 932 , as described below . that output port 952 asserts a signal ackm that tells the input port 950 which bus , and therefore which input port 950 , was chosen . if one of the request stations 1512 within input port 950 was chosen , the pre - arbiter for that bus receives an ackm signal . the ackm signal tells the pre - arbiter that the memory transaction presented on the bus served by that pre - arbiter was transmitted to memory . the pre - arbiter remembers which request station 1512 stored that memory transaction , and sends a signal x to queue controller 1510 identifying that request station 1512 . queue controller 1510 takes several actions when it receives a signal x . queue controller 1510 moves the contents of the “ younger ” request stations forward , as described above , changes the status of any empty request stations to invalid by disasserting v , and moves the tags for the memory transaction just sent into a delay unit 1508 . queue controller 1510 also sends a popm signal to segment interface 930 . segment interface 930 forwards the popm signal across bus 928 to switch crossbar 910 , thereby indicating that input port 950 can accept a new memory transaction from switch crossbar 910 . in response , switch crossbar 910 sends a new memory transaction to the segment interface 930 of that input port 950 . tags generator 1502 generates a tags for the memory transaction . tags generators 1502 and 1402 are configured to independently generate the same tags in the same order , and are initialized to generate the same tags at substantially the same time , as discussed below . therefore , the tags generated by tags generator 1502 for a memory transaction has the same value as the tags generated for that memory transaction by tags generator 1402 . thus the tagging technique of this implementation allows a result returned from memory tracks 904 to be returned to the process that originated the memory transaction that produced that result . queue controller 1510 stores the new memory transaction and the tags in request station 1512 a , and asserts signals v and reqm . signal v indicates that request station 1512 a now has a memory transaction ready for transmission to memory tracks 904 . signal reqm indicates through which input port 944 the result should pass . referring to fig1 , an output port 952 within memory crossbar 912 includes a memory controller 932 , an arbiter 1606 , and a multiplexer 1608 . memory controller 932 and arbiter 1606 can be implemented using conventional boolean logic devices . now an example operation of output port 952 in passing a memory transaction from an input port 950 to a memory track 904 will be described with reference to fig1 . arbiter 1606 receives one or more signals v each indicating that a request station 1512 within an input port 950 has presented a memory transaction on its private bus with that output port 952 for transmission to memory tracks 904 . the v signal indicates that the memory transaction within that request station 1512 is valid . in one implementation , arbiter 1606 receives such signals from multiple input ports 950 and chooses one of the input ports 950 based on a fairness scheme . arbiter 1606 causes multiplexer 1608 to gate any data within the chosen request station to memory controller 932 . arbiter 1606 also gates the command and address within the request station to memory controller 932 . arbiter 1606 asserts an ackm signal that tells the input port 950 containing the chosen request station 1512 that the memory transaction in that request station has been transmitted to memory tracks 904 . now an example operation of output port 952 in passing a result of a memory transaction from memory tracks 904 to switch crossbar 910 will be described with reference to fig1 . when a result arrives at memory controller 932 , memory controller 932 sends the result ( result in ) over internal bus 948 to the input port 950 that transmitted the memory transaction that produced that result . some results , such as a result of a read transaction , include data . other results , such as a result for a write transaction , include an acknowledgement but no data . now an example operation of input port 950 in passing a result from an output port 952 to switch crossbar 910 will be described with reference to fig1 . each result received over internal bus 948 is placed in the request station from which the corresponding memory transaction was sent . each result and corresponding tags progress through queue 1504 towards request station 1512 f until selected for transmission to switch crossbar 910 . fig1 depicts a request station 1512 according to one implementation . request station 1512 includes a forward register 1702 , a reverse register 1704 , and a delay buffer 1706 . forward register 1702 is controlled by a forward controller 1514 . reverse register 1704 is controlled by a reverse controller 1516 . queue 1504 operates according to transaction cycles . a transaction cycle includes a predetermined number of clock cycles . each transaction cycle queue 1504 may receive a new memory transaction ( mt ) from a switch crossbar 910 . as described above , new memory transactions ( mt ) are received in request station 1512 a , and age through queue 1504 each transaction cycle until selected by a signal x . request station 1512 a is referred to herein as the “ youngest ” request station , and includes the youngest forward and reverse controllers , the youngest forward and reverse registers , and the youngest delay buffer . similarly , request station 1512 f is referred to herein as the “ oldest ” request station , and includes the oldest forward and reverse controllers , the oldest forward and reverse registers , and the oldest delay buffer . the youngest forward register receives new memory transactions ( mt in ) from switch crossbar 910 . when a new memory transaction mt in arrives in the youngest forward register , the youngest forward controller sets the validity bit v in for the youngest forward register and places a tag tags from tag generator 1502 into the youngest forward register . in this description a bit is set by making it a logical one (“ 1 ”) and cleared by making it a logical zero (“ 0 ”). when set , signal x indicates that the contents of forward register 1702 have been transmitted to a memory track 904 . each forward controller 1514 generates a signal b out every transaction cycle where where b out is used by a younger forward register as b in and b in = 0 for the oldest forward register . each forward controller 1514 shifts into its forward register 1702 the contents of an immediately younger forward register when : where v indicates that the contents of the forward register 1702 are valid and x indicates that the memory transaction in that forward register 1702 has been placed on internal bus 948 by arbiter 1506 . note that x is only asserted for a forward register 1702 when that forward register is valid ( that is , when the validity bit v is set for that forward register ). the contents of each forward register include a memory transaction mt , a validity bit v , and a tag tags . referring to fig1 , the contents being shifted into forward register 1702 from an immediately younger forward register are denoted mt in , v in , and tags in , while the contents being shifted out of forward register 1702 to an immediately older forward register are denoted mt out , v out , and tags out . the validity bit v for each forward register 1702 is updated each transaction cycle according to each forward controller 1514 copies tags , v , and m from its forward register 1702 into its delay buffer 1706 every transaction cycle . m is the address of the request station 1512 . each forward controller 1514 also copies x and s into its delay buffer 1706 every transaction cycle . each delay buffer 1706 imposes a predetermined delay on its contents that is equal to the known predetermined time that elapses between sending a memory transaction to a memory track 904 and receiving a corresponding result from that memory track 904 . each transaction cycle , an x del , v del , s del , m del , and tags del emerge from delay buffer 1706 . x del is x delayed by delay buffer 1706 . v del is v delayed by delay buffer 1706 . s del is s delayed by delay buffer 1706 . when x del is set , reverse register 1704 receives a result result in selected according to m del from a memory track 904 , and a tags del , v del and s del from delay buffer 1706 , the known predetermined period of time after sending the corresponding memory transaction from forward register 1702 to that memory track 904 . each transaction cycle , reverse controller 1516 generates a signal g out where where g out is used by a younger reverse register as g in and g in = 1 for the oldest reverse register . a reverse register 1704 sends its contents ( a result result out and a tag tags ) to switch crossbar 910 when each reverse controller 1516 shifts into its reverse register 1704 the contents of an immediately younger reverse register when : the contents of each reverse register include a result result , a tag tags del , and delayed validity bit v del . referring to fig1 , the result being shifted into reverse register 1704 from an immediately younger reverse register is denoted r in , while the result being shifted out of reverse register 1704 to an immediately older reverse register is denoted r out . each memory controller 932 controls a memory track 904 over a memory bus 934 . referring to fig1 , each memory track 904 includes four sdrams 1806 a , 1806 b , 1806 c , and 1806 d . each sdram 1806 includes four memory banks 1808 . sdram 1806 a includes memory banks 1808 a , 1808 b , 1808 c , and 1808 d . sdram 1806 b includes memory banks 1808 e , 1808 f , 1808 g , and 1808 h . sdram 1806 c includes memory banks 18081 , 1808 j , 1808 k , and 1808 l . sdram 1806 d includes memory banks 1808 m , 1808 n , 1808 o , and 1808 p . the sdrams 1806 within a memory track 904 operate in pairs to provide a doublewide data word . for example , memory bank 1808 a in sdram 1806 a provides the least - significant bits of a data word , while memory bank 1808 e in sdram 1806 b provides the most - significant bits of that data word . memory controller 932 operates efficiently to extract the maximum bandwidth from memory track 904 by exploiting two features of sdram technology . first , the operations of the memory banks 1808 of a sdram 1806 can be interleaved in time to hide overhead such as precharge and access time . second , the use of autoprecharge makes the command and data traffic equal . for an sdram , an eight - byte transfer operation requires two commands ( activate and read / write ) and two data transfers ( four clock phases ). fig1 depicts three timelines for an example operation of sdram 1806 a . a clock signal clk operates at a frequency compatible with sdram 1806 a . a command bus cmd transports commands to sdram 1806 a across memory bus 934 . a data bus dq transports data to and from sdram 1806 a across memory bus 934 . fig1 depicts the timing of four interleaved read transactions . the interleaving of other commands such as write commands will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts after reading this description . sdram 1806 a receives an activation command act ( a ) at time t 2 . the activation command prepares bank 1808 a of sdram 1806 a for a read operation . the receipt of the activation command also begins an eight - clock period during which bank 1808 a is not available to accept another activation . during this eight - clock period , sdram 1806 a receives a read command rd ( a ) at t 5 . sdram 1806 a transmits the data a 0 , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 requested by the read command during the two clock cycles between times t 7 and t 9 . sdram 1806 a receives another activation command act ( a ) at time t 10 . three other read operations are interleaved with the read operation just described . sdram 1806 a receives an activation command act ( b ) at time t 4 . the activation command prepares bank 1808 b of sdram 1806 a for a read operation . the receipt of the activation command also begins an eight - clock period during which bank 1808 b is not available to accept another activation . during this eight - clock period , sdram 1806 a receives a read command rd ( b ) at t 7 . sdram 1806 a transmits the data b 0 , b 1 , b 2 , b 3 requested by the read command during the two clock cycles between times t 9 and t 11 . sdram 1806 a receives an activation command act ( c ) at time t 6 . the activation command prepares bank 1808 c of sdram 1806 a for a read operation . the receipt of the activation command also begins an eight - clock period during which bank 1808 c is not available to accept another activation . during this eight - clock period , sdram 1806 a receives a read command rd ( c ) at t 9 . sdram 1806 a transmits the data c 0 , c 1 , and so forth , requested by the read command during the two clock cycles beginning with t 11 . sdram 1806 a receives an activation command act ( d ) at time t 8 . the activation command prepares bank 1808 d of sdram 1806 a for a read operation . the receipt of the activation command also begins an eight - clock period during which bank 1808 d is not available to accept another activation . during this eight - clock period , sdram 1806 a receives a read command rd ( d ) at t 11 . sdram 1806 a transmits the data requested by the read command during two subsequent clock cycles in a manner similar to that describe above . as shown in fig1 , three of the eight memory banks 1808 of a memory track 904 are unavailable at any given time , while the other five memory banks 1808 are available . fig2 is a flowchart depicting an example operation of memory crossbar 912 in sending memory transactions to a memory track 904 based on the availability of memory banks 1808 . as described above , each input port 950 within memory crossbar 912 receives a plurality of memory transactions to be sent over a memory bus 934 to a memory track 904 having a plurality of memory banks 1808 ( step 2002 ). each memory transaction is addressed to one of the memory banks . however , each memory bus 934 is capable of transmitting only one memory transaction at a time . each input port 950 associates a priority with each memory transaction based on the order in which the memory transactions were received at that input port 950 ( step 2004 ). in one implementation priorities are associated with memory transactions through the use of forward queue 1504 described above . as memory transactions age , they progress from the top of the queue ( request station 1512 a ) towards the bottom of the queue ( request station 1512 f ). the identity of the request station 1512 in which a memory transaction resides indicates the priority of the memory transaction . thus the collection of the request stations 1512 within an input port 950 constitutes a set of priorities where each memory transaction has a different priority in the set of priorities . arbiter 1606 generates a signal bnkrdy for each request station 1512 based on the availability to accept a memory transaction of the memory bank 1608 to which the memory transaction within that request station 1512 is addressed ( step 2006 ). this information is passed to arbiter 1606 as part of the age signal , as described above . each bnkrdy signal tells the request station 1512 whether the memory bank 1808 to which its memory transaction is addressed is available . arbiter 1606 includes a state machine or the like that tracks the availability of memory banks 1808 by monitoring the addresses of the memory transactions gated to memory controller 932 . when a memory transaction is sent to a memory bank 1808 , arbiter 1606 clears the bnkrdy signal for that memory bank 1808 , thereby indicating that that memory bank 1808 is not available to accept a memory transaction . after a predetermined period of time has elapsed , arbiter 1606 sets the bnkrdy signal for that memory bank 1808 , thereby indicating that that memory bank 1808 is available to accept a memory transaction . as described above , the bnkrdy signal operates to filter the memory transactions within request stations 1512 so that only those memory transactions addressed to available memory banks 1808 are considered by arbiter 1506 for presentation on internal bus 948 . also as described above , arbiter 1606 selects one of the memory transactions presented on internal bus 948 using a fairness scheme . thus memory crossbar 912 selects one of the memory transactions for transmission over memory bus 934 based on the priorities and the bank readiness signals ( step 2008 ). finally , memory crossbar 912 sends the selected memory transaction over memory bus 934 to memory tracks 904 ( step 2010 ). as mentioned above , the pair of tag generators associated with a bus are configured to independently generate the same tags in the same order . for example , tag generators 1202 and 1302 are associated with bus 922 , and tag generators 1402 and 1502 are associated with bus 928 . in one implementation , the tag generators are buffers . the buffers are initialized by loading each buffer with a set of tags such that both buffers contain the same tags in the same order and no tag in the set is the same as any other tag in the set . in one implementation each buffer is a first - in , first - out ( fifo ) buffer . in that implementation , tags are removed by “ popping ” them from the fifo , and are returned by “ pushing ” them on to the fifo . in another implementation , each of the tag generators is a counter . the counters are initialized by setting both counters to the same value . each tag is an output of the counter . in one implementation , the counter is incremented each time a tag is generated . if results return across a bus in the same order in which the corresponding memory transactions were sent across the bus , then the maximum count of the counter can be set to account for the maximum number of places ( such as registers and the like ) that a result sent across a bus and the corresponding memory transaction returning across the bus can reside . however , if results do not return across a bus in the same order in which the corresponding memory transactions were sent across the bus , a control scheme is used . for example , each count can be checked to see whether it is still in use before generating a tag from that count . if the count is still in use , the counter is frozen ( that is , not incremented ) until that count is no longer in use . as another example , a count that is still in use can be skipped ( that is , the counter is incremented but a tag is not generated from the count ). other such implementations are contemplated . in another implementation , the counters are incremented continuously regardless of whether a tag is generated . in this way , each count represents a time stamp for the tag . the maximum count of each counter is set according to the maximum possible round trip time for a result and the corresponding memory transaction . in any of the counter implementations , the counters can be decremented rather than incremented . in another implementation , depicted in fig2 , each of the tag generators includes a counter 2102 and a memory 2104 . memory 2104 is a two - port memory that is one bit wide . the depth of the memory is set according to design requirements , as would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts . the contents of memory 2104 are initialized to all ones before operation . the read address ( ra ) of memory 2104 receives the count output of counter 2102 . in this way , counter 2102 “ sweeps ” memory 2104 . the data residing at each address is tested by a comparator 2106 . a value of “ 1 ” indicates that the count is available for use as a tag . a value of “ 1 ” causes comparator 2106 to assert a pop signal . the pop signal causes gate 2108 to gate the count out of the tag generator for use as a tag . the pop signal is also presented at the write enable pin for port one ( we 1 ) of memory 2104 . the write data pin of port one ( wd 1 ) is hardwired to logic zero (“ 0 ”). the write address pins of port one receive the count . thus when a free tag is encountered that tag is generated and marked “ in - use .” when a tag is returned to the tag generator , its value is presented at the write address pins for port zero ( wa 0 ), and a push signal is asserted at the write enable pin of port zero ( we 0 ). the write data pin of port zero ( wd 0 ) is hardwired to logic one (“ 1 ”). thus when a tag is returned to the tag generator , that tag is marked “ free .” in another implementation , shown in fig2 , comparator 2106 is replaced by a priority encoder 2206 that implements a binary truth table where each row represents the entire contents of memory 2204 . memory 2204 writes single bits at two write ports wd 0 and wd 1 , and reads 256 bits at a read port rd . memory 2204 is initialized to all zeros . no counter is used . one of the rows is all logic zeros , indicating that no tags are free . each of the other rows contains a single logic one , each row having the logic one in a different bit position . any bits more significant than the logic one are logic zeros , and any bits less significant than the logic one are “ don &# 39 ; t cares ” (“ x ”). such a truth table for a 1 . times . 4 memory is shown in table 1 . the read data from read port rd is applied to priority encoder 2206 . if a tag is free , the output of priority encoder 2206 is used as the tag . in the above - described implementations of the tag generator , a further initialization step is employed . a series of null operations ( noops ) is sent across each of busses 922 and 928 . these noops do not cause the tag generators to generate tags . this ensures that when the first memory transaction is sent across a bus , the pair of tag generators associate with that bus generates the same tag for that memory transaction . the invention can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry , or in computer hardware , firmware , software , or in combinations of them . apparatus of the invention can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine - readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor ; and method steps of the invention can be performed by a programmable processor executing a program of instructions to perform functions of the invention by operating on input data and generating output . the invention can be implemented advantageously in one or more computer programs that are executable on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor connected to receive data and instructions from , and to transmit data and instructions to , a data storage system , at least one input device , and at least one output device . each computer program can be implemented in a high - level procedural or object - oriented programming language , or in assembly or machine language if desired ; and in any case , the language can be a compiled or interpreted language . suitable processors include , by way of example , both general and special purpose microprocessors . generally , a processor will receive instructions and data from a read - only memory and / or a random access memory . generally , a computer will include one or more mass storage devices for storing data files ; such devices include magnetic disks , such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and optical disks . storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , including by way of example semiconductor memory devices , such as eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks ; magneto - optical disks ; and cd - rom disks . any of the foregoing can be supplemented by , or incorporated in , asics ( application - specific integrated circuits ). a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	6
referring to fig1 the blank comprises rectangular panels 1 and 2 which define the major side faces of the carton , a panel 3 defining an end face in which a pouring spout is located , a panel 4 defining a securing flap and a panel 5 defining an extension to the securing flap . bottom and top sealing flaps and the rear end flap are also defined within the blank but are perfectly standard in shape and form . a diagonal hinge line 6 including spaced cuts extends upwardly across the panel 3 from a first hinge point indicated by arrow 7 on an edge line 8 between panel 4 and panel 3 to a second hinge point indicated by arrow 9 on edge line 10 between panels 3 and 1 . a first cut line 11 formed from spaced cuts which can be easily torn open extends transversely from the second hinge point 9 across the end face 3 of the carton so that in the upright position of the set up carton this line is substantially horizontal . the line extends the whole way across the face 3 . a second line 12 extends from the first hinge point 7 along a convoluted part rectangular path to join the first cut line 11 . at its upper edge the cut line 12 branches into two lines 13 and 14 of pre - chosen shape to form a cut out aperture 15 in the board material . thus , the lines 6 , 11 and part of 8 define a first spout panel 19 , while the lines 12 , 14 and the same part of 8 define a second spout panel 20 . the lines 13 and 14 are part arcuate in form so that in the made up condition of the carton , the spout can move to the opened out condition while remaining substantially in the plane of its own board material . the shape of the line 13 is arcuate for approximately two thirds of its length and this defines movement of the corner of panel 20 by a camming action during opening of the pouring spout . thereafter the line 13 straightens out to travel in a straight direction back to the junction with edge line 8 . this then acts to inhibit the pouring spout against opening too far . within the region defined by the lines 12 and 14 , is a rectangular glue strip 16 which holds the spout together in the erected pre - opened condition . this glue line needs to remain within the region defined by the lines 12 and 14 to ensure that adhesion only occurs where required . it has the important function of holding the pouring spout firmly closed during packing , transport and handling prior to opening . finally on the carton blank , there is a tear strip 17 defined by spaced cuts 18 and located on the extreme right - hand edge of the panel 2 so that in the erected condition it comes up into the region of the pour spout cut lines previously discussed . the use of the glue line 16 and tear strip 17 is an optional feature , and in some uses can be omitted provided a thumb access hole is provided in place of the tear away strip 17 . for erection of the carton , the first stage is to fold the extension flap back onto the sealing flap 4 and seal it in position . the carton is then made into a sleeve by sealing the sealing flap 4 under the main panel 2 . cartons in this sleeve form are then normally supplied by the carton manufacturer to the user who is to fill and subsequently seal the carton on standard machinery . then , when fully erected the carton has the appearance shown in fig2 . the vertical tear strip 17 can then be torn away ; and , by thumb pressure , the pouring spout can be opened out as shown in fig3 . referring to fig4 which looks down sectionally on the pour spout part of the carton , it can be seen that spout panel 20 can pivot outwards about the pivot point 7 while sandwiched between the layers defined by panels 5 and 2 , and lying substantially within its own plane ( albeit with slight flexure at its outer end ). this provides positive location of the pour spout in use , and also minimizes the risk of seepage when the pour spout is closed after use . moreover the difference in shape of the two lines 13 and 14 combined with the camming shape of the line 13 is such as to permit opening of the carton to the pouring position , but to lock the pouring device against further movement , by the camming action as previously described .	1
fig1 and 4 illustrate a preferred athletic shoe 200 in accordance with this invention . fig5 and 10 illustrate other preferred embodiments 202 , 204 and 206 respectively . in such embodiments , like parts will be identified by the same numbers . shoe 200 has a upper 208 and a sole 210 affixed together in the normal way . the make - up of upper 208 is not a part of this invention , and upper 208 may be made of conventional materials such as leather , canvass and the like . sole 210 is made of material which is tough and wear - resistant but which can flex in the normal manner depending on how weight is applied to it . sole 210 is preferably formed of polyurethane or rubber . the lower surface of sole 210 , which contacts the surface of the playing field , includes a main sole surface 212 , which is a generally flat even surface , and cleats project therefrom . the cleats are preferably integrally formed with main sole surface 212 in a molding process . as illustrated in schematic fig3 and in fig4 which are aligned with each other , the sole has four portions which are defined by the portions of the foot adjacent to them . these sole portions are : a heel portion 302 , immediately below the player &# 39 ; s heel ; an arch portion 304 , below the arch of the player &# 39 ; s foot ; a ball - of - the - foot portion 306 , below the ball of the player &# 39 ; s foot ; and a toe portion 308 , below the player &# 39 ; s toes . as previsouly noted , the ball of the foot and the heel bear weight when the player is standing in a flat - footed stance , as in fig4 while the toe and ball - of - the - foot portions bear weight when the player is in the ready position . a substantially continuous annular cleat 214 projects from main sole surface 212 . annular cleat 214 is centered on the juncture of the ball - of - the - foot and toe portions 306 and 308 , and extends across the width of sole 210 . annular cleat 214 encompasses a major area of ball - of - the - foot and toe portions 306 and 308 , indeed , substantially the entire area of such portions . a standard frustoconical cleat is located at the center point of annular cleat 214 . annular cleat 214 encloses a sole area 216 all of which , except for center cleat 218 , is coincident with main sole surface 212 . that is , there are no built - up portions which can retard penetration of the playing surface by annular cleat 214 and center cleat 218 . sole area 216 , however , may have texturing which may have some controlling effect on pivoting . annular cleat 214 has radially outward and inward annular surfaces 220 and 222 which converge to a circular distal edge 224 . outward surface 220 is normal ( that is , perpendicular ) to main sole surface 212 . inward surface 222 flares radially outwardly to converge with outward surface 220 . a number of standard frustoconical cleats 226 are formed on heel portion 302 of sole 210 . a variety of cleats may be used on the heel of the shoe of this invention . along distal edges 224 are two breaks 228 . breaks 228 are in the form of notches having closely spaced parallel walls 230 . each of the breaks 230 extends from distal edge 224 to main sole surface 212 . walls 230 are substantially normal to main sole surface 212 . the two breaks 228 are at the intersection of a chord line ( not shown ) with annular cleat 214 . such breaks 228 facilitate bending of sole 210 along such chord line . breaks 228 are located on annular cleat 214 at a position where bending of sole 210 may not in some cases be desirable , although it is recognized that the main line of bending is at the juncture of arch portion 304 and ball - of - the - foot portion 306 , which is located at the edge of annular cleat 214 . athletic shoe 202 , shown in fig5 has three pairs of breaks 232 , or a total of six breaks along its annular cleat 234 . each of these pairs of breaks are on a separate chord line extending across the sole of the shoe . this adds bending flexibility along three lines across annular cleat 234 . breaks 232 each have parallel walls 236 . parallel walls 236 are aligned parallel to parallel wall lines extending across the shoe . this alignment of breaks 232 tends to maximize the addition of flexibility to the shoe . shoe 204 , illustrated in fig6 has a different form of breaks than the previously described embodiments . a series of notches 238 are spaced around the distal edge 240 of annular cleat 242 . notches 238 are v - shaped cutouts which extend about half way from distal edge 240 to the main sole surface of the shoe . such v - shaped notches are particularly useful in providing controlled pivotability . fig7 - 9 illustrate three different types of breaks . fig7 shows a parallel - walled break 228 , of the type previously described , having parallel walls 230 . walls are spaced apart by approximately one - quarter inch . wider spacing for such breaks will tend to give greater resistance to pivotability . however , the breaks of this invention are all quite narrow , such that the annular cleats in which they are formed remain substantially continuous and provide the pivotability advantages previously discussed . fig8 illustrates a notch 238 having converging notch walls 244 . fig9 illustrates a slit 246 , which is an extremely narrow parallel - walled break generally of the type shown in fig7 . slit breaks 246 contribute as much to pivotability as any other type of break , particularly if they extend all the way from distal edge 248 to the main sole surface . however , slit breaks 246 add minimum resistance to pivoting . shoe 206 , illustrated in fig1 , has two annular cleats 250 and 252 . annular cleats 250 and 252 each have a pair of breaks 254 in them . all of the breaks 254 are along a single wall line extending across the sole of shoe 206 . in some embodiments of this invention , there are a number of annular cleats having breaks in them . for example , in a shoe designed specifically for use on artificial turf there are several cleats of generally short height , and one or more of such annular cleats may have breaks in accordance with this invention . while the principles of this invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments , it should be understood clearly that these descriptions are made only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention .	0
the invention is a process for recognizing the exact or approximate location of one or more partially obscured features or electrical connect structures such as exemplified by features such as c4 solder balls on a chip alternatively on a wafer which are at least partially coated with an over bump applied resin or material . the invention is based on a focusing routine thereby enabling an operator or a tool to obtain and determine a maximum or near maximum signal to noise ratio ( snr ) from an image captured by optical means . this high snr image in turn enables fully automated alignment through either edge detection or image recognition methods . alternatively , a snr which is above a threshold value can be employed . in accordance with this invention a sample coated with an over bump applied resin is loaded into an apparatus that is equipped with a sample holder , a substrate holder and an optical recognition system capable of aligning a sample to a substrate . subsequently , the optical system focuses on the surface of the sample using traditional techniques . next , the tool scans down through the focus until the maximum or near maximum snr is achieved on the image capture . the maximum or near maximum snr is achieved when the focus reaches the level of the plane where the feature sidewalls , e . g . sidewalls of solder balls , are vertical . the limited depth of focus of the optical system images a “ cross section ” which in the case of c4 balls is a circle . the exact or approximate location of the feature ( e . g . a bump or a c4 solder ball ) is now identified by determining the center point of the feature ( e . g . a circle ) and comparing the center point location to the location where the center point must be located for perfect alignment . data which represents the focus offset to the surface that most accurately identifies the location of the partially obscured structure is identified and stored . that focus offset data can then be applied directly to other samples to maximize throughput since the through - focusing step requires some time . using the sidewall focus level the location of the features ( e . g . features of a bump or a c4 solder ball ), independent of the quality and thickness of the over bump applied resin layer , can be determined with a very high degree of accuracy . fig9 a - 9r are a series of photomicrographs of solder balls formed on a chip which are covered by over bump applied resin . each of the photomicrographs shows the same feature at incremental focus settings of the optical system in a manner where the level of focus moves in a linear fashion in the z - axis from fig9 a to fig9 r . for each of these focus settings the image is analyzed for maximum snr on the edge of the features . if maximum snr has been determined , the optimal focus setting can be determined . in this example the maximum snr can be seen to be obtained in fig9 p where the edge of the feature is most clearly defined . if the focus setting continues to be increase from the setting in fig9 p , it can be seen the snr decreases again from fig9 p to fig9 r . an example of a method for determining alignment includes image based pattern recognition which uses learning from a first run and comparison of the images of subsequent runs to determine the center point . referring to fig1 a to 10i , a second method for determining alignment uses the geometric properties of the structures and models a circle to the image which can be done without teaching the tool in advance what the image looks like . the center of the modeled circle indicates the exact or approximate location of the structure . once the location of one feature ( e . g . a bump or a solder ball ) is determined , at least one other feature must be sampled ( within the image field or through multiple image fields ) to calculate a model of the sample alignment ( x , y , theta with 2 points , higher order alignment parameters with increasing numbers of alignment locations ). the preferred embodiment of this invention is the use of the focus scan to determine the highest snr on the image capture and therefore the best positional performance of the alignment system . the focus offset to the surface would be stored in memory and subsequent alignment sites would be imaged using this focus offset , maximizing throughput . this embodiment maximizes the performance through process variations . in another aspect of the method of this invention use is made of the focus scan to maximize snr in the image capture on all sites . this is the most accurate embodiment of this invention but comes with a throughput penalty which may preclude the use of this embodiment in high - volume applications . still another aspect of this invention adds a focus offset from an automated focus that results in a best - guess focus on the sidewalls of the connect structures . this method is sensitive to connect structure variations such as solder ball size and shape and is not as precise as the first two embodiments ; this embodiment has the greatest throughput . this invention does not require the invention of a new optical alignment or new focusing system . instead it works with many of the currently available optical alignment systems . fig1 is a flow chart of the program for controlling the system of fig8 employing the alignment process of the current invention for a steps a - h that perform the focusing process of the present invention for a feature formed on a semiconductor chip . in step a , the system loads the sample 38 coated with a layer of applied material into a holder comprising the stage 39 in the system 30 of fig8 with an optical recognition system 42 / 46 for obtaining alignment data for the chip 38 on the chip holder 39 . in step b , the system focuses the optical system on the surface of the sample using traditional techniques of moving the stage 34 in the z direction . in step c , the system scans the stage up or down through the focus obtained in step b , until the maximum snr is achieved on the image capture in the camera 40 , and the processing device 44 . the maximum snr is achieved when the focus reaches the level of the plane where the sidewalls of the feature being examined are vertical and the limited depth of focus of the optical system images the cross section . in step d , the system performs a test as to whether contrast diminished in the previous iteration of step c . if the answer is no , the system branches back to step c . if the answer is yes , the system proceeds to step e . in step e , the system reverses the direction of scan in the z direction and returns to step c for another scan in the reverse direction from that in the previous iteration of step c . in step f , the system identifies the exact or approximate location of the feature by determining the center point of the feature and the system compares this location to a location where that point has to be for perfect alignment . in step g , the system stores the focus offset to a surface that identifies location of the partially obscured structure most accurately and then applies it directly to other samples to maximize throughput since the through - focusing step requires time in step h , the system samples another feature in the image field or multiple image fields to calculate a model of sample alignment ( x , y , theta with 2 points , higher order alignment parameters with increasing numbers of alignment locations ). fig1 is a flow chart of the program for controlling the system of fig8 employing the alignment process of the current invention for steps a - h that perform the focusing process of the present invention for a feature comprising bumps formed on a semiconductor chip . in step a ′, load a sample of over bump applied resin ( obar ) or other material coated onto a wafer or chip into a sample holder in the system with an optical recognition system for aligning the sample to a substrate on a substrate holder . in step b ′, focus the optical system on the surfaces of the bump sample using traditional techniques of moving the stage 34 in the z direction . in step c ′, scan the stage up or down through the focus obtained in step b until the maximum snr is achieved on the image capture in the camera 40 and the processing device 44 . in step d ′, the system tests as to whether contrast was diminished in the previous iteration of step c . if the answer is no , the system branches back to step e . if the answer is yes , the system proceeds to step e ′. in step e ′, the system reverses the direction of scan in the z direction and returns to step c for another scan in the reverse direction from that in the previous iteration of step c . in step f ′, the system identifies the exact or approximate location of a bump by determining the center point of the bump and the system compares this location to a location where that point has to be for satisfactory alignment . in step g ′, the system stores the focus offset to a surface that identifies the location of the partially obscured structure of the bump most accurately and then applies it directly to other samples to maximize throughput since the through - focusing step requires some time . in step h ′, the system samples another feature in the image field or multiple image fields to calculate a model of sample alignment ( x , y , theta with 2 points , higher order alignment parameters with increasing numbers of alignment locations ). one of the advantages of this method is that no specialized alignment marks are required since the interconnect features or similar existing features themselves can be used to identify their exact or approximate position . the above methods employ a mathematical determination of the location of the patterns without requiring prior learning of patterns in best focus to determine the exact or approximate location of said features , and subsequently using this information for the alignment of the sample to another matched or designated pattern . another advantage of this method is that it allows to automate the process of aligning parts to each other in order to increase the throughput in a manufacturing line . the invention is for a process of aligning a part which exhibits a partially obscured bump , e . g . a c4 solder bump , a flat topped bump , etc . the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments thereof , but is more broadly applicable as will be understood by those skilled in the art . the scope of the invention is only limited by the following claims .	7
as shown in fig1 this apparatus includes four basic elements comprised of a control console 10 , a chart recorder 11 , one or more vibrator elements 12 , and an accelerometer 13 , all of which are carried on a wheeled cart 14 that also includes all of the necessary equipment . a workpiece 15 is shown in this figure and it will be noted that this is isolated from the floor by means of rubber load supporting cushions 16 which enable the workpiece to be vibrated in a freely floating condition . the control console 10 contains all of the equipment required for this purpose including accurate motor speed controls and an accelerometer amplifier . the control circuitry includes plug - in printed circuit boards so that any problems can easily be resolved merely be replacing a faulty circuit board just by plugging in a new board . large , easy to read led readouts give precise readings of vibrator rpm and power , workpiece acceleration and treatment times . the chart recorder 11 automatically records the scanning data to pinpoint vibrator treatment frequencies as well as the completion of the treatment cycle . the pg , 9 charts , made in two - dimensional form during the treatment process , become a permanent part of the treatment record . the vibrator 12 is a heavy duty rotary type vibrator device of proven reliability and its force setting weights are adjustable so that the vibrator may be used on large or small workpieces . the accelerometer 13 provides precise readings as needed for successful treatment of various types of workpieces . the accelerometer is ruggedly built to withstand use in the usual industrial environment and the cable for connecting the accelerometer with the equipment is built to withstand constant vibration without fatigue . specifically , the accelerometer is designed such that its natural resonance is substantially above the range of frequencies to be sudied by a factor of five or more for example . with this equipment the invention utilizes controlled vibration to induce dynamic loading of the workpiece , thus relieving residual stresses and thereby obtaining dimensional stability . the invention can be used with very large weldments and with castings as well as forgings . a wide variety of metals may be relieved with this equipment including gray iron , ductile iron , and nodular irons , mild steel , low alloy high strength steels , stainless steels , including martensitic , austenitic and ferritic , heat - treatable alloys and precipitation strengthened metals in the solution - annealed condition , including aluminum , iron , cobalt , and nickel . in the use of this invention the first step is to isolate the workpiece 15 from the floor , or ground , by means of the rubber load supporting cushions 16 which may be placed under the workpiece at the several corners and with this particular workpiece , under the offset at approximately a mid - position of the one side . in this way the workpiece is completely isolated from the ground and is free to float on the cushions under the activation of the vibrator element 12 . the vibrator element , as shown , is rigidly secured to a rigid area of the workpiece . the vibrator is attached by means of clamps 17 which extend through a hole 18 in the workpiece and clamp the vibrator firmly to this rigid section of the workpiece and thereby achieve maximum transmission of the vibrating forces to the workpiece . the accelerometer 13 is secured to the workpiece at a location remote from the attachment of the vibrator 12 and this attachment is secured by means of a clamp 19 that firmly anchors the accelerometer to a collar structure 20 secured about an opening 21 in the top plate of the workpiece . the system is now ready to be operated and is started by activating the main power switch on the console 10 . the first operation is an automatic scanning of the workpiece to determine a frequency at which to operate the vibrator 12 and this automatic scanning begins at a vibration speed of about 1000 rpm and winds up at about 5000 rpm , which takes about seven and one - half minutes to complete . the chart recorder 11 plots the relative dynamic load as represented by the values of acceleration versus rpm and this is shown as a line curve 22 on the chart . simultaneously , a recording of vibrator power versus rpm is plotted on the chart by a line 23 . the vibrator element 12 is then tuned to a speed that corresponds with a peak in the acceleration curve 22 , but at this time the recording pens do not write during this tuning sequence . the speed associated with the peak is maintained until the reaction to the vibrator 12 subsides and this reaction varies in character , but during a typical reaction , the peak grows in height and shifts to a lower frequency so that it is then located further to the left on the chart . the peaks in the power curve indicate areas where the workpiece may show resistance to the treatment . the reaction terminates in less than fifteen minutes , at which time another peak is chosen and treated in a similar manner . usually three or four such peaks throughout the speed range are treated until no further reaction results . after the treatment described , a post - treatment or final automatic scan is done which documents the response change in the workpiece and this becomes a permanent record of the treatment . these curves are shown recorded as 22a and 23a . the variations between the first scan and the second scan clearly indicate the change in dynamic loading response of the work piece 15 . thus , in subsequent operations this record eases duplication or repeatability of the treatment and facilitates supervision inasmuch as the treatment charts become part of the routing sheets for the workpiece . this system operates on standard 110 volt or 220 volt current and consumes relatively little power when compared to the enormous amount of energy represented by fuel or electricity consumed by previous methods such as thermal stress relieving furnaces . the present system can be used on very large workpieces including those too large for such an oven . this system is portable whereby it can be brought to the workpiece instead of the other way around of transporting it to an oven , or to an outside heat treater which consumes considerable time and expense and also requires adaptation to the work schedule of whoever may handle the work . the present treatment affords the great advantage of consuming very little time which may approximate one hour total with no time required for a cool down period . the system can relieve stress in internal workpiece members as well as work pieces having varying wall thicknesses without creating additional stresses that could be caused by non - uniform heating and cooling as in a thermal stress relieving method . from the foregoing it will be seen that there has been provided an apparatus and method for vibrational stress relief wherein controlled low amplitude , low frequency vibrations are applied to a workpiece component to obtain dimensional stability by lowering the residual stresses in the workpiece without reducing the yield strength or the fatigue life of the component and which will not strain harden the material .	2
the general principles of the conveyor aspects of the present invention disassociated from a packaging machine are portrayed in the illustration of fig1 in which belt 12 of the invention conveyor apparatus 10 is seen to continuously travel in the direction indicated by arrow x . belt 12 of a defined length and uniform width and assumed to form part of a packaging machine follows a path which extends around a fixed driving roller 16 , fixed idler rollers 18 , 19 , a movable end idler roller 20 and a movable center idler roller 22 , all mounted substantially mutually parallel . when the conveyor 10 is set such that the run or operative surface s ( on which arrow x is drawn ) of belt 12 assumes any given length l 1 the operative surface s which is assumed to engage the packaged product , not shown , appears and acts as in any ordinary conveyor apparatus . the drive motion is imparted to belt 12 by the fixed driving roller 16 which is connected to a drive system , such as , for example , a gear motor ( not shown ) forming part of the packaging machine . the length of belt 12 is sufficient to follow the path described with adequate tension to maintain proper drive and be free of slack . movable end idler roller 20 and movable center idler roller 22 are each rotatably mounted on a movable frame 14 forming part of the packaging machine , not shown , which reciprocates in a manner such that when the frame 14 moves , both connected idler rollers 20 , 22 move equivalently . frame 14 is composed of frame members 14a , 14b , 14c and 14d and is mounted on a support structure ( not shown ) so that frame 14 is able to only move in a direction parallel to the direction of travel of belt 12 , as depicted by double ended arrow a . since the spacing between movable end idler roller 20 and movable center idler roller 22 is constant , the tensioned length of belt 12 is also necessarily constant . the length of the operative run or surface s of conveyor 10 may be increased from original run length l 1 , for example , to a run length l 2 by moving frame 14 from its position shown in solid lines in fig1 to its position shown in dashed lines . the run or operative surface s of conveyor 10 may conversely be shortened by movement of frame 14 in the opposite direction . during any such reciprocation of the frame 14 , it is to be understood that belt 12 is driven constantly in the same direction . with continuing reference to fig1 it should be noted that the major portion of belt 12 effectively forms four distinct planar segments or runs p - 1 , p - 2 , p - 3 and p - 4 by being wrapped around the series of the previously described rollers according to the invention . it is important for belt 12 to retain a constant overall length of belt under tension and remain slack free during a change in the length of the run or operative surface s of the conveyor 10 , e . g ., from run length l 1 to run length l 2 . this is accomplished by employing the pair of vertically spaced fixed idler rollers 18 , 19 and locating moveable rollers 20 and 22 and fixed roller 16 in the positions indicated in fig1 . particular emphasis is placed on frame 14 acting to assure a constant distance between movable rollers 20 and 22 . an alternate possibility recognized by the invention is that of using a substantially large diameter roller ( not shown ) in place of the idler rollers 18 , 19 and in conjunction with the rollers 16 , 20 and 22 located as seen in fig1 . other alternative belt arrangements are later described in reference to fig5 and 6 . a poultry packaging machine apparatus is depicted in fig2 and 3 in which a pair of conveyors 30 , 30a built according to the invention are used in cooperation with other conveyor apparatus forming pan of a sealing mechanism in the same machine . according to the perspective view of fig2 a pair of essentially mirror image conveyors 30 , 30a are oriented in essentially parallel vertical orientations and are shown gripping and transporting a film wrapped poultry package p towards the sealing mechanism . typical conveyor 30 while vertically oriented is configured and operates similarly to horizontal conveyor 10 of fig1 and employs a fixed driver roller 36 , fixed idler rollers 38 , 39 , 40 , 42 and a reciprocable frame 34 on which rollers 40 and 42 are mounted . horizontally oriented supply conveyor 50 on which the poultry package p is supported is driven in the same direction and at the same speed as conveyors 30 , 30a and is situated between conveyors 30 , 30a at a lower level than the pair of vertical belts 32 , 31a with the plane of the upper portion of conveyor 50 extending between vertical belts 32 , 32a being essentially perpendicular to the plane of the vertical belts 32 , 32a . as supply conveyor 50 transports the film wrapped poultry package in the direction of arrow y , conveyors 30 , 30a , moving in the same direction and at the same typically fixed speed as supply conveyor 50 , contact side portions of the film wrapped poultry package p and add significantly to the grip and control maintained on package p during continued transport towards the sealing mechanism . at the discharge end of horizontal supply conveyor 50 , the poultry package p is transferred to a horizontally oriented gapped conveyor 54 which facilitates completion of the transverse seals in the process of completing the poultry package p . gapped conveyor belt 56 is guided by and passes over a series of later described rollers to form an exaggerated &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; pattern when viewed from the side as best seen in fig3 . a further detailed view of the configuration and function of gapped conveyor 54 is seen in fig3 to be viewed together with fig2 . supply conveyor 50 discharges the poultry package p at the left of fig3 and transfers the poultry package p to gapped conveyor at this stage , it is to be understood that the transverse seals at the leading and trailing ends of the film wrapped poultry package p have not been completed . corner rollers a , b , c , d , seen in fig3 are mounted in fixed positions on the packaging machine frame ( not shown ). at least one of said rollers a , b , c or d is connected to a packaging machine drive means ( not shown ) to impart drive to gapped conveyor belt 56 in the direction indicated by arrow b ( fig2 ). center rollers e , f , g and h ( fig3 ) are mounted on a gapped conveyor frame 58 which reciprocates ( arrow e ) according to the cycle of the packaging machine as described in the previously referred to japanese patent application serial no . 4 - 121 , 444 . as gapped conveyor frame 58 moves during the transverse sealing operation from its solid line indicated position to its dashed line indicated position , gap g in gapped conveyor belt 56 moves accordingly . this change in position of gap g , at best seen in fig3 causes the upper left belt horizontal surface 62 of belt 56 and upper right horizontal belt surface 64 of belt 56 to vary reciprocally in length with respect to one another . that is , as the upper horizontal belt surface 62 and the upper right horizontal belt surface 64 reciprocate , belt surface 62 lengthens and belt surface 64 shortens as the frame 58 moves to the right as viewed in fig3 and belt surface 62 shortens and belt surface 64 lengthens as the frame 58 moves to the left as viewed in fig3 . throughout this reciprocation process , the belt 56 continues to move in the direction indicated by arrow b and at substantially the same speed as that of conveyors 30 , 30a and 50 . in the step of sealing and cutting the wrapping film , sealing bars j , j &# 39 ;, initially in the position shown in solid lines in fig3 move toward each other ( indicated by arrows c -- c ) to a sealing position , then travel together while in the sealing position along the path of conveyor belt 56 to the position shown in dashed lines , then separate ( indicated by arrows d -- d ), and lastly move backward to their initial positions . this reciprocating sealing bar travel system allows bars j , j &# 39 ; to maintain continuous contact with the wrapping film for the maximum time while not requiring the conveyor to slow or stop . the objective of the reciprocal movement of gap g is to allow sealing bars j , j &# 39 ; when sealing to travel along the direction of the conveyor belt as described above . the use of a gap conveyor with reciprocating sealing bars has been known as previously stated . however , it has not been known to provide a packaging machine with a conveyor of variable length to feed film wrapped packages to , and to operate in correspondence with , the reciprocating sealing mechanism as next described . gapped conveyor frame 58 is appropriately connected to frames 34 , 34a of vertical conveyors 30 , 30a by connecting linkage 60 , 60a so that as the upper right horizontal belt surface or run 62 of gapped conveyor 54 increases or decreases in length , the vertical belts 32a of the conveyors 30 , 30a simultaneously change length by an equivalent amount , as shown in dashed lines at 34 &# 39 ; in fig3 . in this manner , the belts 32 , 32a comprising conveyors 30 , 30a keep continuous contact with and control over the film wrapped poultry package p while it is being transported and sealed . while not illustrated , it is recognized that frames 34 , 34a may be mounted to be transversely slidably or otherwise connected to gap conveyor frame 58 in a manner which permits frames 34 , 34a to be adjusted transversely and the spacing between conveyor belts 30 , 30a to be adjusted to accommodate to various widths of the film wrapped package p as illustrated in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 137 , 099 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . as best illustrated in fig3 it will be noted that conveyor belts 30 , 30a in the retracted position , shown in solid lines , overlap run 62 of the gapped conveyor 54 and maintain this overlapping relation in the extended position shown in dashed lines in fig3 . throughout this change of position , it should be appreciated that conveyor belts 30 , 30a continue to move at their respective fixed speed and in the direction indicated . thus , very positive control of the film wrapped package p is maintained throughout the sealing cycle extending between arrows c -- c and d -- d . fig4 illustrates the construction of the conveyor 30 in top plan view to show the typical roller and belt configuration of the conveyors 30 , 30a . belt 32 is driven by roller 36 which is mounted on and driven by a packaging machine drive ( not shown ) and belt 32 travels in the direction of arrow x &# 39 ;. belt 32 wraps around idler rollers 38 , 39 whose locations are fixed on the packaging machine frame . belt 32 also wraps in serpentine fashion to form four parallel planar segments or runs which extend around movable end idler roller 40 and movable center idler roller 42 . both idler rollers 40 , 42 are mounted on movable frame 34 which is movable in either direction as indicated by arrow f ( fig4 ). as frame 34 moves left or right , both idler rollers 40 , 42 move in unison therewith and the run length l i increases or decreases accordingly while belt 32 continues to move in the direction of x &# 39 ; at its fixed speed . a physical limit is that frame 34 may only move right until movable center idler roller 42 approaches driver 36 to the extent that driving contact between driver roller 36 and belt 32 is not lost . however , appropriate modifications can be made to maximize the available movement of frame 34 . whereas the preferred embodiment of the variable conveyor belt invention is directed to a roller and belt configuration in which all runs of the variable length belt remain mutually parallel , the invention further recognizes , according to a second embodiment , that it is essential to maintain parallelism only between those runs of belt which vary in length . runs of belt which , in contrast , are fixed in length need not be parallel , adding to design flexibility . examples of two embodiments having divergent , or non - parallel , runs of belt are depicted in fig5 and 6 . a comparison is made between fig4 in which all runs of the packaging machine variable conveyor belt are parallel to each other and fig5 and 6 in which three runs of belt are parallel and one run is non - parallel . the line of lateral movement of the packaging machine belt length - modifying frame , illustrated as arrow f in fig4 arrow r in fig5 and arrow s in fig6 are to be considered the foundation to which parallelism is compared . fig5 shows runs 70 , 72 and 74 of the packaging machine variable conveyor belt 69 parallel to arrow r , and run 76 non - parallel thereto . run 72 of fig5 is moved laterally by frame 78 , while retaining a constant length . as the packaging machine frame 78 reciprocates , run 74 changes in length in inverse relation to the change in length of run 70 . since the runs which change length as the frame 78 moves laterally increase or decrease in length in complementary relation , the invention recognizes that runs 70 and 74 , consistent with the geometry , must remain parallel . the invention also recognizes that runs 72 and 76 which do not change length need not be parallel to each other , although in fig5 only run 76 is divergent . with continuing reference to fig5 as the packaging machine frame 78 moves from right to left that is , from the solid to the dashed line position , run 70 decreases length by the amount indicated by arrow r , and run 74 increases length by the length of arrow r . movement in the opposite direction causes the converse changes to occur . throughout the reciprocation of frame 78 , the conveyor belt 69 continuously rotates in the direction of arrow x2 and typically at a fixed speed . in fig6 a different version of this parallel / non - parallel configuration is illustrated . as shown , runs 80 , 84 and 86 of the packaging machine variable conveyor belt 79 are parallel to the movement indicated by arrow s . run 82 is not parallel thereto . since run 82 exists between the ends of the reciprocable packaging machine frame 88 , the invention recognizes that run 82 will not change in length and therefore need not be parallel to the movement indicated by arrow s . as frame 88 moves , run 80 and run 84 respectively increase and decrease length reciprocally . the variable conveyor belt 79 at the same time is continuously moving and conveying the film wrapped package ( not shown in fig6 ) in the direction of arrow x3 . though not illustrated , a third packaging machine variable belt configuration having a non - parallel run of belt is achieved by combining the divergent sides illustrated in fig5 and 6 , i . e . having both run 82 and run 86 divergent from the movement direction of the reciprocable packaging machine frame 88 . the provision of a film wrapped package transport conveyor which while running continuously in the transport direction is able to extend and retract in length and with one or more runs being non - parallel , increases the flexibility of the packaging machine design . the ability to vary the belt run angle and the pulley position furthermore allows accommodation to many special situations encountered in packaging machine design . as will be apparent from the description , the variable packaging machine conveyor belt of the invention is capable of being changed in operative run length in a variety of packaging machine applications . the principles of the invention are applicable to a variety of packaging machine belt systems without regard to the material of which the variable conveyor belt is made or how it might be constructed . thus , the term &# 34 ; belt &# 34 ; is intended to be used in a broad sense and to apply to solid flat belts as illustrated , chain - link belts , narrow belts , belts fitted with pushers and the like so long as at least one side of the belt is formed to engage and move the product being packaged along a defined path all of which will be understood by those skilled in the art . whereas the embodiments described relate to specific configurations and uses , they are not to be construed as limitations of the scope of the invention which is to be interpreted according to the claims which follow .	1
fig1 shows a transaction processing system including an embodiment of the pos terminal group management device ( referred to as a cluster controller , hereinafter ) of the present invention . in fig1 a plurality of electronic cash registers ( referred to as ecrs ) 12 corresponding to the pos terminal devices and a store controller 13 corresponding to the sales management device are connected to this cluster controller 11 . the ecr 12 registers data related to commodities ( e . g . a sum of money , the number of commodities , etc .) for commodity sales registration processing . the store controller 13 implements sales management . fig2 shows flows of telegraphic messages transmitted every day between the cluster controller and the store controller . fig3 a to 3d show messages transmitted from the store controller to the cluster controller , on which fig3 a shows a reset command message ; fig3 b shows a check time setting message ; fig3 c shows a totalization pattern setting message ; and fig3 d shows a start command message . fig4 a to 4c show messages transmitted from the cluster controller to the store controller , in which fig4 a shows a checked data message ; fig4 b shows an exact calculated data message ; and fig4 c shows an end notice message . the totalization includes check and calculation . the check processing is a totalization processing with regard to the registered data in the memory of the ecr in which the registered data in the memory of the ecr are kept stored , whereas the calculation processing is the totalization processing in which the registered data in the memory of the ecr are cleared . with reference to fig2 to 4 , the meanings of messages transmitted between the cluster controller and the store controller will be described hereinbelow . at a business start time in stores , a reset command message 10 , a check time setting message 20 ; a totalization pattern setting message 30 and a start command message 40 are transmitted from the store controller 13 to the cluster controller 11 . the reset command message 10 commands the cluster controller 11 to be reset . the check time setting message 20 is a message for determining a check time and an end time at each ecr 12 connected to the cluster controller 11 . the totalization pattern setting message 30 is a message for determining a range of totalized data collection for each ecr 12 . here , if a code indicative of check pattern or exact calculation pattern is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, only the terminal reports are collected . if &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, the terminal reports and reports for each person in charge ( referred to as person - in - charge reports ) are collected . if &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ;, the terminal reports , the person - in - charge reports , and reports for each section ( group of commodities ) ( referred to as section reports ) are collected . if &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ;, the terminal reports , the person - in - charge reports , the section reports , and reports for each plu ( price look - up ) ( referred to as plu reports ) are collected . the start command message 40 is a message to start the transmission of checked data or calculated data . in business time and at predetermined check times , the cluster controller 11 transmits the checked data message 50 transmitted from the ecr 12 to the store controller 13 . here , the checked data message 50 is composed of a code indicative of the kind of message ( e . g . &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;), a number data indicative of an ecr from which the message is transmitted , and a code &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; indicative of the kind of totalized data . if &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; is 1 , this indicates a terminal report , if 2 , this indicates a person - in - charge report ; if 3 , this indicates a section report , if 4 , this indicates a plu report . further , the cluster controller 11 transmits a calculated data message 60 transmitted from any ecr 12 to the store controller 13 from the time ti when the start command message 40 is received to the end time te when the business ends . here , the calculation data message 60 is composed of a code ( e . g . &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;) indicative of the kind of message , a number indicative of an ecr from which the message is transmitted , a code &# 34 ; x &# 34 ; indicative of the kind of totalized data , and a totalized data . the codes indicative of the kind of totalized data are the same as in the checked on a message . further , the cluster controller 11 transmits an end notice message 70 to the store controller 13 at end time te . fig5 a to 5c show messages transmitted between the ecrs and the cluster controller , in which fig5 a shows a message transmitted when a totalized data is requested ; fig5 b shows a message transmitted to check whether an exact calculation is completed or ended ; and fig5 c shows a message transmitted to instruct to release an exact calculation . at check times or at the determination of exact calculation end , the cluster controller 11 requests totalized data to ecr 12 . at this moment , a code &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; indicative of the kind of totalized data is included in the command 80 given from the cluster controller 11 to the ecr 12 and a response 90 returned from the ecr 12 to the cluster controller 11 in response to the command 80 . if &# 34 ; y &# 34 ; is &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, this indicates a terminal report ; if &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, this indicates a person - in - charge report ; if &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ;, this indicates a section report ; if &# 34 ; 4 &# 34 ;, this indicates a plu report . further , the cluster controller 11 checks whether ecr has already implemented exact calculation . at this moment , when a command 100 is given from the cluster controller 11 to the ecr 10 , ecr 12 returns a response 110 to the cluster controller 11 . this response 110 includes a code &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; which discriminates whether exact calculation is completed or not . if &# 34 ; z &# 34 ; is &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;, this indicates that exact calculation is not yet completed ; if &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, this indicates that exact calculation has been completed . further , to release exact calculation , the cluster controller 11 gives a command 120 to the ecr 12 . in response to this command , the ecr 12 clears all registered data and totalized data in the memory for exact calculation release , outputting a response 130 to the cluster controller 11 . fig6 is a schematic block diagram of an electrical construction of the cluster controller shown in fig1 . in fig6 the cluster controller 11 is provided with a cpu 14 , to which a rom 15 , a ram 16 , a store controller transmitter section 17 , an ecr transmitter section 18 , and a timer circuit 19 in the rom 15 an operation program for the cpu 14 based upon a flowchart shown in fig9 a and 9b ( described later ) is stored . in the ram 16 , a check time table as shown in fig7 and a totalization pattern table as shown in fig8 ( both described later ) are stored . the store controller transmitter section 17 intermediates data transmission between the cpu 14 and the store controller 13 , and the ecr transmitter section 18 intermediates data transmission between the cpu 14 and the ecr 12 . the timer circuit 19 indicates the current time . fig7 shows a check time table stored in the ram 16 shown in fig6 and fig8 shows a totalization pattern table stored in the ram 16 shown in fig6 . in fig7 the contents of the check time setting message 20 shown in fig3 b are stored in this check time table . in fig8 the contents of the totalization pattern setting message 30 shown in fig3 c are stored in this totalization pattern table . fig9 a and 9b are flowcharts for assistance in explaining the operation of an embodiment of the present invention . with reference to fig1 to 9b , the operation of the embodiment will be described in detail hereinbelow . in the cluster controller 11 , the cpu 14 discriminates whether the store controller 13 transmits a message . if a message from the store controller 13 is received , the cpu 14 discriminates whether the received message is a reset command message 10 . when this reset command is received , the cluster controller 11 stops transmitting a totalized data to the store controller 13 . on the other hand , if the message is not the reset command message 10 , the cpu 14 discriminates whether the message is a check time setting message 20 or not . if a check time setting message 20 , the cpu 14 stores a check time data and an end time data included in the message in the check time table shown in fig7 . on the other hand , if not the check time setting message 20 , the cpu discriminates whether the message is the totalization pattern setting message 30 or not . if a totalization pattern setting message 30 , a totalization pattern of each ecr is stored in the totalization pattern table shown in fig8 . on the other hand , if not the totalization pattern setting message 30 , the cpu 14 discriminates whether the message is a start command message 40 or not . if a start command message 40 , the cpu discriminates whether the current time is an end time on the basis of an end time data stored in the check time table and the current time data given from the timer circuit 19 . if the current time is an end time , an end notice message 70 is transmitted to the store controller 13 , returning to the initial conditions . on the other hand , if not the end time , the cpu discriminates whether the current time is a check time or not . if any one of check times tl to tn , a command 80 is applied to al the ecrs 12 connected to the cluster controller 11 . for instance , when the check pattern of the ecr 12 includes a terminal report and a person - in - charge report , since y is 1 and 2 , a command &# 34 ; 11 &# 34 ; indicative of terminal report transmission and a command &# 34 ; 12 &# 34 ; indicative of person - in - charge report transmission are transmitted . therefore , a response 90 including a terminal report and a response 90 including a person - in - charge report are transmitted from the ecr 12 to the cluster controller 11 . when the cluster controller 11 receives a response 90 including a totalized data from the ecr 12 , a checked data message 50 is edited and then transmitted to the store controller 13 . the above operation is effected to all the ecr 12 . on the other hand , if not the check time , the cpu checks for each ecr 12 whether exact calculation has been completed or not ; that is , the cluster controller 11 gives a command 100 to each ecr 2 . and , when a response 110 including a code indicative of exact calculation completion is given from the ecr 12 , a command 80 indicative of totalized data in given . when a response 90 is given from the ecr 12 , an exact calculation data message 60 is edited and transmitted to the store controller 13 . therefore , a command 120 is given to the ecr 12 to release the exact calculation of the ecr , so that a response 130 is returned from the ecr 12 . the above - mentioned operation is made for all the ecrs 12 in which exact calculation has been completed . after the checking operation and the exact calculating operation have been implemented for all the ecrs , control returns to a routine for discriminating whether the current time reaches an end time . as described above , since only necessary data are collected in accordance with check pattern or exact calculation pattern previously determined for each ecr and then transmitted to the store controller , the processing efficiency can be improved . as described above , in the pos terminal group management device of the present invention , since the transmission of necessary totalized data is requested in accordance with totalization pattern information stored for each pos terminal device whenever the transmission of totalized data is commanded and further the totalized data are transmitted to the sales management device when the totalized data are transmitted from the pos terminal device , it is possible to eliminate the transmission of useless data and therefore to quickly obtain sales information processing results , thus allowing operators of the pos terminal devices and the sales management device to go home earlier without working extra hours or overtime .	6
