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referring to fig1 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the first embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 110 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 111 and a convex image - side surface 112 , and the object - side surface 111 and the image - side surface 112 of the first lens element 110 are aspheric . a second lens element 120 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 121 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 122 . a third lens element 130 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 131 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 132 . a fourth lens element 140 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 141 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 142 . a fifth lens element 150 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has a concave object - side surface 151 and an image - side surface 152 , and the image - side surface 152 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 151 and the image - side surface 152 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 152 . an ir filter 160 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 and an image plane 190 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the first embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 54 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 05 , hfov = 39 degrees , and fov = 78 degrees . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 140 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 62 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 150 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 53 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 110 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 82 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 130 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 1 . 93 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 151 and the image - side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 along an optical axis 191 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 141 and the image - side surface 142 of the fourth lens element 140 along the optical axis 191 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 41 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 141 of the fourth lens element 140 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 142 of the fourth lens element 140 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 45 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 151 of the fifth lens element 150 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 11 . 30 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 120 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 09 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 120 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 120 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 130 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 130 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the first embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 111 of the first lens element 110 to the image plane 190 along the optical axis 191 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 58 . the detailed optical data of the first embodiment is shown in table 1 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 2 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 1 are expressed in mm , and in table 2 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 1 and 2 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 111 and the image - side surface 112 of the first lens element 110 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 121 and the image - side surface 122 of the second lens element 120 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 131 and the image - side surface 132 of the third lens element 130 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 141 and the image - side surface 142 of the fourth lens element 140 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 151 and the image side surface 152 of the fifth lens element 150 , respectively . referring to fig2 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention , and fig2 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the second embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 210 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 211 and a convex image - side surface 212 , and the object - side surface 211 and the image - side surface 212 of the first lens element 210 are aspheric . a second lens element 220 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 221 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 222 . a third lens element 230 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 231 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 232 . a fourth lens element 240 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 241 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 242 . a fifth lens element 250 has a negative refractive power made of plastic , the object - side surface 251 is convex near the optical axis and an image - side surface 252 , and the image - side surface 252 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 251 and the image - side surface 252 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on each of the image - side surface 252 and the object - side surface 251 . an ir filter 260 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 252 of the fifth lens element 250 and an image plane 290 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the second embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 63 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 4 , hfov = 39 . 4 degrees , and fov = 78 . 8 degrees . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 240 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 61 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 250 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 54 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 210 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 85 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 230 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 2 . 41 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 251 and the image - side surface 252 of the fifth lens element 250 along an optical axis 291 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 241 and the image - side surface 242 of the fourth lens element 240 along the optical axis 291 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 43 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 241 of the fourth lens element 240 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 242 of the fourth lens element 240 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 39 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 251 of the fifth lens element 250 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 4 . 32 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 220 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 27 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 220 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 220 is vd2 , and they satisfy the relations : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 230 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 230 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 515 ; vd3 = 57 . 20 . in the second embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 211 of the first lens element 210 to the image plane 290 along the optical axis 291 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 57 . the detailed optical data of the second embodiment is shown in table 3 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 4 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 3 are expressed in mm , and in table 4 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 3 and 4 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 211 and the image - side surface 212 of the first lens element 210 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 221 and the image - side surface 222 of the second lens element 220 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 231 and the image - side surface 232 of the third lens element 230 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 241 and the image - side surface 242 of the fourth lens element 240 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 251 and the image - side surface 252 of the fifth lens element 250 , respectively . referring to fig3 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the third embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 310 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 311 and a convex image - side surface 312 , and the object - side surface 311 and the image - side surface 312 of the first lens element 310 are aspheric . a second lens element 320 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 321 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 322 . a third lens element 330 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 331 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 332 . a fourth lens element 340 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 341 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 342 . a fifth lens element 350 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has concave object - side surface 351 and an image - side surface 352 , and the image - side surface 352 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 351 and the image - side surface 352 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 352 . an ir filter 360 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 352 of the fifth lens element 350 and an image plane 390 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the third embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the relations : f = 3 . 56 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 05 , hfov = 39 . 6 degrees , and fov = 79 . 2 degrees . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 340 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 65 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 350 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 55 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 310 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 82 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 330 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 1 . 91 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 351 and the image - side surface 352 of the fifth lens element 350 along an optical axis 391 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 341 and the image - side surface 342 of the fourth lens element 340 along the optical axis 391 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 20 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 341 of the fourth lens element 340 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 342 of the fourth lens element 340 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 43 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 351 of the fifth lens element 350 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 11 . 24 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 320 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 08 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 320 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 320 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 330 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 330 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the third embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 311 of the first lens element 310 to the image plane 390 along the optical axis 391 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 52 . the detailed optical data of the third embodiment is shown in table 5 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 6 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 5 are expressed in mm , and in table 6 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 5 and 6 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 311 and the image - side surface 312 of the first lens element 310 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 321 and the image - side surface 322 of the second lens element 320 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 331 and the image - side surface 332 of the third lens element 330 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 341 and the image - side surface 342 of the fourth lens element 340 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 351 and the image - side surface 352 of the fifth lens element 350 , respectively . referring to fig4 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention , and fig4 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the fourth embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 410 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 411 and a convex image - side surface 412 , and the object - side surface 411 and the image - side surface 412 of the first lens element 410 are aspheric . a second lens element 420 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 421 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 422 . a third lens element 430 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 431 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 432 . a fourth lens element 440 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric concave object - side surface 441 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 442 . a fifth lens element 450 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has a concave object - side surface 451 and an image - side surface 452 , and the image - side surface 452 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 451 and the image - side surface 452 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 452 . an ir filter 460 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 452 of the fifth lens element 450 and an image plane 490 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the fourth embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 70 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 05 , hfov = 38 . 6 degrees , and fov = 77 . 2 degrees . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 440 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 82 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 450 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 63 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 410 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 77 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 430 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 1 . 90 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 451 and the image - side surface 452 of the fifth lens element 450 along an optical axis 491 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 441 and the image - side surface 442 of the fourth lens element 440 along the optical axis 491 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 20 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 441 of the fourth lens element 440 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 442 of the fourth lens element 440 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 36 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 451 of the fifth lens element 450 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 7 . 37 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 420 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 01 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 420 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 420 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 430 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 430 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the fourth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 411 of the first lens element 410 to the image plane 490 along the optical axis 491 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 52 . the detailed optical data of the fourth embodiment is shown in table 7 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 8 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 7 are expressed in mm , and in table 8 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 7 and 8 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 411 and the image - side surface 412 of the first lens element 410 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 421 and the image - side surface 422 of the second lens element 420 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 431 and the image - side surface 432 of the third lens element 430 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 441 and the image - side surface 442 of the fourth lens element 440 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 451 and the imag - eside surface 452 of the fifth lens element 450 , respectively . referring to fig5 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention , and fig5 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the fifth embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the fifth embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 510 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 511 and a convex image - side surface 512 , and the object - side surface 511 and the image - side surface 512 of the first lens element 510 are aspheric . a second lens element 520 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 521 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 522 . a third lens element 530 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 531 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 532 . a fourth lens element 540 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 541 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 542 . a fifth lens element 550 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has a concave object - side surface 551 and an image - side surface 552 , and the image - side surface 552 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 551 and the image - side surface 552 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 552 . an ir filter 560 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 552 of the fifth lens element 550 and an image plane 590 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the fifth embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 70 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 0 , hfov = 38 . 4 degrees , and fov = 76 . 8 degrees . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 540 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 75 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 550 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 61 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 510 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 71 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 530 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 3 . 23 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 551 and the image - side surface 552 of the fifth lens element 550 along an optical axis 591 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 541 and the image - side surface 542 of the fourth lens element 540 along the optical axis 591 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 42 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 541 of the fourth lens element 540 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 542 of the fourth lens element 540 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 38 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 551 of the fifth lens element 550 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 13 . 51 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 520 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 09 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 520 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 520 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 530 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 530 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the fifth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 511 of the first lens element 510 to the image plane 590 along the optical axis 591 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 52 . the detailed optical data of the fifth embodiment is shown in table 9 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 10 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 9 are expressed in mm , and in table 10 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 9 and 10 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 511 and the image - side surface 512 of the first lens element 510 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 521 and the image - side surface 522 of the second lens element 520 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 531 and the image - side surface 532 of the third lens element 530 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 541 and the image - side surface 542 of the fourth lens element 540 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 551 and the image - side surface 552 of the fifth lens element 550 , respectively . referring to fig6 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention , and fig6 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the sixth embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the sixth embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 610 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 611 and a convex image - side surface 612 , and the object - side surface 611 and the image - side surface 612 of the first lens element 610 are aspheric . a second lens element 620 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 621 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 622 . a third lens element 630 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 631 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 632 . a fourth lens element 640 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 641 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 642 . a fifth lens element 650 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has a concave object - side surface 651 and an image - side surface 652 , and the image - side surface 652 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 651 and the image - side surface 652 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 652 . an ir filter 660 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 652 of the fifth lens element 650 and an image plane 690 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the sixth embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 57 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 2 , hfov = 39 . 6 degrees , and fov = 79 . 2 degrees . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 640 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 79 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 650 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 61 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 610 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 78 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 630 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 1 . 89 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 651 and the image - side surface 652 of the fifth lens element 650 along an optical axis 691 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 641 and the image - side surface 642 of the fourth lens element 640 along the optical axis 691 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 85 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 641 of the fourth lens element 640 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 642 of the fourth lens element 640 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 35 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 651 of the fifth lens element 650 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 14 . 01 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 620 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 08 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 620 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 620 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 630 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 630 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the sixth embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 611 of the first lens element 610 to the image plane 690 along the optical axis 691 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 49 . the detailed optical data of the sixth embodiment is shown in table 11 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 12 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 11 are expressed in mm , and in table 12 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a 8 , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 11 and 12 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 611 and the image - side surface 612 of the first lens element 610 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 621 and the image - side surface 622 of the second lens element 620 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 631 and the image - side surface 632 of the third lens element 630 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 641 and the image - side surface 642 of the fourth lens element 640 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 651 and the image - side surface 652 of the fifth lens element 650 , respectively . referring to fig7 a , which shows an optical lens system in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention , and fig7 b shows the longitudinal spherical aberration curves , the astigmatic field curves , and the distortion curve of the seventh embodiment of the present invention . an optical lens system in accordance with the seventh embodiment of the present invention comprises , in order from the object side to the image side : a first lens element 710 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 711 and a convex image - side surface 712 , and the object - side surface 711 and the image - side surface 712 of the first lens element 710 are aspheric . a second lens element 720 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has an aspheric convex object - side surface 721 , and an aspheric concave image - side surface 722 . a third lens element 730 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has a convex object - side surface 731 and an image - side surface 732 , and the image - side surface 732 is flat near the optical axis , both of object - side surface 731 and image - side surface 732 thereof being aspheric . a fourth lens element 740 with a positive refractive power made of plastic has aspheric concave object - side surface 741 , and an aspheric convex image - side surface 742 . a fifth lens element 750 with a negative refractive power made of plastic has a concave object - side surface 751 and an image - side surface 752 , and the image - side surface 752 is concave near the optical axis , both of the object - side surface 751 and the image - side surface 752 are aspheric , and at least one inflection point is formed on the image - side surface 752 . an ir filter 760 made of glass is located between the image - side surface 752 of the fifth lens element 750 and an image plane 790 and has no influence on the focal length of the optical lens system . the equation for the aspheric surface profiles of the seventh embodiment is expressed as follows : z represents the distance of a point on the aspheric surface at a height h from the optical axis relative to a plane perpendicular to the optical axis at the vertex of the aspheric surface ; c is a paraxial curvature equal to 1 / r ( r : a paraxial radius of curvature ); h represents a vertical distance from the point on the curve of the aspheric surface to the optical axis ; a 4 , a 6 , a g , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , the f - number of the optical lens system is fno , half of the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is hfov , the maximum angle of field of view of the present optical lens system is fov , and they satisfy the conditions : f = 3 . 53 ( mm ); fno = 2 . 05 , hfov = 39 . 9 degrees , and fov = 79 . 8 degrees . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fourth lens element 740 is f4 , and they satisfy the condition : f4 / f = 0 . 63 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , a focal length of the fifth lens element 750 is f5 , and they satisfy the condition : f5 / f =− 0 . 56 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the first lens element 710 is f1 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f1 / f = 0 . 8 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the third lens element 730 is f3 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f3 / f = 2 . 30 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance between the object - side surface 751 and the image - side surface 752 of the fifth lens element 750 along an optical axis 791 is d9 , a distance between the object - side surface 741 and the image - side surface 742 of the fourth lens element 740 along the optical axis 791 is d7 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : ( d9 − d7 )× 10 / f = 0 . 53 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 741 of the fourth lens element 740 is r7 , a radius of curvature of the image - side surface 742 of the fourth lens element 740 is r8 , and they satisfy the condition : ( r7 − r8 )/( r7 + r8 )= 0 . 44 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a radius of curvature of the object - side surface 751 of the fifth lens element 750 is r9 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : \| r9 \|/ f = 11 . 33 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a focal length of the second lens element 720 is f2 , the focal length of the optical lens system is f , and they satisfy the condition : f2 / f =− 1 . 10 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the second lens element 720 is nd2 , and an abbe number of the second lens element 720 is vd2 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd2 = 1 . 632 ; vd2 = 23 . 40 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a refraction index of the third lens element 730 is nd3 , and an abbe number of the third lens element 730 is vd3 , and they satisfy the conditions : nd3 = 1 . 544 ; vd3 = 55 . 90 . in the seventh embodiment of the present optical lens system , a distance from the object - side surface 711 of the first lens element 710 to the image plane 790 along the optical axis 791 is tl , and a half of the maximum image height of the present optical lens system is imgh , and they satisfy the condition : tl / imgh = 1 . 52 . the detailed optical data of the seventh embodiment is shown in table 13 , and the aspheric surface data is shown in table 14 , wherein the units of the radius of curvature , the thickness and the focal length in table 13 are expressed in mm , and in table 14 , k represents the conic constant , and a 4 , a 6 , a 8 , a 10 , a 12 , a 14 . . . : represent the high - order aspheric coefficients . in the tables 13 and 14 , the surfaces 1 and 2 represent the object - side surface 711 and the image - side surface 712 of the first lens element 710 , respectively , the surfaces 3 and 4 represent the object - side surface 721 and the image - side surface 722 of the second lens element 720 , respectively , the surfaces 5 and 6 represent the object - side surface 731 and the image - side surface 732 of the third lens element 730 , respectively , the surfaces 7 and 8 represent the object - side surface 741 and the image - side surface 742 of the fourth lens element 740 , respectively , and the surfaces 9 and 10 represent the object - side surface 751 and the image - side surface 752 of the fifth lens element 750 , respectively . it is to be noted that the tables 1 - 14 show different data from the different embodiments , however , the data of the different embodiments are obtained from experiments . therefore , any product of the same structure is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention even if it uses different data . table 15 lists the relevant data for the various embodiments of the present invention . in the present optical lens system , the respective lens elements can be made of glass or plastic . it can effectively reduce manufacturing cost if the lens elements are made of plastic . while we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention , it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention .	6
in the following detailed description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings , which form a part hereof . in the drawings , similar symbols typically identify similar components , unless context dictates otherwise . the illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description , drawings , and claims are not meant to be limiting . other embodiments may be utilized , and other changes may be made , without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here . it will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure , as generally described herein , and illustrated in the figures , can be arranged , substituted , combined , and designed in a wide variety of different configurations , all of which are explicitly contemplated and made part of this disclosure . as illustrated in fig1 - 10 , a food carrier 100 comprises a lid 1 with a handle 5 , a serving platter 2 , a body 4 with a rotating member 3 , and latches 9 . the term “ turntable base 17 ” will be used to describe a combination of the body 4 and the rotating member 3 . the food carrier 100 is multi - functional . for example , the food carrier 100 may be used transport any suitable food , preferably , cake . in another example , the food carrier 100 may also serve as a cake decorating stand . in yet another example , the food carrier 100 may also serve as a cake decorating turntable . the lid 1 of the food carrier 100 may be any color . in addition , the lid 1 may be opaque or transparent . the lid 1 is made of any suitable non - skid material , for example , plastic . the non - skid material allows an outside surface of lid 1 to be used as a cake decorating stand . in one embodiment , the lid 1 has a dome shape . in alternative embodiments , the lid 1 may have a cubic or cylindrical shape . the lid 1 can be any height , preferably , 4 inches to accommodate a 4 - inch decorated cake . a top of lid 1 is connected to a handle 5 . the handle 5 is configured to allow a user to easily carry the food carrier 100 from one location to another . the handle 5 may be any color . in addition , the handle 5 may be opaque or transparent . the handle 5 may be made of any suitable material , for example , plastic . in one embodiment , at a bottom of lid 1 is a ring 6 . a top of the ring 6 is configured to fit within a grooved portion at the bottom of lid 1 . a bottom of the ring 6 is configured to secure to a groove in a top portion of the rotating member 3 . an inner diameter of ring 6 may be slightly larger than an outer diameter of a base of the serving platter 2 . the food carrier 100 includes the serving platter 2 . the serving platter 2 is engageable with the turntable base 17 . a bottom of the serving platter 2 contains a plurality of protrusions 15 ( see fig1 ) configured to interface with a plurality of grooved portions 16 ( see fig7 ) on a top of the rotating member 3 . the serving platter 2 is configured to support the cake during decorating the cake upon the turntable base 17 . the serving platter 2 may be removable such that the cake may be taken out of the food carrier 100 and displayed or served without having to transfer the cake to a separate platter . the serving platter 2 has a raised edge to allow a user to easily remove the serving platter 2 from the turntable base 17 . the food carrier 100 further includes the turntable base 17 comprised of the body 4 and the rotating member 3 . a protrusion 11 of the rotating member 3 engages with a recessed portion 12 of the body 4 ( see fig2 ) to secure the rotating member 3 to the body 4 . the rotating member 3 of the turntable base 17 is rotatable with respect to the body 4 . in one embodiment , as seen in fig7 - 8 , a rotating member ring 7 has a plurality of concave grooves 22 configured to engage with a plurality of balls 8 to form a ball bearing . the rotating member 3 lays upon the ball bearing formed by rotating member ring 7 and balls 8 to allow the rotating member 3 to rotate . in one embodiment , when placed on a surface , the body 4 does not rotate relative to the surface , but the rotating member 3 is rotatable relative to the surface , and thus to a user . the body 4 includes a locking mechanism comprised of latches 9 . the latches 9 may prevent the rotating member 3 from rotating by engaging with the lid 1 . alternatively , the latches 9 may prevent the rotating member 3 from rotating , even when the lid 1 is not present , by engaging with the rotating member 3 . as seen in fig9 a - 9b , the latches 9 are attached to the body 4 by mounting pin locations 14 that are mountable to the body 3 of the turntable base 17 . the latches 9 have a grooved portion 18 configured to engage with a portion of the lid 1 that is in contact with ring 6 . the grooved portion 18 is also configured to engage with a grooved portion 19 of the rotating member 3 . thus , the latches 9 may be used with the lid or without the lid to secure the serving platter 2 . rotation is prevented due to friction between the latches 9 and the rotating member 3 . the latches 9 are omnidirectional in that the latches 9 may engage with any portion of the lid 1 or the rotating member 3 . in other words , the latches 9 do not have to engage with the lid 1 or the rotating member 3 at a certain location in order to prevent rotation . any number of latches 9 may be used , for example , three latches 9 ( see fig5 ). a user may wish to prevent the turntable base 17 from rotating , for example , during transportation or while decorating a portion of the cake . the latches 9 may also retain the lid 1 , such that a user is able to carry the container by the handle 5 . referring now to fig6 , a bottom of the body 4 includes a plurality of bosses 13 . any number of bosses 13 may be utilized , for example , four bosses . the bosses 13 are configured to interface with the handle 5 on a top of the lid 1 such that a plurality of food carriers 100 may be securely stacked . alternatively , the turntable base 17 ( e . g . rotating member 3 and body 4 ) may be placed on top of the lid 1 such that the lid 1 can be used to elevate the turntable base 17 to facilitate cake decorating or presentation . the bottom of the body 4 also includes non - skid portions 10 . the non - skid portions 10 may be made of any suitable material , for example rubber . the non - skid portions 10 are configured to prevent the food carrier from sliding , for example , while a user is decorating a cake . the configuration of the food carrier 100 allows a user to decorate , store , serve and transport food , preferably cake , in a single device , rather than having to transfer the food between multiple devices . in one embodiment best illustrated in fig1 , the food carrier 100 includes a storage base 20 that is engagable with a serving platter 2 and with a lid 1 . the serving platter 2 may be secured to the storage base 20 via locking mechanism such as latches 9 that extend from the storage base 20 . the latch 9 may secure the serving platter 2 to the storage base 20 directly . alternatively , the latch 9 may secure the lid 1 against the serving platter 2 which is in turn secured against the storage base 20 . a storage cavity 21 is defined within the storage base 20 and bounded by the serving platter 2 . with respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein , those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and / or application . the various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for the sake of clarity . the foregoing description of illustrative embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and of description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting with respect to the precise form disclosed , and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosed embodiments . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents .	0