referring now to the drawings in detail , wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several figures , reference numeral 10 indicates the article display stand of the present invention . the article display stand 10 comprises just two types of components with two of each type used to assemble the stand . the first type of component utilized in the stand 10 is the vertical support member 12 generally formed in a semicylindrical shape having an inner concave surface 14 , an outer convex surface 16 , side edges 18 , 18 and top and bottom edges 20 , 20 . the side edges are preferably formed in a slight concave configuration to enhance the overall aesthetic effect of the stand 10 . as seen best in fig3 the side edges 18 , 18 are preferably formed of greater thickness then the major portion of the semicylindrical vertical support member 12 to enhance the strength of the side edges in securing the vertical support members to the second component used in the article display stand 10 . the vertical support members 12 are preferably molded of a polycarbonate thermoplastic material such as lexan . the polycarbonate thermoplastic material is preferably molded in a transparent form although a coloring material may be used to vary the overall look of the stand . other equivalent polycarbonates may be used so long as they provide good dimensional stability and high impact strength as lexan polycarbonate . the second component is the horizontal support member 22 with one member being used as a lower end 24 and a second member being used as an upper end 26 . each support member 22 includes a flat planar outer surface 28 and an inner surface 30 formed with spacer elements 32 and retainer elements 34 to position and support the vertical support members 12 . both the spacer elements 32 and the retainer elements 34 are preferably integrally molded with the inner surface 30 although the elements 32 and 34 could be separately formed and then joined to the inner surface 30 by the use of a suitable fastening means such as adhesive . it is preferred , however , that the horizontal support member 22 be molded in one piece of the same type of plastic material used for the vertical support members 12 although the horizontal support members will generally be opaque . as shown , the horizontal support members 22 are circular in shape although other shapes may be used to vary the design appearance . the spacer elements 32 are preferably c - shaped although other shapes may be utilized to perform the same function , namely , to provide a curved segment against which the concave surface 14 of the vertical support member 12 can be placed to restrain movement of the vertical support member when a load is placed thereon . to attach the vertical support member 12 to the horizontal support member 22 , the retainer elements 34 are provided in a u - shaped configuration having leg sections 36 and a bight section 38 . an opening 40 is formed between leg sections 36 with the width of the opening 40 between leg sections 36 being slightly smaller than the thickness of the side edges 18 to thus provide a tight friction grasp of the vertical support members . as been best in fig3 the spacer elements 32 and the retainer elements 34 are positioned on the inner surface 30 so that a space 42 is formed between the two vertical support members 12 when in position . this space not only permits a more rapid assembly of parts but the space adds to the aesthetic look of the assembled stand 10 . the parts are preferably shipped to the user in unassembled condition with a horizontal support member 12 placed within the concave portion of an adjacent member in stacked fashion so that only a small container need be used to ship a large number of stands 10 . assembly of an article display stand 10 is fairly obvious from the preceeding description . one of the horizontal support members 22 is selected and placed on a planar surface with the inner surface 30 facing upwardly . a first vertical support member 12 is placed about the spacer element 32 and the side edges 18 are press fitted into the openings 40 of two of the retainer elements 34 until the bottom edge 20 lies against the inner surface 30 . in similar fashion , a second vertical support member 12 is attached thereto and a second horizontal support member is then placed in position on top of the vertical support members 12 and the side edges 18 are press fitted into the retainer elements 34 until the top edges 20 of the vertical support members 12 lie against the inner surface 30 of the horizontal support member . the large amount of bearing surface between the vertical support members and the horizontal support members insures that the assembled stand 10 is extremely stable and strong . there has thus been provided an article display stand that can be quickly assembled and disassembled using just two different types of molded parts and which efficiently attains the objects set forth above . since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matters contained in the above description or as shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	0
shown in fig1 is a lamp assembly 100 that includes an inner assembly 102 having a light source 104 and electronics member or board , often referred to as a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 106 , and a holder 108 that interconnects the light source and the electronics board so that the inner assembly can be handled as a sub - assembly . enclosing the inner assembly is an outer envelope or bulb 120 which is preferably a light transmissive material such as glass that encloses an inner cavity dimensioned to receive the inner assembly therein . more particularly , the outer envelope adopts the general conformation of an a - line lamp that has an enlarged generally spherical portion 122 at one end and a flare or neck portion 124 at the other end interconnected with the spherical portion by tapering region 126 . the outer envelope has a generally constant wall thickness that terminates in an opening at a first end 128 disposed adjacent a conventional electrically conductive base 140 , shown here as a threaded edison base 140 . the threaded base is separated from an end contact 142 by an insulating material 144 . the base , and particularly the contact 142 and threaded region 140 thereof , are received in an associated lamp socket ( not shown ) to establish electrical and mechanical connection of the lamp assembly . of course , other lamp bases such as conventional plug - in type connections that establish mechanical and electrical connection between the lamp assembly and an associated electrical socket can be used without departing from the scope and intent of the present disclosure . fig2 more particularly illustrates the inner assembly 102 , although the entire light source is not shown for ease of illustration . the light source as illustrated here is a compact fluorescent lamp ( cfl ) 150 that includes first and second ends or legs 152 , 154 that extend generally parallel to one another and in a longitudinal direction that is generally parallel to a central lamp axis of the lamp assembly 100 . these legs house the electrodes at opposite ends of an elongated discharge path that includes each leg and an intermediate discharge path which in this embodiment is a helical or spiral lamp arrangement 156 . the legs are received in the holder 108 , which more particularly includes a platform 170 that includes first and second openings 172 , 174 that closely receive legs 152 , 154 of the cfl , respectively . the platform further includes an outer tapered perimeter 176 that substantially conforms to the tapered region 126 of the outer envelope . disposed adjacent the tapered perimeter 176 is a shoulder 178 that receives a resilient ring or sealing o - ring 180 to slidably and sealingly engage with the inner surface of the tapering region 126 of the outer envelope . the tapered perimeter and o - ring provides for desired positioning and location of the inner assembly 102 within the outer envelope . preferably , the holder is formed of a heat - resistant material such as plastic and has sufficient rigidity and strength to provide a stable mounting of the cfl within the outer envelope . further , the holder includes a passage 182 ( fig4 ) that communicates between a first or upper side 184 and a second or lower side 186 . the passage 182 is provided to supply pressurized fluid , such as air , during a re - sealing process of the outer envelope which will be more particularly described below . extending from the second side 186 of the holder are circumferentially spaced legs 188 ( fig3 ). the legs preferably have retaining shoulders 190 dimensioned for snap - fit engagement with the electronics board 106 via legs 200 having similar retaining shoulders 202 on the electronics board that cooperate with the retaining shoulders 190 . the electronics board also includes a disk or platform 204 that includes a slot 206 to receive a vertically extending portion of the pcb which carries various electrical components 210 . it will be appreciated that the component is merely illustrative of one electrical component that may be disposed on the electronics board , and should not be intended to limit the construction . for example , other electrical components 212 may be disposed on an upper surface of the platform 204 to allow ease of connection with the legs 152 , 154 of the cfl source . the inner assembly 102 , as generally illustrated in fig2 , and as embodied into the lamp assembly as shown in fig3 and 4 , may be pre - assembled as a sub - assembly . as is apparent from fig3 and 4 , the diameter of the cfl source 150 is larger than the diameter or transverse dimension of the neck portion 124 of the outer envelope . in order to assemble the lamp , it becomes necessary to cut the outer envelope 120 into first and second portions 120 a , 120 b along separation or parting plane 220 . once separated , the inner assembly 102 is inserted by directing the electronics board end initially inward into the lower portion 120 b of the outer envelope . once the inner assembly is fixed or retained in secured relation in a manner to be described below , the outer envelope is re - sealed along the plane 220 to define a one - piece outer envelope again . as a part of the outer envelope arrangement , it becomes necessary to secure or fix the inner assembly thereto . this disclosure describes three preferred ways to accomplish fixing of the inner assembly to the outer envelope . with continued reference to fig1 - 4 , attention is directed to fig5 - 8 which illustrate a first preferred arrangement generally referred to as a ratchet assembly or ratchet mechanism 250 . the ratchet assembly includes a first ratchet member 252 , which in the preferred arrangement is a generally elongated , generally l - shaped component having an enlarged head 254 at one end and a toothed portion 256 extending along the elongated leg thereof . the enlarged head 254 ( fig9 - 11 ) has a dimension greater than opening 258 provided in a vertically extending portion 208 of the electronics board . in this manner , the l - shaped ratchet member 252 is extended through the opening until the enlarged head 254 abuts adjacent the opening 258 . this provides a secure connection between the first ratchet member 252 and the inner assembly . the elongated leg of the first ratchet member is then received through a support member 260 and particularly , a central opening 262 therein ( fig5 - 8 and 12 - 14 ). the support member has a maximum dimension adapted to abuttingly engage against the first , lower end 128 of the outer envelope . a first surface 264 includes a central boss 266 , while the opposite face 268 includes a locating means such as a cruciform - shaped arrangement 270 that is dimensioned for receipt within the inner diameter of the first end of the outer envelope . in addition to the ratchet member 252 and the support member 260 , the ratchet assembly 250 further includes a toothed insert 280 that includes an irregular perimeter 282 , such as a polygon shape , that conforms to the opening 262 in the support member 260 . the insert 280 further includes a toothed portion 284 that extends at least partially into passage 286 for selective cooperative engagement with the toothed portion 256 of the ratchet member 252 ( fig5 - 8 and 15 - 16 ). fig1 - 20 illustrate a second mechanism , hereinafter referred to as a “ spring assembly ”, for fixing the inner assembly to the outer envelope . more particularly , the opening 258 in the vertical portion of the electronics board is advantageously used to grab or grip the inner assembly and urge the inner assembly inwardly into the outer envelope . the spring mechanism 300 is configured so that spring 302 is preferably a single - piece construction that has a first portion that engages the inner assembly , and a second portion that engages the outer envelope and imparts a spring force or tension on fixing the inner assembly to the outer envelope . that is , a first leg 304 of the spring has an enlarged loop 306 with a necked - down region 308 received through the opening 258 in the electronics board . thus , the loop 306 is oriented for insertion through the opening in the electronics board , and the entire spring then rotated through ninety degrees ( 90 °) so that the loop prevents inadvertent removal of the spring from the electronics board . the loop may also have a slightly upturned configuration ( fig1 ) for further retention capabilities as the inner assembly is inserted or advanced toward the neck of the outer envelope . as will be appreciated , the overall lateral dimension of the spring is preferably maintained less than the opening in the first end 128 of the outer envelope . in this manner , the inner assembly with the spring attached as described above can be fed toward the narrowed opening in end 128 . the second portion or second leg 310 of the spring is actually formed as separate legs for symmetry reasons and for evenly distributing the forces imposed on the inner assembly . thus , reverse loop portions 312 terminate in elongated legs 310 . as is apparent in fig1 - 19 , the second legs are dimensioned to extend across the entire opening at the first end 128 of the outer envelope when the spring is positioned in a generally perpendicular relation to the lamp axis or , stated another way , when the second legs are generally disposed in plane or in abutting engagement with the first end of the outer envelope . the reverse loop portions 312 extend beyond the periphery of the first end of the envelope , while the linear leg portions terminate generally diametrically opposite and also beyond the perimeter of the first end of the outer envelope . in this manner , the first leg 304 of the spring has a natural tendency to seek to be in plane with the second leg portions 310 . this provides the tension or inward pulling force on the inner assembly and seats the o - ring and tapered portion of the holder against the inner surface of the outer envelope . fig2 demonstrates that spring 302 ′ can adopt a slightly different variation where the linear leg portions 310 include curved ends 316 . otherwise , the spring 302 ′ of fig2 is substantially identical in structure and function to that shown relative to fig1 - 19 . a third manner of fixing the inner assembly to the outer envelope is also contemplated . specifically , this arrangement provides for a glue or an adhesive solution to fix the inner assembly to the outer envelope . preferably , a two - component silicon or hot - melt adhesive is used . the hot - melt adhesive is placed in a cup and base of the outer envelope at the same time and a twisting action undertaken between the two so that at a temperature of approximately 200 ° c ., the adhesive is spread about the perimeter of the electronics board . once the adhesive cools , the adhesive becomes solid and maintains the tension between the electronics board and the base portion of the outer envelope . if desired , the hook or wire can provide a temporary pulling force on the inner assembly to hold the inner assembly in a desired location until the adhesive cures . it is also contemplated that these fixing features be potentially used with the lamp base and without an outer envelope . thus , any of the fixing methodologies described above , that is , the ratchet mechanism , the spring mechanism , or the adhesive arrangement by which the inner assembly is fixed to the outer envelope may find application in securing the cfl source , holder , and electronics board to the remainder of a lamp base . in summary , a new lamp assembly includes a special inner structure that requires a new fixing mechanism for the inner assembly to the outer bulb or envelope . preferably , fixing is accomplished via the electronics board . in the torsion spring arrangement , the spring is attached to the electronics boards of the ballast assembly through a hole , and another portion of the spring aligns to a base circumference of the outer envelope . in the ratchet arrangement , the base plate aligns to a base circumference of the outer envelope . the base plate and the electronics board are then attached to each other by an l - shaped ratchet ribbon / rod . the ratchet base may be part of the plate or a separate element . in the adhesive arrangement , the glue / adhesive filled base is attached to the outer envelope where the electronics board is partially embedded in the glue . as a result of this fixing of the inner assembly to the outer envelope , a last degree of freedom of the inner assembly is fixed . testing shows that a pull force of 30 to 100 newtons is obtained and less than 10 newtons is likely needed . the disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description . it is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations .	7
fig1 illustrate a conventional scanner 10 used in conjunction with a computer system ( not shown ) for acquiring an electronic image of an object 12 ( shown in fig2 and 3 ) such as a photograph or text document . scanner 10 generally includes housing 14 containing guide 16 allowing linear movement of scanner carriage 18 . carriage 18 is mounted below a transparent scanning surface 20 that supports object 12 . to illuminate object 12 carriage 18 includes lamp 22 and reflector 24 . lamp 22 and reflector 24 are mounted in carriage 18 to focus light up through scanning surface 20 onto object 12 . scanner 10 also includes cover 26 having backing 28 . referring to fig2 and 3 , an object 12 to be scanned is placed on scanning surface 20 and cover 26 is closed sandwiching object 12 between scanning surface 20 and backing 28 . with lamp 22 illuminated , carriage 18 passes linearly underneath object 12 . light from lamp 22 reflects off object 12 back onto an array of photosensitive devices such as a charge coupled device ( ccd ) array 30 in carriage 18 . discerning the intensity of the reflected light , ccd array 30 generates an electrical signal allowing the computer system to produce a digitized representation of object 12 . some light also reaches backing 28 . this occurs in areas outside the edges or within punch holes of object 12 . where object 12 is transparent or opaque , some light passes directly through object 12 reaching backing 28 . the backing 28 illustrated in fig2 is constructed a high reflectance and generally light colored or white material . consequently , much of the light reaching backing 28 , either directly or through object 12 is reflected back to ccd array 30 . the backing 28 ′ illustrated in fig3 is constructed from a low reflectance and generally dark or black material . consequently , much if not all of the light reaching backing 28 ′ is absorbed rather than reflected . referring now to fig4 - 12 , the present invention lies in the construction of cover 40 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig4 - 7 , backing 42 is an endless belt 44 rotatable around tension rollers 46 and 48 and partially enclosed within shell 50 . endless belt 44 has a first high reflectance section 52 and a second low reflectance section 54 . for example , first section 52 may be white , while second section 54 may be black . in fig4 and 5 , crank 56 coupled to tension roller 48 allows endless belt 44 to be manually rotated into a desired position . referring to fig6 endless belt 44 may instead be automatically rotated by motor 58 engaging tension roller 48 . it is envisioned that motor 58 will be a stepper motor accurately directed by a series of electrical pulses generated by controller 60 . advantageously , endless belt 44 can be easily removed and replaced when damaged or interchanged with another belt having sections with different levels of reflectance . with first section 52 rotated into place adjacent to object 12 , as shown in fig4 light reaching first section 52 is reflected back to ccd array 30 . with cover 40 closed and second section 54 rotated into place adjacent to object 12 , light reaching backing 42 is absorbed rather than reflected . alternatively , endless belt 44 may have more than two sections each having a specified reflectance . for example , in addition to including high and low reflectance sections , endless belt 44 can include additional sections having varying levels of reflectance . the possible combinations are infinite . the increased area needed for additional sections can be obtained by increasing the circumference of endless belt 44 . this increased circumference can be managed with additional tension rollers 62 , 63 , and 64 as illustrated in fig7 . in the embodiment of cover 40 illustrated in fig8 backing 42 is a removable panel 66 held in a slot created by grips 68 and 70 . panel 66 has a first side 72 having a first reflectance and a second side 74 having a second reflectance . with cover 40 open , panel 66 can be manually removed and replaced so as to expose either the first or the second side 72 or 74 . for example , first side 72 may be white and second side 74 may be black . where a backing with a high reflectance is desired , panel 66 is placed between grips 68 and 70 such that first side 72 is exposed . when cover 40 is then closed , first side 72 will be immediately adjacent to the object being scanned . when a backing with a low reflectance is desired , panel 66 is removed and replaced such that second side 74 is exposed . panel 66 can be easily replaced if damaged or can be interchanged with another panel when other reflectance levels are desired . in the embodiment of cover illustrated in fig9 - 12 , backing 42 includes a first polarizer 76 , second rotatable polarizer 78 affixed to reflective panel 80 . polarizers 76 and 78 are rotatable relative to one another in order to vary the amount light from lamp 22 that reaches reflective panel 68 . light can be represented as a transverse electromagnetic wave . imagine , for example , a length of rope held by two children at opposite ends , the children begin to displace the ends of the rope in such a way that the rope moves in a plane either up and down , left and right , or any angle in between . ordinary white light is made up of such waves that fluctuate at all possible angles . light is considered to be linearly polarized when it contains waves that only fluctuate in one specific plane . it is as if the rope in the example is strung through a picket fence . the wave can only move up and down in a vertical plane . a polarizer is a material that only allows only light with a specific angle of vibration to pass through while it absorbs the rest . the direction of fluctuation passed by the polarizer is referred to as the polarizer &# 39 ; s optical axis . if two polarizers are set up in series so that their optical axes are parallel , light passes through both . however , if the polarizers are rotated relative to one another until their optical axes are perpendicular , the polarized light passing through the first will be absorbed by the second . as the polarizers are rotated in relation to one another and the angle between their optical axes varies from zero to ninety degrees , the amount of light passing through both polarizers decreases proportionally . in fig1 , the optical axes of the first and second polarizers 76 and 78 are parallel . in fig1 , polarizer 78 is rotated until those axes are perpendicular to one another . fig1 illustrates the configuration generating a maximum effective reflectance with the greatest amount of light reaching reflective panel 80 and reflecting back to ccd array 30 . fig1 , on the other hand , illustrates the configuration producing a minimum effective reflectance with polarizers 76 and 78 absorbing all light before it reaches reflective panel 80 . the effective reflectance can be tuned to any desired level between the minimum and maximum levels by adjusting the angle between the optical axes of polarizers 76 and 78 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig9 - 11 , second polarizer 78 and attached reflective panel 80 are manually rotated using dial 82 . dial 82 includes knob 84 coupled to shaft 86 passing through shell 50 . shaft 86 is then coupled to reflective panel 80 . turning knob 84 rotates reflective panel 80 and the attached second polarizer 78 . in one version , dial 82 may also include lever 88 and gauge 90 . lever 88 extends radially outward from knob 84 across the surface of shell 50 allowing for a more accurate rotation and placement of second polarizer 78 . lever 88 is placed such that when it points to one end of gauge 90 , the optical axes of polarizers 76 and 78 are parallel . when lever 88 is rotated so that it points to the other end of gauge 90 , the optical axes of polarizers 76 and 78 are perpendicular . cover 40 may include stops 92 for holding dial 82 and joined second polarizer 78 stationary in one of many predetermined positions . alternatively , second polarizer 78 can be automatically rotated by motor 94 as illustrated in fig1 . it is envisioned that motor 94 will be a stepper motor accurately directed by a series of electrical pulses generated by controller 96 . although the invention has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible , and variations of and modifications to the embodiments shown and described may be made , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in following claims .	7
the first step in the reaction requires reacting chlorotrifluoroethylene with a methyl halide to form an intermediate product stream . the methyl halide may be methyl chloride , methyl fluoride or methyl bromide , however , methyl chloride is preferred . the reactor for the first step consists of a heated empty tube . the material of construction should be inert to by - product hcl and small amounts of hf that are generally formed . monel , inconel , and nickel are among the best . the first reaction step may be conducted in a vapor phase at a temperature of from about 500 ° c . to about 1000 ° c ., preferably from about 600 ° c . to about 900 ° c . and more preferably from about 650 ° c . to about 750 ° c . methyl halide and ctfe are fed into the first reactor at an approximately equal molar ratio . however , the ratio of ctfe to methyl halide can range from about 0 . 7 to about 1 . 5 , and preferably from about 0 . 9 and to about 1 . 1 . the contact time between the chlorotrifluoroethylene and the methyl halide in the first step a ) ranges from more than 0 seconds to about five seconds . satisfactory results are obtained with contact times that are in the range of from about 0 . 5 second to about 3 seconds . these contact times may be achieved by adjusting the usual parameters of pressure , temperature , and feed rate . effluent from the first reactor is comprised of a mixture of compounds including by - product hcl , unreacted ctfe , unreacted methyl halide , and the reaction products including c 3 h 2 clf 3 isomers , such as cf 2 ═ cfch 2 cl , cf 2 ═ chchclf , cfcl ═ chchf 2 , hcf 2 cf ═ chcl , and chlorotrifluorocyclopropane , c 3 h 3 cl 2 f 3 isomers such as hcf 2 cfclch 2 cl and hcfclcf 2 ch 2 cl and dehydrofluorination products such as isomers of c 3 h 2 cl 2 f 2 derived from them . the reactions are conducted in a continuous mode . preferably , but not necessarily , the second reaction step b ) may be conducted in a second reactor which is of the same or similar configuration to that of the first reactor . preferably the second reaction step is also conducted in a vapor phase . preferably both the first and second reaction steps are conducted in a vapor phase . preferably the intermediate product stream is reacted in a second reactor and the bulk of these intermediate products are converted into cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 as the main product ( hfc - 245fa , and minor amounts of other hydrofluorocarbons may also be formed ). the intermediate product stream of the first reactor is fed , along with hf , into the second reactor which contains a fluorination catalyst such as well known vapor phase fluorination catalysts . non - limiting examples of such vapor phase fluorination catalysts include activated carbon , activated carbon impregnated with metal salts , chromium oxide ( chromia ), and fluorinated chromium oxide . chromium oxide and fluorinated chromium oxide are preferred . stoichiometry requires only one mole of hf per mole of ctfe fed into the first reactor , but up to 5 equivalents may be added to adjust flow rates or maximize conversion and yield . typically 1 - 2 moles of hf per mole of ctfe are added . the temperature range for the second step b ) depends on catalyst reactivity and stability . in a preferred embodiment , step b ) is conducted at a temperature of from about 225 ° c . to about 575 ° c . in a more preferred embodiment step b ) is conducted at a temperature of from about 275 ° c . to about 560 ° c . in a still more preferred embodiment step b ) is conducted at a temperature of from about 280 ° c . to about 550 ° c . typical resulting effluent from the second reactor is comprised of a mixture of primarily hcl , hf , cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 , and hfc - 245fa and minor amounts of methyl chloride , methyl fluoride , c 3 h 2 f 4 isomers , such as hcf 2 cf ═ chf , and chlorofluoropropenes . preferably hfo - 1234yf is thereafter separated from the result , such as by distillation . since the boiling points of the two principle products differ widely , it is not difficult to separate hfo - 1234yf and hfc - 245fa via distillation of the crude product mixture . it is however , advantageous to maximize the conversion of the starting materials . chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ctfe ) vapor ( 0 . 01 mol / min ) and methyl chloride ( 0 . 01 mol / min ) are mixed and fed into a 50 cc nickel tube reactor ( r1 ), heated electrically to 650 ° c . at a residence time of about 2 seconds . the conversion of chlorotrifluoroethylene is about 90 % while the conversion of methyl chloride is about 95 %, as determined by analysis of samples taken at the reactor exit . the effluent gases from the first reactor are then fed into a second reactor ( r2 ), along with hf at 0 . 01 mol / min . the second reactor contains 75 cc of fluorinated chromium oxide catalyst heated to 325 ° c . the contact time in the second reactor is thus about 5 seconds . the main 3 - carbon species in the effluent of the second reactor is cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 ( 72 % of the components with more than 2 carbon atoms as determined by gc area % and ms analysis ). example 2 is conducted with the first reactor using methyl fluoride instead of methyl chloride . in this case , cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 is formed directly , but the conversion is substantially lower for both chlorotrifluoroethylene and methyl fluoride , and the yield of cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 ( as a percent of materials with more than two carbon atoms ) decreases to 37 %. examples 3 - 6 are conducted in a manner similar to that of example 1 , using different ratios of reactants and different reaction temperatures . the output table gives the amounts of components after the second fluorination reactor . chlorotrifluoroethylene ( ctfe ) vapor ( 0 . 01 mol / min ) and a methyl halide ( 0 . 01 mol / min ) are mixed and fed into a 50 cc nickel tube reactor ( r1 ), heated electrically to 650 ° c . at a residence time of about 2 seconds . the effluent gases from the first reactor are then fed into a second reactor ( r2 ), along with hf at 0 . 01 mol / min . the second reactor contains 75 cc of fluorinated chromium oxide catalyst heated to 325 ° c . the contact time in the second reactor is thus about 5 seconds . the main 3 - carbon species in the effluent of the second reactor is cf 3 cf ═ ch 2 . example 7 is conducted several times wherein the methyl halide is methyl fluoride , methyl chloride , and methyl bromide respectively . similar results are noted . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments , it will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover the disclosed embodiment , those alternatives which have been discussed above and all equivalents thereto .	2
fig3 illustrates diagrammatically an electron microscope incorporating our invention . since this microscope contains many of the same components described above in connection with fig1 , the same numeric identifiers are used to refer to those similar components in the description of fig3 . the fig3 tem is similar to the fig1 instrument in that it includes a housing 12 , with a window 16 in a wall of the housing &# 39 ; s observation chamber 14 that allows an operator o to view the interior of that chamber . an electron gun 18 at the top of housing 12 transmits an electron beam e along an optical axis a through a specimen s . however , the fig3 microscope differs markedly from conventional tems in that the electron beam e passing through specimen s is projected onto a direct viewing plate indicated at 60 which shows the tem image from both sides of the plate . more particularly , plate 60 comprises a transparent substrate 60 a , e . g . of glass . the top surface of that substrate is covered by a transparent , electrically conductive coating , e . g . indium tin oxide , which constitutes a transparent electrode 60 b , which may be electrically grounded by way of the wall of housing 12 . electrode 60 b is , in turn , coated with a scintillator 60 c , such as phosphor p 20 or p 43 , depending on the desired wavelength of the light emissions from plate 60 . fig3 shows another direct viewing plate embodiment 61 which may be used in lieu of plate 60 . plate 61 is constructed as a composite of an upper later 61 a and a lower layer 61 b of phosphor separated by an electrically conductive , light - reflecting opaque film 61 c , which may be electrically grounded by way of the wall of housing 12 . this composite structure can be either self - supporting or it can be deposited on a glass substrate 61 d . the top phosphor layer 61 a may be viewed from above while the bottom phosphor layer 61 b is viewed from below , each layer being optimized for its individual purpose . the tem embodiment depicted in fig3 happens not to include a permanent image recording unit such as unit 32 in fig1 . rather , an electronic camera 62 is mounted to the bottom wall of housing 12 by way of a lens device 64 whose optical axis is coincident with axis a . a port 66 with a window 66 a may be provided in the bottom wall of housing 12 for this purpose . the lens device 64 has a focal length that optically couples camera 62 to the scintillator 60 c of plate 60 . when the fig3 tem is in operation , the direct viewing plate 60 responds to the electron beam e by producing a visible image at its upper surface which corresponds to the structure of specimen s . since plate 60 is transparent , the visible light emissions λ produced by the scintillator 60 c may be seen from above the plate by an operator o looking through window 16 . light emissions λ also pass through the transparent electrode 60 b and the transparent substrate 60 a and thus may be viewed from below the plate by camera 62 . in the case of plate 61 , both phosphor layers 61 a and 61 b will produce identical visible images of the specimen s in response to beam e so that the plate 61 as a whole may be viewed from above and below in the same way as plate 60 . the transparent direct viewing plate 60 or 61 is located at the “ sweet spot ” of the tem . this is the location in the housing at which the field of view is relatively large , yet the magnification of the image projected onto plate 60 or 61 is high enough to operate the tem at its highest resolution . resultantly , the images captured by the camera and recorded by monitor 28 ( fig1 ) have optimum resolution and sensitivity as compared with the camera images of prior tems developed on dedicated camera screens located above or below the direct viewing plate as in fig2 . thus , the fig3 tem offers the best of both worlds in that it allows the operator o to view the image on plate 60 or 61 while aligning beam e and surveying specimen s using the control units 24 and 26 shown in fig1 , while that very same image is being captured in real time by camera 62 for display and / or recording by monitor 28 . fig4 shows a tem embodiment in which an electronic camera indicated at 70 is fiberoptically coupled directly to the underside of a transparent direct viewing plate 72 which may be similar to plate 60 or 61 . in this case , a fiberoptic faceplate 74 is incorporated into the transparent substrate of viewing plate 72 and the camera comprises a ccd sensor 76 optically coupled to the faceplate . if necessary , sensor 76 may be cooled by a thermoelectric cooler ( not shown ) positioned flush against the underside of the sensor . when the electron beam e impinges on plate 72 , the scintillator 60 c or 61 a thereof produces a visible image which may be viewed from above through window 16 . that very same image or an identical one is coupled by the faceplate 74 to sensor 76 which thereupon produces a corresponding output signal . that output signal may be applied to a monitor such as monitor 28 in fig1 which will provide a real time display of that image for simultaneous viewing and / or recording by the operator . as described at the outset , many tems in use today include a permanent image recording unit such as the photographic recording unit 32 in fig1 . this is because many operators consider a photographic image to be the image “ goal standard ” in terms of the resolution and overall quality of the image , even surpassing the quality of the images captured by present - day electronic cameras . fig5 illustrates a tem incorporating our invention which also includes a permanent image recording unit 32 as in fig1 and , as in fig1 , has a direct viewing plate 80 which may be moved by a rotary actuator 82 from a position wherein the plate is centered on axis a as shown in fig1 to the position shown in fig5 wherein the plate is swung up away from axis a . unlike the plate 22 in fig1 , however , the plate 80 in the fig5 tem is transparent and may be substantially identical to plate 72 in fig4 , i . e . it has an electronic camera 70 fiberoptically coupled to the underside of the plate . when that plate is centered on axis a and exposed to the electron beam e , the operator may view the visible image on plate 80 from above while that very same image is captured by the electronic camera 70 at the underside of that plate for display on monitor 28 ( fig1 ). on the other hand , when the direct viewing plate 80 is swung to the position shown in fig5 , the electron beam e may expose a film f on axis a in unit 32 to provide a permanent photographic quality copy of the image captured by the electron beam e . the fig5 tem could also incorporate a direct viewing plate similar to plate 60 or 61 in fig3 and have an underlying electronic camera on axis a that is lens - coupled to that plate . a camera such as this is shown in phantom at 84 in fig5 , connected via a lens device 86 to a port 88 in the bottom wall of recording unit 32 . when the direct viewing plate is centered on axis a as shown in fig3 and no film f is present on axis a , camera 84 may capture the visible image produced on plate 84 by the electron beam e . in this case , since the camera does not have a dedicated photosensitive screen inside unit 32 as in fig1 , the interior of unit 32 may be partitioned off from housing 12 and a window provided in the partition so that camera 84 may view plate 60 through that window . thus , a vacuum may be maintained in housing 12 when unit 32 is opened to remove or insert film f . although our invention may be incorporated into newly manufactured tems , most existing tems may be modified to include the invention using a relatively simple conversion kit consisting of a transparent direct viewing plate , such as plate 60 , to replace the existing opaque viewing plate , e . g . plate 22 ( fig1 ) and a lens device to replace the standard couplers , e . g . device 59 in fig1 , for coupling to the port 66 or 88 at the underside of housing 12 . that replacement device should be of the proper focal length to optically couple an electronic camera to the operative scintillator of the trans - parent plate 60 , 61 , 72 or 80 . it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those made apparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained and , since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the constructions set forth above without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention described herein .	7
the single - phase brushless alternator of fig1 comprises an output section 1 , an exciter section 2 and a feedback section 3 which are accomodated in an alternator housing which is not shown in the figure . the main field winding fm , the exciter secondary winding u and the feedback winding ff are all mounted on a rotor constructed so as to be rotated from a driving source about an axis within the housing and symbolized by the dotted line dc . stationary windings w , fx and v are respectively located within the alternator housing so that the winding w functions as a single - phase output winding magnetically coupled with the main field winding fm , the winding fx functions as an exciter primary winding coupled with the exciter secondary winding u and the winding v functions as a feedback secondary winding magnetically coupled with the feedback primary winding ff . the rotor on which the windings fm , u and ff are mounted comprises a first rotor core on which the exciter secondary winding u and the feedback winding ff are provided and a second rotor core on which the main field winding fm is provided . the first and second rotor cores are spaced apart axially from each other on a driving shaft and each rotor core is made up of a stack of rotor laminations stamped out of ferromagnetic material sheeting to form disks having a series of inwardly - extending radial slots via which the windings are provided on the respective rotor cores . the first rotor core is associated with a first stator core within which it rotates and the second rotor core is associated with a second stator core within which it rotates with the exciter primary winding fx and the feedback secondary winding v being provided on the first stator core and the output winding w being provided on the second stator core . in somewhat similar manner to the rotor core , each stator core is made of a stack of stator laminations likewise stamped out of ferro magnetic material sheeting in this case to form disks having a central aperture for accomodating the associated rotor core and from which radial slots extend via which windings are provided on the respective stator cores . the first and second stator cores are fixedly mounted relative to each other and are spaced apart so as to be respectively aligned with the first and second rotor cores . the laminations forming the respective rotor cores are dimensioned relative to the laminations forming their associated stator cores so that each rotor core is able to rotate within its associated stator core with a narrow air gap separating each rotor core from its associated stator core . accordingly , the main field winding fm is magnetically coupled with the output winding w by way of the second rotor core and the second stator core whereas by way of the first rotor core and the first stator core the exciter primary winding fx is magnetically coupled with the exciter secondary winding u and also the primary feedback winding ff is magnetically coupled with the secondary feedback winding v . the exciter section 2 operates as a conventional generator wherein a primary magnetic field set up by the winding fx results in generation of a voltage in the winding u which is connected to the main field winding fm via a rectifier d1 . the primary winding ff of the feedback section 3 is connected in series with the main field winding fm across the series combination of the winding u and rectifier d1 . by means of a full - wave rectifier system constituted by rectifiers d2 , d3 , d4 and d5 , the secondary feedback winding v of the feedback section 3 is connected to supply excitation current to the exciter primary winding fx . alternator output terminals 4 and 5 are connected to opposite ends of the single - phase output winding w . the exciter primary winding fx is shunted by a controlled bypass circuit 6 having a pair of input terminals 7 and 8 which are connected across the alternator output terminals 4 and 5 . the bypass circuit 6 is sensitive to the magnitude of the alternator outpput voltage present across the output terminals 4 and 5 . below a predetermined magnitude of alternator output voltage , the bypass circuit 6 is non - conductive but above that predetermined magnitude the bypass circuit 6 presents a low - impedence path in shunt with the winding fx thereby reducing the magnitude of the primary excitation current flow through the winding fx . the bypass circuit 6 may take any one of a variety of different forms . operation of the brushless alternator of fig1 is generally similar to that of the brushless alternators described in the afore - mentioned patent specification for australian patent application no . 37930 / 85 and briefly its operation is as follows . owing to the residual magnetism of stationary parts of the alternator , when the alternator rotor is driven a small voltage is generated across the winding u which causes a small rectified current to flow in the windings fm and ff . current through the winding ff produces a magnetic field mr which is fixed relative to the rotor . as the magnetic field mr moves relative to the stationary winding v , a voltage directly proportional to the level of the current in the winding ff is generated across the winding v . the alternating voltage developed across the winding v is fed to the rectifier bridge composed of the rectifiers d2 - d5 and the rectified output of the bridge is supplied as excitation current to the exciter primary winding fx . movement of the rotor within the exciter field produced by the current flow in the winding fx results in increased voltages being produced across the winding u and rectification of this voltage by the rectifier d1 causes a flow of direct current in the main field winding fm and also in the feedback winding ff . the magnetic flux due to the flow of the rectified current in the rotary main field winding fm causes an alternating voltage to be produced across the single - phase output winding w and the simultaneous flow of rectified current through the winding ff further increases the strength of the magnetic field mr . the winding v is designed so that its output voltage is slightly in excess of the voltage required to maintain the excitation current in the winding fx . in this way , a build - up of excitation current and of the alternator terminal voltage is ensured . it will be appreciated that the strength of the stationary magnetic field of the exciter section 2 of the alternator determines the level of the voltage generated across the winding u and hence determines the level the rectified voltage developed across the windings fm and ff and the level of the alternating output voltage produced across the terminals 4 and 5 . the controlled bypass circuit 6 functions as a monitoring circuit provided for the purpose of limiting the alternator terminal voltage build - up to a predetermined level . so long as the voltage produced across the terminals 4 and 5 is below a predetermined alternator output voltage level there is no current flow via the bypass circuit 6 . however , when the predetermined alternator output voltage is exceeded , the resultant flow of current via the bypass circuit 6 causes a reduction in the flow of excitation current in the winding fx . accordingly , the maximum level of the alternator terminal voltage developed across the terminals 4 and 5 is governed inter alia by the characteristics of the controlled bypass circuit 6 . those characteristics should be chosen to suit the terminal voltage required . the feedback system from the output section 1 to the exciter primary winding fx via the feedback alternator section 3 acts to increase or decrease the excitation level produced by the winding fx in accordance with variations of the load across the output terminals 4 and 5 . owing to electro magnetic induction , any load changes across the output terminals 4 and 5 of the alternator of fig1 are accompanied by an immediate change of current flow in the winding fm . that is to say , in response to load changes affecting the magnetic field due to the winding fm , current will be induced into the winding fm having a direction such as to neutralize the change of magnetic flux . thus , a step increase in the load across the terminals 4 and 5 promotes a step increase of the current in the winding fm . the magnitude of the change of current winding fm is directly related to the change of load or power factor and simultaneously a corresponding change in the magnetic field mr of the winding ff and of the alternating voltage developed across the winding v are produced thereby changing the current through the winding fx and changing the excitation required to maintain a new level of current flow through the winding fm . in this way , the required excitation for any load condition regardless of magnitude or power factor , is generated by the feedback system of the alternator of fig1 so that regulation over wide variation of alternator load and power factor may be achieved in accordance with the teachings of the aforementioned patent specification of australian patent application no . 37930 / 85 . as previously mentioned , the exciter primary winding fx is magnetically coupled with the exciter secondary winding u by way of the first stator core and the first rotor core and the primary feedback winding ff is magnetically coupled with the secondary feedback winding v also by way of the first stator core and the first rotor core . since a common magnetic circuit in the form of the first rotor core and the first stator core is shared for the transfer of power from the exciter primary winding fx to the exciter secondary winding u and for the transfer of power in the reverse direction from the feedback primary winding ff to the feedback secondary winding v there is the possible drawback of extraneous voltages being induced into the winding ff from the winding fx and / or of extraneous voltages being induced into the winding fx from the winding ff . such extraneous voltages could lead to unstable operation of one or more of the alternator sections 1 , 2 and 3 . there is moreover , the further possible drawback of the strength of the magnetic field set up by the exciter primary winding fx being reduced by the magnetic field set up by the feedback winding ff thereby weakening the main field produced by the winding fm and reducing the overall efficiency of the alternator . in accordance with the invention , the first stator core and the first rotor core are so constructed and the respective windings are so provided thereon as to minimize the aforesaid possible drawbacks or their effects . fig2 is a diagramatic cross - section illustrating an end view showing construction of the first stator core and of the first rotor core and the manner in which the windings ff , v , fx and u are provided thereon . in fig2 the first stator core is denoted by the letters sc and the first rotor core is denoted by the letters rc . in a conventional manner , the rotor core rc is made up of a stack of identical rotor laminations of ferro magnetic material clamped together to form the core which is rigidly mounted on the driving shaft ds journalled to the alternator housing ( not shown ) by means ( not shown ), each rotor laminations having the shape indicated by the figure so that the rotor core rc has eight radial slots or channels rs1 to rs8 which each extend the whole length of the rotor core rc . each of the radial slots rs1 to rs8 has a widened portion for the accomodation of windings on the rotor core rc and it is to be noted that the slots rs2 and rs6 , which are located diametrically opposite to each other , are deeper than the remaining slots on the rotor core rc . also in a conventional manner , the stator core sc is made of a stack of identical stator laminations of similar ferro magnetic material clamped together to form the stator core which is fixedly mounted within the alternator housing by mounting means ( not shown ). each stator lamination has the shape indicated by the figure so that the stator core sc has eight radial slots or channels ss1 to ss8 which extend for the full length of the stator core sc . again , each of the slots ss1 to ss8 has a widened portion for the accomodation of windings on the stator core sc and in this case it is to be noted that the slots ss1 and ss5 , which are located diametrically opposite to each other , are deeper than the remaining slots on the stator core sc . the laminations of the rotor core rc are dimensioned relative to those of the stator core sc that a narrow air gap ag separates the rotor core rc from the stator core sc and by rotation of the driving shaft ds the rotor core rc is able to freely rotate withint the stator core sc . in fig2 the primary feedback winding ff is formed by two winding portions ff1 and ff2 , each winding portions being formed by a corresponding number of turns of insulated copper wire wound on the rotor core rc in a conventional manner between slots rs2 and rs6 . the winding sense of each of the winding portion ff1 and ff2 is indicated by the + and - signs shown at each extremity of the winding portions ff1 and ff2 respectively shown in the figure . accordingly , in operation , the flow of direct current in the winding ff produces a single pair of magnetically opposite poles located diametrically opposite to each other on the stator core sc adjacent the air gap ag and centered on an imaginary polar axis running approximately through the diametrically opposite slots rs8 and rs4 . the winding portions ff1 and ff2 are connected in series with each other but if required may alternatively be connected in parallel provided the winding sense indicated is maintained . the primary excitation winding fx is formed by four winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 , each winding portion being formed by a corresponding number of turns of insulated copper wire wound on the stator core sc in a conventional manner respectively between the slots ss8 and ss2 , the slots ss2 and ss4 , the slots ss4 and ss6 and between the slots ss6 and ss8 . similarly here , the winding sense of each of the winding portion fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 is indicated by the + and - signs shown in the figure at the extremity of the winding portion in question . accordingly , in operation , the flow of direct current in the winding fx produces two pairs of opposite magnetic poles with the respective poles uniformly distributed around the stator core sc adjacent the air gap ag with like magnetic poles being located diametrically opposite to each other and centered on imaginary polar axes running approximately through the slots ss1 , ss3 , ss5 and ss7 . here , the winding portions fx1 fx2 , fx3 and fx4 are connected in series with each other . as an alternative , the winding portions fx1 and fx3 may be connected in series to form a series combination and the winding portions fx2 and fx4 may be connected in series with each other to form another series combination , the two series combinations so formed being connected in parallel . as a further alternative , the winding portions fx1 and fx2 may be connected in series to form a series combination and the winding portions fx3 and fx4 may be connected in series to form another series combination , the two series combinations so formed being connected in parallel . in every case the winding sense indicated is maintained . the exciter secondary winding u is formed by four winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 , each winding portion being formed by a corresponding number of turns of insulated copper wire wound on the rotor core rc in a conventional manner respectively between the slots rs7 and rs1 , the slots rs1 and rs3 , the slots rs3 and rs5 and between the slots rs5 and rs7 , the winding sense of each of the winding portion being shown by the + and - signs shown in the figure as previously described . the winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 are connected in series . however , as an alternative , the winding portions u1 and u3 may be serially connected to form one series combination with the winding portions u2 and u4 serially connected to form another series combination , the two series combinations so formed being connected in parallel . as a further alternative , the winding portions u1 and u2 may be serially connected to form one series combination with the winding portions u3 and u4 serially connected to form another series combination , the two series combinations so formed being connected in parallel . in every case , the winding sense indicated is maintained . the feedback secondary winding v is formed by two winding portions v1 and v2 , each winding portion being formed by a corresponding number of turns of insulated copper wire wound on the stator core sc in a conventional manner respectively between the slots ss1 and ss5 , the winding sense of each of the winding portion being shown by + and - signs as previously described . the winding portions v1 and v2 are connected in series . provided the proper winding sense is maintained , the winding portions v1 and v2 may alternatively be connected in parallel . with the arrangement depicted by fig2 it will be appreciated that in operation , with the rotation of the rotor core rc , a rotating magnetic field due to the single pole pair produced by the winding portions ff1 and ff2 of the primary feedback winding ff will induce an alternating voltage into winding portions v1 and v2 and that a stationary magnetic field due to the two pole pairs produced by the winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 will cause an alternating voltage , having twice the frequency to be induced into the winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 . the magnitude of the respective alternating voltages so induced affect the overall operation of the self - excited alternator of fig1 and are dependent upon the respective magnitudes of the direct current flowing respectively in the primary feedback winding ff and in the primary exciter winding fx . accordingly , as previously indicated , it is desirable that the magnitude of the direct current flow in the primary feedback winding ff is not affected by extraneous voltages which may be induced by the magnetic field produced by the primary exciter winding fx and that the magnitude of direct current flow in the primary exciter winding fx is not affected by extraneous voltages which may be induced by the magnetic field produced by the primary feedback winding ff . it is also important that the transfer of the energy from the primary exciter winding fx to the secondary exciter winding u is not reduced by the magnetic field due to the primary feedback winding ff . with an arrangement as depicted by fig2 there is one half the number of magnetic poles due to the feedback primary ff as there magnetic poles due to the exciter primary winding fx . as a result , with rotation of the rotor core rc relative to the stator sc , since the magnetic field across the air gap ag due to the exciter primary winding fx has four poles ( two pole pairs ), there is no net change in the magnetic flux due to the exciter primary winding fx linking with the two winding portions of the primary feedback winding ff and thus no extraneous voltage is produced in the winding ff . on the other hand , since the magnetic field across the air gap ag due to the primary feedback winding ff has two poles ( a single pole pair ), magnetic flux due to the feedback winding ff , with rotation of the rotor core rc relative to the stator core sc , always links with two different winding portions of the exciter primary winding fx , which two different winding portions are wound in the opposite sense , and are in series with each other with the nett result that extraneous voltages induced into the winding portion of the winding fx cancel out . the manner in which the cancellation of such extraneous voltages occurs is further explained by way of fig3 of the accompanying drawings . fig3 a and 3b diagrammatically illustrate the relationships between the feedback winding ff and the magnetic field produced by the exciter primary winding fx . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , for ease of description a relevant part of the stator core sc is depicted in an exagerated form with its inner circumference shown as being in a straight line ( which is not , in fact , the case ). a relevant part of the rotor core rc is also depicted in an exagerated form with its outer circumference shown as a straight line ( which also is not the case ) and the air gap ag between the stator core sc and the rotor core rc is shown with exagerated width relative to the size of the stator core sc and the rotor core rc . in both parts of fig3 the relative winding sense of the winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 of the exciter primary winding fx on the stator core sc is shown and likewise the relative winding sense of the winding portions ff1 and ff2 of the feedback winding ff on the rotor core rc are shown . it is assumed the rotor core rc moves at a constant speed relative to the stator core sc in the direction indicated by the arrow a . fig3 a shows the relative position of the rotor core rc and the stator core sc at a particular instant of time with the slot ss8 aligned with the slot rs6 whereas fig3 b shows the relative position of the rotor core rc and the stator core sc at a subsequent instant of time in which the rotor core rc has moved so that the slot rs6 is aligned with a point mid - way between the slots ss7 and ss8 . the direction and strength of the magnetic field generated in the air gap ag due to energization of the exciter primary winding fx at distributed points along the air gap ag is denoted by the groups of arrows mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 . it will be appreciated that by energization of the exciter primary winding fx , at the air gap ag adjacent each of the winding portions fx1 and fx3 a south - seeking pole is produced whereas at the air gap ag adjacent each of the winding portions fx2 and fx4 a north - seeking pole is produced . the magnetic polarity is indicated by the letters n or s as the case may be . the rotor core rc provides a plurality flux paths for the magnetic field generated by energization of the exciter primary winding fx resulting in a magnetic flux linkage with the respective winding portions ff1 and ff2 of the feedback winding ff . a change of such magnetic flux linkage would cause an emf to be induced into the respective winding portions ff1 and ff2 . however , from a study of fig3 a and 3b , it will be appreciated that the net change of the magnetic flux linkage is zero . for instance , in fig3 a , the portions of the rotor core rc extending between the slots rs2 and rs6 across which the winding portion ff2 is wound overlaps the portion of the stator core sc between the slots ss4 and ss8 which thus serves as a flux path for magnetic flux due to the pole pair generated by the winding portions fx3 and fx4 as denoted by the arrows mx3 and mx4 . with movement of the rotor core rc relative to the stator core sc , the same portion of the rotor core rc overlaps a different portion of the stator core sc , as indicated by fig3 b so that part of the flux denoted as mx4 and due to the winding portion fx4 ceases to take the flux path across which the winding portion ff2 is wound but is replaced by parts of the magnetic flux denoted by mx2 and due to the winding portion fx2 having coresponding direction and strength . similar effects occur with further movement of the rotor core rc relative to the stator core sc so that there is no nett change of magnetic flux linkage between the respective winding portions ff1 and ff2 and the magnetic field due to the exciter primary winding fx with rotation of the rotor core rc relative to the stator core sc . fig4 diagrammatically illustrates the relationship between the exciter primary winding fx and the magnetic field produced by the feedback winding ff . in fig4 relevant parts of the stator core sc with the winding portions of the exciter primary winding fx wound thereon and of the rotor core rc with the winding portions of the feedback winding ff wound thereon are depicted in a generally similar manner to that of fig3 ( a ). here , the direction and strength of the magnetic field generated in the air gap ag due to the energization of the feedback winding ff at distributed points along the air gap ag is denoted by the groups of arrows mf1 and mf2 . by energization of the feedback winding ff , at the air gap ag adjacent the winding portion ff1 a north - seeking pole is produced whereas at the winding portion ff2 a south - seeking pole is produced . the magnetic polarity is indicated by the letters n or s as the case may be . in this case , the stator core sc provides a plurality of flux paths whereby the magnetic field generated by energization of the feedback winding ff results in magnetic flux linkage with the respective winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 and a change of such magnetic flux linkage will cause an emf to be induced into the respective winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 . it is assumed the rotor core rc moves at a constant speed reelative to the stator core rc in the direction indicated by the arrow a . the magnetic field denoted by the groups of arrows mf1 and mf2 is fixed relative to the rotor core rc . accordingly , an alternating voltage is induced into each of the winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 with rotation of the rotor core rc . the curve 42 indicates the rate and direction of change of magnetic flux along the air gap ag relative to the stator core sc due to the rotating magnetic field denoted by the groups of arrows mf1 and mf2 at the instant of time depicted by the figure . from the shape of the curve 42 in relation to the zero reference line 0 it will be understood that an alternating voltage is induced into the winding portion fx1 which is equal to and 180 ° out of phase with an alternating voltage induced into the winding portion fx2 and that an alternating voltage is induced into the winding portion fx2 which is equal to and 180 ° out of phase with an alternating voltage induced into the winding portion fx4 . since the winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 are all connected in series , the voltages so induced into the windings fx1 and fx3 cancel each other across the exciter winding fx and the voltages so induced into the windings fx2 and fx4 likewise cancel each other across the exciter winding fx . fig5 diagrammatically illustrates the relationships between the exciter secondary winding u and the combined magnetic field produced by the exciter primary winding fx and by the feedback primary winding ff and the relationships between the feedback secondary winding v and the same combined magnetic field . in fig5 although the winding portions fx1 , fx2 , fx3 and fx4 of the exciter primary winding fx is not shown , the magnetic field due to those winding portions are denoted by the groups of arrows mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 in similar manner to fig3 . of course , the magnetic field represented by the groups mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 are fixed relative to the stator core sc . likewise , although the winding portions ff1 and ff2 of the feedback winding ff are not shown the magnetic field due to those winding portions are denoted by the groups of arrows mf1 and mf2 in similar manner to fig4 . of course , the magnetic field represented by the groups mf1 and mf2 are fixed relative to the rotor core rc which moves relative to the stator core sc in a direction indicated by the arrow a . in fig5 the exciter secondary winding u and the relative winding sense of each winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 on the rotor core rc is shown and the feedback secondary winding v and the relative winding sense of each winding portions v1 and v2 on the stator core sc is shown . assuming rotation of the rotor core rc at a constant speed , the movement of the magnetic field denoted by the arrow groups mf1 and mf2 relative to the stator core sc causes an alternating voltage to be induced into each of the winding portions v1 and v2 owing to the change of magnetic flux linking with the respective winding portions v1 and v2 . at any given instant , the change in magnetic flux due to the magnetic field of the winding ff linking with the winding portion v1 is equal and of opposite direction to that linking with the winding portion v2 . as the winding sense of the winding portion v1 is opposite to that of the winding portion v2 and the two winding portions are connected in series in the manner illustrated , the alternating voltage so induced into the winding portion v1 is in phase with the alternating voltage so induced into the winding portion v2 and the in - phase sum of the two induced voltages is developed across the winding v . simultaneously , the movement of the magnetic field denoted by the arrow groups mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 relative to the rotor core rc causes an alternating voltage to be induced into each of the winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 owing to the change of magnetic flux linking with the respective winding portions and at any given instant the change in magnetic flux due to the magnetic field of the exciter primary winding fx linking with the winding portion u1 is equal and of opposite direction to that linking with the winding portion u2 whereas that linking with the winding portion u3 is equal and of opposite direction to that linking with the winding portion u4 . as the winding sense of the winding portion u1 is opposite to that of the winding portions u2 and the winding sense of the winding portion u3 is opposite to that of the winding portion u4 and the four winding portions are connected in series with each other in the manner illustrated , the alternating voltages so induced into the respective winding portions are in phase and the in - phase sum of the four induced alternating voltages is developed across the winding u . the foregoing description in relation to fig5 makes no reference to the simultaneous presence in the air gap ag of the magnetic field due to the exciter primary fx and that due to feedback primary winding ff . having regard to the purpose of the feedback secondary winding v , it is evident that , at any given location along the air gap ag , the strength of the magnetic field due to the feedback primary winding ff , as represented by the arrow groups mf1 and mf2 , will be periodically reinforced or opposed by the magnetic field due to the exciter primary winding as represented by the arrow groups mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 with rotation of the rotor core rc . it must also be kept in mind that all four of the windings fx , ff , v and u form part of the same feedback system of the alternator , in which system the strength of the magnetic field due to the exciter primary winding fx and that due to the feedback winding ff are subject to variation for compensation purposes . such periodic reinforcement and opposition , itself subject to such variation , causes further local change of magnetic flux linking with the respective winding portions v and v2 and is a potential cause of undesirable voltages being induced into the winding v . however , with the winding portions v1 and v2 of the feedback secondary winding v being provided in accordance with a preferred form of the present invention as illustrated by fig5 there is no nett change of the magnetic flux linking with the respective winding portions v1 and v2 due to the magnetic field of the primary exciter winding fx and accordingly no undesirable voltages due to the such periodic reinforcement and opposition are induced into the respective winding portions v1 and v2 . having regard to the purpose of the exciter secondary winding u , it is likewise evident that , at any given location along the air gap ag , the strength of the magnetic field due to the exciter primary winding fx , as represented by the arrow groups mx1 , mx2 , mx3 and mx4 will also be periodically reinforced or opposed by the magnetic field due to the feedback primary winding ff , as represented by the arrow groups mf1 , and mf2 with rotation of the rotor core rc . the magnitude of such periodic reinforcement and opposition is subject to variation for the reasons previously explained . likewise , such periodic reinforcement and opposition causes further local change of magnetic flux linking with the respective winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 may indeed cause unwanted voltages to be induced into these respective winding portions . however , with the winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 of the exciter secondary winding u , being provided in accordance with a further preferred form of the present invention , as illustrated by fig5 mutual cancellation of the unwanted induced voltages occurs . that is to say , with regard to the magnetic flux represented by the arrow groups mf1 and mf2 , the winding portions u2 and u3 are both wound on one flux path and the winding portions u1 and u4 are both wound on another flux path . the winding portion u2 matches with the winding u3 and is connected in series therewith whereas the winding portion u1 matches with the winding portion u4 and is connected in series therewith . a change of magnetic flux linkage with the exciter secondary winding u due to the magnetic field represented by the arrow groups mf1 and mf2 causes an unwanted voltages to be induced into all four of the winding portions u1 , u2 , u3 and u4 . however , the voltages induced into the respective winding portions u1 and u4 are of equal magnitude and 180 ° out of phase and the voltages induced into the respective winding portions u2 and u3 are also of equal magnitude and 180 ° out of phase . since all four of the winding portions are connected in series the voltages induced into the winding portion u1 cancels the voltage induced into the winding portion u4 and the voltage induced into the winding portion u2 cancels the voltage induced into the winding portion u3 with the result that no unwanted induced voltage due to the magnetic field represented by the arrow groups mf1 and mf2 is developed across the exciter secondary winding u . with the self - excited alternator described in relation to fig2 , 4 and 5 , it will be appreciated that the feedback primary winding ff in association with the rotor core rc provides k feedback pole pairs ( ie . a single feedback pole pair ) and the primary exciter winding fx in association with the stator core sc produces nk exciter pole pairs ( ie . two exciter pole pairs ) where , in this case , k = 1 and n = 2 whereas the feedback secondary winding in association with the stator core sc forms k similar flux paths ( ie . a single flux path ) linking with the single feedback pole pair and the exciter secondary winding u in association with the rotor core rc forms nk flux paths ( ie . two flux paths ) linking with the two exciter pole pairs . employing similar principles to those of the alternator described in relation to fig2 , 4 and 5 , self - excited alternators may be constructed in accordance with the invention in which k is larger than 1 and n is larger than 2 . the self - excited alternator described in relation to fig2 , 4 and 5 has only one feedback secondary winding v and only one exciter secondary winding u . a self - excited alternator in accordance with the invention may , if required , be provided having more than one feedback secondary winding and , if required , more than one exciter secondary winding . however , it is advantageous for each feedback secondary winding and each exciter secondary winding so provided to be arranged in association with either the common rotor core or the common stator core , as the case may be , in accordance with the preferred forms of the invention described herein .	7