referring to fig1 an acoustic ( ultrasonic frequency range ) contaminant sensor assembly 10 is shown schematically in position along the upper skin or wall 12 of an aircraft wing . as shown , the acoustic sensor assembly 10 extends essentially in a direction parallel to the airflow across the wing , which is shown by the arrows 14 . the wing can be constructed in any desired manner , and the acoustic sensor assembly 10 is made to sense contaminants , such as ice illustrated in fig2 at 16 , on the exterior surface of the wall or plate that is ultrasonically vibrated . the acoustic sensor assembly 10 comprises a wall or plate 20 that has a length that is parallel to the direction of airflow , and as shown parallel to the chord of the wing or aircraft wall 12 . the sensor wall or plate 20 is fastened in place with suitable fasteners such as flush rivets or by bonding the parts . the wall or plate 20 may be the structural wall , such as the skin or wall 12 of an aircraft . various configurations of contaminant detection systems are shown and discussed in rose et al . u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 629 , 485 and 5 , 932 , 806 . for illustrative purposes , the plate or wall 20 is shown as a uniform thickness plate . the wall or plate 20 has an interior surface 22 , as well as an exterior surface 24 on which the ice shown at 16 accumulates . ultrasonic or acoustic energy that causes acoustic vibration in the wall or plate 20 is provided by a transducer assembly indicated generally at 26 . the transducer assembly can be of any desired type , for example the type shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 922 , 958 , and is the transmitter preferably is a well known piezoelectric sensor element 25 a . as illustrated , there is one transducer 25 , mounted onto a housing 27 . the housing 27 is supported with a wedge 32 so that the plane of the piezoelectric element 25 a that sends acoustic energy and receives the reflected acoustic energy is at an angle relative to the general plane 28 of the wall or plate 20 . the transducer support wedge 32 is bonded with a bonding layer shown illustratively at 34 to the inner surface 22 of the wall or plate 20 . the transducer 25 is at a first location on the wall or plate 20 , as indicated , near one end of the sensor wall or plate . when the transducer 25 is energized by suitable processor circuitry 30 , the transmitter section 25 a will provide a desired vibration pattern ( in the form of a lamb wave ) on the outer surface 24 of the wall or plate 20 . this is discussed in the rose et al . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 629 , 485 . the processor circuit 30 is of known design and is connected to the transducer 25 for providing excitation for the transducer 25 to create an acoustic wave in the wall or plate 20 during a first time period , and for receiving and processing a return signal , typically a frequency vs . amplitude signal , during one or more second time periods , in a known manner . in other words , the transmitter section of transducer 25 transmits the ultrasonic signal forming an acoustic energy wave , and then the transmitter portion turns off . the transducer 25 then has a section that acts as a receiver to receive a reflected wave at certain times or time windows . the transducer thus determines presence of a reflected or return ultrasonic vibration . a separate receiver also can be used for such detection of return signals as shown , the plate 20 has a contaminate detecting first ultrasonic wave reflector , shown as a bonded on bar reflector 40 defined adjacent an opposite end of the plate , and extending transversely to the direction , indicated by the arrow 42 , of transmission of the ultrasonic wave . the direction of reflected waves is indicated generally at 44 . the reflector 40 forms a wave reflecting surface for the ultrasonic vibration signal to be echoed back to the transducer assembly 26 and sensed by the transducer 25 . the reflector 40 can be formed to reduce bouncing of the ultrasonic wave in the reflector . the reflector can be replaced with a groove formed in either the top or bottom surface of wall or plate 20 , if desired . the transducer support wedge 32 is bonded securely to the inner surface 22 , but it is known that this bonding can become loose or fail . also , ultrasonic transmitters can fail . as stated , this disbanding is a serious problem with ultrasonic sensors , since poor bonds resulted in spurious signals and shortened sensor life . during the occurrence of neavy plate contamination such as a buildup of a thick layer of ice 16 , the guided wave signature received from the reflector 40 near the end of the plate or wall 20 disappears , and this indicates that the plate is truly contaminated , or the sensor is dead , or a disbond occurred . with the present invention , the plate or wall is provided with a self test reflector , as shown a waveguide 50 which extends laterally across the plate or wall generally parallel to the reflector 40 , but positioned closely adjacent to the transducer 25 . preferably the waveguide 50 is secured to the plate or wall within the first ultrasonic wave length determined by the frequency and ultrasonic velocity in the plate . in fig5 an enlarged view of the waveguide 50 is illustrated . the dimension of the reflector indicated by the double arrow w , is the length of the waveguide that is in contact with and bonded to the plate or wall 20 , and the overall length of the travel path is indicated at l . this path follows the curve of the waveguide 50 as shown . the dimension w of the waveguide contacting the plate or wall should be greater than one wavelength of ultrasonic energy in the contaminate detection plate or wall 20 . by satisfying this requirement , it is insured that the ultrasonic energy is transferred to the waveguide . the length l , which is the overall travel path of the waveguide is preferably designed such that the ultrasonic energy received back from the end of the waveguide indicated at 50 a in fig5 is of sufficient length so that the time between transmission of a signal and receipt of a reflected vibration signal by the transducer 25 will be sufficient to avoid mistaking disturbances or false signals from internal reflections for the self test signal . such internal disturbances may occur in the transducer 25 or in the wedge or mounting block 32 between the transducer and the wall or plate 20 . thus , selection or parameters for the waveguide insure that the correct reflected self test signal will be recognized . [ 0026 ] fig6 shows an alternate form of the self test waveguide mounted relative to the transducer 25 and wedge 32 , and in this case , the waveguide 70 is a wall that is formed to have offset sections . the length w again is the length that is in contact with and bonded to the plate or wall 20 , and the overall travel length of the ultrasonic wave or vibration is the length following the offset sections to the outer end 70 a of the waveguide 70 . [ 0027 ] fig7 is a further modified form of a self test waveguide that is in the shape of an angle iron . the length w is one leg that is in contact with and bonded to the plate or wall 20 , and the overall length of the waveguide shown at 76 is from the end adjacent the wedge 32 at transducer 25 , to the outer end 76 a of the waveguide 76 . other configurations of waveguides can also be used , within the parameters outlined . in fig3 the waveguide 50 is illustrated in the preferred form as a curved member . the dimension d , or the transverse width of the waveguide is kept to a minimum so that while insuring that the disturbance that it creates is enough to detect . in other words , the dimension d is selected to be minimized , but based upon the output of the transducer 25 . instead of having the discontinuities or reflectors for reflecting ultrasonic vibrations , a separate receiver close to the transmitter at the position of waveguide 50 , and another receiver adjacent the position of reflector 40 can be used to provide the self test procedure and the contaminate detection . the operation of the self test is illustrated in the timing diagram of fig4 . a transmitted signal shown in fig4 at 52 is transmitted between times t 0 and t 1 , by the transmitter portion of transducer 25 . immediately after time t 1 , up to time t 2 the receiver portion of transducer 25 is turned on , and if a signal 53 is received , it is known that the transmitter 25 a is operable . from time t 2 to time t 3 , the receiver section of the transducer 25 is burned off . at time t 3 the receiver section of the transducer again is turned on to “ look for ” a signal reflected from the self test reflector 50 . a reflected signal indicated at 54 between times t 3 and t 4 is from the self test reflector , and if received , it is known that the transducer is operable , and the bond needed to couple the ultrasonic energy or acoustic wave to the wall or plate 20 has not loosened or become non functional . it is then also known that the reflected signal from the main contaminant detection reflector 40 , can be relied upon . the reflected signal from discontinuity is expected at a later time , as shown , between times t 5 and t 6 , and indicated at 58 in fig4 can be relied upon as representing a signature that indicates either no contaminants on the surface , or the presence of such contaminants . the transducer 25 will provide an output electrical signal from the piezoelectric sensor element 25 a that is part of the transducer 25 . the techniques of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic vibrations are well known . the time periods shown in fig4 typically can be as follows : from t 0 to t 1 , 150 μseconds ; to t 2 , 100 μseconds ; to t 3 , 150 μseconds ; to t 4 , 200 μseconds ; to t 5 , 350 μseconds and to t 6 , 500 μseconds . the times for transmitting and for tuning on the receiver depend on the overall length between the transmitter and main reflector , the wall material and power needed . if a response is present between time t 1 and t 2 , the transducer is functional , and if there is a response from the self test reflector between time t 3 and t 4 , it is known that ultrasonic wave energy is coupled into the wall . if responses are received between time t 1 and t 2 and between t 3 and t 4 , then the receiver looks at responses between t 5 and t 6 to determine if ice is on the surface 24 . no response would mean heavy ice and a large amplitude response would mean no ice . amplitudes between the extremes would be a function of ice or other contaminant build up . again , typically , the first or self test reflector is designed to give a minimal reflection , and consecutive reflected signals from reflector 50 would be attenuated before time t 5 , so the self test reflector will not affect the response from the main or detector reflector . the processor is set up so that each time it energizes the transducer 25 to transmit a pulse , which is done at regular time intervals , the self test reflector , shown as waveguide 50 will reflect a signal that is substantially unaffected by contaminants because of its close proximity to the transducer assembly 26 . the initial response between times t 1 and t 2 is a “ ringing ” of the transmitter rather than a reflected signal . the return signal from the self test reflector , which as shown , is not as severe a discontinuity as the main sensor reflector 40 , will always indicate whether the transducer assembly is operable , or whether disbonding has occurred . the processor circuit is used for indicating when contaminants are present because of changes in the return signal received between times t 5 and t 6 . the processor circuit 30 also is used for each transmission for the self test by setting the receiver portion to look for a return signal at the time ( t 3 to t 4 ) when a return can be expected , based on the spacing of the waveguide 50 from the transducer 25 and the path length l of the waveguide . while the reflectors 40 and 50 have been illustrated , it is to be understood that other types of reflectors can be utilized , such as grooves formed on the inner ( or outer ) surface 22 of the wall or plate 20 , or , if the application of the sensor assembly is one that will permit it , reflectors on the exterior surface also can be used for providing a disruption of the transmitted acoustic signal that will provide a reflection adequate for the transducer 25 to sense it . it is common to have a bar on the interior surface , or some other discontinuity that will perform the same function as the reflectors the reflectors thus encompass grooves , bars , arid other irregularities , such as a rivet assembly , which can be used for the self test reflector . an interface between different materials at the location of the reflector , also can serve as a reflector . it also should be noted that tna reflector 50 can be curved as shown or in other words made to form an arc to provide a reflector that will tend to focus the reflected waves back toward the transducer 25 . the wall or plate material also can be of any desired type , and while a piezoelectric element 25 a is commonly used , other types of ultrasonic generators can be utilized as well . as stated , separate transmitters and receivers can be used , and bonded to the interior surface 22 of the plate . the wall acting as the ultrasonic or acoustic energy transmitting wall can be the actual structural wall . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	6
the present invention discloses apparatus and methods having particular application for use in a computer system used for the graphic display of images . although the present invention is described with reference to specific circuits , block diagrams , signals , algorithms , etc ., it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that such details are disclosed simply to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention . it will therefore be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention ma be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well known circuits are shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention unnecessarily . in fig1 there is shown an overall block diagram view of the present invention . in order to define images on a crt display or other display device , it is necessary to manipulate data at a high speed in order to select the pixels of a crt display that define the curve , curved surface , vector or image that is desired to be displayed . it is well known in the art that the location of each point to be displayed on a crt often is represented by digital values stored in a memory device which correspond to x , y , z and w homogenous coordinates . the coefficients of the equations describing curves to be rendered by the circuit of fig1 are calculated and supplied by a cpu 9 and are transmitted to the w , x , y and z adaptive forward differencing unit (&# 34 ; afdu &# 34 ;) circuits 10 , 12 , 14 and 16 which , in response , output x , y , w and z coordinates , respectively , for each pixel to be drawn on the display . the w coordinate outputted by the w afdu circuit 10 is coupled to the 1 / w circuit 18 which , in turn , outputs the current value of 1 / w . the x , y and z coordinates are divided by the homogenous coordinate w ( i . e . multiplied by the current 1 / w value in order to obtain the ratio of two cubic functions ), by the 1 / w circuit 18 and the three multipliers 20 , 22 , and 24 . more specifically , the x afdu circuit 12 outputs the current x coordinate to a multiplier 20 , wherein it is multiplied by the corresponding 1 / w value outputted by the 1 / w circuit 18 , such that a current x / w value is supplied to pixel filter 30 . in a similar fashion , y / w and z / w are supplied to pixel filter 30 , respectively , by w , y , and z afdu circuits 10 , 14 and 16 , 1 / w circuit 18 and by the multipliers 22 and 24 . in this fashion the x , y , and z coordinates of the rational cubic functions are inputted to pixel filter 30 and used to select the pixels defining images of the rational cubic functions on a crt . the pixel filter 30 of fig1 compares the current x , y and z pixel coordinates which are fed thereto by multipliers 20 , 22 and 24 , with the x , y and z pixel coordinates which were fed to the pixel filter 30 one clock cycle previously and instructs the w , x , y and z afdu circuits to &# 34 ; adjust up &# 34 ; ( i . e ., advance the curve or curved surface in larger increments ) by multiplying the parameter t by two or to &# 34 ; adjust down &# 34 ; ( i . e ., advance the curve or curved surface in smaller increments ) by dividing the parameter t by 2 , or to &# 34 ; step forward &# 34 ; to the next pixel such that the x , y and z coordinates outputted by pixel filter 30 advance the curve being displayed on the crt substantially in single pixel increments . the adjustment technique will later be more fully described . the pixel filter 30 also detects and replaces &# 34 ; elbows &# 34 ; ( wherein a curve section having , for example , the coordinates ( x 0 , y 0 ), ( x 0 , y 1 ) and x 1 , y 1 ) ( see fig6 ), is replaced with a curve section having the coordinates ( x 0 , y 0 ) and ( x 1 , y 1 ) ( see fig6 a ).) this is done to improve the appearance of the rendered curve by eliminating the corner pixel ( i . e . pixel x 0 , y 1 shown in fig6 ). the pixel filter 30 is coupled , at outputs 33 , 35 , and 37 , to a frame buffer ( not shown ) which , in turn , is coupled to a crt display ( also not shown ) or other appropriate display device , for defining images by enabling , or writing a color value at the pixels defined by the pixel coordinates outputted by pixel filter 30 at outputs 33 , 35 and 37 . arc length output 31 of pixel filter 30 is coupled to a paint section 150 ( not shown ) which paints pixels in accordance with the arc length value outputted by pixel filter 30 at output 31 . the arc length value is employed in the drawing of textured ( dashed , dotted , etc .) lines and surfaces . the drawing of textured lines and surfaces does not , however , form an essential part of the instant invention as described and claimed herein and a more detailed explanation thereof is not , therefore , necessary . in fig2 there is shown an exploded view of the 1 / w circuit 18 of fig1 . the 1 / w circuit 18 of fig1 is an advancement over prior art circuits for obtaining the reciprocal of w in that the 1 / w circuit 18 of the present invention yields the reciprocal of w faster , with less computational overhead and less latency than comparable prior art circuits . prior art 1 / w circuits typically use a newton iteration algorithm employing a single look - up table for the initial approximation of the reciprocal of w . these prior methods require a large multiplier and take several clock cycles to obtain a result . in direct contrast , the present invention greatly reduces the latency as compared with prior art methods . ( for a more complete description of prior art methods for division through divisor reciprocation see : &# 34 ; computer arithmetic &# 34 ;, kai hwang , pp 259 - 264 , john wiley & amp ; sons , new york , n . y ., 1979 .) to achieve the above - described superior results , the present invention uses a truncated taylor series approximation utilizing two small look - up tables 76 and 78 ( i . e . in the preferred embodiment , table 76 has 8k entries and 20 bit output while table 78 has 8 bit output ) and minor computation hardware to implement the same in order to derive an approximation of 1 / w without the costly , slower computations required by the prior art . as is well known in the art , the taylor series approximation is used to derive the reciprocal of the homogenous coordinate w . the taylor series approximation states : where w 0 represents a pre - determined quantity of the most significant bits of the w value and where d represents a predetermined quantity of the least significant bits of the w value . it has been discovered that truncating the above listed taylor series approximation to include only the first two terms thereof ( i . e . 1 / w 0 - d 1 / w 0 2 ) renders a 1 / w value which is sufficiently accurate for purposes of obtaining the rational cubic functions x / w , y / w and z / w for use in the rendering of images . the w value outputted by w afdu circuit 10 , in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , comprises 21 bits . the 13 most significant bits ( termed herein as &# 34 ; w 0 &# 34 ;) of that 21 bit value are supplied to look - up tables 76 and 78 . look - up table 76 outputs the reciprocal ( 1 / w 0 ) of the thirteen bit value inputted thereto to register 80 . similarly , look - up table 78 outputs a ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 value corresponding to the thirteen most significant bits supplied thereto , to register 82 . the eight least significant bits of the 21 bit w value are supplied to an 8 - bit delay register 84 , which merely delays the eight least significant bits a length of time sufficient to allow the outputting of ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 by register 82 , such that multiplier 87 multiplies the eight least significant bits , ( termed herein as &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;), times the contents of register 82 such that multiplier 87 outputs d ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 to subtracter 89 where d ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 is subtracted from ( 1 / w 0 ) in order to produce at register 90 1 / w 0 - d ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 . as stated , 1 / w 0 - d ( 1w 0 ) 2 ≈ 1 / w . register 90 , in turn , outputs the value 1 / w to multipliers 20 , 22 and 24 as previously discussed with respect to fig1 . delays 13 , 11 and 15 are present to ensure that the x , y and z coordinates outputted , respectively , by x , y and z afdu circuits 12 , 14 and 16 arrive at multipliers 20 , 22 and 24 substantially coincident with the calculated corresponding 1 / w value outputted by register 90 . it has been found that the error in the above described approximation of 1 / w is greatest when w 0 is small and d is large ( assuming that w is always positive ). more specifically , over the w interval of 0 . 25 to 1 . 0 the error is greatest when w is 0 . 25 and when d is at its maximum value . the error found in calculating an approximation of 1 / w can be reduced by storing certain values which are described by the following equations in lookup tables 76 and 78 . these values are : ## equ1 ## where d max is the difference between one value of w 0 and the next largest value of w 0 . further , since it is not desirable to calculate 1 / w for w values where the two most significant bits are 00 ; a portion of the storage capacity of each look - up table is not used . also , in actual practice it has been found that the error will be greater when the most significant two bits are ` 01 `. when the most significant bit of w is 1 , the first described method for deriving an approximation of 1 / w is used . conversely , when the two most significant bits of w are 01 , the address which is sent to the two look - up tables is the concatenation of the most significant bit of w and the third most significant bit through the 14th most significant bit of w . in the later case , the seven least significant bits of w are used for d . this technique halves the interval covered by one entry in the lookup table when the two most significant bits of w are 01 . it will be appreciated that since the maximum size of d is reduced , the approximation error is also reduced . from the above discussion , it will be appreciated that by employing the two look - up tables 76 and 78 which yield , respectively , 1 / w 0 and ( 1 / w 0 ) 2 and computing those values to produce 1 / w as previously described , the present invention avoids the long latency producing computations which were previously required in the aforedescribed prior art devices , thereby increasing the speed with which 1 / w is derived . in the preferred embodiment of the 1 / w circuit , 18 produces a 1 / w value which has 20 significant bits , however , it will be appreciated that more or less bits may be used as long as the values stored in the look - up tables employed are adjusted accordingly . tables employed are adjusted accordingly . in fig3 there is shown an exploded view of the x afdu circuit 12 of fig1 . y , z and w afdu circuits 14 , 16 and 10 are identical in circuitry to the x afdu circuit 12 , and therefore a thorough understanding of x afdu circuit 12 will also fully convey the circuitry and operation of y , z and w afdu circuits 10 , 14 and 16 . each afdu circuit calculates a parametric cubic function f ( t ) represented as for each x , y , z and w coordinate the parametric cubic function f is : ## equ2 ## the above functions b 3 ( t ), b 2 ( t ), b 1 ( t ) and b 0 ( t ) are forward difference basis functions which differ from one another as t varies from 0 to 1 along a curve . the dt step size for t is automatically adjusted so that the curve increments in approximately one pixel steps as explained below . the four forward difference basis functions b 3 , b 2 , b 1 and b 0 are listed below : ## equ3 ## the above cubic functions x ( t ), y ( t ), z ( t ), w ( t ) are calculated separately by each afdu circuit . the four coefficients a , b , c , and d which describe a cubic curve are loaded into the four coefficient registers 34 , 50 , 62 and 72 of each afdu circuit at initialization by the cpu 9 . at each clock cycle , the parameter t increases by dt and the four coefficients are updated to a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, c &# 39 ;, d &# 39 ; while the four afdu circuits 10 , 12 , 14 and 16 generate the coordinates which correspond to a particular pixel on the crt display . if the x , y coordinate currently calculated by the x and y afdu circuits 12 and 14 define a pixel location on the crt display which is more than a single pixel increment from the previously defined pixel , then pixel filter 30 instructs each afdu circuit to divide dt by two ( adjust down ), thereby reducing the x , y increments so that at each clock cycle each afdu circuit outputs coordinates which define pixels along the curv in substantially single pixel increments . in a similar fashion , if the x , y address step is less than a 1 / 2 pixel increment from the previously defined pixel , then dt is doubled ( adjusted up ) to increase the change in the x , y coordinates such that again a substantially one pixel step is incremented at each clock cycle . to reduce dt by half , the cubic functions x ( t ), y ( t ), z ( t ), w ( t ) are transformed as follows : ## equ4 ## the coefficients of the transformed set of cubic functions are given by : ## equ5 ## in order to double dt , the coordinate cubic functions are transformed by : ## equ6 ## in the case of doubling dt , the present invention utilizes the following coefficient transformation : ## equ7 ## if the current step size being used by the afdu circuits is correct , ( i . e . substantially a one pixel increment ), then the afdu circuits generate coordinates corresponding to a new pixel and step forward to that pixel by calculating the following transformation : ## equ8 ## the corresponding coefficient transformation for an increment of one pixel is : ## equ9 ## returning to fig3 in order to implement the above transformations ( adjust up , adjust down , or forward step ) the pixel filter 30 sends control signals to multiplexors 32 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 56 and 70 to select an appropriate input into , respectively , adder / subtracter 45 , 58 , and 66 . these multiplexors select the appropriate transformed values for the a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, c &# 39 ; and d &# 39 ; coefficients . as stated , the values a , b , c and d are initially loaded by the cpu 9 into registers 34 , 50 , 62 and 72 . new coefficient values corresponding to the desired pixel location are updated and loaded into registers 34 , 50 , 62 and 72 at each clock cycle , thereby incrementally computing the parametric function x ( t )= a x b 3 + b x b 2 c x b 1 + d x b 0 . if the x , y and w coordinates outputted by afdu circuits 12 , 10 , and 14 correspond to a pixel location which is greater than a one pixel increment from the previously defined pixel , the coefficients of a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, c &# 39 ; and d &# 39 ; are selected as a &# 39 ;= a / 8 , b &# 39 ;= b / 4 - a / 8 , c &# 39 ;= c / 2 - b / 8 + a / 16 and d &# 39 ; = d . the 8a input to multiplexor 32 is wired with a left shift of 3 bits to give the value 8a for use in the above listed equations . similarly , the input a / 8 is right shifted three bits to obtain the value a / 8 . in general , dividing or multiplying by an integer power of two is accomplished by a hard wired right or left shift . the coefficients for an adjust down operation are obtained in two clock cycles as follows : first clock cycle , pixel filter 30 places control signals on bus 51 , which cause multiplexor 32 to select a / 8 , multiplexor 4 to select a / 8 , multiplexor 46 to select b / 4 , multiplexor 56 to select 0 , and multiplexor 54 to select c / 2 . at the end of this clock cycle , a &# 39 ;= a / 8 , b &# 39 ;= b / 4 - a / 8 , and c / 2 . at the end of this clock cycle , a &# 39 ;= a / 8 , b &# 39 ;= b / 4 - a / 8 , and c &# 39 ;= c / 2 . during the second clock cycle , pixel filter 30 places control signals on bus 51 which cause multiplexor 32 to select a , multiplexor 44 to select 0 , multiplexor 46 to select b , multiplexor 56 to select b / 2 , and multiplexor 54 to select c . at the end of this clock cycle , the result of the two clock cycle operations is a &# 39 ;= a / 8 , b &# 39 ;= b / 4 - a / 8 , c &# 39 ;= c / 2 -( b / 4 - a / 8 )/ 2 . adders / subtracters 45 and 58 , as well as adder 66 , are controlled by pixel filter 30 in order to perform addition or subtraction operations necessary for the above - described transformations . similarly , as previously discussed , when a pixel increment calculated by the x afdu circuit 12 is less than 0 . 5 of a pixel step , the coefficients a , b , c and d are transformed by : a &# 39 ;= 8a , b &# 39 ;= 4b + 4a , c &# 39 ;= 2c + b and d &# 39 ;= d . to perform these transformations , appropriate control signals from pixel filter 30 are asserted at multiplexors 32 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 56 and 70 such that the 8a , 4a , 4b , and 2c are clocked into the corresponding registers in conjunction with adder / subtracters 45 , 58 and 66 . alternatively , if the afdu circuit calculates an x increment between 0 . 5 and 1 and a y increment between 0 . 5 and 1 , then the a , b , c and d coefficients are selected by multiplexors 32 , 44 , 46 , 54 , 56 and 70 by appropriate control signals asserted by the pixel filter 30 such that register 50 is updated by b &# 39 ;= b + a , register 62 is updated by c &# 39 ;= c + b , d register 72 by d &# 39 ;= d + c and a register 34 remains unchanged . it will be appreciated that only the outputs from afdu circuits x , y , and w are used by the pixel filter to control the adjustment of all four afdu circuits since the x / w and y / w coordinates sufficiently define pixel location . in such a fashion , the afdu circuits 10 , 12 and 14 , in cooperation with the 1 / w circuit 18 , multipliers 20 , 22 , 24 and pixel filter 30 , ensure that the curves rendered are incremented in substantially one pixel increments . memory buffers 48 , 60 and 68 are used to store a sequence of the last n b , c and d values , respectively , so that the properly delayed b coordinate values associated with the pixel filter 30 control signal are used . this : is necessary because pixel filter 30 determines control decisions several clocks after the afdu generates the pixel addresses . memory buffers 48 , 60 and 68 store a sequence of values so that the b value having a delay equal to the number of clocks between the afdu and the pixel filter is used to compute b &# 39 ;. no memory buffer is necessary for register 34 since &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; does not change during a forward step afdu operation . a critical problem which typically occurs in prior art forward differencing methods for rendering curves is overflow or overloading of the registers used for storing the integer of the coefficient values of the parametric cubic function used for calculating the curve . of course , if a register used for storing a coefficient reaches capacity and overflows , accurate calculation of the parametric cubic function will become impossible . the present invention provides a unique method and apparatus for preventing such overflow from occuring , thereby ensuring continuous accurate implementation of the parametric cubic function for rendering the curve . the following is an explanation of this aspect of the present invention . in the present embodiment , registers 34 and 50 of fig3 have a capacity for storage of three - integer bits which , for purposes of convenience , will herein be labelled , respectively , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 and b 1 , b 2 and b 3 . a 1 and b 1 are the most significant integer bits . the most significant fractional bit of register 34 will herein be labeled a 4 . since register 62 accumulates , on a forward step , the contents of register 50 , it has , in the preferred embodiment , a storage capacity of more than three integer bits . the most significant integer bit of register 62 is termed herein as c 1 . registers 34 , 50 and 62 are coupled to a control circuit 92 of fig7 ( a detailed description of the operation of pixel filter 30 and control circuit 92 as shown in fig7 will later be described more fully ) within the pixel filter 30 and outputs thereto bits which indicate to the control circuit 92 that the integer storage capacity of registers 34 , 50 and / or 62 are in overflow or could possibly overflow with the next calculation . below are listed the conditions in which registers 34 and 50 send a bit ( termed herein as the &# 34 ; warning bit &# 34 ;) which instructs the control circuit 92 of the pixel filter 30 that the next adjust up will result in an overflow of the integer storage capacity of registers 34 and 50 . the pixel filter 30 , as stated , sends control signals to multiplexors 32 , 44 , 46 , 54 and 70 , which instruct each adfu circuit to adjust up , adjust down or step forward to the next pixel . when a warning bit is asserted at control circuit 92 of pixel filter 30 , pixel filter 30 instructs each afdu unit to step forward to the next pixel ( instead of adjust up ) when an adjust up is indicated by calculations made by the pixel filter 30 . adjust down and forward steps are not affected by assertion of the warning bits . instructing each afdu circuit to step forward does not cause registers 34 and 50 to overflow , since stepping forward does not require multiplication of the coefficient &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; term by 8 or multiplication of the &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; term by 4 . the afdu circuits are thus prevented from adjusting up until the curve is completed or until the warning bit is de - asserted . similarly , the bit which instructs pixel filter 30 that the integer storage capacity of registers 34 , 50 and 62 will overflow with next adjust up or forward step ( termed herein as the &# 34 ; overflow bit &# 34 ;) is asserted whenever a 1 ≠ sign bit of a ; b 1 ≠ sign bit of b or c 1 ≠ sign bit of c . when the overflow bit is asserted it instructs control circuit 92 to assert control signals to the afdu multiplexors which instruct each afdu circuit to adjust down , whether or not an adjust up or a step forward is indicated by the calculations made by the pixel filter 30 . an adjust down relieves the overflow problem in registers 34 , 50 and 62 , thereby causing de - assertion of the overflow bit . the sign bit of registers 34 , 50 and 62 is used so that the warning bit and overflow bits will be asserted if the integer portion of the number stored therein is getting too large in the positive direction or too small in the negative direction in two &# 39 ; s complement representation . it will be appreciated to on skilled in the art that registers having a storage capacity for more or less integer values may be used in place of registers 34 and 50 without departing from the concepts of the present invention herein disclosed . it will also be appreciated from the above description that a critical problem which occurs in prior art forward differencing circuits ( i . e . overflow of the curve rendering units ) is hereby avoided by the above described features of the present invention . the above - described functions of the afdu circuit pertain to the drawing of curves . fig4 shows a simplified circuit diagram of the x afdu chip 12 ( shown in fig3 ) illustrating only the components which are used for drawing vectors . fig5 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the circuitry shown in fig4 and performing the example operation of drawing an x major vector using the bresenham algorithm which is well known in the art . when the rendering of a vector is initiated , the bresenham algorithm parameters dx ( the change in x ), dy ( the change in y ), err ( the bresenham error term ), inc 1 ( a first increment ), and inc 2 ( a second increment ), which will later be discussed more fully with references to fig5 are calculated by the cpu 9 . the cpu 9 loads registers 34 , 38 , and 50 with inc 1 , inc 2 , and err respectively . the cpu 9 also loads register 72 with vector endpoint value x 0 and loads the c register 62 with the value 0 . the operation of the circuitry of fig4 in the rendering of an x - major vector in conjunction with the flow diagram of fig5 will now be explained . a conditional circuit 64 outputs a 1 bit whenever the sign bits of register 50 and 62 are the same . therefore , circuit 64 will provide a 1 input to adder 69 only when register 50 and 62 have the same sign . as stated , since register 62 is loaded with a zero at initialization time its sign is always 0 . as such , circuit 64 will output a 1 to adder 66 whenever the sign bit from register 50 is zero ( i . e ., the err is greater than zero ). when the rendering of a vector is initiated , the cpu 9 commands the pixel filter 30 to assert a control signal to the afdu circuits so that multiplexor 44 is control to the sign bit output of register 50 . when the sign bit of register 50 is 0 , multiplexor 44 then channels through the output of register 38 . when the sign bit of register 50 is 1 , multiplexor 44 selects the output of register 34 . turning now to fig5 the bresenham parameters for a vector between beginning and ending curve coordinates x 0 , y 0 and x 1 , y 1 are initialized by cpu 9 , as listed in block 160 of fig5 . the error term ( err ) is calculated by the equation err =- 1 / 2 dx + dy wherein dx = x 1 - x 0 and dy = y 1 - y 0 . in block 162 , the pixel having the current x and y coordinates ( x is stored in register 72 of fig4 and y is stored in the corresponding register of the y afdu circuit 14 ) is written on the crt display . the flow then proceeds to step 164 , wherein it is determined whether or not the err ( the value in register 50 ) is greater than 0 . if the error is greater than or equal to 0 , the sign bit of register 50 is also 0 and the flow then proceeds to step 168 wherein err is updated by adding inc to the previously calculated err . the sign bit of register 50 controls multiplexor 44 such that the inc 2 ( input at multiplexor 44 which is stored in register 38 ), is selected then clocked through adder / subtracter 45 into register 50 whenever the sign bit of register 50 is zero . in block 168 the x and y coordinates are updated in the x and y afdu circuits by adding 1 to the contents of register 72 in x afdu 1 and the corresponding register in y afdu circuit 14 . as described above , this addition is performed by adder 66 which adds the output of circuit 64 to the previous contents of register 72 only when the sign bit of register 62 is equal to the sign bit of register 50 . on the other hand , if the err is less than 0 , the flow then proceeds to step 166 , wherein the err is adjusted to be equal to the previously calculated err ( stored in register 50 ) plus inc 1 ( stored in register 34 ) and x is incremented by one . ( note : in this example operation , the y coordinate is not incremented in step 166 because the adder in the y afdu circuit 14 corresponding to adder 66 adds the output of circuit 64 ( which is 0 ) to the contents of the register in y afdu circuit 14 corresponding to register 72 .) inc 2 , which is stored in register 38 , is selected by multiplexor 44 and added to the contents of register 50 by adder 45 whenever the err is greater or equal to 0 . when the sign bit of register 50 is positive , adder 66 adds the output of circuit 64 to the contents of register 72 and clocks it through multiplexor 70 into register 72 . the flow completes at step 170 when x is greater than x 1 . in view of the above discussion , it will therefore be appreciated that , when drawing vectors , the afdu circuit provides a unique method for accurately implementing the bresenham algorithm , which algorithm is well known in the art . it should also be appreciated in view of the above discussion that with appropriate initialization , the afdu circuit may also implement the well known generalized version of the bresenham algorithm which calculates the closest pixel to a ideal line in between the beginning and ending points , yet generates only one pixel location x , y for each unit increment in y . these generalized versions of the bresenham algorithm are widely used for incrementally stepping along the edge of a polygon in scanline order and in anti - aliasing vector techniques . ( see dan field , &# 34 ; incremental linear interpolation ,&# 34 ; acm transactions on graphics , vol . 4 , no . 1 , january 1985 ; akira fujimoto and ko iwata , &# 34 ; jag free images on a raster crt ,&# 34 ; computer graphics theory and applications , edited by tosiyasu kunii , published by springer verlag , 1983 .) in fig7 there is shown an exploded view of the pixel filter 30 of fig1 . it is important to note that when drawing vectors , the pixel filter 30 transfers control of the afdu circuits to perform the bresenham algorithm , as previously described with reference to fig4 . in this case the 1 / w circuit 18 and the w afdu 10 are not used . however , when drawing curves , pixel filter 30 controls the x y , z and w afdu circuits 10 , 12 , 14 and 16 as previously described with respect to fig3 to perform adjustments and forward steps . registers 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 and 106 of fig7 store coordinate values x n to x n + 4 which are supplied thereto by x afdu circuit 12 and multiplier 20 ) ( of fig1 ) in five consecutive previous clock cycles . similarly , y registers 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 and 124 store y values y n to y n + 4 . likewise , register 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 and 138 store z value z n to z n + 4 . registers 148 , 149 , 152 , 154 and 158 , as well as adder 156 , and comparator 144 , also operate in conjunction with the afore - described components , as will later be discussed . register 102 - 106 store , sequentially , each x coordinate supplied thereto by the x afdu circuit 12 such that x n + 4 is the most recently calculated coordinate . at each clock cycle comparator 94 compares the value x n + 3 in register 105 with x n + 4 in register 106 , and comparator 112 compares the value y n + 3 in register 123 with y n + 4 in register 124 . if the absolute value of x n + 4 - x n + 3 and the absolute value of y n + 4 - y n + 3 are both less than 0 . 5 of a single pixel increment , the controller 92 sends a control signal to all four afdu circuits instructing the same to increase the step size ( adjust up ) as previously described with respect to fig1 and 3 . if the absolute value of x n + 4 - x n + 3 is greater than 1 or the absolute value of y n + 4 - y n + 3 is greater than 1 , the controller then asserts a control signal at all four afdu circuits which instruct the same to decrease the step size ( adjust down ), also as previously described with reference to fig1 and 3 . values z n + 4 and z n + 3 stored in registers 138 and 137 are not used to determine whether or not the step size should be adjusted upwardly or downwardly because the x and y coordinates sufficiently define a pixel location on a crt display . however , registers 138 and 137 function as delay buffers so that values z n + 2 , z n + 1 and z n ( which are stored , respectively , in registers 136 - 134 ) will correspond to the values of y n + 2 , y n + 1 and y n ( stored in , respectively , 122 , 121 , and 120 ) and to the values of x n + 2 , x n + 1 and x n ( stored in registers 104 , 103 and 102 ). alternatively , if the absolute value of x n + 4 - x n + 3 and the absolute value of y n + 4 - y n + 3 are both between 0 . 5 and 1 . 0 pixel units , then the comparators 94 and 112 instruct control circuit 92 to instruct all four afdu circuits to perform a forward step operation as previously described . it is important to note that all four afdu circuits 10 , 12 , 14 and 16 of fig1 are adjusted upwardly , downwardly , or forwardly in synchronicity by pixel filter 30 . elimination of redundant pixels in a displayed image will now be described . comparator 96 compares the value x n + 2 which is stored in register 104 , with the x n + 1 value stored in register 103 . comparator 114 compares the value y n + 2 in register 122 with the value y n + 1 in register 121 . if x n + 2 = x n + 1 and y n + 2 = y n + 1 , comparators 96 and 114 assert signals at control circuit 92 which , in turn , output an invalid pixel bit to paint section 150 , such that paint section 150 invalidates the modifications corresponding to the pixel having the coordinates corresponding to x n + 1 and y n + 1 . elimination of &# 34 ; elbows &# 34 ; ( see fig6 and 6a ) in a displayed image will now be disclosed . comparator 96 compares the integer part of the value x n + 2 in register 104 with the integer part of the value x n in register 102 and the comparator 114 compares the integer part of the value y n + 2 in register 122 with the integer part of the value y n in register 120 . if the absolute value of x n + 2 - x n is equal to 1 and the absolute value of y n + 2 - y n is equal to 1 then comparators 96 and 114 assert signals at control circuit 92 , which , in turn , outputs an invalid pixel bit to paint section 150 , such that paint section 150 will not paint the pixel whose coordinates correspond to x n + 1 and y n + 1 . defining a clipping region in the displayed screen will now be described . preloaded into registers 100 , 118 , 132 and 146 are , respectively , x minimum and x maximum values , y minimum and y maximum values , z minimum and z maximum values and t minimum and t maximum values . comparator 98 is coupled to register 103 and compares the value x n + 1 with x maximum and x minimum . if x n + 1 is not within x minimum and x maximum value , comparator 98 asserts a control signal to control circuit 92 , which , in turn , instructs paint section 150 to invalidate the modifications corresponding to the pixel defined by the coordinate x n + 1 , y n + 1 , z n + 1 , t n + 1 which pixel is outside of the window defined by x min and x max values stored in register 100 . the same actions occur with respect to y minimum and maximum register 118 , z minimum and z maximum register 132 and t minimum and maximum register 146 . accordingly , if y n + 1 , which is stored in register 121 , is less than the y minimum value or greater than the y maximum value stored in register 118 , comparator 116 initiates a control signal to control circuit 92 , which ultimately instructs the paint section 150 not to paint the pixel ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 , z n + 1 , t n + 1 ). similarly , if z n + 1 , which is stored in register 135 , is less than a z minimum value or greater than the z maximum value stored in register 132 , a comparator 130 asserts a control signal at control circuit 92 , which in turn instructs the paint section 150 not to paint the pixel ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 , z n + 1 , t n + 1 ). finally , if t n + 1 , which is stored in register 150 , is less than t minimum or greater than t maximum stored in register 146 , comparator 144 asserts a signal at control circuit 92 , which in turn instructs paint section 150 not to paint the pixel ( x n + 1 , y n + 1 , z n + 1 , t n + 1 ). the minimum and maximum values stored in registers 100 , 118 , 132 and 146 are preloaded by cpu 9 in order to define a desired &# 34 ; window &# 34 ; or clipping region on the display screen . a pre - computed value dt which corresponds to the a , b , c , and d parameters of the curve being rendered ( which are stored in register 34 , 50 , 62 and 72 ) is calculated by the cpu 9 at initialization time and loaded into register 158 . t is given a value equal to 0 at initialization time . since dt represents the parameter step size , it must be adjusted upwardly or downwardly in order to coincide with the adjustments to the x , y , z and w afdu circuits which were previously described with reference to fig1 and 3 . accordingly , dt is shifted one bit to the left to obtain 2dt at multiplexor 153 when an adjust up is required in order to correspond dt to an adjust up in the afdu circuits . similarly , dt is shifted one bit to the right in order to obtain dt / 2 at multiplexor 153 . 2dt or dt / 2 are selected by appropriate control signals asserted by control circuit 92 at multiplexor 153 in order to correspond dt to the adjustments made to the x , y , z and w afdu circuits . the value of dt is outputted to adder 156 which adds t thereto and stores the results thereof in register 154 . the output register 154 is delayed several clock cycles in delay register 152 so that t n + 1 and t n which are stored respectively , in registers 159 and 148 coincide in time with values x n + 1 , and y n + 1 , y n , z n + 1 , and z n so that the value t n = 1 will be an appropriate value for comparator 144 to compare against values t min and t max . it will be appreciated that the above - described invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency are , therefore , intended to be embraced therein .	6
the present invention is of surgical systems and methods of use thereof which can be used to increase blood flow in a lumen of a blood vessel in a way which minimizes the risk of damage to surrounding portions of the vessel wall . specifically , the present invention can be used to provide improved computerized control for operation of atherectomy instruments which results in improved methods for intravascular surgery . the principles and operation of methods and systems according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawings and accompanying descriptions . before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . ario combines two main operational features . first , ario is able to rotate a working head at a very low speed of rotation ( less than 100 rpm ) and at high cutting moment . this is in contrast to previously known devices such as atherocath ™ and the rotablator ™ that rotate at speeds of 190 , 000 , and 2 , 000 rpm respectively . second , ario &# 39 ; s working head is not forced through the lesion prior to operation , but is rather slowly advanced by small increments while cutting the plaque . this prevents stretching the vessel and resultant damage . as a result of these features , minimal trauma to the artery is incurred . this is of utmost importance as medical research has shown that the rate of restenosis is proportional to the trauma caused to the vessel during the angioplasty procedure . thus , the present invention includes several improvements and additions with respect to my own u . s . pat . no . 5 , 350 , 590 . the main improvements and additions are : 1 ) incorporation of a non - crossing the lesion imaging guidewire . 2 ) incorporation of positioning balloons . 3 ) replacing of the hydraulic power by a pushable shaft in the manner described in my u . s . pat . no . 5 , 806 , 404 , fig5 . 4 ) alternative working head that has a cone shape , 5 ) the pins that protrude in the closed wave - shaped groove are replaced by balls . 6 ) alternative construction of the closed wave - shaped groove . for purposes of this specification and the accompanying claims , the phrase “ working head ” should be construed in its broadest possible sense . thus a working head may include , but is not limited to , a rotary cutting nose cone , an abrasive nose cone , a laser energy delivering device , an ultrasound energy delivering device , a heat delivering device , a blunt dissection device or a blunt abrasive device . the structural interrelations between the working head and the catheter may vary depending on the nature of the working head , so long as effective guidance of the working head to establish a path across the occlusion during its intermittent operation is achievable . it is expected that during the life of this patent many relevant minimally invasive medical imaging techniques that can generate a cross - sectional view of the blood vessel will be developed and the scope of the terms “ image ” and “ imaging ” is intended to include all such new technologies a priori . the ario device comprises three main units : the distal unit , the proximal unit , and two tubes that connect the distal and the proximal units . ario is operated by an actuator that is controlled by a controller / computer unit ( cpu ). there are two additional components that are needed for ario &# 39 ; s operation : the first is a vacuum pump for removing atheroma debris and blood clots and the second is a therapeutic liquid infusion pump . these components are commercially available and one of ordinary skill in the art will readily be able to incorporate the commercially available pumps into the context of the present invention . referring now to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a longitudinal sectional view of the distal unit of ario . it is shown a blood vessel ( 21 ) that has atheroma ( 22 ). a pushable shaft ( 1 ) moves back and forth , forcing the piston ( 2 ) to reciprocate longitudinally in a cylinder ( 12 ). balls ( 3 ) located in a closed wave - shaped groove ( 4 ) are held in place by holder ( 10 ), and force piston ( 2 ) to rotate . the connection of the pushable shaft ( 1 ) to the piston ( 2 ) is via a bearing adapter ( 11 ) and spherical plain bearing ( 5 ). spherical plain bearing ( 5 ) decouples the pushable shaft ( 1 ) from the rotation movement of the piston ( 2 ), i . e ., the pushable shaft ( 1 ) is not rotating during the operation . a working head ( 6 ) is fixedly attached to the piston ( 2 ) thus performing a combined longitudinal and unidirectional rotational motion . the pushable shaft ( 1 ) is a flexible tube with enough axial stiffness to push and pull piston ( 2 ). pushable shaft ( 1 ) is located within torque tube ( 13 ). flexible tube ( 13 ) has enough torsion stiffness to counter the moment created by the working head ( 6 ). the outside diameter of pushable shaft ( 1 ) is ptfe coated in order to decrease friction between it and torque tube ( 13 ). the working head ( 6 ) contains several sharp edge openings ( 7 ) through which the excised atheroma is forced into the cavity ( 8 ). the debris is then removed from the blood vessel by suction of a vacuum pump via the plenum ( 9 ). torque tube ( 13 ) is connected to cylinder ( 12 ). three positioning balloons ( 14 ) are mounted on the outer circumference of torque tube ( 13 ). lumens ( 15 ) in the circumference of the torque tube ( 13 ) enable inflating / deflating the three positioning balloons ( 14 ). the role of the positioning balloons will be explained in details in fig3 and fig7 to fig9 . ario accommodates a non - crossing the lesion imaging guidewire ( 16 ). like a standard guidewire it has a body in the form of an elongated flexible tubular member . the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) has a proximal end and a distal end . although imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is shown in the drawings to be straight along the catheter , when the imaging guidewire is outside the catheter its distal end resembles a standard guide wire ( i . e ., its distal tip is bent to allow for steerability ). the preferred imaging method used in this embodiment is optical coherence tomography ( oct ). oct uses infra red light waves that reflect back from the vessel wall to produce a real time computer processed images cross section . oct in conjunction with appropriate software can produce a 3 dimensional image of the blood vessel . the resolution of the images can reach 10 microns . the distal end of imaging guidewire ( 16 ) comprises a folding mirror ( 17 ) that is optically coupled to a grin lens ( 18 ), and a preformed curved tip transparent to light energy ( 20 ) that encapsulates the folding mirror ( 17 ). in some embodiments of the invention the folding mirror ( 17 ) and the grin lens ( 18 ) protrude in front of the working head . in the preferred embodiment , shown in fig1 , only folding mirror ( 17 ) protrudes in front of the working head . this design minimizes the trauma to the blood vessel . it is an important feature of the present invention that the angle between folding mirror ( 17 ) and the catheter axis may vary , thus enabling the image to be taken at cross sections distally or proximally to the folding mirror ( 17 ). in the arrangement shown in fig1 the angle is 45 degrees and therefore the image is taken at the section of the folding mirror ( 17 ). an optical fiber ( 19 ) is optically coupled to the grin lens ( 18 ). the optical fiber ( 19 ) extends , via a central lumen , all over the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) up to the proximal end where it is coupled to an optical connector ( not shown in drawing ). for understanding the function of these elements the reader is referred to u . s . pat . no . 6 , 445 , 939 to swanson . in order to get an image of the circumference of the blood vessel wall ( 21 ) the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is rotated . the number of revolutions of the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is dictated by technical requirements e . g ., whether video or still images are required . it is preferable that surface ( 27 ) of the working head ( 6 ), where the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) slides , will be teflon coated . it is to be noted that while the image is taken , the catheter is held in place by the positioning balloons ( 14 ). this fact results in a better image . it is clear that in order to accurately radially position the catheter in the lumen by inflating / deflating the balloons ( 14 ) the physician must know the relative orientation between the folding mirror ( 17 ) and the balloons . this can be done either mechanically or by software . for mechanical orientation the proximal end of the imaging guidewire has a mechanical key ( 66 ), shown in fig1 . the mechanical key ( 66 ) can be of various designs e . g ., it may have a “ d ” shape . whatever the shape of “ key ” 66 , its function is to assure that when the imaging guidewire is located inside the catheter there is a fixed orientation between the folding mirror and the balloons . alternatively , orientation may be accomplished by software . in this case the orientation of the folding mirror ( 17 ) in regard to balloons ( 14 ) is arbitrary . the balloons are inflated sequentially . following each inflation , a cross sectional image of the lumen is taken . by comparing the images the orientation of the folding mirror to the balloons can be calculated . the rotation of the imaging guidewire inside the catheter can be exploited to facilitate the movement of the atheroma debris towards the proximal end . this is in addition to the vacuum force exerted on the debris . this goal may be achieved , for example , by incorporating an archimedes screw into the design of the imaging guidewire . archimedes screw ( 67 ) is shown in fig1 and also in fig1 . archimedes screw may extend along the imaging guidewire or only at a small part of the imaging guidewire . in fig1 it is shown a screw that extends from working head ( 6 ) to the bearing adapter ( 11 ). screw ( 67 ) expedites movement of plaque debris removed by working head ( 6 ) in plenum ( 9 ) that is narrow . alternatively the imaging method can be any of the minimally invasive modalities mentioned above e . g ., ultrasound . ultrasound produces images from back - scattered sounds of the vessel wall . the general outer shape of the imaging guidewire will be the same as for oct , while the inner parts will be different . for understanding the operation of an ultrasound imaging guidewire the reader is referred to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 095 , 911 to pomeranz . it is important to stress that the requirement that the imaging guidewire rotates along its axis is not mandatory . imaging guidewires that can produce an image without rotation are known , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 947 , 905 to hadjicostis which describes an ultrasound transducer where the signals are received from an array of sensors located all around the circumference of the imaging guidewire . fig2 is a development into a plane view of the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ). the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ) comprises three types of sections . a positive slopped section ( 4 a ), a negative sloped section ( 4 b ) and a parallel to catheter axis section ( 4 c ). the end points of the positive slopped section ( 4 a ) are located distally to the end points of the negative sloped section ( 4 b ), at a distance that is the length of the parallel to catheter axis section ( 4 c ). the parallel to axis section ( 4 c ) is connecting the end points of the two sloped sections ( 4 a and 4 b ). it is the aim of the following discussion to show that the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ) transforms a reciprocating motion of piston ( 2 ) into a combined reciprocating and uni - directional motion of piston ( 2 ). lets start with an arbitrary position of ball ( 3 ) in the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ). it is important to understand that the ball ( 3 ) is fixed in the catheter while closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ) slides over it . when distal piston ( 2 ) is pulled proximally it also performs a clock - wise rotation when viewed from proximal end . this motion continuous until end point ( 4 a - 1 ) reaches the center of the ball ( 3 ). then if the longitudinal motion of piston ( 2 ) is changed i . e , it is pushed distally , end point ( 4 b - 1 ) will reach the center of ball ( 3 ). this part does not result in rotation of piston ( 2 ). however , if piston ( 2 ) continues to be pushed distally the negative sloped section ( 4 b ) will slide over ball ( 3 ) causing piston ( 2 ) also to perform a clock - wise rotation when viewed from proximal end . this motion will continue until end point ( 4 b - 2 ) reaches the center of ball ( 3 ). the above discussion can be repeated for other apexes of the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ). thus , it was shown that the closed wave shaped groove ( 4 ) transforms a reciprocating motion of piston ( 3 ) into a combined reciprocating and uni - directional rotational motion of piston ( 3 ). in order to cause piston ( 2 ) to rotate in the opposite direction , ( i . e . counter - clock - wise rotation , when viewed from proximal end ), the end points of the positive slopped section ( 4 a ) must be located proximally to the end points of the negative sloped section ( 4 b ), at a distance that is the length of the parallel to catheter axis section ( 4 c ). the stroke of the closed wave - shaped groove can vary . for example , in the device shown in fig1 , which is a scaled drawing of ario 2 . 3 mm (= 7 f ) the stroke is 2 mm . fig3 shows the operation of the positioning balloons ( 14 ). the position of the catheter is a resultant of the forces applied by the three positioning balloons ( 14 ) on the lumen &# 39 ; s wall . if the balloons are inflated by unequal pressures the catheter will move off axis . in the drawing positioning balloon ( 14 a ) is inflated more then positioning balloons ( 14 b ) and ( 14 c ). therefore , the catheter will move downwards . positioning balloons ( 14 a - c ) can be replaced by other positioning elements such as mechanical arms that are located on the outer circumference of the catheter and are pushed during deployment against the lumen &# 39 ; s wall . also , are shown the lumens ( 15 ) one for each of the positioning balloons ( 14 ). an additional therapeutic lumen ( 26 ) is used for injection of therapeutic liquid to the area of the excised atheroma . the therapeutic lumen may also serve additional purposes . for example , it has been observed that there is a substantial attenuation in the imaging signal resulting from the presence of blood . in order to overcome this problem injection of saline at the place of imaging is required . the therapeutic lumen can serve this purpose . alternatively , the saline can be injected via an additional lumen or via the imaging guidewire itself . it is to be noted that the three positioning balloons ( 14 ) are connected to a control system ( located outside the patient &# 39 ; s body ) that measures and regulates the pressure in each of the positioning balloons ( 14 ). the control system assures that the pressure in any of the positioning balloons ( 14 ) will not rise above a predetermined threshold pressure ( e . g ., 4 atmospheres ). this is an important feature as it eliminates stressing of the vessel walls . balloons can be manufactured from different materials ( pet , latex , silicon etc .). it is preferred to use low pressure elastomeric balloons , typically made of latex or silicone that stretch 100 - 600 % when pressure is applied , and return to their original size when pressure is released . an additional embodiment comprises a single positioning balloon 14 . in this case the catheter will always be positioned on the longitudinal axis of the lumen . however , this embodiment limits the operation of ario . a disadvantage of using one positioning balloon is that blood cannot flow in the artery when the balloon is inflated , thus causing pain to the patient . in the case of three or more balloons , blood can always flow via the gaps between the balloons . fig7 to 9 show the operational advantages of using multiple positioning balloons ( 14 ). fig4 a , 4 b and 4 c show the cone shaped working head ( 6 ). it can have one or more openings ( 7 ) with sharp edges ( 25 ). the pictured embodiment shows five openings ( 7 ). it is the goal of this design to have a cutter that is safely inserted in the blood vessel in spite of having very sharp edges . openings ( 7 ) are very narrow , so that debris of the excised atheroma that enters cavity ( 8 ; see fig1 ) cannot go outside of working head ( 6 ) into the blood vessel . the opening ( 7 ) is manufactured with a cutter ( e . g ., laser cutter ). sharp edges ( 25 ) are created if the cutter is positioned so that it cuts perpendicular to a plane passing through the cutter ( 6 ) axis and the cutting pass ( 7 a ) is parallel to the contour line of the cone . when looking on the working head ( 6 ) axially towards the proximal direction , the sharp edges ( 25 ) are not seen . this means that if the working head ( 6 ) comes in contact with the vessel &# 39 ; s wall , the wall touches a smooth surface , rather than the sharp edges . this permits safe insertion of the device into the blood vessel . the cutting of the atheroma is possible only when working head ( 6 ) rotates . fig5 shows an imaging guidewire ( 16 ) that has the same diameter ( e . g ., 350 microns ) along its entire length . this small diameter guidewire includes a small diameter lens ( 18 ), as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 445 , 939 to swanson . this construction allows only a small part of the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) to protrude in front of working head ( 6 ). this minimizes the trauma to the blood vessel . the part that protrudes includes folding mirror ( 17 ) that is located in preformed curved tip transparent to light energy ( 20 ). also are shown lens ( 18 ) and optical fiber ( 19 ). imaging guidewire ( 16 ) rotates on a sliding surface ( 27 ). a ring ( 28 ) is fixed to distal end of imaging guidewire ( 16 ), thus preventing imaging guidewire ( 16 ) from being pulled back beyond sliding surface ( 27 ). fig6 shows an alternative embodiment of the working head ( 6 ). the working head ( 6 ) has opening ( 7 ) on its distal surface . the distal end of imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is substantially bigger then its other parts . in order to reduce the part of the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) that extends in front of working head ( 6 ) a recess ( 29 ) is done in the front face of working head ( 6 ). this construction minimizes the trauma to the blood vessel . the part that protrudes out of working head ( 6 ) front face includes only folding mirror ( 17 ) that is located in preformed curved tip transparent to light energy ( 20 ). imaging guidewire ( 16 ) rotates on a sliding surface ( 27 ). also are shown lens ( 18 ) and optical fiber ( 19 ). this embodiment has advantages when used for clearing total occlusions ( 22 ). fig7 shows the struts of a stent ( 30 ) that is deployed off blood vessel axis . this phenomenon can happen either during the deployment of the stent or subsequently . in order to excise the in - stent restenosis ( 31 ), without damaging the stent ( 30 ), the catheter ( 32 ) must be positioned on the stent axis rather then on the blood vessel axis . the radial positioning is achieved by positioning balloons ( 14 ). fig8 shows a catheter ( 32 ) that has a diameter that is significantly smaller than the diameter of the blood vessel . in minimally invasive procedures it is preferred to use a small diameter catheter ( e . g ., no more then 2 . 3 mm = 7 f ), so that only a small incision in the groin is needed to introduce the catheter ( 32 ). nonetheless , this small diameter catheter ( 32 ) must remove the atheroma that may completely traverse the cross section of the blood vessel ( 21 ). the positioning balloons enable the physician to move the catheter radially all over the cross section of the blood vessel . the physician can define an imaginary border line ( 33 ) in which he wants the atheroma to be removed . the border line ( 33 ) diameter is smaller then the inside diameter of the blood vessel ( 21 ), thus reducing the risk of blood vessel perforation . it is clear , from geometric considerations , that initial atheroma ( 22 ) can never be totally removed in this procedure . two sequential positions of the catheter ( 32 ) and ( 32 a ) are shown in the drawing . some protrusion of atheroma ( 22 a ) will always be left . the protrusion ( 22 a ) can be defined by its height , as shown in the drawing . in order to make the protrusion height smaller , and thus making the inner surface of blood vessel ( 21 ) smoother , more sequential catheter positioning with closer distances between their centers must be done . the sequential radial positioning of the catheter can be done either manually or automatically . fig9 shows how positioning balloons 14 are used to remove atheroma ( 22 ) at bifurcation . in this case the positioning balloons are used to position the catheter ( 32 ) not only off axis but also at an angle to the axis of the blood vessel ( 21 ). this can be done if an additional array of 3 positioning balloons ( 14 d , 14 e , 14 f ) ( 14 f is not shown in drawing ) is added along the catheter ( 32 ). if positioning balloon ( 14 a ) is inflated more than positioning balloon ( 14 d ), catheter ( 32 ) will be forced to move towards the atheroma ( 22 ). although my u . s . pat . no . 5 , 697 , 459 shows a similar arrangement of 6 balloons , their main purpose is to enable the drill to be self propelled . therefore , that earlier work depicts 3 balloons located on the device body and 3 other balloons located on the working head . according to the present invention ( ario ) all the positioning balloons are all located on the catheter body . fig1 shows the proximal end of ario . the distal end of ario is shown for reference only . it shows a proximal piston ( 35 ) that moves back and forth in a proximal cylinder ( 36 ). the stroke of this movement corresponds to stroke of the closed wave - shaped groove ( 4 ) shown in fig1 and 2 . the velocity of proximal piston ( 35 ) can be very low . in the preferred embodiment it is 1 mm / sec . this velocity is transformed at the distal end of ario to 15 rpm of the working head ( 6 ). proximal cylinder ( 36 ) is fixedly attached to torque tube ( 13 ). an infusion connector ( 37 ) is mounted on proximal cylinder ( 36 ). infusion connector ( 37 ) is opened to therapeutic lumen ( 26 ; see fig3 ). an infusion pump is connected to the infusion connector ( 37 ) to deliver therapeutic liquid , via therapeutic lumen ( 26 ; see fig3 ), to the site of the atheroma . infusion pumps suited for use in the context of the present invention are commercially available . one of ordinary skill in the art will be easily able to incorporate such a commercially available device into the present invention . three balloon connectors ( 38 ) ( for clarity only one is shown ) are connected to proximal cylinder ( 36 ). balloon connectors ( 38 ) are opened to balloon lumen ( 15 ; see fig3 ). proximal cylinder ( 36 ) includes a groove ( 39 ) on its circumference . groove ( 39 ) is used to mount proximal cylinder ( 36 ) on ario actuator ( it is explained in fig1 and fig1 ). proximal piston ( 35 ) is fixedly attached to pushable shaft ( 1 ). a vacuum connector ( 40 ) is mounted on proximal piston ( 35 ). vacuum connector ( 40 ) is opened to passage ( 41 ), that is connected to plenum ( 9 ) shown in fig1 . a vacuum pump ( not shown here ) is connected to vacuum connector ( 40 ) for aspirating the atheroma debris via passage ( 41 ) and plenum ( 9 ) ( see fig1 ). proximal piston ( 35 ) includes a groove ( 42 ) on its circumference . groove ( 42 ) is used to mount proximal piston ( 35 ) on ario actuator . ( it is explained in fig1 and fig1 ). an imaging guidewire nut ( 43 ) is attached to the proximal end of proximal piston ( 35 ). fig1 is an enlargement of detail 11 shown in fig1 . imaging guidewire nut ( 43 ) has a central passage ( 44 ) through which imaging guidewire ( 16 ) passes . when imaging guidewire nut ( 43 ) is tightened it squeezes on an o - ring ( 45 ) thus keeping the proximal piston passage ( 41 ) vacuum tight . o - ring ( 45 ) allows imaging guidewire ( 16 ) to rotate , while keeping the vacuum tight . the rotation of imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is needed for the imaging process . fig1 and 13 describe ario &# 39 ; s actuator . fig1 is a side view of the actuator and fig1 is a top view of the actuator . a base ( 48 ) is fixed to the patient bed . a linear slide ( 49 ) is attached to an advancement linear actuator ( 50 ). both are mounted on base ( 48 ). they serve for advancing ario in the blood vessel . the advancement is incremental with a movement that is preferably less then the stroke of the closed wave - shaped groove ( 4 ) ( see fig2 ). a bracket ( 51 ) is mounted on top of linear slide ( 49 ). groove ( 39 ) of proximal cylinder ( 36 ) ( see fig1 ) fits into bracket ( 51 ) and secured in place by clamp ( 52 ). linear slide ( 54 ) is attached to a reciprocating linear actuator ( 55 ). both are mounted on bracket ( 51 ). an adapter ( 60 ) is mounted on top of linear slide ( 54 ). groove ( 42 ) of proximal piston ( 35 ) ( see fig1 ) fits into adapter ( 60 ) and secured in place by clamp ( 53 ). back and forth motion of reciprocating linear actuator ( 55 ) causes reciprocation of proximal piston ( 35 ) and pushable shaft ( 1 ) and eventually results in longitudinal and rotational movement of working head ( 6 ) ( see fig1 ). fig1 also depicts a balloon inflating / deflating system . it comprises a syringe pump ( 56 ) that is connected to balloon connector ( 38 ) ( see fig1 ). syringe pump ( 56 ) is operated by balloon linear actuator ( 58 ). a pressure transducer ( 57 ) measures the pressure in syringe pump ( 56 ). this pressure is monitored by a controller / computer unit ( see fig1 and explanation hereinbelow ). for clarity , only one balloon inflating / deflating system is shown , but the actual system may , for example , contain three or six balloons which are independently regulated . ario &# 39 ; s actuator comprises also an imaging guidewire motor ( 59 ). the imaging guidewire ( 16 ) is secured to motor ( 59 ). in order to take a circumferential scan of the artery the imaging guidewire must rotate . this is done by imaging guidewire motor ( 59 ). the signals of the scanning are sent to the computer via optical fiber ( 19 ). fig1 is a schematic drawing of ario &# 39 ; s control system . it comprises a controller / computer unit ( 63 ) and a display ( 64 ). the controller / computer unit ( 63 ) governs all the functions of the system . the inputs to the controller / computer unit are : a ) balloon pressure b ) imaging data c ) physician inputs : advancement velocity , reciprocation velocity , maximum balloon pressure , balloon positioning , cutting border line ( 33 ) ( see fig8 ). the outputs from the controller / computer unit ( 63 ) are directed to : a ) advancement linear actuator ( 50 ); b ) reciprocating linear actuator ( 55 ); c ) imaging guidewire motor ( 59 ); d ) balloon linear actuator ( 58 ) and e ) processed optical image of the blood vessel to the display . the controller / computer unit ( 63 ) controls the movement of balloon linear actuator ( 58 ) in such a way that while one of the positioning balloons ( 14 ) moves in a desired direction , the pressure in the other positioning balloons does not exceed a predetermined threshold pressure ( e . g ., 4 atmospheres ). during the operation the physician sees a real time cross sectional images of the blood vessel . it is clear that the computer can construct a 3 dimensional image from the cross sections . the physician can see the atheroma in 3 dimensional image before and after operation . he can find out how much volume of atheroma was removed , calculate the surface roughness after the operation etc . the operation of ario can be done automatically from the step that ario is positioned proximally to the lesion . however , the physician can always take control of the operation . physician control may be either by direct physical manipulation of components of the system , or via input to the cpu . the system further includes safety provisions , e . g ., the electrical current of the advancement linear actuator ( 50 ) is limited so that no excessive force is applied on the blood vessel during advancement . the same applies to reciprocating linear actuator ( 55 ), so that the moment applied by working head is limited etc . the physician will be notified visually and / or audibly of any problem in the system . fig1 illustrates clearly an imaging guidewire ( 16 ) with a mechanical key ( 66 ) and archimedes screw ( 67 ). these features are illustrated within catheter ( 32 ) in fig1 , described hereinabove . it is appreciated that certain features of the invention , which are , for clarity , described in the context of separate embodiments , may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features of the invention , which are , for brevity , described in the context of a single embodiment , may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . all publications , patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated in their entirety by reference into the specification , to the same extent as if each individual publication , patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference . in addition , citation or identification of any reference in this application shall not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention .	0