while the present invention is described below in the context of solid oxide fuel cells , the present invention may also be used in the context of other types of fuel cells . further , even though the present invention contemplates that each of the fuel cells 10 in a fuel cell stack 23 be identical , it is also contemplated that the cells 10 can be different . for example , one intermediate cell may serve a special purpose , such as for cooling , containing catalyst , gas conditioning , and others , and thus designed differently from the rest of the cells . fig1 depicts one embodiment of a fuel cell 10 that can be utilized in a fuel cell stack 23 in accordance with the present invention . the cell 10 is characterized as being “ unitized .” this is intended to generally mean a self - contained fuel cell that can be replaced from a fuel cell stack without impairing the performance of the overall stack , such as by damaging adjoining cells . in fig1 the unitized fuel cell 10 is shown as having a rectangular and planar configuration . however , shapes other than rectangular are contemplated . the fuel cell 10 includes a first planar interconnect 11 that interfaces a second planar interconnect 12 . the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 sandwich therebetween a first gas distribution structure 14 , a ceramic cell 13 , and a second gas distribution structure 15 . in general , and in the context of a solid oxide fuel cell , the ceramic cell 13 is constructed with an anode layer , a cathode layer , and an electrolyte layer therebetween according to any well - known construction in the art . the first and second gas distribution structures 14 , 15 can be portions of the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 , respectively . alternatively , the first and second gas distribution structures 14 , 15 can comprise electrodes , such as an anode and cathode , as is also known in the art . first gas channels are provided by the first gas distribution structure 14 and second gas channels are provided by the second gas distribution structure 15 . the first and second gas channels enable gases , such as a fuel and an oxidant , to flow therein . in this embodiment , the first and second gas channels are oriented perpendicular to one another to provide a cross flow of gases . channels may also be oriented parallel to each other to provide co - flow or counterflow of gases . a first salient 16 , a second salient ( not shown ), a third salient 17 , and a fourth salient ( not shown ) are formed between the outer perimeter of the fuel cell 10 and the first and second gas distribution structures 14 , 15 . a pair of opposing salients enables a gas , such as an oxidant , to pass through the fuel cell 10 via an oxidant inlet 18 and an oxidant outlet 19 . likewise , a gas , such as a fuel , is able to pass through the fuel cell 10 via a fuel inlet 20 and a fuel outlet 21 . even though the inlets 18 , 20 and the outlets 19 , 21 are shown as being generally at the mid - point between the corners of the cell 10 , their positions can be different , such as at the corners . the entire cell 10 is then sealed by a gasket 22 between the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 and against the edge of the ceramic cell 13 . the gasket 22 , along with the ceramic cell , also electrically insulates the first metal interconnect 11 from the second metal interconnect 12 . fig2 depicts one embodiment of a fuel cell stack 23 . however , for ease of illustration , only a portion of the fuel stack 23 is depicted . the stack 23 includes a plurality of fuel cells 10 that are positioned in respective planes that are generally parallel to one another . in particular , the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 of each cell 10 preferably lie in their respective plane . the overall configuration of the cells 10 may be generally described as spiral . in such a configuration , the cells 10 are angularly offset to one another about an axis that extends perpendicular to the planes in which the cells 10 lie . the amount of angular offset can vary , depending upon the desired cell 10 density . thus , a higher cell 10 density will require a smaller offset , while a lower cell 10 density will allow a higher offset . the embodiment of fig2 depicts each of the immediately adjacent cells 10 as only partially overlapping one another . in other words , the outer perimeter of one cell 10 does not completely match the angular position of the outer perimeter of an immediately adjacent cell 10 . the partial overlap provides ease of manifolding and thermal distribution as further described below . however , it can be appreciated that as the number of cells 10 increases , the cells 10 may eventually circle around in the spiral such that non - immediately adjacent cells 10 will completely overlap . for example , if it takes twenty cells 10 to complete a circle , the first cell 10 and the 20t h cell 10 will completely overlap . while the foregoing is a preferred embodiment , it is also contemplated that immediately adjacent cells 10 can completely overlap . similarly , the spiral of cells 10 does not have to be a complete circle . the repeating cycle may be within part of a circle . for example , cells 10 of a stack 23 may be divided into groups each consisting of a given number of cells 10 . the cells 10 in each group may be spiraled to just within a 90 ° span and each group is stacked directly over one another . the depiction of the fuel cell stack 23 in fig2 is only partial insofar as the cells 10 are shown with only a single gas inlet 18 or 20 and a single gas outlet 19 or 21 for purposes of illustration . it can be seen that a gas tube 25 extends from the gas inlet of each cell 10 and to a manifold assembly 26 disposed below the cells 10 , when viewed from fig2 . similarly , a gas tube 25 extends from the gas outlet of each cell 10 and to the manifold assembly 26 . the gas tube 25 from the gas inlet enables a gas , such as fuel , to flow from the manifold assembly 26 and to the cell 10 . fig2 is also a partial depiction of the fuel cell stack 23 insofar as the manifold assembly 26 . the assembly 26 is shown as having a single inlet manifold 27 and a single outlet manifold 28 . however , the manifold assembly 26 actually includes a pair of inlet manifolds and a pair of outlet manifolds , as further described below in reference to fig3 a - c . in still referring to fig2 it can be seen that for this embodiment , the inlet manifold 27 has circular configuration located below the lowermost fuel cell 10 , when viewed from fig2 . the manifold 27 can be a pipe , typically having a round cross section . it may be lying on a plane that is horizontal in position or that is in a tilted manner . the diameter of the inlet manifold 27 is preferably as much as or greater than the longest width of the fuel cells 10 . thereby , the outer perimeter of the inlet manifold 27 is operatively adjacent the outer perimeters of the fuel cells 10 . the outlet manifold 28 is also planar and circular in configuration . it is disposed within and concentric to the inlet manifold 27 . a gas outlet 30 communicates with the outlet manifold 28 to allow the expulsion of a gas , such as a fuel or an oxidant , from at least one of the cells 10 via the tube 25 . likewise , a gas inlet 29 communicates with the inlet manifold 27 to provide a supply of gas , such as a fuel or an oxidant , to at least one of the cells 10 via the tube 25 . of course , it is preferred to have each of the cells 10 in gas communication with the inlet and outlet manifolds 27 , 28 . stack support 24 provides a stand for the stack 23 to elevate the stack 23 with respect to the manifolds 27 , 28 and / or the ground . fig3 a represents one preferred embodiment of a manifold assembly 31 . in this embodiment , four planar and circular manifolds 32 - 35 are provided concentric to one another . the innermost manifold 32 has a diameter that is as much as or greater than the longest width of the fuel cells . the manifolds 32 - 35 can be either an inlet or outlet manifold to provide a pair of inlet manifolds and a pair of outlet manifolds . the manifolds 32 - 35 are respectively in gas communication with gas inlet / outlets 37 - 40 . a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart manifold openings 36 are provided in each of the manifolds 32 - 35 and are operatively adjacent to the outer perimeters of the fuel cells . the openings 36 provide gas communication between the gas tubes 25 and its respective manifold 32 - 35 . although openings are shown in fig3 a as being equally spaced apart for any one manifold 32 - 35 , unequal spacing for one or more manifolds 32 - 35 is contemplated . likewise , even though the openings 36 are shown as being in the same circumferential position from manifold - to - manifold , different circumferential positions are contemplated . fig3 b represents a second preferred embodiment of a manifold assembly 41 . in this embodiment , four planar and semicircular manifolds 42 - 45 are provided in pairs . the pairs of manifolds 42 - 45 are oriented in two concentric circles . as in fig3 a , manifold openings 46 are provided in the manifolds 42 - 45 and spaced apart circumferentially . the manifolds 42 - 45 can be either inlet or outlet manifolds and are connected to gas inlet / outlets 47 - 50 . fig3 c represents a third preferred embodiment of a manifold assembly 51 . in this embodiment , four planar and circular manifolds 52 - 55 are provided concentric to one another . in contrast to the above embodiments , the manifolds 52 - 55 have different widths in their radial directions . further , whereas the above embodiments provided single spaced apart manifold openings , the manifold openings 56 in the manifolds 52 - 55 are spaced apart in a plurality of openings 56 . the manifolds 52 - 55 can be either inlet or outlet manifolds and are connected to gas inlet / outlets 57 - 60 . while the discussion above describes manifolding methods for bringing main line gases to the individual cells of a stack , the discussion below relates to methods of distributing the gases within the individual cells to the surface of the electrodes . fig4 a depicts a fuel cell 10 with a first configuration of gas tubes inside the fuel cell 10 according to an embodiment for distributing the gases within a cell according to the present invention . as in the above unitized cell embodiments , the fuel cell 10 includes a first planar interconnect 11 that interfaces a second planar interconnect 12 . the first interconnect includes sides 11 a , 11 b , 11 c , and 11 d , while the second interconnect includes sides 12 a , 12 b , 12 c , and 12 d . the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 contain a first gas distribution structure 14 and a second gas distribution structure 15 , respectively . together , they sandwich a ceramic cell 13 . however , unlike the embodiments above , a fuel inlet gas tube 20 may then be affixed at the side 11 c such that the inlet tube 20 extends within the first interconnect 11 along the entire length of the side 11 a for purposes of illustration . via a plurality of openings or holes 61 in the inlet tube 20 that may extend along its entire length within the interconnect 11 , an inlet gas in the tube 20 is in gas communication with the first gas structure 14 ( fig4 c ). a fuel outlet gas tube 21 may then be affixed at the side 11 d such that the outlet tube 21 extends within the first interconnect 11 along the entire length of the side l 1 b for purposes of illustration . via a plurality of openings or holes 61 in the outlet tube 21 that may extend along its entire length with the interconnect 11 , an outlet gas in the tube 21 is in gas communication with the first gas structure 14 . similarly , an oxidant inlet gas tube 18 may be affixed at the side 12 c such that the inlet tube 18 extends within the second interconnect 12 along the entire length of the side 12 b for purposes of illustration . via openings or holes 61 in the inlet tube 18 , an inlet gas in the tube 18 is in gas communication with the second gas structure 15 ( fig4 c ). an oxidant outlet gas tube 19 may then be affixed at the side 12 d such that the outlet tube 19 extends within the second interconnect 12 along the entire length of the side 12 a for purposes of illustration . via openings or holes 61 in the outlet tube 19 , an outlet gas in the tube 19 is in gas communication with the second gas structure 15 . as such , the fuel gas tubes 20 , 21 may be parallel to the oxidant gas tubes 18 , 19 . the gas tubes are preferably made of metals that fit inside the interconnect skirt and are shorter in height compared to the gas structures 14 , 15 . the interconnect skirt refers to the vertical wall that surrounds sides 11 a - d and 12 a - d of each interconnect . the inside diameters of the gas tubes , depending on the cell size and gas flow requirements , can range between about 0 . 030 to 0 . 120 inches . the gas tubes typically are cylindrical with a straight body shape . like the gas tubes , the inside diameter of the gas tube openings 61 also depend on the gas flow requirements , and typically can range between about 0 . 005 to 0 . 090 inches . the openings 61 are in gas communication with the gas outlet 20 . thereby , a gas ( such as a fuel ) may enter the inlet tube 21 and flow out of the openings 61 therein . the gas may then flow through the first gas distribution structure 14 and into the openings 61 of the outlet tube 20 for eventual discharge . in a similar fashion , a gas ( such as an oxidant ) may flow into inlet tube 18 , out of the openings 61 , across the second gas distribution structure 15 , into the openings 61 of the outlet tube 19 for eventual discharge . the shapes of the gas tubes 18 - 21 and gas tube openings 61 are shown as cylindrical in fig4 a and c since it is a common and economical shape to manufacture . however , gas tubes with different cross sections other than circular are contemplated . although the gas tubes are described as separate pieces inserted within the interconnect structures , they can also be formed as an integral part of the interconnects . for example , using sheet metal forming techniques , the sides of interconnects may be folded into tubes and the ends welded to the base for closure . holes are then bored on the folded tubes . in the embodiment of fig4 a , the cell 10 provides a co - flow of gases as shown by the arrows . co - flow of gases is preferred over other flow patterns in some sofcs for thermal management reasons . however , different types of flow patterns can also be used when preferred . traditionally , spent fuel gas from the fuel outlet gas tube 21 and spent oxygen gas from the oxidant outlet gas tube 19 are combusted in a separate burner ( not shown ) to recover residual energy for enhancing system efficiency . fig4 b depicts another embodiment of a first gas tube configuration for a manifold assembly of the present invention . this embodiment is the same as that of fig4 b , except that the placement of the tubes 18 , 19 have changed relative to the second interconnect 12 . in this embodiment , the inlet tube 18 extends into the interconnect 12 at side 12 a and outlet tube 19 extends out of the side 12 b . with such configuration of perpendicular oriented tubes , the gas flow pattern is cross flow as shown by the arrows . fig5 a depicts an embodiment of a second gas tube configuration for the present invention . in fig5 a , the fuel inlet gas tube 20 may be inserted into and near the middle of the first interconnect 11 at the side 11 c while the oxidant inlet gas tube 18 may be inserted into and near the middle of the second interconnect 12 at the side 12 d . the gas inlet tubes 18 , 20 may be arranged in parallel to each other and directly over one another . further , the tubes 18 , 20 may extend through the entire lengths of the respective interconnects 12 , 11 . the tubes 18 , 20 may each be provided with a plurality of openings 61 that can extend along the entire portions of the tubes 18 , 20 that are disposed within the interconnects 11 , 12 , respectively . thereby , gases can exit along the tubes 18 , 20 and radiate out from the tubes in a co - flow pattern , as shown by the arrows in fig5 a and 5b . as in the first gas tube configuration , the openings 61 , depending on the gas flow requirements , may be on the order of about 0 . 005 to 0 . 090 inches in diameter . as the gases flow through the first and second gas distribution structures 14 , 15 , the gases may then exit through openings 62 in paired sides of the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 . in the embodiment of fig5 a , there are no gas outlet tubes to collect spent gases since the spent gases are allowed to exit the cell 10 at two ends or sides that are open . in this embodiment , the sides or skirts 11 a and 11 b in the first interconnect 11 include openings 62 on their surfaces ( not shown for side 11 a ). likewise , the sides or skirts 12 a and 12 b in the second interconnect 12 include openings 62 on their surfaces ( not shown for side 12 a ). these openings 62 may typically have inside diameters between about 0 . 005 to 0 . 090 inches . consequently , the spent fuel gas exits from the sides of the cell 10 and then gets combusted by the spent oxidant along those sides whereby energy is recovered for enhanced system efficiency , but without the need for a separate burner . fig6 a and 6b depict an embodiment of a third gas tube configuration with stubbed t - shaped gas inlet tubes affixed to and near the middle area of opposing sides of the interconnects 11 , 12 . the stubbed t - shaped gas inlet tubes can have a cross member portion and a base or inlet portion . the cross member portion is preferably perpendicular to the inlet portion . the cross member portion can be disposed within the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 , and may be disposed immediately adjacent the respective inlet portions of the first and second gas inlets 20 , 18 . the stubbed t - shaped gas tubes are preferably made of metals with inside diameters typically between about 0 . 030 to 0 . 120 inches . openings 61 in the cross member portion can typically have inside diameters between about 0 . 030 to 0 . 120 inches . the openings 61 deliver inlet gases across the first gas distribution structure 14 and the second gas distribution structure 15 of the first interconnect 11 and the second interconnect 12 respectively . thus , in fig6 a , a fuel inlet gas tube 20 is affixed to the side or skirt 11 a of the first interconnect 11 while an oxidant inlet gas tube 18 is affixed to the same side or skirt 12 a of the second interconnect 12 . the fuel and oxidant gases may then exit from the cross member portion of the tubes 18 , 20 disposed at respective sides or skirts 12 a and 12 b , flow through the first and second gas distribution structures 14 , 15 , and then exit at the opposite end of the cell 10 via the openings 62 in the sides or skirts 11 b and 12 b . this configuration can provide a co - flow pattern . fig7 a and 7b depict an embodiment of a fourth gas tube configuration having an extended t - shape affixed to and near the middle area of same sides of the interconnects 11 , 12 . the extended t - shaped gas tubes can have a cross member portion and a base or inlet portion . the cross member portion is preferably perpendicular to the inlet portion . the cross member portion may be disposed within the first and second interconnects 11 , 12 , but away from the inlet portions of the first and second gas inlet tube 20 , 18 portions . the extended t - shaped gas tubes are preferably made of metals with inside diameters typically between about 0 . 030 to 0 . 120 inches . like the stubbed t - shaped gas tubes in fig6 a and 6b , the openings 61 are located on the surface of the cross member portion of the extended t - shape gas tubes . these openings 61 deliver inlet gases across the first gas distribution structure 14 and the second gas distribution structure 15 of the first interconnect 11 and the second interconnect 12 , respectively . in this embodiment , the fuel inlet gas tube 20 is affixed to the side or skirt 11 b of the first interconnect 11 , extends through the first gas distribution structure 14 , and a cross member portion of the tube 20 is disposed adjacent the side or skirt 11 a wherein such cross member portion includes a plurality of openings 61 . similarly , the oxidant inlet gas tube 18 is affixed to the side or skirt 12 b , extends through the second gas distribution structure 15 , and a cross member portion of the tube 18 is disposed adjacent the side or skirt 12 a wherein such cross member portion includes openings 61 . thus , fuel and oxidant gases are flowed in from one side of the cell 10 and enter the gas distribution structures 14 , 15 from a side of the cell that is opposite the entry . the gases then exit at the side of the cell 10 from where the gases entered . this provides a co - flow pattern as shown by the arrows in fig7 a and 7b . with the foregoing configuration of fig7 a and 7b , a section of each gas tube extends through a combustion zone or hot section that is outside of the cell 10 along the sides 11 b and 12 b before being distributed to the cell 10 . a heat exchange process takes place whereby the cold inlet gases in the tubes 18 and 20 pick up heat from the combusting gases oustside of the cell 10 . after the gas tubes enter the cell , they run through the entire width of an active area 10 a of the cell . electrochemical reactions taking place in the active area 10 a also generate heat that further heats up the gases in the gas tubes . in other words , the length and path of the tubes allow the gases inside to pick up enough heat so that when the gases come out of openings 61 , their temperature is already close to the cell operating temperature ( i . e ., temperature at 10 a ). without this heat exchange process , the temperature difference across the cell width , that is , between sides 11 a and 12 a and sides 11 b and 12 b will be significantly higher and create high thermal stresses between the two sides and within the cell that can damage the cell materials . in view of the above , it can be seen that the present invention also provides a method of making a fuel cell stack 23 . the method includes juxtaposing a plurality of planar fuel cells 10 to one another . thereby , one interconnect of one fuel cell 10 oppositely faces another interconnect of an adjacent fuel cell . further , the pair of interconnects in any one fuel cell 10 are positioned in a respective plane and the planes of all of the fuel cells 10 are substantially parallel to one another . the method further includes orienting the fuel cells 10 in a spiral configuration and interfacing a manifold assembly 26 to the fuel cells 10 . thereafter , the fuel cells 10 are placed in gas communication with the manifold assembly 26 . as can be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the present invention provides an improved solid oxide fuel cell stack and method of stacking such cells . furthermore , the invention provides an improved gas communication path between the fuel cell stack 23 and manifold assembly 26 . the fuel cell stack 23 design of the present invention incorporates unitized fuel cells 10 and minimizes the footprint of the stack 23 . this is accomplished by having the manifold assembly 26 set directly below the stack 23 . another aspect of the present invention is a fuel cell stack 23 design that allows easy connection and disconnection of gases to the stack 23 . by the use of convenient fittings , each of the gas tubes 24 , 25 can be easily connected or disconnected to the manifold assembly 26 which allows any particular fuel cell 10 to be removed or replaced with little disturbance to adjacent cells 10 . the present invention further minimizes the thermal gradient that otherwise exists in a stack of cells . during power generation , a cell will be colder in the gas inlets 18 , 20 because of the colder gases , and hotter in the gas outlets 19 , 21 because of the heat generated from the reaction throughout the cell 10 . if the cells 10 are stacked in a conventional way , one completely overlaying on the other , the outlet corners will be heated to much higher temperature due to combined generated heat from multiple fuel cells 10 , that is usually a hundred of degrees celcius or higher than the gas inlet corners . this can create tremendous thermal stress and material property gradient across the fuel cell stack 23 . by setting the cells 10 into spiral configuration , the outlets are positioned offset from one to another and is capable of dispersing and distributing heat . in a further aspect of the present invention , perforated gas tubes within the unitized fuel cells 10 arranged in different manners and orientation , provide a wide variety of gas distribution patterns on the ceramic cell surfaces 13 . it should be understood , of course , that the foregoing relates to preferred embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .	7
before undertaking a detailed description of the structure shown in the drawings , it is to be emphasized that the inventors herein have devised an apparatus for spraying rock dust into a mine tunnel or shaft which may be easily transported to the cite for use in spraying the ceiling , walls and floor of a mine tunnel or shaft . rock dust spraying equipment in a coal mine is not entirely new . a number of devices have been devised to accomplish the placing of a rock dust on the interior walls of a mine shaft or tunnel to abate the danger of explosions due to the accumulation of coal dust in the mining areas . however , such prior devices have been quite complex in structure and have not been too efficient in results or have been too expensive to operate . referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals are employed for designating like parts throughout the several views , numeral 10 designates generally the rock duster of the present invention . the duster comprises a framework 11 constructed of l - shaped iron beams 12 extending parallel to each other and secured at one end as by welding , brazing or the like to a transverse rod 13 . the duster includes a blower or housing 14 having mounted therein for rotation in any known manner , a fan ( not shown ). the fan or blower housing is mounted on a pair of l - shaped beams 15 which are secured by welding , brazing or the like to the parallel beams 12 . secured to the parallel beams 12 is a pair of diagonally disposed struts 16 which are secured in any known manner to a hub 17 on which is journaled for rotation a wheel member comprising the usual inflatable rubber tire 18 . if desired , a skid of known construction may be substituted for the tire . in any event , whether a skid or wheel is employed for supporting one end of the framework , the same merely shows how the framework with the components thereon may be moved from one place to another . it should be pointed out at this time that the framework with the components mounted thereon is relatively light weight and may be easily handled by one person for moving the same from one area to another for performing it &# 39 ; s intended function . the fan or blower housing 14 is secured to the l - shaped beam 15 by means of ears 19 formed integral with or otherwise secured to the housing 14 . bolt members 20 extend through suitable openings found in the ears 19 and l - shaped beams 15 and nuts 21 engage with the bolts 20 for securing the housing to the framework 11 . also mounted on the framework 11 is a bearing block 22 of conventional design and the block 22 is secured to the framework 11 by means of bolts 23 which extend through suitable openings found in the l - shaped iron beams 12 and through openings formed in the ears 24 which are formed integral with or otherwise secured to the bearing block 22 . mounted for rotation in the bearing block 22 is a shaft 25 which is keyed within roller 26 and adapted to rotate in unison therewith in a manner to be explained more fully hereinafter . the shaft 25 is likewise mounted for rotation in a bearing block 27 which is also mounted on the framework 11 by means of bolts 28 and nuts ( not shown ) as previously described with respect to the bearing block 22 . having described the manner in which one end of the duster framework may be supported either by a wheel or skid arrangement , the other end of the framework is supported by means of a generally u - shaped arrangement of strap steel generally shown at 29 in fig1 and 3 of the drawings . the strap steel formation 29 may be secured to the underside of the framework as by brazing , welding or the like . the roller 26 is described as being made of rubber and the same may have on it &# 39 ; s outer surface a series of indentations such as criss - cross undercuts or the like to increase the frictional engagement with the overriding belt of the conveyor belt 30 and to be adjustable with respect to the said belt 30 in a manner to be explained more fully hereinafter . of course , the roller may be made of any known material even including a surface coated with an abrasive substance so as to increase the traction forces between the roller and the belt conveyor . as stated previously , the unit is easily transportable from one area to the other so that the duster may be easily manipulated by one person to relocate the same within a mine shaft or mine tunnel . the shaft 25 as more clearly shown in fig2 and 4 of the drawings is connected to a gear 31 which is connected by a suitable spliced connection to the shaft 25 . a driving connection between the gear 31 and a sprocket gear 32 , see fig4 is effected by a chain drive 33 . as can be appreciated , a belt and pulley arrangement could be substituted to accomplish the same purpose . the housing 14 comprises an air intake opening 34 in the lower portion of the fan housing 14 and has mounted thereon a coupling 35 . coupling 35 is secured to the fan housing in any known manner and includes an on and off contact switch designated generally at 36 whereby the operator of the duster may turn the apparatus to an on or off position . actually , the on or off position of the valve switch 36 will permit for the entry or exclusion of outside air into the fan enclosure . as best seen in fig4 of the drawings , rotation of the gear 31 will cause an accelerated turning of the gear 32 which is the driving power for the blower or fan in the housing 14 . the aforesaid structured unit is designed to be transported to the place of use , and as aforesaid , this can be accomplished by one person handling the apparatus . a rock dust container is to be employed with the aforesaid apparaus . the rock dust container comprises a generally hopper shaped container 37 into which extend a plurality of diffuser pipes 38 which are provided with a plurality of perforations such as shown in fig5 and 6 of the drawings . a cover 37 &# 39 ; is provided at the upper end of the hopper whereby the rock dust may be deposited in the hopper . located at the lower end of the hopper 37 is an air conduit 39 which is connected in any known manner to the output side of the blower or fan unit 14 . a nipple 40 is integral with or otherwise secured to the conduit 39 and terminates at one end thereof with a reduced portion 41 which is integral with or otherwise secured to a conduit 42 which extends below the exit opening 43 provided at the lower end of the hopper 37 . secured in any known manner to the outlet opening 43 is an outlet conduit 44 which is externally threaded for engagement with a flexible conduit 45 to which a nozzle 46 is connected . thus , when the device is in operation and the switch 36 is turned to the on position , air which is being driven from the blower unit 14 will be directed into the conduit 39 and travels therein in the direction of the arrows shown in fig1 and 6 of the drawings . some of the air from the conduit 39 will be diverted into conduit 38 and into the hopper and dispersed therein so as to continuously agitate the dust in the hopper so as to prevent caking of the dust whereas some of the air from conduit 39 will issue through the conduit 42 and in so doing will create a suction effect on the duct within the hopper and aspirate some of the dust and feed the same into the flexible conduit 45 and out through the nozzle 46 . once the duster constructed as aforesaid is brought to location , the same is adapted to be supported by cables 53 and suspension rods 47 which are supported from the roof in any known manner . the rods 47 may be provided with spaced apart hooks 48 . secured to both ends of the framework 11 is a pair of externally threaded bolt members 49 . thumb nuts 50 each provided with a sleeve 51 are secured as by welding , brazing or the like to inverted channel members 52 which extend over the cables 53 . actually , the framework 11 is suspended off the floor 55 of the mine tunnel or shaft such as shown in fig3 of the drawings , the same being totally supported by the aforesaid cables 53 and the suspension rods 47 , so that the framework 11 may be raised or lowered with respect to the floor 55 of the mine by manipulating the aforesaid thumb nuts 50 . in operation , the endless conveyor 30 is driven through any suitable means and is designed to travel in the direction of the arrows shown in fig1 of the drawings . as the lower reach of the belt 30 passes over the roller 26 , and actually contacts the same and by reason of friction cause the roller to rotate . rotation of the roller 26 will , through the aforesaid gearing , cause the blower to operate which will direct a flow of air through the conduit 39 and thence to the interior of the hopper and also out through the conduit 42 and ultimately through the nozzle 46 . since the framework and parts thereon are capable of being elevated or lowered in the manner previously described , the roller 26 may be elevated or lowered so as to adjust the roller with respect to the travelling belt in order to insure a proper contact of the roller with the undersurface of the aforesaid travelling belt . thus it will be apparent that we have provided a rock duster which is designed to derive the power for operation of the same through the conveyor belt normally found in a mining operation . also , since the rock dust blower of the present invention does not utilize any form of electric motor for operating the same , there is no danger of setting off an explosion in the mine by reason of electrical sparks normally seen coming from such an electric motor . this , of course , is an added safety feature for the rock dust blower of the present invention . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to make various changes , alterations and modifications to the invention described herein . to the extent that these changes , alterations and modifications do not depart from the spirit and scope of the appended claims , they are intended to be encompassed therein .	4
for simplicity and illustrative purposes , the principles of the present invention are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof . however , one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to , and can be implemented in , all types of mobile communication devices , and that any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention . moreover , in the following detailed description , references are made to the accompanying figures , which illustrate specific embodiments . electrical , mechanical , logical and structural changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . embodiments pertain generally to methods and apparatus for personalizing a mobile telephone . more particularly , a controller can be configured to couple with a network of sensors . the sensors can be distributed over the housing of the mobile telephone . each sensor can be assigned to an area of the housing and can be implemented as a capacitive , pressure , conductive , or other touch sensitive sensor . the controller can execute a personalization module that can be configured to personalize or program the mobile telephone to the user . more specifically , the personalization module can generate an image of a mode , e . g ., talking , of the mobile telephone for the user to emulate in a calibration ( or configuration , program , etc .) mode . as the user emulates the displayed image , the personalization module can then be configured to collect the data from the network of sensors through the controller to obtain a set of data for a predetermined amount of time as a sensor profile . the received sensor profile is associated with the mode and stored . subsequently , as the user manipulates the mobile telephone , the mobile telephone can determine a use mode by comparing the stored sensor profiles with the current sensor profile . the personalization module can also be configured to update the configuration data associated with a ( use ) mode . more particularly , a user may eventually drift from the initial position captured by the data collection during the programming mode , i . e ., tactile interaction . accordingly , the personalization module can periodically collect data from the network of sensors during a selected mode as a current sensor profile and compare the use data with the associated configuration data , i . e ., stored sensor profiles . if the variance between the current sensor profile and the stored sensor profiles exceeds a predetermined threshold , the personalization module can be configured to initiate the programming mode for the selected mode . alternatively , the personalization module can update the stored sensor profile with the current sensor profile . fig1 a - c collectively illustrate an exemplary distribution of sensors over a housing of a mobile telephone . for the shown embodiments , it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the number of sensors and the placements of the sensors can be varied without departing from the scope and breadth of the claimed invention . moreover , fig1 a - c share some common features . accordingly , the description of the common features in the latter figures are being omitted and that the description of these feature with respect to the first figure are being relied upon to provide adequate description of the common features . fig1 a shows a front view of a mobile telephone 100 and fig1 b depicts a back view of the mobile telephone 100 . the mobile telephone 100 includes an exterior display 105 and a housing 110 . the housing 110 can be a “ clamshell ” configuration . other embodiments of the housing 110 can be a “ candy - bar ”, a slider configuration , or other mobile telephone housings . the housing 110 can be partitioned into sensor areas 115 . each sensor area 115 can be serviced by a single sensor or multiple sensors ( e . g ., tactile , distance , gyroscope , accelerometer , etc .). fig1 c illustrates a side view of the mobile telephone 100 with side sensor areas 120 . in some embodiments , the side sensor areas 120 can be part of respective sensor area 115 from the top and bottom of the housing 110 . fig1 d shows a view of the mobile telephone 100 in an open configuration . as shown 9 in fig1 d , the interior sensor areas 125 can be placed surrounding the speaker 130 , an interior display 135 , a keypad 140 , and a microphone 145 . while the sensors associated with a particular surface are illustrated as being fairly uniform in size and shape , one skilled in the art will readily recognize that the size , shape and concentration of discrete sensors can vary relative to different areas of a particular housing surface of the handheld device without departing from the teachings of the present invention . for example , there may be an increase in the density of discrete sensors and a corresponding increase in the number of sensors proximate an area where a user is more likely to interact with the housing . the sensor ( s ) ( not shown in fig1 a - d ) servicing each sensor area 115 , 120 , and 125 can be implemented as sensor deposits . the sensor can be deposited as carbon paint during the housing manufacturing phase , which is then painted over ( in the event of outside skin deposits ) to internal sensing deposits placed on the inside of the housing material . the sensor deposits can be prepared from materials such as copper , carbon , or other materials with some level of conductivity . other methods for applying conductive material on exterior surfaces can include a flex circuit , a conductive paint , a conductive label , plating , vacuum metallization , plasma coating , in mold decoration ( conductive ink ), film insert molding ( conductive ink ), metal insert ( e . g ., glob label or decorative metal bezel ), conductive plastic molding , etc . the sensor deposits can be designed to make contact with a hardware contact of the sensor network that connects the sensors with the controller . the controller can be configured with numerous integrated electrical switches , which then drives the sensing hardware . the switches can be controlled by the processor of the mobile telephone and can be re - programmed as needed . examples of the electrical interface between the sensor deposits and the sensor network are shown in fig2 a - d . fig2 a shows a capacitive interconnect 200 a between an exterior conductive material 205 a and an interior conductive material 210 a . the exterior conductive material 205 a can be deposited over the interior conductive material 210 a , which is then coupled to an external sensor plate ( not shown ). fig2 b depicts an insert molded contact configuration 200 b in accordance with another embodiment . as shown in fig2 b , the configuration 200 b has a metal clip 205 b that can be insert molded into a plastic 210 b . the plastic 210 b can be flush with an exterior surface of the housing 110 . an in mold / film decoration 215 b can be used as a conductive surface with a decorative / protective overcoat 220 b . in other embodiments , the mold / film decoration 215 can be painted with a conductive paint . fig2 c illustrates a spring contact configuration 200 c in accordance with yet another embodiment . as shown in fig2 c , the configuration 200 c can comprise a protective surface 205 c deposited over a cosmetic layer 210 c and underneath the housing of the mobile telephone . the cosmetic layer 210 c can be adjacent to a conductive sensor material 215 c , which abuts a wall 220 c of the housing 110 . the wall 220 c can then be positioned next to the interior of the mobile telephone . the cosmetic layer 210 can have a voided area that exposes the conductive sensor material 215 c . a spring clip can then be used to connect the exterior contact zone to the interior part of the phone . the configuration 200 c can require an opening in the housing 110 . fig2 d shows a flex / conductive label contact configuration 200 d in accordance with yet another embodiment . as shown in fig2 d , configuration 200 d can comprise a cosmetic overlay layer 205 d deposited over a flex circuit 210 d embedded within housing wall 215 d . in this embodiment , a tail portion of the flex circuit 210 d can be coupled through a housing opening for contact to the interior electronics . a pressure contact 220 d can be coupled to a capacitive touch sensor circuit 225 d . as a user presses or holds the exterior of the housing wall , the housing wall can make contact with flex circuit 210 d and complete the circuit of the flex circuit 210 d , the pressure contact 220 d and the capacitive touch sensor circuit 225 d . fig3 illustrates a block diagram 300 of the mobile telephone 100 in accordance with yet another embodiment . it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the block diagram depicted in fig3 represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed , combined or modified . as shown in fig3 , the mobile telephone 100 can include a controller 310 , input / output ( i / o ) circuitry 320 , transmitter circuitry 330 , receiver circuitry 340 , and a bus 350 . in operation , the bus 350 allows the various circuitry and components of the mobile telephone 100 to communicate with each other . the i / o circuitry 320 provides an interface for the i / o devices such as the exterior display 105 , the speaker 130 , the display 135 , the keypad 140 , and the microphone 145 . the transmitter circuitry 330 provides for the transmission of communication signals to other mobile communication devices , base stations , or the like . the receiver circuitry 340 provides for the reception of communication signals from other mobile telephones , base stations , or the like . the controller 310 controls the operation of the mobile telephone 100 . in some embodiments , the controller 310 can be interfaced with a sensor network as shown in fig4 . as shown in fig4 , the controller 310 can be coupled to a sensor network 405 through a switch 410 . the sensor network 405 can be implemented with skin sensors as previously described . one or more skin sensors can be implemented in a sensor area ( see fig1 a - d , areas 110 , 115 , 120 , and 125 ) on the housing 110 of the mobile telephone 100 . the switch 410 can be configured to direct data from the sensor network 405 to the controller 310 for processing . the controller 310 can be configured to include a personalization module as shown in fig5 , which depicts an exemplary block diagram of the personalization module 500 in accordance with yet another embodiment . it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the block diagram 500 depicted in fig5 represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other components may be added or existing components may be removed or modified . as shown in fig5 the personalization module 500 can comprise a manager module 505 , a sensor module 510 , a mode library module 515 and a sensor profile module 520 . the manager module 505 can be configured to provide the functionality of the personalization module 500 as described previously and in greater detail below . the manager module 505 can be coupled to the sensor module 510 . the sensor module 510 can be configured to interface with the sensor network 405 through the switch 410 . the sensor module 510 can then provide an interface for the manager module 505 to collect data from the respective sensors 415 of the sensor network 405 . the manager module 505 can also be coupled with the mode library module 515 . the mode library module 515 can be configured to store images or icons associated with respective modes of the mobile telephone . for example , image 525 a can be an image of a user holding a telephone to represent or image 525 b can be an image of a user using the telephone in a speakerphone mode . accordingly , when the manager module 505 is placed in a calibration ( or personalization , program , etc .) mode , the manager module 505 can display a selected image of a user mode for a user to emulate . as the user is emulating the displayed image , the manager module 505 can then collect a set of configuration / calibration data , i . e ., a sensor profile , from the sensors 415 of the sensor network 405 through the sensor module 510 . subsequently , the manager module 505 can store and associate the received sensor profile with the selected mode in the sensor profile module 520 . as a result of storing sensor profiles for each mode of operation of the mobile telephone , a user can operate a mobile telephone in different modes by merely changing how the user holds the mobile telephone . the sensor profile module 520 can store use modes such as anticipation modes . one example of an anticipation mode can be a mobile telephone can initiate full power on , the display being turned on , etc . in response to detecting that it is being picked up by the user . another example of an anticipation mode can be the mobile telephone changing ring tone , increasing the volume , turning off the display , etc ., in response to detecting that it is being put on a table . yet another example of an anticipation mode can be the mobile telephone enabling an idle mode in response to detecting that it is plugged to a charger . fig6 shows a flow diagram 600 executed by the manager module 505 in accordance with yet another embodiment . it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram 600 depicted in fig6 represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified . as shown in fig6 , the manager module 505 can be configured to be in a calibration mode , in step 600 . more particularly , a user may have manipulated the keypad 140 of the mobile telephone 100 to enter a configuration / calibration mode . the manager module 505 can be configured to display a predetermined number of images that represent each mode of the mobile telephone . a user could scroll through the images by operating appropriate buttons of the keypad 140 . the manager module 505 can then enter a wait state until a user selects a mode to calibrate or program . in step 610 , the manager module 505 can receive the selection of the mode to program . accordingly , the manager module 505 can display the selected image on the lcd 140 . in step 615 , the manager module 505 can be configured to collect data from the sensors 415 of the sensor network 405 for a predetermined amount of time . the manger module 505 can buffer the incoming data from sensor network . in step 620 , the manager module 505 can be configured to store the collected data as a set of configuration data , i . e ., a sensor profile , for the selected mode . the manager module 505 can then store the sensor profile linked with the selected mode in the sensor profile module 520 . subsequently , the manager module 505 can then exit the calibration / programming mode . fig7 shows a flow diagram 700 executed by the manager module 505 in accordance with yet another embodiment . it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the flow diagram 700 depicted in fig7 represents a generalized schematic illustration and that other steps may be added or existing steps may be removed or modified . as shown in fig7 , the manager module 505 of the personalization module 500 can be configured to detect a tactile interaction by the user , in step 705 . more particularly , the sensor module 510 can receive a set of operating data as a current sensor profile from the active sensors 415 of the sensor 405 . in step 710 , the manager module 505 can be configured to initially buffer the current sensor profile from the sensor module 510 . in step 715 , the manager module 505 can be configured to determine a mode based on the collected sensor profiles stored in the sensor profile module 520 . more particularly , the manager module 505 can compare the current sensor profile with the stored sensor profiles . if there is a match between the current sensor profile and a stored sensor profile , in step 720 , the manager module 505 can notify the controller 310 to operate the mobile telephone in the matching mode , in step 725 . subsequently , the manager module 505 can enter a monitoring state , in step 730 . otherwise , if there is not a match , in step 720 , the manager module 505 can be configured to determine whether the current sensor profile is within a predetermined threshold of any of the stored sensor profiles , in step 735 . if one of the stored sensor profiles is within the predetermined threshold , the manager module 505 can be configured to update the matching sensor profile with the current sensor profile , in step 750 , thereby allowing the previously stored interaction associated with a particular mode to migrate and / or change over time without necessarily requiring a new interaction to be associated with an existing mode to be expressly detected and stored to accommodate an aggregate of multiple subtle migratory changes in user interaction over time , which might no longer match the originally stored interaction . subsequently , the manager module 505 can then enter the monitoring state , in step 755 . if none of the stored sensor profiles are within the predetermined threshold , in step 735 , the manager module 505 can be configured to collect the operating parameters of the mobile telephone 100 , in step 740 . the manager module 505 can then be configured to associate the current sensor profile with the current operating parameters of the mobile telephone 100 as a new mode . the manager module 505 can then store the sensor profile in the sensor profile module 520 . subsequently , the manager module 505 can enter a monitoring state of step 730 . certain embodiments may be performed as a computer program . the computer program may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive . for example , the computer program can exist as software program ( s ) comprised of program instructions in source code , object code , executable code or other formats ; firmware program ( s ); or hardware description language ( hdl ) files . any of the above can be embodied on a computer readable medium , which include storage devices and signals , in compressed or uncompressed form . exemplary computer readable storage devices include conventional computer system ram ( random access memory ), rom ( read - only memory ), eprom ( erasable , programmable rom ), eeprom ( electrically erasable , programmable rom ), and magnetic or optical disks or tapes . exemplary computer readable signals , whether modulated using a carrier or not , are signals that a computer system hosting or running the present invention can be configured to access , including signals downloaded through the internet or other networks . concrete examples of the foregoing include distribution of executable software program ( s ) of the computer program on a cd - rom or via internet download . in a sense , the internet itself , as an abstract entity , is a computer readable medium . the same is true of computer networks in general . while the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof , those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope . the terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations . in particular , although the method has been described by examples , the steps of the method may be performed in a different order than illustrated or simultaneously . those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims and their equivalents .	8
although this is not expressly shown , the individual features described with reference to each embodiment shall be intended as auxiliary and / or interchangeable with other features , as described with reference to other embodiments . reference will be simply made herein to a hood installed in a kitchen , such as a domestic kitchen . of course , the technical concepts as disclosed herein may be equally understood if the hood is installed in an environment other than a domestic kitchen , for instance if it is installed in a kitchen of a restaurant or another indoor environment . the extractor hood , generally referenced 1 in the figures , typically comprises a chassis 11 , an extractor motor ( not shown ), a control panel 13 connected to the extractor motor to regulate operation thereof , and an exhaust duct 14 , for exhausting fumes and vapors outside the kitchen or into a specially provided chimney flue . additional components may be filters , one or more lighting elements , possibly controlled by the same control panel 13 or a different control panels , and structural elements for fixation to existing or specially provided fixtures in the kitchen . the present invention relates to a device , referenced 2 in the figures , for the extractor hood 1 . such device 2 is designed to be mounted in series to the exhaust duct 14 . therefore , the device 2 comprises a tubular portion 22 , having a preferably circular or substantially rectangular section ( although a different section may be also provided ), and preferably extending along a predetermined longitudinal , preferably straight axis x - x ( curvilinear arrangements , such as elbows , possibly 90 ° elbows , may be also provided , as the skilled person may appreciate from the present disclosure ). an air flow detector ( or an anemometer ) 21 is placed within the tubular portion 22 . in terms of cross section perpendicular to the axis x - x , the area of the section of the tubular portion 22 ranges from about 5000 mm 2 to about 32000 mm 2 , which correspond , in a device 2 having a circular section , to a diameter ranging from 80 to 200 mm . the air flow detector 21 may be a hot - wire anemometer , a pitot tube , a cup anemometer or another kind of detector that can detect the air flow with adequate accuracy . in a preferred embodiment , the detector 21 is of mechanical type , e . g . comprising an element 23 disposed transverse to the axis x - x , preferably perpendicular to such axis . advantageously , the element 23 has a flat surface , e . g . facing towards the side of the device 2 that is designed to face towards the hood side 1 , when installed . according to a preferred embodiment , the element 23 comprises a thin plate ; e . g . the element 23 may be substantially a sheet , typically made of metal , such as steel , gold , silver . the element 23 may be joined to the tubular portion 22 by a constraint 24 that allows a limited degree of angular displacement , such as a hinge , or a device that allows a limited linear displacement ( not shown ). the device 2 may further comprise a counteracting element ( not shown ), such as an elastic element or a spring ( or two springs , located on either side , or more ), capable of pressing or urging the element 23 to an equilibrium position , in which it is substantially transverse or in which it is perpendicular to the axis x - x ( coinciding with the air flow direction designed during use ). therefore , during operation of the hood 1 , the element 23 is displaced from its equilibrium position by the air flow through the device 2 due to the force exerted by the air flow on the element 23 . the displacement of the element 23 from its equilibrium position obviously depends on a number of factors but , assuming that the device 2 is the same , it will only depend on the air speed through the device . therefore , the displacement of the element 23 will determine with adequate accuracy the extraction capacity of an extractor hood 1 connected in series therewith , whereby detection of the angular displacement of the element 23 will provide the air flow extracted by the extractor hood 1 from the environment in which the latter is installed , such as a kitchen . therefore , the device 2 may include a detector 26 for detecting the displacement of the element 23 from its equilibrium position . the sensitivity of the detector 26 may range from a very high sensitivity to a sensitivity that only allows detection of a displacement corresponding to an air flow equal to or higher than a preset limit , e . g . the limit imposed by local standards . for instance , the detector 26 may be able to generate a threshold signal ss as a predetermined air flow is exceeded , or a first threshold signal ss 1 as the predetermined air flow is exceeded and a second threshold signal ss 2 as the air flow in the device 1 returns below the predetermined air flow . considering the above mentioned us standards , for instance , such limit is 400 cubic feet per minute ( about 680 cubic feet per hour ). in a preferred embodiment , such detector 26 may be a microswitch 27 located in a position in which it is triggered as a particular displacement threshold is exceeded . for instance , the microswitch 27 may be actuated by a lug 28 , joined or formed of one piece with the element 23 . for instance , the lug 28 may be substantially elongate along an axis transverse to the axis x - x , e . g . along an axis coplanar with the flat surface of the element 23 . the lug 28 may be placed on the side opposite to the constraint 24 , or on the same side as the latter . when the element 23 is in its rest position , it may obstruct a part of the total section of the tubular portion ; such part may be more than 5 %, advantageously more than 10 % or 15 %, e . g . more than 20 %, and / or less than 70 %, than 60 % or 50 %, e . g . less than 40 %. in a preferred embodiment , the device 1 comprises a control element 3 capable of receiving the threshold signal ss generated by the detector 26 and of transmitting it to an external element 4 , such as a closure element 41 for closing a passage formed between the environment in which the extractor hood 1 is installed and the outside environment . advantageously , the closure element 41 comprises a frame 42 with a passage 43 and a movable diaphragm 44 , which is adapted to selectively obstruct the passage 43 . the movable diaphragm may include one or more strips , as shown in fig3 , or be formed in another equivalent manner . the frame 42 and the passage 43 are of such a size as to allow an installation operator to form a passage between the kitchen ( or more generally the environment in which the extractor hood 1 is installed ) and the outside environment , to meet any relevant standard . the external element 4 may include a control and monitoring device 45 for receiving the threshold signal / s ss , ss 1 , ss 2 generated by the detector 26 and , for instance , causing the movable diaphragm 44 to open and / or close upon receipt of the threshold signal . for example , the movable diaphragm 44 may be controlled to leave the passage open 43 while the threshold signal ss is being transmitted , or during the time between receipts of the first and second threshold signals ss 1 , ss 2 . those skilled in the art will obviously appreciate that a number of changes and variants may be made to the arrangements as described hereinbefore to meet specific needs , e . g . by changing the way in which the signal for opening and closing the movable diaphragm 44 is transmitted or received , as long as the relevant standard is met . all of these variants and changes fall within scope of the invention , as defined in the following claims .	6
the present invention involves the production of black glass from waste glass recovered from trash burning incinerators . the black glass is obtained by a chemical conversion of the ferrous oxides ( feo ) and ferric oxides ( fe 2 o 3 ) to magnetite ( fe 3 o 4 ) that is caused when the waste glass is melted . the waste glass fraction of incinerator residue is derived from an assortment of glass that virtually covers the entire range of glass products that may be disposed of as trash . the major concentration of glass present in the residue , however , is from glass containers such as beverage bottles , jars and glasses . in essence , the glass fraction is of a lower grade quality , which will contain higher proportions of ferrous oxides . when this glass is mixed in trash and placed in the incineration process , with temperatures of 1600 ° f . or more , and instant cooling from quenching in water , the glass takes on additional amounts of ferrous and ferric oxides because of iron contamination from the other components of the trash , such as tin cans , rusting iron and steel , and paper . the u . s . bureau of mines has shown the comparative analysis between unincinerated and incinerated glass to be as follows : ______________________________________ incinerator unincinerated residue glass glass______________________________________sio . sub . 2 64 . 80 69 . 30al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 2 . 50 1 . 74na . sub . 2 o 14 . 20 13 . 91cao 7 . 60 10 . 02mgo 2 . 00 0 . 43fe . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 5 . 70 0 . 86k . sub . 2 o 0 . 50 0 . 55cr . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 0 . 05 0 . 03______________________________________ ( see bureau of mines report of investigations # 7708 , glass wool from waste glass , 1972 , p . 2 ). the ferric oxides in incinerator residue may even range as high as fifteen percent as shown in other samples analyzed by the bureau of the mines . under incineration conditions , the ferric oxides combine with ferrous oxides , but the appearance of the glass does not change , aside from becoming slightly soft . after incineration , the waste glass , when subjected to melting conditions and cooling , which makes the cullet a homogenous substance , turns black due to conversion of the ferrous and ferric oxides to magnetite , which is a black , isometric , iron ore which occurs at temperatures exceeding 1300 ° c . the ferric oxides are reduced to fe 3 o 4 by hydrogen at 500 ° c . or more . this conversion to a black body occurs for samples of waste glass melted from different communities , such as harrisburg , pa . ; baltimore , md ; and washington , d . c . the conversion also takes place for samples collected at different times of the year . the production of black glass through this conversion occurs even when in the presence of soot and ash , except that the greater the proportions of soot and ash to waste glass when melting , the more brittle and less desirable the black glass becomes . it should be noted that mixed unincinerated glass , when melted under the same circumstances , even if soot and ash is mixed throughout , does not form a black glass , but rather a green and amber tinged body . incinerator residue , when discharged from the incinerator , consists of metals , glass , ash , miscellaneous inorganic matter such as stone and ceramics and partially burned objects . the waste glass is found in fragments due to crazing and shattering during the heating and cooling process of incineration and quenching inside the incinerator . pieces of glass ranging from 2 &# 34 ; to 0 . 3 mm are mixed with the other components of the residue . the best mode for making the black glass from the incinerator residue is believed to be a six - step process . the first step is to separate the glass fraction from the other components of the residue . this is best accomplished by removal of ferrous metals by a magnetic separator being passed over the residue , and then screening the remaining portion to capture pieces in size between 2 &# 34 ; and 4 mm . through this screeing , the retained matter will consist mostly of glass fragments , but also of small pieces of metal , ceramics stone and other miscellaneous matter . the next step is to load the retained glass and assorted matter into a crucible . the crucible must be constructed of a material that can withstand high temperatures exceeding 1500 ° c ., such as a clay - bond graphite or iron - free stoneware clay . although not necessary , it is desirable to use a crucible , or coat a crucible , to prevent bonding of the glass to the walls and floor , and to allow for easy unloading of the glass after melting and cooling . the crucible is then placed into an oven , kiln , or other heating chamber , and fired to a temperature sufficient to bring the glass to a molten state and homogeneous mixture . this may be accomplished in a temperature range of 1300 ° c . to 1500 ° c ., but the best temperature for rendering a state of homogeneous and molten glass is about 1430 ° c ., to be held for about a three hour time period . this melting process will produce a stratification of the mixture , with the undissolved inorganics ( such as stone , shells , etc .) rising to the top layer , metals concentrating at the bottom , and the middle will be a clean black glass material . the stratified mixture must be cooled slowly in the heating chamber by shutting off the firing mechanism , and allowing the mixture to cool by a natural and gradual decline to normal room temperature . the cooling process should be over a twelve to sixteen hour period , before exposing the mixture to the atmosphere outside of the heating chamber . once cooked , the mixture may be unloaded or broken from the crucible and fragmented into three parts : a top layer of extraneous and undissolved matter ; a middle layer of clean black glass ; and a bottom layer of concentrated metals . the extraneous mattr and the metals concentrate are to be removed , and the black glass layer is then used as a cullet for remelting and forming into desired shapes . the black glass cullet is then reloaded into a crucible made of high temperature material and placed into a heating chamber for melting . the cullet is then fired at a temperature to remelt , which temperture is in a range of 1300 ° c ., to 1500 ° c ., but the best level is about 1300 ° c . this temperature must be held for atleast 2 hours , but is desired to be held for an extended time of about 16 hours . the extended melting conditions allows oxidizing reactions to stabilize , preventing surface bubbling for any form or object that is shaped . otherwise , at shorter melting periods , the chemical conversion of the ferrous and ferric oxides cause a gaseous reaction and release that causes bubbling at the surface level . the glass mixture in the molten state is then poured into molds for shaping as desired , such as in the form of tiles , blocks , or troughed plates . after a brief period of about 30 seconds to set up , the glass form is then unloaded onto a setter and placed into an annealer for a minimum of one hour at an annealing temperture of about 580 ° c . the form is the allowed to cool gradually in the annealing chamber . one form that the black glass material can take is as a generally conventional flat plate solar collector where the black glass can act as the absorber plate and by providing passageways therein for the flow of air or water through the body of the glass . this structure can replace the need for conventional heat absorbing material such as aluminum plates and copper tubing . the heat absorption properties of the black glass can transmit heat directly to the passing medium . passageways may be made by etching out grooves , troughs , or canals throughout the infterior body of a black glass flat plate collector . alternatively , the passageways may be molded into the body during formation . while several embodiments of the invention have been described , it will be understood that it is capable of still further modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses , or adaptations of the invention , following in general the principles of the inventions and including such departures from the present disclosure as to come within knowledge or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains , and as may be applied to the essential features hereinabove set forth and falling within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims .	8