fig1 , 2 show a sand trap 1 with a rectangular base area , sand trap 1 consists of a basin 2 with an inlet 4 and an outlet 6 for wastewater flowing through sand trap 1 . basin 2 can be manufactured from concrete , metal or plastic . basin 2 is filled with wastewater up to a certain water level 8 . basin 2 has vertical front walls 10 , 12 and side walls 14 , 16 as well as oblique bottom areas 18 , 20 inclined to a drain 22 so that sand settling in sand trap 1 slides into drain 22 . a worm conveyor 24 is arranged in drain 22 , is driven by a motor 26 and pushes the separated sand to a sump 28 . the sand is discharged from sump 28 by a pump 30 and usually delivered to a sand classifier or sand washer ( not shown ). pump 30 can be a rotary pump or also an air - lift pump ( a compressed - air lift pump ). represented sand trap 1 , a long sand trap in this exemplary embodiment , is aerated . air is supplied from a blower ( not shown ) via a pressure line 32 to a diffusion pipe 34 arranged horizontally in the vicinity of side wall 14 , which pipe is provided with holes 36 through which the air is forced into the wastewater . the forced - in air rises in the wastewater in the form of air bubbles 38 to water level 8 and produces a strong convection flow above diffusion pipe 34 that is directed upward , parallel to side wall 14 . in the vicinity of the opposite side wall 16 , the wastewater flows down and back to diffusion pipe 34 . thus , the aeration produces an approximately vortex - like flow in sand trap 1 indicated in the figures by arrows . the flow over bottom areas 18 , 20 is so strong that organic solids with a low density such as feces are swirled upward but on the other hand mineral substances with a high density remain lying on bottom areas 18 , 20 . the wastewater flows downward above the slightly inclined bottom surface 20 and pushes sand deposited on it to drain 22 . this avoids organic bottom deposits , and the wastewater is thoroughly mixed , so that even chemicals can be mixed better into the wastewater . in addition , precipitations or flocculations are accelerated , as a result of which an improved wastewater purification can take place . a separating wall 40 separates a fat catch chamber 42 from sand trap 1 . separating wall 40 customarily comprises perforations ( not shown ) through which floating substances such as fats and oils pass into fat catch chamber 42 screened from the flow , rise up in it and form a floating layer 44 on water level 8 . floating layer 44 is pushed by a removal shield ( not shown ) along fat catch chamber 42 to a funnel from which it can be discharged by a pump 30 . in the exemplary embodiment , a heat exchanger 46 with an outer surface 48 contacted by the wastewater is arranged in sand trap 1 below water level 8 and above diffuser pipe 34 and in the vicinity of side wall 14 in such a manner that the air bubbles 38 rise together with the flow produced in the wastewater along outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 and contribute to the cleaning of outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 . however , heat exchanger 46 could also be arranged in the vicinity of the opposite side wall 16 or separating wall 40 or also above bottom surface 20 , so that the wastewater flows down there on outer surface 48 . in the exemplary embodiment , heat exchanger 46 consists of a series of pipes 50 arranged in parallel between which there are intermediate spaces 52 . however , heat exchanger 46 can also alternatively consist of other hollow profiles such as , for example , square profiles . it is also possible to arrange hollow profiles horizontally or vertically and without intermediate spaces 52 . heat exchanger 46 comprises an inlet pipe 56 and an outlet pipe 54 for fluid flowing on the inside through heat exchanger 46 and its pipes 50 forming a long flow conduit 220 . pipes 50 are connected to each other on their ends by pipe turns 58 in such a manner that the fluid flows in opposite directions in adjacent pipes 50 . this brings it about in the first place that flow conduit 220 through pipes 50 is as long as possible and has a large outer surface 48 . in the second place , it is achieved that the fluid flows rapidly and therefore turbulently through heat changer 46 and successively through pipes 50 even in the case of a small flow rate so that the alpha value on the fluid side is high . in the third place , this makes it possible that heat exchanger 46 is short and compact in spite of a large outer surface 48 . fig3 shows a round sand trap 100 with a vertical axis 102 , a circular basin 2 , a circumferential wall 104 , a bottom 106 , an inlet conduit 108 and an outlet conduit 110 . inlet conduit 108 and outlet conduit 110 empty substantially tangentially into basin 2 , so that a rotating flow is produced in it , and the pressure loss during the passing of wastewater through round sand trap 100 remains low . a collection chamber 112 is arranged underneath basin 2 for separated sand . collection chamber 112 is separated by a bottom plate 114 from basin 2 and comprises a sump 28 from which an axial standpipe 116 runs , through which the separated sand is vertically drawn out of sump 28 by a pump apparatus or a compressed - air lift pump ( not shown ) and supplied through a line 118 to a sand classifier or sand washer ( also not shown ). a rotating hollow shaft 120 on which propeller - like vanes 122 are attached is coaxially arranged around standpipe 116 . hollow shaft 120 is driven by a motor 124 via transmission 126 , an axial upward flow of the wastewater is generated in basin 2 by rotation of vanes 122 . the formation of this upward flow is supported by a guide ring 128 coaxially arranged around vanes 122 . the wastewater flows radially outward under water level 8 , and in the vicinity of circumferential wall 104 , the wastewater flows downward . the water flows radially to hollow shaft 120 above bottom 106 and bottom plate 114 and back to vanes 122 . the direction of the toroidal flow is indicated with arrows . this toroidal flow is overlaid by a rotational flow about vertical axis 102 which is generated on the one hand by the water flowing off tangentially through inlet conduit 108 and through outlet conduit 110 and on the other hand by the rotation of vanes 122 . specifically dense solids such as sand are driven on the one hand by the rotating flow as a consequence of the so - called teacup effect and on the other hand by the toroidal flow directed radially inward above bottom 106 to the center of basin 2 . they settle on bottom 106 and bottom plate 114 and are pushed in the direction of axis 102 . an annular slot 130 is arranged between bottom plate 114 and hollow shaft 120 through which slot the sand sinks down into collection chamber 112 . on the other hand , less dense organic matter is suspended by the flow and passes predominantly with the wastewater into outlet conduit 110 . this brings it about that sand trap 1 has a good selectivity , which means that on the one hand less sand remains in the wastewater and on the other hand only slight amounts of organic matter are discharged with the sand . a heat exchanger 46 is arranged in basin 2 under water level 8 and in the vicinity of circumferential wall 104 . fluid flows through an inlet pipe 56 and an annular pipe 50 to an outlet pipe 54 . annular pipe 50 forms a flow conduit 220 of heat exchanger 46 . the fluid flows from outlet pipe 54 in a circuit via a heating or cooling apparatus , e . g ., a heat pump ( not shown ), in which it is heated or cooled , back to inlet pipe 56 . while the fluid is flowing through pipe 50 , it cools down or is heated in that it gives off heat through an outer surface 48 of pipe 50 to the wastewater or receives heat from the wastewater . in the exemplary embodiment , heat exchanger 46 consists of only a single annular pipe 50 , of course , it can also consist of a helically formed pipeline . heat exchanger 46 is arranged in the exemplary embodiment in the vicinity of circumferential wall 104 , where the wastewater flows down on outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 . however , heat exchanger 46 can also be arranged at another site of the toroidal flow ; for example , guide ring 128 can be designed as heat exchanger 46 , in which case its outer surface 48 facing axis 102 is exposed to a very strong axial and rotating flow . fig4 shows an aeration basin 200 with surface aeration . a mixture of wastewater and activated sludge is present in a basin 2 . basin 2 shown in the exemplary embodiment is circular , has a vertical axis 202 , a base 204 and a circumferential wall 206 manufactured in the exemplary embodiment of metal sheeting . a bridge 208 for receiving a motor 210 , a transmission 212 and an aeration top 214 rotating around vertical axis 202 is arranged above basin 2 . aeration top 214 draws the mixture of wastewater and activated sludge upward in the region of axis 202 and throws it radially outward above water level 8 . at this time air bubbles 216 are charged into the mixture of wastewater and activated sludge that supply the mixture with oxygen . a pronounced toroidal flow is generated in basin 2 that is directed upward in the region of axis 202 and downward in the vicinity of circumferential wall 206 . half pipe profiles 218 are attached around circumferential wall 206 in such a manner that a helical flow conduit 220 is formed between circumferential wall 206 and half pipe profiles 218 through which fluid flows from an inlet 222 to an outlet 224 . circumferential wall 206 and half pipe profiles 218 attached to it form a heat exchanger 46 . the inside of circumferential wall 206 is at the same time an outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 . the outer surface of circumferential wall 206 is at the same time an inner surface 228 of flow conduit 220 , which runs through heat exchanger 46 . the fluid flows through flow conduit 220 of heat exchanger 46 , and the mixture of wastewater and activated sludge flows along outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 . thus , part of circumferential wall 206 serves to transmit heat from the wastewater into the fluid or vice versa . in the case of a turbulent flow of the fluid in flow conduit 220 and of the wastewater on outer surface 48 , high alpha values are achieved for the transmission of heat . circumferential wall 206 should be as thin as possible in the region of heat exchanger 46 in order to achieve a good thermal conduction through circumferential wall 206 . since circumferential wall 206 is reinforced by the attached half pipe profiles 218 , circumferential wall 206 can be made thin in the region of heat exchanger 46 . half pipe profiles 218 that contact each other mutually are shown in the exemplary embodiment . however , they can also be attached with spacing . it is , of course , also possible to use angular profiles . fig5 shows an aeration basin 200 with pressure aeration . a rectangular basin 2 has a level base 204 and longitudinal walls 250 , 252 . diffuser pipes 34 are arranged above base 204 and in the vicinity of the longitudinal wall 250 into which pipes compressed air is blown in by a blower ( not shown ). aeration elements 256 are arranged on diffuser pipes 34 and are plate - shaped in the exemplary embodiment . however , even other , for example , pipe - shaped or plate - shaped aeration elements 256 can be used . aeration elements 256 comprise porous bodies or slotted membranes through which supplied compressed air in the form of fine air bubbles 216 is charged into the wastewater . they rise up to water level 8 and generate an upwardly directed convective wastewater flow in the vicinity of longitudinal wall 250 . the wastewater flows back down in the vicinity of the opposite longitudinal wall 252 . a vortex - like flow is generated in basin 2 whose direction is indicated by arrows . heat exchanger 46 with a flow conduit 220 for fluid flowing through it is arranged at a site above aeration elements 256 at which the wastewater flows upward along an outer surface 48 of heat exchanger 46 . heat exchanger 46 in this exemplary embodiment is formed by two corrugated sheets 258 , 260 connected to one another in such a manner that longitudinal hollow spaces 262 are produced between them that form flow conduit 220 . adjacent hollow spaces 262 are connected to each other at their ends in such a manner that the fluid flows successively through several hollow spaces 262 in alternating directions . sheets 258 , 260 are aligned vertically so that the rising wastewater can flow along them without great resistance . in the exemplary embodiment , heat exchanger 46 is oriented in such a manner that hollow spaces 262 extend horizontally . however , it would also be quite possible to arrange heat exchanger 46 rotated through 90 degrees so that hollow spaces 262 run vertically . fig6 shows a heat exchanger 46 arranged in a basin 2 and also shows a cleaning apparatus 300 in accordance with the invention . heat exchanger 46 is manufactured from several square pipes 302 aligned in parallel and horizontally that form a flow conduit 220 for fluid and are provided on both ends with perforations , for example , bores ( not shown ) through which the fluid flows from one square pipe 302 into an adjacent one so that the fluid flows in opposite directions in adjacent square pipes 302 . heat exchanger 46 has two parallel vertical outer surfaces 48 composed by opposite surfaces of square pipes 302 . the wastewater flows convectively upward along vertical outer surfaces 48 of heat exchanger 46 , which convective flow can be generated , for example , by blowing in air underneath heat exchanger 46 . cleaning apparatus 300 comprises brushes 308 that can be moved horizontally over outer surfaces 48 of heat exchanger 46 in order to clean them from adhering solids and coatings . brushes 308 are attached in a fork - shaped holder 310 connected to a transmission 312 . at least one wheel shaft 314 with wheels 316 on both ends runs horizontally through transmission 312 . wheels 316 run on bearing surfaces 318 of basin wall 320 or on rails . cleaning apparatus 300 is moved by rotation of a threaded rod 322 running through transmission 312 . alternately , it would of course also be possible to move cleaning apparatus 300 by a cable or chain drive . instead of brushes 308 , spray nozzles could also be arranged in cleaning apparatus 300 . the present invention was explained in detail using an exemplary embodiment . however , it is not limited to the example shown and described . modifications within the scope of the protective claims are possible at any time .	8
fig1 illustrates in block diagram form one basic principle of arrangements in accordance with the present invention . the system 10 of fig1 comprises a pair of separate radiation signal channels 12 , 14 , each being coupled to a corresponding radiation detector and providing an output to an and gate 16 which develops an output warning signal for coincident signals at the and gate input . the radiation detector 18 of the channel 12 is a long wavelength detector , being responsive to radiation in the range of 7 to 25 microns . the detector 20 in the channel 14 is responsive to radiation in the range of 0 . 8 to 1 . 1 microns . signals from the long wavelength detector 18 are amplified in an amplifier stage 22 and applied to a bandpass filter 24 having a passband in the range of 2 to 5 hz for flame flicker detection in that frequency range . signals from the filter 24 are directed to a threshold circuit 26 , the output of which is applied to one input of the and gate 16 . the channel 14 is like the channel 12 except for the spectral response of the short wavelength detector 20 and the frequency range of its bandpass filter 34 , which is set for a passband of 6 to 12 hz to provide a response to flame flicker signals in that frequency range . channel 14 is completed with an amplifier 32 coupled between the shortwave detector 20 and the bandpass filter 34 , and a threshold 36 coupled between the filter 34 and the other input to the and gate 16 . the threshold circuits 26 , 36 have a quick - charge , slow - decay circuit preceding the threshold comparator as shown in fig1 a . this requires that multiple cycles of the flicker frequency pass through the filter above the required amplitude set by the comparator . the circuit of fig1 a comprises a network at the input of an amplifier 30 which includes a diode 25 in series with a resistor 27 and a parallel network of a resistor 28 and a capacitor 29 tied to ground . positive polarity signals applied the diode 25 tend to charge the capacitor 29 . however , because of the voltage divider provided by the resistors 27 , 28 , the capacitor does not immediately charge to the full amplitude of the positive pulse . the r - c network of resistor 28 and capacitor 29 has a time constant which exceeds the inter - pulse interval of the applied pulse signals . therefore , succeeding pulses add to the charge on the capacitor 29 before it can fully discharge , thereby building up the level of voltage applied to the amplifier 30 . the technique of using more than one passband for filtering the flicker frequency spectral distribution may be generalized such that the same wavelength or even the same detector could be used for each of the two bandpass circuits . one such arrangement is depicted in the combination block and schematic diagram of fig2 . the arrangement 40 of fig2 is shown comprising a pair of dual narrowband channels 42 , 44 , both being coupled in like fashion to detector - amplifier circuits having different spectral responses . a long wavelength detector 46 , responsive to radiation in the 14 - 25 micron range , is coupled to an amplifier 47 , the output of which is applied to the upper signal path of both channels 42 , 44 . similarly , a short wavelength detector 48 , responsive to wavelengths in the range of 0 . 8 - 1 . 1 microns , is coupled to an amplifier 49 , the output of which is applied to the lower signal path of each of the two channels 42 , 44 . the narrowband channel 42 is shown as a symmetrical configuration of two signal paths 50 , 52 , each comprising narrowband filter 54 , a full wave rectifier 56 , a low pass filter 58 and a ratio comparator stage 60 coupled in series . each path also includes a threshold comparator , such as 62 which is coupled in parallel with ratio comparator 60 . the two ratio comparators 60 , 60a of the signal paths 50 , 52 are interconnected at their input terminals through an attenuator network 64 . the outputs of the two ratio comparators 60 , 60a , and the two threshold comparators 62 , 62a are connected as inputs to an and gate 66 , completing the dual narrowband channel 42 . the dual narrowband channel 44 is exactly like the channel 42 except that the passbands of the input filters 54 , 54a are different for channels 42 , 44 . also , it will be noted that the variable gain of the amplifiers 47 , 49 is controlled from points at the inputs to the two ratio comparators 60 , 60a in the channel 42 . the detector 46 is a thermopile detector which is responsive to incident radiation within the range of 14 - 25 microns wavelength over at least a 90 ° cone angle field of view . the electrical signal from the thermopile detector 46 is amplified by the ac coupled preamplifier 47 having a gain range from 760 to 19 , 000 as a function of the gain control voltage . the detector 48 comprises a silicon diode in the photoconductive mode which provides detection of radiation having wavelengths in the 0 . 8 to 1 . 1 micron region . amplifier 49 is a non - inverting operational amplifier utilizing the same gain control circuit as described for the amplifier 47 . for the amplifier 49 , the overall signal gain is variable between 7 and 174 . the narrowband filters 54 , 54a may actually comprise one or more individual filter stages for extraction of the flicker spectral information . in one arrangement , these filters incorporate two operational amplifiers each for obtaining three zeros and four poles . an active rectifier , to eliminate diode forward drop , is provided for the rectifiers 56 , 56a . these are followed by 0 . 4 hz two - pole , low - pass smoothing filters to extract the average output of the narrowband filters 54 , 54a . the comparison of signals from the two spectral channels is done in a ratiometric manner with the two comparators 60 and 60a and the logic gate 66 . each comparator tests one signal to see if it is greater than some fixed proportion of the other , in this case 60 %. both comparators will give true outputs only if the lesser signal is above 60 % of the greater , regardless of which is greater . thus , gate 66 will give a true output only if both signals are above a preset threshold ( determined by comparators 62 and 62a ) and the signal amplitudes are within a ratio of 0 . 6 : 1 . 0 of each other . the exact value for the ratio may be modified to provide a trade - off between false alarm immunity and discimination . a smaller numerical ratio ( for example 0 . 5 ) would increase the probability of recognizing a fire within a given time interval , but would also increase the possibility that a non - flame source would give a false alarm . the output signals from the and gates 66 of the two channels 42 , 44 are applied to an or gate 68 and then fed to delay stage 70 . multiple frequencies of flicker may be compared and an overall fire signal output generated from either a logical and or a logical or combination at the gate 68 of the individual ratio comparison outputs . a logical input and ( all individual comparisons valid for an output ) minimizes false alarms at the cost of increased probability of missing a fire . use of a logical or ( any individual comparison valid causes an output ) increases the probability of seeing a fire at the cost of increased false alarm probability . thus , the trade - off between false alarm immunity and detection sensitivity can be made in the circuit arrangement of fig . 2 by selection of component values in the ratio comparators or by a logic gate configuration change . the delay stage 70 at the output of the gate 68 serves to provide increased false alarm immunity from brief transients of a non - fire nature . the delay time constant of this delay stage 70 is preferably set for approximately one second , so that a fire signal must be present at the output of the gate 68 for that length of time before a finial output is generated from the delay stage 70 . a number of waveforms are illustrated in fig3 ( a - c ) corresponding to different numbered points in the circuit arrangement of fig2 for various types of input stimuli . for case i where the radiation is from an actual flame source , the waveforms of fig3 ( a ) apply . waveforms 1 and 2 , taken from the respective outputs of the amplifiers 47 , 49 , are essentially random . waveform 2 exhibits slightly more high frequency content than waveform 1 . waveforms 3 and 4 , present at the outputs of the respective flicker filters 54 , 54a , exhibit similar envelopes but are not exact duplicates of each other . the feature of these waveforms 3 and 4 is that they are dominated by a small range of frequencies with varying amplitude . waveform 5 , taken between the lowpass filter 58 and the ratio comparator 60 of the path 50 , is a smooth , single polarity waveform which follows the amplitude of waveform 3 . waveform 6 , present at the comparable point in signal path 52 , is very similar to waveform 5 . referring to fig3 ( b ) which shows the waveforms developed from non - fire radiation of a random nature , such as direct sunlight , it will be noted that waveforms 1 and 2 are both nearly random . waveform 2 is of larger amplitude than waveform 1 , due to the more prevalent spectral distribution in the shorter wavelength range , but bears no similarity to waveform 1 . in fig3 ( b ) waveforms 3 and 4 are single frequency sinusoids of varying amplitude . however , the variations are different for these two waveforms . for the random non - fire input radiation , waveforms 5 and 6 are slowly varying in amplitude , essentially random and of one polarity . the waveform 5 follows waveform 3 ; waveform 6 follows the envelope of waveform 4 . however , waveform 6 does not follow waveform 5 , and therefore the coincidence required to develop a true output from the and gate 66 is lacking , thus precluding a false alarm for this radiation . fig3 ( c ) shows the waveforms developed for a third type of input radiation , that from a periodic non - fire signal source such as chopped sunlight . this type of radiation can develop naturally from a fan in front of a sunlit window or from sunlight reflected off the waves on a pond , etc . in this case , waveform 1 is highly repetitious , but is not a pure sinusoid . waveform 2 is very similar to waveform 1 , but has a different amplitude . waveforms 3 and 4 are smaller amplitude versions of waveforms 1 and 2 , respectively . waveforms 5 and 6 are slowly rising signals which would fail to produce true outputs from the ratio comparators 60 , 60a . the fire sensing system 80 of fig4 is similar to the system 40 of fig2 with the exception that a plurality n of narrowband channel pairs 82 , 84 , 86 , . . . 86n are included in parallel instead of the single pair of such channels included in the arrangement 40 . the same two detectors and preamplifier stages 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 are used to develop the inputs to all of the narrowband channels 82 et seq . each of the individual narrowband channels in the arrangement 80 of fig4 is provided with narrowband filters of different passbands at their respective inputs . also , the outputs of the respective narrowband channels are combined in a single and gate 88 , from which a true output is applied to delay stage 90 to generate the output warning signal after approximately one second delay to guard against false alarms from transient conditions . because of the increased number of narrowband channel stages and the requirement that the output from each narrowband channel must be true before a true signal can be passed by the and gate 88 , this arrangement 80 is preferred for those applications where maximum false alarm immunity is desired . the waveforms of fig3 ( a - c ) are developed in the arrangement of fig4 just as in the arrangement of fig2 . points 1 and 2 at the output of the amplifier 47 , 49 are shown in fig4 corresponding to fig2 . fig5 illustrates an arrangement 100 which corresponds to the arrangement 40 of fig2 with the addition of two channels of periodic signal detectors 106 , 108 in series with signal inverters 110 , 112 . the outputs of all four paths in the arrangement 100 of fig5 are coupled to an and gate 116 which is in series with a delay stage 118 . the arrangement 100 of fig5 performs in similar fashion to the arrangement 40 of fig2 with the additional protection afforded by the periodic signal detector paths . it will be noted that the bottom waveform depicted in fig3 ( c ) is designated 7 or 8 . that waveform is present at points 7 and 8 at the output of the periodic signal detectors 106 , 108 of fig5 when a periodic non - fire source is detected . when the waveform 7 or 8 goes high , the condition is inverted by the applicable inverter 110 or 112 so that one of the inputs to the and gate 116 is low , thus inhibiting any true output which might be developed from either of narrowband channels 102 , 104 . thus , when a periodic signal is present in either the long wavelength detector 46 or the short wavelength detector 48 , no fire alarm warning can possibly get through the and gate 116 . in an analog embodiment of the periodic signal detector , fig5 a , the input is applied to a comparator 71 coupled to the input of a shift register 72 , driven by a clock 73 , and a plurality of exclusive or gates 74 which are also connected to respective outputs of the shift register 72 . each gate 74 output is coupled via a smoothing filter 75 to a summing stage 76 and also to one input of a corresponding difference amplifier 77 , the other input of each amplifier 77 being taken from the output of the summing stage 76 . precision rectifiers 78 are connected to apply individual outputs of the difference amplifiers 77 to a second summing amplifier 79 which develops an output signal through a difference amplifier 81 . in the circuit of fig5 a , the signal polarity is established with the comparator 71 referenced to zero and periodically entered into the shift register 72 ( by the clock 73 ) simultaneously with the shifting of the register by one position . the most recent signal polarity is continuously compared ( exclusively or &# 39 ; d ) with each of the shifted polarities . after neglecting the first few averages ( up to four ), which will always be high because a signal will always be correlated with itself for small delays , the remaining correlation time - averages are evaluated for their spread , i . e ., average deviation . this is performed with the aid of a summer 76 , absolute value function from precision rectifiers 78 a second summer 79 , and a difference amplifier 81 . the correlation signals to be processed are first combined and smoothed to establish their composite average . each individual ( smoothed ) correlation signal is then subtracted from the composite average and the difference given a positive polarity by means of an absolute value circuit ( precision rectifier 81 ). the sum of these absolute deviations is lastly compared to a fixed reference and a decision results as to whether the incoming signal is periodic or not . only if the signal shows periodicity will the individual correlation signals show sufficient spread to raise their average deviation above the threshold of the difference amplifier 81 . in a more convenient embodiment , the above processes are performed by a microprocessor , a flow chart for which is shown in fig5 b . in the microprocessor embodiment , an analog - to - digital ( a / d ) converter converts the incoming signal to a form which may be filtered , compared , averaged , etc ., all with a fixed program contained in a read only memory ( rom ). the variables used in the flow chart of fig5 b are defined as follows : y ( j )= smoothed y ( j ). analog representation is low pas filter ; digital representation takes 90 % of previous y ( j ) and adds 10 % current y ( j ). in operation , the flow chart of fig5 b duplicates the hardware representation of fig5 a very closely . the sign bit , x ( i ), is first obtained from the a / d converter and held in a 32 bit shift register . the i ( th ) sample of x , x ( i ), is then exclusively or &# 39 ; d with the previous 31 samples of x located in the shift register . the result , y ( j ), is a digital signal , either 1 or 0 . as a smoothing function , a 32 word memory location , y ( j ), is established such that 10 % of y ( j ) is added to 90 % of the y ( j ) remaining from the ( i - 1 ) th sample of x . the total is then entered into the y ( j ) memory location instead of the previous y ( j ). as a result , if y ( j ) changes from 0 to 1 and remains so for at least 10 samplings of x , y ( j ) will not reach a level of 1 until the 10th sample has been taken . an average , y , is then taken of all y ( j )&# 39 ; s . from start - up , this y will not reach its steady state value until 32 samples have been taken . from y ( j ) and y , the absolute spread δy ( j ) is calculated by taking the absolute value of the difference . in this program , the simple difference was used . a more sophisticated program could use the standard deviation ( the root mean square of the differences ) with equal effectiveness . the loop designated j , updates all 32 of the values of y ( j ), δy ( j ) with each new sample x ( i ). once the j loop is complete , only the last 20 values of δy ( j ) are used to compute the average spread , δy . as mentioned earlier , a signal will always be correlated with itself for small delays . taking only the last 20 values of δy ( j ) counters that effect . finally , the average spread , δy , is compared to a threshold t to determine if the spread is sufficient to label the input x a &# 34 ; periodic &# 34 ; signal . in practice , this autocorrelation scheme is capable of recognizing a periodic signal in the presence of a random signal ( such as noise ), provided the amplitude of the periodic signal is about a factor of 2 greater than that of the random signal . fig6 illustrates a variation in the arrangement 120 relative to the arrangement 100 of fig5 . periodic signal detectors 126 , 128 ( which are similar to 106 , 108 of fig5 ) are shown connected in series with inverters 130 , 132 and in conjunction with the narrowband channels 122 , 124 as in fig5 except that the outputs of the periodic signal detectors 126 , 128 are cross - coupled with a ratio detector 60 and threshold detector 62 in corresponding narrowband channels . all four outputs are applied to and gates 138 , 139 by pairs , and the and gate outputs are in turn applied to an or gate 140 , the output of which drives the delay stage 142 . the arrangement 120 of fig6 provides good sensitivity with enhanced protection against false alarms , because the periodic signal in one range of input radiation wavelengths inhibits the narrowband channel for that radiation detector and places the other narrowband channel into a threshold mode with an elevated threshold . thus , when a periodic signal in one channel is detected , the increased threshold immediately requires a stronger signal in the other channel to be present for any output signal to be developed . for example , chopped sunlight would inhibit the short wavelength channel , but not the long wavelength channel . thus the ratio comparators 60 would be inhibited as would be threshold comparator 62 in channel 124 while threshold comparator 62 in channel 120 would have its threshold raised . although the arrangement 100 of fig5 effectively guards against false alarm signals which might otherwise develop in response to periodic radiation , it has the disadvantage that it will not be able to develop any warning signal at all in the presence of a fire when periodic radiation is also present . in other words , the arrangement 100 of fig5 is essentially disabled whenever periodic radiation is present . ( that is , chopped sunlight would blind arrangement 100 to a fire that is also present ). this disadvantage is overcome to some degree with the arrangement 120 of fig6 which , while disabling the corresponding narrowband channel for the same range of wavelength when a periodic signal is detected in that spectral range , still permits the narrowband channel for the other spectral range to continue functioning , albeit with an increased threshold and thereby a reduced sensitivity . fig7 illustrates another arrangement in accordance with the present invention in block diagram form . the arrangement 140 of fig7 interposes spectrum analyzers 142 , 144 in series with the respective long wavelength detector - amplifier 46 , 47 and the short wavelength detector - amplifier 48 , 49 . this arrangement uses the approach of recognizing individual line spectra as opposed to the broad spectral frequency distribution of the arrangements described above . the output of a spectrum analyzer such as 142 will be the provision of signals on one or more of the output lines corresponding to the frequencies f ( 1 )- f ( 4 ). corresponding frequency outputs for the short wavelength channel spectrum analyzer 144 are directed by pairs with those from analyzer 142 to a group of ratio comparators 146 , the outputs of which are applied through a combiner stage 148 to a common line directed to an or gate 150 . the combiner stage 148 may be a single or gate for maximum sensitivity as in arrangement 40 of fig2 or a single and gate for maximum discrimination as in arrangement 80 of fig4 . it may also be a more complex gate array which permits an intermediate level of discrimination ( such as any two out of four inputs to produce an output ). the output signals from the spectrum analyzers are also applied to corresponding flicker spectrum discriminators 152 , 154 which are similar to stages 122 , 124 of fig6 . the outputs of the flicker spectrum discriminator stages 152 , 154 are applied through an or gate 156 , the output of which is fed as the other input to the or gate 150 . the spectrum analyzers 142 , 144 also supply a signal to a periodic signal detector 160 or 162 which is used to inhibit the flicker spectrum discriminator 152 or 154 for the corresponding infrared detector , leaving that part of the circuit operating from the other infrared detector still effective . periodic signal detectors 160 , 162 are similar to periodic signal detectors 106 , 108 of fig5 . however , it is necessary when periodic radiation is detected to provide a signal to an or gate 164 at an inhibit input to the combining stage 148 , since with one of the channels disabled , the ratio comparators 146 lack dual input signals to provide ratio comparison . if , for example , a periodic signal is detected in the long wavelength branch by detector 46 , resulting in an inhibit signal from periodic signal detector 160 which disables that branch , the other branch including the short wavelength detector 48 is still able to function by providing , in the event of detection of fire signals in the short wavelength range , an active signal at the output of the flicker spectrum discriminator 154 which reaches the output through or gates 156 and 150 . arrangements in accordance with the present invention as are shown and described hereinabove advantageously provide a fire sensing system with increased sensitivity and improved immunity against false alarms . some of these arrangements have demonstrated the capability of sensing a five inch diameter pan fire of burning fuel a distance of 30 feet away , as contrasted with the same fire being detectable only four feet away in certain prior art sensing systems . at the same time , this arrangement of the present invention was more immune to the presence of non - fire sources than prior art sensing systems . improved immunity against periodic background signals , such as chopped sunlight , is afforded in one respect by the separation of the two spectral ranges as contrasted with those detectors of the prior art which have spectral ranges closely adjacent one another . while some of the circuit arrangements may appear cumbersome as shown in the drawings , it is now possible with the advent of modern micro chip technology and very compact microprocessors to reduce the size of such circuitry to an entirely reasonable level . although there have been described above specific arrangements of a dual spectrum frequency responding fire sensor in accordance with the invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be used to advantage , it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto . accordingly , any and all modifications , variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art should be considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the annexed claims .	5
several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of an afc control method for a portable radio apparatus according to the present invention . fig1 shows a base station 101 and a radio mobile station ( hereinafter called mobile station ) 104 applied to the embodiment . the schematic arrangement of the mobile station 104 is shown by the block diagram . the mobile station 104 is constituted by a mobile station radio unit 105 , an a / d converter 106 , a signal processing unit 107 having a dsp , gate array , and standard cell , a control unit 116 having a cpu , an output unit 108 such as a loudspeaker , a mobile station oscillator 109 , a mobile station pll unit 110 , an lpf ( low pass filter ) 111 , and an afc d / a 112 . the signal processing unit 107 is made up of a mobile station data processing unit 113 , frequency shift detection unit 114 , tcxo afc unit 115 , and control unit 116 . the mobile station data processing unit 113 is comprised of a sync detection unit 117 , demodulation unit 118 , deformat unit 119 , decoding unit 120 , and power detection unit 121 . the operation of the portable radio terminal 104 in the embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 . a digital signal 122 modulated in the base station 101 is transmitted from a base station antenna 102 . a radio wave 123 transmitted from the base station antenna 102 is received by a portable radio terminal antenna 103 , and sent as a signal 124 to the mobile station radio unit 105 . an analog signal which is obtained by down - conversion and quadrature demodulation of the channel frequency is converted into a digital signal 126 by the a / d converter 106 . the digital signal 126 is input to the sync detection unit 117 of the signal processing unit 107 having a dsp , gate array , and standard cell . the sync detection unit 117 sends a sync detection signal 127 to the control unit 116 having a cpu . the digital signal 126 sent from the a / d converter 106 is demodulated by the demodulation unit 118 . a demodulated signal 128 is sent to the deformat unit 119 where the signal 128 is deformatted . deformatted data 129 is decoded by the decoding unit 120 . a decoded signal 131 is sent to the output unit 108 . the decoding unit 120 outputs crc information 132 to the control unit 116 . the deformat unit 119 transfers a power detection signal 130 to the power detection unit 121 . the power detection unit 121 sends power detection information ( rssi ) 133 to the control unit 116 . the control unit 116 outputs a control signal 144 for controlling the frequency shift detection unit 114 and tcxo afc unit 115 on the basis of the sync detection signal 127 , crc information 132 , and rssi 133 . the deformat unit 119 transfers to the frequency shift detection unit 114 an afc detection signal 134 prepared by gathering pilot signals to the same frequency . the frequency shift detection unit 114 calculates a frequency shift from the afc detection signal 134 , and transfers a frequency shift value ( af ) 135 to the tcxo afc unit 115 . the frequency shift detection unit 114 intermittently operates under the control of the control unit 116 . the tcxo afc unit 115 adds a frequency shift value and updates the tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) under the control of the control unit 116 . the tcxo afc value is transferred as a digital afc signal 136 to the afc d / a 112 . an afc signal 137 d / a - converted by the afc d / a 112 passes through the lpf 111 , and is input as an afc signal 138 to the afc terminal of the tcxo 109 . then , the oscillation frequency of the tcxo 109 is changed . a signal 139 oscillated from the tcxo 109 is converted by the mobile station pll unit 110 into a plurality of signals having different frequencies . the mobile station pll unit 110 supplies a signal 140 to the mobile station radio unit 105 , a signal 141 to the a / d converter 106 , a signal 142 to the signal processing unit 107 , and a signal 143 to the afc d / a 112 . in an idle time , intermittent operation is performed over a wide range in the whole mobile station 104 including the signal processing unit 107 and mobile station radio unit 105 . in an idle time , the intermittent operation of the tcxo afc unit 115 determines the intermittent operation of the overall mobile station 104 . fig2 is a flow chart showing an afc control flow in the first embodiment of the present invention . afc control operation generally starts when a portable radio terminal is powered on . the oscillation frequency of a mobile station oscillator 109 shifts due to degradation in temperature characteristic over time or the like . a control unit 116 sets a minimum value t min as an intermittent operation period t in a frequency shift detection unit 114 in advance , and sets 0 as a tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) in a tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 201 ). if the frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf from an afc detection signal 134 ( step s 202 ), the control unit 116 checks whether the detected δf is larger than a predetermined value δf tk1 ( positive value ) ( step s 203 ). if the control unit 116 determines that δf is δf tk1 or less ( no in step s 203 ), it checks whether the intermittent operation period t ( minimum value t min at this time ) set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is larger than a predetermined maximum value t max or more ( step s 204 ). since the intermittent operation period set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is the minimum value t min , the control unit 116 determines that the intermittent operation period t is smaller than t max ( no in step s 204 ), and sets an intermittent operation period twice the intermittent operation period t min in the frequency shift detection unit 114 ( step s 205 ). if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds a predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo ( 0 at this time ) to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds a predetermined value − δf fix to δf vcxo ( 0 at this time ) to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 208 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 204 that the intermittent operation period t set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is t max or more ( yes in step s 204 ), it does not change the intermittent operation period t . after that , if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δf fix to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 208 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 203 that δf is larger than δf tk1 ( yes in step s 203 ), it checks whether the intermittent operation period t is the minimum value t min or less ( step s 206 ). if the control unit 116 determines that the intermittent operation period t is larger than t min ( no in step s 206 ), it sets an intermittent operation period ½ the current intermittent operation period in the frequency shift detection unit 114 ( step s 207 ). if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δf fix to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 208 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 206 that the intermittent operation period t is t min or less ( yes in step s 206 ), it does not change the current intermittent operation period t . then , if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to the tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) of the tcxo afc unit 115 ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δf fix to the tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) of the tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 208 ). ( a ) in fig3 shows a control signal output from the control unit 116 to the frequency shift detection unit 114 , a period τ during which the frequency shift detection unit 114 is on , and the intermittent operation period t of the frequency shift detection unit 114 . ( b ) shows the state of the control signal when the intermittent operation period t is set ½ in step s 207 of fig2 . ( c ) shows the state of the control signal when the intermittent operation period t is set twice in step s 205 of fig2 . ( d - 1 ) to ( d - 3 ) show an example of a control signal output from the control unit 116 in the operation in the flow chart of fig2 . ( d - 1 ) shows that the frequency shift detection unit 114 is operated while the intermittent operation period t is changed . ( d - 2 ) shows δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 at that time . ( d - 3 ) shows the value δf vcxo output from the tcxo afc unit 115 . at this time , t min is ½ t max . fig4 is a flow chart showing an afc control flow in the second embodiment of the present invention . afc control operation generally starts when a portable radio terminal is powered on . the oscillation frequency of a mobile station oscillator 109 shifts due to degradation in temperature characteristic over time or the like . a control unit 116 sets n − 1 ( n : predetermined repeat number ) in flag , and sets 0 as a tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) in a tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 401 ). if a frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( step s 402 ), the control unit 116 checks whether the detected δf is a predetermined value δf tk2 ( positive value ) or more ( step s 403 ). if the control unit 116 determines that δf is δf tk2 or more ( yes in step s 403 ), it registers in the tcxo afc unit 115 a new tcxo afc value obtained by adding δf to δf vcxo , and registers n − 1 in flag again ( step s 404 ). if the control unit 116 determines that δf is smaller than δf tk2 ( no in step s 403 ), it checks whether flag is 0 ( step s 405 ). since flag is n − 1 , the control unit 116 determines that flag is not 0 ( no in step s 405 ), and checks whether the currently detected δf and the previously detected δf , i . e ., δfp ( flag ) have the same sign ( step s 407 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 407 that the currently detected δf and the previously detected δf have the same sign ( yes in step s 407 ), it decrements flag by 1 , and registers the currently detected δf as δfp ( flag ) ( step s 408 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 407 that the currently detected δf and the previously detected δf do not have the same sign ( no in step s 407 ), it registers n − 1 in flag , and registers the currently detected δf as δfp ( flag ) ( step s 409 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 405 that flag is 0 ( yes in step s 405 ), it registers as the tcxo afc value a value obtained by adding to δf vcxo the average of δf detected n times by the frequency shift detection unit 114 , registers n − 1 in flag , and registers the currently detected δf as δfp ( flag ) ( step s 406 ). in the second embodiment , if the detected frequency shift δf is smaller than the predetermined value δf tk2 , the value δf is reflected on δf vcxo only when frequency shifts δf of the same sign are successively detected n times . although noise attains a larger influence for a smaller frequency shift , a malfunction by inputting an erroneous value δf to the tcxo afc unit 115 can be avoided . fig5 is a flow chart showing an afc control flow in the third embodiment of the present invention . afc control operation generally starts when a portable radio terminal is powered on . the oscillation frequency of a mobile station oscillator 109 shifts due to degradation in temperature characteristic over time or the like . a control unit 116 sets 0 as a tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) in a tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 501 ). if a frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( step s 502 ), the control unit 116 checks on the basis of sync information from a sync detection unit 117 whether the communication state has stepped out ( step s 503 ). if the control unit 116 determines that the communication state has stepped out when the frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( yes in step s 503 ), the control unit 116 counts a timer for a predetermined period to establish synchronization ( step s 504 ), and executes processing from step s 501 . if the control unit 116 determines in step s 503 that the communication state is in sync ( no in step s 503 ), it checks whether rssi output from a power detection unit 121 is larger than a predetermined value rssi tk ( step s 505 ). if the control unit 116 determines that rssi is larger than rssi tk ( yes in step s 505 ), it registers the sum of δf vcxo and δf as the tcxo afc value in the tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 506 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 505 that rssi is rssi tk or less ( no in step s 505 ), it determines that the obtained value δf is low in reliability because of a small power of a received signal , and does not update δf vcxo . fig6 is a flow chart showing an afc control flow in the fourth embodiment of the present invention . afc control operation generally starts when a portable radio terminal is powered on . the oscillation frequency of a mobile station oscillator 109 shifts due to degradation in temperature characteristic over time or the like . a control unit 116 sets 0 as a tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) in a tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 601 ). if a frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( step s 602 ), the control unit 116 checks on the basis of sync information from a sync detection unit 117 whether the communication state has stepped out ( step s 603 ). if the control unit 116 determines that the communication state has stepped out when the frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( yes in step s 603 ), the control unit 116 counts a timer for a predetermined period to establish synchronization ( step s 604 ), and executes processing from step s 601 . if the control unit 116 determines in step s 603 that the communication state is in sync ( no in step s 603 ), and determines from crc ( cyclic redundancy check ) information obtained by a decoding unit 120 that the transmission frame does not contain any error ( yes in step s 605 ), the control unit 116 registers the sum of δf vcxo and δf as the tcxo afc value in the tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 606 ). if the control unit 116 determines from crc information that the transmission frame contains an error ( no in step s 605 ), it determines that the obtained value δf is low in reliability because of a poor transmission channel state between a base station 101 and a portable radio apparatus , and does not update δf vcxo . fig7 is a flow chart showing an afc control flow in the fifth embodiment of the present invention . afc control operation generally starts when a portable radio terminal is powered on . the oscillation frequency of a mobile station oscillator 109 shifts due to degradation in temperature characteristic over time or the like . a control unit 116 sets a minimum value t min as an intermittent operation period t in a frequency shift detection unit 114 in advance , and sets 0 as a tcxo afc value in frequency shift detection unit 114 ( step s 701 ). the control unit 116 checks whether rssi output from a power detection unit 121 is larger than a predetermined value rssi tk2 ( step s 702 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 702 that rssi is rssi tk2 or less ( no in step s 702 ), it determines that the oscillation frequency of the tcxo 109 may have greatly shifted , sets the minimum value t min as an intermittent operation period ( step s 703 ), and performs afc at a short period . if the frequency shift detection unit 114 detects δf ( step s 704 ), the control unit 116 checks whether the detected value δf is larger than a predetermined value δftkl ( positive value ) ( step s 705 ). if the control unit 116 determines that δf is δf tk1 or less ( no in step s 705 ), it checks whether the intermittent operation period t ( minimum value t min at this time ) set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a predetermined maximum value t max or more ( step s 706 ). since the intermittent operation period set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is the minimum value t min , the control unit 116 determines that the intermittent operation period t is smaller than t max ( no in step s 706 ), and sets an intermittent operation period twice the intermittent operation period t min in the frequency shift detection unit 114 ( step s 707 ). if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds a predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo ( 0 at this time ) to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds a predetermined value − δf fix to δf vcxo ( 0 at this time ) to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 710 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 706 that the intermittent operation period t set in the frequency shift detection unit 114 is t max or more ( yes in step s 706 ), it does not change the intermittent operation period t . then , if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δfflx to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 710 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 705 that δf is larger than δf tk1 ( yes in step s 705 ), it checks whether the intermittent operation period t is the minimum value t min or less ( step s 708 ). if the control unit 116 determines that the intermittent operation period t is larger than t min ( no in step s 708 ), it sets an intermittent operation period ½ the current intermittent operation period in the frequency shift detection unit 114 ( step s 709 ). if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δf fix to δf vcxo to update the tcxo afc value ( step s 710 ). if the control unit 116 determines in step s 708 that the intermittent operation period t is t min or less ( yes in step s 708 ), it does not change the current intermittent operation period t . then , if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a positive value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value δf fix ( positive value ) to the tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) of the tcxo afc unit 115 ; or if δf detected by the frequency shift detection unit 114 is a negative value , the control unit 116 adds the predetermined value − δf fix to the tcxo afc value ( δf vcxo ) of the tcxo afc unit 115 ( step s 710 ).	7
referring generally to fig1 - 13 , the bolster purse system allows a user to carry a weapon concealed in a handbag or purse in such a way that passersby will not detect the possible presence of the weapon . in addition , users will not encounter difficulty inserting and removing a weapon from the holster purse system . fig1 shows a front perspective view of the holster purse system . on the front side of the purse , the front exterior panel 1 is visible . directly across from the front exterior panel is the back exterior panel 3 . the front exterior panel 1 and back exterior panel 3 are connected by dual side exterior panels 6 . the interior storage portion , or interior cavity , of the purse is surrounded by the front exterior panel 1 , back exterior panel of the purse 3 , and dual side exterior panels 6 . shoulder straps 2 are attached to the top portions of both the front exterior panel 1 and the back exterior panel 3 . a user of the holster purse system will insert their arm through the shoulder straps and allow the shoulder straps to rest on the user &# 39 ; s shoulder . in use , the back exterior panel would rest against the user &# 39 ; s body , fig2 shows the front view of the holster purse system . the shoulder straps 2 are attached to the top portion of the front exterior panel 1 . fig3 shows the back view of the holster purse system . at the back of the purse , the back exterior panel 3 , containment mechanism 4 , and extender 5 are visible . the back exterior panel 3 is directly across from the front exterior panel 1 and on the other side of the interior storage cavity of the purse . dual side panels are at the end of both the front exterior 1 and back exterior panels 3 . the containment mechanism 4 serves to close the holster compartment 8 and ensure the contents of the holster compartment 8 remain inside the holster compartment . in this embodiment , the containment mechanism 4 is a zipper . the extender 5 provides a larger opening area at the edge of the holster compartment 7 . the extender 5 the extender runs from a first end of the holster compartment opening to a point between said first end and the opposite edge of the holster purse system , such that the extender 5 is perpendicular to the hoister compartment 8 opening . the extender 5 is comprised of an extra portion of material at the opening of the holster compartment 7 that allows the corner edge of the holster compartment to open wider to prevent snagging as a weapon is inserted into the holster compartment 8 . when the holster compartment 8 is pulled from the space between the back exterior panel and the interior purse cavity , the holster shape is clearly visible . fig4 shows the holster purse system with the holster compartment 8 in an exposed position . the shoulder straps 2 are attached to the top of the back exterior panel 3 . the containment mechanism 4 must be in an open state to expose the hoister compartment 8 . the holster compartment can be directed to the left ( fig4 ) or to the right ( fig5 ) when the holster compartment 8 is in an exposed state . to expose the body of the holster compartment , the containment mechanism 4 must be open , fig6 shows the back exterior panel 3 with the containment mechanism 4 in an open position . when the containment mechanism 4 is open , the extender 5 is also open . the open extender 5 creates a larger holster compartment opening allowing a user to insert a weapon into the holster compartment without snagging the weapon . the shoulder straps 2 are attached to the top portion of the back exterior panel 3 and the front exterior panel fig7 is a side view of the holster purse system . in this embodiment , two side exterior panels 6 are located at the edges of the holster purse system . each side panel 6 is attached to both the front exterior panel 1 and the back exterior panel 3 such that an interior cavity is created in the holster purse system . users may store personal belongings in the interior cavity of the holster purse system . the holster compartment 8 , within the back exterior wall 3 , functions to conceal a weapon within the holster purse system . the shoulder straps 2 help secure the holster purse system in position on the user &# 39 ; s shoulder . the containment mechanism 4 closes the holster compartment 8 so that the weapon or item in the holster compartment 8 is secure . in this embodiment , the containment mechanism 4 is a zipper but is understood to be any number of closure devices . the holster purse system also includes an extender 5 which creates a larger opening at the edge of the holster compartment 7 for removal and insertion of a weapon into the holster compartment 7 without snagging . fig8 is a view of the opposite side exterior panel 6 of the holster purse system shown in fig7 . in this view , the containment mechanism 4 is closed to secure the weapon in the holster compartment . the shoulder straps 2 would rest on the user &# 39 ; s shoulder to provide additional security in positioning the holster purse system on the user &# 39 ; s body . fig9 is a top v1evv of the holster purse system . the shoulder straps 2 , at the top edges of both the front exterior panel 1 and the back exterior panel 3 , help secure the holster purse system on the body of the user . the containment mechanism 4 secures the contents of the holster compartment 8 . fig1 is a bottom view of the holster purse system . the bottom edges of the front exterior panel 1 , dual side panels 6 , and the back exterior panel 3 are connected to the bottom panel of the holster purse system such that & amp ;′ 1 interior cavity is created . fig1 shows perspective view of the holster purse system with the containment mechanism 4 , or zipper , in an open position . the shoulder straps 2 are attached to the front exterior panel 1 and the hack exterior panel 3 . the shoulder straps 2 help secure the holster purse system on the shoulder of the user . the shoulder straps also help secure the holster purse system in case of kick back when the weapon is fired . when the containment mechanism 4 is in an open position , the extender 5 will also be expanded to increase the space at the opening of the holster compartment 7 . dual side panels 6 are positioned at both ends of the front exterior panel 1 and the back exterior panel 3 . fig1 shows a close up view of the extender 5 , in an open position . the containment mechanism 4 is also in an open position when the extender is open allowing for insertion of the weapon without snagging at the opening of the holster compartment or on the containment mechanism . the extender 5 and containment mechanism are positioned at the surface of the back exterior panel 3 . fig1 shows a close up view of the holster compartment 8 separated from the purse holster system , the holster compartment 8 is shaped to mimic the contours of a weapon , a firearm , in this embodiment the holster compartment is positioned within the back exterior panel 3 of the holster purse system , the holster compartment may also be positioned at a downward angle to further secure the weapon in the holster compartment . as the weapon is inserted in the holster compartment , the panel of the weapon will be directed to the far corner of the exterior panel . another embodiment of the presently disclosed concealed weapon carrying system is depicted in fig1 . in fig1 , carrying item 1400 is a purse , but carrying item 1400 could be a briefcase , backpack or other luggage item . in fig1 , purse 1400 includes a pair of concealment compartment openings 1404 and 1409 situated on opposite ends of carrying item 1400 within side panel 1403 . in one embodiment , each concealment compartment opening 1404 and 1409 includes a vertical opening having an integrated zipper to execute opening and closing of the concealment compartment openings 1404 and 1409 . carrying item 1400 contains dual concealment compartment openings to accommodate those who may wish to carry multiple handguns and to accommodate both left handed and right handed users . as shown , multiple weapons 1411 and 1412 may be inserted and concealed within side panel 1403 . weapons 1411 and 1412 may be inserted in an interlocking arrangement to fit multiple weapons within the confines of the concealment compartment while making the handle of each weapon 1411 and 1412 accessible to the user . note that if carrying item 1400 is a purse , the right - handed user tends to wear a purse on the left arm or carry the purse with the left hand . as such , the concealment compartment opening most likely used to accommodate the right - handed user is concealment compartment opening 1404 situated on the right side of side panel 1403 , which when the carrying item is in use would face the user . similarly , if the user of carrying item 1400 is left - handed , that user would tend to wear the purse on the right arm or carry the purse by handle 1402 with the right hand . as such , the concealment compartment opening most likely used to accommodate the left - handed user is concealment compartment opening 1409 situated on the left side of side panel 1403 , which when the carrying item is in use would face the user . carrying item 1400 also includes a pair of flaps 1405 and 1410 that cover compartment openings 1404 and 1409 to further enhance concealment . flaps 1405 and 1410 may be constructed of the same material as side panel 1403 or of another material that blends into side panel 1403 . the upper ends 1420 and exterior borders 1422 of flaps 1405 and 1410 are not attached to side panel 1403 so as to permit the user to insert the weapon in concealment compartment 1401 , the perimeter of which is shown as dashed lines , and to insert his or her hand in compartment 1401 to retrieve weapon 1411 or 1412 . due to the wide variety of weapons that may be concealed in carrying item 1400 , an adaptable holster insert in provided within concealment compartment 1401 . the presently described adaptable holster insert prevents the need to loosely place the firearm within concealment compartment 1401 and in turn prevent the weapon from moving about the compartment 1401 that may cause damage to the weapon of unexpected discharge . fig1 a and 15b depict various embodiments of such an adaptable holster insert . in fig1 a , carrying item 1400 is again a purse or handbag having a side panel in which concealment compartment 1401 is integrated . carrying item 1401 includes two compartment openings 1404 and 1409 as depicted in fig1 , with each such opening comprising a zipper , a series of snaps or buttons or other suitable device that facilitates the opening and secure closing of the compartments . each compartment opening 1404 and 1409 is covered by flaps 1405 and 1410 , which prevent visibility of compartment openings 1404 and 1409 . flaps 1405 and 1410 include upper edges 1420 and exterior edges 1422 that are not attached to side panel 1403 either through stitching , heat sealing procedures , adhesive or otherwise to permit the user access to concealment compartment 1401 . within the concealment compartment 1401 of fig1 a is a pair of integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 . these holsters may be formed from the interior and exterior walls of concealment compartment 1401 formed within side panel 1403 . each integrated holster 1430 and 1431 is loosely shaped to accommodate various sizes and shapes of a concealed weapon , such as a handgun . various borders of each integrated holster 1430 and 1431 are integrated into the associated interior or exterior wall of concealment compartment 1410 so as to form a pocket for receiving the weapon . expandable section 1432 and 1433 of integrated holster 1430 and 1431 are fabricated of an expandable or elasticized material so as to permit expansion upon insertion of a weapon followed by sections 1432 and 1433 tightening and fitting snugly around the weapon placed within holsters 1430 and 1431 to secure the weapon in place . expandable sections may include hook and loop material to allow opening and refastening or may be a single piece construction . as seen in fig1 a , the integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 so situated contemplate a concealment compartment 1401 having dual openings 1404 and 1409 as discussed in connection with fig1 . the described integrated holster , however , may be adapted to accommodate just a single weapon in a carrying item 1400 having only a single compartment opening on one end of side panel 1403 , either compartmental opening 1404 or 1409 . note that at the time of purchase a handgun usually comes with a customized holster that serves to protect the weapon and acts as a trigger guard against accidental discharge of the weapon . other weapons , such as knives and mace come with similar holster - type holders or a sheath , etc . in this regard , integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 serve as a substitute for the primary holster if the user wishes to remove the weapon from the manufacturer provided holster . as noted , the integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 are sized and shaped to accommodate various weapons and the elastic properties of expandable sections 1432 and 1433 so sufficient protection of the weapon is provided and integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 keep the handgun trigger guarded to prevent accidental discharge . note that a user inserting a weapon inside of the present concealment system desires safe storage of the weapon and easy and efficient removal in case the weapon must be drawn . efficient and easy removal is achieved when the weapon is removed from the bag in rapid fashion if necessary while the holster remains in the concealment compartment . the embodiment of the present system as described in fig1 a accomplishes this by providing secure means for storing a weapon within the concealment compartment and by provide ease of removal . integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 achieve this by providing holsters that remain in the concealment compartment as the weapon is removed . while the embodiment described above describes an integrated holster fabricated much like a traditional holster in terms of size , shape and material , other forms of the integrated holster are contemplated . by example , the body of the integrated holster may be made of foam or other padded material . similarly , the integrated holster may include zipper components or buttons or snaps to allow the holster to be secured within the concealment compartment , with male and female portions of such fasteners situated on the holster and within the interior of the concealment compartment as appropriate . in addition , the concealment compartment may be magnetized to provide the necessary resistance to movement of the weapon while stored yet permit ease of removal when the weapon is needed . a magnet may be integrated into the fabric of material of which the carrying item is made or within the integrated holster to attract the metal weapon . fig1 b depicts another embodiment of the present concealed weapon carrying system . in fig1 b , carrying item 1400 is once again a purse or handbag having a concealment compartment 1401 formed within side panel 1403 with dual concealment compartment openings 1404 and 1409 situated at opposite ends of compartment 1401 . as previously described , compartment openings 1404 and 1409 may be further concealed by flaps 1405 and 1410 covering openings 1404 and 1409 , respectively . in this alternative embodiment , an elongated foam member 1440 that substantially occupies the void within concealment compartment 1401 formed within side panel 1403 of carrying item 1400 . foam member may be constructed of standard polyurethane or enhanced to act as a memory foam as is known in the art . in one embodiment , foam member 1440 is a continuous mass of memory foam in which openings 1443 and 1445 at opposite ends of foam member are formed in order to allow insertion of a weapon . within foam member 1440 and inward in relation to openings 1443 and 1445 are void sections 1442 and 1444 . as seen in fig1 b , void sections 1442 and 1444 are loosely shaped in the form of a handgun . in operation , the user inserts a handgun through opened compartment opening 1404 or 1409 and further inserts the handgun through opening 1442 or 1445 , penetrating foam member 1440 . the elastic properties of foam member 1440 expand as the handgun is inserted and once in place contact around the handgun to secure the handgun in place within concealment compartment 1401 . this configuration promotes secure placement of the handgun within a purse or handbag to prevent unwanted movement of the gun to further prevent damage to the weapon or accidental discharge . foam member 1440 may be appropriately coated to prevent tearing of the foam member due to repetitive insertion and removal of the weapon from concealment compartment 1401 . as discussed above , safely storing a weapon within the concealment compartment so as to prevent damage and accidental discharge of the weapon is of importance to the user . in connection with the embodiment of fig1 b , the user may leave the weapon within the manufacturer provided or external holster and insert the weapon with external holster into the foam member 1440 . foam member 1440 , with its elastic and expandable and contractible properties provides necessary friction and gripping properties to hold the user &# 39 ; s external holster in place when the weapon is removed from the concealed compartment . in the alternative , the user may insert the weapon without the external holster depending on the density and other qualities of the foam used to manufacture foam member 1440 , although insertion with the external holster may provide added security . further , other securing features may be incorporated into foam member 1440 such as those discussed above in connection with integrated holsters 1430 and 1431 . magnets may be incorporated at appropriate areas of foam member 1440 to attract the weapon and maintain a secure position within the concealment compartment but at the same time allow quick and efficient removal of the weapon . other fastening means may be incorporated into foam member 1440 , such as buttons or snaps or straps to provide more secure placement of the weapon . in one embodiment , it is contemplated that the inserts described in connection with fig1 a and 15b are permanent affixed within compartment 1401 . in alternative embodiment , holster inserts may be modular and interchangeable in order to accommodate different sized and types of weapons . by example , an insert having a single or multiple void sections may be shaped and sized to accommodate other concealed items such as mace , pepper spray , a knife or other item used for self - protection . further , as discussed in connection with fig1 a , carrying item 1401 is described as having dual compartment openings . a single opening carrying item providing single side access to concealment compartment 1401 is also contemplated as an alternative embodiment that will nevertheless receive a foam member for secure placement of a concealed weapon as described herein . fig1 depicts another embodiment of the present concealed weapon carrying system in which a sensor to provide an indication of the presence and further security of a weapon within the concealment compartment of the carrying item is described . in fig1 , a carrying item 1400 is shown configured to accept a single weapon for concealment . carrying item 1400 includes a concealment compartment 1401 integrated into and formed from an interior and exterior wall formed within side panel 1403 of carrying item 1400 , which again in this embodiment is a purse or handbag . as previously described , situated on one end of side panel 1403 is compartment opening 1404 that may be closed by a fastener such as a zipper . other suitable fasteners may be substituted . within concealment compartment 1401 is an integrated holster 1602 similar to that described in connection with fig1 a . in this embodiment , a single holster is implemented , although a dual configuration such as that described in fig1 a is also contemplated . integrated holster 1602 is integrated into the interior and exterior walls within compartment 1401 by stitching , adhesive or other means of joining multiple edge members of holster 1602 . holster 1602 also includes expandable section 1606 , which may be fabricated of an expandable or elasticized material so as to permit expansion upon insertion of a weapon with expandable section 1606 then tightening and fitting snugly around the weapon placed within holster 1602 to secure the weapon in place . situated within integrated holster 1602 is sensor 1620 powered by power supply 1624 , which may be a low voltage battery . detector 1602 may be an rfid detector that detects the presence of an rfid tag coming within very close proximity to sensor 1620 . other suitable sensors that detect the presence of an item through recognition of weight , motion or otherwise may be employed . in one embodiment , an rfid tag ( not shown ) is adhered to a weapon to be concealed within concealment compartment 1401 . once a weapon on which an rfid tag is placed is secured within integrated holster 1602 , rfid sensor 1620 detects the presence of an item within integrated holster 1602 . carrying item 1400 may be equipped with a transmission capability of a known wireless protocol , such as bluetooth , zigbee , etc . to communicate with an indicator either situated within carrying item 1400 . by example , carrying item 1400 may be equipped with an led indicator at an inconspicuous location to serve as an indicator that a weapon is indeed secured within integrated holster 1602 once sensor 1620 detects the presence of an item within holster 1602 . in the alternative , sensor 1620 may communicate with a smartphone , personal digital assistance , computer or other suitable device 1630 via a wireless network medium to indicate the presence of an item within integrated holster 1602 . device 1630 will have stored in memory an application that will permit communication with sensor 1620 and appropriate messaging of the status of the interior holster 1602 and / or concealment compartment 1401 . more sophisticated applications may be implemented in association with sensor 1620 to prevent unlocking and therefore discharge of a concealed weapon placed in concealment compartment 1401 when the weapon is located more than a desired distance from carrying item 1400 . while the above description is of the various embodiments of the present invention , it should be appreciated that the invention may be modified , altered , or varied without deviating from the scope of the invention and fair meaning of the following claims . the following clauses are offered as further description of the disclosed invention . clause 1 . a system for concealing a weapon , comprising : a compartment formed from a first interior side of a personal item carrier and an inner face of an exterior side of the personal item carrier ; a first access port formed within an exterior side of a personal item carrier ; and a first tapered weapon holder , comprising : a first inward side formed within the first interior side of the personal item carrier ; a first outward side formed within the inner face of the exterior side of the personal item carrier ; a first expandable panel connecting the inward side and the outward side . clause 2 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , wherein the personal item carrier is formed of a pliable material . clause 3 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a magnet integrated into the compartment for securing a first weapon within the first tapered weapon holder . clause 4 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a second access port formed within the exterior side of the personal item carrier at an area remote from the first access port . clause 5 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a second tapered weapon holder , comprising : a second inward side formed within the first interior side of the personal item carrier ; a second outward side formed within the inner face of the exterior side of the personal item carrier ; and a second expandable panel connecting the inward side and the outward side . clause 6 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising : a sensor associated with the first weapon holder ; and a tag associated with a first weapon received by the first tapered weapon holder , wherein the tag is sensed by the sensor when the first weapon is secured within the first tapered weapon holder . clause 7 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising an indicator remote from the first tapered weapon holder and activatable by the presence of the first weapon by the sensor . clause 8 . a system for concealing a weapon , comprising : a compartment formed from a first interior side of a personal item carrier and an innerface of an exterior side of the personal item carrier ; a first access port formed within an exterior side of a personal item carrier ; and a first insert formed to substantially occupy the compartment , comprising a first tapered orifice having an open end aligned with the first access port and a distal end ; wherein the first tapered orifice is sized to grip a first protective cover containing the first weapon as the first weapon is removed from the first protective cover . clause 9 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a first fastener integrated into the first orifice for securing a first weapon received by the first orifice . clause 10 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , wherein the personal item carrier is formed of a pliable material . clause 11 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a magnet integrated into the compartment for securing the first weapon within the first tapered orifice . clause 12 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising a second access port formed within the exterior side of the personal item carrier . clause 13 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause further comprising a second tapered orifice having an open end aligned with the second access port and a distal end within the exterior side of the personal item carrier at an area remote from the second access port . clause 14 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause further comprising a second fastener integrated into the second tapered orifice for securing a second weapon received by the second tapered orifice . clause 15 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising : a sensor associated with the first tapered orifice ; and a tag associated with a first weapon received by the first tapered orifice , wherein the tag is sensed by the sensor when the first weapon is secured within the first tapered orifice . clause 16 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , further comprising an indicator remote from the first tapered orifice and activatable by the presence of the first weapon by the sensor . clause 17 . the system of any proceeding or preceding clause , wherein the first weapon is selected from the group consisting of a gun , a knife , and sprayable repellent . clause 18 . a method for securing a weapon within a personal item carrier , comprising the steps of : receiving within a weapon protection insert integrated into at least one interior side of the personal item carrier a weapon ; expanding the weapon protection insert beyond an exterior dimension of the weapon received by the weapon protection insert ; contracting the weapon protection insert to secure the weapon within the weapon protection insert ; and fastening the weapon with the weapon protection insert by adjoining a corresponding first part of a fastener integrated into the weapon protection insert with the weapon . clause 19 . the method of any proceeding or preceding clause , wherein the weapon protection insert is shaped to conform to the exterior dimension of the weapon . clause 20 . the method of any proceeding or preceding clause , wherein the fastener is selected from the group consisting of a magnet , a button , a snap , a clip , a strap or a hook and loop fastener . clause 21 . a holster system for securing a weapon , said holster system comprising : clause 22 . the holster of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said carrying case is comprised of an interior cavity surrounded by at least two exterior walls . clause 23 . the holster of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said compartment contains an opening at a single edge of said compartment , wherein said compartment is positioned within a first wall of said exterior walls . clause 24 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said opening of said compartment is surrounded by said containment mechanism , wherein said containment mechanism is comprised of a first member and a second member . clause 25 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein the unfastening of said first member to said second member serves to close said containment mechanism , thereby securing said opening of said compartment . clause 26 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said opening contains an extender , wherein said extender is positioned at a first end of said opening , wherein said extender is perpendicular to said containment mechanism of said opening . clause 27 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein the unfastening of said first member from said second member serves to open said containment mechanism , thereby unsecuring said opening of said compartment . clause 28 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said containment mechanism is selected from the group consisting : zipper , slider , hook and loop fasteners , and snaps . clause 29 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said compartment is shaped to mimic the contours of a weapon such that said weapon is secure when placed inside said compartment . clause 30 . the holster system of any proceeding or preceding clause wherein said weapon is selected from the group consisting of firearm , stun gun , mace , pepper spray , and knife .	0