mineral ores that are concentrated by floatation are dug out of the ground and ground to a predefined small particle size . the grains or ore are then treated with various surface active molecules and pumped into a floatation pond where dissolved air is introduced . the ore binds to the collector , that creates a water insoluble particle . this water insoluble complex is then floated to the surface by exclusion from the water into the air bubbles that form in dissolved air floatation . frothers keep a thick head of foam that supports the mineral at the surface until rakes of booms can skim the mineral complex into hoppers for further processing . ideally , the non target components of the dirt / ore mixture are left to settle to the bottom of the floatation ponds , thus concentrating the desired minerals to an extent that they can then enter the next processing steps , be it reduction , purification or other processing steps . the present invention utilizes alkoxylates as the backbone of the collector . by varying the side chains on the collector and the chain length , either though increasing the number of repeating units , or by utilizing different chain length or conformations of alcohols to initiate the alkoxylation adjustments to the water solubility , frothing potential and density of the mineral - collector complex can be made . these adjustments allow for the optimization of the collector , by increasing the yield of the target mineral and reducing the collection of non - target minerals , such as silicates . fig1 shows the synthesis of primary amine and diamine collectors . water is typical used to make polyalkoxylates . the resulting polyalkoxylates have 2 terminal hydroxyls and can react with 2 moles of acrylonitrile to form the di - primary amine . the use of diols and polyols , such as resorcinol , glycerin , neopentyl glycol , and pentaerythritol produce multiple hydroxyls and the analogous products can be formed . the higher polyols beyond diols , introduce branching , which is useful for lower pour points and easier handling , particularly in cold climates . while the figure shows the alkyl portion , r being from 1 to 8 carbons , this is the preferred range for the ore that is mined today . higher carbon chains show promise in more unusual ores where heavier species are being floated . the invention covers these higher carbon chain analogs as well . this analog holds true for all subsequent figures as well . the use of a monohydric alcohol , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol or butanol results in a polyalkoxylate with just one terminal hydroxyl to react the acrylonitrile with , resulting in a primary amine collector . utilizing higher carbon number alcohols reduces the water solubility of both the collector and the collector - mineral complex . non - linear alcohols , like phenol , cylcohexanol , isopropanol , or t - butanol reduces the pour point for easier handling in cold climates . a diamine can also be formed by reacting the previously formed primary amine with an additional mole of acrylonitrile , which is then reduced to form the diamine . this same addition can be done with the primary diamines to yield di -( diamines ). the michael addition of acrylonitrile to the alcohol and the amine is well known , as is the reduction of the nitrile to the amine with sponge nickel or other sponge metals , either promoted or not , with hydrogen . the reduction typically takes place at a pressure between 400 to 800 psi at less than 40 c over 4 to 12 hours . the michael addition is typically done by adding acrylonitrile to the alcohol or amine at ambient temperature with cooling at such a rate as to maintain temperature . elevated temperatures lead to polymerization of the acrylonitrile . if needed , a catalytic amount of caustic may be used to accelerate the michael addition with alcohols . the yields are typically in excess of 96 % and no further purification is necessary for a commercial product . these collectors are useful where cationic collectors are required , such as iron ore and potash . fig2 shows the synthesis of the anionic analogs of the collectors in fig1 . the xanthates and dithiocarbamates . the di - dithiocarbamates may be made from the diamines . the anionic collectors are typically used in sulfide ores . the same solubility trends apply to the anionics as to the cationic collectors of fig1 . the xanthates are synthesized by reacting carbon disulfide ( cs 2 ) with the alcohol group under basic conditions . the dithiocarbamates are made similarly , but reacting an amino group instead of an alcohol group . the result is a salt of the xanthate or dithiocarbamate . the salt shown in fig2 is always a sodium salt , but any cationic salt is possible and part of the invention . the xanthates and dithiocarbamates can be made as the salts of amines , as well as of mineral bases . the collectors of the present invention have additional uses as well . the cationic collectors have utility in personal care as surfactants , cleaners , emollients , rheology modifiers , and to buffer the products . the primary amines and diamines also have utility in asphalt as antistrips . fig3 shows several derivatives . amides with fatty acids of the cationic collectors are made simply by combining the cationic collector with the desired fatty acid , typically stearic acid or coconut fatty acid and heating to remove a mole of water for each amide group formed . the amides are versatile rheology modifiers . amphoterics of the cationic collectors can be made through the reaction of sodium monochloroacetic acid ( reflux 1 : 1 molar equivalents of smca for approximately 8 hours ), or for a salt free form , acrylic acid or methacrylic acid may be reacted by adding the acid at ambient temperature or below to the cationic collector with sufficient cooling to keep the temperature below 30 c . the esters can be made by reacting the esters of the acids . a diaddition can be made to the amino group by continuing the reactions . sulfonates can be made by reacting sodium vinyl sulfonate , propane sultone or butane sultone , or higher sultones can be reacted similarly to create the sulfonates with a longer carbon chain between the nitrogen and the sulfur . phosphonates can be made by reacting phosphonic acid and formaldehyde . the salted products derivatives of the cationic collectors in fig3 can be in their free form through ion exchange or be salted with any other cation . fig4 shows that tertiary amines can be made by reacting 2 moles of formaldehyde , followed by a reduction with sponge nickel under similar conditions to the nitrile reductions in fig1 . the tertiary amines can then be made into quaternaries or amine oxides . the quaternaries of methyl chloride , diethylsulfate , ethyl benzyl chloride , and benzyl chloride are all facile reactions at ambient temperature that yield the analogous quaternaries . fig5 shows the synthesis of novel collectors based on allylic polynitriles that are then reduced to the polyamines . this unique approach allows for the synthesis of polyprimary amines . the starting material may be an alcohol , an amine , a polyamine such as tallow diamine , common trade name akzo duomeen t , or polyether amine , such as air products da - 14 , ethoxylated amines , such as akzo ethomeet t12 , or ethoxylated ether amines , such as air products e - 17 - 5 . in the case of primary amines , a second equivalent of the allylic polyacrylonitrile can be added , versus the secondary amines that can only accept one equivalent . any alcohol or amine functional starting material may be reacted with the allylic polyacrylonitrile and then reduced to form the polyamine is part of this invention . fig6 shows the synthesis of the secondary amines . in fig6 , the reactants are 2 moles of the same ether nitrile , but this need not be the case . r and r 1 may be different and even a wade range of blends may be used which will give a mixture of symmetric and asymmetric secondary amines . the ether nitriles of the invention may also be reacted alkyl nitriles , such as tallow nitrile , or more conventional ether nitriles , such as the ether nitrile formed by the synthesis of fatty alcohols such as exxal 10 and acrylonitrile to form asymmetric secondary amines and even the nitriles formed from acrylonitrile and hydroxyl terminated siloxanes or silyl alcohols . the use of differing nitriles allows the chemist to produce secondary amines with a range of hydrophobicities and surfactancies . conditions for the synthesis are more severe than the synthesis of the primary amines . the reaction generally takes 2 hrs at 220 c , but only about 300 psi pressure of hydrogen . typical sponge nickel may be used , but beta branched products to appear in larger quantities . a nickel carbonate catalyst will reduce this byproduct formation . while fig6 only shows the synthesis of symmetric secondary amines , the asymmetric secondary amines and their derivatives are part of this invention . the dimethyl quaternary shown in row 3 of fig6 is particularly well suited to treated drilling clays to form hydrophobic clays for use in oilfield drilling muds , as well as biodegradeable fabric softeners . these dimethyl quats me be formed as either the sulfate or chloride salt depending on the methylating agent , typically dms or methyl chloride . the bezyl chloride quats are useful for antimicrobials and corrosion inhibitors . the ethylbenzyl and naphtha quats are anti - fungal as well . the symmetric tertiary amine of the first row of fig6 is obtained with slightly different conditions . an 85 % yield of tertiary amine is obtainable by running the reaction at a lower pressure , ˜ 100 psi , for 4 - 6 hrs . the corresponding asymmetric tertiary amines can be made by varying the nitriles used as starting materials in the reaction vessel . similarly , the derivatives , such as amine oxides , and quaternaries analogous to the those shown with the methyl tertiary amine are similarly obtained . the tertiary polyalkoxylate quaternaries are particularly useful as hair conditioners , particularly when a silyl nitrile is used as a starting material . similar to fig2 , and 4 , the amines in fig5 and fig6 can be derivatized into tertiary amines , amine oxides , quaternaries , sulfonates , sulfates , betaines , betaine esters , phosphonates and alkoxylates . the amine products taught in this invention are used in mineral floatation , either alone or in combination with other known collectors , and or with non - ionic surfactants or other frothing aids , asphalt emulsifiers . several descriptions and illustrations have been presented to enhance understanding of the present invention . one skilled in the art will know that numerous changes and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention . each of these changes and variations are within the scope of the present invention .	1
while the present disclosure will be described fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which a particular embodiment is shown , it is to be understood at the outset that persons skilled in the art may modify the disclosure herein described while still achieving the desired result . accordingly , the description that follows is to be understood as a broad informative disclosure directed to persons skilled in the appropriate art and not as limitations on the present disclosure . as illustrated in the drawings , the truck vehicle 10 has road wheels 12 and high rail wheels 14 . this arrangement enables operation of the vehicle on ordinary roads , driving to railroad tracks 16 and straddling them , then actuating the retractable high rail wheels 14 to partially lift the truck off the rails 17 . motive drive is nevertheless still provided with the road wheels through the rubber tires 18 . gauge axle assembly 20 is located between the truck wheels 12 . the high rail units 14 are preferably forward of the front end 22 and rearward of the rear end 24 of the vehicle , forward of the front end 22 on a front frame extension 26 and rearward of the rear end 24 on a frame extension 28 , as shown in fig1 . the gauge axle assembly 20 is used to apply a calibrated side load on the tracks 16 . variation in track side load is measured by the gauge axle assembly 20 and the measurements taken are analyzed to determine the strength of the track 16 by measuring variations in hydraulic pressure as load is also placed on the gauge axle . split axle assembly 30 made up left and right generally square sectioned shafts 32 , 34 each having a spindle 36 , 38 on its outboard end 40 , 42 , as generally discussed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 756 , 903 and as shown in fig6 and 8 . spindles 36 , 38 and bearings 44 have wheels 46 . wheels 46 have surfaces 48 that diverge toward flange 50 . bearing races 49 and 51 in the wheel 46 and on the spindles 36 , 38 have thrust and support surfaces . at the inboard ends 54 a hydraulic ram 56 is attached to clevis and pin fittings 58 , 60 . ram 56 provides the outward force necessary for the flange 50 of the wheel 46 to maintain contact with the head 19 of the tracks 16 . shafts 32 , 34 are carried on ultra high molecular weight ( uhmw ) plastic slides 62 , 64 in housing 66 . an improvement in this application , compared to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 756 , 903 is in major measurement improvements enabled by new split axle shafts 232 , 234 , or 332 , 334 that incorporate force sensors positioned on the shafts . as described in the aforementioned patent , distortion or variation in hydraulic pressure is directly measured by a linear transducer on the hydraulic line pressurizing ram 56 . track strength is then calculated by comparing the measured pressure under a constant lateral load to an unloaded gauge measurement and a delta gauge or a rail movement is computed . because this system measures fluid pressure , there is a slight time lag in obtaining reading , rendering it difficult to accurate log measurements . certain inaccuracies in the system occur due to physical properties of hydraulic fluid and friction in the hydraulic system , which results in a greater deviation in the numbers calculated than desired . in order to have a substantially constant load applied to the wheels 46 in the prior art systems , hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic ram 56 needs to be constantly adjusted . when a track weakness , caused by rail , tie or fastener failure , permits the wheels 46 to move , movement of the hydraulic piston in the hydraulic ram 56 causes the volume in the hydraulic system to increase , decreasing fluid pressure in the system . to compensate for movement of the piston of the hydraulic ram 56 , system hydraulic pressure is increased by the controls . when the track returns to a gauge closer to the desired mean gauge in the specification , there is a consequent decrease in volume in the cylinder of the hydraulic ram 56 , increasing fluid pressure in the system . to compensate for movement of the piston of the hydraulic ram 56 , system pressure is reduced by the controls . compensation in the system for fluxation in pressure creates a large disparity in the resultant measurements . because of the great deviation , caused by the fluxation in cylinder volume , railroads unnecessarily stop and physically inspect track that in fact is within specification , which reduces the efficiency of maintenance operations and increases maintenance costs . these plots of the open loop hydraulic system utilizing force measurements taken off of the hydraulic system are shown in fig1 . the more accurate results of the improvement , described below , are shown in fig1 . the present disclosure addresses these undesirable traits by using direct mechanical measurement of changes in load or strain in split axle shafts 232 , 332 as shown in fig5 - 8 . the axle assembly measures changes in load or strain in each of the split axle shafts 232 , 332 . the axle assembly 20 applies a lateral load by use of hydraulic ram 56 and applies a vertical load with use of hydraulic cylinders 82 . the axle assembly 20 will be described regarding one side of the loaded gauge axle assembly 20 , it being understood the other side is a mirror image . shaft 232 , of the first embodiment of the present disclosure , uses load cells 256 , 258 while shaft 332 , of the second embodiment of the present disclosure , uses strain sensors 356 , 358 . either the strain sensors 356 , 358 or the load cells 256 , 258 provide essentially instantaneous measurement of changes in load on the split axle shafts 232 , 332 . the installation of force transducers , such as the load cells 256 , 258 in the cantilevered section of the split axle shafts 232 or 332 outside of the frictional elements of the axle assembly 20 subjects the load cells 256 , 258 to rail / wheel forces and not frictional forces created by the hydraulic ram 56 . the avoidance of frictional forces at the measurement point permits a more accurate detection of lateral weakness in the analyzed track . vertical and lateral forces placed upon the track are separately and independently , measured by the load cells 256 , 258 . the direct force vertical and lateral measurement in the non - rotating split axle shafts 232 is continuous along the running track . the orientation of the load cells 256 , 258 within each of the split axle shafts 232 determines whether the analog output load cells 256 will be lateral load output or vertical load output . the load cells 256 , 258 are designed so that the orientation of the load cell within an opening determines whether the forces measured are lateral or vertical . the load cells include alignment markings wherein the orientation of the markings dictates the type of force measured . positioning the alignment markings in a vertical orientation allows the load cells to measure lateral force and positioning the alignment markings of the load cells forty five degrees from vertical permits the load cells to measure vertical force . while orienting load cells within the split axle shafts 232 in the described configuration is the preferred method of measuring forces in the split axle shafts 232 , other configurations of the load cells for measuring lateral and vertical forces may also be used to achieve the same result . further , other possible force measuring devices that may be used to measure vertical and lateral forces within the split axle shafts 232 . split axle shaft 232 includes a spindle 36 at the outboard end 240 as shown in fig8 . the spindle is adapted to accept bearings 44 and wheel 46 . wheel 46 includes surfaces 37 that diverge toward a flange 50 . the wheel 46 and flange 50 are positioned on the head 19 of the rail 16 . bearing races 49 and 51 in the wheel 46 and on the spindles 36 , 38 have thrust and support surfaces to prevent lateral and vertical play between the wheel 46 and the split axle shaft 232 . the use of bearings 44 permits the wheel 46 to rotate along the track while the split axle shaft 232 remains stationary . this is necessary so that the orientation of the load cells 256 , 258 remain constant . at the inboard end 251 of each of the split axle shafts 232 the hydraulic ram 56 is attached by clevis and pin fittings 58 , 60 . the hydraulic ram 56 is expanded and contracted by varying pressure on both ends of the cylinder within the hydraulic ram 56 in response to signals from the load cells 256 , 258 . the hydraulic ram 56 is designed to pull and push the split axle shafts 232 so that a constant force is applied to the tracks . using a closed loop system , as described below , a substantially constant lateral force and a substantially constant vertical force in an allowable range set by the fra for grms measurement is applied to the tested track . the split axle shafts 232 are located at opposite ends of the hydraulic ram 56 and are slidably disposed within a housing 66 , as shown in fig1 . one skilled in the art will recognize that fig1 is merely a clarification of the axle assembly 20 of fig3 - 8 . the housing 66 includes inner support channels 67 , wherein the inner support channels 67 slide with respect to the housing 66 . the inner support channels 67 are secured to the split axle shafts 232 . to permit movement of the inner support channels 67 with respect to the housing , ultra high molecular weight ( uhmw ) plastic slides 62 , 64 are used . spaced in from end 240 of the split axle shaft 232 is a load sensing region 242 , as shown in fig7 and 8 . in the first embodiment , utilizing load cells 256 , 258 , load sensing region 242 is machined or formed to define two opposed recesses 244 , 246 in side surfaces 247 of the split axle shafts 232 . the recesses 244 , 246 are vertically formed , so that the full height of split axle shaft 232 is intact , but the width is reduced by about sixty percent , each recess having a depth of about 30 percent , with the remaining solid portion forming a web 250 comprising about 40 percent of the width of split axle shaft 232 . the web 250 , positioned between the recesses 244 , 246 , is itself bored to provide two apertures 252 , 254 to receive load cells 256 , 258 , for which the leads 260 are lead away from the apertures in groove 262 to protect the wiring for the load cells 256 , 258 as shown in fig7 . during the application of lateral and vertical forces by hydraulic ram 56 and cylinders 82 , the apertures 252 , 254 slightly deform , exerting pressure on the load cells 256 , 258 . the force exerted on the load cells 256 , 258 is translated into analog signals that are transmitted to a signal conditioning amplifier . the load cells 256 , 258 are tubular members that are adapted to measure force applied to their structure . the load cells 256 , 258 are designed so that their orientation within the apertures 252 , 254 determine whether the output for a given cell relates to vertical or lateral load . to measure lateral force on the split axle shaft 232 , the alignment markings of the load cell 256 are positioned in a vertical orientation within the aperture 252 . to measure vertical force on the split axle shaft 232 , the alignment markings of the load cell 258 are positioned forty five degrees from vertical . the load cells 256 , 258 continuously measure lateral and vertical force applied to the rails , the values of which are recorded . while orienting load cells within the split axle shafts 232 in the described orientation is the preferred method of measuring forces in the split axle shafts 232 , other configurations of the load cells for measuring lateral and vertical forces may also be used to achieve the same result . in the second embodiment , using strain sensors 356 , 358 , shaft 332 includes a spindle 36 at the outboard end 340 of the split axle shaft 332 . at the inboard ends 352 the hydraulic ram 56 attaches to clevis and pin fittings 359 . spaced in from end 340 is a load / strain region 342 . the load / strain region 342 is created by creating opposing recesses 343 within the split axle shaft 332 . between the recesses 343 is a central web 345 . it is preferable that the central web portion 345 be approximately ½ ″ in thickness . in the second embodiment , the central web portion 345 of the load / strain region 342 is surface fitted with strain sensors 356 , 358 , which transmit strain information to the control system . the strain sensors 356 , 358 can be attached to the surface of the central web portion 345 with adhesive , fasteners or welding . the compression or shear deformation of the central web portion 345 is measured by the strain sensors , creating an analog signal sent to the signal conditioning amplifier . the strain information detected by the strain sensors 356 , 358 , permits the control system to monitor load force on the split axle shafts 332 and vary hydraulic pressure within the hydraulic ram 56 to compensate for movement in the track . due to the unique advantages of the non - rotating split axle embodiment taught herein and in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 756 , 903 , either load sensors 256 , 258 or strain sensors 356 , 358 can be used to directly measure load / strain on the axle , in a selected direction . competitive track strength testing vehicles with rotating axles cannot be easily adapted to use of load / strain measurements because of the difficulty of identifying the direction of load / strain as the axle rotates . the direct force measurement in the non - rotating axle shaft 332 is continuous along the running rail . the lateral and vertical force control of the gauge restraint measurement system is a closed - loop control system that is capable of making continuous changes in force exerted by the hydraulic ram 56 in response to force readings provided by the load cells 256 , 258 . this arrangement ensures that a constant force is continuously applied to the track as the gauge restraint measurement system is rolling down the railway at speeds varying from 5 mph to 35 mph . it is essential to apply a constant lateral and vertical force upon the tracks even while the tracks are moving in response to the force so that an accurate and consistent measurement of variations in gauge , hence lateral strength of the track can be measured to show the extent of lateral weakness of the track . as the test vehicle encounters a laterally weak section in the track , the track moves in response to the forces , decreasing the load on the load cells . in response to the decrease in force , the hydraulic ram 56 expands increasing the force on the track until the desired force is achieved . without the increase in force , accurate track gauge measurements could not be made . the closed loop hydraulic control system is designed to maintain a constant rail / wheel lateral force . this is accomplished by use of a hydraulic servo - valve controlled by force feedback provided by force transducers , load cells 256 , 258 , in the extremity of the split axle shaft 232 , closest to the wheel . using the closed loop system , pressure on the rail does not drop with movement of the track . to maintain constant pressure on the tracks , the hydraulic servo - valve is used to rapidly increase pressure on either side of the hydraulic ram 56 . in the preferred embodiment a moog 72 - 102 servo valve is used to supply pressurized fluid to either end of the hydraulic ram 56 . the servo - valve includes a first hydraulic line that connects to a first end of the hydraulic ram 56 , and when pressurized , causes the ends of the hydraulic ram 56 to move outward exerting additional pressure on the split axle shafts 232 . pressurizing the first hydraulic line , causes the extension of the hydraulic ram 56 and the extension of the overall length of the axle assembly 20 , which compensates for outward movement of the track . the servo - valve also includes a second hydraulic line that connects to a second end of the hydraulic ram 56 , and when pressurized , causes the ends of the hydraulic ram 56 to pull inward , decreasing pressure on the split axle shafts 232 . pressurizing the second hydraulic line causes the retraction of the hydraulic ram 56 and an overall decrease in the length of the axle assembly 20 to compensate for lack of track movement , i . e . standard track gauge within specifications . the servo - valve is controlled by the system computer in response to signals received from the load cells 256 , 258 . if the load cells 256 , 258 send a signal showing a drop in force on the track , due to track lateral weakness , the computer sends an analog signal to the servo - valve to increase hydraulic pressure in the first end of the hydraulic ram 56 , maintaining constant force on the split axle shafts 232 and expansion of the overall length of the axle assembly 20 . if the load cells 256 , 258 send a signal showing an increase in force on the track , due to the transitioning from a weak section of track to a strong section of track , the computer sends an analog signal to the servo - valve to increase hydraulic pressure in the second end of the hydraulic ram 56 , maintaining a constant force on the split axle shafts 232 , reducing the overall length of the axle assembly 20 . the closed loop force control system has a fast response time that effectively reacts to changes in track conditions . the closed loop system pushes the split axle shafts 232 outward and pulls the split axle shafts 232 inward to create a uniform load on the track . this arrangement creates a highly constant force on the track , permitting highly accurate track strength measurements . to measure physical changes in distances between the rails of the track being tested in the preferred embodiment , a laser measurement system is used . while a laser measurement system is utilized , other means for measuring may also be incorporated such as mechanical means . the front of the track strength testing vehicle is equipped with an inspection camera and laser measurement device to measure unloaded gauge . the laser measurement device at the front of the vehicle takes a pre - force distance measurement of the track in an unstressed state . the measurement data is sent to and recorded by the system computer . a second inspection camera and laser measurement device is mounted under the vehicle adjacent to the load axle 20 , and is adapted to measure the distance between the rails of the track being tested under load . the values collected by the second laser measurement device are recorded by the system computer . the computer compares the differences between the first and second measurements and records the difference . the difference in the track gauge between a loaded and unloaded state in combination with the associated forces is used to determine whether a section of track is in need of repair . the direct measurement of load / strain on the split axle shafts 232 themselves enables the track strength testing vehicle to acquire and store load axle force data and provide a graphical display that is used for the evaluation of the gauge restraint measurement system grms load axle performance during revenue service . in addition to the features described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 756 , 903 and the improvements described above , this improvement utilizes a computer used for the load cell calculations , including signal amplification and a / d cards . lateral and vertical load values are calculated by the load cell computer from input from the load cells 256 , 258 . the load cell computer used for the load cell calculations uses converter boards to convert amplified and conditioned analog signals developed by the load cell circuitry to digital values ( a / d converter boards ). the signal conditioner boosts the analog signal from the load cells 256 , 258 . the a / d boards covert the amplified analog signal to a digital signal . the a / d converter board values can be used for force calculation purposes . the calculated lateral and vertical load values are used as digital inputs to the program . the three cameras used in the system have one camera positioned to send video of the track directly ahead of the track strength testing vehicle . this video is used to correlate track conditions with graphical results produced by the program . the video also allows for custom graph production during playback mode . the two other cameras used in the system send video that allows monitoring load axle wheel performance in a loaded and unloaded state and the lateral and vertical position of the load axle with respect to the vehicle . an illustration of the display 400 , is shown in fig9 . camera graphics show the left wheel , 402 , right wheel 404 and outside environment 406 . data plots on the left , drivers side , 408 and right side 410 show the progression of data collection and plot points in a ‘ scatter plot ’ form relative to statistical envelopes 412 , 414 . corresponding histograms 416 , 418 provide a different statistical view of the data points . finally , in the preferred embodiment , an array 420 of computer control ‘ buttons ’ is in the lower center of the display 400 . typical computer controls will be used to operate the system , including start , reset , pause and resume functions , in addition to various data field entry . the controls are used for such functions as skipping curves , switches , frogs , constructing custom graphs to show tangent behavior only or curve behavior only . a primary function of the system is that of graph - building and retaining accumulated graphed data , correlated to the odometer and track location video . the graphs plot data points for left and right rails , displaying the data points as accumulated plots with applied vertical force on the “ y ” axis and applied horizontal force on the “ x ” axis . also displayed are the limits of permissible deviation of the “ x ” and “ y ” values from an ‘ envelope ’ of acceptable force . the general display is shown in fig9 , while a comparison of data plots in the prior art loaded gauge axle track strength apparatus compared to the improvement , both using the computer monitoring system described above , are shown in fig1 and fig1 , respectively . the system allows the operator to view a two - dimensional graph of lateral and vertical forces displayed on a computer monitor . a two - dimensional scatter - graph is displayed for each wheel showing a dot for each foot of travel along the running rail . dots are positioned on the graph with later position relative to the horizontal scale and vertical position relative to the vertical scale calibrated in kips ( thousands of pounds ). a third dimension is added by color graduation of the scatter - graph according to frequency of occurrence . thus , the graphical display showing a degree of force control effectiveness is made available to the operator ( and customer ). the resulting display is not unlike a weather - radar image that illustrates different colors for variations in rain density / intensity . graphical force distribution information is made available to the operator so that he can monitor control system performance . by visually monitoring the force distribution scatter - graph , the operator can detect control system degradation over time and take corrective action . pattern recognition enables an operator to identify a developing problem at the component level , which greatly enhancing the maintainability of the system and the availability of the system to produce revenue , resulting in significant economic benefit for the operator and better service to the customer . experimentation has shown the interrelation between the load / strain sensor arrangement and the plots described above . with the prior art hydraulic pressure sensing surrogate for the mechanical properties , points were more frequently outside the permissible ‘ envelope ’ as shown in fig1 . this plot is created using an open loop force control apparatus , and it is for this reason it is designated as “ prior art .” in fact , however , the display apparatus is that of the improvement as to display and calculations discussed herein . using the closed loop control system , greater precision and fewer false indications of inadequate strength are received . this is shown in fig1 . it will be observed that the data points plotted 422 using the open loop system covers a much larger area of the graph than plot 424 , using the closed loop system . the track strength measurement system can be quickly calibrated without the need to send the system to an independent laboratory that could take a measurement vehicle offline for several weeks , causing loss in revenue . accordingly , an additional feature of the track strength measurement system is the load axle calibration subsystem , hereafter sometimes abbreviated “ lacs ”. the purpose of the lacs application is to automatically increment vertical and lateral hydraulic pressures in a planned sequence while simultaneously acquiring load axle load cell force data and comparing to permanently installed nist traceable transfer standard load cells 460 , 462 , hereinafter referred to as transfer standard cells , in order to generate correction constants for the load cell correction application as a field calibration procedure , as shown in fig3 and 4 . this self - contained system directly compares the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 with the force measurement signals generated by the internal load - axle load cells and establishes a linear mathematical relationship that is stored in the measurement system computer . the system utilizes the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 that independently measure the force applied to the wheels 46 by the hydraulic cylinders 82 . the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 can be removed from the vehicle and sent to a testing center to ensure their accuracy . a spare set of transfer standard cells 460 , 462 can be retained so that the vehicle is not out of service . typically the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 need to be calibrated once a year to ensure accuracy . the entire calibration procedure of the load axle 20 takes approximately 10 - 15 minutes . the application automatically installs calibration constants for the load cell correction application and prints a calibration report for distribution to the customer . the lacs system utilizes vertical polyester web straps 450 , 452 to support wheels 46 and a lateral polyester web strap 454 to restrict lateral movement of the wheels 46 as shown in fig3 and 4 . while polyester web straps are preferred , other types of material and harnesses may be used to restrict vertical and lateral movement . a centering device is incorporated on top of the load axle 20 during calibration to center the axle ensuring vertical loading . vertical loads are sensed by transfer standard cells 460 , 462 and lateral loads are sensed by transfer standard cell 464 . the vertical load cells 256 are tested by use of transfer standard cells 460 , 462 . the calibration procedure can be performed in a hotel parking lot prior to starting the track testing work day . to calibrate the system , the operator places the vertical polyester web straps 450 , 452 over the wheels 46 and connects the ends of the polyester web straps 450 , 452 to a transfer standard cell support bracket 463 . a separate support bracket 456 is directly connected to a first end of each of the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 . the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 are connected to the vehicle at a second end . once the polyester web straps 450 , 452 are in position around the wheels 46 , the hydraulic cylinders 82 are expanded incrementally to test vertical load cells 256 . the hydraulic cylinders 82 are moved downward with ten increments of increasing force . the test begins with a load of 2 , 000 lbs vertical force applied to the split axle shafts 232 and moves upward in ten equal increments until 15 , 000 lbs of vertical force is achieved . the vertical force values detected by the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 are compared to the vertical force values detected by the load cells 256 . if the vertical force measured from the load cells 256 varies from the vertical force measured by the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 , the load cells 256 are recalibrated to match the values of the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 . to calibrate lateral load force , a polyester web strap 454 is attached to the wheels 46 by use of brackets to restrict lateral movement of the wheels . the transfer standard cell 464 is fitted to the lateral polyester web strap 454 so that an independent lateral load can be detected . once the lateral polyester web strap 454 and transfer standard cell 464 are in position , the hydraulic ram 56 is expanded in 10 equal increments from 2 , 000 lbs to 9 , 000 lbs so that test values can be gathered . the lateral force values measured by the transfer standard cell 464 are compared to the lateral force values measured by the load cells 258 . the analog signal from the load cells 258 are assigned a numerical force value , which is compared to the output reading of the transfer standard cell 454 . if the lateral force value gathered from the load cells 258 varies from the lateral force output reading of the transfer standard cell 454 , the values assigned to the output of the load cells 258 are recalibrated to match the load values of the lateral strains sensor 454 . the nist transfer standard cells 460 , 462 , 464 are calibrated annually to maintain traceability for grms system calibration and performance . calibration files are retained and used to maintain a historical statistical quality assurance graph for the detection of gradual or abrupt system changes . the statistical quality assurance graph is used as a maintenance and monitoring tool by both field crew and engineering staff as a maintenance and design decision making tool . in the preferred embodiment , the calibration subsystem uses a cpci qnx processor and cpci analog / digital a / d converter in 3u eurocard chassis . this will be operatively connected to a server used for the host program including a / d cards and d / a cards . measurements are provided by transfer standard cells from sensotec model al416el or similar from omega engineering . the lacs hardware 500 to support the transfer standard cells 460 , 462 , 464 will be mounted beneath the truck body above the load axle wheels as shown in fig3 and 4 . signal conditioning will be used for the three tertiary standard load transducers to amplify the analog signals from the load transducers . lateral 502 , and vertical force values 504 , 506 , from transfer standard cells 460 , 462 , 464 are fed from the three signal conditioner amplifiers 508 , 510 and 512 into three available channels of the lc computer a / d card as shown in fig1 . the cpci computer 514 used for the load cell calculations uses an a / d converter to convert analog signals developed by the axle load cell circuitry to digital values that can be used for force calculation purposes . these raw lateral and vertical force values are fed through the signal conditioner 516 and then directly through the load cell computer 514 as uncorrected values and used as digital inputs to the calibration program running on the host computer . as the calibration operation is performed , progress of the test procedure , verification of performance within specifications or failure , and documentation of identification , time , specification and reporting of same will be displayed and provided . various features of the disclosure have been shown and described in connection with the illustrated embodiment , however , it is understood that these arrangements merely illustrate , and that the disclosure is to be given its fullest interpretation .	1
block copolymers of conjugated dienes and vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons which may be utilized include any of those which exhibit elastomeric properties and those which have 1 , 2 - microstructure contents prior to hydrogenation of from about 7 % to about 100 %. such block copolymers may be multiblock copolymers of varying structures containing various ratios of conjugated dienes to vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons including those containing up to about 60 percent by weight of vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon . thus , multiblock copolymers may be utilized which are linear or radial symetric or asymetric and which have structures represented by the formulae , a - b , a - b - a , a - b - a - b , b - a , b - a - b , b - a - b - a , ( ab ) 0 , 1 , 2 . . . ba and the like wherein a is a polymer block of a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon or a conjugated diene / vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon tapered copolymer block and b is a polymer block of a conjugated diene . the block copolymers may be produced by any well known block polymerization or copolymerization procedures including the well known sequential addition of monomer techniques , incremental addition of monomer technique or coupling technique as illustrated in , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 251 , 905 ; 3 , 390 , 207 ; 3 , 598 , 887 and 4 , 219 , 627 . as is well known in the block copolymer art , tapered copolymer blocks can be incorporated in the multiblock copolymer by copolymerizing a mixture of conjugated diene and vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomers utilizing the difference in their copolymerization reactivity rates . various patents describe the preparation of multiblock copolymers containing tapered copolymer blocks including u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 251 , 905 ; 3 , 265 , 765 ; 3 , 639 , 521 and 4 , 208 , 356 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . conjugated dienes which may be utilized to prepare the polymers and copolymers are those having from 4 to 8 carbon atoms and include 1 , 3 - butadiene , 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene ( isoprene ), 2 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - butadiene , 1 , 3 - pentadiene , 1 , 3 - hexadiene , and the like . mixtures of such conjugated dienes may also be used . the preferred conjugated diene is 1 , 3 - butadiene . vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons which may be utilized to prepare copolymers include styrene , o - methylstyrene , p - methylstyrene , p - tert - butylstyrene , 1 , 3 - dimethylstyrene , alpha - methylstyrene , vinylnaphthalene , vinylanthracene and the like . the preferred vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon is styrene . it should be observed that the above - described polymers and copolymers may , if desired , be readily prepared by the methods set forth above . however , since many of these polymers and copolymers are commercially available , it is usually preferred to employ the commercially available polymer as this serves to reduce the number of processing steps involved in the overall process . the hydrogenation of these polymers and copolymers may be carried out by a variety of well established processes including hydrogenation in the presence of such catalysts as raney nickel , noble metals such as platinum , palladium and the like and soluble transition metal catalysts . suitable hydrogenation processes which can be used are ones wherein the diene - containing polymer or copolymer is dissolved in an inert hydrocarbon diluent such as cyclohexane and hydrogenated by reaction with hydrogen in the presence of a soluble hydrogenation catalyst . such processes are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 113 , 986 and 4 , 226 , 952 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . the polymers and copolymers are hydrogenated in such a manner as to produce hydrogenated polymers and copolymers having a residual unsaturation content in the polydiene block of from about 0 . 5 to about 20 percent of their original unsaturation content prior to hydrogenation . in general , any materials having the ability to react with the base polymer , in free radical initiated reactions are operable for the purposes of the invention . in order to incorporate functional groups into the base polymer , monomers capable of reacting with the base polymer , for example , in solution or in the melt by free radical mechanism are necessary . monomers may be polymerizable or nonpolymerizable , however , preferred monomers are nonpolymerizable or slowly polymerizing . the monomers must be ethylenically unsaturated in order to take part in free radical reactions . we have found that by grafting unsaturated monomers which have a slow polymerization rate the resulting graft copolymers contain little or no homopolymer of the unsaturated monomer and contain only short grafted monomer chains which do not separate into separate domains . the class of preferred monomers which will form graft polymers within the scope of the present invention have one or more functional groups or their derivatives such as carboxlyic acid groups and their salts , anhydrides , esters , imide groups , amide groups , acid chlorides and the like in addition to at least one point of unsaturation . these functionalities can be subsequently reacted with other modifying materials to produce new functional groups . for example a graft of an acid - containing monomer could be suitably modified by esterifying the resulting acid groups in the graft with appropriate reaction with hydroxy - containing compounds of varying carbon atoms lengths . the reaction could take place simultaneously with the grafting or in a subsequent post modification reaction . the grafted polymer will usually contain from 0 . 02 to 20 , preferably 0 . 1 to 10 , and most preferably 0 . 2 to 5 weight percent of grafted portion . the block copolymers , as modified , can still be used for any purpose for which an unmodified material ( base polymer ) was formerly used . that is , they can be used for adhesives and sealants , or compounded and extruded and molded in any convenient manner . the preferred modifying monomers are unsaturated mono - and polycarboxylic - containing acids ( c 3 - c 10 ) with preferably at least one olefinic unsaturation , and anhydrides , salts , esters , ethers , amides , nitriles , thiols , thioacids , glycidyl , cyano , hydroxy , glycol , and other substituted derivatives from said acids . examples of such acids , anhydrides and derivatives thereof include maleic acid , fumaric acid , itaconic acid , citraconic acid , acrylic acid , glycidyl acrylate , cyanoacrylates , hydroxy c 1 - c 20 alkyl methacrylates , acrylic polyethers , acrylic anhydride , methacrylic acid , crotonic acid , isocrotonic acid , mesaconic acid , angelic acid , maleic anhydride , itaconic anhydride , citraconic anhydride , acrylonitrile , methacrylonitrile , sodium acrylate , calcium acrylate , and magnesium acrylate . other monomers which can be used either by themselves or in combination with one or more of the carboxylic acids or derivatives thereof include c 2 - c 50 vinyl monomers such as acrylamide , acrylonitrile and monovinyl aromatic compounds , i . e . styrene , chlorostyrenes , bromostyrenes , α - methyl styrene , vinyl pyridines and the like . other monomers which can be used are c 4 to c 50 vinyl esters , vinyl ethers and allyl esters , such as vinyl butyrate , vinyl laurate , vinyl stearate , vinyl adipate and the like , and monomers having two or more vinyl groups , such as divinyl benzene , ethylene dimethacrylate , triallyl phosphite , dialkylcyanurate and triallyl cyanurate . the preferred monomers to be grafted to the block copolymers according to the present invention are maleic anhydride , maleic acid fumaric acid and their derivatives . it is well known in the art that these monomers do not polymerize easily . of course , mixtures of monomer can be also added so as to achieve graft copolymers in which the graft chains at least two different monomers therein ( in addition to the base polymer monomers ). the modified block copolymer according to the present invention may be prepared by graft - reacting an acid moiety or its derivative with an aromatic vinyl compound - conjugated diene compound block copolymer containing at least one polymer block ab mainly composed of a conjugated diene compound at least one polymer block ba mainly composed of an aromatic vinyl compound , wherein said graft reaction is carried out by melt - mixing said block copolymer and said acid moiety in the presence of a free radical initiator and wherein each a is a polymerized monoalkenyl aromatic hydrocarbon block having an average molecular weight of about 2 , 000 to 115 , 000 ; each b is a polymerized conjugated diene hydrocarbon block having an average molecular weight of about 20 , 000 to 450 , 000 ; the blocks a constitute 5 - 95 weight percent of the copolymer ; 40 - 55 mol percent of the condensed butadiene units in block b have a 1 , 2 - configuration ; the unsaturation of the block b is reduced to less than 10 % of the original unsaturation ; and the unsaturation of the a blocks is above 50 % of the original unsaturation . this process has been described in copending application 646 , 389 which is hereby incorporated by reference . the grafting reaction is initiated by a free - radical initiator which is preferably an organic peroxygen compound . especially preferred peroxides are 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( t - butylperoxy ) hexane , di - t - butyl peroxide , 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di - tert - butylperoxy - 3 - hexyne ( lupersol 130 ), α , α &# 39 ;- bis ( tert - butylperoxy ) diisopropyl benzene ( vulcup r ), or any free radical initiator having a short half - life under the base polymer processing conditions . see pp . 66 - 67 of modern plastics , november 1971 , which is incorporated hereby reference , for a more complete list of such compounds . the concentration of the initiator used to prepare the modified polymer may vary between wide limits and is determined by the desired degree of functionality and degradation allowable . typical concentrations range from about 0 . 001 weight percent to about 5 . 0 weight percent , more preferably between 0 . 01 and 1 . 0 weight percent . reaction temperatures and pressures should be sufficient to melt the reactants and also sufficient to thermally decompose the free radical initiator to form the free radical . reaction temperatures would depend on the base polymer being used and the free radical initiator being used . typical reaction conditions can be obtained by using a screw type extruder to mix and melt the reactants and to heat the reactant mixture to the desired reaction temperature . the temperatures useful in the reaction of the process of the present invention may vary between wide limits such as from + 75 ° c . to 450 ° c ., preferably from about 200 ° c . to about 300 ° c . the process of the invention is highly flexible and a great many modifications such as those proposed above are available to carry out any particular purposes desired . of course , any of the standard additives can be used with these modified polymers . they include conventional heat stabilizers , slip - agents , antioxidants , antistatic agents , colorants , flame retardants , heat stabilizers , plasticizers , preservatives , processing aids and the like . it is to be emphasized that in definition of the base polymer , substituted polymers are also included ; thus , the backbone of the polymer before functionalization can be substituted with functional groups such as chlorine , hydroxy , carboxy , nitrile , ester , amine and the like . furthermore , polymers which have been functionalized , particularly those with functional carboxylic acid groups , can be additionally crosslinked in a conventional manner or by using metallic salts to obtain ionomeric crosslinking . the present invention will be further illustrated by the following examples . the base polymer used in the following examples was kraton ® g - 1652 rubber , a commercial s - eb - s block copolymer . this polymer was melt reacted with maleic anhydride and 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - di ( t - butylperoxy ) hexane ( lupersol 101 ) in a 30 mm diameter corotating twin screw extruder . the reactants were premixed by tumbling in polyethylene bags , and then fed into the extruder . for the examples , all extrusion conditions except for reactant concentrations were kept constant . the following two stage screw configuration was used : the first stage comprised a 6 mm spacer , a 75 mm feed section , eight mixing cams , and an orifice ring pair . the second stage was identical except for a feed section 45 mm long . the melt temperature was kept at 150 ° c . in the feed zone and increased to 260 ° c . by the time material reached the die . the extruder was starve fed with the first orifice ring pair left open . in the second stage , flow was restricted with the second orifice ring pair . a screw speed of 350 rpm was used , leading to an output of ten pounds per hour . the samples prepared in the manner described above were first analyzed for base polymer degradation by measuring gel content as determined by hot tetrahydrofuran insolubles . this was accomplished by extraction with refluxing tetrahydrofuran . the soluble fraction of the sample was then recovered by precipitation of the extractant into isopropyl alcohol . this precipitation separated the unbound maleic anhydride from the base polymer . the precipitated polymer was then dried under vacuum to convert all functional groups to the anhydride form , as verified by infrared measurements . the maleic anhydride graft content of the soluble fraction of the samples was then measured by titration with potassium methoxide . table 1 shows the various reactant concentrations , examined , as well as analytical results for the materials prepared . table 1______________________________________maleic anhydride extruder grafted block copolymer wt . % wt . % wt . % maleic lupersol maleic anhydride wt . % anhydride 101 grafted onto thfexample added added thf solubles insolubles______________________________________1 3 0 0 02 3 0 . 01 0 . 2 83 3 0 . 1 1 . 8 24 5 0 . 5 4 . 6 25 3 1 . 0 2 . 2 40______________________________________ in example 1 maleic anhydride could not be grafted to the base polymer within the limits of detection of the analytical technique used without addition of a free - radical initiator . in examples 2 - 4 a wide range of functionality levels were obtained by the free radical initiated melt grafting technique . in example 5 severe base polymer degradation has taken place when too high a level of free radical initiator is used . extruder grafting conditions used were the same as for the above examples . 100 parts of 70 / 30 weight percent mixture of anionically polymerized ethylene butylene copolymer ( 140 , 000 m . w .) and anionically polymerized homopolystyrene ( 50 , 000 m . w .) were tumbled ( dry blended ) with 3 parts of maleic anhydride and 0 . 1 parts of lupersol 101 . this mixture was extruded under the previous grafting conditions . a 10 gram sample of the extruded composition was dissolved in 200 ml chloroform and the solution was then added to 1200 ml of acetone to precipitate the eb copolymer component which was then recovered by filtrations and washing in acetone . a sample of this eb copolymer component was then analyzed by infrared spectroscopy . the ir spectrum showed characteristic acid anhydride bands at between about 1700 - cm and 1800 - cm showing the presence of maleic anhydride bound to the eb copolymer component . the polystyrene - chloroform - acetone mixture from the previous step was held under vacuum at 90 ° c . in a roto vap for 30 minutes to remove unbound ( free ) maleic anhydride and to concentrate the solution in preparation for casting an ir film sample . the sample was analyzed and showed essentially no presence of maleic anhydride . this result showed that there was no maleic anhydride bound the styrene component . from the above experiments it can be concluded that the maleic anhydride is grafted to the eb ( mid - block ) component in the block copolymer . two s - eb - s block copolymers similar to kraton g1652 were prepared having residual unsaturations of 0 . 170 and 0 . 098 milliequivalents of double bonds per gram . these copolymers were extruder grafted using the same extruder conditions as in the previous examples . again 3 . 0 weight percent maleic anhydride and 0 . 1 weight percent of lupersol 101 were used . both extruded materials were analyzed as above for bound maleic anhydride by titration with potassium methoxide . it was found that both samples contained 1 . 6 weight percent of maleic anhydride . therefore , it can be concluded that the degree of residual unsaturation does not affect the graft reaction . we know from example 6 that grafting in occurring in the eb block . the eb block contains five possible classes of carbon atoms where grafting can occur ; 1 °, 2 °, 3 °, allylic and vinyl carbons . allylic and vinyl carbons are associated with unsaturation . example 7 showed that the level of residual unsaturation does not affect the graft reaction . therefore it can be concluded that grafting is not occurring at these carbons . it is well known the reactivity of the 1 °, 2 °, 3 ° carbons is related to the ease of formation of free radicals resulting from hydrogen abstraction and follows the relationship 3 °& gt ; 2 °& gt ; 1 °. 1 ° carbons are not kenetically favored and occur infrequently . since the 3 ° carbon is most favored kenetically to react and since the 2 ° carbons occur more frequently , substantially all of the grafting should occur at the 2 ° and 3 ° carbons .	2
in the embodiment shown in fig1 through 9 , in - line tap 10 comprises a main body assembly 12 having a typical male electrical input connector 20 , at its proximal end , typically comprising a grounding pin 14 , a common electrical spade connector 16 and a live , or hot , electrical spade connector 18 . a typical female electrical output connector 25 is provided at the distal end of main body 12 for receipt therein of the male electrical spade connectors of the add on electrical extension cord 50 as illustrated in fig7 , 8 and 9 . integral with main body assembly 12 are four auxiliary female electrical output connectors 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , and 26 d for connecting additional add - on electrical extension cords . of course , the number of auxiliary female electrical output connectors may be varied depending on the intended application ( s ) for a particular embodiment . an integrated and guarded circuit breaker 28 b is provided to prevent an electrical overload on the electrical supply extension cord 31 . a vertically extending guard 36 is preferably provided to protect the circuit breaker reset button 23 . main body assembly 12 further comprises a lamp 27 interposed between the male electrical input connector 20 and the female electrical output connector 25 . the lamp 27 may comprise a neon lamp or any other device configured to provide a visual indication to an observer . the lamp may be configured to be lighted when in - line tap 10 is electrically powered . the internal structure of main body 12 and the electrical connections are further described below . integrally molded into the top of main body 12 are two angular hooks , or eyelets , 32 a at its proximal end and 32 b at its distal end . each eyelet includes a hinged closure flap 34 a and 34 b hinged to its associated eyelet by a “ living hinge ” 35 a and 35 b as best illustrated in fig7 . hinge 34 a and 34 b are secured , when closed by upwardly protruding locking lip 39 and 37 respectively . preferably the inside surface of back wall 42 a and 42 b is provided with vertical ribs 44 to grippingly secure the extension cord when locked within eyelets 32 a and 32 b . referring now to fig7 , 8 , and 9 , hinged closure flap 34 b is first opened , as illustrated in fig7 ( hinged closure flap 34 b is in an open position ). the male electrical input connector prongs ( not shown ) of add - on extension cord 50 are inserted into the appropriate electrical output apertures of output connector 25 as illustrated in fig7 . add - on extension cord is looped about back wall 42 of distal eyelet 32 b , as illustrated in fig7 , and hinged closure flap 34 b is then snapped shut , as illustrated in fig8 ( hinged closure 34 b is in a closed position ) thereby securing add - on extension cord 50 therein . with add - on extension cord 50 locked in place the male electrical input connector prongs 14 , 16 , and 18 of main body 12 are plugged into the female end 30 of electrical supply extension cord 31 as illustrated in fig9 , electrical supply extension cord 31 is then similarly secured to the proximal eyelet 32 a . extension cords 31 and 50 are now secured one to the other so as not to pull apart . fig1 through 18 illustrate details of the internal , electrical subassembly 100 of the in - line tap 10 illustrated in fig1 through 9 and described above . fig1 shows a top view of subassembly 100 . subassembly 100 once completed may be fully encapsulated by a molded , unitary , elastomeric covering thereby producing the final in - line tap configuration as illustrated in fig1 through 9 . referring to fig1 , subassembly 100 generally comprises a cover sheet 110 , a top cover 120 , a middle cover 130 , and a bottom cover 140 . in this version , cover sheet 110 is attached to top cover 120 , while middle cover 130 is positioned between top cover 110 and bottom cover 140 . the outer contour of each of the components is configured to correspond to the other components and ultimately to allow the cover sheet 110 , top cover 120 , middle cover 130 and bottom cover 140 to fit securely together to form subassembly 100 . the components of subassembly 100 may be configured to provide a snap fit assembly between the components , or , alternatively one or more of the cover sheet 110 , top cover 120 , middle cover 130 , and bottom cover 140 may be assembled using a suitable adhesive , electron beam welding or any other method or device suitable for a particular application of the device . referring to fig1 and 17 , the electric power distribution circuitry is positioned among the components of subassembly 100 and comprises a grounding busbar wire 150 , an active , or hot , busbar wire 160 , and a common busbar wire 170 . as shown in fig1 , grounding busbar wire 150 is positioned within top cover 120 and covered by cover sheet 110 . in this example , grounding busbar wire 150 is attached to grounding pin 14 , while also being attached to pin electrodes 152 a , 152 b , 152 c , 152 d , 152 e . in the illustrated version , active busbar wire 160 is positioned within the upper surface 139 a of middle cover 130 , and a common busbar wire 170 is positioned within the lower surface 139 b of middle cover 130 . as shown , active busbar wire 160 is attached to active electrical spade connector 18 and spade electrodes 162 a , 162 b , 162 c , 162 d , 162 e . in this example , common busbar wire 170 is attached to common electrical spade connector 16 and spade electrodes 172 a , 172 b , 172 c , 172 , 172 e . in the illustrated embodiment , cover sheet 110 comprises a central portion 111 , a male input connector member 112 , a female output connector member 114 , and a plurality of auxiliary female output connector members 116 a , 116 b , 116 c , 116 d . the central portion 111 further comprises a lamp opening 117 and a circuit breaker opening 118 . lamp opening 117 may be configured to be aligned with lamp 27 once subassembly 100 is fully assembled . lamp cover 105 may be configured to be attached to lamp opening 117 to shield lamp 27 , although lamp cover 105 is not required . circuit breaker opening 118 may be configured to receive at least a portion of circuit breaker housing 126 in the top cover 120 . male input connector member 112 may be configured to cover at least a portion of the male input connector portion 122 of top cover 120 when cover sheet 110 is assembled together with top cover 120 . similarly , female output connector member 114 may be configured to cover at least a portion of the female output connector portion 123 of top cover 120 when cover sheet 110 is assembled together with top cover 120 . in addition , auxiliary female output connector members 116 a , 116 b , 116 c , 116 d may each be configured to cover at least a portion of a corresponding one of the auxiliary female output connector portions 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d of top cover 120 when cover sheet 110 is assembled together with top cover 120 . as shown , top cover 120 comprises a central portion 121 , a male input connector portion 122 , a female output connector portion 123 , and a plurality of auxiliary female output connector portions 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d . in the illustrated version , the central portion 121 comprises a lamp opening 125 and a circuit breaker housing 126 . lamp opening 125 may be configured to house lamp 27 , while circuit breaker housing 126 may be configured to receive and house at least a portion of circuit breaker 28 b . male input connector portion 122 may be configured to receive grounding pin 14 . in this example , female output connector portion 123 comprises a cavity 127 configured to receive pin electrode 152 c . similarly , as shown , each auxiliary female output connector portion 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d comprises a cavity 128 a , 128 b , 128 c , 128 d configured to receive a corresponding one of the pin electrodes 152 a , 152 b , 152 d , 152 e . as shown , middle cover 130 comprises a central portion 131 , a male input connector portion 132 , a female output connector portion 133 , and a plurality of auxiliary female output connector portions 134 a , 134 b , 134 c , 134 d . as shown in fig1 , central portion 131 is configured to support circuit breaker 28 b upon assembly . in this version , male input connector portion 132 comprises a pair of cavities 135 a , 135 b . cavity 135 a may be in communication with upper surface 139 a and configured to receive live electrical spade connector 18 , while cavity 135 b may be in communication with lower surface 139 b and configured to receive common electrical spade connector 16 . in this example , female output connector portion 133 comprises a pair of cavities 137 a , 137 b . cavity 137 a may be in communication with upper surface 139 a and configured to receive spade electrode 162 c , while cavity 137 b may be in communication with lower surface 139 b and configured to receive spade electrode 172 c . similarly , as shown , each auxiliary female output connector portion 134 a , 134 b , 134 c , 134 d comprises a cavity 180 a , 180 b , 180 c , 180 d in communication with upper surface 139 a and a cavity 182 a , 182 b , 182 c , 182 d in communication with lower surface 139 b . in this embodiment , cavities 180 a , 180 b , 180 c , 180 d are configured to receive a corresponding one of spade electrodes 162 a , 162 b , 162 d , 162 e connected to active busbar wire 160 . similarly , in this version , cavities 182 a , 182 b , 182 c , 182 d are configured to receive a corresponding one of spade electrodes 172 a , 172 b , 172 d , 172 e connected to common busbar wire 170 . as shown , bottom cover 140 comprises a central portion 141 , a male input connector portion 142 , a female output connector portion 143 , and a plurality of auxiliary female output connector portions 144 a , 144 b , 144 c , 144 d . in this version , female output connector portion 143 comprises a hinged socket cover 190 . hinged socket cover 190 may be configured to pivot upward and attach to one or more of cover sheet 110 , top cover 120 , and middle cover 130 to encase female output connector portions 123 , 133 between bottom cover 140 and cover sheet 110 . similarly , in this embodiment , each of the auxiliary female output connector portions 144 a , 144 b , 144 c , 144 d comprise a hinged socket cover 192 a , 192 b , 192 c , 192 d . each hinged socket cover 192 a , 192 b , 192 c , 192 d may be configured to pivot upward and attach to one or more of the cover sheet 110 , top cover 120 , and middle cover 130 to encase corresponding ones of the auxiliary female output connector portions 124 a , 124 b , 124 c , 124 d , 134 a , 134 b , 134 c , 134 d between bottom cover 140 and cover sheet 110 . collectively , in the illustrated embodiment , pin electrode 152 a and spade electrodes 162 a , 172 a form female auxiliary electrical output connector 26 c , pin electrode 152 b and spade electrodes 162 b , 172 b form female auxiliary electrical output connector 26 d , pin electrode 152 d and spade electrodes 162 d , 172 d form female auxiliary electrical output connector 26 b , and pin electrode 152 e and spade electrodes 162 e , 172 e form female auxiliary electrical output connector 26 a . similarly , in this version , pin electrode 152 c and spade electrodes 162 c , 172 c collectively form female electrical output connector 25 . busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 are preferably made of braided copper strands thereby producing a flexible electrical conducting wire , although this is not required . in an alternate embodiment ( not shown ), busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 may comprise flat fabricated brass or copper busbars . in the illustrated embodiment , grounding busbar wire 150 is positioned on the upper surface 129 of central portion 121 of top cover 120 , and connecting wires from grounding pin 14 and pin electrodes 152 a , 152 b , 152 c , 152 d , 152 e are attached to grounding busbar wire 150 . also in this version , active busbar wire 160 is positioned on the upper surface 139 a of central portion 131 of middle cover 130 , and connecting wires from live electrical spade connector 18 and spade electrodes 162 a , 162 b , 162 c , 162 d , 162 e are attached to active busbar wire 160 . in addition , as shown , common busbar wire 170 is positioned on the lower surface 139 b of middle cover 130 , and connecting wires from common electrical spade connector 16 and spade electrodes 172 a , 172 b , 172 c , 172 d , 172 e are attached to common busbar wire 170 . in this way busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 do not need to have an insulator covering and may be installed as bare wires separated from one another by the central portions 121 , 131 of top cover 120 and middle cover 130 . if one or more of busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 are installed as bare wires without an insulator covering , then the connecting wires attached to busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 may be insulated . alternatively , both busbar wires 150 , 160 , 170 and the attachment wires attached thereto may have an insulator covering . fig1 a presents a circuit diagram of the subassembly wiring once subassembly 100 is complete , it is encapsulated within a one piece molded , elastomeric covering as illustrated in fig1 through 9 . having shown and described various versions in the present disclosure , further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention . several of such potential modifications have been mentioned , and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for instance , the examples , versions , geometries , materials , dimensions , ratios , steps , and the like discussed above are illustrative and are not required . accordingly , the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings .	7