the present invention provides photosensitive color proofing articles containing halation suppression compounds of the formula ( i ) disclosed earlier herein . antihalation dyes of the formula ( i ) can be prepared by conventional methods as described in the art . see , for example , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 018 , 810 ; 5 , 318 , 939 and 5 , 198 , 323 . a particularly useful method of preparing these antihalation dyes is shown in the following scheme : ## str3 ## wherein z , r , r 1 and r 2 are as defined previously for formula ( i ). the reaction in the above scheme is a knoevenagel condensation . the wide scope of reaction conditions and components is discussed , for example , in the book advanced organic chemistry : reactions mechanisms , and structure , third ed ., j . march , pp . 836 - 837 , wiley - interscience ( 1985 ). the photosensitive color proofing article of the present invention comprises a photosensitive color layer and a suitable support , wherein at least one antihalation dye of formula ( i ) can be present in or between at least one of the photosensitive color layer and the suitable support . the photosensitive color layer may be in direct contact with the support , or in many constructions intermediate layers ( e . g ., photopolymerizable barrier layers , thermal adhesive layers , etc .) may be present . preferably , the antihalation dye is present in either an intermediate layer or the substrate . optionally , additional layers ( e . g ., carrier layers , release layers , oxygen barrier layers , etc .) may be incorporated into the the construction as desired . in a preferred embodiment , the present invention provides photosensitive color proofing articles containing halation suppression compounds of the formula ( i ) disclosed earlier herein . the inventive photosensitive color proofing article comprises in order : ( a ) a carrier layer ; ( b ) a release layer which also functions as an oxygen barrier layer ; ( c ) a photosensitive color layer ; ( d ) a photopolymerizable barrier layer ; ( e ) a thermal adhesive layer ; and ( f ) a suitable support . the carrier must have a release surface whose function is to serve as a parting layer between the carrier sheet and the release / oxygen barrier layer . in a preferred embodiment , the carrier is composed of a dimensionally and chemically stable base material . in particular , the carrier is polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ) having a thickness of 1 to 10 mils ( 0 . 025 to 0 . 25 mm ) and more preferably , a thickness of 2 to 3 mils ( 0 . 05 to 0 . 076 mm ). the carrier must be capable of holding the image during and after development , which may require some treatment of the polyester surface . adhesion promotion can be achieved through chemically treated films , such as melinex ™ 505 ( available from ici americas inc ., wilmington , del .) and / or corona discharge flame treatment , or irradiation ( as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 879 , 176 ) to promote adhesion of the image without interference in development of the nonimaged areas . the release layer also functions as an oxygen barrier . this oxygen barrier can function as both a barrier for oxygen and as a release layer . the oxygen barrier / release layer releases from the carrier and clings to the photosensitive color layer after lamination to a receiver and subsequent removal of the carrier . the release / oxygen barrier layer can be any known to those of ordinary skill in the art . non - limiting examples include polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) and a copolymer of acrylonitrile and acrylic acid . the release properties of the layer are controlled by the incorporation of a water soluble surfactant . preferred surfactants non - exclusively include alkylarylpolyether alcohols , glycerin and ethoxylated castor oil . in the preferred embodiment , the surfactant is present in the release layer in the amount of 0 . 1 - 5 % by weight of solids in the layer , more preferably 0 . 5 - 3 %. other ingredients may be added such as mold inhibitors , antihalation dyes , filter dyes , solvents , wetting agents , etc . adjacent to the release layer is coated the photosensitive color layer . the photosensitive color layer typically comprises a photopolymerizable oligomer , colorant , initiator system , binders and other optional components such as wetting agents , surfactants , coating rheology modifiers , optical brighteners , plasticizers , residual solvents , fillers , etc . the photosensitive color layer is coated onto the release / oxygen barrier using a mixture of solvents which gives rise to the best coating quality and solution stability . representative solvents include ketones , alkyl ethers or acetates of propylene glycol , alkyl ethers or acetates of ethylene glycol , dioxalane , butyrolactone , and alcohols . the photopolymerizable oligomer comprises a multifunctional acrylate whose function is to form a high molecular weight polymer upon initiation by radiation ( e . g ., ultraviolet radiation or visible light ) generated radicals . the molecular weight of the acrylated oligomer influences several performance characteristics of the final coated films such as the tack of the coated film , the strength of the developer necessary to develop the image , and the quality of the image attained . if the film imparts too much tack , then it is difficult to manufacture the material in a production coating process without disruption of the film , in turn , giving rise to poor coating quality . the strength of the developer required to develop the image is generally directly proportional to the molecular weight of the oligomer and the acid content of the oligomer . oligomers with lower molecular weights and high acid content are easier to develop and therefore do not need very aggressive developers . however , too much acid content or too high a molecular weight can cause destabilization of the pigment dispersions when acidic binders are used to disperse the pigments . some examples of oligomers include multiacrylated urethane oligomers , as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 304 , 923 . the photo - polymerizable oligomer is present in the composition in the amount of 45 - 70 % by weight and has a mean molecular weight range of 2500 to 5500 . in the preferred embodiment , the photoinitiator ( s ) used must not generate a visible color change in the image after exposure . examples of photoinitiators include , but are not limited to , triazines , acetophenones , benzophenones , and thioxanthones . the preferred photoinitiators include irgacure ™ 907 ( 2 - methyl - 1 -( 4 -( methylthio ) phenyl )- 2 -( 4 - morpholinyl )- 1 - propanone ) and irgacure ™ 369 ( both available from ciba geigy corp ., ardsley , n . y . ), quantacure ™ itx ( isopropylthioxanthone , available from ward blenkinsop & amp ; co ., ltd ., widnes chehire , u . k .) and triazines tethered to alkylarylpolyether alcohols and are present in the composition in the amount of 1 . 0 - 15 % by weight . the optimum amount of initiator will be dependent upon the oligomer type used and the light filtering effect of the pigment used . pigments or dyes may be used as colorants in the photosensitive color layer ; however , pigments are preferred since they provide more light - stable colored images . the pigments are generally introduced into the photosensitive formulation in the form of a millbase comprising the pigment dispersed with a binder and suspended into a solvent or mixture of solvents . many different pigments are available and are well known in the art . the pigment type and color are chosen so that the coated colored element is matched to a preset color target or specification set by the industry . the type of dispersing resin and the pigment - to - resin composition ratio chosen are dependent upon the pigment type , surface treatment on the pigment ; dispersing solvent and milling process . some examples of resins suitable for generating millbases which are compatible with the aforementioned photopolymerizable oligomers include : polyvinyl acetate / crotonic acid copolymers , styrene maleic anhydride half esters resins , acrylic and methacrylic polymers and copolymers , polyvinyl acetals , polyvinyl acetals modified with anhydrides and amines , hydroxy alkyl cellulose resins and styrene acrylic resins . the primary composition of the dispersing resin is an acidic resin ; however , some non - acidic resins may be present . in some combinations , a dispersing agent may be necessary to achieve optimum dispersion quality . some examples of dispersing agents nonexclusively include : polyester / polyamine copolymers , disperse - ayd ™ dispersants ( available from synres chemical corp ., daniel products co . division , jersey city , n . j . ), pke 1370 polyester resin ( available from biddle sawyer corp ., new york , n . y .) alkylarylpolyether alcohols , and acrylic resins . other components may also be included in the millbase , such as surfactants to improve solution stability , fluorescent materials , optical brighteners , uv absorbers , fillers , etc . the preferred composition of the millbase comprises 30 - 71 % by weight pigment , 15 - 30 % by weight acidic resin , 0 - 25 % non - acidic resin , and 0 - 20 %, more preferably 0 - 10 %, dispersing agents . additional binders may also be included in the photosensitive color formulation to balance developability and tack . some non - exclusive examples of additional binders which are compatible with the aforementioned photo - polymerizable oligomers and millbases include : polyvinyl acetate / crotonic acid copolymers , styrene maleic anhydride half ester resins , acrylic and methacrylic polymers and copolymers , polyvinyl acetals , polyvinyl acetals modified with anhydrides and amines , and styrene acrylic resins . in the preferred composition of the photosensitive color layer , the pigment is present in the amount of 5 - 20 % by weight , the acidic resin in the amount of 10 - 20 % by weight , the non - acidic resin in the amount of 1 - 5 % by weight , initiator in the amount of 1 to 15 % by weight , and photopolymerizable oligomer in the amount of 45 - 70 % by weight . coated adjacent to the photosensitive color layer is the photopolymerizable barrier layer . the photopolymerizable barrier layer is present to prevent interaction between the color layer and adhesive and to improve developability of the non - image areas . the composition of the photopolymerizable barrier layer comprises an ethylenically unsaturated compound which can form a higher molecular weight polymer upon photochemical radical initiation , an acidic binder and a photoinitiator . preferred examples of ethylenically unsaturated compounds include , but are not limited to , acrylated epoxy oligomers , acrylated urethane oligomers as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 304 , 923 , echo resin ™ tae (# 310 ) ( triacrylated aromatic epoxide , available from echo resins & amp ; laboratory , versailles , mo .) and dynacoll ™ a6083 ( acrylated copolyester available from huls america inc ., piscataway , n . j .) and are present in the composition in the amount of 45 - 65 % by weight . preferred binders include , but are not limited to , polyvinyl acetate / crotonic acid copolymers , styrene maleic anhydride half ester resins , acrylic and methacrylic polymers and copolymers , acidified polyvinyl acetals , and styrene acrylic resins and are present in the composition in the amount of 30 - 50 % by weight . preferred photoinitiators include , but are not limited to , irgacure ™ 907 , quantacure ™ itx ( 2 - isopropylthioxathone ) and triazines tethered to alkylarylpolyether alcohols and are present in the composition in the amount of 1 - 10 % by weight . the thickness is generally between 0 . 15 and 2 . 0 g / m 2 , preferably between 0 . 2 and 1 . 0 g / m 2 dry weight , of the entire layer . this is about 0 . 15 to 2 . 0 micrometers in thickness . coated adjacent to the photopolymerizable barrier is the thermal adhesive layer . the thermal adhesive layer provides a means of laminating the color proofing element to a substrate under heat and pressure . the solvent used for this coating preferably does not attack or interact with the adjacent layer . examples of solvents include alcohols , water and hydrocarbon solvents . because hydrocarbon solvents like heptane are prone to irregular coating patterns , production is very difficult ; more polar solvents such as water and alcohols are preferred . some examples of thermal resins which may be used include : vinyl acetate polymers and copolymers ; acrylic and methacrylic polymers ; copolymers and terpolymers ; polyvinylacetals and acrylamide copolymers and terpolymers . vinyl acetate polymers have been found to be very sensitive to moisture and can cause blocking of the coated materials in shipment and storage if the vinyl acetate component of the adhesive is present at amounts greater than 20 %. the preferred thermoplastics resins include : copolymers of vinyl acetate which contain less than 20 % vinyl acetate , wallpol ™ 40165 ( terpolymer of vinyl acetate / methyl methacrylate / butyl acrylate ) and synthemul ™ 97 - 603 ( both available from reichhold chemical co . inc ., research triangle park , n . c . ), terpolymers of n -( hydroxymethyl ) acrylamide / butyl acrylate / methyl methacrylate , and copolymers of alkyl acrylates and alkyl methacrylates . other additives may be present to aid in coating and performance such as surfactants , coalescence aids , plasticizers , polymethacrylate beads ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 885 , 225 ), silica , polyethylene waxes , optical brightener , uv absorbers , etc . the suitable substrate may be any material known to those of ordinary skill in the art such as paper and plastic . developer solutions used to develop the image after exposure typically comprise a combination of sodium or potassium carbonate , and sodium or potassium bicarbonate and a surfactant . in the preferred embodiment , the carbonate concentration is in an amount 0 . 5 - 2 % by weight , the bicarbonate concentration is in the amount 0 - 1 % by weight , and the surfactant concentration is in the amount 0 . 1 - 1 % by weight of the total developer solution and the balance is water . the preferred surfactants include : surfynol ™ 465 ( ethoxylated tetramethyl decynediol ) and surfynol ™ ga ( acetylenic diols compounded with other non - ionic surfactants and solvents , both available from air products and chemicals , inc , allentown , pa . ), surfactol ™ 365 ( ethoxylated castor oil , available from caschem , inc ., bayonne , n . j .) and triton x - 100 ( octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol , available from union carbide chemicals and plastics co ., inc ., danbury , conn .). exposure latitude , as defined by gatf glossary of graphic arts terms , &# 34 ; is the range of exposures that can be used to produce a commercially - acceptable image . . . &# 34 ; for the following examples , exposure latitudes were determined from the minimum exposure where 2 % highlight dots are observed and the maximum exposure before which 98 % shadows start to plug using a 200 line - per - inch hard dot microphase target to image the construction . these examples are intended to be illustrative of , but not limiting of , the present invention . all chemicals , unless otherwise noted , were commercially available and were purchased from aldrich chemical co ., inc ., milwaukee , wis . the following procedure was followed for preparing proofing sheets for each of the examples discussed below . the following oxygen barrier / release layer coating solution was coated and dried to achieve a dry coating weight of 0 . 8 g / m 2 onto 2 mil ( 0 . 05 mm ) polyester film : ______________________________________oxygen / barrier release solution ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________airvol ™ 540 polyvinyl alcohol 0 . 38airvol ™ 205 polyvinyl alcohol 1 . 1pvp k - 90 ( polyvinylpyrrolidone ) 1 . 0surfactol ™ 365 surfactant 0 . 08kathon ™ cg / icp preservative 0 . 01distilled water 97 . 5______________________________________ airvol ™ 540 and airvol ™ 205 are available from air products , allentown , pa pvp k90 is available from international specialty products , wayne , nj surfactol ™ 365 is available from caschem , bayonne , nj kathon ™ cg / icp is available from rohm and haas , philadelphia , pa the following pigment millbases were prepared for incorporation into the photosensitive color coating solution : ______________________________________red - shade magenta millbase composition ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________pigment red 234 - 0071 radiant 8 . 4butvar ™ b - 98 1 . 1joncryl ® 67 4 . 5disperbyk ® 161 0 . 84fluorad ™ fc 430 0 . 17methyl ethyl ketone 51 . 0propylene glycol monomethyl ether 34 . 0______________________________________ pigment red 2340071 radiant is available from sun chemical corp ., carlstadt , nj butvar ™ b98 polyvinyl butyral is available from monsanto chemical co . st . louis , mo joncryl ™ 67 styrene acrylic resin is available from s . c . johnson & amp ; son , inc ., racine , wi disperbyk ™ 161 is available from bykchcmie usa , wallingford , ct fluorad ™ fc 430 fluorinated nonionic surfactant is available from 3m , st . paul , mn ______________________________________blue - shade magenta millbase composition ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________ciba geigy rt - 333d 6 . 78butvar ™ b - 98 2 . 26joncryl ™ 67 2 . 26disperbyk ® 161 0 . 68fluorad ™ fc 430 0 . 02methyl ethyl ketone 52 . 8propylene glycol monomethyl ether 35 . 3______________________________________ ciba geigy rt333d is available from ciba geigy corp ., newport , de ______________________________________black millbase composition ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________raven 760 11 . 07butvar ™ b - 98 1 . 98joncryl ® 67 5 . 92disperbyk ® 161 1 . 0fluorad ™ fc 430 0 . 04methyl ethyl ketone 48 . 0propylene glycol monomethyl ether 32 . 0______________________________________ raven 760 is available from columbian chemicals co ., atlanta , ga the following photosensitive color coating solution was coated and dried to a reflection optical density representative of the color separation for swop industry color target onto the previously coated oxygen barrier / release layer : ______________________________________photosensitive color solution ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________red shade magenta millbase solution ( 15 % solids ) 17 . 04blue shade magenta millbase solution ( 12 % solids ) 3 . 09black millbase solution ( 20 % solids ) 0 . 62acrylated urethane oligomer p - ii * 8 . 06joncryl ® 67 1 . 03acidified butvar ™ b - 98 poly ( vinyl butyral ) resin 0 . 53triazine initiator ** 0 . 26methyl ethyl ketone 50 . 31propylene glycol monomethyl ether 19 . 06______________________________________ * synthesis described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 304 , 923 triazine initiator = mmost - ol tethered to igepal co520 ( see u . s . pat . no . 5 , 298 , 361 ) the following photopolymerizable barrier coating solution was coated and dried to a dry coating weight of 0 . 65 g / m 2 onto the previously coated photosensitive color layer : ______________________________________photosensitive barrier solution ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________echo ™ 310 2 . 89joncryl ® 586 1 . 98triazine initiator 0 . 13methyl ethyl ketone 93 . 67propylene glycol monomethyl ether 1 . 33______________________________________ echo ™ 310 ( acrylated novolacglycidyl ether ) is available from echo resins and laboratory , versailles , mo joncryl ® 586 ( styrene acrylic resin ), available from s . c . johnson & amp ; son , inc ., racine , wi the following thermal adhesive coating solution was coated with a # 10 mayer bar onto the previously coated photopolymerizable barrier layer and then dried at 200 ° c . for 75 seconds : ______________________________________thermal adhesive solution ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________synthemul ® 97 - 603 latex 35 . 4antihalation dye distilled water 64 . 0tetronic ™ 701 surfactant 0 . 4______________________________________ synthemul ® 97603 latex ( latex emulsionmethyl methacrylate , butyl methacrylate , nmethylol acrylamide ), available from reichold chem . co , inc ., research triangle park , nc tetronic ™ 701 surfactant is availabl from basf corp ., mount olive , nj ** dyes that are watersoluble can be directly added to the adhesive solution . non watersoluble dyes were dissolved first in either dichloromethane or ethanol . the appropriate amount of dye solution was then dispersed in the adhesive . the amount of antihalation dye added ( typically 0 . 07 to 2 . 0 wt . % in the adhesive solution ) was adjusted for each dye such that the final absorbance at i . sub . max of a typical coating made from the thermal adhesive solution was between 0 . 2 and 0 . 4 . no dye was added for the preparation of the control sheets in the examples below the antihalation dyes can be prepared according to well known procedures of synthetic organic chemistry , such as those disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 018 , 810 , 5 , 318 , 939 ; and 5 , 198 , 323 . the following dye intermediates can be purchased from aldrich chemical co ., milwaukee , wis . : 5 - methylfurfural , 5 -( hydroxymethyl ) furfural , pyrrole - 2 - carboxaldehyde , phenylsulfonylacetonitrile , ethyl cyanoacetate , 2 - cyanoacetamide , and malononitrile . methanesulfonylacetonitrile can be purchased from johnson matthey catalog co ., ward hill , mass . trifluoromethanesulfonylacetonitrile can be prepared according to the procedure described in synthesis , ( 12 ), 1991 , pp . 1205 - 1208 . bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) methane can be prepared according to the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 586 , 616 . methanesulfonylacetonitrile can be purchased from lancaster synthesis , windham , n . h . 5 - methylfurfural ( 0 . 64 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ), trifluoromethanesulfonylacetonitrile ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ) and 60 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional thirty minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a viscous liquid , which yielded crystals upon addition of a 1 : 2 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the crystals were collected and then recrystallized using 1 : 2 ethanol / hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the melting point of the compound was 77 °- 78 ° c . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 374 . 4 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). 5 -( hydroxymethyl ) furfural ( 0 . 73 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ), trifluoromethanesulfonylacetonitrile ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 78 nmoles ) and 60 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional thirty minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a solid . the compound was recrystallized using a 1 : 2 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 368 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). 5 - methylfurfural ( 0 . 55 g , 5 . 0 mmoles ), phenylsulfonylacetonitrile ( 0 . 91 g , 5 . 0 mmoles ) and 50 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional ninety minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a viscous liquid , which yielded crystals upon addition of a 1 : 1 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the crystals were collected and then recrystallized using 1 : 1 ethanol / hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 358 . 4 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). 5 - methylfurfural ( 0 . 55 g , 5 . 0 mmuoles ), bis ( trifluoromethylsulfonyl ) methane ( 1 . 4 g , 5 . 0 mmoles ) and 50 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional twenty - four hours . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a iscous liquid , which yielded crystals upon addition of a 1 : 1 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the crystals were collected and then recrystallized using 1 : 1 ethanol / hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 295 . 6 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). pyrrole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 0 . 55 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ), trifluoromethanesulfonylacetonitrile ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ) and 60 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 0 . 1 ml piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional sixty minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a solid , which was immediately recrystallized using 1 : 1 ethanol / hexane . ( care was taken to isolate the crystals immediately after their formation , owing to their tendency to turn brown when in contact with the recrystallizing solvent after a few hours ). the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 375 . 2 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). 5 - methylfurfural ( 0 . 17 g , 1 . 51 mmoles ), methanesulfonylacetonitrile ( 0 . 18 g , 1 . 51 mmoles ) and 15 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional twenty hours . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a solid . the compound was recrystallized using a 1 : 1 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 351 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). 5 - methylfurfural ( 0 . 64 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ), malononitrile ( 0 . 38 g , 5 . 78 mmoles ) and 60 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional thirty minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a solid . the compound was recrystallized using a 1 : 1 mixture of ethanol and hexane . the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the melting point of the compound was 92 °- 93 ° c . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 364 mn ( ch 2 cl 2 ). pyrrole - 2 - carboxaldehyde ( 0 . 48 g , 5 . 0 mmoles ), malononitrile ( 0 . 33 g , 5 . 0 mmoles ) and 50 ml benzene were combined in a round - bottomed flask at room temperature . with stirring , 1 drop piperidine was added and the mixture was stirred an additional sixty minutes . the solvent was removed in vacuo to produce a solid , which was immediately recrystallized using 1 : 1 ethanol / hexane . ( care was taken to isolate the crystals immediately after their formation , owing to their tendency to turn brown when in contact with the recrystallizing solvent after a few hours ). the structure of the compound was confirmed by nmr and exact mass spectrometry . the absorption spectrum showed lmax = 368 . 4 nm ( ch 2 cl 2 ). a magenta proof was imaged and developed in the usual manner for matchprint ™ as disclosed , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 248 , 583 , using the following developer solution : ______________________________________developer solution ( parts by weight ) ______________________________________potassium carbonate ( k . sub . 2 co . sub . 3 ) 1 . 0sodium bicarbonate ( nahco . sub . 3 ) 1 . 0triton ™ df - 16 surfactant 0 . 1distilled water 97 . 9______________________________________ potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate are available from armand products co ., columbus , oh triton ™ df16 is available from union carbide cbemicals and plastics co ., inc ., danbury , ct exposure latitudes were determined from the minimum exposure required to produce 2 % highlight dots and the maximum exposure before which 98 % shadows start to plug as is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art . the following compounds were incorporated in the proofing sheet construction ( by inclusion in the thermal adhesive solution formula ). data are reported for exposure latitude compared with exposure latitude for control sheet ( noted in parentheses ). the numbers in the last column ( d ) represent the number of steps improvement in exposure latitude compared with the control ( no antihalation dye added ). example compounds if , ig , and ih are provided as comparative examples . ______________________________________ d ( latitudeantihalation dye exposure ( steps ) ______________________________________ia ## str12 ## 4 . 9 ( 2 . 7 ) + 2 . 2ib ## str13 ## 3 . 9 ( 2 . 0 ) + 1 . 9ic ## str14 ## 3 . 0 ( 2 . 7 ) + 0 . 3id ## str15 ## 2 . 2 ( 2 . 0 ) + 0 . 2ie ## str16 ## 6 . 2 ( 2 . 6 ) + 3 . 6if ## str17 ## 2 . 3 ( 2 . 7 ) - 0 . 4ig ## str18 ## 4 . 0 ( 3 . 3 ) + 0 . 7ih ## str19 ## 4 . 8 ( 2 . 6 ) + 2 . 2______________________________________ the results show that compounds ia - ie , antihalation dyes of the present invention , all increase exposure latitude . comparison of the increases in exposure latitude for dyes ia and ie over ig and ih ( comparative examples ) highlights the great improvement obtained in using the cyanotrifluoromethanesulfonyl compounds of the present invention for antihalation . reasonable modifications and variations are possible from the foregoing disclosure without departing from either the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined in the claims .	6
as shown in fig1 - 4 , a razor cartridge 10 according to one implementation includes a housing 12 , a cap 14 ( fig2 ), a guard 16 , and a plurality of blades 18 disposed between the cap and guard . the guard may be a composite guard , as described in u . s . application no . 61 / 983 , 790 , filed apr . 24 , 2014 , the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . the housing 12 defines a generally rectangular frame surrounding an open area in which the blades 18 are positioned . as shown in fig3 , the housing also defines a leading guard surface 11 and a trailing cap surface 13 , which together define a contact plane c p . as shown in fig1 a , the razor cartridge 10 may be used in a shaving assembly 320 , disposed on a razor handle 321 . the shaving assembly 320 includes an interface element 314 that allows the cartridge to be mounted on the handle , and that provides pivoting of the cartridge during shaving . the cartridge is mounted on the interface element 314 by the positioning of a pair of fingers 30 which extend from the interface element into receiving bores 35 on the blade unit . a return element 316 provides a return force during shaving . details of this arrangement are disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 13 / 802 , 614 , the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . the razor cartridge 10 preferably includes a number of features that contribute to enhanced skin management and thus to a close , comfortable shave , as described in u . s . provisional application no . 62 / 023 , 419 , filed jul . 11 , 2014 , the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . for example , as shown in fig3 , the blade exposure goes from slightly positive closest to the guard , to slightly negative closest to the cap . the cartridge is designed to pivot in a manner that causes shaving forces to be relatively evenly distributed over the blades during shaving , with somewhat less force being applied to the primary blade . by applying more force to the negative and neutral blades and less to the primary blade , shaving comfort is enhanced without deleteriously affecting closeness . referring to fig4 , in preferred implementations the pivot axis p of the cartridge is positioned closer to the cap trailing edge than to the guard leading edge , measured along the x axis , and below the bases of the blades , measured along the y axis . this arrangement , known as “ rear pivoting ,” reduces the likelihood of nicking due to the positive exposure of the primary blade , especially during clean up strokes , and spreads blade wear relatively evenly between the blades . the rear pivoting arrangement also helps to prevent nicking by the positively exposed primary blade . the combination of this rear pivoting arrangement with the geometry of the lubricating strip , which will be discussed below , maintains contact between the skin bulge and the trailing cap surface over the life of the cartridge . mounted on the housing , adjacent to the cap 14 , is a lubricating strip 114 having an angled upper surface 115 ( fig2 ). lubricating strip 114 includes a matrix of a water - insoluble or biodegradable polymer containing a water - soluble shaving aid , for example a lubricant , e . g ., polyethylene oxide , or other additive or adjuvant useful in wet shaving systems . the polymer matrix gradually erodes with each razor stroke and the shaving aid leaches out of the matrix , providing lubricant to the skin of the user throughout the operational life of the razor . the contact between the user &# 39 ; s skin and the cap 14 helps to keep the skin in tension during shaving , which in turn helps to position the skin onto the contact plane . the geometry of the lubricating strip 114 , the upper surface of which is angled relative to the contact plane and which extends above the contact plane , helps to maintain this contact between the skin and the cap during the intended lifespan of the cartridge . the angle of the leading portion of the lubricating strip relative to the cutting plane extends the number of shaves that can occur before the trailing portion of the lubricating strip wears down to form an acute angle with the contact plane ( i . e ., the trailing edge of the lubricating strip becomes lower than the contact plane of the blades ), at which point this contact between the skin and the cap is generally lost . due to the positive blade exposure of the primary blade and the rear pivoting arrangement of the cartridge , shaving can become too aggressive if the lubricating strip wears down to a negative angle , such that the user &# 39 ; s skin is no longer being urged against the cap by the lubricating strip . to address this problem , the upper surface 115 of the lubricating strip 114 is initially ( prior to the first use of the cartridge ) disposed at an angle with respect to the contact plane , as discussed above , rather than being generally parallel to the contact plane ). because the surface 115 of the lubricating strip is at an angle with respect to the contact plane , the forces between the skin and the lubricating strip surface are at an acute angle with respect to the contact plane , as indicated by the arrows in fig3 , rather than perpendicular to the contact plane . in some implementations , the forces may be at an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the contact plane ( angle a , fig4 ). the initial ( pre - use ) angle of the lubricating strip surface with respect to the contact plane is preferably from about 0 to 45 degrees ( angle b , fig4 ). thus , the forces applied by the skin against the lubricating strip 114 are oriented so that when the cartridge is loaded onto the skin the lubricating strip 114 urges the skin towards the cap 14 , and the loading profile extends in a relatively uniform manner from the leading guard bar surface to the trailing cap surface . the lubricating strip continues to provide contact between the skin and the trailing cap surface until the strip has worn down to or past a point at which its surface is generally parallel to the contact plane . one of the benefits of this design is that as the lubricating strip swells or wears , the shaving geometry of the cartridge , as defined by the contact plane , remains substantially unaffected . the angled surface of the lubricating strip also reduces drag during shaving , allowing a shaving assembly that includes the cartridge to be designed with a lower pivot return force while keeping the contact plane aligned with the skin surface . this lower pivot return force allows the shaving cartridge to adapt more easily to the surface being shaved which reduces the need for handle adjustments and allows the user to more easily manipulate the cartridge during shaving , enhancing the shaving experience . it is also preferred that the lubricating strip be sufficiently high , relative to the contact plane , so that contact between the skin and lubricating strip is maintained over the operating life of the cartridge . in some implementations , the height above the contact plane of the highest portion of the lubricating strip may be substantially equal to the height above the contact plane of the housing adjacent the lubricating strip , as shown in fig1 - 4 . in other implementations , the height of the lubricating strip may be lower , e . g ., the highest point on the lubricating strip may be about halfway between the contact plane and the highest point on the adjacent portion of the housing , as shown in fig5 - 6 , or even lower , e . g ., from about 25 % to 50 % of the height of the housing above the contact plane . the lubricating strip 114 may include a wear indicator 220 ( fig9 - 9a .) that is eroded when the lubricating strip has worn to an extent that will negatively impact user comfort . this indicator is generally positioned such that the underlying material , which is typically of a different color , is exposed when the lubricating strip has worn to a point that renders the effective blade geometry too aggressive for user comfort , at which point the blades may be worn to an extent that reduces shaving efficacy and comfort . for example , a lower ( indicating ) surface of the wear indicator may be approximately level with the contact plane , as shown in fig9 - 9a . alternatively , the lower surface may be coplanar with and slightly above the contact plane . in some implementations , the wear indicator comprises material having a different color from that of the lubricating strip , and a lower surface of the wear indicator is generally coplanar with or parallel to the contact plane . the wear indicator may extend only part way across the width of the lubricating strip , as shown , or may extend across the full width or have any other desired configuration . in some cases , the wear indicator may have a different composition than the underlying lubricating strip body , so that the rate of erosion of the wear indicator material correlates with the rate of wear of the blades or other factors affecting user comfort and shaving efficacy . for example , the wear indicator material may include more of the water - soluble component ( e . g ., polyethylene oxide ) than the lubricating strip body . the composition of the lubricating strip ( e . g ., the wear resistance of the biodegradable polymer and / or the concentration of lubricant ) is preferably selected so that the number of shaves at which the strip has eroded such that its upper surface is generally parallel to the contact plane generally coincides with the desired lifetime of the cartridge . in some implementations , the lubricating strip includes from about 20 % to about 50 % by weight of the polymer matrix and from about 50 % to about 80 % by weight of the water - soluble shaving aid . suitable polymers for the matrix include , for example , nylon , ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer , polyethylene , polypropylene , polystyrene , polyacetyl and combinations . suitable shaving aids include , for example , polyethylene oxide , polyvinyl pyrrolidone , polyacrylamide , hydroxypropyl cellulose , polyvinyl imidazoline , polyethylene glycol , polyvinyl alcohol , methylcellulose , starch , water soluble vinyl polymers ( carbopol ® polymers sold by b . f . goodrich ), polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate , silicone copolymers , sucrose stearate , vitamin e , panthenol , aloe , essential oils such as methanol and combinations . the housing 12 can be made of any suitable material including , for example , amorphous blends of polyphenylene ether and polystyrene , e . g ., polymers sold under the tradename noryl resins , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ( abs ), polystyrene , polyethylene terephthalate ( pet or pete ), high density ( hd ) pete , thermoplastic polymer , polypropylene , oriented polypropylene , polyurethane , polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), polyester , high - gloss polyester , nylon , or any combination thereof . the cap 14 is preferably formed of the same material as the housing , and is generally formed integrally with the housing . the clips can be made of metals ( preferably aluminum , aluminum alloys ) or other malleable material . the guard , including the elastomeric portion of the composite guard , may be made of any suitable materials , e . g ., as described in u . s . application no . 61 / 983 , 790 , filed apr . 24 , 2014 . a number of embodiments have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure . for example , the upper surface of the lubricating strip may have other shapes , so long as the forces between the skin and the lubricating strip are at an angle to the contact plane rather than perpendicular to the contact plane . one example of another suitable shape is shown in fig7 - 8 . in this implementation , the upper surface 215 of the lubricating strip 214 , in profile , is in the form of a generally symmetrical arc . as indicated by the arrows in fig8 , the forces applied by the skin to the surface 215 are oriented similar to the forces applied in the implementations discussed above . in some implementations , the forces may be at an angle of about 30 to 90 degrees with respect to the contact plane ( angle c , fig8 a ). the initial ( pre - use ) angle of the lubricating strip surface with respect to the contact plane is preferably from about 0 to 45 degrees ( angle d , fig8 a ). in some implementations , the cartridge may have more or fewer than five blades . moreover , the exposure of the blades other than the primary blade may in some implementations be different from the progression described above . moreover , while a generally rectangular cartridge is shown in the figures , other shapes can be used , e . g ., oval .	1
fig1 depicts an organ container according to an embodiment of the invention . the organ container 11 is formed of a thin sturdy molded plastic . the container 11 may be transparent to permit viewing of the contents of the container without removing lid 12 . the lid 12 may be snapped on to the container 12 . it is sufficient to maintain sterility of the contents of organ container 11 . the lid 12 contains a captured screw plug 199 . the screw plug 199 may be used to vent the container 12 at the beginning of organ perfusion when perfusion is first selected . the container 12 includes a pad 13 for receiving an organ . the pad 13 consists of a soft sterile foam material . this foam material may be similar to the soft foam inserts normally used to package non - living materials for shipment . pad 13 is sufficiently soft such that it conforms to the contour of the organ transported thereon . the pad 13 , however , is sufficiently firm to support the weight of the organ and to prevent lateral motion of the organ on the pad . pad 13 is tapered having a taller section adjacent a back wall 197 of the container 11 . the center of the pad 13 contains a depression 17 for cradling the organ . alternatively , pad 13 may be inflatable and the depression 17 in pad 13 for cradling the organ may be formed largely during inflation of the pad . the container 11 also includes pad 14 . pad 14 is positioned in the container 11 after the organ is positioned on depression 17 in pad 13 . the pad 14 is pressed down on to the organ when the lid 12 is placed on the container 11 . pad 14 may have generally the same construction as pad 13 . pad 14 also shapes itself to the dimensions of the particular organ being transported . pad 14 also prevents lateral and vertical movement of the organ within the container . alternatively , pad 14 may also be inflatable . pads 13 and 14 carry out functions that are analogous to the much firmer styrofoam pads used for the shipment of objects such as computers , for example , which need be supported only at key positions . this approach permits sufficient flexibility to accommodate any size or shape of organ without sacrificing adequate restraint of organ motion . the pads 13 and 14 provide better support and protection of the organ within the container than gauze or even surgical towels . additionally , the foam pads 13 and 14 are less likely to introduce particulates into the container . therefore , the likelihood of contaminating the organ is reduced . the pads 13 and 14 may be coated with a thin highly flexible sterilizable plastic layer to further impede the introduction of particulates and improve sterilizability . pad 13 is tapered toward the center of the container 11 . in addition to preventing motion of the organ , this arrangement tilts the organ so as to direct arterial and / or venous vessel ( s ) of the organ ( including the portal vein in the case of the liver ) toward a perfusion tube 110 located near the bottom of container 11 . barrier 15 is provided in the container 11 to support the pad 13 within container 11 to prevent motion of the pad 13 toward the center of the container 11 . barrier 15 contains a central depression , as shown in fig1 to permit easy passage of organ vessel ( s ) toward the perfusion tube 110 . a pair of barriers 16 positioned on either side of container 11 act to restrain the movement of pad 14 toward the center of the pad 14 . each barrier 16 is constructed so as to adequately retain pad 14 in position without unduly interfering with placement of the organ into container 11 . pad 14 is further immobilized by contact between it and the organ below and the lid 12 above . the side of pad 14 in contact with barriers 16 may be reinforced to prevent pad collapse at its contact points with barriers 16 . the organ container 11 includes a perfusion tube 110 . the perfusion tube 110 is generally constructed of a plastic material such as , for example , a heavy - walled silastic ® tubing . tygon ® and a variety of other flexible , medical - grade plastics are acceptable alternatives to silastic ®. this permits a firm grip of tube 110 on the organ &# 39 ; s cannula ( previously inserted into the organ &# 39 ; s vessel by the surgeon at the time of organ removal from the donor ) while permitting sufficient flexibility of tube 110 to enable easy insertion of the cannula into the tube 110 . alternatively , perfusion tube 110 can readily be converted to a u - shaped terminus , not shown , using an adaptor or using a version of the container that is specifically constructed for use with organs that have double inputs ( such as the liver , which may use both the portal vein and the hepatic artery for arterial perfusion , or kidneys with double renal arteries ). the organ container 11 and the perfusion tube 110 are constructed such that the surgeon can easily locate the organ within the container and engage the cannula with the perfusion tube 110 . the arrangement of the pad 13 within the container 11 permits the cannula to easily reach perfusion tube 110 . the cannula can be easily inserted into tube 110 and requires no external ligation or other compression of tube 110 to secure the cannula ( e ) in place . the opening 198 in the container 11 is considerably longer than the distance between the back wall 197 of the container and barriers 15 and 16 , and is sufficiently long to fully expose the open end of perfusion tube 110 to view from directly above . this extended length of opening 198 facilitates connection of the organ cannula ( e ) with perfusion tube 110 and subsequent disconnection . perfusion tube 110 extends from a bubble trap 111 . bubble trap 111 is comprised of two compartments , a rear compartment 196 from which tube 110 extends , and a forward compartment 195 into which an arterial line 114 empties . the forward and rear compartments 195 and 196 are separated by a partition 113 . the partition has a height that is sufficiently low to provide adequate flow of perfusate from the forward compartment 195 to the rear compartment 196 so as to avoid the danger of introducing air into the organ . air introduction might occur when the volumes of the fluid in both compartment 195 is sufficient to surmount the height of partition 113 . the partition 113 also is sufficiently high to ensure that the end of fluid delivery line 114 is below the top of partition 113 . this second constraint on the height of partition 113 derives from the fact that the purpose of partition 113 is to ensure that bubble trap 111 fulfills its purpose of preventing bubbles from entering the organ through perfusion tube 110 . more particularly , partition 113 ensures that any bubbles or air that may enter bubble trap 111 from input line 114 are directed upwards toward the top of bubble trap 111 rather than being allowed to be carried downward toward tube 110 . similarly , input line 114 may optionally be perforated near the top of trap 111 with holes 115 . these holes 115 will permit air to escape from tube 114 and rise to the top of bubble trap 111 before reaching the bottom of tube 114 should air be present in the fluid entering tube 114 . additionally , this will permit fluid to escape from the tube in several places rather than only at the bottom of tube 114 . this will reduce the turbulent flow of the perfusate , thus reducing the chance of creating bubbles . tube 114 is necessary because without it , perfusate coming into the bubble trap would impact on the surface of the liquid within the trap , thus creating small bubbles which might be drawn into tube 110 . in normal operation , perfusate coming into the trap from tube 114 should be essentially devoid of air , so the absence of tube 114 would increase a risk of air embolization . organ container 11 contains invaginations 18 , 19 , and 112 . these invaginations are thermal wells intended for the insertion of metal - sheathed thermocouples ( or thermistors ) from below . these sensors are mounted in the floor of the cavity into which the organ container 11 is placed . thermal well 18 permits temperature sensing near the level of the midline of the organ . thermal well 18 has a height sufficiently short to avoid interfering with cannula insertion into tube 110 and to avoid direct and potentially physically damaging contact with the organ . thermal well 19 permits temperature sensing near the top of container 11 and the top of the organ . thermal well 19 is located sufficiently close to a wall of container 11 such that it does not present an obstacle to the introduction of the organ cannula ( e ) into perfusion tube 110 by the surgeon . also , the thermal well 19 is positioned a distance from the wall of container 11 to sample , as much as possible , the temperature of the top of the container rather than of the side of the container because the latter is expected to be better controlled than the former . the thermal well 112 permits temperature sensing inside the rear compartment 196 of bubble trap 111 . the thermal well 112 is positioned to sample the temperature of the perfusate fluid near its entry point into perfusion tube 110 . the thermal well 112 extends upward through the floor of bubble trap 111 . an acceptable alternative to termination of well 112 within the fluid compartment of trap 111 is termination within the wall of trap 111 from which tube 110 originates . this alternative , while not preferred , may be elected should it permit significantly easier manufacturing of the apparatus ( avoidance of any difficulties with leakage of rear compartment 196 into the main cavity of container 11 ). in the event this alternative is selected , the well 112 should be located as near as possible to the fluid of the rear compartment 196 . a vent line 116 is located on top of the bubble trap 111 . this permits venting of the bubble trap 111 as container 11 is filled with a pre - cooled solution such as , for example , viaspan ® ( also known as university of wisconsin or uw solution ). viaspan ® not only preserves organs very well , but it is often suitable for both static organ storage and for perfusion . in cases in which it is not suitable for both static organ storage and for perfusion , a more suitable solution may be substituted . during the operation of filling the container 11 with pre - cooled solution , the bubble trap 111 will not be filled unless it is vented . because the top 194 of bubble trap 111 is located vertically below the opening 198 of organ container 11 , vent line 116 has the capacity of allowing almost complete filling of bubble trap 111 with pre - cooled solution . the difference in height between opening 198 and trap top 194 also allows vent line 116 to enter the wall 118 at site 117 . this arrangement permits the closure of the vent line 116 when the bubble trap 111 has been filled . when the lid 12 is pressed into place on container 11 and forms a seal , the lid 12 will occlude vent line 116 at site 117 , thus closing it firmly and eliminating its venting function . this method of closure of vent line 116 is preferred to the use of a manual clamp . it requires no thought on the part of the user . venting is terminated as soon as lid 12 is placed on container 11 . line 119 is a venous line by which fluid is withdrawn from organ container 11 . the open end of line 119 is located near the bottom of container 11 . this ensures withdrawal of fluid rather than of air from container 11 and further ensures sampling of fluid that is in good thermal contact with the cooling material surrounding the organ container 11 as described below . the venous line 119 is contiguous with arterial line 120 . the arterial line 120 is connected to line 114 and is located outside of the bubble trap 111 . a creep limiter 123 allows the tubes 119 and 120 to be inserted into the head of a roller pump to permit fluid withdrawal from organ container 11 via tube 119 and return to organ container 11 via tube 120 without creeping of tubes 119 and 120 through the roller pump head , as shown in fig2 . one or both of the lines 119 or 120 may include a port , not shown , at a site that would be accessible during organ perfusion to permit fluid samples to be taken for later analysis or that would permit drugs to be injected to stabilize the organ . such a port would be entered by passing a sterile needle through a diaphragm in a standard luer closure and withdrawing the sample into or ejecting it from a sterile syringe . the arterial line 120 includes a filter assembly 121 . the filter assembly 121 is essential for removing particulates such as fat particles or blood clots that may be introduced into container 11 along with the organ . although not considered essential , it is considered very desirable for this filter to continuously filter and sterilize the perfusate to guard against any inadvertent introduction of microorganisms in any manner into container 11 . organs can be perfused at low temperatures through a single sterilizing filter for at least 18 - 24 hours with volumes of as much as 21 liters of viscous , polymer - rich perfusate without serious loading ( blockage ) of the sterilizing filter provided that coarser filters are placed in the fluid stream immediately before the sterilizing filter . this may be accomplished by layering three filters ( e . g ., a coarse particle filter , 1 . 2 micron filter and 0 . 22 micron filter ) on top of each other separated by mesh spacers . although the prior art has disclosed comparable filters , organ perfusion devices described to date , with the exception of that described by u . s . pat . no . 5 , 217 , 860 to fahy et al . and by fahy ( biomed . instru . technol . 28 : 87 - 100 , 1994 ), whose function is entirely different from the function of the present invention , have not included sterilizing filters . the organ container 11 is also provided with line 122 that leads to a pressure dome 124 . line 122 originates in the bubble trap 111 to permit arterial pressure to be determined . line 122 does not extend below the lid of bubble trap 111 to minimize the amount of perfusate , as opposed to air , that enters line 122 when pressure is generated within the bubble trap . the pressure dome 124 may include a second arm , as shown in fig1 for connection to a mechanical pressure gauge ( e . g ., a sphygmomanometer gauge ) to permit manual checking of perfusion pressure and calibration of the microprocessor controlled pressure sensing . a stopcock may be provided in line 122 should , due to operator error , the organ be perfused without connecting dome 124 to its mating sensor , resulting in damage to and leakage from dome 124 . the container 11 is also provided with a sensor port 192 . the sensor port 192 is designed to admit a specially - designed sterile ph electrode or other sensor which is screwed into a sterile , sealed position through port 192 . it should be noted that the bubble trap 111 is deliberately constructed to have a relatively large volume . this is due in part to the impossibility of fully priming lines 119 and 120 and filter assembly 121 before use without introducing air into bubble trap 111 . for this reason , bubble trap 111 must be large enough to readily accommodate the air that will occupy the lines 119 and 120 and the filter assembly 121 prior to their use for the first time . after this initial use , no further air should enter bubble trap 111 , but the trap is large enough to impose a safe distance between the air at the top of the trap and tube 110 . if priming is considered highly desirable , it can be achieved by activating the perfusion pump manually prior to organ insertion into container 11 with lid 12 ajar . the inability to prime lines 119 and 120 and filter assembly 121 prior to their use without making a specific effort to do so is a result of locating them at the top 194 of trap 111 . this configuration , however , is chosen to permit close apposition of the wall 193 , and of the lateral walls of organ container 11 , with the walls of the cavity 227 in which the organ container 11 resides , as shown in fig3 . this is desirable not only for better thermal coupling between organ container 11 and its environment , but also to reduce dead spaces that contribute to the overall dimensions of the complete device , which is desired to remain as small as possible . the operation of the organ container 11 will now be described . initially , the container 11 is filled with the pre - cooled solution , discussed above . the container 11 may then be transferred to an ice environment for maintenance of low temperatures while the organ is being prepared for transfer to the container 11 . in this step , the lid 12 of the container is not exposed to ice in order to remove the danger of contamination . the step involving icing the organ container can be eliminated when it is not awkward or hazardous for the surgeon to put the organ into the organ container while the organ container is pre - seated in its permanent environment . during the holding time prior to accepting the organ , the bubble trap 111 will self - prime . the organ is then placed onto the pad 13 within the container . the arterial vessel ( s ) extending from the organ will then be joined to perfusion tube 110 , as described above . the container 11 may then be filled with additional pre - cooled solution to replace any solution that has migrated into the bubble trap , if the volume of the organ is less than the volume of the bubble trap . the pad 14 is then applied and the lid 12 snapped shut over the organ , sealing tube 116 and hermetically sealing the entire system . the tubes 119 and 120 and the filter assembly 121 are then placed on the lid 12 . the container 11 is then transferred to an organ shipping box 200 , where the thermocouples for wells 18 , 19 , and 112 automatically slide into the wells without any effort on the part of the user due to the alignment of the organ container 11 with the walls of the storage box 200 . the box 200 is then closed for long - term storage and / or transport of the organ . the organ container 11 as described may be used exclusively for static storage . the organ container 11 can be simplified when the clinical intention is exclusive use of static storage without the possibility of perfusion . this simplification is desirable to avoid unnecessary costs for the user . in such an arrangement , perfusion tube 110 , bubble trap 111 , invagination 112 , partition 113 , arterial line 114 , holes 115 , vent line 116 , site 117 , venous line 119 , arterial line 120 , filter assembly 121 , line 122 , creep limiter 123 , pressure dome 124 , top 194 of bubble trap 111 , forward compartment 195 , rear compartment 196 and screw plug 199 may be eliminated . with such an arrangement , the walls 118 and 193 become contiguous ( i . e ., a single wall similar to wall 197 ). an organ shipping box 200 for the organ container 11 will be discussed with reference to fig3 - 5 . the organ shipping box 200 includes two main parts , a lid 247 and a base 248 . the lid 247 and the base 248 are preferably connected on one side by at least one hinge 255 . each hinge 255 must be of high quality and sturdiness to permit precision closing of the lid 247 . at least one latch 254 , shown in fig5 is provided to maintain the lid 247 and base 248 in a closed position . a connecting tube 249 , shown in fig5 conveys gaseous coolant within the cooling system 233 and 234 in lid 247 and base 248 . the connecting tube 249 may be flexible or detachable to permit opening of the lid 247 . the shipping box 200 rests on legs 228 that contain shock absorbers 229 for dampening vibrations that may be transmitted to the organ with damaging effects . the base 248 and the lid 247 form a cavity 227 , shown in fig3 that contains the organ container 11 including lines 119 and 120 , the filter assembly 121 as well as pressure line 122 and terminal cap 124 . the lid 247 and the base 248 each include a cooling material 226 , an external insulation 225 , and a cooling system 233 and 234 . the cooling material 226 is contained in a tank 291 . the cooling material 226 is a material having a melting point equal to a desired storage temperature of the organ . this melting point may vary from organ to organ depending upon the ideal storage temperature for a particular organ . although the different desired organ - specific storage temperatures are not known with precision at this time , the range of expected temperatures that encompass all possible temperature optima is believed to be 0 ° c . to 15 ° c . for static storage and 3 ° c . to 30 ° c . for perfusion with the greatest emphasis being placed on the temperature region from about 3 ° c . to 13 ° c . overall . most organs are continuously perfused at about 8 ° c . to 10 ° c ., and the optimal temperature for static storage appears to be within the range of about 4 ° to 10 ° c . thus , the temperature range that is currently most likely to be valuable for both static storage and continuous perfusion is 6 °± 2 ° c . preferred materials for use as cooling materials in this temperature range ( 4 ° to 8 ° c .) are specified in table 1 . viable but currently less preferred candidates are specified in table 2 . also , the cooling material 226 is not merely limited to a pure substance but may be a eutectic . the criteria for selecting a cooling material include a melting point in the desired range ; relatively low toxicity , explosion or vaporization hazard , flammability , and corrosiveness ; relatively good packageability ; chemical stability ; affordability ; and a relatively high latent heat of fusion ( i . e ., number of calories required for melting the frozen material per gram or per milliliter ). additionally , a relatively small volume change upon freezing and melting is preferred to avoid stressing tank 291 or creating a need for inclusion of air in tank 291 to permit expansion and contraction of the cooling material . despite the latter concern , tank 291 may nevertheless be filled successfully with pure water so that cooling material 226 is ordinary ice . if essential , ice - free compartments can be included in the cooling material region to eliminate expansion - related damage to the tank 291 and the surrounding insulation . ice is a very effective thermal buffer per unit volume , per unit weight , and per dollar and is expected to be strongly favored whenever storage at 0 ° c . for the time required is not seriously more detrimental than storage at higher temperatures . cooling material 226 may be any substance of any kind that is suitable for the conditions of use desired . should mechanical refrigeration be employed , cooling material 226 can even be a liquid over the full range of temperatures of interest . further , the design described does not preclude introducing more than one individually packaged coolant into one organ shipping box coolant compartment . table 1 ______________________________________storagetemper - preferred thermal buffersature (° c .) ( melting point ), d = density______________________________________4 - 5 heavy water ( d . sub . 2 o ) ( 3 . 82 ° c . ), 76 cal / ml , d = 1 . 1 glycerol triacetate ( 4 . 1 ° c . ), d = 1 . 16 selenium oxyfluoride ( 4 . 6 ° c . ), d = 2 . 67 1 , 3 - butanediol sulfite ( 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 245 - 6 2 , 5 - dichlorotoluene ( 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 25 o - acetylphenol ( 5 ± 1 ° c . ), d = 1 . 13 silicon tetrabromide ( 5 . 4 ° c . ), d = 2 . 77 dibromodinitromethane ( 5 . 5 ° c . ), d = 2 . 44 benzene ( 5 . 5 ° c . ), 26 . 8 cal / ml , d = 0 . 88 3 , 3 - dimethylbutanol ( 5 . 6 ° c . ), d = 0 . 81 2 - bromophenol ( 5 . 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 49 2 , 5 - dibromotoluene ( 5 . 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 81 nitrobenzene ( 5 . 7 ° c . ), 27 cal / ml , d = 1 . 20 1 , 4 - diiodobutane ( 5 . 8 ° c . ), d = 2 . 35 salicylisobutyl ester ( 5 . 9 ° c . ), d = 1 . 066 - 7 boron fluoride dihydrate ( 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 63 diiodomethane ( 6 . 1 ° c . ), d = 3 . 33 2 - methoxyaniline ( 6 . 2 ° c . ), d = 1 . 09 3 , 3 - dimethyl butanoic acid ( 6 . 5 ± 5 ° c . ), d = . 91 2 - methylcyclohexanol ( 7 ° c . ), d = . 947 - 8 4 - amino - 3 - chlorotoluene ( 7 ° c . ), d = 1 . 15 4 - chloro - 3 - nitrotoluene ( 7 ° c .) 1 , 2 - dibromobenzene ( 7 . 1 ° c . ), d = 1 . 98 methylmaleic anhydride ( 7 - 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 24 4 - methoxy ethylbenzoate ( 7 - 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 10 4 - chlorotoluene ( 7 . 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 07 ( d , l )- 2 , 3 - butanediol ( 7 . 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 00 ( dl )- succinic acid ethyl ester ( 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 15 octylphenyl ester ( 8 ° c . ), d = 0 . 918 - 9 tribromomethane ( 8 . 3 ° c . ), d = 2 . 89 ( cursory formic acid ( 8 . 3 - 8 . 4 ° c . ), 80 . 6 cal / ml , d = 1 . 22listing ) betel phenol ( 8 . 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 06 4 - pyridine carboxylic acid method ester ( 8 . 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 169 - 10 m - bromoiodobenzene ( 9 . 3 ° c . ), 23 . 2 cal / ml , d = 2 . 26 ( cursory 1 , 2 - dibromoethane ( 9 . 8 - 9 . 9 ° c . ), 30 . 1 cal / ml , listing ) d = 2 . 18______________________________________ source of melting point and density data : handbook of chemistry and physics , 56th edition ( 1975 - 1976 ), robt . c . weast , editor . crc press , cleveland . table 2 * ______________________________________storagetemper - some viable but less immediate candidatesature (° c .) ( melting point ), d = density______________________________________4 - 5 1 - bromo - 4 - ethoxybenzene ( 4 ° c . ), d = 1 . 41 5 - methoxysalicylaldehyde ( 4 ° c . ), d = ? 2 - bromodecanoic acid ( 4 ° c . ), d = 1 . 19 1 - iodonaphthalene ( 4 . 2 ° c . ), d = 1 . 74 5 , 8 - dimethylquinoline ( 4 - 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 07 1 - phenyl -( trans )- 1 , 3 - butadiene ( 4 . 5 ° c . ), d = . 93 chlorotrinitromethane ( 4 . 5 °), d = 1 . 68 3 - methylbiphenyl ( 4 . 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 025 - 6 methyl - laurate ( 5 . 2 ° c .? ), d = 0 . 87 2 - mercaptophenol ( 5 - 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 24 1 - ethoxynaphthalene ( 5 . 5 ° c . ), d = 1 . 06 diethyl suberate ( 5 . 9 ° c . ), d = 0 . 98 3 - chloro - 2 - hydroxy biphenyl ( 6 ° c . ), d = 1 . 246 - 7 tridecylbromide ( 6 . 2 ° c . ), d = 1 . 018 tridecanoic acid methyl ester ( 6 . 5 ° c . ), d = ? ( trans )- isosafrole ( 6 . 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 127 - 8 1 - decanol ( 7 ° c . ), d = 0 . 83 3 - bromo - propoxy benzene ( 7 - 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 365 pentylcyclohexane ( 7 - 8 ° c . ), d = 0 . 95 1 , 4 - dimethylnaphthalene ( 7 . 66 ° c . ), d = 1 . 02 carbonic acid bis -( 2 - chloroethyl ) ester ( 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 35 1 - tetralone ( 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 10 1 , 1 - dichloro - 2 - methyl - 2 - propanol ( 8 ° c . ), d = 1 . 248 - 10 3 , 5 - dimethyl benzaldehyde ( 9 ° c . ), d = ? anabasine ( 9 ° c . ), d = 1 . 046 chlorostannic acid ( h . sub . 2 sncl . sub . 6 ). 6 ( h . sub . 2 o ( 9 °, d = 1 . 93 ) selenium oxychloride ( seocl . sub . 2 ) ( 8 . 5 - 9 . 8 ° c . ), d = 2 . 42 iodine hexafluoride ( 9 . 6 ° c . ), d = 3 . 75______________________________________ * source as in table 1 the cooling system 233 and 234 may be a standard refrigeration system , but a more novel concept is depicted in fig3 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , cooling is created by allowing compressed gas to expand . the gas is passed through a network of tubing that extends through the base 248 and lid 247 . the cooling associated with expansion of co 2 gas , for example , can drive temperatures as low as - 79 ° c . ( the freezing point of carbon dioxide ). given that temperatures this low are not necessary ( and may even be undesirable ), cooling by gas expansion should be adequate . given that co 2 , n 2 , and even o 2 may create undesirable effects after release to a confined space such as an airplane atmosphere ( including asphyxiation , narcosis , acidosis , oxygen toxicity , or an explosion hazard ), the ideal gas of choice and the cheapest possible choice is compressed air . by using compressed air to create cooling of the cooling material , several highly desirable objectives are achieved . a power source is unnecessary to maintain the desired temperature . as a result , no lengthy recharging time is necessary , unlike the situation for a battery . &# 34 ; recharging &# 34 ; consists of simply replacing the tank with a new tank , a process that will require 1 - 2 minutes rather than several hours . although battery power may be required for functions other than cooling ( e . g ., for powering a microprocessor ), the use of compressed gas expansion cooling rather than battery - powered cooling conserves battery power for those non - cooling functions . the use of compressed air allows cooling to be accomplished in any environment , at any time . when temperature begins to drift upward , a valve on the air tank is simply opened for a specified period of time and then closed . the temperature will then return to the desired value ( and should not fall by more than about 1 ° c . as most of the cooling material mass freezes ). unlike compressor - driven refrigeration , there are no mechanical parts to fail . the cooling system cannot malfunction . no servicing is needed . also , cooling with the expansion of compressed air is immediate , whereas cooling by compressor is slow . standard refrigeration is based on gas expansion within a closed system in which gas escape must be prevented . little gas can be contained in a refrigeration system , and thus little expansion can occur at any given time . the expansion of gas from a compressed air cylinder , on the other hand , is not so limited . gas expansion from a tank will allow re - freezing of the cooling material to be achieved in minutes for immediate shipment readiness or re - stabilization of the temperature . the box 200 can be maintained at room temperature in the originating hospital until organ retrieval is drawing near , at which time it can be prepared simply by opening a valve for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or so to freeze the cooling material . this minimizes the need for advance notice of organ availability and , for the medical technician performing it , the cooling is also less time - consuming ( the time required is the few seconds needed to open a valve at the beginning of cooling and to close it at the end ), less distracting ( the med tech can remain in the operating room ), and less bothersome than retrieving ice to fill an ice chest . furthermore , the compressed air tank 231 can be detached when not needed , and need not travel along with the shipping box if adequate thermal buffering is achieved prior to shipment or if compressed air is available at the box &# 39 ; s destination . this allows the box 200 to attain the minimum possible weight and volume , similar to the weight and volume efficiency achieved by conventional static storage systems that do not permit the possibility of organ perfusion and do not permit recooling of the contents of the shipment box without manual replacement of melted ice . in contrast , compressors and batteries , as a general rule , must remain joined to the devices they cool . additionally , the compressed air can be used not only to cool but , in principle , also to pump perfusate either during or independently of cooling . haskel pumps , for example , use only compressed air to drive fluid motions against opposing pressures of up to thousands of atmospheres . this option is not chosen as the preferred embodiment at the current time due to the relative convenience of using electrically - powered roller pumps as described below , but clearly falls within the boundaries of the current invention and may be preferred in some embodiments . such a provision may permit the perfusion pump to be located within the organ shipping box , because the waste heat created by a pneumatically - driven pump should be much less than the waste heat generated by a conventional , electrically - powered roller pump . the movement of expanded gas over a paddle , for example , can be used to generate electrical energy in a manner analogous to the generation of electrical energy by a hydroelectric plant or a steam - powered generator . thus , some of the kinetic energy of the expanded gas can be captured as electrical energy as the expanded gas emerges through vent area 235 and can be used to maintain the charge on the batteries that run a microprocessor 287 , shown in fig5 . additionally , vent area 235 , shown in fig3 is intended to muffle the noise otherwise created by the expansion of the compressed air . since the muffler 235 must act largely by reducing the kinetic energy ( and hence the &# 34 ; noisiness &# 34 ;) of the emerging gas , the energy capture system can also serve as this muffler . the detailed design of muffler / energy capture system 235 is not specified as the general design and principles of such systems have already been fully described in the prior art , although never contemplated for use in this particular application . the exhaust air from muffler / energy source 235 can be directed into an oxygenator and used to oxygenate the perfusate and to remove co 2 from the perfusate if desired when the organ is being perfused . despite the advantages of compressed air cooling , sole reliance need not be placed on the use of compressed air as a cooling source . compressed gas could be used as a backup to or as a booster for conventional refrigeration if desired . it is noted that the use of thermoelectric cooling disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 745 , 759 to bauer et al . is essentially infeasible for efficient cooling of an ice chest due to the lack of available surfaces to cool to remove the heat produced by the thermoelectric pile ( s ). a tank 231 of compressed air may be located on top of the lid 247 , as shown in fig3 . tank 231 is attached to the organ shipping box 200 by a mounting apparatus 232 , which may be any suitable apparatus ( such as , for example , a bracket ). alternatively , the tank 231 can be located beneath the base 248 or strapped to the side of the base 248 . the position of the tank 231 on top of the lid 247 is preferred because it is then possible for the base 248 of box 200 to rest directly on a floor . it is also desirable for the tank to be sufficiently small such that it can be transported with the box 200 should the transport conditions of the box permit the extra space and weight represented by the tank . the tank 231 is attached to the cooling system 233 and 234 at a port 230 . ideally , port 230 is a pressure