turning now to fig1 a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of an automatic mds level analyzer in accordance with the present invention is illustrated . the analyzer , which is generally designated by the number 10 for convenience , is shown connected to a moving target indicator ( mti ) type radar receiver 12 , although it is understood that other pulse - type receivers may also be tested using the analyzer . typical mti receivers are connected to an antenna by a directional coupler , illustrated by an antenna 14 and coupler 16 , such that test signals may be injected at a directional coupler input terminal 18 and not disrupt normal radar operation . in addition , these receivers are typically provided with outputs at which test signals may be obtained , such outputs including a local oscillator output 20 , a coherent oscillator output 22 , a timing pulse output 24 and a video output 26 . as illustrated , input 18 and outputs 20 , 22 , 24 and 26 are connected to the analyzer by lines 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 and 38 , respectively . it is convenient to divide the analyzer into four portions : a portion 40 for generating a test pulse , a receiver output analyzing portion 42 , a timing and control portion 44 , and an interface portion 46 . the test pulse generating portion 40 includes as principal active components , an automatic frequency control ( afc ) controller 50 , a radio frequency ( rf ) oscillator 52 , a leveler 54 , an rf switch 56 and an rf attenuator 58 . afc controller 50 has inputs connected to lines 32 and 34 for respectively receiving the local oscillator signal and the coherent oscillator signal generated by the receiver 12 under test . the controller 50 also has an input for receiving a control signal developed on a line 60 , an input for receiving an rf oscillator output signal generated by oscillator 52 on a line 62 and an oscillator control output connected to line 64 . in general , afc controller 50 utilizes the local oscillator signals and the coherent oscillator signals to generated a reference signal having a frequency and phase equal to that of the signal generated by the associated radar transmitter . this reference signal is combined with the signal generated by rf oscillator 52 to develop an error signal on line 64 which is used to correct the oscillator frequency . more specifically , the local oscillator signal and either an internally generated signal at the receiver if frequency or , when available , the coherent oscillator signal , are combined in a first mixer contained within controller 50 . as determined by the control signal generated on line 60 , the output of the first mixer may or may not be further combined with a signal at the normal mti doppler frequency in an internally contained single side band mixer to generate the reference signal . next , the reference signal and the signal developed by rf oscillator 52 on line 62 are combined in an internally contained phase detector to generate an error signal on line 64 for controlling the frequency of the oscillator . rf oscillator 52 , which has an input connected to line 64 and an output connected to line 62 , is responsive to the error signal generated on line 64 and is operative to develop a signal on line 62 at the radar transmitting frequency or at a frequency offset therefrom by the doppler frequency . leveler 54 , which has an input connected to line 62 for receiving the oscillator - generated signal , is operative to develop a constant level rf signal on an output which is connected to line 66 . more particularly , the leveler includes a diode detector and pin diode attenuator which are operative to level the input signal . rf switch 56 has an rf input connected to line 66 , a control input connected to a line 68 , and an rf output connected to a line 70 . the switch is responsive to the pulses generated on line 68 and is operative to selectively couple the constant level signal developed on line 66 to line 70 to develop an rf - pulsed signal on line 70 . rf attenuator 58 is discussed in detail in connected with fig4 . in general , however , the attenuator has an input connected to line 70 for receiving pulsed rf signals , control inputs connected to a bus 72 and an output connected to line 30 . the attenuator provides a degree of attenuation for signals coupled between line 70 and line 30 as determined by the digital control signals developed on line 72 . the portion 42 of the automatic mds level analyzer which analyzes the receiver output developed on line 38 includes an mds detector 100 and an analog - to - digital ( a - d ) converter 102 which are discussed in detail in connection with fig2 and 4 , respectively . mds detector 100 has an input connected to line 38 for receiving the signals developed at the video output of the receiver 12 , an input connected to a line 104 and an input connected to a line 106 for receiving gating signals , an input connected to a line 108 and an input connected to line 110 for receiving selected reference level signals which are proportional to the desired false - alarm probability and the desired probability of detection , respectively , and generates an output on a line 112 . as further explained below , the reference signals developed on lines 108 and 110 are voltages selected by an operator via local control panel 136 . in general , mds detector 100 first establishes a threshold level based upon periods when switch 56 is off and thus no rf frequency pulses are being generated at line 30 . the threshold level is such that the probability that the instantaneous signal level of the noise generated by receiver 12 on line 38 will exceed the threshold level during these periods is equal to the false - alarm probability . next , the mds detector responds to the receiver detected pulses developed on line 38 by the receiver 12 in response to the rf pulses generated on line 30 to generate an error signal on line 112 . the error signal , which is used to adjust the level of the rf pulses generated on line 30 , is maintained such that the probability that the instantaneous amplitude of a detected pulse will exceed the threshold level is equal to the probability of detection . sampling timing is controlled by the signals generated on lines 104 and 106 . a - d converter 102 , which has an input connected to line 112 for receiving the error signal and an input connected on line 110 for receiving the reference level signal ( desired probability of detection ), generates binary digital outputs on bus 72 which are proportionally related to the error signal developed on line 112 and are used to control the attenuation of attentuator 58 . the timing and control portion of the automatic mds level analyzer includes a converter 130 , a display 132 , an ieee interface 134 , a local control panel 136 , a voltage level controller 138 and a timing controller 139 . converter 130 is typically a pre - programmed read only memory ( rom ) device which converts the digital control signals developed on bus 72 from the arbitrary digital numbers required to drive attenuator 58 to corresponding digital signals developed on a bus 140 which are used to drive a numerical display 132 for directly indicating the signal level of the rf pulses generated on line 30 . display 132 is a standard four element digital ( 8 segment ) display unit which provides a visually perceptible readout of the numerical signals developed on bus 140 . the block 134 labeled ieee interface is a well known device manufactured in accordance with the american national standard known as ieee standard 488 - 1975 which was published in 1975 in a document entitled &# 34 ; ieee standard digital interface for programmable instrumentation &# 34 ;. it contains hardwired bus command and address logic and may be implemented using a motorola mc68488 general purpose interface adaptor , or the like . this block forms no part of the present invention and is included merely to show that it is possible to remotely monitor the output which is locally displayed on the display 132 and to remotely input to the controller 138 the same type of control that would be locally input at the local control panel illustrated by block 136 . the double headed arrows shown on the bus lines 142 and 144 indicate that two way communication is intended between a remote location and the analyzer 10 via interface 134 . local control 136 is merely the front panel of the system and includes switches and knobs , etc ., which allow a local operator to set the voltage levels developed by controller 138 on lines 108 and 110 and to determine the signal to be developed on line 60 . in addition , it may include &# 34 ; power on / off &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; stand - by &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; channel select &# 34 ; and other controls common to systems of the type disclosed in the present application . as indicated previously , the same types of inputs can be remotely communicated in digital form to controller 138 by means of ieee interface 134 . controller 138 is a functionally simple means for generating two reference voltages that are output on lines 108 and 110 , and a two - state signal on line 60 in response to either manual inputs from local control 136 , or digitally communicated signals input from a remote source input via interface 134 and bus 144 . the functional simplicity of such device is illustrated in fig1 a and includes a pair of variable voltage sources 150 and 152 , and a switching means 154 , all of which can be adjusted or set by means of knobs or the like contained in the local control panel 136 . control 138 also includes suitable logic and control circuitry 156 for allowing the previously mentioned adjustment of potentiometers 150 and 152 as well as switch 154 to be accomplished remotely via interface 134 . whereas the signals developed on lines 108 and 110 are variable voltage levels , the signal developed on line 60 is merely a two - state signal which determines whether or not afc controller 50 causes the output of its first mixer to be combined , or not be combined , with a signal at the normal mti doppler frequency in a single side band mixer in order to generate a reference signal . receiver detected pulses are processed by mds detector 100 to develop the error signal used to control a - d converter 102 , and thus rf attenuator 58 , so as to maintain the level of the reference pulses generated on line 30 at a level such that the probability of detection is maintained at a preselected level . the reference pulse level is visually displayed in numerical form by display 132 ( and is made remotely available via interface 134 and on bus 142 ) to provide an indication of the low level signal detecting capability of receiver 12 . analyzer timing is determined by controller 139 and as indicated analyzer control is provided locally in response to the manual settings of controls in local control panel 136 and alternately in response to remote signals coupled by ieee interface 134 into controller 138 . mds detector 100 and timing controller 139 are illustrated in more detail in fig2 . the mds detector is shown to include three comparators 200 , 202 and 204 , three level translators 206 , 208 and 210 , an inverter 212 , two gates 214 and 216 , and two integrators 218 and 220 . comparator 200 has a noninverting input connected to line 38 for receiving the video signal generated by the receiver , an inverting input connected to line 222 for receiving the threshold signal and an output connected to line 223 . the comparator is operative to generate at its output a signal having a first or second level dependent upon whether the instantaneous amplitude of the signal generated on line 38 is greater than or less than the level of the threshold signal developed on line 222 . level translator 206 which has an input connected to line 223 and an output which is connected to line 224 and by inverter 212 to line 226 . the level translator is operative to convert the bilevel signals generated on line 223 to standard logic level signals developed on line 224 . in the preferred embodiment , comparator 200 , level translator 206 , and inverter 212 are implemented using a device such as that designated lm161 . level translator 208 develops from the logic level signals generated on line 226 bistate signals of a more precise amplitude level which are coupled by a line 228 to gate 214 . in the preferred embodiment , the translator includes a common emitter transistor amplifier which is driven between cutoff and saturation by the signal developed on line 226 . the collector of the transistor which is connected to line 228 is connected by a pullup resistor to a 15 - volt potential such that in response to a high or low logic level signal developed on line 226 , the translator develops on line 228 a near - zero volt or 15 - volt signal , respectively . gate 214 includes an analog switch responsive to the gating signal developed on line 104 and operative to couple the bistate signal developed on line 228 to line 230 . in the preferred embodiment , gate 214 is an analog switch such as that designated hi5048 by the harris corporation . integrator 218 which is of the series - resistor and shunt - capacitor configuration is operative to develop on line 232 a signal representing the filtered and stored representation of the gated signal developed on line 230 . translator 210 , gate 216 and integrator 220 are similar to translator 208 , gate 214 and integrator 218 , respectively . translator 210 is responsive to the logic level signals developed on line 224 and operative to develop on a line 234 corresponding signals at the more precise zero and 15 - volt levels . gate 216 is responsive to the gating signal developed on line 106 and operative to couple the translated signals from line 234 to a line 236 . finally , integrator 220 filters and stores the gated signal to develop an integrated signal on a line 238 . comparator 202 is responsive to the integrated signal developed on line 238 and the reference level signal developed on line 108 and operative to develop the threshold signal on line 222 . because of the closed loop configuration , the threshold level is generated such that the level of the integrated signal developed on line 238 is maintained at the reference level . in other words for a desired false - alarm probability of 10 percent a potential of 10 percent of the 15 - volt potential developed by translator 210 or 1 . 5 volts would be developed on line 234 . in response , comparator 202 would develop a threshold level on line 222 such that the noise developed by the receiver on line 38 during the gating period set by the gating pulse developed on line 106 would exceed the threshold level 10 percent of the time . thus , following translation and integration of the signal developed by comparator 200 during the gating period , a 1 . 5 volt signal level would be developed on line 238 . comparator 204 compares the integrated signal developed on line 232 and the reference level signal developed on line 110 to develop the error signal on line 112 . since the error signal is used to control the amplitude of the reference pulses which are used to drive the receiver , the level of the reference pulses is maintained such that the probability of detection is equal to one minus the ratio of the level of the reference signal developed on line 110 to the 15 - volt level . in other words , for a reference level of 10 percent of the 15 - volt level , or 1 . 5 volts the probability of detection is maintained at 90 percent . timing controller 139 is shown to include a clock generator 250 , a delay generator 252 , a window generator 254 , a pulse generator 256 , another delay generator 258 , and another window generator 260 . clock generator 250 includes a crystal - controlled oscillator for generating accurate clocking pulses on an output line 262 . delay generator 252 , which includes suitable counters , gates and programmable switches , is responsive to each trigger pulse developed on line 36 and operative to develop a delay pulse on line 264 a predetermined number of clocking pulses in width . in the preferred embodiment , pulse widths of from 0 to 9 , 999 microseconds are switch selectable . suitable counters , gates and programmable switches included in window generator 254 count the clocking pulses developed on line 262 to develop a gating pulse on line 106 following the occurrence of each delay pulse developed on line 264 . the width of the gating pulse is switch - selectable between the limits of 0 and 9 , 999 microseconds . triggered by the gating pulse developed on line 106 , counters and switch - programmable gates in pulse generator 256 count the clocking pulses developed on line 262 following the occurrence of each gating pulse to develop the control pulse on line 68 having a width which is switch - selectable between the limits of 0 and 9 . 9 microseconds . the programming switches in pulse generator 256 are connected by a bus 268 to window generator 260 . in a similar fashion , counters and switch - programmable gates in delay generator 258 count the clocking pulses developed on line 262 to develop on a line 270 following each gating pulse , a delay pulse which has a switch selectable width of from 0 to 999 . 9 microseconds . window generator 260 , which includes suitable counters and gates , is responsive to each delayed pulse generated on line 270 and following a 200 - nanosecond delay is operative to generate the gating pulse on line 104 . the window generator is controlled by the switches in pulse generator 256 such that the width of each gating pulse developed on line 104 is 400 nanoseconds shorter than the corresponding control pulse developed on line 68 and suitably delayed by delay generator 258 . operation of timing controller 139 may be better understood with additional reference to fig3 . illustrated at 280 and 282 are pulses such as the timing pulses developed on line 36 which are synchronized with the pulses generated by the associated radar transmitter . delay generator 252 is responsive to each such pulse and operative to develop a delay pulse on line 264 such as the pulse which is illustrated at 284 . the delay pulse triggers window generator 254 which in response develops on line 106 a gating pulse such as the pulse illustrated at 286 . this pulse is used to control gate 216 for sampling the noise developed by the receiver . since many radar receivers have a gain which is increased at a time following each transmitted pulse , delay generator 252 provides a means for positioning the gating pulse such that the receiver noise may be sampled at a maximum gain setting . each gating pulse developed on line 106 is also operative to trigger pulse generator 256 and delay generator 258 . pulse generator 256 is responsive to a pulse such as pulse 286 and is operative to generate on line 68 a pulse such as the pulse illustrated at 288 . this pulse is used to develop the corresponding rf reference pulse used to drive the receiver . the gating pulse developed on line 106 triggers delay generator 258 which generates a pulse such as that illustrated at 290 , causing window generator 260 to generate a gating pulse illustrated at 292 . delay generator 258 provides a means for compensating for the receiver delay . in this way , pulse 292 is aligned with the video pulse developed by the receiver in response to the reference pulse triggered by pulse 258 . since pulse 292 is 400 nanoseconds narrower than pulse 288 , rise and fall time related problems of the receiver are eliminated . additional details of a - d converter 102 and rf attenuator 58 are illustrated in fig4 . a - d converter 102 includes as active components five comparators including comparators 300 , 302 , 304 , 306 and 308 , a nor gate 310 , a clock generator 312 and a counter 314 . gate 300 has a noninverting input connected to line 112 for receiving the error signal , an inverting input connected to line 110 for receiving the reference signal and an output connected by a resistor 316 to a node 318 . the node is connected to circuit ground by a clamping diode 320 , to a logic level power supply by a clamping diode 322 , and to a line 324 by two pulse - shaping inverters 326 and 328 . the comparator is operative to generate on line 324 a count direction indicating signal which is indicative of whether the error signal level is greater than or less than the reference signal level . comparator 302 has a noninverting input which is connected to a negative potential by a biasing resistor 326 and to line 110 by a biasing potentiometer 328 , an inverting input which is connected to line 112 and an output which is connected to a node 330 by a current - limiting resistor 332 . node 330 is connected to circuit ground by a clamping diode 332 , to the positive power supply potential by another clamping diode 334 and to one input of nor gate 310 . comparator 304 has a noninverting input which is connected to line 112 and an inverting input which is connected to line 110 by a biasing potentiometer 336 and to a positive power supply potential by a biasing resistor 338 . the comparator also has an output which is connected to the other input of nor gate 310 by a current - limiting resistor 340 . signals at this input of the nor gate are similarly clamped by a diode 342 and a diode 344 . the biasing components are operative to develop potential at the noninverting input of comparator 302 and the inverting input of comparator 304 which are slightly less than and greater than , respectively , the reference signal level developed on line 110 . only when an error signal level is developed on line 112 which is within the range set by the reference potentials , low logic level signals are developed at both inputs to gate 310 , causing the gate to generate a high logic level clock disable signal on a line 346 . comparator 306 has a noninverting input which is connected to line 112 and an inverting input which is connected to line 110 by a gain determining resistor 348 and to a line 350 by another gain determining resistor 352 and an output which is connected to line 350 by a signal steering diode 354 . comparator 308 has a noninverting input connected to line 110 and an inverting input connected to line 112 by a gain - determining resistor 356 and to line 350 by another gain - determining resistor 358 and an output connected to line 360 by a signal steering diode 360 . comparators 306 and 308 are operative to develop an amplified signal on line 350 representing the absolute value of the difference between the signal levels developed on line 112 and on line 110 . in other words , when the error signal level developed on line 112 exceeds the reference signal level developed on line 110 , the output of comparator 306 is coupled by diode 354 to line 350 to develop an amplified signal proportional to this difference , and when the potential on line 110 exceeds that developed on line 112 , comparator 308 develops a positive amplified signal on line 350 . clock generator 312 is responsive to the clock enable signal developed on line 346 and the clock rate signal developed on line 350 and operative to develop on a line 360 clocking pulses at a rate which is determined by the potential developed on line 350 except when disabled by the signal developed on line 346 . counter 314 , which has a clocking input connected to line 360 and an up / down input connected to line 324 dependent upon the signal developed on line 324 , either adds or subtracts each pulse developed on line 360 from a binary sum representing a desired degree of attenuation which it develops on the six - line bus 72 . operationally , when the error signal level developed on line 112 differs greatly from the reference signal level developed on line 110 , a relatively large positive potential is developed on line 350 causing clock generator 312 to generate pulses on line 360 at a relatively high rate . as determined by the signal level developed on line 324 by comparator 300 , these pulses are used to increment or decrement the binary sum to develop on bus 72 a signal closer to the required steady state value . as the steady state value is approached , the error signal level developed on line 112 will approach the reference signal level developed on line 110 reducing the rate at which clocking pulses are developed on line 360 . finally , when the error signal level is within the desired range of the reference signal level , comparators 302 and 304 will cause gate 310 to develop a high signal level on line 346 inhibiting the generation of additional clocking pulses and thus further counting . rf attenuator 58 includes a memory device 370 , a digital - to - analog converter 372 , a voltage - to - current converter 374 and a pin diode attenuator 376 . memory device 370 is preprogrammed to respond to each of the linearly - incremented binary number signals developed at its address inputs , which are connected to bus 72 and operative to generate a nonlinearly - incremented binary number signal on a six - line output bus 378 . this conversion is necessary in order to compensate for the nonlinear characteristics of pin diode attenuator 376 . the binary number signals developed on hus 378 are converted to an analog voltage on a line 380 by digital - to - analog converter 372 . this voltage is then converted by voltage - to - current converter 374 to a pin diode attenuator driving current developed on a line 382 . finally , pin diode attenuator 376 provides a degree of coupling between lines 366 and 370 which is nonlinearly proportional to the driving current developed on line 382 . it will thus be seen that a binary number signal which is proportional to the desired signal level of the receiver driving reference pulses and which is developed on bus 72 is converted to a nonlinear current suitable for driving a standard pin diode attenuator . it is contemplated that after having read the preceeding disclosure certain alterations and modifications of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art . it is therefore intended that the following claims be interpreted to cover all such alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .	6
preferred embodiments of the discharging valve device for a compressor of the present invention will be described in detail . first of all , description will be made as to a compressor in which the discharging valve device of the present invention is installed with reference to fig2 . a sealing container 11 holds therein an electric motor comprising a stator 12 and a rotor 13 , a crankshaft 14 driven by the motor , a cylinder 15 , a piston 16 and vanes ( not shown ) for defining a compression chamber to form a high pressure chamber and a low pressure chamber so as to perform compressing operations . there are placed , at both ends of the cylinder , side housings 17a , 17b which form the compression chamber and serves as bearings for the crankshaft 14 . a refrigerant is introduced to the compression chamber through an intake pipe ( not shown ) and is compressed by means of the piston 16 eccentrically rotated by the crankshaft 14 driven by the motor , the cylinder 15 and vanes ( not shown ). when pressure in the compression chamber becomes higher than an inner pressure in the sealing container 11 , the discharging valve 18 is opened to discharge the gas in the compression chamber into a discharging muffler 20 from the discharging port formed in the side housing 17a . a discharging valve fixture 19 is provided to restrict the movement of a discharging valve 18 . the refrigerant gas subjected to reduction in noise in the discharging muffler is discharged into the sealing container 11 and is fed to a heat exchanger through a discharging pipe . thus , refrigeration cycle is repeated . fig3 is an enlarged perspective view showing general construction of the discharging valve device of the present invention , the detail of the construction being described below , in which a discharging port is formed in the side housing 17a and each end of the discharging valve 18 and the discharging valve fixture 19 is secured to the side housing 17a by a screw . a discharging valve device for a compressor of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig4 . the reference numeral 1 designates a discharging port formed in the housing 17a , the numeral 22 refers to a valve seat which is substantially in semi - circular in cross section having a substantially uniform curvature and is formed at the peripheral portion of the discharging port 1 and the numeral 19 indicates a discharging valve fixture and the numeral 18a represents a discharging valve made of a resilient thin plate in which a raised portion is formed at a position corresponding to the valve seat 22 by stamping process so that the corner of the raised portion is in contact with the valve seat at a position outside the top portion of a curved surface having a curvature . the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the conventional device show in fig1 provided that the discharging valve 18a is brought into contact with the valve seat 22 at a position outside the top portion of the valve seat 22 to prevent the refrigerant gas from reversely flowing from a high pressure portion outside the compression chamber ( not shown ) into the compression chamber . when the discharging valve 18a is about to be opened , there is resistance at a contacting area formed between the discharging valve 18a and the valve seat 22 . the resistance is determined by the amount of deposited oil film , namely , a contacting width for sealing formed by the oil film and the thickness of the oil film . in the first embodiment of the present invention , provision of the raised portion reduces the contacting width for sealing to control the content of the oil film deposited whereby the resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve 18a is reduced and accordingly there is no risk of delay in opening operation of the discharging valve . further , noise produced in the opening operation of the discharging valve 18a which breaks the oil film for prevention of the reverse flow of the gas can be suppressed due to the reduced resistance of the oil film . the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig5 and 6 . in fig5 showing the construction of the discharging valve device in cross section and fig6 showing a disassembled state of the discharging valve device , a discharging valve 18b is constituted by discharging valve elements 28a and 28b and the discharging valve element 28b is provided with an opening at a position corresponding to the discharging port 1 . a contacting area is formed between the discharging valve element 28b and the valve seat 22 to prevent the refrigerant gas from flowing from a high pressure portion outside the compression chamber ( not shown ) to the compression chamber . the discharging valve element 28b is brought into contact with the valve seat 22 at a position outside the top portion of the curved surface having a curvature . with the construction , delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 18b and generation of noise can be prevented as in the first embodiment . naturally , the second embodiment of the present invention should have a structure such that the discharging valve element 28b is separated from the valve seat 22 before the discharging valve element 28b is separated from the discharging valve element 28a . such construction can be easily obtained by making a contacting surface area of the oil film formed between the discharging valve elements 28a , 28b greater than that between the discharging valve element 28b and the valve seat 22 . in the first and second embodiments , a raised portion is formed in a discharging valve at a position corresponding to a valve seat or a plurality of discharging valve elements having a shape unlike each other are used to form a contacting area between the discharging valve element and the valve seat at a position outside the top portion of the curved surface having a curvature . accordingly , the oil film formed between the discharging valve and the valve seat are limited and the resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve is reduced to prevent delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve . further , noise produced at the breaking of the oil film is suppressed because there requires only small energy to break the oil film at the opening operation of the discharging valve . in the next place , the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig7 and 8 . the same reference numerals designate the same or corresponding parts and description of these parts is omitted . in fig7 showing the construction of the discharging valve in cross section , a discharging port 1 is formed in a housing 17a and a valve seat 22 having a substantially uniform curvature in cross section is formed at the peripheral portion of the discharging port 1 . there is provided a discharging valve 18c on which a discharging valve fixture 19 is placed to push the discharging valve downwardly . a raised portion is formed in the discharging valve at a position corresponding to the valve seat 22 so that the corner of the raised portion is brought into contact with the inside the top potion of the curved surface having a curvature of the valve seat . the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment as described with reference to fig4 provided that a contacting area is formed between the corner of the raised portion of the discharging valve 18c and the inside portion of the valve seat 22 to hermetically seal gas so as no to reversely flow from a high pressure portion outside the compression chamber ( not shown ) to the compression chamber . the resistance of the oil film at the opening operation of the discharging valve 18c is mainly determined depending on the content of the oil film deposited in the contacting area between the discharging valve 18c and the valve seat 22 , in other words , depending on both the width and the thickness of the oil film in of the contacting area . however , since the third embodiment of the present invention is constructed in such a manner that a raised portion is formed in the discharging valve 18c to reduce the width of the oil film for the purpose of control of oil film content and reduction in resistance of the oil film at the opening operation of the discharging valve 18c , delay in the opening operation is eliminated . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film at the opening operation of the discharging valve 18c is suppressed due to the reduction in the oil film resistance . fig8 is a cross sectional view showing a modification of the fourth embodiment of the present invention . in fig8 the discharging valve 18d is formed by bending it at two points so that the free end of the discharging valve extends in parallel to the base portion of the same . accordingly the free end is brought to contact with the valve seat 22 at a position inside the top portion of the curved surface having a curvature while the corner of the bend portion is brought into contact with the diametrically opposite side of the valve seat . this modified embodiment is capable of prevention of delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 18d and suppression of noise . in the third and fourth embodiments , a corner portion is formed in the discharging valve 18c or 18d at a position corresponding to the valve seat 22 and the corner is made in contact with the valve seat at a position inside the top portion of the curved surface of the valve seat whereby deposition of the oil film at the contacting area formed between the discharging valve and the valve seat is limited and the resistance of the oil film produced when the discharging valve is about to be reopened is reduced to thereby prevent delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film at the opening operation of the discharging valve 18c or 18d is suppressed due to the decreasing of energy for breaking the oil film . the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig9 to 11 . fig9 is a cross sectional view showing the construction of the discharging valve device . a discharging port 1 is formed in a housing 27 . a valve seat 32 is formed integrally with the housing 27 to project at the peripheral portion of the discharging port 1 . the discharging valve fixture 19 is placed above a discharging valve 38 of a thin plate which is in contact with a position near the top portion of the valve seat 32 . a recessed portion 38a is formed in the discharging valve 38 by , for instance , stamping operation . in fig9 the recessed portion 38a is shown to have a curved surface having a radius of curvature ρ 1 in cross section . fig1 is a sectional view showing the discharging valve device of fig9 by horizontally turning it by 90 ° and by cutting it vertically . in fig1 , the recessed portion 38a has a radius of curvature ρ 2 being different from the radius of curvature ρ 1 . in fig1 , the recessed portion 38a of the discharging valve 38 has a curved surface which consists of a part of the surface of an elliptical body 30 wherein the radius of curvature ρ 1 in the direction x is different from the radius of curvature ρ 2 in the direction y . the operation of the fifth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment as shown in fig4 . the fifth embodiment of the present invention is particularly constructed such that a line 39 formed by the contact of the discharging valve 38 to the valve seat 32 is substantially in an elliptical form as shown in fig1 which provides sealing property to prevent gas from flowing from a high pressure portion outside the compression chamber to the compression chamber . further , since the contacting line 39 is substantially in an elliptical form and is in a waveform out of the same plane , the contacting width for sealing formed by the oil film is reduced at the lower part of the valve seat 32 at the opening operation of the discharging valve 38 to thereby prevent delay in the opening operation . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film for preventing the reverse flow of gas at the opening operation of the discharging valve 38 is reduced due to reduction in the oil film resistance . in addition , since the contacting area between the discharging valve 38 and the valve seat 32 is substantially in the elliptical form , a position of the valve seat at which the discharging valve separates from the valve seat at its opening operation is fixed and the fluctuation of noise level is small because acoustic property of the discharged gas is uniform . as described above , the fifth embodiment of the present invention is constructed in such a manner that the recessed portion of the discharging valve 38 as a curved surface in which the radius of curvature in the longitudinal direction x of the discharging valve is different from the radius of curvature in the transverse direction y of the same so that a ring - shaped contacting line of a substantially waved elliptical form is given on the valve seat 32 when the discharging valve 38 is brought into contact with the valve seat 32 . accordingly , the width of the oil film for contact sealing produced when the discharging valve 38 is on the valve seat 32 is small at the lower position of the valve seat 32 to thereby prevent delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 38 with the result of increasing efficiency of the compressor . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film at the time of opening operation of the discharging valve 38 is suppressed because energy for breaking the oil film is small . in addition , since a position of the valve seat at which the discharging valve separates from the valve seat at the opening operation of the discharging valve is fixed , the fluctuation of noise level is reduced . the sixth to the tenth embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 to 18 . fig1 a is a sectional view of the discharging valve device of the sixth embodiment of the present invention and fig1 b is a perspective view of a valve seat used in the sixth embodiment wherein the reference numeral 1 designates a discharging port formed in a housing 47 , the numeral 42 designates a valve seat having a uniform radius of curvature in view of the cross section , which is formed integrally with the housing 47 at the peripheral portion of the discharging port 1 , the numeral 19 designates a discharging valve fixture , the numeral 4 designates a discharging valve having a flat surface which is similar to the valve as in fig1 and the numeral 45 designates a slit formed in the valve seat 42 so as to cross a circumference having the same center as the discharging port 1 . the operation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment as described with reference to fig4 . resistance taking place when the discharging valve is about to open is primarily determined by the width of the oil film for contact sealing and the thickness of the oil film at the contacting area formed between the discharging valve 4 and the valve seat 42 . in the sixth embodiment of the present invention , a slit is formed in the valve seat 42 so as to cross a circumference having the same center as the discharging port 1 to reduce the width of the oil film for contact sealing to thereby control the content of oil film deposited . consequently , the resistance of the oil film is reduced at the opening operation of the discharging valve 4 to prevent delay in the opening operation . a smooth opening operation of the discharging valve 4 suppresses noise produced to a lower level . further , since a single slit 45 is formed in the valve seat 42 , the direction to open the discharging valve 4 in the initiation of the opening operation is fixed whereby fluctuation of acoustic property can be small . it is , however , noted that the valve seat 42 having a deeper slit 45 is not desirable for the purpose of increasing gas - sealing property when the discharging valve 4 is closed . fig1 and 14 respectively show the seventh and eighth embodiments of the present invention in which a plurality of slits 45 are formed in the valve seat 42 in a radial form with respect to the discharging port and fig1 and 16 respectively show the nineth and tenth embodiments of the present invention in which a plurality of slits 45 are formed in the valve seat 42 in a radial form so as to be alternately arranged at the inner part and outer part with respect to the top portion of the valve seat . description will be made as to how noise property is improved by the sixth to tenth embodiments of the present invention . fig1 and 18 are respectively graphs showing comparison of noise property b obtained by the embodiments with noise property a of the conventional discharging valve device . it is understood from fig1 that the sixth , eighth and tenth embodiments corresponding respectively to fig1 , 14 and 16 in which a single or plurality of slits 45 are eccentrically arranged , improve both noise level and the fluctuation in comparison with those a of the conventional device . fig1 shows performance of the seventh and nineth embodiments corresponding respectively to fig1 and 15 in which plurality of slits are uniformly arranged . it is understood from fig1 that the embodiments as in fig1 and 15 do not improve noise level in comparison with those a of the conventional device . as described above , the sixth to the tenth embodiments of the present invention are provided with a single or plurality of slits which are formed in the valve seat 42 so as to cross a circumference having the same center as the discharging port whereby delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 4 is improved . further , since the opening operation of the discharging valve 4 is made smooth , noise produced at the opening operation is reduced . in addition , provision of the slits eccentrically arranged renders the direction to open the discharging valve 4 to be uniform and the fluctuation of noise at the opening operation of the discharging valve to be suppressed . description will be made as to the strength of the layer of a lubricating oil formed between the discharging valve and the valve seat , which is the important point of the present invention , with reference to fig1 . fig1 a to 19e schematically show conditions of the oil film formed by the contact of the discharging valve 51 to the valve seat 50 and conditions of surface tension of the lubricating oil , wherein fig1 a shows deposition of the oil film at the contacting area in the conventional discharging valve device as in fig1 ; fig1 b shows the first embodiment of the present invention corresponding to fig4 ; fig1 c shows the third embodiment of the present invention corresponding to fig7 ; fig1 d shows the fifth embodiment corresponding to fig1 and fig1 e shows the sixth embodiment corresponding to fig1 . now , easiness of opening the discharging valve will be examined . easiness of opening α is expressed by the equation ( 1 ). ## equ1 ## wherein σf is surface tension of oil and σp is pressure difference between an inner pressure pc and an outer pressure pd . the surface tension of oil σf and pressure difference σp are respectively expressed by the euqations ( 2 ), ( 3 ). wherein a is an average width of oil film and r is an average radius of oil film . the equation ( 4 ) is obtained by substituting the equations ( 2 ), ( 3 ) into the equation ( 1 ) and by rearranging it . ## equ2 ## accordingly , the equation 4 represents that the easiness of opening α of the discharging valve is proportional to a / r . here , description will be made as to the easiness of opening α 1 in the conventional discharging valve shown in fig1 a and each of the easiness of opening α 2 to α 5 of the embodiments shown in fig1 b to 19e wherein the affixed numerals 1 to 5 correspond characters a to e of fig1 . when an example is taken from fig1 b , the condition of a 2 & lt ;™ a 1 , r 2 & gt ; r 1 is established . accordingly , the value α 2 is smaller than the value α 1 as apparent from the following equation . ## equ3 ## in the case of fig1 c , the condition of a 3 & lt ;™ a 1 , r 3 & lt ; r 1 is established and when r 3 & gt ; r 1 , then , α 3 & lt ; α 1 ; on account of which α 3 is smaller than α 1 under a certain condition . incidentally , when an ordinary compressor is used , the conditions as above - mentioned are satisfied and there is no substantial condition . in the case fig1 d , as apparent from the figure , the condition of α 4 & lt ; a 1 and r 4 & lt ; r 1 are established and when a 4 / a 1 & lt ; r 2 / r 1 , then α 4 & lt ; α 1 . accordingly , the α 4 is smaller than the α 1 under a certain condition . in the case fig1 e , the conditions of a 5 & lt ; a 1 and r 5 = r 1 are established and accordingly , α 5 = a 5 / r 5 & lt ; a 1 / r 1 = α 1 is established with the consequence of α 5 & lt ; α 1 . as described above , easiness of opening the discharging valve is obtainable under a certain condition for the embodiments as shown in fig1 c and 19d . for the other embodiments , there is obtainable without any condition in comparison with the discharging valve as shown in fig1 a . further , for sealing property , it is possible to practice the present invention by suitably selecting the dimensions of each part as far as refrigeration property is not impaired . the discharging valve devices for compressors according to the eleventh and twelfth embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to fig2 to 22 . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the discharging valve of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention wherein the reference numeral 1 designates a discharging port formed in a housing 17a and the numeral 62 designates a valve seat formed integrally with the housing 17a at the peripheral portion of the discharging port 1 in a projecting form . the shape of the projection in cross section is in a curved outline drawn with a predetermined radius and an annular step 66 having the same center as the discharging port 1 is formed between the top portion of the surface having the certain curvature at the discharging port side and 0 . 05 mm below from the top portion . the numeral 19 refers to a discharging valve fixture and the numeral 63 indicates a discharging valve which is brought contact with the top portion of the projection of the valve seat 62 . the diameter d 1 of the annular projection of the valve seat 62 is selected to be 1 . 5 times as much as the diameter d 2 of the discharging port 1 . the operation of the eleventh embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment shown in fig4 . this embodiment is provided with the valve seat 62 for sealing gas being apt to reversely flow from a high pressure portion outside the compressor into the same and the valve seat 62 preventing delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 68 . the delay in the opening operation largely depends on contacting pressure which is determined by mutual relationship of pressure applied to at the contacting surface between the discharging valve 68 and the valve seat 62 and a contacting area taking the content of the oil , i . e . the thickness of the oil film into consideration . the contacting pressure can be reduced by changing the shape in cross section of the valve seat 62 to thereby reduce the contacting area ; thus , the content of the oil in the oil film deposited at the contacting area is controlled so that resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve 68 is decreased . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film for contact sealing at the opening operation of the discharging valve 68 is suppressed to a lower level . fig2 shows performance of the discharging valve device b of the present invention as compared with the performance of the conventional device a . fig2 is a sectional view of the discharging valve device of the twelfth embodiment of the present invention . the shape of the projection of the valve seat 62 in cross section is in a curved outline drawn with a predetermined radius and there is formed a recessed portion 65 whose circular edge is at a position outside the top portion of the projection having the radius of curvature and which is inwardly inclined to form a substantially conical form with the same axial center as the discharge port 1 whereby delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 68 and production of noise are eliminated as in the eleventh embodiment . the recessed portion 65 of the valve seat 62 has a step portion 66 formed of a steep slope at a position beyond the top portion of the projection where the discharging valve 68 is made contact with . in the study of positional relationship between the top portion of the projection and the step portion 66 , it has been found that when a gap between the top portion of the projection as a contacting areaion and the top edge of the step portion 66 is in a range from 0 to 0 . 05 mm , the optimum discharging efficiency can be obtained . it has been also found that in the relationship between the diameter of the top portion of the annular projection where the discharging valve 68 is come to contact with the valve seat 62 and the diameter of the discharging port 1 , a suitable contacting pressure of the discharging valve 68 to the valve seat 62 is obtained by providing the diameter of the top portion to satisfy a related equation d 1 =≧ 1 . 5d 2 where d 1 is the contacting diameter of the top portion of the projection and d 2 is the diameter of discharging port 1 , an excellent discharging efficiency can be obtained . thus , the eleventh and twelfth embodiments of the present invention are respectively constructed in such a manner that the ratio of the diameter of the top portion of the valve seat to the diameter of discharging port is 1 . 5 times or more ; a curved surface having a curvature is formed at a position outside the contacting point between the valve seat and the discharging valve and a step portion is formed at the inner side of the top portion of the projection . with the construction , the content of the oil deposited between the valve seat and the discharging valve which corporates to form a contacting area is limited and resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve is reduced thereby preventing delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve . further , since energy for breaking the oil film required at the opening operation of the discharging valve is small , noise produced at the breaking of the oil z5 film can be suppressed . in addition , since the uppermost end of the recessed portion is made greater than the diameter of the discharging port , the flow rate of gas discharged is tenderly at the outlet of the discharging port to thereby lower pressure loss and to control disturbance in flow and pulsating phenomenon of the discharged gas . finally , the discharging valve devices for a compressor of the thirteenth and fourteenth embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to fig2 to 25 . fig2 is a cross - sectional view of the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention wherein the reference numeral 1 designates a discharging port formed in a housing 17a and the reference numeral 82 refers to a valve seat formed integrally with the housing 17a at the peripheral portion at the discharging side of the discharging port 1 . the profile of the valve seat 82 is such that a surface continuously extending from the inner surface of the discharging port 1 is converged to a curved surface having a predetermined radius of curvature and a step portion 85 having a steep slope is formed at a position outside the top portion of the curved surface , namely at the opposite side of the discharging port . the numeral 19 designates a discharging valve fixture and the numeral 88 designates a discharging valve which is come to contact with the top portion of the projection of the valve seat 82 . the operation of the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is substantially same as that of the first embodiment as shown in fig4 . particularly , the valve seat 82 of the embodiment has sealing property to prevent gas from reversely flowing from a high pressure portion outside the compressor into the compressor and prevents delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 88 . the delay in the opening operation largely depends on relationship between pressure difference at the contacting area of the valve seat 82 to the discharging valve 88 and a contacting area taking the content of oil , namely the thickness of the oil film into consideration . the contacting pressure can be reduced by changing the shape of the valve seat 82 to reduce its contacting area . a small contacting area reduces deposition of the oil film formed at the contacting point to thereby reduce resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve 88 with the consequence that there takes place no delay in the opening operation . further , noise produced by breaking the oil film for preventing reverse flow of gas can be suppressed to a lower level as shown in fig2 in which performance of the valve discharging device b of the thirteenth embodiment is superior to the performance of the conventional device a . fig2 is a cross sectional view of the valve dishcarging device of the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention . the shape in cross section of the valve seat 92 is such that a surface continuously extending from the inner wall of the discharging port 1 is converged to a curved surface having a predetermined radius of curvature and a step portion 95 having a steep slope is formed at a position beyond the top portion of the curved surface drawn by such radius of curvature . the valve seat of this embodiment prevents delay in the opening operation of the discharging valve 88 and suppresses noise as the device of the thirteenth embodiment . in the study concerning positional relationship between the top portion of the projection to which the discharging valve 88 is come to contact and the step portion 95 formed at a position outside the top portion of the valve seat 92 as shown in fig2 , it has been revealed that the optimum gap is obtained for efficient discharging operation when the gap between the top portion of the projection and the step portion 95 is in the range from 0 to 0 . 05 mm . according to the thirteenth and fourteenth embodiments of the present invention , the curved surface having a certain radius of curvature is in the valve seat at a position where the discharging valve comes to contact with and a step portion is formed outside the contacting point to reduce deposition of oil film formed between the valve seat and the discharging valve and to reduce resistance of the oil film produced at the opening operation of the discharging valve to thereby prevent delay in the opening operation . further , energy for breaking the oil film can be small at the opening operation of the discharging valve to suppress noise produced at the breaking of the oil film .	5
the following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention . various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . referring to fig4 for a speed limiting structure of the present invention , a limiting ring a is disposed in a belt transmission t . the belt transmission t includes a slide disk 51 disposed on a crankshaft 4 ; an active disk 52 disposed on the crankshaft 4 on the side of the slide disk 41 ; a taper plate 53 disposed on the crankshaft 4 on the other side of the slide disk 51 ; a counter weight ball 54 accommodated and restricted between the slide disk 51 and the taper plate 53 ; two passive disks 72 and 73 disposed on a passive shaft 6 ; a clutch 71 fixed to the passive shaft 6 ; and a transmission belt 8 . wherein , the slide disk 51 and the active disk 52 define an active disk 5 of the belt transmission t . one end of the transmission belt 8 is located between the active disk 52 and the slide disk 51 while the other end of the transmission belt 8 is located between those two passive disks 72 and 73 . a guide part 721 inserted onto the passive shaft 6 is provided to the passive disk 72 , and a guide cylinder 731 inserted onto the guide part 721 of the passive disk 72 is disposed to another passive disk 73 . a distance for movement is defined for the passive disk 73 between the guide cylinder 731 and the clutch 71 for the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 to move on the guide part 721 of the passive disk 72 . a spiral coil 9 is inserted between the outer side of the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 and the clutch 71 . now referring to fig5 and 7 , the limiting ring a is inserted onto the guide part 721 of the passive disk 72 and is located on the external side of the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 . in case of throttle - up , the rpm of the crankshaft increases accordingly to throw the counter weight ball 54 out of its initial position for being subject to greater eccentric force , thus the slide disk 51 is made subject to the displacement of the counter weight ball 54 and moves toward the active disk 52 while the other passive disk 73 compresses the spiral coil 9 for the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 to slide towards the clutch 71 . meanwhile , the moving distance of the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 is restricted by the limiting ring a , and therefore the range of the rotation circumference of the transmission belt 8 on both of the passive disks 72 and 73 is limited accordingly to conduct a proper limitation to the vehicle speed without affecting the maximal torque output for acceleration or climb . the speed limiting ring a disposed on the outer side of the end of the guide cylinder 731 of the passive disk 73 is used in the vehicle speed limiting structure of the present invention to achieve the purpose of limiting the vehicle speed . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above . while certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim , it is not intended to be limited to the details above , since it will be understood that various omissions , modifications , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention .	5
the invention provides a method for processing wastewaters and waste - gas condensates from the polymerization of vinyl acetate and ethylene and optionally further comonomers in an aqueous medium , by the suspension or emulsion polymerization process under a pressure of 5 to 100 bar abs ., in which , after the end of the polymerization , the polymerization batch is let down to a pressure of 0 . 1 to 5 bar abs ., and is optionally treated with inert entraining gases ( stripping ) and the polymer dispersion is drained off , characterized in that a ) during letdown the gaseous phase is taken off by means of a compressor , b ) the gaseous phase obtained during stripping is optionally taken off by means of the compressor and , before entering the compressor , is cooled by means of one or more heat exchangers , and c ) the liquid phases obtained in the compressor and optionally in the heat exchanger are each separated from the gaseous phase , and d ) are applied to a rectifying column , and are separated into a vinyl acetate monomer phase and into a wastewater phase , and the vinyl acetate monomer phase is returned to the polymerization . vinyl acetate is copolymerized generally in an amount of 30 to 97 wt %, preferably 70 to 95 wt %, based in each case on the overall weight of the monomers . ethylene is copolymerized generally in an amount of 1 to 30 wt %, preferably 3 to 15 wt %, based in each case on the overall weight of the monomers . suitable further comonomers are those from the group of the vinyl esters of carboxylic acids having 1 to 12 c atoms , bar vinyl acetate ; the esters of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with unbranched or branched alcohols having 1 to 15 c atoms ; the vinyl halides such as vinyl chloride ; and the olefins , bar ethylene , such as propylene . preferred vinyl esters are vinyl propionate , vinyl butyrate , vinyl 2 - ethylhexanoate , vinyl laurate , 1 - methylvinyl acetate , vinyl pivalate , and vinyl esters of α - branched monocarboxylic acids having 9 to 11 c atoms , as for example veova9 ® or veova10 ® ( trade names of the company momentive ). preferred methacrylic esters or acrylic esters are methyl acrylate , methyl methacrylate , ethyl acrylate , n - butyl acrylate , and 2 - ethylhexyl acrylate . these comonomers are copolymerized optionally in an amount of 1 to 40 wt %, based on the overall weight of the monomers . it is possible if desired for 0 . 05 to 10 wt %, based on the overall weight of the monomers , of auxiliary monomers to be copolymerized as well . examples of auxiliary monomers are ethylenically unsaturated monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic acids , preferably acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , fumaric acid , and maleic acid ; ethylenically unsaturated carboxamides and carbonitriles , preferably acrylamide and acrylonitrile ; monoesters and diesters of fumaric acid and maleic acid such as the diethyl and diisopropyl esters , and also maleic anhydride , ethylenically unsaturated sulfonic acids and their salts , preferably vinylsulfonic acid , and 2 - acrylamido - 2 - methylpropanesulfonic acid . other examples are precrosslinking comonomers such as polyethylenically unsaturated comonomers , as for example divinyl adipate , diallyl maleate , allyl methacrylate , or triallyl cyanurate , or postcrosslinking comonomers , as for example acrylamidoglycolic acid ( aga ), methylacrylamidoglycolic acid methyl ester ( magme ), n - methylolacrylamide ( nma ), n - methylolmethacrylamide ( nmma ), n - methylolallylcarbamate , alkyl ethers such as the isobutoxy ether or esters of n - methylolacrylamide , of n - methylolmethacrylamide , and of n - methylolallylcarbamate . also suitable are epoxide - functional comonomers such as glycidyl methacrylate and glycidyl acrylate . other examples are silicon - functional comonomers , such as acryloyloxypropyltri ( alkoxy ) silanes and methacryloyloxypropyltri ( alkoxy )- silanes , vinyltrialkoxysilanes , and vinylmethyldialkoxysilanes , with possible examples of alkoxy groups present being methoxy , ethoxy , and ethoxypropylene glycol ether radicals . mention may also be made of monomers having hydroxyl or co groups , examples being methacrylic and acrylic hydroxyalkyl esters such as hydroxyethyl , hydroxypropyl , or hydroxybutyl acrylate or methacrylate , and also compounds such as diacetoneacrylamide and acetylacetoxyethyl acrylate or methacrylate . preparation takes place by the emulsion polymerization process or by the suspension polymerization process , preferably by the emulsion polymerization process , where the polymerization temperature is in general 40 ° c . to 100 ° c ., preferably 60 ° c . to 90 ° c ., and where operation takes place under a pressure of in general 5 to 100 bar abs . the polymerization is initiated with the water - soluble or monomer - soluble initiators , or redox initiator combinations , that are customary for emulsion polymerization or suspension polymerization , respectively . examples of water - soluble initiators are the sodium , potassium , and ammonium salts of the peroxodisulfuric acid , hydrogen peroxide , tert - butyl peroxide , tert - butyl hydroperoxide , potassium peroxodiphosphate , tert - butyl peroxopivalate , cumene hydroperoxide , isopropylbenzene monohydroperoxide , and azobisisobutyronitrile . examples of monomer - soluble initiators are dicetyl peroxydicarbonate , dicyclohexyl peroxydicarbonate , and dibenzoyl peroxide . the stated initiators are used in general in an amount from 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 wt %, based on the overall weight of the monomers . redox initiators used are combinations of the stated initiators together with reducing agents . suitable reducing agents are the sulfites and bisulfites of the alkali metals and of ammonium , as for example sodium sulfite , the derivatives of sulfoxylic acid such as zinc or alkali metal formaldehydesulfoxylates , as for example sodium hydroxymethanesulfinate , and ( iso ) ascorbic acid . the amount of reducing agent is preferably 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 wt %, based on the overall weight of the monomers . to control the molecular weight it is possible during the polymerization to use regulator substances ( chain transfer agents ). if chain transfer agents are used , they are employed typically in amounts between 0 . 01 to 5 . 0 wt %, based on the monomers to be polymerized , and are metered in separately or else in the form of premixes with other reaction components . examples of such agents are n - dodecyl mercaptan , tert - dodecyl mercaptan , mercaptopropionic acid , methyl mercaptopropionate , isopropanol , and acetaldehyde . it is preferred not to use any regulator substances . suitable protective colloids are partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohols ; polyvinylpyrrolidones ; polysaccharides in water - soluble form such as starches ( amylose and amylopectin ), celluloses and their carboxymethyl , methyl , hydroxyethyl , and hydroxypropyl derivatives ; proteins such as casein or caseinate , soy protein , gelatin ; lignosulfonates ; synthetic polymers such as poly ( meth ) acrylic acid , copolymers of ( meth ) acrylates with carboxyl - functional comonomer units , poly ( meth ) acrylamide , polyvinylsulfonic acids , and their water - soluble copolymers ; melamine - formaldehyde sulfonates , naphthalene - formaldehyde sulfonates , and styrene - maleic acid and vinyl ether - maleic acid copolymers . partially or fully hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohols are preferred . particularly preferred are partially hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohols having a degree of hydrolysis of 80 to 95 mol % and a höppler viscosity in 4 % strength aqueous solution of 1 to 30 mpas ( höppler method at 20 ° c ., din 53015 ). the polyvinyl alcohols are added during the polymerization , generally in an amount of in total 1 to 20 wt %, based on the overall weight of the monomers . polymerization in the method of the invention may also take place in the presence of emulsifiers , in which case the amounts of emulsifier are generally 1 to 5 wt %, based on the monomer amount . suitable emulsifiers include anionic , cationic , and nonionic emulsifiers , examples being anionic surfactants , such as alkyl sulfates having a chain length of 8 to 18 c atoms , alkyl or alkylaryl ether sulfates with 8 to 18 c atoms in the hydrophobic radical and up to 40 ethylene oxide or propylene oxide units , alkylsulfonates or alkylarylsulfonates having 8 to 18 c atoms , esters and monoesters of sulfosuccinic acid with monohydric alcohols or alkylphenols , or nonionic surfactants such as alkyl polyglycol ethers or alkylaryl polyglycol ethers having 8 to 40 ethylene oxide units . the polymerization may be carried out in a batch process , a semibatch process , or a continuous process . the monomers here may be included in their entirety in the initial charge , metered in in their entirety , or included in fractions in the initial charge , with the remainder being metered in after the polymerization has been initiated . the metered feeds may be carried out separately ( in space and in time ), or the components to be metered in may be metered all or in part in pre - emulsified form . the polymerization is taken generally to a conversion of 95 wt %, preferably to a conversion of 95 to 99 wt %, of the monomers which are liquid under polymerization conditions . the polymerization mixture is subsequently let down to a pressure of 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 bar abs ., preferably of 0 . 1 to 1 . 0 bar abs . for this purpose , generally speaking , the polymerization mixture is transferred from the polymerization reactor 1 into a reactor 2 ( letdown vessel ) that is under corresponding pressure . in the case of discontinuous operation ( batch or semibatch mode ), letdown takes place after the end of polymerization . in the case of continuous polymerization , the polymerization mixture is transferred continuously into the letdown vessel 2 . transport takes place by virtue of the pressure difference between polymerization reactor 1 and letdown vessel 2 . the pressure difference is preferably from 0 . 5 to 5 bar . if , in the course of reactor emptying , the pressure difference decreases to a point where the emptying rate falls below the limit of operating economics , inert gas can be introduced , by injection of nitrogen , for example , to maintain or increase the admission pressure in the polymerization reactor 1 . optionally , employing known techniques , postpolymerization may be performed in the letdown vessel 2 , as for example by postpolymerization initiated with redox catalyst . the volatile residual monomer fraction is optionally removed ( stripping ) subsequently by passing inert entraining gases such as air , nitrogen , or , preferably , steam over or , preferably , through the aqueous polymerization mixture , in a way of which the skilled person is aware . generally speaking , stripping is conducted under the absolute pressure in the letdown vessel 2 that corresponds to the boiling point of the water at the polymerization mixture temperature prevailing in the letdown vessel 2 . stripping takes place preferably at a temperature of 50 to 80 ° c . under a pressure of 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 bar abs . the method of the invention is elucidated in more detail in fig1 : on letdown of the polymerization batch there is a phase separation between the polymer dispersion ( liquid phase ) and a gaseous phase which comprises inert gas , monomers not fully converted in the polymerization ( primarily vinyl acetate and ethylene ), and also byproducts from the polymerization ( examples being acetaldehyde , ethyl acetate , and tert - butanol ). the gaseous phase 3 obtained in the letdown is taken off via a compressor 5 . the gaseous phase 4 obtained during optional stripping comprises generally steam and the monomer fraction not converted in the reaction , more particularly vinyl acetate monomer and ethylene , and also byproducts obtained in the polymerization , such as acetaldehyde or ethyl acetate , and is also taken off via the compressor 5 . before entering the compressor 5 , the gaseous phase 4 from the stripping operation is supplied to one or more series - connected heat exchangers ( condensers ) 8 . the gaseous phase is cooled to a temperature at which the vinyl ester monomers and water , and also any ethyl acetate , acetaldehyde , and tert - butanol , undergo condensation , and essentially only ethylene and inert gas fractions remain in the gas phase . cooling takes place preferably , by heat exchange , to a temperature of 5 to 25 ° c ., more preferably 5 to 20 ° c ., in each case at the preferred pressure level of 0 . 1 to 1 . 0 bar abs . the compressor 5 is preferably a liquid ring compressor , more preferably a liquid ring compressor operated with water ( water ring pump ). it is also possible , optionally , for two or more compressors to be used , which in that case are preferably connected in parallel . in the compressor 5 , the gas stream 3 , the gas phase taken off during letdown , and optionally the gas stream 9 , the uncondensable gases resulting from the stripping operation , are compressed to a pressure level of preferably 1 . 1 to 1 . 5 bar abs ., and these compressed gases , preferably via a waste - gas buffer vessel 6 , are either worked up for recovery of the ethylene fraction , or passed to waste - gas incineration 10 . the condensate 11 obtained in the course of cooling in the heat exchanger unit 8 , and generally being a mixture of water and organic compounds ( generally vinyl acetate , ethyl acetate , acetaldehyde , and tert - butanol ), is supplied to a wastewater degassing unit ( awega ) 12 , which as a key component comprises a rectifying column 24 . the condensates 7 which condense out from the gas phase following compression in the compressor 5 are likewise supplied to the awega 12 . in one preferred embodiment , the condensates obtained during compression are taken off between compressor 5 and waste - gas buffer 6 and are supplied to the wastewater purification unit 12 . condensates 13 obtained in the waste - gas buffer 6 are preferably likewise supplied to the wastewater degassing unit 12 . the wastewaters obtained during operation of the compressor 5 , and also any further wastewaters 14 from the polymerization , an example being wastewater from reactor flushing , are preferably also supplied to the wastewater degassing unit 12 . there they are applied to the rectifying column 24 . within the wastewater degassing unit awega 12 , the collected condensates and wastewaters 21 are separated , in the rectifying column 24 , into a liquid phase 30 largely freed from organic impurities ( purified wastewater ), and into a distillate phase 34 containing predominantly vinyl acetate . the vinyl acetate monomer 34 is preferably returned to the polymerization . the purified wastewater 30 can be disposed of without further processing . the wastewater degassing unit awega 12 and preferred embodiments for the purification of the wastewater are elucidated in more detail in fig2 : the collected wastewaters 21 are fed , for the purpose of recovering the vinyl acetate monomer fraction , to the top of the rectifying column 24 , which is operated preferably under a pressure of 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 bar abs . and at a temperature of 40 to 60 ° c . the wastewater 21 , which has a temperature of generally 20 to 30 ° c ., is preferably preheated to a temperature of preferably 50 to 60 ° c ., and the preheated condensate 23 is applied to the rectifying column 24 . this may be done by means of indirect heat exchange in a heat exchanger 22 , with possible heat transfer media being steam , heat - transfer oil , and preferably the purified wastewater 29 obtained following recovery of the vinyl acetate monomer fraction . a stream 31 in vapor form is taken off at the top of the rectifying column 24 and cooled in a condenser 32 to a temperature at which the water fraction condenses , preferably to a temperature of 30 to 40 ° c . under a pressure of preferably 0 . 2 to 0 . 4 bar abs . the water - enriched condensate 33 obtained in this process is applied as a return flow to the top of the rectifying column 24 again . the gaseous fraction 34 , with up to 98 wt %, preferably 85 to 95 wt %, of vinyl acetate , generally 1 to 14 wt % of steam , and generally 0 . 5 to 1 wt % of acetaldehyde , can be returned to the polymerization in liquid form after preferably complete condensation in the heat exchanger 35 , in order to re - use the vinyl acetate fraction in the polymerization , or can be passed to incineration , or , in the most preferred embodiment , can be purified further . the bottom product 25 from the rectifying column is the purified wastewater , with a purity of preferably ≧ 99 . 0 wt % water , more preferably ≧ 99 . 5 wt % water . in a preferred embodiment , the bottom product ( wastewater ) 25 may be purified further . in another preferred embodiment , the vinyl acetate monomer 34 may be purified further . for the further purification of the wastewater , the bottom product 25 is supplied to a vaporizer 27 . in the vaporizer 27 , the vapor stream 28 which can be used for the countercurrent stream in the rectifying column 24 is generated by means of partial vaporization of the bottom product 25 , preferably by means of heating 26 ( direct or indirect heating with steam ). in the case of partial vaporization , generally 0 . 5 to 10 wt %, preferably 1 to 5 wt %, based on the bottom product 25 , is vaporized . the wastewater stream 29 which remains following partial vaporization is thereby freed additionally from residual monomers . optionally after heat exchange in the heat exchanger 22 ( for the preheating of the wastewater stream 21 ), purified wastewater 29 / 30 , with a purity of preferably 99 . 9 wt % water , more preferably 99 . 95 wt % water , can be removed from the operation . in another preferred embodiment , the top product 31 ( vinyl acetate monomer ) of the rectifying column 24 may be purified further . for this purpose , this product is condensed and purified in a further rectifying column 42 . the top product 31 , comprising low and middle boilers , especially vinyl acetate , is preferably removed via a condenser 32 and preferably cooled in a heat exchanger 35 , preferably to a temperature of 10 to 20 ° c . under a pressure of preferably 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 bar abs . the condensate 36 obtained in this procedure is supplied to a liquid phase separator 37 . the uncondensable gaseous fractions 38 are passed preferably to waste - gas incineration . the liquid phase separator 37 may optionally also be supplied with condensates and wastewaters from other parts of the plant ( condensate / wastewater stream 39 ), such as the wastewaters obtained during operation of a water - operated liquid ring compressor 5 , the condensate from the waste - gas buffer vessel 6 , or condensates obtained within the pipelines of the plant . the stated wastewaters of the wastewater stream 39 generally comprise a predominant fraction of organic constituents such as residual monomer or byproducts of the polymerization , and only 1 to 15 wt % of water . this incoming stream is divided in the liquid phase separator 37 into an aqueous phase 40 , which is preferably recycled to the top of the rectifying column 24 , and a vinyl acetate monomer phase 41 . the vinyl acetate monomer phase 41 can be returned to the polymerization without further treatment or may be freed from relatively low - boiling organic byproducts 43 , acetaldehyde for example , in a further rectifying column 42 , before being returned to the polymerization . the rectifying column 42 is operated preferably under a pressure of 0 . 2 to 0 . 5 bar abs . and at a temperature of 30 to 40 ° c . the organic phase 43 in vapor form is taken off at the top of the column 42 , and cooled in the heat exchanger 35 , and the uncondensable gaseous fractions 38 are passed to waste - gas incineration . the purified vinyl acetate monomer 44 is taken from the column bottoms . the method of the invention can be used to bring the wastewaters from a polymerization of vinyl acetate and ethylene , containing in unpurified form 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 % of vinyl acetate monomer , to a purity of preferably ≧ 99 . 9 wt % water , with the remaining vam fraction being preferably just 200 to 300 ppm . the vinyl acetate monomer ( vam ) 34 is obtained at the top of the rectifying column 24 , following removal of the water fraction by condensation in the condenser 32 , with a purity of preferably 85 % vam . in the preferred embodiment it is possible , by means of a second rectifying column 42 , to bring the vinyl acetate monomer 44 to a purity of preferably 99 % vam . the examples which follow serve for further elucidation of the invention : in an industrial plant for the production of aqueous vinyl acetate - ethylene copolymer dispersions , with a capacity of 100 , 000 metric tons of polymer dispersion per year , the same time period saw around 40 , 000 m 3 of wastewater being obtained ( 0 . 4 m 3 of wastewater per metric ton of dispersion ). the average composition of this wastewater was as follows : 1 . 5 wt % vinyl acetate , 400 wt - ppm acetaldehyde , 20 wt - ppm tert - butanol , and 10 wt - ppm ethyl acetate . the primary components of this wastewater were the fractions obtained as condensates during letdown in the water - operated liquid ring compressor 5 ( stream 7 ) and the fractions obtained after stripping and cooling in the heat exchanger unit 8 ( stream 11 ). the wastewater was heated to 55 ° c . by injection of saturated steam , and applied to a rectifying column ( column 24 ) ( top pressure 295 mbar abs . ; column - top temperature 53 ° c . ; number of theoretical plates : 4 ; reflux condensation at 40 ° c .) wastewater with the following purity was obtained as bottom product ( 25 ): 2000 ppm vinyl acetate , 735 ppm acetaldehyde , 32 ppm tert - butanol , 16 ppm ethyl acetate . following partial vaporization , the purity of the wastewater stream ( 29 ) was as follows : 265 ppm vinyl acetate , 290 ppm acetaldehyde , 18 ppm tert - butanol , and 4 ppm ethyl acetate . obtained at the top of the column was a distillate ( 31 / 34 ) having the following composition : 89 wt % vinyl acetate , 7 wt % water , 0 . 9 wt % acetaldehyde , 120 ppm tert - butanol , 376 ppm ethyl acetate . with this procedure it was possible to recover approximately 400 metric tons of vinyl acetate monomer per annum , in the form of the distillate ( 31 / 34 ). the procedure was analogous to that of example 1 , with the distillate recovered as per example 1 being worked up in a further rectifying column ( column 42 ), this column also being fed with condensates from the pipelines of the plant , from the liquid ring compressor , and from the waste - gas buffer vessel ( wastewater stream 39 : 86 wt % vinyl acetate , 10 . 6 wt % water , 0 . 7 wt % acetaldehyde , 0 . 4 wt % tert - butanol ). the operating data for this rectifying column were as follows : column - top pressure 300 mbar abs ; column - top temperature 30 ° c . ; number of theoretical plates : 15 ; reflux condensation at 20 ° c . the bottom product of the column ( vam ) had the following composition : 99 . 4 wt % vinyl acetate , 0 . 4 wt % water , 45 ppm acetaldehyde , 980 ppm tert - butanol , 710 ppm ethyl acetate . with this procedure it was possible to recover a further 250 metric tons of vinyl acetate monomer , in addition to the 400 metric tons of vinyl acetate monomer per annum as per example 1 . this corresponds to a saving of approximately 650 , 000 per annum for a plant capacity of 100 , 000 metric tons of dispersion per annum .	2
the essential elements of a shredder are comprised of a base , a housing , and a shredder mechanism which resides in the housing . the shredder mechanism contains two rotary cutting assemblies which shred paper as the paper is fed through the assemblies . this invention discloses a rotary cutting assembly with a configuration that more efficiently shreds paper , thus requiring less power . the rotary cutting assembly is comprised of cutting blades spaced apart along the length of a rotary shaft . the cutting blade or blades are configured such that teeth protrude from it as described below . fig3 - 20 disclose a first preferred embodiment of a rotary cutting assembly 1 with three cutting blades 2 forming a cutting blade assembly 5 . as shown in fig3 and 5 , the rotary cutting assembly 1 is comprised of cutting blade assemblies 5 spaced apart along the length of the rotary shaft 3 . each cutting blade assembly 5 has a plurality of teeth 4 that protrude from the cutting blades 2 . as illustrated in fig6 and 7 , the rotary shaft 3 is preferably hexagon in shape and made of a durable metal alloy such as steel . in one preferred embodiment , the three cutting blades are coupled together to form a cutting blade assembly 5 ( see fig1 ) and then spaced apart along the rotary shaft from other cutting blade assemblies 5 . fig8 - 10 illustrate the outer cutting blades 6 of the cutting blade assembly 5 . the outer cutting blades 6 have a hub 7 with polygonal hole 8 formed in the center of the hub 7 through which a rotary shaft 3 may pass . the polygonal shape locks into the hexagon shaped rotary shaft thereby securing the cutting blade such that it will not rotate around the rotary shaft . it is preferable that the periphery 9 of the outer cutting blade is serrated , though not necessary . the serration may serve to pull the paper to be cut through the rotary cutting assemblies . towards the periphery of the outer cutting blade 6 is a plurality of indentations or ribs 10 in the body 11 of the cutting blade . the ribs 10 serve to reinforce the cutting blade and prevent it from flexing . in addition , the ribs 10 hold the inner cutting blade 19 in place . substantially perpendicular to the ribs are additional indentations or spokes 12 . the spokes 12 also serve as reinforcement for the cutting blade . in addition , the spokes 12 serve to support the inner cutting blade 19 . the outer cutting blades 6 also have three flat , narrow teeth 13 located 120 degrees apart around the circumference of the cutting blade . it should be appreciated that for larger capacity shredders which require larger cutting blades with a greater circumference , four teeth can be placed 90 degrees apart around the periphery . for shredders with smaller capacities and thus smaller cutting blades , two teeth can be placed 180 degrees apart around the periphery . the distance between the teeth determines the size of the shredded material . if there is less distance , the material is shredded into smaller pieces . the outer cutting blade tooth 13 is preferably the same width as the cutting blade along the serrated periphery , and maintains the same width from the base 14 of the tooth to its tip 15 . one side 16 of the outer cutting blade tooth is a few degrees from perpendicular to the tangent at the circumference of the cutting blade , while the other sloping side 17 is greater than 105 degrees from the tangent . the tooth is formed when the substantially perpendicular side 16 of the tooth and the sloping side 17 meet . the tooth also has an indented portion 18 which provides reinforcement in a similar manner that the ribs 10 and spokes 12 reinforce the overall structure of the blade . the outer blade 6 is formed when sheet metal of a thickness of about 0 . 6 mm is punched by a die into the form of the outer cutting blade comprised of a polygonal hole , hub , ribs , spokes , serrated periphery , and teeth . fig1 - 13 disclose the inner cutting blade 19 . like the outer cutting blade 6 , the inner cutting blade 19 has a polygonal hole 20 formed in the center of it through which a rotary shaft may pass . the polygonal shape locks into the hexagon shaped rotary shaft thereby securing the cutting blade such that it will not rotate around the rotary shaft . the inner cutting blade 19 has the same number of teeth around the periphery as the outer cutting blade . in this preferred embodiment , three teeth are located 120 degrees apart around the circumference of the inner cutting blade . as mentioned above , for larger capacity shredders which require larger cutting blades with a greater circumference , four teeth can be placed 90 degrees apart around the periphery . for shredders with smaller capacities and thus smaller cutting blades , two teeth can be placed 180 degrees apart around the periphery . the inner cutting blade tooth 21 is preferably shaped like a spear at its tip 22 . it is formed by folding over the 0 . 6 mm metal sheet two times such that the approximate thickness of the tooth is 1 . 8 mm and then punched by a die into the form of the spear shaped tooth . the width of the inner cutting tooth 23 is therefore approximately three times greater than the width of the base 24 of the inner cutting blade 19 . as seen in fig1 and 15 , the outer cutting blades 6 sandwich and flank the inner cutting blade 19 in a configuration such that the teeth are aligned . the ribs 10 and spokes 12 of the outer cutting blade 6 and the tooth indented portion 18 provide support and secure the inner cutting blade 19 to ensure proper alignment . it should be appreciated that although this preferred embodiment discloses three blades coupled together to form a cutting blade assembly 5 , the same mechanism can be accomplished with less than three blades . for example , rather than have three blades , one blade can have a base of sufficient width to support two narrow teeth flanking a larger spear shaped tooth . in addition , in certain situations , more than three adjacent teeth may be advantageous . in such situations , one or more blades may be used to support the adjacent teeth . accordingly , this patent discloses a rotary cutting assembly comprised of a plurality of cutting blades ; said cutting blades having at least two sets of at least three adjacent teeth wherein said adjacent teeth flank each other ; said sets of adjacent teeth spaced apart from other sets of adjacent teeth along the circumference of the cutting blade . the adjacent teeth may be comprised of at least one inner tooth flanked by at least two outer teeth , wherein said outer teeth may be narrower than said inner tooth . the patent also illustrates a rotary cutting assembly comprised of a plurality of cutting blade assemblies having at least two sets of at least three adjacent teeth , wherein said adjacent teeth flank each other , said sets of adjacent teeth being spaced apart along the circumference of the cutting blade assembly . the adjacent teeth may be comprised of at least one inner tooth flanked by at least two outer teeth , wherein said outer teeth may be narrower than said inner tooth . the cutting blade assemblies may be comprised of at least two cutting blades flanking each other . the patent further discloses a rotary cutting assembly comprised of at least one cutting blade having at least two sets of at least three adjacent teeth wherein said adjacent teeth flank each other ; said sets of adjacent teeth being spaced apart along the circumference of the cutting blade . the adjacent teeth may be comprised of at least one inner tooth flanked by at least two outer teeth , wherein said outer teeth may be narrower than said inner tooth . fig1 - 18 show a partially assembled rotary cutting assembly 1 with the cutting blade assemblies 5 spaced apart . the cutting blade assemblies in this preferred embodiment are spaced apart by the hubs 7 in outer cutting blades 6 . the teeth 4 are displaced in the longitudinal direction to form a helix . if the teeth were aligned , then a greater force would be required to punch through paper . by displacing the teeth , a lesser , constant force is required . though a helix is described herein , any configuration may be used such that the teeth are not aligned . in addition , it may be possible to have varying numbers of teeth around the circumference of each cutting assembly , such that some cutting assemblies have two sets of teeth around its periphery and others have three sets or more . fig1 and 20 show the interaction between two rotary cutting assemblies 25 . as paper is fed between the two assemblies , it is shredded into rectangles . the width of the rectangle is determined by the space between the cutting blade assemblies created by the hubs . the length of the rectangle is determined by the distance between the teeth around the circumference of the cutting blade . though the size can vary , an exemplar shredded piece of paper is 4 mm by 40 mm . fig2 - 25 disclose another preferred embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment the components are essentially the same as above , except that the cutting blade assembly does not have a hub protruding from it . since there is no hub to create space between the cutting blade assemblies , a separate spacer 26 is needed to separate the cutting blade assemblies . ( see fig2 & amp ; 30 .) as seen in fig2 - 33 , this preferred embodiment also discloses paper strippers 27 which are coupled to the spacer 26 . both the paper strippers 27 and the spacer 26 are commonly known to those skilled in the art . the paper strippers facilitate the papers shreds to fall downward into the shredder base , and also prevent the paper from accumulating between the cutting blade assemblies . though the paper strippers were not shown in the previous embodiment , a fully assembled shredder utilizing the rotary cutting assembly above would preferably have the paper strippers coupled to the hubs between the cutting blade assemblies . other preferred embodiments are also possible . for example , the principle of three or more adjacent teeth can also be applied to diamond cut shredders . although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to certain preferred versions thereof , other versions are possible . therefore , the scope of the claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein .	1
the test device shown by the illustration in fig1 is used to test the various electrical connections of a wire wrap board . a wire wrap board is well - known in the art . a wire wrap board is a combination printed circuit board with extended integrated circuit socket pins some of which contact the printed circuit . these may be made in different ways . small printed circuit board construction is made with the printed circuitry formed about equally spaced rows of linearly aligned holes each of which may be provided with an electrically conductive sleeve or socket . some sleeves are in electrical contact with the printed circuit . the integrated circuit socket pins that pass through the holes in the board are formed onto an insulating block with the socket end within the isulating block forming a sleeve or socket . these may be made as either 16 or 14 pin , dual , in - line integrated circuit sockets . these 16 or 14 pin , dual , in - line integrated circuit sockets are placed on the printed circuit board with pins extending through the printed circuit board . electrical contact with the printed circuit and / or pins may be made by printed circuit connection terminals 11 as shown in fig2 . terminals are on the bottom surface also and are in electrical contact with the contacts 12 , as shown in the drawings . other wire wrap boards may be made in which the printed circuit boards have the pins secured to the board with the socket ends secured in the board . these pins are arranged in linearly aligned spaced pin groups of 16 or 14 ( each group contain two rows of 8 or 7 pins ) surrounded by the printed circuit on the board . one or more pins of each group may be electrically connected to the printed circuit . in addition to the integrated circuit socket groups of pins , two rows of pins are provided one each for each of the terminals . thus , the wire wrap board provides a high density circuit board due to the use of wires that are connected to the pins in a particular design . the wires are insulated from each other and can cross over each other . a printed circuit board does not permit cross over of one line over the other because of a short circuit . thus , wire wrap boards may provide greater numbers of different circuitry in a closer space than that allowed by ordinary printed circuits . the device or plug - in test module of this invention will plug into the sockets of the integrated circuit sockets or into the sockets of the pins extending from a printed circuit board . electrical circuits are completed in accordance with a planned design or instructions by connecting wires from certain pins to other pins in combination with the printed circuit on the board . a completed circuit from pin to pin is known as a chain . each wire wrap board comprises a plurality of chains which may include input or output terminals that make contact with a plug - in - type connector . the test device includes an insulating material block 21 which has two rows of spaced pins 22 extending from the bottom with matching pin sockets 23 extending from the upper surface . the pins in each row are equal in number and equally spaced from each other with their spacing in each row less than the spacing between the two rows . the test device is made with either 16 or 14 pins ( two rows of 8 or 7 pins ) to match a like dual , in - line integrated circuit socket in the wire wrap board . each pin extending above the insulating block is electrically connected with the cathode of a mv55 light emitting diode 24 . the anodes of adjacent pairs of light emitting diodes are connected to one side of a 910 ohm , 1 / 8 watt , resistor 25 with the opposite side of the resistor connected to an electrical conductor 26 common to each resistor connecting each pair of diodes . the schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry is shown in fig3 . as shown in fig1 the resistors are assembled between the pins extending above the insulating block 21 and an upper insulating block 27 upon which the diodes are assembled . the diodes are assembled in two spaced rows corresponding to the pins 21 below the insulating block to which their cathodes are electrically connected . each end of the common electrical conductor 26 is connected with up standing pole connectors 28 including sockets therein for easily connecting a plurality of test devices in series in an electrical circuit with a power supply for conducting the test . in conducting a test , a plug - in test module is mated with each integrated circuit socket of a completed wire wrap card or panel irregardless to keying normally used . each test module is connected in series with each other with a jumper wire 29 connected between poles 28 of adjacent test modules with the connector post of one end module connected to one side of a battery power supply 31 . a wire having a needle point probe 32 electrically connected to one end thereof is connected at the opposite end to the other side of the power supply . the probe is then touched to one pin of one test module to complete the circuit through all of the test modules . since every test module is connected in series to each other , the pins inserted into the integrated circuit sockets will complete different chains of electrical circuits . thus , when the probe is touched to one pin in an electrical chain each diode in that chain will light - up to present a visual indication representative of the pins connected to each other in the electrical circuit chain . all light emitting diodes actually wired in that chain will light , giving a visual indication of which pins are actually wired . the checker will then compare the locations of the lit diodes with the wiring instructions . if all locations are not lit , the checker knows which one is not lit and the problem is found , such as a wire not connected to the pin in the socket . also , too many diodes may be lit , this will indicate a short or that a wire has been connected to the wrong pin . if the diodes for each pin of the chain are lit in accordance with the wiring instructions and no others are lit , then the circuit chain is proper . the checker then probes another pin in a different chain and repeats the check for each pin connected chain of the wire wrap board . through this process , the checker can check the validity of the wired wire wrap board against the assembly plan by probing the first pin in each chain . no other test is required for a properly wired wire wrap board . in carrying out the above test , broken or deleted connections may be found . extraneous connections due to either extra wires not called for or possible shorts caused by small wire clippings left on the board unnoticed or shorts in the printed circuit board or shorts caused by the possible cold flow of the wire insulation may be determined . further , an indication of possible wiring instruction errors may be determined by two or more chains having a wrong common tie point . not only do these test modules save time in checking , the entire circuitry , they indicate errors not readily found when probing each separate pin of the wire wrap board and its connected wire . a determination of short circuits or a wrong wire connection may save great damage to expensive components with which the wire wrap boards are to be used . short circuits , broken wires , etc ., may be located with the wire wrap boards from operational equipment by use of these test modules . there may be instances where instructions for an already wired board are lost . the test modules may be used to generate an instruction list by testing as noted above and then listing the corresponding pins in the lighted chains . thus , the wired chains of wire wrap boards may be determined and duplicated for use on other boards . the test module has been set forth including light emitting diodes for visual inspection . other light emitting or light reflective or light transmissive devices may be used instead of diodes . also , the test modules have been set forth as usable with 16 or 14 pin dual in - line integrated circuit sockets . the teaching may be applied for any socket configuration such as the mini - dip and to - 5 type socket , the 24 pin dip sockets , etc . the important thing is that the test module mate with the integrated circuit socket . fig3 represents one wiring circuit design . a resistor 25 may be connected to each diode rather than two diodes to one resistor . also , more than two diodes could be connected to one resistor shown . further the diodes may be reversed from that shown . obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	6
a particular mechanical arrangement for operating such a gate is described below as part of the preferred embodiment , but it will be appreciated that other mechanical arrangements are within the abilities of a man skilled in the art , which would be capable of ensuring closure of the gate in response to rotation in one direction and opening it in response to rotation in the other direction . in order that the invention may be more clearly understood , a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described , by way of example , with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which fig1 is a partially - exploded view of the construction of a coin store in accordance with the invention , fig2 shows the cylinder of the coin store of fig1 from the opposite side to that shown in fig1 and fig3 shows coins at coin store locations and entry and exit points , in a similar manner to fig7 and 8 of the above - mentioned published application , and fig4 shows , in a flattened version , a helical camming means , the broken horizontal lines corresponding approximately to the lower edge of the cylinder in fig1 and 2 . referring first to fig1 and 2 , the coin store comprises a plastics cylinder 10 which is hollow and has on its inner surface an integrally - formed helical structure like that shown more fully in fig9 of the above - mentioned published application . in fig2 the first turn 12 of that helical structure can be seen . between the first turn 12 and the closed end 14 of the cylinder , there is a coin space into which leads a circumferential coin entry opening 16 and out of which leads a circumferential coin exit opening 18 which in use will lead to a refund path . several turns of the helical structure are contained within the cylinder 10 and between the last two turns there is a further circumferential exit opening 20 . at one end , cylinder 10 is provided with a gear 22 which meshes with a further gear 24 driven , for example , by a stepping motor m as shown schematically in fig1 . the motor m can drive in either direction . referring to fig1 cylinder 10 is provided with stub axles 26 and 28 at respective ends , which fit into bearings 30 and 32 in a support frame generally indicated at 34 . for present purposes , the details of the construction of the support frame are unimportant . when the cylinder 10 , in the orientation shown in fig1 is mounted in the support frame 34 its exit 18 lies closely above and is covered by a curved gate 36 . gate 36 is provided on one side with a bearing pad 38 which is slidable on a flat bearing surface 40 of the frame 34 and on the other side with an elongated bearing bar 42 which is slidable on an elongated bearing surface 44 forming part of the frame 34 and which runs between pairs of guides 46 which maintain correct orientation of the gate 36 . in fig1 gate 36 is shown in a leftward position where it covers opening 18 and where it is in contact with a left - hand stop 48 . it can be moved to the right , as will be explained , until it contacts another stop 50 , in which position it leaves the exit 18 open . when the cylinder 10 is in its rest position as illustrated in fig1 gate 36 is to the left , closing exit 18 , and this situation is illustrated in simple fashion in fig3 . coins are inserted one - by - one through entry 16 into location 1 of the helical structure as indicated by arrow a in fig3 . each coin is initially retained in location 1 because gate 36 is closed . control means , more fully referred to in the above - mentioned published application , then cause motor m to be driven in a direction such that the coin is moved axially along the helical structure to location 2 , thus leaving location 1 empty and ready to receive a further coin . in the arrangement illustrated , a maximum of six coins can be stored , these being at locations 7 , 6 , 5 , 4 , 3 and 2 of fig3 in the order in which they were inserted . when , for example , during or at the end of a telephone call , it is desired to dispense coins to the cash box to pay for time that has been , or is being , used , motor m is driven in a direction to progress the coins leftwards and as each coin reaches location 8 it falls through opening 20 into the cash box as indicated by arrow b in fig3 . thus , coins go to the cash box on a first - in - first - out basis . at the end of the transaction , all coins not required to pay for the transaction are returned to the user by operating motor m in the opposite direction so that the coins progress to the right in fig3 . this automatically moves gate 36 to its open position so that as each coin reaches location 1 it drops through opening 18 , uncovered by gate 36 , onto the refund path as indicated by arrow c . the manner in which gate 36 is operated will now be described with reference to fig1 to 3 . camming means in the form of a rib 52 is integral with , and extends approximately two and a half turns around , the outside of cylinder 10 . the middle section of rib 52 , shown at an angle in fig4 is helical but its end sections lie in planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of cylinder 10 . gate 36 has formed integrally therewith , in plastics material , a springy arm 54 at the end of which is carried a cam follower portion 56 having a central groove 58 which engages over rib 52 . cam follower portion 56 is also provided with small bevelled surfaces 60a and 60b . to consider how cam follower portion 56 cooperates with rib 52 , it is simplest , referring to fig4 to consider cam follower portion 56 as moving linearly in the direction of arrow d when cylinder 10 rotates in one direction , and moving linearly in the opposite direction e when it rotates in the opposite direction . when cam follower portion 56 is on an end section of rib 52 , as shown in fig4 then gate 36 is either in its open or in its closed position . if , from there , cylinder 10 is rotated in a direction corresponding to movement of cam follower portion 56 in direction d , then when portion 56 reaches the region 62 where the rib sections are close to each other the bevelled surface 60b contacts the angled section of rib 52 and cam follower portion 56 rides over this section of the rib against the resilience of the spring arm 54 , and then settles back down onto the rib with groove 58 once again in engagement with the rib . in effect , the cam follower portion 56 rides round and round the cylinder 10 staying on the line ( or in three dimensions in the plane ) represented by chain - dotted line x -- x in fig4 . if , on the other hand , the cylinder 10 is rotated in the opposite direction , then in relation to fig4 cam follower portion 56 will travel in the direction of arrow e . it will then approach the region 62 in the opposite direction from before , and the small chamfered surface 60a will contact the end 64 of rib 52 , thus encouraging the cam follower section 56 to follow the rib and ride along its helical central section for one complete rotation of cylinder 10 , until the cam follower portion 56 reaches the region 66 , at which time it rides directly onto the other linear end section of rib 52 . continued rotation of cylinder 10 then results in cam follower portion 56 riding around on the right - hand linear section of rib 52 on the line y shown in chain dotted lines in fig4 jumping the gap between the rib portions in the region 66 , in the manner previously explained in relation to the gap in region 62 . thus , starting with the store in the condition illustrated by fig1 with gate 36 closed , and the groove 58 in engagement with the left - hand ( as viewed in fig2 ) section of rib 52 , operation of motor m in such a direction as to move coins from location 1 of the store into the higher - numbered locations of the store and , eventually , to location 8 from where the coin exits to the cash box , results in the gate 36 remaining closed so that when such rotation stops with the cylinder 10 in its rest position gate 36 will be closing exit 18 ready for location 1 of the cylinder to receive a newly - entered coin . however , if the motor m is operated to rotate cylinder 10 in the opposite direction , so as to move coins in the store towards the refund exit 18 , then within one full rotation of the cylinder gate 36 will have moved to the open position so as to allow the coin from location 2 , which will be moved to location 1 by that same single rotation , to drop out through exit 18 , followed by any coins originally in locations 3 , 4 and so forth as rotation continues . a single rotation of the cylinder 10 back in the first direction resets the gate 36 to the closed position to make the store ready for receiving coins for the next transaction . it would be possible to actually use gate 36 as an accept / reject gate controlled for that purpose by the outputs of a coin validator driving motor m by one revolution to reject the coin on the refund path , or driving it the other way to store an acceptable coin , though this would be slow relative to currently used accept / reject arrangements .	6
reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings , wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout . the embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures . as illustrated in fig1 a , a centrifugal wheel assembly 1 includes a wheel 2 having an axel portion 10 with an outer surface 12 and rim portions 15 extending therefrom . the wheel 2 includes lug holes 33 to accommodate lugs therein for securing the wheel 2 to a vehicle . abutting the outer surface 12 is a wheel engagement base assembly 20 . in an exemplary embodiment , the wheel engagement base assembly 20 is a single unit that completely surrounds the outer surface 12 . nevertheless , it will be appreciated that the engagement base assembly 20 may be a plurality of units that connect about the outer surface 12 , e . g ., eight units . further , the wheel engagement base assembly 20 has opposing rings 22 and 24 that encircle the outer surface 12 . the rings 22 and 24 are spaced from each other to form a channel 26 therebetween . the wheel engagement base assembly 20 and rings 22 and 24 may be secured to the outer surface 12 via welding or the like . attached to the wheel engagement base assembly 20 are a plurality of pivoting elements 30 . each pivoting element 30 has left and right arms 32 and 34 that respectively connect a pivoting tire contact block 36 to the rings 22 and 24 . each tire contact block 36 is pivotal between a first retracted configuration 48 , as illustrated in fig1 a , and a second expanded or extended configuration 49 , as illustrated in fig2 a . each contact block 36 is in the first retracted configuration 48 when the wheel is rotating slowly or has stopped . each contact block 36 is in the second extended configuration 49 when the wheel is rotating at a predetermined rate . each tire contact block 36 is biased toward the outer surface 12 and to the first retracted configuration 48 by a spring 38 attached to the tire contact block 36 and the outer surface 12 . it is foreseen that the spring 38 may be connected to an intermediary surface ( not illustrated ) joining the rings 22 and 24 instead of the outer surface 12 . it is foreseen that the tire contact block 36 may be connected to an intermediary surface ( not illustrated ) joining the rings 22 and 24 instead of the outer surface 12 . when the wheel 2 rotates as a vehicle the wheel 2 is attached to accelerates , each tire contact block 36 is subjected to increasing centripetal force . at a predetermined vehicle speed , force exerted on each tire contact block 36 by each spring 38 is overcome , thus causing the tire contact blocks to move away from a center of the wheel 2 to the second extended configuration 49 . when each tire contact block 36 is in the second extended configuration 49 , each tire contact block 36 engages an internal surface 42 of tire 40 . each tire contact block 36 has sufficient weight that , along with the centripetal force exerted on each tire contact block 36 , the tire 40 changes configuration from a normal flat configuration 44 to a domed configuration 46 . in other words , each tire contact block 36 biases the tire 40 outwardly such that the tire 40 assumes a domed configuration 46 . the force exerted on the tire internal surface 42 to induce the domed configuration 46 is aided by the centripetal force exerted on the tire 40 itself . in the exemplary embodiment , each tire contact block 36 moves independent from each other . nevertheless , it is foreseen that each tire contact block 36 may be connected such that each tire contact block 36 moves together from and / or to the first and second configurations in unison . it is foreseen that the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 may be moved to and / or from the retracted configuration 48 and the extended configuration 49 via pneumatic and / or hydraulic action assistance in addition to or instead of centripetal force . it is foreseen that the tire contact block 36 may have a cavity ( not illustrated ) to conceal the spring 38 therein if the tire contact block 36 is in the retracted configuration 48 . in use , the wheel 2 reduces friction allowing for current automotive technology as well as future design , such as all - electric , to lower friction thereby increasing fuel economy . an additional feature of the wheel 2 serves as a “ run flat ” design in an emergency as illustrated in fig7 . as pointed out above , tire 40 contact is an important factor for stopping and acceleration . however , as disclosed by the present general inventive concept , a car in motion and traveling at a constant rate or a rate with a small variable is benefited by reduced tire 40 contact , thereby reducing friction and increasing fuel economy . the present general inventive concept discloses a centrifugal wheel assembly 1 attached to the wheel 2 inside the tire 40 . as the wheel 2 rotates , tire contact block 36 starts pushing the tire 40 into a domed position as speed increases as illustrated by figs . this “ doming ” reduces the point of contact of the tire 40 to the road , thus reducing friction and improving motion . expansion is controlled by the dimensions of the pivoting element 30 and can be modified for each and every wheel 2 configuration . when brakes are applied , spring 38 in the pivoting element 30 immediately retract the tire contact block 36 allowing for the necessary contact and friction to stop the vehicle . one of the features of the present general inventive concept is that while the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 is intended to work with current tire technology such as standard tire 40 , a modified tire design would also increase tire life and performance with the use of a specialized tire 50 having a nub element 58 to engage tire contact block 36 as illustrated in fig5 and 6 . the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 also provides a function in that in the event of a flat tire or blow out , the car is not only supported by rims 15 , which could easily cause damage to the rims 15 . as illustrated by fig7 , in case of a flat or blow out , the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 acts as an inner tire or support to assume some of the vehicle weight and prevents the tires 40 from running on just the rims 15 . in addition to deterring rim 15 damage , the vehicle is easier to stop and has a lesser chance of losing control . it is foreseen that the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 may be locked in either a retracted configuration 48 or an extended configuration 49 for various reasons , e . g ., a user may want maximum traction during inclement weather and may want to lock the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 in the retracted configuration 48 . as such , the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 may be equipped with a locking pin hole 53 to accommodate a locking pin 52 that when inserted , locks the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 in either the retracted configuration 48 or the extended configuration 49 . it is foreseen that the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 may be locked and / or unlocked via pneumatic and / or hydraulic action assistance . as depicted in fig2 b , the locking pin 52 passes through locking pin hole 53 and extends through the pivoting element 30 and the ring 24 . because the locking pin 52 may only be inserted by the user in a resting mode when the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 retracted configuration 48 , it is foreseen that a mechanic may be required to lock the assembly in the extended configuration 49 another feature of the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 is that it reduces the necessity of even tire 40 pressure in all four tires 40 . even and proper tire 40 pressure has been proven to increase fuel economy and vehicle stability . therefore , the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 in all four wheels 10 acts as a method to reduce the “ drag ” associated with under - inflated tires . this also improves fuel economy . yet another feature of the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 is that individual components of the assembly can be changed , updated or modified to meet individual specifications , e . g ., wheel diameter , width or composition . the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 can also be designed and manufactured as a “ retrofit ” to existing wheels as illustrated in fig8 a - 9b . the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 can be manufactured using steel , aluminum , carbon fiber plastics or any suitable material . the “ retrofit ” version includes lug bolts 69 , which pass through aperture mounting holds 60 to attach the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 and wheel 62 thereof to an existing wheel 68 , as depicted in fig8 b . it is foreseen that the retrofit wheel 62 may be welded to the existing wheel 68 . this design therefore claims an apparatus and method for improving fuel economy through friction reduction by means of the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 mounted on a wheel 10 , inside a tire 40 , to expand under rotation making contact with the tire 40 . this contact increase under continued or increased speed lifting or “ doming ” the tire 40 thereby reducing contact between the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 and the road . this mechanical expansion of the centrifugal wheel assembly 1 is controlled by the length of the arms 32 and 34 attaching the block 36 to the outer surface 12 . when expanded to its maximum position , all four tires 40 are equal in diameter , reducing the need for even tire 40 pressure to maintain optimum performance . the present general inventive concept also claims an apparatus and method for a tire design that increases the amount of tire material in the center of the tire where the centrifugal assembly makes contact , thus reducing wear . this design also claims a method and apparatus for a “ run flat ” benefit where as the tire 40 rests on not just the rim 15 , but the retracted assembly 30 as well . although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been illustrated and described , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept , the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents .	1
referring to the drawings for a clearer understanding of the invention , it may be seen that fig1 represents a computer screen 11 on which a display is presented . the particular display is a pictorial representation of the front ( b ) and rear ( l ) view of the upper teeth of a patient &# 39 ; s mouth . across each representation of a tooth a line r is indicated , which illustrates the cemento - enamel junction , which is the reference against which periodontal probing for organic disease is preferably measured . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the pictorial form of illustration is but one form which could be used within the scope of the invention . for example , the pictorial illustration could be replaced by a bar graph or by merely a numerical value relative to the established reference . likewise , the method of presentation could be a chart printed on paper as well as a video or computer screen . regardless of the specific manner of presentation , the invention is intended to yield specific data regarding the health of the tissue surrounding each tooth . that data may be presented in one form by the line p on fig1 which indicates probe depth relative to r . referring to fig2 - 4 , it may be seen that the points along line p are generated by the distention of probing rod 12 from sheath 13 and the measurement of that distention . sheath 13 may be flared at its terminus 14 such that an outwardly extending component thereof is used by the operator to feel and engage the cemento - enamel interface of the tooth and thus establish the reference against which probing rod distention is measured . the probing rod 12 may be made to terminate in an enlarged rounded portion 16 as seen in fig2 and 3 or a cup portion 17 as seen in fig5 such that the rod 12 cannot be fully retracted into the sheath 13 . the remainder of probing rod 12 has a constant diameter and is preferably a smooth elongated rod which extends through sheath 13 into housing 18 . housing 18 extends generally perpendicular to sheath 13 and engages sheath 13 to hold it in fixed relation . the housing includes an internal cavity sufficiently large to permit probing rod 12 to be fully retracted into sheath 1 without interference . mounted within housing 18 are a pair of pinch rollers 19 and 21 supported for rotation on bearings 22 and 23 , respectively . as shown in fig2 - 4 , each pinch roller may have a circumferential groove 24 formed in one end thereof within which the probing rod 12 is received . the detail view of the grooves 24 in fig4 shows the grooves 24 to be formed by a reduced diameter annulus 26 and a pair of opposed conic surfaces 27 and 28 . the inclination of the conic surfaces is intended to provide a predetermined gripping force to the probing rod 12 such that excessive force cannot be applied to the rod by rotation of the pinch rollers . tensioning means are provided to control the pressure applied to the rod by the pinch rollers . in a preferred embodiment , the diameter of the rollers themselves between grooves 24 and bearings 22 and 23 and their material , typically stainless steel for autoclaving purposes , is chosen to provide a degree for flexure that will prevent excessive force transfer to the probing rod . in this embodiment , the grooved ends of the pinch rollers 19 and 21 are not supported in bearings but rather are free standing . the ends of pinch rollers 19 and 21 opposite the grooved ends carry intermeshed gears 29 , one of which may be a drive gear 30 such that the rollers may be driven for concomitant counter - rotating movement via drive gear 30 . any suitable means for conducting this rotation is acceptable . the housing 18 encloses and supports the rollers 19 and 21 and the end of sheath 13 and is detachably affixed to a handle portion 31 which is also a housing for a motor 32 powered by an external source through lead lines 33 and 34 . the motor may be any suitable device , i . e . electric , pneumatic , or hydraulic , however an electric motor will be presumed throughout this description to assure clarity in presentation . obviously , if another type motor is used , specific changes in the control aspects will be understood by those skilled in the art . housing 18 may be detached from handle portion 31 and sterilized as by autoclaving or other suitable means and reattached to handle portion 31 for reuse . motor 32 has an output gear 36 which meshes with drive gear 30 to selectively rotate the pinch rollers 19 and 21 such that probing rod 12 will be distended or retracted within sheath 13 . the distention of the probing rod 12 has a known relationship to the rotation of the motor therefore an encoder 37 may be used to generate a signal determinative of the number of revolutions of the motor or output gear , which signal may then be processed by the logic system 38 . the logic system includes a counter 39 which receives the signals from the encoder 37 and outputs an associated signal to further components such as a programmable computer or to a driver for a display . the driver for a display would generate a visual signal on an led or other device that would yield a calibrated indication of the distention of the probe . it should be understood that the motor 32 is not continuously running but rather is operative responsive to a voltage waveform from a generator in the logic circuit . this voltage waveform is preferentially a square wave whose amplitude and period may be selectively varied to vary the operation of the probe . for example , a low voltage long duration waveform would be used to provide a low force , low speed distention of the probing rod , whereas a higher voltage shorter duration waveform would yield a more forceful , more rapid distention of the probing rod . in both cases the retraction period is longer than the distention period . by controlling the waveform in discrete voltage steps and discrete periods , discrete levels of force may be applied to the probing rod . with the knowledge of the period of distention , it is clear that the encoder signals can be used to determine whether the probing rod traveled to the full extension expected or whether its travel was arrested earlier than expected . likewise , if the distention continues after a preset period which would indicate normal distention , a continuing signal from the encoder would be recorded on the counter to indicate an abnormal depth in the pocket . the foregoing aspects of the invention are more fully explained with reference to fig7 and the following description of the utilization of the invention in conjunction with fig1 - 5 . the dentist or technician would first input via the logic system or computer a probe drive voltage . that is to say , the shape of the voltage waveform would be selected from a predetermined number of variations which have been programmed into the logic system . responsive to this input a selected voltage would be available to drive the motor , and a preset maximum distention duration would be established . also , a preset retraction duration would be established and a visual display of the &# 34 ; force &# 34 ; level would be presented to the operator . the operator may select another voltage which would change each of the above responses . if a computer is used in or as the logic system , it may be preprogrammed to assist in record keeping . otherwise recording data could be directly printed in chart form or transcribed by hand . for the purposes of clarity of this disclosure it will be assumed that a computer will record and display various data items . specifically each tooth is assigned a location code as seen in fig1 . additionally , six samples of the periodontal tissue will be made at different locations relative to each tooth . the dentist or technician will input to the computer the code for the tooth and sample under test or will begin testing at a certain tooth and follow a sequence previously input into the computer . the operator would then input a command to begin recording data . typically a footswitch 41 , of the type commonly used by dentists , would then be used to indicate to the logic system that the operator had positioned the instrument adjacent the tooth and initiate a probe distention . to position the instrument , the operator moves the sheath 13 along the tooth until the flared edge of the sheath is aligned with the cemento - enamel junction , which is readily felt by the operator . depression of the footswitch initiates a sequence in the logic circuit which first clears any prior data . an appropriate voltage waveform is generated and sent to the motor . the counter is enabled to determine how far the probe rod is distended ; a stop detector is enabled to determine when the encoder has stopped sending data thus indicating that the probe has stopped ; a countdown timer is enabled for a period dependent on the voltage waveform . the stop detector or the timer will generate a signal to reverse the motor to retract the probe . when either of these signals is generated , the counter will display the depth or distention visually to the operator via display 11 or other visual or audible means . as a further aid to the operator the value of the depth count may be converted to a scale familiar to the dentist , millimeters . each measurement may be sorted into ranges of depth such as shallow , normal , abnormal , and very deep , and the computer can be programmed to sound a series of tones corresponding to the range into which a reading has been sorted . thus , without looking away from the patient , the dentist can be aware of a most significant probing event . the depth and voltage level for the tooth no . and sample no . will be recorded in memory or on a hard copy , and / or displayed on display 11 . for example , the computer may use the data points in a sequence to draw line p or may display discrete plots of the data points . the operator may then reposition the instrument to the next sample position and depress the footswitch to obtain and record data at that location . fig4 shows a probing rod which has been modified to allow further testing by removing a small sample of bacteria living in the pocket within the cup - like receptacle found in the rod terminus . the rod may also be tubular to permit the injection or retraction of fluid therethrough by a suitable connection to a fluid pump . it should further be noted that the probe rod may be made from steel or plastic to yield maximum efficiency without damaging natural or surgically implanted teeth . it should further be noted that the ability to quantitatively apply force along with the rounded probe tip allows the dentist to replicate an examination identically without undue discomfort or guesswork as to the force applied . furthermore the stop detector can indicate not only a complete stop but also a significant reduction in the rate of advance of the probe such as will occur when the probe encounters resistive tissue at the bottom of the gum pocket . the logic device may be set to reverse the motor and retract the probe when such resistance is encountered . accordingly , minimal discomfort to the patient is achieved . while we have shown our invention in one form , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof .	0
the present invention provides a method for assembling a controlled impedance electrical connector 40 using conventional components , including , for example , a conventional connector shell 44 and a conventional connector insert 42 , as illustrated in fig1 a and fig1 b . in a preferred embodiment , the method of the present invention can be used in connection with an impedance controlled cable , such as cable 50 having center conductor 52 , surrounding inner dielectric insulation 58 , and surrounding shielding braid 54 , as illustrated in , for example , fig5 . in this embodiment , impedance controlled cable 50 is prepared for termination at connector 40 by first stripping a length ( preferably about one inch ) of outer jacket 56 away from a free end of impedance controlled cable 50 , leaving underlying shielding braid 54 in place , as illustrated in fig2 . a short length ( preferably about ⅛ inch ) of shielding braid 54 then is removed , as illustrated in fig3 . the exposed portion of shielding braid 54 then is pushed back towards the end of previously cut - back outer jacket 56 , i . e ., away from the free end of cable 50 , thus exposing inner dielectric insulation 58 covering center conductor 52 . typically , when shielding braid 54 is pushed back in this manner , a bulge b is formed therein , as illustrated in fig4 - 8 . a short length ( preferably about ⅛ inch ) of inner dielectric insulation 58 and the center conductor protective wrap , if present ( not shown ), is removed to expose center conductor 52 , as illustrated in fig5 . the portion of center conductor 52 thus exposed can be then folded back upon itself , as illustrated in fig6 if necessary to provide an adequate diameter for crimping , as described below . in a preferred embodiment , a conductor termination component , such as a connector socket 62 or a connector pin 64 , then is crimped onto center conductor 52 using a conventional crimping tool and die ( not shown ). connector socket 62 can be a standard connector socket , such as an m39029 / 56 - 348 connector socket or a suitable alternative . similarly , connector pin 64 can be a standard connector pin , such as an m39029 / 58 - 360 connector pin or a suitable alternative . the resulting gap 68 between inner dielectric insulation 58 and connector socket 62 or connector pin 64 ( and , therefore , the exposed length of center conductor 52 ) should be kept to a minimum . preferably , a short section of shrinkable tubing 66 is installed across gap 68 to provide additional mechanical strength to the connection . see fig7 and 8 . shielding braid 54 then is replaced over inner dielectric insulation 58 . shielding braid 54 preferably is spread evenly over inner dielectric insulation 58 , ensuring that no opening in shielding braid 54 has a dimension larger than { fraction ( 1 / 20 )} of a wavelength of the highest frequency to be handled by the connector ( or , in a time domain , { fraction ( 1 / 20 )} of the fastest transition speed of a signal , as would be known to one skilled in the art ). see fig9 . a cover wire 70 can be wrapped around shielding braid 54 to cover any opening of excessive size . if such a wire 70 is used , it preferably is soldered to shielding braid 54 to improve the energy containment characteristic and , therefore , the impedance control of the overall cable and connector structure . a drain wire 72 preferably is installed around shielding braid 54 near the end of outer cable jacket 56 and soldered in place to the shielding braid . see fig1 . the free end of drain wire 72 preferably is terminated to a conductor termination component , such as a connector socket 62 or a connector pin 64 . the foregoing steps describe the preparation of a typical impedance controlled cable 50 carrying a single - ended signal for termination to a connector 40 . an impedance controlled cable ( or group of cables ) carrying more than one signal path and , therefore , having more than one conductor , can be prepared in a similar manner . for example , a differential signal can be transmitted using a pair of impedance controlled cables 50 . in such a differential signal application , each of the cables 50 is prepared as described above , and the drain wires 72 of the two cables 50 preferably are twisted and soldered together . see fig1 and 12 . a connector socket 62 or connector pin 64 , as described above , preferably is crimped onto the twisted and soldered drain wires 72 , as illustrated in fig1 . when twisting and soldering the drain wires 72 , consideration should be given to the pattern and spacing of the prepared cables 50 and connectors sockets 62 and / or pins 64 into the connector insert 42 , as will be further discussed below . the foregoing technique also may be used in an application involving a bidirectional differential signal and , therefore , two pairs of impedance controlled cables 50 , by preparing a second pair of cables 50 , as described above , for the second signal path . see fig1 . the method of the present invention can be used in other applications , as well . the prepared cables 50 and connector sockets 62 and / or pins 64 are arranged into a predetermined pattern in which they will be routed when installed into the connector , as would be known to one skilled in the art . see fig1 . the predetermined pattern is selected to ensure that the completely assembled connector will exhibit adequate energy containment and impedance control characteristics . this pattern can be determined using suitable parameter extraction software , such as the maxwell ® program available from ansoft corporation of pittsburgh , pa . or other similar commercial or proprietary program . the prepared connector sockets 62 and / or pins 64 are inserted into a conventional connector insert 42 in a conventional connector housing 44 in the predetermined pattern . in multiple - signal / multi - wire applications , such as the two conductor plus drain differential configuration or the four conductor plus two drains bidirectional differential conductor configuration , all connector sockets 62 and / or pins 64 are pressed into connector insert 42 substantially simultaneously , a little bit at a time , to avoid placing excessive strain on any of the wiring . see fig1 . any practical number of cables 50 can be prepared for and terminated at a connector 40 in the foregoing manner . once installed into a connector , individual connector sockets 62 and pins 64 can be removed and reinserted using conventional insertion and removal tools . if reference planes are required for impedance control within a connector 40 , they may be provided by inserting grounding pins 74 in the connector insert 42 in a predetermined configuration and grounding them to the connector shell 44 , thus forming a farady cage 76 around the signal paths requiring such impedance control measures , as would be known to one skilled in the art . see fig1 and 17 . preferably , the grounds ( drains wires 72 ) of the applicable cables 50 are connected to any of the corresponding grounding pins 74 . overall shielding of an impedance controlled cable 50 also can be accomplished using conventional connector fittings in a novel manner . in a conventional cable - to - connector termination , as illustrated in fig1 , a length of shielding braid 54 is cut back from the free end of cable 50 and terminated between a shield collar 78 and a retainer ring 80 adjacent to connector shell 44 . a novel impedance controlled termination can be realized by preparing the end of cable 50 to be terminated so that the length of shielding braid 54 is sufficient to extend to , and preferably into , the end of connector shell 44 and to form a bulge b ′ of shielding braid 54 in the region between shield collar 78 and retaining ring 80 prior to securing retaining ring 80 in place . the foregoing techniques have been described and shown for use with connectors having circular cross sections . however , these techniques also may be used with connectors having other cross sections , including , without limitation , square or rectangular . whereas the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments thereof , it is understood that various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the invention encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	8
in order to better illustrate the advantages of the invention and its contributions to the art , a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail . referring now to fig2 , an electronic disabling device for immobilizing a target according to the present invention includes a power supply , first and second energy storage capacitors , and switches s 1 and s 2 which operate as single pole , single throw switches and serve to selectively connect the two energy storage capacitors to down stream circuit elements . the first energy storage capacitor is selectively connected by switch s 1 to a voltage multiplier which is coupled to first and second stun gun output electrodes designated e 1 and e 2 . the first leads of the first and second energy storage capacitors are connected in parallel with the power supply output . the second leads of each capacitor are connected to ground to thereby establish an electrical connection with the grounded output electrode e 2 . the stun gun trigger controls a switch controller which controls the timing and closure of switches s 1 and s 2 . referring now to fig3 – 8 and fig1 , the power supply is activated at time t 0 . the energy storage capacitor charging takes place during time interval t 0 – t 1 as illustrated in fig1 a and 12b . at time t 1 , switch controller closes switch s 1 which couples the output of the first energy storage capacitor to the voltage multiplier . the fig3 b and fig6 voltage versus time graphs illustrate that the voltage multiplier output rapidly builds from a zero voltage level to a level indicated in the fig3 b and fig6 graphics as “ v high .” in the hypothetical situation illustrated in fig5 a , a high impedance air gap exists between stun gun output electrode e 1 and target contact point e 3 . the fig5 a diagram illustrates the hypothetical situation where a direct contact ( i . e ., impedance e 2 − e 4 equals zero ) has been established between stun gun electrical output terminal e 2 and the second spaced apart contact point e 4 on a human target . the e 1 to e 2 on the target spacing is assumed to equal on the order of ten inches . the resistor symbol and the symbol z load represents the internal target resistance which is typically less than one thousand ohms and approximates 200 ohms for a typical human target . application of the v high voltage multiplied output across the e 1 to e 3 high impedance air gap forms an electrical arc having ionized air within the air gap . the fig5 c timing diagram illustrates that after a predetermined time during the t 1 to t 2 high voltage waveform output interval , the air gap impedance drops from a near infinite level to a near zero level . this second air gap configuration is illustrated in the fig5 b drawing . once this low impedance ionized path has been established by the short duration application of the v high output signal which resulted from the discharge of the first energy storage capacitor . through the voltage multiplier , the switch controller opens switch s 1 and closes switch s 2 to directly connect the second energy storage capacitor across the electronic disabling device output electrodes e 1 and e 2 . the circuit configuration for this second time interval is illustrated in the fig4 a block diagram . as illustrated in the fig4 b voltage waveform output diagram , the relatively low voltage v low derived from the second output capacitor is now directly connected across the stun gun output terminals e 1 and e 2 . because the ionization of the air gap during time interval t 1 to t 2 dropped the air gap impedance to a low level , application of the relatively low second capacitor voltage “ v low ” across the e 1 to e 3 air gap during time interval t 2 to t 3 will allow the second energy storage capacitor to continue and maintain the previously initiated discharge across the arced - over air gap for a significant additional time interval . this continuing , lower voltage discharge of the second capacitor during the interval t 2 to t 3 transfers a substantial amount of target - incapacitating electrical charge through the target . as illustrated in fig4 b , 5 c , 6 and 8 , the continuing discharge of the second capacitor through the target will exhaust the charge stored in the capacitor and will ultimately cause the output voltage from the second capacitor to drop to a voltage level at which the ionization within the air gap will revert to the non - ionized , high impedance state causing cessation of current flow through the target . in the fig2 block diagram , the switch controller can be programmed to close switch s 1 for a predetermined period of time and then to close switch s 2 for a predetermined period of time to control the t 1 to t 2 first capacitor discharge interval and the t 2 to t 3 second capacitor discharge interval . during the t 3 to t 4 interval , the power supply will be disabled to maintain a factory present pulse repetition rate . as illustrated in the fig8 timing diagram , this factory present pulse repetition rate defines the overall t 0 to t 4 time interval . a timing control circuit potentially implemented by a microprocessor maintains switches s 1 and s 2 in the open condition during the t 3 to t 4 time interval and disables the power supply until the desired t 0 to t 4 time interval has been completed . at time t 0 , the power supply will be reactivated to recharge the first and second capacitors to the power supply output voltage . referring now to the fig9 schematic diagram , the fig2 circuit has been modified to include a third capacitor and a load diode ( or resistor ) connected as shown . the operation of this enhanced circuit diagram will be explained below in connection with fig1 and the related more detailed schematic diagrams . referring now to the fig1 electrical schematic diagram , the high voltage power supply generates an output current i 1 which charges capacitors c 1 and c 3 in parallel . while the second terminal of capacitor c 2 is connected to ground , the second terminal of capacitor c 3 is connected to ground through a relatively low resistance load resistor r 1 or as illustrated in fig9 by a diode . the first voltage output of the high voltage power supply is also connected to a two thousand volt spark gap designated as “ gap 1 ” and to the primary winding of an output transformer having a one to twenty - five primary to secondary winding step up ratio . the second equal voltage output of the high voltage power supply is connected to one terminal capacitor c 2 while the second capacitor terminal is connected to ground . the second power supply output terminal is also connected to a three thousand volt spark gap designated g 2 . the second side of spark gap g 2 is connected in series with the secondary winding of transformer t 1 and to stun gun output terminal e 1 . in the fig1 circuit , closure of safety switch s 1 enables operation of the high voltage power supply and places the stun gun into a standby / ready to operate configuration . closure of the trigger switch designated s 2 causes the microprocessor to send a control signal to the high voltage power supply which activates the high voltage power supply and causes it to initiate current flow i 1 into capacitors c 1 and c 3 and current flow i 2 into capacitor c 2 . this capacitor charging time interval will now be explained in connection with the simplified fig1 block diagram and in connection with the fig1 a and fig1 b voltage versus time graphs . during the t 0 to t 1 capacitor charging interval illustrated in fig1 and 12 , capacitors c 1 , c 2 and c 3 begin charging from a zero voltage up to the two thousand volt output generated by the high voltage power supply . spark gaps gap 1 and gap 2 remain in the open , near infinite impedance configuration because only at the end of the t 0 to t 1 capacitor charging interval will the c 1 / c 2 capacitor output voltage approach the two thousand volt breakdown rating of gap 1 . referring now to fig1 and 14 , as the voltage on capacitors c 1 and c 2 reaches the two thousand volt breakdown voltage of spark gap g 1 , a spark will be formed across the spark gap and the spark gap impedance will drop to a near zero level . this transition is indicated in the fig1 timing diagrams as well as in the more simplified fig3 b and fig6 timing diagrams . beginning at time t 1 , capacitor c 1 will begin discharging through the primary winding of transformer t 1 which will rapidly ramp up the e 1 to e 2 secondary winding output voltage to negative fifty thousand volts as shown in fig1 b . fig1 a illustrates that the voltage across capacitor c 1 relatively slowly decreases from the original two thousand volt level while the fig1 b timing diagram illustrates that the multiplied voltage on the secondary winding of transformer t 1 will rapidly build up during the time interval t 1 to t 2 to a voltage approaching minus fifty thousand volts . at the end of the t 2 time interval , the fig1 circuit transitions into the second configuration where the three thousand volt gap 2 spark gap has been ionized into a near zero impedance level allowing capacitors c 2 and c 3 to discharge across stun gun output terminals e 1 and e 2 through the relatively low impedance load target . because as illustrated in the fig1 timing diagram , the voltage across c 1 will have discharged to a near zero level as time approaches t 2 , the fig1 simplification of the fig1 circuit diagram which illustrates the circuit configuration during the t 2 to t 3 time interval shows that capacitor c 1 has effectively and functionally been taken out of the circuit . as illustrated by the fig1 timing diagram , during the t 2 to t 3 time interval , the voltage across capacitors c 2 and c 3 decreases to zero as these capacitors discharge through the now low impedance ( target only ) load seen across output terminals e 1 and e 2 . fig1 represents another timing diagram illustrating the voltage across gap 2 and the voltage across stun gun output terminals e 1 and e 2 during the t 2 to t 3 time interval . in one preferred embodiment of the fig1 circuit , capacitor c 1 , the discharge of which provides the relatively high energy level required to ionize the high impedance air gap between e 1 and e 3 , can be implemented with a capacitor rating of 0 . 14 microfarads and two thousand volts . as previously discussed , capacitor c 1 operates only during time interval t 1 to t 2 which , in this preferred embodiment , approximates on the order of 1 . 5 microseconds in duration . capacitors c 2 and c 3 in one preferred embodiment may be selected as 0 . 02 microfarad capacitors for a two thousand power supply voltage and operate during the t 2 to t 3 time interval to generate the relatively low , voltage output as illustrated in fig4 b to maintain the current flow through the now low impedance dart - to - target air gap during the t 2 to t 3 time interval as illustrated in fig5 c . in this particular preferred embodiment , the duration of the t 2 to t 3 time interval approximates 50 microseconds . due to many variables , the duration of the t 0 to t 1 time interval charge . for example , a fresh battery may shorten the t 0 to t 1 time interval in comparison to circuit operation with a partially discharged battery . similarly , operation of the stun gun in cold weather which degrades battery capacity might also increase the t 0 to t 1 time interval . since it is highly desirable to operate stun guns with a fixed pulse repetition rate as illustrated in the fig8 timing diagram , the circuit of the present invention provides a microprocessor - implemented digital pulse control interval designated as the t 3 to t 4 interval in fig8 . as illustrated in the fig1 block diagram , the microprocessor receives a feedback signal from the high voltage power supply via a feedback signal conditioning element which provides a circuit operating status signal to the microprocessor . the microprocessor is thus able to detect when time t 3 has been reached as illustrated in the fig6 timing diagram and in the fig8 timing diagram . since the commencement time t 0 of the operating cycle is known , the microprocessor will maintain the high voltage power supply in a shut down or disabled operating mode from t 3 until the factory preset pulse repetition rate defined by the t 0 to t 4 time interval has been achieved . while the duration of the t 3 to t 4 time interval will vary , the microprocessor will maintain the t 0 to t 4 time interval constant . the fig1 table entitled “ gap on / off timing ” represents a simplified summary of the configuration of gap 1 and gap 2 during the four relevant operating time intervals . the configuration “ off ” represents the high impedance , non - ionized spark gap state while the configuration “ on ” represents the ionized state where the spark gap breakdown voltage has been reached . fig1 represents a simplified block diagram of a circuit analogous to the fig1 circuit except that the circuit has been simplified to include only capacitors c 1 and c 2 . the fig1 circuit is capable of operating in a highly efficient or “ tuned ” dual mode configuration according to the teachings of the present invention . fig2 illustrates an alternative configuration for coupling capacitors c 1 and c 2 to the stun gun output electrodes e 1 and e 2 via an output transformer having a single primary winding and a center - tapped or two separate secondary windings . the step up ratio relative to each primary winding and each secondary winding represents a ratio of one to 12 . 5 . this modified output transformer still accomplishes the objective of achieving a twenty - five to one step - up ratio for generating an approximate fifty thousand volt signal with a two thousand volt power supply rating . one advantage of this double secondary transformer configuration is that the maximum voltage applied to each secondary winding is reduced by fifty percent . such reduced secondary winding operating potentials may be desired in certain conditions to achieve a higher output voltage with a given amount of transformer insulation or for placing less high voltage stress on the elements of the output transformer . substantial and impressive benefits may be achieved by using the electronic disabling device of the present invention which provides for dual mode operation to generate a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform in comparison to the most advanced prior art stun gun represented by the taser m26 stun gun as illustrated and described in connection with the fig1 block diagram . the taser m26 stun gun utilizes a single energy storage capacitor having a 0 . 88 microfarad capacitance rating . when charged to two thousand volts , that 0 . 88 microfarad energy storage capacitor stores and subsequently discharges 1 . 76 joules of energy during each output pulse . for a standard pulse repetition rate of fifteen pulses per second with an output of 1 . 76 joules per discharge pulse , the taser m26 stun gun requires around thirty - five watts of input power which , as explained above , must be provided by a large , relatively heavy battery power supply utilizing eight series - connected aa alkaline battery cells . for one embodiment of the electronic disabling device of the present invention which generates a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform and with a c 1 capacitor having a rating of 0 . 07 microfarads and a single capacitor c 2 with a capacitance of 0 . 01 microfarads ( for a combined rating of 0 . 08 microfarads ), each pulse repetition consumes only 0 . 16 joules of energy . with a pulse repetition rate of 15 pulses per second , the two capacitors consume battery power of only 2 . 4 watts at the capacitors ( roughly 3 . 5 to 4 watts at the battery ), a ninety percent reduction , compared to the twenty - six watts consumed by the state of the art taser m26 stun gun . as a result , this particular configuration of the electronic disabling device of the present invention which generates a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform can readily operate with only a single aa battery due to its 2 . 4 watt power consumption . because the electronic disabling device of the present invention generates a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform as illustrated in the fig3 b and fig4 b timing diagrams , the output waveform of this invention is tuned to most efficiently accommodate the two different load configurations presented : a high voltage output operating mode during the high impedance t 1 to t 2 first operating interval and , a relatively low voltage output operating mode during the low impedance second t 2 to t 3 operating interval . as illustrated in the fig5 c timing diagram and in the fig2 , 3 a and 4 a simplified schematic diagrams , the circuit of the present invention is selectively configured into a first operating configuration during the t 1 to t 2 time interval where a first capacitor operates in conjunction with a voltage multiplier to generate a very high voltage output signal sufficient to breakdown the high impedance target - related air gap as illustrated in fig5 a . once that air gap has been transformed into a low impedance configuration as illustrated in the fig5 c timing diagram , the circuit is selectively reconfigured into the fig3 a second configuration where a second or a second and a third capacitor discharge a substantial amount of current through the now low impedance target load ( typically thousand ohms or less ) to thereby transfer a substantial amount of electrical charge through the target to cause massive disruption of the target &# 39 ; s neurological control system to maximize target incapacitation . accordingly , the electronic disabling device of the present invention which generates a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform is automatically tuned to operate in a first circuit configuration during a first time interval to generate an optimized waveform for attacking and eliminating the otherwise blocking high impedance air gap and is then returned to subsequently operate in a second circuit configuration to operate during a second time interval at a second much lower optimized voltage level to efficiently maximize the incapacitation effect on the target &# 39 ; s skeletal muscles . as a result , the target incapacitation capacity of the present invention is maximized while the stun gun power consumption is minimized . as an additional benefit , the circuit elements operate at lower power levels and lower stress levels resulting in either more reliable circuit operation and can be packaged in a much more physically compact design . in a laboratory prototype embodiment of a stun gun incorporating the present invention , the prototype size in comparison to the size of present state of the art taser m26 stun gun has been reduced by approximately fifty percent and the weight has been reduced by approximately sixty percent . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed electronic disabling device for generating a time - sequenced , shaped voltage output waveform may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than the preferred forms specifically set out and described above . accordingly , it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .	7
referring now to the drawing , fig1 and 2 illustrate typical phase - locked loop configurations to which the present invention may be applied . it will be understood that the configurations shown on fig1 and 2 are illustrative only and are merely two of many to which the present invention is applicable . fig1 is a tracking loop in which the output frequency is equal to the input frequency over the design range of input frequencies when the loop is locked . fig2 is a translation loop in which the output frequency is equal to the input frequency offset by the auxiliary input frequency over the design range of input and auxiliary frequencies . those skilled in the art will readily recognize these configurations . on both fig1 and 2 , block 1 represents the &# 34 ; classical &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; intended design &# 34 ; loop filter or integrator which usually contains some type of high gain dc amplifier such as an operational amplifier . almost all practical phase - locked loops contain circuitry analogous to block 1 . this filter is typically intended to control the dynamic properties of the loop including , but not limited to , stability , loop bandwidth transient response , and operating (&# 34 ; bias &# 34 ;) points of the loop components such as the phase detector . blocks 2 and 3 , if present , represent the additional phase shift added to the open loop transfer function (&# 34 ; open loop gain &# 34 ;) by other elements in the loop . these &# 34 ; other elements &# 34 ; may include radio frequency bypass components , the voltage control circuitry in the vco , the load on the vco ( may cause &# 34 ; load pull &# 34 ; of frequency and / or phase ), any additional noise or spurious signal filters , and the intermediate frequency amplifier / filter of translation loops . in all practical loop designs , it is almost impossible to avoid some extra , undesired phase shift due to these components . these effects may be modeled in the steady state ( assuming loop is locked ), but may interfere greatly with the locking process in the dynamic state and cause false locks . fig3 illustrates a sweep - to - lock circuit for a phase - locked loop filter , generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 , which achieves the objects of the present invention and which is intended to be employed as block 1 in the phase - locked loops illustrated on fig1 and 2 . circuit 10 is intended for use with a double ended ( differential ) output phase detector ; although , it may be used with a single ended output phase detector with minor modifications . those skilled in the art will recognize that , resistors 12 , 14 , 16 , and 18 , capacitors 20 and 22 , and operational amplifier 24 comprise a conventional loop filter which is modified by the additional components to achieve the objects of the present invention . usually resistors 12 and 14 are equal to each other as are resistors 16 and 18 . likewise , capacitors 20 and 22 are usually equal to each other . circuit 10 results in a classic high gain loop and is an integrator having a high frequency zero to prevent excessive phase shift at higher frequencies which can ( and usually does ) cause the loop to oscillate . the components controlling the &# 34 ; sweep - to - lock &# 34 ; function are the conventional loop filter described above ( it does double duty , as resistors 12 and 14 and capacitors 20 and 22 partially determine the rate of sweep ) and resistors 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , and 40 , a capacitor 42 , a transistor 44 , a diode 46 , and a comparator 48 . resistor 30 is connected to the inverting input of operational amplifier 24 . resistors 32 and 34 are connected in series between the output of operational amplifier 24 and ground , with the inverting input of comparator 48 being connected between the resistors . one end of resistor 40 is connected to the output of comparator 48 and the other end of that resistor is connected to one end of resistor 38 , the other end of the later being connected to the base of transistor 44 . the collector of transistor 44 is connected to the inverting input of operational amplifier 24 . capacitor 42 is connected between ground and the junction of resistors 38 and 40 . resistor 36 is connected between that junction and the emitter of transistor 44 and diode 46 is connected to conduct current from that junction to the output of comparator 48 . together , components 36 , 38 , 40 , 42 , and 46 comprise a &# 34 ; ratcheting &# 34 ; circuit , generally indicated by the reference numeral 50 , the function of which is described below . a reference voltage is supplied to comparator 48 to determined the trip point thereof . this voltage may be developed in one of several conventional ways depending on the actual application . the function of each sub - circuit and component of the invention will now be described with reference to fig3 . resistor 30 is used to unbalance the inputs to the loop filter to cause a positive going sweep at the output of operational amplifier 24 . the configuration shown assumes that the phase detector is a differential output device having some finite impedance and zero dc differential voltage at &# 34 ; zero phase error &# 34 ;. the invention is not limited by this assumption , however , as any method which allows for the unbalancing of the inputs to the loop filter while allowing the phase detector to re - balance those inputs upon lock may be used . such methods include , but are not limited to , the use of voltage dividers , offsetting diode drops , and / or auxiliary voltages applied to one or both of the loop filter inputs . most practical differential output devices have some &# 34 ; built - in &# 34 ; unbalance , but that is usually unreliable as to polarity and magnitude and cannot be relied upon to produce the desired amount of imbalance . the central idea is to provide known unequal dc voltages at both inputs ( i . e ., an offset ) when the loop is unlocked , but to allow the phase detector to cancel this unbalance ( by developing a cancelling voltage ) when proper lock is achieved . the rate of sweep is equal to the offset voltage at the two loop filter inputs divided by the product of the value of resistor 14 and the value of capacitor 20 . transistor 44 is used to reset the sweep . if it is on , the non - inverting input of the loop integrator is pulled high . this causes the output of the integrator to rapidly slew toward ground ( the reset condition in this case ). the loop integrator input unbalancing circuit ( resistor 30 in the case of fig3 ) is permanently in the circuit while transistor 44 is switched on and off as required . when transistor 44 is off , the sweep direction is positive , but , when the transistor is on , the sweep direction is negative going and much faster , due to the connection of the inverting input of operational amplifier 24 to a relatively large positive voltage . this rapid negative going sweep is used to reset the sweep - to - lock circuit . other devices may be used to perform the function of transistor 44 including , but not limited to , field effect transistors , semiconductor controlled rectifiers , and relays . the object is to be able to rapidly reset the sweep . comparator 48 compares the output voltage to a reference voltage . resistors 32 and 34 may be used to reduce the output voltage so that , at correct lock , the relationship of the output voltage to the reference voltage may be set as required . on fig3 it is desired to arrange the circuit so that , at correct lock , the output voltage is less than the reference voltage . this also may be arranged to invert this relationship by placing a voltage divider in the reference voltage line instead of the output voltage line . various other circuits ( active or passive ) may be placed in either or both lines ( to the inverting and noninverting inputs of comparator 48 ) to maintain any desired relationship of the reference and output voltages at correct lock . when the voltage at the inverting input of comparator 48 is less than the voltage at the noninverting input , the comparator output will be high ( near + vcc ) and transistor 44 will be held off . when the reverse situation is present at the inputs , the output of comparator 48 will be low ( near ground ) and the transistor will be turned on , thus resetting the sweep . examples of the treatment of the reference voltage include , but are not limited to , the following : for a tracking loop , the reference voltage may be set to force the loop to resweep before the loop can lock to the harmonic of the correct lock frequency . for a translation loop , the reference voltage may be connected to the tuning voltage of the vco which generates the input voltage ( usually part of another phase - locked loop ) so as to prevent the translation loop from locking on the image of the correct output frequency . what is needed here is a decision as to when to initiate resweep so as to prevent one of the types of false locks ( the less subtle one ) discussed above . the components placed between transistor 44 and comparator 48 , specifically diode 46 , resistors 36 , 38 , and 40 , and capacitor 42 , form &# 34 ; ratcheting &# 34 ; circuit , or &# 34 ; pulse stretcher &# 34 ; 50 . circuit 50 is needed to prevent the sweep circuit from oscillating as follows : when the output of comparator 48 is low , transistor 44 is on and the loop rapidly resets . diode 46 discharges capacitor 42 rapidly through its low &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; resistance , and resistors 36 , 38 , and 40 are chosen so as to maintain this condition . as soon as the sweep voltage ( output voltage to vco ) falls below the trip point of comparator 48 , the comparator &# 39 ; s output goes high . diode 46 is now reverse biased , thus capacitor 42 must charge through resistors 36 , 38 , and 40 . by proper choice of the values of the foregoing resistive and capacitive components , transistor 44 may be kept on until the output voltage sweeps to essentially zero volts . if the ratcheting circuit were not present ( if the output of comparator 48 were connected to the transistor base through a simple resistive network with no capacitor and diode ), as soon as the sweep voltage fell below the trip point of the comparator , transistor 44 would be turned off and normal ( positive ) sweep would occur up to the point at which resweep would be initiated . since the sweep would never be fully reset , the sweep circuit would oscillate around a point near the trip point of comparator 48 and the loop would not be brought to the correct lock , but , rather , would be &# 34 ; hung up &# 34 ; at an unlocked condition . adding only capacitor 42 would merely slow the frequency of the oscillation , so diode 46 must also be added to ensure proper reset of the sweep . diode 46 along with resistor 40 act as a &# 34 ; leaky flap valve &# 34 ; by allowing capacitor 42 to be rapidly discharged when comparator 48 goes low , but slowly charged when comparator 48 goes high . this provides a &# 34 ; racheting &# 34 ; action to ensure that transistor 44 remains on long enough to fully reset the sweep . it should be noted that , in a practical circuit , resistors 36 , 38 , and 40 usually perform a secondary function of preventing transistor breakdown ( when transistor 44 is off ) and limiting base current drive ( when transistor 44 is on ). a specific application of this circuit may only need one or two resistors depending on the actual components , supply voltages , etc . employed . the action of ratcheting circuit 50 is mainly to ensure that sweep is fully reset . other , more complicated circuits ( such as one - shot multivibrators ) may be used to perform this function , but , in any case , the sweep should be fully reset ( or at least brought below the point of correct lock so it can sweep up to correct lock ) on each sweep cycle . the action of preventing the more subtle type of false lock and automatically halting sweep at correct lock will now be described . the offset due to resistor 30 ( or through other means as indicated above ) is set so that , at any of the false lock frequencies , there is not enough dc signal generated at the inputs to the loop integrator to overcome the designed in offset , thus the circuit continues sweeping ; but , at the correct lock condition , the dc signal generated by the phase detector is more than enough to overcome the offset and the loop automatically locks . what actually happens is that the sweep brings the loop to a condition where the loop is within the lock - in range of the loop and loop locks up . the lock - in range of a phase - locked loop is that range of frequencies , above and below the correct lock frequency , where the absolute value of the frequency difference ( actual minus correct ) is less than the loop &# 39 ; s bandwidth . in this case , the loop will lock up almost instantaneously without skipping cycles ( no beat frequency present at the output of the phase detector ). the action of the offset voltage causes the loop to operate , when locked , with a steady state phase error sufficient to overcome the offset . in practice , the offset required to prevent false lock results in a small ( usually less than 20 degrees ) steady state phase error . if any frequency modulation is present ( for example , in a translation loop which adds the modulation to the output frequency by using a modulated auxiliary frequency ), this causes slight perturbations around the steady state point , especially in high gain loops . it should be noted that a mixer type phase detector requires the &# 34 ; zero phase error &# 34 ; condition to exist when the inputs to the phase detector are actually in quadrature ( 90 degrees out of phase ). all references to phase error when discussing this type of detector are with respect to this perfect quadrature condition . with other types of phase detectors , the &# 34 ; zero phase error &# 34 ; condition may or may not be when the inputs to the phase detector are in phase coincidence ; however , this is not central to the invention . the &# 34 ; auto - sweep to - lock &# 34 ; action of the circuit of fig3 is as follows : assume that the output voltage to vco is at a point which is below correct lock . offset caused by the offset circuit ( resistor 30 ) causes the loop integrator to sweep the output voltage to the correct lock ( avoiding false locks ) as described above . if the output voltage is initially above correct lock , the voltage continues to sweep until comparator 48 senses the oversweep condition and pulses transistor 44 , thus resetting and reinitiating the sweep . in all cases , the offset causes sweep until the correct lock is obtained and the offset is overcome . the sweep then stops and the loop is locked . the entire process is completely automatic . one design which has been reduced to practice takes less than 20 milliseconds to achieve correct lock from any starting condition . ln actuality , it is extremely difficult to lose lock once it has been achieved , especially for a properly designed high gain loop . ordinarily , lock occurs on the first sweep . however , in the event that lock does not occur on the first sweep ( for example the initial condition at circuit power on may be above correct lock ) or some external disturbance occurs which throws the loop out of lock once it has achieved lock , the resweep feature makes the system foolproof . fig4 illustrates the output waveforms of loop integrator 24 and comparator 48 during sweeping and reset as described above . the action of ratcheting circuit 50 is also further illustrated here where it can be seen that the ratcheting circuit holds transistor 44 on for a period of time after the output of comparator 48 drops to zero , so that the output of operational amplifier 24 can drop to zero before resweeping is initiated . typical figures for an actual circuit are a sweep cycle of 20 milliseconds total with a reset time of 5 milliseconds ( transistor 44 is on during reset ). although the present invention has been described as employing a positive going sweep , it may be adapted to employ a negative going sweep and can be adapted to either positive or negative power supplies by those skilled in the art and the appended claims are intended to cover such . while the present invention has been described as being applied to a phase - locked loop employing an analog phase detector , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that it may be applied as well to a phase - locked loop employing a digital detector and such is within the intent of the present invention . lt will thus be seen that the objects set forth above , among those elucidated in , or made apparent from , the preceding description , are efficiently attained and , since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown on the accompanying drawing figures shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense . lt is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be said to fall therebetween .	8
fig1 illustrates the hydraulic stabilizer of the invention . the control system maintains the pressure from a plurality of ovens 11 . each oven individually is connected to the collector main 13 which connects to a crossover main 13 in which a butterfly valve 14 is mounted on a shaft 16 . a lever arm 17 connects to the shaft 16 and is pivotally connected to a pivotal l - shaped link 18 which connects to a to a piston rod 23 for a piston 26 mounted in power cylinder 24 . an electric motor driven pump 9 or a steam turbine driven pump 10 are connected to a suction main so as to move gas through the suction main 8 . within cylinder 24 , a first space 27 is formed on the top of the cylinder and a second space 28 is formed on the bottom of the cylinder relative to fig1 . a tube 29 is connected to the space 28 of the cylinder and passes through a valve 31 to a tube 32 which passes through distributor 5 and through a tube 42 to the left end 30 of a stabilizer cylinder 33 . a tube 142 connects the right end of stabilizer cylinder 33 to distributor 5 . a tube 36 is connected to the upper end of cylinder 24 and passes through a valve 37 and a tube 38 to a nozzle 39 which terminates adjacent the output end of a jet pipe 43 . a second nozzle 41 is mounted adjacent the output of the jet pipe 43 and is connected to a tube 42 which is connected to the left end of cylinder 33 . a valve 40 is connected between tubes 29 and 36 . the jet pipe 43 is pivotally connected at pivot 44 and has its left side connected by spring 61 to a link 62 which is engaged by a fulcrum 63 . a pivot pin 64 connects link 62 to the piston rod 66 of a piston 34 mounted in stabilizer cylinder 33 . a spring 71 mounted in an extension 81 of cylinder 33 is connected to piston rod 66 . a washer 201 and a set screw 202 allow the tension of the spring 71 on the piston rod 66 to be adjusted . a pump 54 receives an input from a fluid supply 67 and supplies an output through filter 53 to tube 92 which is connected to a pressure setting valve 48 which is connected by tube 51 to pressure indicator 49 . the tube 92 establishes a pressure in distributor 5 . a relief valve 68 is connected between the output of the pump and the supply 67 . a tube 47 is connected to nozzle 46 which supplies fluid to jet pipe 43 . a tube 147 connects a nozzle 146 to distributor 5 . a diaphragm container 60 contains a diaphragm 74 which has a chamber 79 on one side as , for example , the right side which is connected to atmosphere by tube 90 . the other side 76 of the diaphragm 74 is connected by a tube 77 to a pressure sensor 78 mounted in suction main 8 , as illustrated . a spring 81 is connected between the diaphragm 74 and a control knob 82 so as to allow a set point of the desired pressure to be set . a internal passage 93 is connected to the space 96 on the left side of the piston 34 and another internal passage 94 is connected to the space 97 on the right side of piston 34 . the passages 93 and 94 are connected to the valve 91 which can be controlled by the valve knob 92 which is an integral part of the stabilizer . a tube 101 has one end 102 connected to the space 97 on the right side of the piston 34 and has its other end connected to a valve 98 which has a control knob 99 . a tube 103 has its end 104 connected to the space 96 on the left end of piston 34 . in a specific installation , the tubes 101 and 103 have inside diameters of 0 . 307 inch . in operation , the jet pipe 43 discharges fluid at the two closely spaced orifices 39 and 41 . when the process pressure is at the set point , the jet pipe 43 is centered between the orifices 39 and 41 by a balance of forces and both the stabilizer piston 34 and the power cylinder piston 26 will be stationary . an increase of the process pressure above the set point changes the force that is exerted by the diaphragm 74 and springs 81 and 61 upon the jet pipe 43 and moves it to the right relative to fig1 . this causes piston 26 to move in a direction so as to close the butterfly valve 14 . at the same time , the piston 34 which is in the same hydraulic circuit as piston 26 is also displaced to the right and thereby extends the stabilizing spring 61 by an amount directly proportional to the travel of piston 34 . the extension of spring 61 tends to return the jet pipe 43 to its center position by balancing the forces acting on it . thus , a feedback signal to the jet pipe 43 is obtained which provides proportional position action . the proportional relationship can be changed by moving the moveable fulcrum 63 up and down as shown by the arrows on either side of it in fig2 so as to obtain reset characteristics , a bypass comprising the internal passages 93 and 94 and valve 91 and knob 92 are provided around the piston 34 with spring 71 which tends to bring the piston 34 back to its center position . if in the balanced condition , piston 34 has assumed a displacement to the right , due to the flow through the bypass 93 , 91 and 94 and the action of spring 71 , piston 34 will gradually return to its center position . this moves the jet pipe 73 and with it piston 26 at a rate which is determined by valve 91 in the bypass . the hyper - reset bypass comprising the tubes 101 and 103 and valve 98 with its set control 99 provides a system which is substantially stabler than the prior art system which had only the single bypass system comprising the tubes 93 , and 94 and valve 92 . for example , fig3 is a plot for a prior art device showing pressure variations 101 plotted against time with a system which does not include the tubes 101 and 103 and the valve 98 . it is to be noted that a substantial pressure variation occurred about the set point as shown by the curve 101 . fig4 is a plot 102 of pressure variations of a system which included the tubes 101 and 103 and valve 98 . it is to be noted that the pressure fluctuations have been substantially eliminated in this embodiment . thus , the invention results in more accurate and stable control of pressure in the system than does the system of the prior art . it is our experience that prior art equipment limitations did not control coke oven gas to a desired level . in particular , when valve 91 was at the end of its range , in the fully open position , the reset time was such that 3 - 4 mm spikes resulted . for improved control over coke oven gas leakage , it was discovered that if piston 34 returned to its center position in less time that back pressure control would be improved . this improved control was achieved by expanding the range of the stabilizer reset time . the addition of an external by - pass tube achieved this improved reset time . equalization was achieved by equalizing the displacement of oil ( hydraulic fluid ) across piston 34 . less reset time was achieved and charging spikes ( gas leakage ) was significantly reduced . although the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments , it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications can be made which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	8
referring to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a cutout and arrester combination , also know as a lockout switch or fused cutout switch 2 . as shown in fig1 the fused cutout switch is generally operated by manually placing a hookstick 4 in a ring 6 and moving the ring to operate a handle 8 that is used to open or close the cutout switch . an equivalent method is used in the prior art in conjunction with oil circuit reclosers for manually operating a recloser switch . fig8 depicts an oil circuit recloser 10 , but with the present actuating device 12 attached thereto . fig2 illustrates a first variation of the actuating device 12 of the present invention as used on the cutout switch 2 . in the embodiment shown in fig2 the actuating device , also referred to as a trigger , is attached to the existing ring 6 . the same hookstick 4 as used in the prior art is used to open and close the cutout switch by engaging the actuating device in alternate positions on the actuating device as shown in the figure . the ring is caused by the actuating device to move the handle 8 in the same manner as before to actuate the switch , however the switch in more conveniently accessed and operated using the present actuating device . as shown in fig8 the present actuating device also may be used on an oil circuit recloser switch 14 having the same type of ring for engaging the hookstick . the actuating device is used on the oil circuit recloser switch in the same manner as described previously . fig1 illustrates a second variation and embodiment of the invention wherein the ring used by present reclosers is eliminated completely by adapting the present device to connect directly to the recloser . in the first embodiment of the invention , the actuating device attaches to an existing ring 6 and comprises two primary parts that are bolted together on the ring 6 of a cutout switch 2 or recloser switch 14 . the first part consists of a ring clamp 16 having a height of about 33 / 16 inches , and the second part consists of cantilever 18 having a height of about 63 / 8 inches . the ring clamp is shown in detail in fig3 and fig4 . the ring clamp 16 is about 1 / 4 inch thick and has two raised members that increase the thickness of the clamp in those members another 1 / 4 inch to about 1 / 2 inch . the first raised member 20 has a circular diameter and fits within the ring 6 such that the 1 / 4 inch raised circular diameter is within the inner diameter of the ring . a first aperture 22 is provided in the first raised member for receiving a bolt 24 . the second raised member 26 has a point 28 at the tip of an a - shaped shoulder that bears against the outer diameter of the ring when the clamp is attached to the cantilever 18 . a second aperture 30 is provided in the second raised member for receiving a bolt 32 . the second part or cantilever 18 is shown in fig5 and 6 . the cantilever part is a - shaped and includes a first lever arm 34 and a second lever arm 36 that oppose each other at an angle . in the embodiment shown , the lever arms are at an acute angle of about 25 degrees to 35 degrees with respect to each other . each lever arm terminates in a curved hook - shaped receptacle 38 and 40 for receiving a limb 42 at the top of a hookstick 4 like that commonly used to actuate recloser switches . the hook - shaped receptacles each include a receiving slot sized such that the hookstick limb fits into the receptacle . slight lips 48 may be provided on the receptacles on each side of the receiving slots to hinder the hookstick limb from slipping out of the receptacle while the actuating device 12 is operated . apertures 44 and 46 are provided in the cantilever 18 . these apertures in the cantilever align with the apertures 22 and 30 on the ring clamp 16 . the bolts 24 and 32 are inserted through the apertures of both the cantilever and ring clamp for joining the parts together about a ring 6 as shown in fig7 . in lieu of a pair of bolts , a u - bolt or other retaining means could be used for securely attaching the parts to the ring . after the device is attached to the ring , the limb 42 of a standard hookstick 4 is inserted into the receiving slots of the cantilever and the limb is pressed against one of the hook - shaped receptacles 38 or 40 to move the cantilever . as the cantilever is moved , the straight edges of the second raised member 26 of the ring clamp bear against the ring and the cantilever operates the ring 6 and handle 8 to open and close the recloser switch 14 or cutout switch 2 . fig8 depicts the recloser switch lever 50 within the cover 52 in the up position parallel to the top of the recloser cylinder 54 . the up position shown in fig8 signifies that the recloser switch is closed . in fig8 the hookstick 4 is shown engaging the actuating device 12 to move switch lever 50 to the down position . the down position is illustrated by the position of the switch lever 50 in fig1 and signifies that the recloser switch is open , which causes the recloser circuit to be open . the second embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig9 - 11 eliminates the ring 6 and incorporates the switch lever 50 into the present invention by attaching or molding the switch lever 50 to the cantilever 18 . the original ring structure may be retained by providing a hole 62 at the top of the cantilever 18 . the switch lever 50 extends approximately perpendicular several inches out from the cantilever 18 . the switch lever includes a threaded hole 56 or other means to connect the switch lever 50 to the end of a shaft 58 or linking means that communicates with the switching mechanisms 60 within the recloser cylinder 54 to cause the recloser circuit to open and close . while a preferred form of the actuating device 12 of the present invention has been shown in the drawings and described , variations in the invention &# 39 ; s embodiment and practice will be readily apparent to those persons skilled in the art . therefore , the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific form shown and described , but instead is as set forth in the following claims .	7
a michelin energy 3 tyre 1 of size 205 / 55 r 16 provided with a layer of self - sealing product as set out in the aforementioned patent application wo 2008 / 080556 a1 is tested . fig1 shows a few examples of puncturing objects commonly used for the test method . these are nails 21 of diameter 3 mm , nails 22 of diameter 4 mm and nails 23 of diameter 5 mm as well as screws 25 of diameter 3 . 5 mm . the diameters of these puncturing objects are entirely realistic with respect to the puncturing objects encountered under actual running conditions . fig2 shows , as a cumulative frequency , the distribution of the nails found on the roads in china and in the united states . it may be observed that nails with diameters less than or equal to 5 mm together account for more than 90 % of the objects encountered . once the tyre has been mounted on an appropriate wheel and inflated to 2 . 5 bar , the tyre and the wheel are rigidly attached to a rotary hub , not depicted , and a plurality of puncturing objects is inserted through the crown 3 of the tyre 1 . fig3 shows a partial view from above of the crown 3 of the tyre 1 . the tyre tread pattern comprises two longitudinal grooves , inboard 7 and outboard 9 , and an outboard shoulder 5 with a set of lateral grooves 11 . inboard or outboard refers to the side of the tyre intended to be mounted towards the inside of the vehicle or towards the outside of the vehicle , the tread pattern of this tyre being asymmetric . fig3 shows three punctures by nails 21 arranged in the inboard longitudinal groove 7 , the outboard longitudinal groove 9 and the lateral groove 11 of the outboard shoulder 5 . three nails 21 of diameter 3 mm and with lengths of between 45 and 60 mm , three nails 22 of diameter 4 mm and of similar length , and three nails 23 of diameter 5 mm and of similar length as well as three screws 25 of diameter 3 . 5 mm and of lengths between 35 and 50 mm have been inserted across the entire crown . the puncturing objects are evenly distributed about the circumference of the crown . the nail 21 pushed into the groove 11 of the shoulder is positioned a distance of between 20 and 30 mm from the outboard longitudinal groove 9 . it is also possible to puncture the crown of the tyre through the tread blocks of the tread pattern but that requires greater penetration force . it also alters the conditions of ejection of the puncturing objects during running . the inflated tyre and wheel assembly is then fixed to the hub of a roller with a diameter in excess of 16 m in order to get close to the conditions of running on flat ground . the running conditions are as follows : the inflation pressure is regulated , for example to 2 . 5 bar , the applied load is of the order of 90 % of the load rating of the tyre , and the temperature in the rolling road chamber is regulated to around 20 ° c ., running being in a straight line without torque and with no applied cornering or camber . the tyre is run under these conditions at speeds of from 100 to 150 km / h in 10 km / h steps , each speed level lasting for 1 hour . the complete test thus goes on for 6 hours and 750 km . during running , approximately 70 % of the 5 mm diameter nails are expelled as too are around 30 % of the 4 mm diameter nails . the 3 mm diameter nails normally remain in the crown of the tyre . the screws are not expelled during running either as the screw thread increases the force necessary for extracting them . it should be noted that in the case of certain types or sizes of tyre , the 3 mm diameter nails may also be expelled . after running , a cooling phase lasting a minimum of 4 hours is observed . the result of the test is a qualitative observation of the leaks of each puncture , prior to extraction ( if the puncturing object is still present after the running ), after extraction and approximately 10 min after extraction . the leaks are assessed using a surfactant , for example an aerosol canister of the “ 1000 bubbles ” make . the product is sprayed onto the puncture and the assessor notes the presence , size and number of bubbles using a magnifying glass under bright lighting . fig4 to 7 illustrate the various cases observed with the puncturing objects in place ( fig4 ( a ), 6 and 7 ( a )) and after they have been extracted or ejected ( fig5 ( b ), 7 ( b ) ). fig4 shows a nail 21 passing through a puncture 41 positioned in the longitudinal groove 9 of the tyre . no bubble can be seen ; there is no leak ; the puncture is scored 10 or 100 %. fig5 ( a ) shows a puncturing object 21 passing through a puncture 51 located in the longitudinal groove 9 of the tyre . the application of the surfactant reveals a great many very very small bubbles 51 , visible only under a magnifying glass and of a diameter less than 0 . 1 mm . this is a very small leak scored 8 or 80 %. fig5 ( b ) shows a puncture 52 made by a puncturing object which has been expelled or extracted . the puncture 52 is likewise situated in the outboard longitudinal groove 9 of the tyre . the application of surfactant also reveals a great many very very small bubbles 51 , visible under a magnifying glass and of a diameter smaller than 0 . 1 mm . this is given the same score 8 or 80 %. fig6 shows a puncturing object 21 passing through a puncture 61 located in the outboard longitudinal groove 9 of the tyre . there , the application of the surfactant reveals a collection of small bubbles 63 of a diameter roughly comprised between 0 . 1 mm and 1 mm . this is a small leak scored 6 or 60 %. fig7 ( a ) shows a puncturing object 21 passing through a puncture 71 still located in a longitudinal groove of the tyre . the application of the surfactant reveals a single large bubble 73 of diameter greater than 1 mm . this is a leak that scores 0 or 0 %. fig7 ( b ) shows , in the longitudinal groove of the tyre , a puncture 72 the puncturing object for which has been expelled during running or extracted after stopping . likewise , just one single large bubble 73 of a diameter greater than 1 mm can be seen . this is a leak that scores 0 or 0 %. table 1 above indicates the results observed when the puncturing objects are pushed into the crown of the tyre . twelve puncturing objects were inserted , of four different types , each type at three different positions as indicated . it will be noted that the insertion of the screws 25 in this example causes an immediate leak to occur . however , this leak usually disappears when the tyre is driven on . table 2 gives the results obtained for the puncturing objects that have remained in place in the crown of the tyre . as indicated previously , the 5 mm diameter nails were ejected , but no puncture with the objects in place reveals a leak . the indices i p for all of the punctures with the puncturing object in place are all equal to 10 . table 4 gives the results obtained after running and following extraction of all the puncturing objects still in place . note that there are two scores , the first at the time t0 immediately following extraction and t10 , 10 minutes thereafter . it may be noted that the greatest spread on the results obtained is obtained for larger diameter objects and that the results are better 10 minutes after extraction than immediately after extraction . fig8 provides a graphical indication i 10 of the results obtained at t10 as a function of the nature of the puncturing objects . no leak is observed for nails of diameters 3 and 4 mm and screws remaining in the tyre , but there is a degradation to 67 % for 5 mm diameter nails and to 87 % for screws following extraction thereof . a level of cover can also be calculated by weighting the indices i 10 using the nail diameter distribution found in the customer base ( see fig2 ). in the case described , that leads to an overall value of 94 %, which is an excellent result . the same tyre then underwent additional running after the indices indicating resistance to loss of pressure following ejection or removal of the puncturing objects had been determined for all the punctures . at the end of this additional running it was found that all the indices were 10 or 100 %; there were no longer any leaks . the combined score as described hereinabove is not the only conceivable score . other combined scores are possible , for example combining the nails score and the screws score , with a certain weighting . obviously the scores for the various stages of the test can also be used separately ( for example the score for the nails or for the screws before pulling out and after pulling out ). the test described was for a tyre equipped as original equipment with a layer of self - sealing product . as has already been indicated , the test described also allows the other solutions such as tyre inflators and repair kits to be tested . tests were conducted with these other solutions . it is found that the sealing performance is practically 100 % for all the solutions in the event of a puncture with instant removal of the puncturing object . by contrast , if the tyre is run with the puncturing object in place , after as little as 200 to 300 km of running , the performance of tyre inflators becomes zero , the product escaping through the punctures . as far as repair kits are concerned , these perform better but the performance drops off very greatly also with the length of running performed with the puncturing objects still in place . the test thus described has the advantage of being highly selective and of being based on an analysis of the leak rates of each puncture rather than on a loss in pressure , and this allows numerous results to be obtained with one single tyre .	6
with reference to fig1 , a pistol - loading holster is described , consisting of a holster body ( 1 - 10 ) and a slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) which move relative to one another and permit the carrying and loading within the holster of a semi - automatic or automatic pistol ( 1 - 50 ). the holster is secured to a duty belt [ not shown ], by means of a belt attachment ( 1 - 70 ), which allows the duty belt to be laced through the loop openings of the belt attachment ( 1 - 60 ). the belt attachment ( 1 - 70 ) is in turn affixed to the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) by three metal bolts ( 3 - 100 ) [ not shown ]. one skilled in the art would appreciate that the holster body and slide bar component may be manufactured of carbon fiber or nylon , among other materials . the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) is made of rigid carbon fibre nylon / plastic , molded for a specific model of pistol ( 1 - 50 ), for placement at the waist or upper thigh area of the user , on either the left or right side of the duty belt ( not shown ). the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) and the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) are operatively connected to each other by means of a spring [ not shown ], which urges the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) and slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) together to a closed holster position , wherein the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) is contained within the holster body ( 1 - 10 ). the user exerts downward force on the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) to open the holster position , which force opposes that of the spring [ not shown ]. the middle finger lock release button ( 1 - 40 ) disengages the first and second releasable kicks , located on the pistol &# 39 ; s trigger guard [ not shown ]. the index finger lock release button ( 1 - 30 ) disengages the third and fourth of five releasable locks , that is , the locking point on the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) of the pistol , and the locking point on the pistol &# 39 ; s extract , or ejection window [ not shown ]. the fifth releasable lock , also on the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ) is disengaged by the thumb lock release button ( 3 - 80 ) [ not shown ]. with reference to fig1 , 2 and 3 , the pistol can only be loaded and removed using the self - loading feature of the holster if all three spring - loaded safety release buttons , ( 2 - 40 ), ( 2 - 30 ) ( 3 - 80 ), are depressed simultaneously , disengaging all five releasable locks . two spring - loaded safety release buttons are located on either side of the holster , and one release button is at the trigger guard of the pistol , based on the natural position of the thumb , index and middle fingers , when the user puts their hand on the pistol grip . the middle finger lock release button ( 2 - 40 ) releases the locking point on the trigger guard . the index finger lock release button ( 2 - 30 ) releases two releasable locks simultaneously , one on the slide bar , the other on the extract or ejection window , and the thumb lock release button ( 3 - 80 ) disengages the locking point on the slide bar component . the holster &# 39 ; s three point lock release configuration requires the user to depress all three pressure release points at the same time , to allow the load and release of the pistol from the five locking points and permit the removal of the pistol from the holster housing unit . to only load the pistol , the index finger ( 2 - 30 ) and thumb lock ( 3 - 80 ) release buttons need to be pressed . to only remove the pistol , the index finger ( 2 - 30 ) and middle finger ( 2 - 40 ) release buttons need to be pressed . in one embodiment , a flange ( not shown ) extends from the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) to guide the user &# 39 ; s index finger , which slides off the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) onto the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) from the index finger lock release button ( 1 - 30 ) as the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) is released from the holster ( 1 - 10 ), to a safe spot on the pistol ( 1 - 50 ), such as on the breech block ( not shown ), rather than to the trigger ( not shown ) where the index finger may inadvertently discharge the pistol ( 1 - 50 ). with reference to fig3 , the angle of holster body ( 3 - 10 ) at the side of the user may be adjusted by the use of different belt attachments ( 3 - 70 ) by means of the three metal bolts ( 3 - 100 ). the alignment of the pistol within the confines of the holster unit is regulated by the sight guard ( 3 - 90 ), using a groove channel guide ( 3 - 95 ) affixed to the inside of the slide bar component ( 3 - 20 ). a wider sight groove of the slide bar component ( 3 - 20 ) is designed to accommodate the rear sights of the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) [ not shown ]. the groove channel guide ( 3 - 95 ) is specifically molded for a particular pistol model . the thumb lock release button ( 3 - 80 ) disengages a releasable lock on the slide bar component of the pistol , allowing the unloaded pistol to slide into the holster body ( 3 - 10 ), loading the pistol . with reference to fig4 , the middle finger lock release button ( 4 - 40 ), when pushed to the side , releases the safety locking point located on the trigger guard ( 4 - 125 ). this is described in detail under the description for fig7 . the pistol ( 4 - 50 ) is guided into the holster by means of a sight guard ( 4 - 90 ) in the slide bar component ( 4 - 20 ) of the holster . once the pistol is within the holster , with the releasable locks described above engaged , the trigger guard ( 4 - 125 ) locks the pistol . with reference to fig5 , the four drawings demonstrate the reverse spring - loaded action of the holster for semi - automatic and automatic pistols , an action enabling the pistol to change from an unloaded state , shown in stage 1 to a loaded state shown in stage 3 , while still in the holster . this functions from the movement of the holster body ( 5 - 10 ) and the slide bar component ( 5 - 20 ) relative to one another , shown in stage 2 . the slide bar component ( 5 - 20 ) remains affixed to the duty belt ( 1 - 60 ) [ not shown ] by means of belt attachment ( 2 - 70 ) [ not shown ], securing the upper portion of the pistol , or the “ breech block ” of the pistol in a fixed position relative to the duty belt ( 1 - 60 ) [ not shown ]. the holster body ( 5 - 10 ), which contains the lower portion of the pistol ( 5 - 50 ), moves downward , resulting in the loading of a live round of ammunition into the pistol &# 39 ; s firing chamber as the breach block and the lower portion of the pistol move relative to one another . the loaded pistol may then be removed and discharged , as shown in stage 4 . with reference to fig6 , the index finger lock release mechanism ( 6 - 30 ), which controls two releasable locks , ( 6 - 180 , 6 - 190 ) is shown . when depressed , the index finger lock release button ( 6 - 150 ) pushes inward , resulting in a flange pivot around the pivot point ( 6 - 210 ), such that lock bar ( 6 - 190 , 6 - 180 ) moves outward , away from the holstered pistol . when the lock bar ( 6 - 190 , 6 - 180 ) moves outward , a slide bar component ( 6 - 20 ) is able to freely slide past the index finger lock release mechanism ( 6 - 30 ), permitting the lower holster body ( 6 - 10 ) to move in relation to the slide bar component ( 6 - 20 ). when the lower holster body component returns to its original closed position , the lock bar ( 6 - 190 , 6 - 180 ) moves inward , toward the holstered pistol , in the locked position , due to the spring - loaded action of flange pivoting around the pivot point ( 6 - 210 ). with further reference to fig6 , the second locking point released by the index finger lock release button ( 6 - 150 ) is located on the extract , or ejection window of the pistol . when the index finger lock release button ( 6 - 150 ) is depressed , it pivots outward the extract window release plate ( 6 - 180 ). when the extract window lock plate ( 6 - 180 ) has been removed from the pistol &# 39 ; s extract window [ not shown ], the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) [ not shown ] is free to move in and out of the holster , so long as the other releasable locks are disengaged . when the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) [ not shown ] is introduced into the holster , the extract window lock plate ( 6 - 180 ), which is beveled such that it is pushed to the side as the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) [ not shown ] pushes past it , the locking plate ( 6 - 180 ) will snap into a locked position , once the pistol is inserted sufficiently into the holster , so that the extract window lock plate ( 6 - 180 ) coincides with the extract window of the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) [ not shown ]. with further reference to fig6 , the thumb lock release mechanism ( 6 - 80 ), which controls one locking point , is shown . when depressed , the thumb lock release button ( 6 - 200 ) pushes down on a spring - loaded flange , which pivots the flange around the pivot point ( 6 - 215 ), such that lock bar ( 6 - 220 ) moves outward , away from the holstered pistol . when the lock bar ( 6 - 220 ) moves outward , a pin ( 6 - 230 ) which is attached to slide bar component ( 6 - 20 ) is able to freely slide past the thumb finger lock release mechanism ( 6 - 80 ), permitting the holster body ( 6 - 10 ) to move in relation to the slide bar component ( 6 - 20 ). with reference to fig7 , this drawing outlines the operation of the middle finger lock mechanism . the middle finger lock release button ( 7 - 40 ), located near the grip of the pistol ( 7 - 50 ), is depressed by a sideways pressure by the middle finger of the user . the whole middle finger lock mechanism ( 7 - 140 ) also slides sideways within the holster body ( 7 - 10 ), motivated by the middle finger lock button ( 7 - 40 ), which slides sideways on a spring - loaded pin ( 7 - 260 ). when the mechanism slides sideways , the trigger guard flanges ( 7 - 290 ) on either side of the trigger guard ( 7 - 125 ) disengage and slide outwards from the pistol &# 39 ; s trigger guard ( 7 - 125 ) and releases the pistol , which may now be removed from the holster , so long as the other releasable locks are also disengaged . when the pistol ( 7 - 50 ) is introduced into the holster , the trigger guard flanges ( 7 - 290 ) are angled and are pushed aside by the trigger guard ( 7 - 125 ), until the trigger guard ( 7 - 125 ) enters the space between the trigger guard flanges ( 7 - 290 ), at which point the spring - loaded pin pulls the middle finger lock mechanism tie rod ( 7 - 140 ) back into a resting position , pulling the trigger guard flanges ( 7 - 290 ) into locked position on either side of the trigger guard ( 7 - 125 ). with reference to fig8 , the belt attachment ( 8 - 70 ) is shown indicating the bolt locations ( 8 - 250 ) by which means the holster housing unit is secured to the duty belt attachment . to activate the self - loading feature of the holster , the officer must depress the three safety lock release buttons simultaneously , these being the index finger lock release button ( 1 - 30 ), the middle finger lock release button ( 1 - 40 ), and the thumb lock release button ( 3 - 80 ), unlocking the five releasable locks , and insert the pistol into the holster body ( 1 - 10 ), resulting in both the pistol ( 1 - 50 ) and the holster body ( 1 - 10 ) to move downward relative to the slide bar component ( 1 - 20 ), which is securing the breach block component of the pistol in a fixed position . the movement of the breach block relative to the pistol body ( 1 - 50 ) loads a live round of ammunition into the firing chamber of the pistol ( 1 - 50 ). to remove the pre - loaded pistol ( 1 - 50 ) from the holster ( 1 - 10 ), the officer must depress the index finger lock release and the middle finger lock release buttons simultaneously , unlocking the four of the five releasable lock mechanisms , and allowing the removal of the pistol from the holster housing unit . with reference to fig9 , this figure offers a general overview of a pistol inserted into the holster housing unit , and identifies the location of two internal springs , used for the return spring action of the lower holster section , after the self - loading feature has been activated . a person skilled in the art would appreciate that a releasable lock could be as simple as a leather , or cloth strap , with or without a clasp , that holds the pistol in the holster . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and associated drawings . therefore , it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment disclosed , and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims .	5
fig1 shows the electrical configuration of a frame rate conversion device . the frame rate conversion device includes three frame memories 1 , 2 , and 3 , a motion vector detector 4 , a region determiner 5 , a motionless region interpolator 6 , a motion region interpolator 7 , and an output selector 8 . an input image signal is fed to the first frame memory 1 . the input image signal fed to the first frame memory 1 is fed to the second frame memory 2 and is fed to the motion vector detector 4 after being delayed by one frame period . the input image signal fed to the second frame memory 2 is fed to the third frame memory 3 , the motion vector detector 4 , the region determiner 5 , the motionless region interpolator 6 , and the motion region interpolator 7 after being delayed by one frame period . the input image signal fed to the third frame memory 3 is fed to the region determiner 5 , the motionless region interpolator 6 , and the motion region interpolator 7 after being delayed by one frame period . a frame number outputted from the first frame memory 2 , a frame number outputted from the second frame memory 2 , and a frame number outputted from the third frame memory 2 are respectively taken as n + 1 , n , and n − 1 . the motion vector detector 4 calculates a motion vector between two adjacent frames . specifically , a screen is divided into a plurality of blocks , and a motion vector is calculated for each of the blocks by a block matching method or a representative point matching method . the motion vector for each of the blocks calculated by the motion vector detector 4 is outputted to the region determiner 5 after being delayed by one frame period . the region determiner 5 compares the ( n − 1 )- th frame and the n - th frame , to determine for each of pixels whether the position of the pixel is a motion region or a motionless region . in principle , a difference absolute value between the ( n − 1 )- th frame and the n - th frame is compared with a threshold value a for each of the pixels , to determine that the position of the pixel in which the difference absolute value is not less than the threshold value a is a motion region and determine that the position of the pixel in which the difference absolute value is less than the threshold value a is a motionless region . when respective images in the ( n − 1 )- th frame and the n - th frame are images as shown in fig2 a and 2b , an ideal interpolated image is as shown in fig2 c . the motion region based on the difference absolute value is a region s 1 as indicated by hatching in fig2 d . comparison between fig2 c and 2 d shows that a part of the display position of an object that moves on the ideal interpolated image is not included in the motion region based on the difference absolute value . therefore , the motion region s 1 based on the difference absolute value is shifted depending on the motion vector , and a region that is the logical or of the motion region based on the difference absolute value and a region after the shifting is taken as a final motion region . fig2 e shows a region s 2 obtained by shifting the motion region s 1 based on the difference absolute value by one - half of the motion vector in the direction of the motion vector . fig2 f shows a region s 3 that is the logical or of the motion region s 1 based on the difference absolute value and the region s 2 after the shifting . fig3 shows the procedure for region determination processes carried out by the region determiner 5 . referring to fig4 , let x max and y max respectively be the number of pixels in the horizontal direction and the number of pixels in the vertical direction in one frame . a signal value for a target pixel ( x , y ) in the n - th frame is represented by p n ( x , y ). similarly , a signal value for a target pixel ( x , y ) in the ( n − 1 )- th frame is represented by p n − 1 ( x , y ). furthermore , a motion vector for the target pixel ( x , y ) is represented by ( vx , yv ). the result of determination for the target pixel ( x , y ) is represented by m n ( x , y ). m n ( x , y ) takes a value of “ 1 ” when the position of the pixel is determined to be a motion region , while taking a value of “ 0 ” when the position of the pixel is determined to be a motionless region . first , m n ( x , y ) is initialized to zero ( step s 1 ). that is , the results of determination for all the pixels are set to zero . thereafter , x = 0 and y = 0 are set ( step s 2 ). then , it is determined whether or not a difference absolute value between the signal value p n ( x , y ) corresponding to the target pixel ( x , y ) in the n - th frame and the signal value p n − 1 ( x , y ) corresponding to the target pixel ( x , y ) in the ( n − 1 )- th frame is not less than a threshold value a ( step s 3 ). that is , it is determined whether or not conditions expressed by the following equation ( 1 ) are satisfied : when the conditions expressed by the foregoing equation ( 1 ) are satisfied , the value of m n ( x , y ) that is the result of determination for the target pixel ( x , y ) is set to “ 1 ” ( step s 4 ). furthermore , the value of m n ( x + vx / 2 , y + vy / 2 ) that is the result of determination for the position of a pixel obtained by shifting the target pixel ( x , y ) in the direction of a motion vector ( vx , vy ) corresponding thereto by one - half of the motion vector ( vx , vy ) is set to “ 1 ” ( step s 5 ). the procedure then proceeds to the step s 6 . when it is determined in the step s 3 that the conditions expressed by the foregoing equation ( 1 ) are not satisfied , the procedure proceeds to the step s 6 without performing the processes in the steps s 4 and s 5 . in the step s 6 , x is incremented by one in order to shift the position in the horizontal direction of the target pixel by one pixel . it is then determined whether or not x = x max ( step s 7 ). if x = x max is not established , that is , if x is less than x max , the procedure is returned to the step s 3 . when it is determined in the step s 7 that x = x max , y is incremented by one and x is set to zero in order to shift the position in the vertical direction of the target pixel by one pixel as well as to return the position in the horizontal direction of the target pixel to the front ( step s 8 ). it is determined whether or not y = y max ( step s 9 ). if y = y max is not established , that is , if y is less than y max , the procedure is returned to the step s 3 . when it is determined in the step s 9 that y = y max , the current region determination processes are terminated . the result of the region determination by the region determiner 5 is sent to the motion region interpolator 7 and the output selector 8 . the motionless region interpolator 6 calculates , for each of target pixels composing an interpolated image , an interpolated image datum in a case where it is assumed that the position of the pixel is a motionless region . specifically , letting p ( x , y ) be an image datum for the target pixel in the interpolated image , an average of the image data in the n - th frame and the ( n − 1 )- th frame is used . that is , the image datum p ( x , y ) in the interpolated image is calculated for each of the target pixels on the basis of the following equation ( 2 ). note that as the image datum p ( x , y ) for the target pixel in the interpolated image , an image datum p n ( x , y ) for the target pixel in the n - th frame or an image datum p n − 1 ( x , y ) for the target pixel in the ( n − 1 )- th frame may be used . the motion region interpolator 7 calculates , for each of target pixels in an interpolated image , an interpolated image datum in a case where it is assumed that the position of the pixel is a motion region . letting ( x , y ) be a target pixel in an interpolation frame and ( vx , vy ) be a motion vector for the target pixel ( x , y ), an image datum for the target pixel ( x , y ) is determined by one of the following three equations ( 3 ), ( 4 ), and ( 5 ): p ( x , y )= p n { x +( vx / 2 ) , y +( vy / 2 )} ( 3 ) p ( x , y )= p n − 1 { x −( vx / 2 ) , y −( vy / 2 )} ( 4 ) it is determined which of the equations ( 3 ), ( 4 ), and ( 5 ) should be used to calculate the image datum for the target pixel ( x , y ) on the basis of a history of the results of motion determination for the target pixel . that is , an equation to be used for calculating an image datum is determined on the basis of a motion determination result m n ( x , y ) for a target pixel in the current frame n , a motion determination result m n + 1 ( x , y ) for a target pixel in a frame ( n + 1 ) succeeding the current frame n , a motion determination result m n − 1 ( x , y ) for a target pixel in a frame ( n − 1 ) preceding the current frame n , and a motion determination result m n − 2 ( x , y ) for a target pixel in a frame ( n − 2 ) preceding the frame ( n − 1 ). more specifically , it is determined which of the following four regions a , b , c , and d the target pixel corresponds to on the basis of the history of the results of motion determination for the target pixel : a : a region where motion is terminated ( a region through which an object has passed ) b : a region where motion is continued ( a region through which an object is passing ) c : a region where motion is started ( a region which an object has entered ) fig5 shows an image ( an image corresponding to fig2 a ) in the ( n − 1 )- th frame , an image ( an image corresponding to fig2 b ) in the n - th frame , an ideal interpolated image ( an image corresponding to fig2 c ) generated from both the frames , an image ( an image corresponding to fig2 d ) representing a motion region s 1 based on a difference absolute value , an image ( an image corresponding to fig2 e ) representing a region s 2 obtained by shifting the region s 1 depending on a motion vector , and an image representing regions respectively corresponding to the regions a to d . nots 1 is defined as a region other than the region s 1 , and nots 2 is defined as a region other than the region s 2 . the region a is a region that is the logical product ( and ) of s 1 and nots 2 . the region b is a region that is the logical product of s 1 and s 2 . the region c is a region that is the logical product of nots 1 and s 2 . the region d is a region that is the logical product of nots 1 and nots 2 . since the region a is a region through which an object has passed , not a subject image but a background image should be displayed as an interpolated image . the background image does not exist in the ( n − 1 )- th frame because it is concealed by a subject in the ( n − 1 )- th frame . when the target pixel corresponds to the region a , therefore , motion compensation is provided using the n - th frame , to calculate an interpolated image datum . that is , the interpolated image datum is calculated on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 3 ). since the region b is a region through which an object is passing , a subject image and a background image should be displayed as an interpolated image . as shown in fig6 , there is no problem in a region b 1 where the subject image is selected ( the region b and a “ subject ” region ), while the background image does not exist in the n - th frame because it is concealed by a subject in the n - th frame in a region b 2 where the background image is selected ( the region b and a “ background ” region ). when the target pixel corresponds to the region b , therefore , motion compensation is provided using the ( n − 1 )- th frame , to calculate an interpolated image datum . that is , the interpolated image datum is calculated on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 4 ). since the region c is a region which an object has entered , not a subject image but a background image should be displayed as an interpolated image . the background image does not exist in the n - th frame because it is concealed by a subject in the n - th frame . when the target pixel corresponds to the region c , therefore , motion compensation is provided using the ( n − 1 )- th frame , to calculate an interpolated image datum . that is , the interpolated image datum is calculated on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 4 ). since the region d is a motionless region , an average of image data in the n - th frame and the ( n − 1 )- th frame is taken as an interpolated image datum . that is , the interpolated image datum is calculated on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 5 ). fig7 shows the procedure for interpolated image data generation processes carried out by the motion region interpolator 7 . first , x = 0 and y = 0 are set ( step s 21 ). a history m ={ m n − 2 ( x , y ), m n − 1 ( x , y ), m n ( x , y ), m n + 1 ( x , y )} of the results of motion determination for the target pixel is found ( step s 22 ). fig8 shows respective images in the ( n − 2 )- th frame , ( n − 1 )- th frame , n - th frame , and ( n + 1 )- th frame , and shows the result of motion determination for each of pixels in each of the frames . furthermore , fig8 shows the result of determination which of the regions a to d the position of each of the pixels corresponds to on the basis of the history of the results of motion determination . however , no pixel corresponds to the region a in this example . after the foregoing step s 22 , it is determine whether or not m ={ 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 } ( step s 23 ). when it is determined that m ={ 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 }, it is determined that the position of a target pixel ( x , y ) corresponds to the region a ( the region through which an object has passed ), to calculate an interpolated image datum p ( x , y ) for the target pixel ( x , y ) on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 3 ) ( step s 24 ). the procedure proceeds to the step s 30 . when it is not determined in the step s 23 that m ={ 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 }, it is determined whether or not m ={ 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 } ( step s 25 ). when it is determined that m ={ 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 }, it is determined that the position of the target pixel ( x , y ) corresponds to the region c ( the region which an object has entered ), to calculate an interpolated image datum p ( x , y ) for the target pixel ( x , y ) on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 4 ) ( step s 26 ). the procedure proceeds to the step s 30 . when it is not determined in the step s 25 that m ={ 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 }, it is determined whether or not m ={ 0 , 0 , 0 , } ( step s 27 ). note that is a sign indicating that it may be zero or one . when it is determined that m ={ 0 , 0 , 0 , }, it is determined that the position of the target pixel ( x , y ) corresponds to the region d ( the motionless region ), to calculate an interpolated image datum p ( x , y ) for the target pixel ( x , y ) on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 5 ) ( step s 28 ). the procedure proceeds to the step s 30 . when it is not determined in the step s 27 that m ={ 0 , 0 , 0 , }, it is determined that the position of the target pixel ( x , y ) corresponds to the region b ( the region through which an object is passing ), to calculate an interpolated image datum p ( x , y ) for the target pixel ( x , y ) on the basis of the foregoing equation ( 4 ) ( step s 29 ). the procedure proceeds to the step s 30 . in the step s 30 , x is incremented by one in order to shift the position in the horizontal direction of the target pixel by one pixel . it is then determined whether or not x = x max ( step s 31 ). if x = x max is not established , that is , if x is less than x max , the procedure is returned to the step s 22 . when it is determined in the step s 31 that x = x max , y is incremented by one and x is set to zero ( step s 32 ) in order to shift the position in the vertical direction of the target pixel by one pixel as well as to return the position in the horizontal direction of the target pixel to the front . it is determined whether or not y = y max ( step s 33 ). if y = y max is not established , that is , if y is less than y max , the procedure is returned to the step s 22 . when it is determined in the step s 33 that y = y max , the current interpolation processes are terminated . the output selector 8 switches an output from the motionless region interpolator 6 and an output from the motion region interpolator 7 depending on the result of the determination by the region determiner 5 . that is , the output from the motion region interpolator 7 is selected for a pixel whose position is determined to be a motion region by the region determiner 5 , while the output from the motionless region interpolator 6 is selected for a pixel whose position is determined to be a motionless region by the region determiner 5 . this causes an interpolated image to be outputted from the output selector 8 . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing the scope and spirit of the present invention . the scope of the present invention , therefore , is to be determined solely by the following claims .	7
the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . for purposes of clarity , the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements . as used herein , the term module , circuit and / or device refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality . as used herein , the phrase at least one of a , b , and c should be construed to mean a logical ( a or b or c ), using a non - exclusive logical or . it should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present invention . an access point ( ap ) is divided into multiple virtual access points . client stations of a particular type are associated with a dedicated virtual ap to form multiple basic service sets ( bss &# 39 ; s ). a distinct bss identifier ( bssid ) is assigned to each individual bss . service parameters for each bss are predetermined . the ap is pre - programmed with the service parameters . the ap communicates with a client station in a bss based on the service parameters for that bss . the ap provides a quality of service ( qos ) to a data stream to and from client stations in a bss using the service parameters for the bss instead of using a signaling mechanism . referring now to fig4 - 5 , a wireless network 50 comprising an ap 60 and multiple client stations 70 is divided into multiple virtual networks . specifically , the ap 60 is divided into multiple virtual access points such as a video ap 62 , an audio ap 64 , a data ap 66 , etc . ( collectively virtual ap ). each of the virtual aps has a unique basic service set identifier ( bssid ). the bssid &# 39 ; s may be simple descriptive strings announcing the type of the virtual ap . for example , the video ap 62 may have a bssid of mynet . video ( or bssid 1 ), the audio ap 64 may have a bssid of mynet . audio ( or bssid 2 ), the data ap 66 may have a bssid of mynet . data ( or bssid 3 ), etc . multiple client stations 70 in the network 50 are divided into different groups based on a class of service of each client station . for example , video client stations video . client 1 72 - 1 , video . client 2 72 - 2 , etc ., ( collectively video client stations 72 ) associate with mynet . video virtual ap 62 . audio client stations audio . client 1 74 - 1 , mudio . client 2 74 - 2 , etc ., ( collectively audio client stations 74 ) associate with mynet . audio virtual ap 64 . data client stations data . client 1 76 - 1 , data . client 2 76 - 2 , etc ., ( collectively data client stations 76 ) associate with mynet . data virtual ap 66 , etc . multiple bss &# 39 ; s are formed wherein each bss comprises one virtual ap and one group of client stations . for example , bss 1 80 - 1 comprises the video ap 62 and the video client stations 72 . bss 2 80 - 2 comprises the audio ap 64 and the audio client stations 74 . bss 3 80 - 3 comprises the data ap 66 and the data client stations 76 , etc . bss 1 80 - 1 , bss 2 80 - 2 , bss 3 80 - 3 , etc ., are hereinafter collectively referred to as bss 80 . each bss 80 is assigned the bssid of the respective virtual ap . for example , bss 1 80 - 1 is assigned the bssid mynet . video , bss 2 80 - 2 is assigned the bssid mynet . audio , bss 3 80 - 3 is assigned the bssid mynet . data , etc . the ap 60 uses the bssid &# 39 ; s instead of signaling mechanisms to communicate with client stations 70 in bss 80 . referring now to fig6 , a service table 90 is generated . specifically , service parameters such as a bssid for each bss 80 , a service priority level for each bss 80 , a maximum number of allowable data streams per bssid , etc ., are determined based on a class of service of each bss 80 . for example , the number of allowable data streams for a bss 80 can be calculated as follows . if bandwidth of network 50 is 100 mbps and if a throughput rate of video . client 1 71 - 1 such as a high - definition tv is 25 mbps , then a number of data streams for bssid 1 may be set equal to 2 . this setting will allocate 50 mbps ( i . e ., 2 × 25 mbps ) of the 100 mbps network bandwidth for bssid 1 . this bandwidth allocation will be sufficient for two client stations video . client 1 72 - 1 and video . client 2 72 - 2 in bss 1 80 - 1 to receive qos from the network 50 . that is , the client stations video . client 1 72 - 1 and video . client 2 72 - 2 in bss 1 80 - 1 will perform optimally without any data loss . in other words , each client station 72 in bss 1 80 - 1 will be guaranteed qos from the network 50 . different categories of classes of service can be created based on types of network devices ( e . g ., video , audio , etc .). service parameters such as service level priorities for data streams , throughput rates , etc ., for each service class can be set in the service table 90 . referring now to fig7 , the ap 60 comprises a medium access control ( mac ) module 100 . the mac module 100 comprises a classification engine 102 , virtual queues 104 - 1 , 104 - 2 , etc . ( collectively 104 ), a level - 1 scheduler 106 , and a level - 2 scheduler 108 . based on the bssid , the classification engine 102 routes the input data to one of the virtual queues 104 . the virtual queue 104 routes the data to a virtual ap that corresponds to the bssid . the level - 1 scheduler 106 schedules service for the bss &# 39 ; s 80 . the level - 2 scheduler 108 schedules service for the client stations 70 within each bss 80 according to the service parameters in the service table 90 . for the upstream data , from the client to the ap 60 or for peer - to - peer data between two clients , the ap 60 uses service parameters of a traffic class and a scheduler state to announce transmission opportunities ( txops ) so a client station 70 can transmit during these txops . quality of service ( qos ) may be achieved in two ways : distributed qos or qos by centralized scheduling . in the distributed qos approach , the service table 90 serves as an access control list . specifically , service parameters such as number of bss &# 39 ; s 80 , maximum number of data streams per bss 80 , etc ., are used to limit the number of client stations 70 in a bss 80 that can access the network 50 . limiting the number of data streams per bssid facilitates admission control . that is , the number of data streams per bssid determines the number of client stations that can be added to a particular bss 80 . when a new network device ( i . e ., a new client station 70 ) is added to the network 50 , the device is added to an appropriate bss 80 based on the type of the device ( e . g ., video , audio , etc . ), that is , based on the class of service the device requires . the virtual ap for the bss 80 to which the new client station 70 is added automatically services the client station 70 based on the service parameters for the bss 80 without requiring any signaling mechanism . the added client station 70 receives the qos guaranteed for the bss 80 to which the client station 70 is added . no network reconfiguration or modification is required to properly service the newly added device . for example , when a new video device is added to the network 50 , the new video device is added as a client station video . client ( n ) to mynet . video bss 80 - 1 . the video ap 62 automatically services video . client ( n ) according to the service parameters set for mynet . video bss 80 - 1 in the service table 90 . video . client ( n ) automatically receives the qos guaranteed to mynet . video bss 80 - 1 . additionally , arbitrary client stations 70 that do not conform to the parameter settings in the service table 90 are denied access to the network 50 . specifically , based on the number of data streams is set for a bss 80 , an arbitrary client station 70 that is not part of a bss 80 is denied access to the network 50 . thus , traffic between the ap 60 and the client stations 70 is controlled by limiting the number of client stations 70 per bss 80 in the service table 90 . in centralized scheduling , the service table 90 is used to program a scheduler or a set of schedulers in the ap 60 . the virtual ap &# 39 ; s communicate with the respective bss &# 39 ; s 80 using the bssid &# 39 ; s of the respective bss &# 39 ; s 80 . each virtual ap services the client stations 70 within that bss 80 using the bssid of the bss 80 and the service parameters in the service table 90 for that bss 80 . the virtual ap &# 39 ; s do not use any signaling mechanisms to service the client stations 70 . instead , each virtual ap schedules traffic to and from the client stations 70 in a bss 80 based on the bssid of the bss 80 and based on the service parameters for the service class of the bss 80 . specifically , the level - 1 scheduler 106 and the level - 2 scheduler 108 schedule service for the data streams of the client stations 70 in the bss &# 39 ; s 80 . the level of priority for the service that a data stream of a client station 70 receives is based on the service parameters in the service table 90 for the bss 80 that comprises the client station 70 . the level - 1 scheduler 106 schedules service for the bss &# 39 ; s 80 . the level - 2 scheduler 108 schedules service for the client stations 70 within each bss 80 according to the service parameters in the service table 90 . a scheduler essentially creates transmit opportunities for virtual ap &# 39 ; s to transmit data to client stations 70 within time slots reserved for each bss 80 according to the service table 90 . level - 1 and level - 2 schedulers can be combined into one scheduler , and traffic can be scheduled in multiple ways . referring now to fig8 - 9 , the level - 1 scheduler 106 and the level - 2 scheduler use a round - robin scheme to schedule transmit times for bss &# 39 ; s 80 and client stations 70 within the bss &# 39 ; s 80 , respectively . for example , assuming transmission begins with bss 1 80 - 1 as indicated by an arrow marked “ a ” in fig8 and proceeding clockwise , the level - 1 scheduler 106 schedules transmit times for the bss &# 39 ; s 80 in the following order . bssid 1 , bssid 1 , bssid 2 , bssid 3 , bssid 1 , bssid 2 , bssid 1 , and bssid 3 . the level - 2 scheduler 108 schedules times for individual client stations 70 within the respective bss &# 39 ; s 80 . for example , assuming transmission begins with client 1 72 - 1 in bss 1 80 - 1 as indicated by an arrow marked “ b ” in fig9 and proceeding clockwise , the level - 2 scheduler 108 schedules transmit times for the client stations 70 within the bss &# 39 ; s 80 in the following order . bssid 1 / client 1 , bssid 1 / client 1 , bssid 2 / client 1 , bssid 3 / client 1 , bssid 1 / client 2 , bssid 2 / client 2 , bssid 1 / client 2 , and bssid 3 / client 2 . referring now to fig1 , data received by client stations 70 is not managed by queues 104 . level - 1 scheduler 106 and level - 2 scheduler 108 manage the data received by the client stations 70 . fig1 shows an exemplary polling scheme used to receive data by two client stations 70 in a bss 80 . for example , client 1 72 - 1 in bss 1 80 - 1 transmits a request 120 for data to the virtual ap 62 . when client 1 72 - 1 gains priority based on the round - robin scheduling scheme , client 1 72 - 1 receives data 122 from the virtual ap 62 . similarly , client 2 72 - 2 in bss 1 80 - 1 transmits a request 124 for data to the virtual ap 62 . when client 2 72 - 2 gains priority based on the round - robin scheduling scheme , client 2 72 - 2 receives data 126 from the virtual ap 62 , etc . additionally , unscheduled automatic power save delivery settings for client stations 70 can also be defined in the service table 90 . generally , a client station 70 may go to sleep and request service upon waking up . typically , a client station 70 informs an ap 60 when the client station 70 is going to sleep and when the client station 70 will wake up . a parameter can be defined in the service table 90 to limit the number times a client station 70 may wake up . that is , a client station 70 in a bss 80 may be programmed to sleep longer than normal . in other words , although a client station 70 in a bss 80 wakes up , the virtual ap corresponding to the bss 80 may ignore a request from the client station 70 if that virtual ap is not currently scheduled to service the bss 80 . the virtual ap services the client station 70 only when the virtual ap is scheduled to service the bss 80 that comprises that client station 70 . the round - robin scheduling scheme for level - 1 scheduler 106 and level - 2 scheduler 108 can be predetermined , and the ap 60 can be pre - programmed accordingly . the round - robin scheduling scheme does not use a signaling mechanism such as rsvp protocol to schedule and guarantee qos . instead , the round - robin scheduling scheme uses the bssid of a bss 80 and the service parameters for the bss 80 in the service table 90 to guarantee qos for the bss 80 and to the client stations 70 within that bss 80 . additionally , the round - robin scheduling scheme limits access to a service class by limiting a number of client stations 70 that can join a bss 80 based on service parameters such as the number of data streams per bss 80 set in the service table 90 . referring now to fig1 , a single client station such as client 4 may occasionally be part of more than one bss and therefore may share multiple bssid &# 39 ; s . for example , client 4 may be a laptop computer that is used for video - conferencing and for downloading a text file simultaneously . in that case , client 4 may share bssid 1 ( for video service ) and bssid 3 ( for data service ). thus , client 4 can receive different qos for video and data streams . the ap 60 treats client 4 as two virtual client stations with two virtual mac addresses . a virtual client station using a video application is serviced by the video ap 61 , and a virtual client station downloading a text file is serviced by the data ap 66 . each virtual client station is serviced by the respective virtual ap according to the schedule set for the respective virtual ap in the service table 90 . a module such as a service client may be installed in an appropriate layer of an operating system of a computer such as client 4 to emulate multiple virtual clients as described herein . when a consumer buys a new network device such as a high definition tv , the consumer may add the tv to the network 50 as follows . the consumer powers up the tv . the consumer uses a remote control to bring up a network configuration menu on the tv screen . from the menu , the consumer selects a virtual ap of an appropriate bss 80 based on the service class of the device being added . for example , to add the tv , the consumer may select a video ap 62 that may be entitled mynet . video . the tv joins the network as mynet . video . client 1 or mynet . video . client 2 . the selection of mynet . video . client 1 or mynet . video . client 2 automatically associates the tv with the video ap 62 . the tv receives a quality of service that is guaranteed to the video ap 62 based on the parameter settings in the service table 90 for video ap 62 . the number of data streams for the video ap 62 in the service table 90 determines whether the consumer can add the tv to the network 50 . the tv is precluded from joining the network 50 if available bandwidth is insufficient to provide adequate qos to the tv . thus , the number of data streams setting serves as an admission control feature that limits the number of devices that can access the network 50 . if a network 50 has multiple tv &# 39 ; s , an additional bssid called a multicast bssid may be added to the service table 90 . the multicast bssid functions like a tv broadcast station . the number of channels that a multicast bssid can transmit is limited to the number of data streams pre - set for the video ap 61 . multiple tv &# 39 ; s can queue into one of the data streams . occasionally , a consumer may wish to view an identical channel on more than one tv , or two viewers may wish to watch an identical data stream on two tv &# 39 ; s . a simple multicast , however , is not sufficient when the two tvs are located in different environments and receive different network performance . in that case , a content - based differentiation is needed to route identical data to more than one client station . this is achieved by subdividing the video ap 62 into multiple bssid &# 39 ; s such as mynet . video 1 , mynet . video 2 , etc ., and by assigning one data stream per bssid . for example , a first bssid and a first of the two data streams for the video ap 62 may be assigned to mynet . video 1 that services a first tv . a second bssid and a second of the two data streams for the video ap 62 may be assigned to mynet . video 2 that services a second tv . the tv connected to mynet . video 1 and the tv connected to mynet . video 2 will display the same channel . service priority levels for mynet . video 1 and mynet . video 2 may be set differently . when the number of tv &# 39 ; s seeking access to the network 50 exceeds the total number of data streams pre - set for the video ap 62 , the additional tv may be denied access to the network . alternatively , the additional tv may attempt to join either the mynet . video 1 virtual ap or the mynet . video 2 virtual ap . the consumer may accomplish this by trying to select an appropriate ap in the network configuration menu of the tv using the remote control for the tv . if mynet . video 1 and mynet . video 2 are unavailable , the additional tv may join the network after one of mynet . video 1 and mynet . video 2 becomes available . referring now to fig1 , an exemplary method 140 for providing qos using virtual ap &# 39 ; s begins in step 142 . using the method 140 , a mac module 100 determines which client station 70 in a bss 80 should be serviced based on a bssid in a header of input data . to simplify explanation , the method 140 is shown to provide qos to client stations 70 that utilize three classes of service , ( i . e ., video , audio , and data ). as can be appreciated , however , qos can be similarly provided to client stations 70 that may utilize many more classes of service . in step 144 , a round - robin scheduling scheme for bss &# 39 ; s 80 and client stations 70 is programmed in a level - 1 scheduler 106 and a level - 2 scheduler 108 based on a set of service parameters in a service table 90 . the mac module 100 determines the bssid in the header of the input data in step 146 . the mac module 100 determines whether the bssid matches a bssid of a video ap 62 in step 154 . if true , a level - 1 scheduler 106 determines whether bss 1 80 - 1 is currently scheduled for service in step 156 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , a level - 2 scheduler 108 determines whether the client station 72 requesting service is currently scheduled for service in step 158 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , the video ap 62 services the client station 72 in step 160 , and the method 140 returns to step 146 . if any of the results in steps 154 , 156 , or 158 are false , the method 140 proceeds to step 162 . the mac module 100 determines whether the bssid matches a bssid of an audio ap 64 in step 162 . if true , a level - 1 scheduler 106 determines whether bss 2 80 - 2 is currently scheduled for service in step 164 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , a level - 2 scheduler 108 determines whether the client station 74 requesting service is currently scheduled for service in step 166 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , the audio ap 64 services the client station 74 in step 168 , and the method 140 returns to step 146 . if any of the results in steps 162 , 164 , or 166 are false , the method 140 proceeds to step 170 . the mac module 100 determines whether the bssid matches a bssid of a data ap 66 in step 170 . if true , a level - 1 scheduler 106 determines whether bss 3 80 - 3 is currently scheduled for service in step 172 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , a level - 2 scheduler 108 determines whether the client station 76 requesting service is currently scheduled for service in step 174 based on the round - robin scheduling scheme . if true , the data ap 66 services the client station 76 in step 176 , and the method 140 returns to step 146 . if any of the results in steps 170 , 172 , or 174 are false , the method 140 returns to step 146 . referring now to fig1 a - 13d , various exemplary implementations of the present invention are shown . referring now to fig1 a , the present invention can be implemented in a high definition television ( hdtv ) 420 . the hdtv 420 receives hdtv input signals in either a wired or wireless format and generates hdtv output signals for a display 426 . in some implementations , signal processing circuit and / or control circuit 422 and / or other circuits ( not shown ) of the hdtv 420 may process data , perform coding and / or encryption , perform calculations , format data and / or perform any other type of hdtv processing that may be required . the hdtv 420 may communicate with mass data storage 427 that stores data in a nonvolatile manner such as optical and / or magnetic storage devices . the hdd may be a mini hdd that includes one or more platters having a diameter that is smaller than approximately 1 . 8 ″. the hdtv 420 may be connected to memory 428 such as ram , rom , low latency nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and / or other suitable electronic data storage . the hdtv 420 also may support connections with a wlan via a wlan network interface 429 . referring now to fig1 b , the present invention can be implemented in a cellular phone 450 that may include a cellular antenna 451 . in some implementations , the cellular phone 450 includes a microphone 456 , an audio output 458 such as a speaker and / or audio output jack , a display 460 and / or an input device 462 such as a keypad , pointing device , voice actuation and / or other input device . the signal processing and / or control circuits 452 and / or other circuits ( not shown ) in the cellular phone 450 may process data , perform coding and / or encryption , perform calculations , format data and / or perform other cellular phone functions . the cellular phone 450 may communicate with mass data storage 464 that stores data in a nonvolatile manner such as optical and / or magnetic storage devices for example hard disk drives hdd and / or dvds . the hdd may be a mini hdd that includes one or more platters having a diameter that is smaller than approximately 1 . 8 ″. the cellular phone 450 may be connected to memory 466 such as ram , rom , low latency nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and / or other suitable electronic data storage . the cellular phone 450 also may support connections with a wlan via a wlan network interface 468 . referring now to fig1 c , the present invention can be implemented in a set top box 480 . the set top box 480 receives signals from a source such as a broadband source and outputs standard and / or high definition audio / video signals suitable for a display 488 such as a television and / or monitor and / or other video and / or audio output devices . the signal processing and / or control circuits 484 and / or other circuits ( not shown ) of the set top box 480 may process data , perform coding and / or encryption , perform calculations , format data and / or perform any other set top box function . the set top box 480 may communicate with mass data storage 490 that stores data in a nonvolatile manner . the mass data storage 490 may include optical and / or magnetic storage devices for example hard disk drives hdd and / or dvds . the hdd may be a mini hdd that includes one or more platters having a diameter that is smaller than approximately 1 . 8 ″. the set top box 480 may be connected to memory 494 such as ram , rom , low latency nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and / or other suitable electronic data storage . the set top box 480 also may support connections with a wlan via a wlan network interface 496 . referring now to fig1 d , the present invention can be implemented in a media player 500 . in some implementations , the media player 500 includes a display 507 and / or a user input 508 such as a keypad , touchpad and the like . in some implementations , the media player 500 may employ a graphical user interface ( gui ) that typically employs menus , drop down menus , icons and / or a point - and - click interface via the display 507 and / or user input 508 . the media player 500 further includes an audio output 509 such as a speaker and / or audio output jack . the signal processing and / or control circuits 504 and / or other circuits ( not shown ) of the media player 500 may process data , perform coding and / or encryption , perform calculations , format data and / or perform any other media player function . the media player 500 may communicate with mass data storage 510 that stores data such as compressed audio and / or video content in a nonvolatile manner . in some implementations , the compressed audio files include files that are compliant with mp3 format or other suitable compressed audio and / or video formats . the mass data storage may include optical and / or magnetic storage devices for example hard disk drives hdd and / or dvds . the hdd may be a mini hdd that includes one or more platters having a diameter that is smaller than approximately 1 . 8 ″. the media player 500 may be connected to memory 514 such as ram , rom , low latency nonvolatile memory such as flash memory and / or other suitable electronic data storage . the media player 500 also may support connections with a wlan via a wlan network interface 516 . still other implementations in addition to those described above are contemplated . those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms . therefore , while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof , the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings , the specification and the following claims .	7
as expressed by formula i , the catalytic composition of this invention is at least a two elemental material , i . e . a material containing at least one metal element m and at least one non - metal element m &# 39 ;, both present in their designated , proportional amounts . preferred catalysts are those where m is at least one of mo , v , w and cr and m &# 39 ; is b or c . as is also evident from formula i , both m and m &# 39 ; can be combinations of two or more elements , e . g . m can be a combination of titanium and zirconium . in such instances , the subscript value represents the sum of the elements ( e . g . for m , the sum of the subscript values for titanium and zirconium is a number of about 1 - 3 ). the catalytic compositions of this invention can be used either in the 100 percent active form or in a diluted form and can be either supported or unsupported . suitable support materials include silica , titania , alumina , silica - alumina , zirconia , silicon carbide , various phosphates , etc ., with the aluminas and silica - aluminas preferred . if a support is used , the catalytic composition is generally present in an amount of at least about 1 weight percent , based on the combined weight of the support and the catalytic composition , preferably in an amount of at least about 10 weight percent . many of the catalytic compositions of formula i are available commercially . however , these materials are readily prepared by any one of a number of different methods , the particular method employed being a matter of convenience . one typical method of preparation involves reaction of the appropriate metal ( s ) in either the elemental or oxide form with a boron , carbon , nitrogen or silicon source at high temperature , e . g . for metal nitrides , the metal is heated to a temperature between about 1100 °- 1200 ° c . in a stream of ammonia . in another method , the catalyst can be prepared in solution by co - reducing a metal halide and an appropriate boron , carbon , nitrogen or silicon source , such as carbon tetrachloride as a source for carbon . in yet another method , the corporate metal ( s ) can be impregnated into a support , such as alumina , silica or silica - alumina , and then generated in situ by passing a boron , carbon , nitrogen or silicon source , such as ammonia as a source for nitrogen , over the impregnated support . these catalysts can also be coated onto a support . other methods of preparation are known in the art and include such techniques as the use of nonaqueous or mixtures of nonaqueous and aqueous solvent or slurry media , ph adjustment of the catalyst precursor solution or slurry , multiple impregnations , coatings and / or calcination steps , etc . in one embodiment of this invention , the catalyst is sulfided after it has been prepared . this can be accomplished at a temperature between about 100 °- 800 ° c ., preferably between about 200 ° and about 400 ° c . and at a pressure between 0 and about 150 atmospheres , preferably between about 0 and about 100 atmospheres . the sulfiding can last from less than one hour to more than 24 hours with a typical sulfiding time of between about 0 . 5 and about 2 hours . hydrogen sulfide is a preferred sulfiding agent but others , such as various mercaptans ( e . g . methyl mercaptan ) can be used . the sulfiding can be done either neat or diluted , e . g . with such diluents as carbon monoxide . preferably , the catalytic compositions are sulfided in situ with the feed and / or product stream of the process . the exact amount of sulfur incorporated into the catalyst is difficult to determine and is subject to change over the course of the reaction . as stated earlier , the reaction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen sulfide to form carbonyl sulfide and hydrogen is a known vapor phase reaction and is described in such references as u . s . pat . no . 3 , 856 , 925 and fukuda et al ., journal of catalysis , 49 , 379 ( 1977 ). the reaction is typically conducted within a temperature range of 50 °- 800 ° c ., preferably 200 °- 500 ° c ., and within a pressure range of 0 - 500 psig , preferably 0 - 300 psig . stoichiometric amounts of reactants are required although preferably an excess of hydrogen sulfide is present as a means of shifting the equilibrium to the right . the reaction can be conducted in any vapor phase reactor including the various fixed -/ and fluid - bed configurations and the contact time of the reactants over the catalyst bed will vary with the other process parameters . typically a contact time of about 1 to about 2 seconds , preferably 3 to about 10 seconds is employed in a fixed - bed reactor . the catalysts of this invention can be used alone , in combination with one another and / or in combination with other catalysts , such as those disclosed by fukuda et al ., supra . the products of this process are hydrogen , carbonyl sulfide and minor amounts of other compounds , primarily methane and carbon dioxide . hydrogen and carbonyl sulfide are the desired products , the former to be ultimately recovered and the latter a useful intermediate in various thermochemical cycles in which this reaction is but one step . the following examples are illustrative embodiments of this invention . unless indicated to the contrary , all parts and percentages are by weight . the catalyst of example 8 in the table was prepared by the following procedure . the other catalysts reported in this table were prepared by a similar procedure . unless indicated to the contrary , all metal carbides , borides , nitrides and silicides reported in the table were commercially obtained . one - eighth inch alundum ® spheres ( 21 cc , sa - 5209 obtained from norton company ) were coated with molybdenum carbide , mo 2 c , ( 1 . 88 g ) by wetting the spheres with chloroform ( about 2 ml ) and applying the molybdenum carbide in four equal portions . the spheres were rolled for 15 minutes on a roller mill in small vials between each addition of the catalyst ( i . e . molybdenum carbide ). the coated spheres were placed in a glass tube ( 0 . 75 &# 34 ; internal diameter , catalyst bed 10 &# 34 ; long ) and held in place with glass wool plugs . a stream of hydrogen sulfide : carbon monoxide at a molar ratio of 1 : 1 was passed over the coated catalyst at 250 ° c . with a total flow of 40 cc per minute . unless otherwise noted , the reactions were conducted in the glass tube used to condition the catalyst as described in the preceding paragraph . following this pretreatment , the temperature was increased to 400 ° c . and the hydrogen sulfide : carbon monoxide stream continued to flow through the reactor at a rate that established a 10 second contact time of reactants over the catalyst bed . the off - gas rate was measured with a soap - film meter and the off - gas composition was determined after one hour of on - stream activity with the aid of a carle 111 gas chromatograph equipped with a 158 - b column system . reject gases were scrubbed in a monoethanolamine / water solution and then vented to the hood . the reaction temperature of each example was approximately 400 ° c . and the tube was heated by means of a lindberg tube furnace . the reactant gases were introduced into the tube from tanks through stainless steel tubing , regulators , flow controllers , and rotometers . the gases were purchased from the matheson gas company and used without further purification . the percent conversion as reported in the table was calculated by subtracting the amount of hydrogen sulfide leaving the reactor from the amount of hydrogen sulfide fed to the reactor and dividing the difference by the amount of hydrogen sulfide fed to the reactor and then multiplying the quotient by 100 . the ratio of hydrogen to carbon dioxide as calculated by simple dividing the hydrogen recovered ( in mole percent ) by the carbon dioxide recovered ( also in mole percent ) and reporting the quotient . the higher the quotient , the better the selectivity . although not reported in the table , for each mole of hydrogen produced , one mole of carbonyl sulfide was also produced . table______________________________________reaction of hydrogen sulfide andcarbon monoxide in the presence ofvarious metal carbide , boride , nitrideand silicide catalystsexample catalyst h . sub . 2 s conversion (%) h . sub . 2 / co . sub . 2______________________________________ 1 tic 10 6 2 zrc 6 9 3 hfc 1 * 4 vc 19 17 5 nbc 7 10 6 tac 2 5 7 cr . sub . 3 c . sub . 2 16 14 8 mo . sub . 2 c 20 19 9 wc 15 1010 ti b . sub . 2 1 * 11 vb . sub . 2 5 . 0 7512 crb 11 . 6 1413 crb . sub . 2 8 . 6 4314 mob 10 . 0 7515 mob . sub . 2 19 . 8 7516 wb -- w . sub . 2 b 6 . 4 7517 vn 12 . 2 2018 crn 14 . 0 7519 w . sub . 2 n -- wn 22 . 2 5620 vsi 9 . 4 2421 crsi 12 . 4 822 mosi . sub . 2 4 . 6 8______________________________________ * no co . sub . 2 was detected in the product gas . although the preceding examples describe this invention in considerable detail , the purpose of this detail is for illustration only and is not to be construed as a limitation upon the invention as described in the specification or following claims .	2
fig1 shows diagrammatically an x - ray examination apparatus comprising a beam diaphragm in accordance with the invention . an x - ray source 1 emits an x - ray beam 2 which is limited by a beam diaphragm 3 comprising a shutter 4 . a part 5 of an object 6 , for example of a patient 6 to be examined , is exposed to the limited x - ray beam 7 so that as a result of differences in absorption within the patient an x - ray image is formed as a shadow image on an entrance screen 8 of x - ray image intensifier 9 ; this image is converted into a light image on an exit window 10 . the light image on the exit window is picked up by a video camera 11 which is coupled to the exit window 10 by means of an optical transmission 12 , for example a system comprising one or more lenses . the video camera 11 derives an electronic signal from the light image , which electronic image signal is applied to a monitor 13 in order to reproduce the image information ; the electronic image signal can also be applied to an image processing unit 14 for further processing of the image information . fig2 is an exploded view of a beam diaphragm 3 of an embodiment of an x - ray examination apparatus in accordance with the invention . the adjusting member for the shutter comprises a first control ring 21 and a second control ring 22 which are arranged one to each side of a carrier plate 20 . the control rings are rotatably journalled relative to the carrier plate . the carrier plate 20 comprises a round shutter aperture 23 for the passage of the x - ray beam . the shutter aperture can be partly covered by the control rings , depending on the width of the control rings ; the size of the shutter aperture is then determined by the openings in the control rings . the shutter 4 , having a flat rectangular shape , is mounted on a frame 24 provided with two pins 25 and 26 . the first pin 25 engages a slot 27 in the first control ring 21 and the second pin engages a hole 28 in the second control ring 22 . the length of the slot 27 amounts to a few times its width and the longitudinal direction of the slot 27 is oriented radially relative to the axis of the first control ring . this transmission by means of pins engaging openings requires the use of a limited number of simple components only . the shutter 4 is moved into and out of the region of passage of the x - ray beam by rotation of the control rings 21 and 22 . the control rings are driven by means of actuators ; to this end , each of the control rings is provided , for example with a toothed portion which is engaged by a gearwheel driven by an actuator . each of the control rings may be coupled to a respective actuator , but it is also possible to couple a plurality of control rings to one and the same actuator . the control rings cooperate with the frame for displacement of the shutter in various , independent manners . when the control rings are rotated in the same directions at the same angular speeds , for example both control rings counter - clockwise as denoted by the solid arrows , the control rings 21 and 22 rotate the frame with the shutter counter - clockwise . the control rings 21 and 22 are mounted , for example in such a manner that their axes are coincident with the central axis 30 of the beam diaphragm , so that the shutter is rotatable about the central axis of the beam diaphragm with which the central ray of the x - ray beam emitted by the x - ray source is coincident , and so that by rotation of the shutter a more or less half - moon intercepted part of the approximately circular cross - section of the x - ray beam is rotated about the central axis 30 . the control rings 21 and 22 can alternatively be mounted so that their axes are mutually coincident and shifted parallel to the central axis , so that the shutter 4 is rotatable about an axis which is not coincident with the central axis . upon rotation of the shutter about this axis it is moved in and out of the x - ray beam , thus intercepting a more or less sector - shaped part of the approximately circular cross - section of the x - ray beam , the size of which part is controlled on the basis of the angle wherethrough the control rings 21 and 22 are rotated . when the control rings are rotated in opposite directions at the same angular speeds , for example the first control ring 21 counter - clockwise and the second control ring 22 clockwise as indicated by the dashed arrows , the control rings 21 and 22 slide the frame with the shutter radially ( relative to the central axis 30 ), into the x - ray beam ; the shutter is slid out of the x - ray beam by rotating the control rings in the reverse directions , the pin 25 then being displaced a distance through the slot 27 . the size of a more or less half - moon part of the x - ray beam intercepted by the shutter is varied by moving the shutter into the x - ray beam to a desired extent by rotating the control rings in opposite directions . if the control rings are rotated about their axes at angular speeds which are not the same , combined rotation and sliding of the shutter takes place . fig3 is a side elevation of a beam diaphragm of a further embodiment of an x - ray examination apparatus in accordance with the invention . the first shutter 31 in a first carrier plate 201 and the second shutter 32 in a second carrier plate 202 are arranged one behind the other . the first shutter is mounted on a frame 35 which is coupled , by way of pins 43 and 45 , to a first pair of control rings consisting of the control ring 41 and the control ring 42 . the pin 43 engages a slot 44 in the control ring 41 and the pin 45 engages a hole 46 in the control ring 42 . the second shutter 32 , provided in the second carrier plate 202 , is mounted on a frame 36 which is coupled to a second pair of control rings 47 and 48 by way of pins 50 and 52 which engage a hole 49 and a slot 51 , respectively , in the control ting 47 and the control ring 48 , respectively . upon rotation of the control rings their movement is transferred to the pins 43 , 45 , 50 and 52 which take along the frames 35 and 36 with the shutters 31 and 32 . fig4 is a plan view of the beam diaphragm of fig3 forming part of an x - ray examination apparatus in accordance with the invention . a circular aperture 23 in the carrier plate 20 for the passage of the x - ray beam 2 can be fully or partly closed by means of the x - ray absorbing shutters 31 and 32 which can be moved into and out of the x - ray beam by rotation of pairs of control rings 41 , 42 and 47 , 48 in order to intercept , if desired , a part of the cross - section of the x - ray beam . the directions in which the shutters can be moved in the drawing are denoted by the solid arrows which indicate rotation of the shutter about the axis 30 and by the dashed arrows which indicate the sliding of the shutter into and out of the x - ray beam . the drawing also shows the approximately half - moon parts 53 and 54 of the cross - section of the x - ray beam in which the x - rays are intercepted by the shutter . the shutters can also be coupled to the respective central rings by providing the shutters , or the carrier frames on which the shutters are mounted , with a hole or a slot and by providing the central rings with a pin which engages the hole or slot in the relevant shutter or carrier frame .	6
in the following detailed discussion of the exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods of this invention , the terms “ web page ” and “ web document ” refer to any document located on a distributed network , where the document needs to be transmitted between nodes of the distributed network in order to access the document . fig1 shows one exemplary embodiment of a storyboarding system 10 according to this invention . specifically , the storyboarding system 10 includes a frame capture device 20 , a frame difference determiner 30 , an image significance determiner 40 , a command detector 50 , a command decoder 60 , a memory 70 , a controller 80 and an input / output interface 90 , all interconnected by a data and / or control bus 95 . the video / multimedia image data source 100 provides a multimedia signal to the storyboarding system 10 . it should be understood that , for the following discussion of the systems and methods according to this invention , the term “ multimedia image data signal ” encompasses a signal or group of signals including one or more of , or all of , a sequence of video frames , any analog and / or digital audio data , any data that may reside in one or more side bands , and any ancillary analog and / or digital data , such as closed - captioning , that are transmitted or stored together and the term “ multimedia image data source ” encompasses any device , system or structure capable of supplying such multimedia image data signals . these signals further include any other known video type or signal or any other known or later - developed signal that would be obvious to incorporate into the “ multimedia image data .” furthermore , it should be appreciated that the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal may be broadcast , for example , by traditional broadcast techniques , or by cable televisions distribution services , analog and / or digital satellite systems , the internet , an intranet , a local - area network , a wide - area network , or any other known or later - developed wired or wireless network . additionally , it should be appreciated that the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal can be stored on traditional media , such as videocassettes , or on a digital video disk , a mini - disk , a cd - rom or using volatile or non - volatile memory . furthermore , it should be appreciated that the video frames of the multimedia image data and multimedia image data signal can be recorded by a video recorder , such as a camcorder , or displayed by a display device , such as a television , personal computer , overhead projector , or the like . the multimedia image data source only needs to be capable of supplying at least one multimedia image data signal to the storyboarding system 10 . the storyboarded images generated by the storyboarding system 10 are output to a web document 200 . however , it should be understood that web document 200 is not limited specifically to distribution over the internet or an intranet . rather , the systems and methods of this invention encompass any known or later - developed type of document and any other known or later - developed system or structure for displaying the storyboarded images that are generated according to this invention . for example , other systems or structures for displaying the web document 200 can include web documents , including web pages , in the hyper - text mark - up language ( html ), dynamic hyper - text mark - up language ( dhtml ), or virtual reality modeling language ( vrml ), specifically - designed network displays , internet television , a graphical - user - interface - type display , or the like . the storyboarding system 10 receives the multimedia image data signal from the video / multimedia image data source over a signal link 110 . the link 110 can be any known or later - developed device or system for connecting the video / multimedia image data source 100 to the storyboarding system 10 , including a direct cable connection , a connection over a wide area network or a local area network , a connection over an intranet , the internet , or a connection over any other distributed processing network or system . in general , the link 110 can be any known or later - developed connection system or structure usable to connect the video / multimedia image data source 100 to the storyboarding system 10 . the input multimedia image data signal may contain command data , e . g ., closed - caption information , from which the location of significant frames can be determined . the frame capture device 20 captures each frame of the input multimedia image data signal . the command detector 50 determines if the multimedia image data signal contains any command data . the command decoder 60 then decodes any command information that may be present in the multimedia image data signal . for example , command data can be embedded in the closed - caption portion of the original multimedia image data input source to indicate significant or key images . specifically , the closed - caption data is transmitted in a scan line 21 of the first field of each frame of the input multimedia image data input signal . however , this scan line does not appear on the screen because it is part of the vertical blanking interval . the command data is nevertheless capable of conveying information regarding the significance of at least one frame to the storyboarding system 10 . in addition to the command detector 50 and the command decoder 60 , which allows determining significant images based on an already - encoded command , the frame difference determiner 30 of the storyboarding system 10 determines additional significant frames . specifically , the frame difference determiner 30 computes the difference between two consecutive frames , for example , on a pixel - by - pixel basis . u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 271 , 869 filed mar . 18 , 1999 , now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 493 , 042 issued dec . 10 , 2002 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , discloses systems and methods that detect discontinuous cuts and that detect gradual changes from edge count and a double chromatic difference . furthermore , ser . no . 09 / 215 , 594 , now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 252 , 975 issued jun . 26 , 2001 , entitled “ a method and system for real time feature based motion analysis for key frame selection from a video ”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , could also be used to select key frames . however , it should be appreciated that any known or later - developed frame difference determining system and method can be used in lieu of the various systems and methods described in the incorporated u . s . pat . no . 6 , 493 , 042 . the frame difference determiner 30 needs only to determine a threshold difference between each consecutive frame . for example , fig2 illustrates an average color histogram of an exemplary portion of a multimedia image data signal . the segment boundaries within this portion of the multimedia image data signal are clearly visible as peaks in the histogram . therefore , for example , a frame within a segment bounded by two peaks in the histogram could be captured and stored as a representative or significant frame for that segment . alternatively , a frame directly corresponding to one of the peaks can be selected and stored as the representative image . the image significance determiner 40 , at the direction of the controller 80 and with the aid of the memory 70 , decides whether a selected frame within a segment should be kept as a representative image for that segment . for example , a selected frame can be kept as a representative image if , for example , command data is associated with that frame , or a certain threshold , such as intensity difference , is exceeded when the selected frame is compared to another frame within the same segment or the time difference between the selected frame and the previous representative frame exceeds a certain threshold . if the selected frame is determined by the image significance determiner 40 to be representative of that segment , then that selected frame is stored in the memory 70 . once enough representative images are stored in the memory 70 , a compilation of the representative images , such as that shown in the web document 210 of fig3 , can be generated . specifically , the web document 210 shown in fig3 includes a series of representative images 115 , and their respective accompanying text 117 . it should be appreciated , however , that the compilation of representative images need not necessarily be displayed in a web document . alternatively , the representative images could , for example , be output to a printer or assembled into an electronic document specifically designed for displaying the representative images . depending on the length of the incoming multimedia image data signal , the storyboarding system 10 can continue storing representative images in the memory 70 until the entire multimedia image data signal has been processed . alternatively , the storyboarding system 10 , upon determining a predetermined number of representative images , could immediately transfer those images to , for example , a web document . furthermore , it should be appreciated that the storyboarding system 10 can communicate with the web document or the device for displaying the representative images . therefore , the storyboarding system 10 can cooperate , for example , with the web document to control the number of representative images transferred to that web document . alternatively , the storyboarding system 10 could direct the display data or request the generation of a new web document once a threshold number of representative images has been transferred to that web document . using this method , the storyboarding system 10 performs the same steps for assembling consecutive representative frames or representative frame documents until the incoming multimedia image data signal has been completely processed . as previously mentioned , the storyboarding system 10 can determine representative images based on the change in intensity between consecutive frames , in addition to detecting commands which may be present in the received multimedia image data signal . for example , an incoming multimedia image data signal may have embedded command information indicating which frames are significant . the storyboarding system 10 , could , for example , automatically capture all frames identified by the command information and store the captured frames in the memory 70 . however , this level of segmentation may not provide enough information to the user regarding the content of the input video / multimedia presentation represented by the multimedia image data signal . therefore , the storyboarding system 10 can further detect representative images , for example , between representative images identified by the command data , based on the following comparison of the change in intensity between consecutive frames of the incoming multimedia image data signal . the change in intensity e ( t i ) for a current frame occurring at time t = t i , relative to a next frame , is : e ⁡ ( t i ) = ∑ ( x , y ) ⁢  i ⁡ ( x , y , t i ) - i ⁡ ( x , y , t i + 1 )  , ( 1 ) x and y are the spatial locations within a frame ; t i identifies the current frame ; t i + 1 identifies the next frame ; i ( x , y , t i ) is the intensity of the pixel at the spatial location ( x , y ) in the i th frame ; and the summation is over all the pixels within the current frame . if the change in intensity between two consecutive frames is greater than a predefined threshold , the intensity content of the two consecutive frames is different enough to be an indication that the current frame is representative . for example , the change in intensity between frames 74 and 75 as indicated in the histogram shown in fig2 exceeds such a threshold . accordingly , the frame 75 is identified as a representative image . therefore , the storyboarding system 10 stores this identified frame 75 as the next representative image in the memory 70 . it should also be appreciated that when there is no command information in the input multimedia image data signal , such as in most multimedia image data signals , this intensity comparison technique can be used alone to find the representative images of the incoming multimedia image data signal . in this instance , the representative images are determined using eq . 1 and then stored in memory 70 . the representative images can then be output to a web document or to similar document to form a compilation of the stored representation images . however , command information , such as closed - caption information containing special characters , or text strings , can be embedded in a portion of the multimedia image data signal to indicate , or supplement , a representative or significant image . for example , fig4 illustrates the representative frames and text strings 122 that were derived from an exemplary multimedia image data signal containing command information . for example , special characters in the command data can indicate representative images , change in speakers , or additional data to be displayed , for example , with the representative image . with closed - caption data , a change in the speaker can be represented , for example , by the special character string “& gt ;& gt ;” during production . thus , for the exemplary commercial segment shown in fig4 , this character string acts as the command indicating , for each occurrence , that a new frame and text string 122 are to be captured . furthermore , the above character string , or some other character string , can indicate that additional information is to be displayed with the representative image . fig4 also illustrates exemplary textual blocks of information 122 that were associated during production and displayed with the exemplary incoming video data signal . however , as shown in fig5 , sometimes a speaker may change after a single person says a couple of words or a single speaker continues to talk for a long period of time . in these cases , more than a single representative frame of a single segment , in addition to any supplemental information , such as text , that should be displayed with the representative frame , may need to be captured with textual blocks of information 125 in order to have the representative images convey the significance of the video . as shown in fig5 , representative images were captured each time the speaker changed . additionally , supplemental text 125 was incorporated with the representative frame indicating the change in the speaker to supplement and more fully convey the flow of the multimedia image data input signal . however , there may be instances when a single speaker talks for a long time . fig3 shows such an instance . in this instance , it may be appropriate , as shown in fig3 , to capture a plurality of frames of the same speaker , i . e ., the same segment , to compile a set of representation images for the input multimedia image data signal . in addition to the “& gt ;& gt ;” character string , additional special characters or character strings can also be used to identify significant images . these additional special characters , such as “!”, “?”, and “;” can indicate , for example , the end of a sentence , end of a question or the beginning of a musical piece . the image significance determiner 40 additionally determines the maximum number of characters that can be associated with each image , and / or monitors the time lapse between significant images . for example , an extended time lapse between command data can trigger the image significance determiner 40 that an additional representative image may be required . therefore , for each determined representative image , whether based on command data , time lapse or intensity comparison , the storyboarding system 10 stores the representative image and any associated text to be displayed in the memory 70 . the storyboarding system 10 can then output the representative images to , for example , the exemplary document 200 . the document 200 can display a sequence of representative frames . alternatively , the document 200 could be configured to display a certain number of frames and then refresh , or update , the representative images once a threshold number of frames is displayed . therefore , the representative images would cycle through the web document as new representative images are encountered . furthermore , the representative images can be streamed , i . e ., updated and published , for example , to a document , in real - time or near real - time , as the incoming multimedia image data signal progresses . fig6 outlines one exemplary embodiment of a method for determining significant images for storyboarding according to this invention . assuming the multimedia image data signal may or may not have been encoded with one or more command signals , determining significant images is straightforward . upon receiving the multimedia image data signal that may contain one or more embedded command signals , any command signals are detected and a frame difference comparison is performed to isolate additional significant images between the already indicated representative images . control begins in step s 100 . control then continues to step s 200 , where the frames from the multimedia image data source are captured . then , in step s 300 , at least a portion of the input multimedia image data signal is selected . next , in step s 400 , a determination is made whether command data is present in the selected portion video signal . if command data is present , control continues to step s 500 . otherwise , control jumps to step s 700 . in step s 500 , the captured frames are filtered to isolate command data . then , in step s 600 , the command data is decoded to identify zero , one or more representative images . control then jumps to step 800 . in contrast , in step s 700 , the frame differences between adjacent frames are determined . specifically , the frame difference can be determined in accordance with u . s . pat . no . 6 , 493 , 042 issued dec . 10 , 2002 . however , it should be appreciated that one of ordinary skill in the art could modify this method , or use any other method that allows one or more representative frames to be identified . then , in step s 750 , one or more representative frames are identified based on the frame difference . control then passes to step s 800 . in step s 800 , a determination is made whether the representative image are significant . if the image is significant , control passes to step s 900 . however , if the one or more representative images are determined not to be significant , control returns to step s 300 . in step s 900 , a determination is made as to whether the end of the input video signal has been reached . if the end of the input video signal has not been reached , control continues to step s 1000 . however , if the end of the input video signal has been reached , control jumps to step s 1300 . in step s 1000 , the one or more representative frames are added to a current web document . then , in step s 1100 , a determination is made whether a maximum number of significant images have been captured for a single web document . if the maximum number of images for a web document has been reached , control continues to step s 1200 . otherwise , control jumps back to step s 300 . in step s 1200 , the current web document is closed and a new web document is selected as the current web document . control then returns to step s 300 . in step s 1300 , a determination is made whether the selected segment is the last segment of the input multimedia data signal . if so , control jumps to step s 1500 , otherwise , control continues to step s 1400 , where a next segment is selected . control then jumps back to step s 300 . in contrast , in step s 1500 , the current web document and any filled web document are linked together . then , in step s 1600 , the set of linked web documents are output as the static representation of the input multimedia image data signal . control then continues to step s 1700 where the control sequence ends . fig7 a and 7b illustrate in greater detail one exemplary embodiment of the significant image determination step s 800 of fig6 . control begins in step s 800 . in step s 805 , the determined frame difference ; if any , is input . next , in step s 810 , a determination is made whether command data is present . if command data is not present , control jumps to step s 855 . otherwise , control continues to step s 815 . in step s 815 , the command data is decoded . then , in step s 820 , a determination is made whether new speaker data is present . if new speaker data is present , control jumps to step s 840 . otherwise , control continues to step s 825 . in step s 825 , a determination is made whether the frame difference is greater than a threshold . if the frame difference is greater than a threshold , control jumps to step s 835 . otherwise , control to step s 830 . in step s 830 , a determination is made whether the time lapse is greater than a threshold . if the time lapse is greater than the threshold , control jumps to step s 850 . otherwise , control continues to step s 835 . in step s 835 , a determination is made whether special characters in the command data are present . if additional special characters are present , control continues to step s 840 . otherwise , control jumps to step s 850 . in step s 840 , a determination is made whether the number of command characters is greater than a threshold . if the number of command characters is greater than a threshold , control jumps to step s 865 . otherwise , control continues to step s 845 . in step s 845 , a determination is made whether the time lapse is greater than a threshold . if the time lapse is greater than the threshold , control to step s 865 . otherwise , control continues to step s 850 . in step s 850 , the next frame is selected and control continues back to step s 805 . in step s 855 , a determination is made whether the frame difference is greater than a threshold . if the frame difference is not greater than a threshold , control continues to step s 860 . otherwise , control jumps to step s 865 . in step . s 860 , the next frame is selected and control continues back to step s 805 . in step s 865 , the frame is identified as a significant image . control then continues to step s 870 , where control returns to step s 900 . however , it should be appreciated that while determining a representative frame based on a time lapse has been described in terms of making the determination as the input multimedia image data signal is parsed , the determination could also be made of the entire input multimedia image data signal . for example , the entire video segment could be time - lapse analyzed prior to the frame difference or command data detection procedures . then , a second step of comparing the detected time - lapse detected representative images to the frame difference or command data detected representative images would occur . a comparison could then be done to eliminate unnecessary or redundant representative frames , e . g ., a time - lapse detected frame immediately prior to a command data identified representative frame . as shown in fig1 , the systems for storyboarding an input video signal according to this invention can be implemented on a programmed general purpose computer . however , the system for the storyboarding can also be implemented on a special purpose computer , a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements an asic or other integrated circuit , a digital signal processor , a hard wired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit , a programmable logic device such as a pld , pla , fpga or pal , or the like . in general , any device , which is capable of implementing a finite state machine that is in turn capable of implementing the flow charts shown in fig6 - 7b can be used to implement the system for storyboarding . recordings of moving pictures can be displayed in a variety of different formats to illustrate the information they contain . the historical and most absorbing way is to display images through the rapid succession of full screen frames . however , in order for the user to grasp the idea of the entire video , the user should see the entire collection of frames . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface of this invention allows a user to obtain necessary information about the video by viewing a selected number of automatically extracted key or significant frames instead of watching the entire video . however , if more in - depth information is desired , the user can select a key or representative image corresponding to the video segment , and view the entirety of the video or multimedia segment . furthermore , since video or multimedia image data can be stored in a variety of formats , the systems and methods of this invention process both compressed and uncompressed video sequences . fig8 shows one exemplary embodiment of an automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 according to this invention . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be used at least to interface with previously stored or displayed representative images . this automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 enables fast browsing of the full video or video segment represented by the significant images . for example , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can interact with web documents that were created in accordance with the above described storyboarding systems and methods of this invention . alternatively , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be used to visually segment input multimedia image data to generate the representative or significant images . this exemplary embodiment of the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 resides on a general purpose graphical user interface 700 which runs on a general purpose computer , such as , for example , a personal computer . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 comprises a “ play ” widget 510 , a “ find cuts ” widget 520 , a “ show cuts ” widget 530 , a “ plot ” widget 540 , a “ find key frame ” widget 550 , a “ frame select ” widget 560 , a “ help ” widget 570 , and an “ info ” widget 580 , all of which are selectable by a user , for example , using any known or later - developed selection device 600 . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 also comprises a display section 590 for displaying at least one of a determined or input representative or significant image , a video clip , or an entire input multimedia image data signal . the “ play ” widget 510 plays a multimedia image data signal . the “ find cuts ” widget 520 finds cuts in a multimedia image data signal . the “ show cuts ” widget 530 shows , for example using icons , the cuts found using the “ find cuts ” widget 520 . the “ plot ” widget 540 graphically illustrates statistics relating to the multimedia image data signal . the “ find key frame ” widget 550 locates a key frame within a portion , such as a segment , of the multimedia data signal . the “ frame select ” widget 560 selects a frame in preparation for a subsequent action . the “ help ” widget 570 causes help information to be displayed . the “ info ” widget 580 causes any supplied information relating to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface or to one or more multimedia image data signals to be displayed . the user selection device 600 allows the user to interact with the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . the multimedia image data source 100 provides a multimedia image data signal , representative images , a web document or a video segment to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . as previously discussed , the video and / or multimedia input source 100 can be a camera or any other multimedia image date device that is capable of providing a multimedia image data signal to the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 interacts with at least one input frame , segment or video clip , allowing a user to further interact with the full version of the video , for example to detect representative images , or to view already - determined representative images . the first step in utilizing a video browsing tool or interface , which distills video content information , is to parse the multimedia image data signal into meaningful segments . to achieve this task , as previously discussed , the systems and methods of this invention determine representative frames of an input multimedia image data signal . alternatively , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 , using the above described method , can parse the multimedia image data signal into meaningful segments . for example , the systems and methods of this invention can parse the multimedia image data signal using , however is not limited to , peak histogram detection , frame intensity detection , color histogram techniques as well as command data to segment an incoming multimedia image data signal into representative frames . the peaks in the histogram shown in fig2 correspond to the video segment boundaries where a video segment represents a continuous action in time and space . by detecting the segment boundaries , as previously discussed , the systems and methods of this invention can output at least one representative frame associated with each segment . thus , the content of the multimedia image data signal can be browsed down to the key or significant frame level without necessarily viewing the entire multimedia image data signal . however , the systems and methods of this invention are not limited to browsing at the key frame level . the systems and methods of this invention also enable the user to play segments between each key or significant frame to obtain more detailed information about the entire multimedia image data signal . fig9 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the graphical user interface 1000 according to this invention . specifically , the interface 1000 includes the main graphical user interface 500 from which the basic functions can be selected . a second window 1010 could show , for example , representative , significant or key images , or icons representing key images , i . e ., frames . additionally , the graphical user interface 1000 can include a window 1020 for displaying or playing a video segment or the entirety of the video . for example , a user accesses an assembled web document containing representative images corresponding to multimedia image data that has been determined in accordance with the storyboarding systems and methods described above . after viewing the representative images , the user may desire addition information about one particular topic discussed in a video / multimedia presentation . if the user selects one of the representative frames 1012 displayed on the second window 1010 , and then selects the play widget 510 , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface system 500 locates and plays the segment represented by the selected one of the representative frames 1012 . locating the segment can involve , for example , making a request to a remote server to download the corresponding signal , or could involve an interface with , for example , a video player / recorder to play the appropriate segment . alternatively , if a user selects the find cuts widget 520 , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface system 500 segments , using the above - described systems and methods , an input video / multimedia signal , for example , a jmovie , ppm , mpeg , avi , quicktime , shockwave , animated gif , vrml or realvideo clip , into key segments and / or representative frames . if the user then selects the show cuts widget 530 , the representative frames 1012 can be displayed , for example , as icons 1012 , as shown in fig9 . then , for example , if one of the representative frame icons is selected , the corresponding full - resolution image can be displayed in the window 1020 . this window 1020 can also contain standard embedded icons , for example , “ play ,” and “ stop ”, that would allow a user to directly manipulate the video / multimedia segment represented by the selected representative image 1012 . additionally , the graphical user interface system 500 can include the plot widget 540 , which can plot , for example , the average color histogram against frame number , as shown in fig2 . alternatively , the plot widget 540 can display where the representative frames are temporally located in the video / multimedia signal . furthermore , the plot widget 540 could , for example , plot the statistics used to determine the representative or key frames . additionally , the plot widget 540 could allow , for example , a user to manipulate the thresholds or properties used to determine the representative images . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can also include standard widgets , such as the help widget 570 that can , for example , provide instructions on the use of the graphical user interface , or the function of each button , the information widget 580 that can , for example , provide information , such as number of representative images in a video signal , length of a requested segment , or general information about the interface , and a done widget 505 that indicates the user is finished . the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface 500 can be implemented on a programmed general purpose computer . however , the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface can also be implemented on a special purpose computer , a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements and asic or other integrated circuit , a digital signal processor , a hard wired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit , a programmable logic device such as a pld , pla , fpga or pal , or the like . in general , any device , which is capable of implementing a finite state machine that is in turn capable of implementing the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface , can be used to implement the automatic video parsing and browsing graphical user interface . moreover , the graphical user interface system 500 can be implemented as software executing on a programmed general purpose computer , a special purpose computer , a microprocessor or the like . in this case , the graphical user interface system 500 can be implemented as a routine embedded in a network file interface , such as a web browser , or as a resource resident on a server , or the like . the graphical user interface system 500 can also be implemented by physically incorporating it into a software and / or hardware system , such as the hardware and software systems of a personal computer or dedicated video browsing system . it will be appreciated that various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims .	7
in one embodiment , as shown in fig1 , a printer 1 includes a feed roller 2 , a platen , 3 , a discharge roller 11 four recording units 4 , and a control circuit ( shown only in fig2 ) in a case ( not shown ) of the printer 1 . in one embodiment , the feed roller 2 and the discharge roller 11 have roll widths larger than the width of a roll paper 10 . the feed roller 2 and the discharge roller 11 rotate to feed or discharge the roller paper 10 in a predetermined forwarding direction fd by using respective stepping motors ( not shown ). the roll paper 10 is rolled onto the feed roller 2 . a cutter ( not shown ), which cuts the roll paper 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the discharge roller 11 in a forwarding direction fd . in one embodiment , the platen 3 is formed in a roller shape . the platen 3 has a diameter suitable for disposing four recording units 4 by facing each other and the roll width larger than the width of the roll paper 10 . the platen 3 is disposed between the feed roller 2 and the discharge roller 11 in a forwarding path of the roll paper 10 . the roll paper 10 has a substantially horseshoe ( ω ) shape and is disposed in close contact with the surface of the platen 3 . the platen 3 rotates to forward the roll paper 10 in the predetermined forwarding direction fd by using a separate stepping motor ( not shown ). as the recording unit 4 is used thermal transfer type recording units 4 , which have ink ribbons 4 b including one of inks having four colors of yellow , magenta , cyan , and black , and thermal heads 4 a . the four recording units 4 are disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction of the platen so that each thermal head 4 a faces the platen 3 . as shown in fig2 , the four recording units 4 intermittently move in contacting and separating directions zd by a cam unit 4 c including a plate cam 5 having an substantially eggshell - shaped end face pushing out the whole recording units 4 or the thermal heads 4 a in the approaching direction , a cam shaft motor 6 rotating a cam shaft 5 a on which the plate cam 5 is mounted , and a spring 7 biasing the whole recording units 4 or the thermal heads 4 a to a direction ( hereinafter , referred to as ‘ a separating direction ’) separated from the platen 3 . the plate cam 5 is control means for controlling the moving speed of the recording unit 4 in contacting and separating directions . it is preferable that the plate cam 5 has a mechanically smooth top portion 5 b of a cam mountain when the recording unit 4 abuts on the platen 3 . in one embodiment , a control circuit 8 includes a arithmetic processing unit , for example , a cpu and a storage unit such as a memory . the control circuit 8 is connected to respective stepping motors of the feed roller 2 , the discharge roller 11 and the platen 3 , as shown in fig1 or the recording unit 4 ( not shown ), and the control circuit 8 is used as a controller . in one embodiment , the control circuit 8 controls the rotation speed of each stepping motor . as shown in fig2 , by the rotation speed of the cam shaft motor 6 of the recording unit 4 , the control circuit 8 controls the moving speed ( hereinafter , referred to as ‘ a moving speed of a separating side ’) v 1 of a separating side of the recording unit 4 and the moving speed ( hereinafter , referred to as ‘ a moving speed of an approaching side ’) v 2 of an approaching side of the recording unit 4 to the roll paper 10 separately , and controls the moving speed of the recording unit 4 so that the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side is lower than the moving speed v 1 of the separating side . in one embodiment , as shown in fig1 , the roller paper 10 is forwarded in a predetermined forwarding direction fd by the rotations of the feed roller 2 , the platen 3 and the discharge roller 11 . the roll paper 10 is in close contact with a surface of the platen 3 by controlling the rotation speed of the feed roller 2 and the discharge roller 11 , the roll paper 10 , the four recording units 4 abut on the roll paper 10 one by one from the recording unit 4 disposed on the most upstream side in the forwarding direction fd , at a predetermined speed . the recording units 4 abutting on the roll paper 10 heats the thermal head 4 a and melts the ink ribbon 4 b . the recording unit 4 performs the thermal transfer operation ( printing operation ). in one embodiment , as shown in fig2 , the predetermined speed is an average moving speed v from the start of movement ts to the abutment to the roll paper 10 tt in the recording unit 4 . the average moving speed v is the average speed of the moving speed v 1 of a separating side and the moving speed v 2 of an approaching side . in one embodiment , the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side is controlled to be lower than the moving speed v 1 of the separating side by the control circuit 8 . since an impact to which the recording unit 4 gives to the roll paper 10 at the time of the abutment of the recording unit 4 tt is proportional to the moving speed of the recording unit 4 , the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side is reduced . therefore , the impacts to which the four recording units 4 give to the roll paper 10 and the platen 3 can be reduced . in one embodiment , the moving speed v 1 of the separating side and the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side can be controlled separately . in this embodiment , it is possible to set the average moving speed v to an optimum moving speed corresponding to a forwarding speed vr of the roll paper 10 by decreasing the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side and increasing the moving speed v 1 of the separating side . as the result , when the recording unit 4 abuts on the roll paper 10 , the deviation from the recording unit 4 due to a time mismatch does not occur . accordingly , the occurrence of the jitter can be suppressed without a remarkable variation in predetermined moving speed from the start of movement ts and to the abutment to the recording medium tt of the recording unit , and the recording quality of the images or the characters recorded in the roll paper 10 are improved . in one embodiment , the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side can be controlled separately by the control circuit 8 . in this embodiment , the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side is controlled to be reduced to a moving speed at which the moving speed v 2 does not give a delay to the forwarding speedvr of the roll paper 10 . for example , when the forwarding speed vr of the roll paper 10 is 2 . 4 ips ( about 61 mm / s ), it is preferable that the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side is controlled to be about 1 / 10 times ( 0 . 24 ips less than the forwarding speed vr . accordingly , since the occurrence of the jitter can be suppressed without a remarkable variation in predetermined moving speed from the start of movement ts and to the abutment to the recording medium tt of the recording unit , the recording quality of the images or the characters recorded in the roll paper 10 is improved . for example , the moving speed is adjusted by increasing the moving speed v 1 of the separating side of the recording unit 4 when the recording unit 4 is separated from the roll paper 10 , and by decreasing the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side of the recording unit 4 when the recording unit 4 approaches or abuts on the roller paper 10 . as the result , since the occurrence of the jitter ( recording stain ) can be suppressed or prevented without a remarkable variation between the average moving speed v from the start of movement ts to the abutment of the roll paper 10 tt in the recording unit 4 , and a moving speed of the known recording unit 4 , the recording quality of the images or the characters recorded in the roll paper 10 is improved . the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above , but may be variously changed as necessary . for example , a moving speed v of the recording unit 4 is changed in two steps ( the moving speed v 1 of the separating side and the moving speed v 2 of the approaching side ). alternatively , in the printer according another embodiment , the moving speed v may be changed in two steps or more ( for example , three steps , multiple steps , infinite step ( a step of diverging the number of steps to the infinity )). in another embodiment , the recording unit 4 includes the cam unit 4 c . alternatively , as shown in fig3 , in the printer according to another embodiment of the invention , there may be provided in the recording unit 4 is provided a rack pinion mechanism unit 9 which includes a rack 9 a mounted on the thermal head 4 a and a pinion 9 b mounted on the motor 6 instead of the cam mechanism unit 4 c . various embodiments described herein can be used alone or in combination with one another . the forgoing detailed description has described only a few of the many possible implementations of the present invention . for this reason , this detailed description is intended by way of illustration , and not by way of limitation . it is only the following claims , including all equivalents that are intended to define the scope of this invention .	1

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