fitting . a nominally insulated tube 249 , shown in fig5 permits the cooling gas to pass from the lid 247 to the base 248 such that both the lid 247 and the base 248 are cooled . fig5 depicts the front of the organ shipping box 200 . the base 248 includes a keyboard 250 and a data display panel 251 . the display panel 251 may be tilted into a more user - friendly position 252 , shown in phantom in fig5 . display panel 251 may include low - energy meter displays for three internal temperature probes ( t1 , t2 , t3 ), a &# 34 ; lid open &# 34 ; detector ( lid ), the external pressure probe ( pr ) and the external ph probe ( ph ) as well as a computer display 288 . the lid open detector ( lid ) would detect an open circuit caused by lid opening so that any tampering with the organ or excessive heat inleak in transit can be detected . other features , including alarms , a display of organ flow rate and resistance , and a display of parameters such as the projected battery and tank lifetimes remaining , the temperatures of the cooling system 233 and 234 and of the cooling material 226 , and a &# 34 ; tank present &# 34 ; indicator , may be included as desired . all of the elements of display panel 251 are thin such that the display panel can be built into a recess in the insulated wall together with a weather - proof protective panel . wires 289 , running beneath or within the insulation layer 225 of base 248 and optionally of lid 247 , interconnect electronic components . the display panel 251 and sensors are connected to a microprocessor 287 containing an appropriate a / d interface board as well as a d / a output capability . the microprocessor 287 and its a / d and d / a convertors are also housed in a recess in the wall of the organ shipping box . the microprocessor 287 and its energy source should permit operation for at least 24 hours between battery recharges . use of expanded battery packs will allow this design objective to be met . additional operating time can be achieved by making use of the kinetic energy capturing system , described above , or even by the collection of energy by solar cells . when the organ shipping box 200 is accompanied by a tank 231 of compressed air , it is necessary for the microprocessor 287 to be able to carry out temperature adjustment via computer actuation of the compressed gas inlet 230 via an appropriate relay . there should , however , be a manual override provision to permit human operation of the cooling system should a malfunction occur or should this be more convenient at a given time . fig6 shows a preferred arrangement for long - term continuous perfusion . generally , organ perfusion will take place either episodically , when a strong power source 257 and new compressed air tanks 258 become available , or continuously , using the benefit of a cart such as cart 256 which makes available space for the continuous presence of a powerful battery or batteries or an ordinary electrical power source ( 257 may be either ) and backup compressed air tanks 258 . alternatively , the perfusion cart 256 may be eliminated by using telescoping leg extensions , not shown , for legs 228 on box 200 that could be released by pressing buttons on each side of the organ storage box 200 to allow the extended legs to drop down by gravity . in such an arrangement , the tanks 258 or power source 257 may then be connected to the underside of base 248 . the legs would be retractable simply by pressing the same buttons and gradually lowering box 200 to the ground . it is contemplated that an organ may be transported to an airport using continuous perfusion as depicted in fig6 and then detached from cart 256 and pump assembly 240 for transport on the aircraft , and positioned on an identical cart 256 and attached to an identical pump assembly 240 for resumption of perfusion upon arrival at the receiving airport . once the organ shipping box 200 is positioned appropriately , as on the cart 256 of fig6 or in another suitable manner , the conversion from static storage to perfusion is accomplished by carrying out the following steps , which are described with reference to fig3 , 7 and 8 . first ( fig4 ), a pump housing 240 having shipping box connectors 241 and 290 , a pump head cover 245 , a pump 239 , a pressure sensor 259 and an optional sheathed sterile ph electrode with an accompanying meter ( not shown ) is attached to a reinforced wall 242 of the organ shipping box 200 . the housing 240 may be connected by connectors 241 and 290 or other suitable fasteners such as hooks or clips . for example , the upper spur 290 of housing 240 is first inserted into a mating slot on reinforced wall 242 , then housing 240 is rotated into a vertical position , bringing a hand - operated clip 241 into a docking site , where it is attached to secure the housing 240 and its accompanying devices to the box 200 . the pump head cover 245 is then rotated downward to expose the pump head 246 , as shown in fig4 . the latches 254 and organ shipping box lid 247 are then opened . the next steps are illustrated in fig7 and 8 . insulation cylinders 359 - 361 having controlling ends 337 are lifted out of position between the lid 247 and the base 248 and replaced by venous line 119 , arterial line 120 , and pressure sensing line 122 , as shown in fig4 and 8 . insulation cylinders 359 - 361 may then be placed on top of the organ container 11 in place of tubes 119 , 120 and 122 and filter assembly 121 , as shown in fig8 . fig7 and 8 depict the process for removing the insulation cylinders 359 , 360 , 361 and 337 from grooves in cooling tank wall 226 and 262 and in insulator layer 225 and placing venous line 119 , pressure sensing line 122 , arterial line 120 , and the cable 181 of ph electrode 180 into these grooves . the lines 119 and 120 are placed into the roller pump head , as shown in fig2 ., so that slippage of lines 119 and 120 within the pump head is precluded . other pump types may be employed such as , for example , finger pumps or pneumatic pumps . the pressure transducer line 122 is attached to the pressure sensor 259 , as shown in fig4 . this may be accomplished under sterile conditions using a number of techniques . in a preferred method , a cap 124 is a standard dome for pressure sensor 259 . the cap 124 is designed to snap or screw and lock onto the sensing area of sensor 259 . standard domes are separated from the sensing area of their matching transducers by thin deformable diaphragms that will not allow microorganisms to cross . therefore , pressure can be sensed in this fashion without ever breaching the sterile environment of organ container 11 . the operator then connects the devices of assembly 240 to the organ shipping box 200 and to necessary power sources , as shown in fig4 . the operator plugs pump 239 into a suitable power outlet using plug 238 and connects the pressure transducer 259 to the excitation and sensing circuit of 287 by plugging cable 243 into port 286 . if a ph electrode is to be used , it is extended on its pre - attached cable from assembly 240 , positioned in the organ container at the site 192 of fig1 and its cable tucked into the pressure transducer line groove in the wall of the organ shipping box and lid as described in fig8 and its meter &# 39 ; s cable is attached to the a / d converter through port 286 . finally , pump control jack 253 , as shown in fig5 is plugged into the back of pump 239 at a jack input site not shown . this entire process can be simplified by using a single plug to create all of the connections just described ( with the optional exception of the plug 238 ), including the pump control jack connection , which would eliminate jack 253 from the front of base 248 , a desirable choice . the separate connections are illustrated for the sake of clarity . the operator then closes and latches lid 247 , watching carefully to make sure precision hinge ( s ) 255 close the lid correctly so as to avoid damaging or occluding lines 119 , 120 and 122 or the ph electrode cable . ( if this hazard becomes an issue , routine modifications can be made to eliminate the hazard .) the operator tilts head cover 245 into its normal vertical position . head cover 245 protects the components of assembly 240 from the external environment , including from ambient temperature exposure to minimize heat inleak . the arrangement shown in fig7 and 8 imposes direct contact between fluid lines 219 and 220 and the coolant tank to minimize alteration of perfusate temperature within the shipping box despite any warming that may occur during the time a given perfusate volume element is outside the box . pump head cover 245 is ideally composed in part of thermally insulating material . the operator presses a button on the keypad to activate the organ pump 239 and the program for controlling and recording perfusion conditions . when the operator presses a button indicating that the pump head and organ container tubing are ready for perfusion , the microprocessor automatically begins the pump 239 at a slow speed , allowing time for line priming , slow forcing of air from lines 119 and 120 into bubble trap 111 , and slow delivery of fluid into the organ from bubble trap 111 , permitting time for the vessels in the organ to gradually open . after priming is complete , the pump speed slowly changes as necessary to achieve the programmed target perfusion pressure ( or flow ). during subsequent perfusion , the pressure and flow may be held constant , may be programmed to steadily change , may be programmed to oscillate , etc . during this time , the pressures and flows actually attained , as well as all other pertinent data , are displayed and logged into permanent data storage . if desired , drug infusion can be activated using additional equipment in pump pack 240 ( e . g ., a syringe pump actuated by the computer ) according to a desired schedule or in response to sensed conditions . alarms may be activated when certain conditions occur , and the perfusion may be terminated by the program if conditions so warrant . sufficient flexibility can be provided to achieve any programmed procedure desired . to convert from perfusion to static storage , the operator presses a button on the keypad to stop the organ pump 239 and perfusion control . lid 247 is opened . lines 119 , 120 and 122 and the filter 121 are placed in cavity 227 . the thermal insulator assembly 337 and 359 - 361 is placed into its wall position , as shown in fig7 . the ph electrode is detached from port 192 . the lid 247 is then closed , if appropriate , pump and sensor assembly 240 is removed . the invention as described is capable of fully flexible operation , from static storage to perfusion . specializations may , however , be made to achieve greater economy when less flexibility is needed , or to add even greater flexibility than shown . if only static storage is desired , insulation cylinders 337 and 359 - 361 can be eliminated along with ports and wires for connection of assembly 240 devices and the specializations and wall thickening required for attachment of assembly 240 at sites 290 and 241 . the microprocessor , keypad and the temperature sensors can be eliminated if data tracking is not necessary . it is possible that the cooling material 226 could be frozen by placing the entire organ shipping box into a cold room or by filling the organ storage box with ice . should it develop that such simple methods could suffice , the cooling system 233 and 234 could be eliminated . the cooling material 226 might be replaceable rather than being permanently enclosed . this could be accomplished by making the top of tank 291 of the base 248 , and the bottom of the tank 291 of the lid 247 removable and by packaging cooling material 226 in brick - shaped , sandbag - like packs that can be lifted or dropped out of the coolant compartment . in this case , the cooling system 233 and 234 could be structured into a vertical distribution pattern permissive of the removal and re - admission of coolant packs . alternatively , the entire coolant compartment for both the base 248 and the lid 247 could simply be lifted or dropped out of the organ shipping box 200 as intact units and replaced by identical units containing a different type of cooling material . the ability to change cooling material would be desirable should a different temperature be desired for perfusion vs . static storage , and no extra organ shipping box is available to make a transfer of organ container 11 possible or if removal of organ container 11 is not desired . this may also be desirable should a leak develop in the coolant tank 291 or an individual coolant pack necessitating cooling material removal for correction of the leak . as a result , it may be advantageous to compartmentalize the cooling material into several packs rather than to allow the cooling material to exist as one continuous mass since a breach in coolant container would allow less cooling material to escape with the compartmentalized approach . also this permits replacement of the coolant pack after a recommended period of use . additionally , coolant replaceability would increase versatility of the device by permitting the use of multiple cooling materials . the user could for example switch from preserving one type of organ in favor of another organ and therefore use a different storage temperature without purchasing an entirely new organ shipping box . finally , removability would permit coolant replacement when better materials are discovered that deliver the same storage temperatures previously achieved but are considerably less toxic or flammable , have longer lifetimes , and / or have considerably larger latent heats of fusion and / or lower densities for reducing overall organ shipping box weight . the illustration of the cooling material 226 as one contiguous block in fig3 is for simplicity of illustration only . although pegg ( cryobiology 11 : 238 - 247 , 1974 ) has shown that rabbit kidneys preserved by continuous perfusion at temperatures as high as 10 ° c . for periods as long as 48 hours do not require oxygen , an oxygenator can be provided for in the line 119 or 120 . in operation , the oxygenator would mount in the pump assembly 240 and would be supplied by air derived from the exhaust of the muffler / power generator 235 . the inclusion of an oxygenator would be an advantage also for ph control , since co 2 would also be removed while o 2 was introduced . there is generally no need to increase oxygen tension to above that found in ordinary air for this application , and there is no likely need to include co 2 ; however , the inclusion of small additional amounts of o 2 or co 2 in the compressed air can be accomplished without difficulty if it is considered essential . the organ pump assembly pack 240 can contain additional equipment . for example , a syringe pump may be included to permit programmed addition of a drug into the perfusate to benefit the organ or to carry out experiments on the effect of the drug . an oxygenator mount and connecting tube from the muffler 235 to the pack 240 can be provided . although the above - described arrangement for connecting the pressure sensing line to the pressure transducer is preferred since it involves no possibility of microbial contamination , if it is problematic for any reason , e . g ., manufacturing difficulties , two alternatives are suggested . in the scheme illustrated in fig9 the operator would unscrew a male luer plug 284 from the female fitting 283 of the dome 282 preattached to pressure transducer 259 , unscrew female cap 224 from the male luer fitting 285 on the end of line 222 , and then connect 285 to 283 and 284 to 224 as shown . this forms the desired sterile connection and conserves the sterility of cap 224 and plug 284 so that they can be re - used to replug their respective sites of origin when the organ is to be converted back to static storage . during perfusion , they can be kept in a snap - flap pouch provided on the inner wall of cover 245 . because it is possible that sterility will not be maintained for these components 224 and 284 , sterile replacements may likewise be provided in a similar pouch , and sterilizing alcohol swabs and replacement domes 282 may also be provided in the event of any other contamination . an alternative approach would be to connect cap 224 to site 283 using an intervening tube containing one or more sterile needles . cap 224 would be swabbed with alcohol and pierced by the sterile needle leading to 283 to make a seal that could be reversed without loss of sterility by withdrawing the needle . the other end of the connecting tube could have a needle to pierce a similar diaphragm on site 283 , or site 283 could come with the needle line pre - attached . again , replacement needle connections could be provided . the invention has been described with reference to embodiments thereof which are intended to be illustrative . various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims .	0
referring now to fig1 , an mri magnet room 10 containing an mri magnet 14 may have shielded walls 12 blocking and reflecting radio waves . the mri magnet 14 may have a central bore 16 for receiving a patient ( not shown ) supported on a patient table 18 . as used henceforth , bore shall refer generally to the imaging volume of an mri machine and should be considered to include the patient area between pole faces of open frame mri systems . during the mri scan , the patient is held within the bore 16 and may be monitored via wireless patient unit 20 attached to the patient or patient table 18 and within the bore 16 during the scan . the patient unit 20 transmits via radio waves 22 physiological patient data and status data ( as will be described ) to processing unit 24 outside the bore 16 useable by personnel within the magnet room 10 . the processing unit 24 typically will include controls 26 and a display 28 providing an interface for the operator , and may be usefully attached to an iv pole 30 . the iv pole 30 may have hooks 32 for holding iv bags ( not shown ) and a rolling , weighted base 34 that may be freely positioned as appropriate without the concern for wires between the patient unit 20 and processing unit 24 . referring now to fig2 , the patient unit 20 holds an interface circuit 35 for receiving physiological patient signals including , but not limited to , signals indicating : respiration , blood oxygen , blood pressure , pulse , and temperature , each from an appropriate sensor 37 . only ecg signals will be described henceforth for clarity . when used to sense ecg signals , the interface circuit 35 may receive two or more ecg leads 36 , being connected to , for example , the right arm , the right leg , the left arm and the left leg . the signals from these ecg leads 36 are connected to electrode amplifier and lead selector 39 which provides signals i , ii and v , in a normal lead mode to be described below , or signals x , y and z in a vector lead mode ( not shown ), each attached to a corresponding electrode providing the sensor 37 . the leads 36 may be high impedance leads so as to reduce the induction of eddy currents within those leads during the mri process . the electrode amplifier and lead selector 39 provides the signals to an interface circuit 35 which controls signal offset and amplification , provides a gradient filter having variable filter settings to reduce interference from the mri gradient fields , and converts the signals to digital words that may be transmitted to a contained processor 38 . in a preferred embodiment , the ecg signals are sampled and digitized at a rate of 1 , 000 samples per second or faster so that they may be used for gating purposes . other signals , such as those of blood oxygen may be sampled at a slower rate , for example , 250 samples per second . the processor 38 communicates with flash memory 41 which may be used to buffer and store data from ecg leads 36 and which may have a stored program controlling the operation of the patient unit 20 as will be described below . the processor 38 may communicate with an operator indicator 40 , in this case a bi - colored led , which may display operating information according to the following states : led color meaning blinking green good ecg signals solid green no ecg signal blinking red ecg , poor communication solid red no ecg , poor communication the operator indicator 40 has a lens which protrudes from a housing of the patient unit 20 so that it can be viewed by an operator sighting along the bore from a variety of attitudes . importantly , the operator indicator 40 may be used during preparation of the patient outside of the bore , even in the absence of the processing unit 24 in the patient &# 39 ; s hospital room . the processor 38 of the patient unit 20 may also communicate with a transceiver 42 . a suitable transceiver 42 provides multi - band gaussian frequency shift keying ( gfsk ) in the 2 . 4 ghz ism band and is capable of operating on battery power levels to produce powers of 0 dbm such as a type commercially available from nordic semiconductors of norway under the trade name nrf24e1 . the transceiver 42 provides for transmission and reception of digital data packets holding samples of the ecg data with calculated error - correction codes over radio channels that may be selected by processor 38 . preferably the radio channels are selected to provide a substantial frequency difference between the channels to reduce the possibility of any interfering source of radio frequency from blocking both channels at the same time . the selection of channels 1 and 9 provide for an 8 mhz separation between channels . the transceiver 42 connects to a microstrip antenna 44 which may be wholly contained within a housing 46 of the patient unit 20 outside of faraday shield 83 to be described in more detail below . the housing 46 , may for example be an insulating plastic material or other material . a battery 48 having no ferromagnetic terminal or other components , such as a polymer battery , is used to provide power to each of the interface circuit 35 , processor 38 , transceiver 42 and operator indicator 40 , all held within the faraday shield 83 . referring now to fig3 , the processing unit 24 contains two transceivers 50 a and 50 b compatible with transceiver 42 , and each switching between one of at least two channels depending on the frequency of transmission by the transceiver 42 . each of the transceivers 50 and 50 b are connected to two antennas : antennas 52 a and 52 b for transceiver 50 a , and antennas 54 a and 54 b for transceiver 50 b , via a solid - state antenna switches 56 a and 56 b , respectively . a controller 58 receives data from and provides data to each of transceivers 50 a and 50 b for communication with the patient unit 20 . the controller 58 also provides signals to the switches 56 a and 56 b to control which antennas are connected to transceiver 50 a and 50 b . antennas 52 and 54 are both spatially diverse and have different polarizations . ideally , antennas 52 a and 54 a are vertically polarized and antennas 52 b and 54 b are horizontally polarized . further , the antennas 52 and 54 are spaced from each other by approximately an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength of the frequencies of transmission by the patient unit 20 representing an expected separation of nodal points . this spacing will be an odd multiple of approximately 3 cm in the 2 . 4 ghz ism frequency band . with these diverse antennas 52 a , 52 b , 54 a , and 54 b , drop - off or adverse polarization of the waves at the processing unit 24 , may be accommodated by switching of the antennas 52 and 54 . generally , this switching may be triggered when the signal from a given transceiver 50 a or 50 b is indicated to be corrupted by the error - correction code attached to data packets received by the given transceiver 50 a or 50 b as detected by program executed by the controller 58 . alternatively , the signal quality , for example , the signal strength or the length of time that the signal has been above a predetermined threshold , may be used to trigger the switching to the better of the two antennas 52 and 54 . the controller 58 communicates with a memory 60 such as may be used to store data and a program controlling operation of the processing unit 24 . the controller 58 may also communicates with the display 28 that may display the physiological data collected by the patient unit 20 and user controls 26 that allow programming of that processing unit 24 and control of the display 28 according to methods well - known in the art . referring now to fig2 and 4 , during operation , the processor 38 of the patient unit 20 executes a stored program in memory 60 to collect data from ecg leads 36 and to transmit it in time - diverse forward data packets 65 over multiple time frames 66 . during a first time frame 66 a , the processor 38 may switch the frequency of transmission of the transceiver 42 and provide a settling period of approximately 220 microseconds . as will be described , the frequency need not be changed at this time , but allowance is made for that change . at time frame 66 b , forward data packet 65 , being physiological data from the patient , is transmitted from patient unit 20 to processing unit 24 . this forward data packet will include a header 68 a which generally provides data needed to synchronize communication between transceivers 42 and 50 a and 50 b , and which identifies the particular data packet as a forward data packet 65 and identifies the type of physiological data , e . g . : ecg , spo 2 , etc . following the header 68 a , data 68 b may be transmitted providing current samples in 16 - bit digital form for the ecg signals at the current sampling time ( e . g ., li 0 , lii 0 , lv 0 ). this is followed by data 68 c providing corresponding samples in 16 bit digital form for the ecg signals at the next earlier sampling time ( e . g ., li − 1 , lii − 1 , lv − 1 ) as buffered in the patient unit 20 . this in turn is followed by data 68 d providing corresponding samples in 16 bit digital form for the ecg signals at the next earlier sampling time before data 68 d ( e . g ., li − 2 , lii − 2 , lv − 2 ) again as buffered in the patient unit 20 . in the vector mode , the samples may be x n , y n , and z n . thus , a rolling window of three successive sample periods ( one new sample and the two previous samples for each lead ) is provided for each forward data packet 65 . this time diversity allows data to be transmitted even if two successive forward data packets 65 are corrupted by interference . status data 68 e follows data 68 c and provides non - physiological data from the patient unit 20 indicating generally the status of the patient unit 20 including , for the example of ecg data , measurements of lead impedance , device temperature , operating time , battery status , test information , information about the lead types selected , the gradient filter settings selected , and the next or last radio channel to be used to coordinate the transceivers 42 and 50 a and 50 b . the status data 68 e may also include a sequence number allowing the detection of lost forward data packet 65 . different status data 68 e is sent in each forward data packet 65 as indexed by all or a portion of the bits of the sequence number . this minimized the length of each forward data packets 65 . finally status data 68 e includes an error detection code 68 f , for example , a cyclic redundancy code of a type well known in the art , computed over the total forward data packet 65 of header 68 a , data 68 b , data 68 c , data 68 d , and status data 68 e that allows detection of corruption of the data during its transmission process by the controller 58 . detection of a corrupted forward data packet 65 using this error detection code 68 f causes the controller to first see if an uncorrupted packet is available form the other transceiver 50 a or 50 b , and second to see if an uncorrupted packet is available from the following two forward packets . the antenna of the transceiver 50 a or 50 b is in any event switched to see if reception can be improved . alternatively , signal quality , as described above , may be used to select among packets . referring still to fig4 , the forward data packet 65 of time frame 66 b is followed by another channel changing time frame 66 c which allows changing of the channel , if necessary , which is followed by a backward data packet 67 of time frame 66 d providing data from the processing unit 24 to the patient unit 20 . referring now to fig5 , the backward data packet 67 may include a header frame 70 a followed by command frame 70 b and an error detection code 70 c . the commands of the command frame 70 b in this case may be instructions to the patient unit 20 , for example , pulse the led of the operator indicator 40 for testing or initiate a test of the hardware of the patient unit 20 according to diagnosis software contained therein , or to select the lead type of vector or normal described above , or to change the gradient filter parameters as implemented by the interface circuit 35 , or to provide a calibration pulse , or to control the filling of flash memory on the patient unit 20 as may be desired . referring again to fig4 , an uncommitted time frame 66 e may be provided for future use followed again by a channel change time frame 66 f which typically will ensure that the radio channel used during the following forward data packet 65 of time frame 66 g is different from the radio channel used in the previous forward data packet 65 of time frame 66 b . this ensures frequency diversity in successive forward data packet 65 further reducing the possibility of loss of a given sample . referring now to fig6 , the present invention contemplates that the patient unit 20 may be used for setup of the patient without the need for processing unit 24 , for example , in the patient &# 39 ; s room before the patient is transported to the magnet room 10 or as a portable patient monitor that may be used for short periods of time in the patient room or during transportation of the patient and providing some of the features of the processing unit 24 . for this purpose the patient unit 20 may include not only light for operator indicator 40 , but graphic display 72 being similar to display 28 providing , for example , an output of physiological signal wave forms 74 and alphanumeric data 76 . referring to fig7 , the display 72 to be suitable for use in the mri environment , may comprise a liquid crystal panel 77 driven by processor 38 according to well known techniques but backlit by a series of solid state lamps , preferably white light - emitting diodes ( leds ) 80 communicating to the rear surface of the lcd panel 78 by a light pipe 82 instead of a common cold cathode fluorescent lamp . the leds 80 may be driven by a dc source to be unmodulated so as to reduce the possibility of creating radio frequency interference in the magnet bore caused by switching of the leds 80 . the use of leds 80 also eliminates the high voltage interference that can occur from operation of cold cathode fluorescent tubes and the magnet components inherent in such tubes . referring now to fig8 , the circuitry of the patient unit 20 shown in fig2 , with the exception of the microstrip antenna 44 , may be contained within a faraday shield 83 held within the housing 46 and comprised of a box of conductive elements 84 formed of a mesh material , such as a screen or wire cloth . the microstrip antenna 44 may connect with the circuitry of the patient unit 20 with a conductor threaded through the mesh , through a waveguide , or a small aperture in the mesh , which blocks only free space radio frequency electromagnetic signals . the screen elements 84 may provide a mesh size smaller than the wavelength of the mri gradient fields but ample to allow the display 72 to be viewed therethrough . alternatively , the display 72 may be positioned outside of the faraday shield 83 . the light ( preferably an led ) for the operator indicator 40 may protrude through the faraday shield 83 to provide greater visibility to an operator outside the magnet bore . the screen elements 84 providing radio frequency shielding for each face of the box forming the faraday shield 83 may be insulated from each other with respect to direct currents , but yet joined by capacitors 86 at the corner edges of the box to allow the passage of a radio frequency current . the effect of these capacitors is to block the flow of lower frequency eddy currents induced by the magnetic gradients such as can vibrate the patient unit 20 when it is positioned on the patient . alternatively , the capacitors 86 may be replaced with resistors ( not shown ) to dissipate the eddy currents through resistive heating . referring now to fig9 , the patient unit 20 may desirably be held by a harness 90 to the body , for example the shoulder of the patient 92 , so as to be free from interference with the patient while maintaining a position conducive to transmission of wireless operator indicator 40 . as positioned on the shoulder of the patient 92 , the microstrip antenna 44 is removed from the patient 92 for line of sight transmission out of the bore and the led operator indicator 40 is exposed for viewing outside the magnet bore . the harness may provide a guide for the ecg leads 36 reducing their entanglement and simplifying installation of the unit on the patient 92 . referring now to fig1 , the present invention further contemplates that a gating unit 100 may be positioned in the magnet room 10 to receive signals both from the processing unit 24 and patient unit 20 , and thereby to generate gating signals that may be used for gating the mri machine . this gating unit may eavesdrop on the transmissions between the patient unit 20 and the processing unit 24 reducing the transmission overhead required of using these signals for gating . it is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein , but include modified forms of those embodiments including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims . for example , the diversity techniques as described herein may be applicable to optical and other wireless transmission methods . in the case of optical transmission , for example , different frequencies of light , modulation types , modulation frequencies , polarizations , orientations may be used to provide diversity .	6
an adjustable hinge for use in a foldable apparatus is provided . the foldable apparatus herein can be a mobile phone . as shown in fig1 a , the foldable apparatus 10 includes a cover 102 , a body 101 and an adjustable hinge 103 . the adjustable hinge 103 connects with the cover 102 and the body 101 to allow the cover 102 and the body 101 to open or fold according to a user &# 39 ; s demand . as shown in fig1 b , when the cover rotates , relative to the body 101 , to a fully open position , a maximum opening angle “ a ” is defined . as shown in fig1 c , after the adjustment by the adjustable hinge 103 ( how to adjust will be elaborated below ), the value of the maximum opening angle has changed to “ b ( b & gt ; a ).” thus , the maximum opening angle can be changed to fit different requirements . referring now to both fig1 d and 1 e , the foldable apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a cover 102 , a body 101 and an adjustable hinge 103 . in fig1 d , the maximum opening angle of the foldable apparatus 10 is fixed . when the user wants to adjust the maximum opening angle , he has to pull the adjustable hinge along the direction x depicted in fig1 d . then the user has to rotate the adjustable hinge 103 following the direction y ( or the opposite direction ) depicted in fig1 e to adjust the maximum opening angle . the details of the adjustable hinge 103 will be described below . fig1 f is a schematic view of an adjustable hinge of an embodiment of the present invention . now referring to fig1 f , the adjustable hinge 103 includes a fixed portion 105 and a rotatable portion 104 . the fixed portion 105 is fixedly attached to the body 101 and the rotatable portion 104 can rotate relative to the body 101 . it should be noted that the adjustable hinge of the present invention is not limited to that as shown in fig1 f . fig2 is a side view of an adjustable hinge in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig2 , the adjustable hinge includes a fixed portion 23 and a rotatable portion 21 . the rotatable portion 21 includes a first protrusion portion 201 and defines a space 204 . the fixed portion 23 connects with the body ( not illustrated ). the fixed portion 23 includes a second protrusion portion 203 and defines a recess 202 . when the first protrusion portion 201 is disposed in the recess 202 , the rotatable portion 21 and the fixed portion 23 cannot have any relative movement and the maximum opening angle cannot be adjusted . when the user pulls the rotatable portion 21 out of the fixed portion 23 ( along x direction depicted in fig2 ), then the first protrusion portion 201 is outside the recess 202 and the user can adjust the maximum opening angle . after the user has finished the adjustment , he only has to put the first protrusion portion 201 into the recess 202 , and then the maximum opening angle value will be fixed again . referring now to fig3 , the adjustable hinge 103 includes a cap 301 , a cylinder 302 , a shaft 304 , a ring 305 , a holder 307 and a cam 308 . the cap 301 includes a first protrusion portion 303 and the holder 307 defines a recess 309 . the first protrusion portion 303 can be disposed in the recess 309 . when the first protrusion portion 303 is disposed in the recess 309 , the maximum opening angle , defined by the cover and the body , is not adjustable . on the contrary , when the first protrusion portion 303 is outside the recess 309 , the maximum opening angle can be adjusted according to different requirements . as shown in fig3 , the cam 308 includes a second protrusion portion 310 and the ring 305 defines a space 306 . referring to fig4 , the second protrusion portion 310 is inside the space 306 . the space 306 provides the second protrusion portion 310 with a limit room to adjust the maximum opening angle by changing the relative position of the second protrusion portion 310 in the space 306 . the size of the space 306 determines the adjusting range of the maximum opening angle . the more the second protrusion portion can move in the space 306 , the wider range the maximum angle can be adjusted . as shown in fig3 , the cap 301 , the cylinder 302 , the shaft 304 and the ring 305 can rotate relative to the body 101 ( these parts are functionally similar to the rotatable portion 21 as shown in fig2 ), and the holder 307 and the cam 308 are fixedly attached to the body 101 ( these two parts are functionally similar to the fixed portion 23 as shown in fig2 ). referring to the embodiment as shown in fig3 , the user pulls the cap 301 and cylinder 302 out of the holder 307 ( along x direction depicted in fig3 ), then the first portion 303 is outside the recess 309 and the user can adjust the maximum opening angle . after the user has finished his adjustment , he only has to put the cap 301 and cylinder 302 into the recess 309 , and then the maximum opening angle value will be fixed again . referring now to fig5 , the cylinder 302 includes a hook 503 , and one end of the shaft 304 includes a third protrusion portion 501 . the hook 503 is used to join the third protrusion portion 501 of the shaft 304 to avoid detaching the cylinder 302 accidentally from the adjustable hinge , when the user tries to pull out the cylinder 302 . in other embodiments , similar methods can provide the same function , for example by increasing the friction force between the cylinder 302 and the shaft 304 . referring back to fig2 , the fixed portion 23 connects with the body ( not illustrated ) by utilizing at least one latch ( not illustrated ) and at least one corresponding trench ( not illustrated ). the latch is disposed on the fixed portion 23 , and the trench is disposed on the body . however , in another embodiment of fig3 , the latch can be disposed on the holder 307 and the trench is disposed in the body . in the embodiment of fig3 , the adjustable hinge of the present invention further includes a resilient member 601 . referring to fig6 , the resilient member 601 provides a resilient force to maintain the relative position between the cam ( not illustrated ) and the holder ( not illustrated ). the adjustable hinge of the present invention can further include a sleeve 602 and a fixing ring 603 to use with the resilient member 601 . as shown in fig6 , the sleeve 602 covers the resilient member 601 , and the fixing ring 603 connects with one end of the shaft to get some support . when the resilient member 601 connects with the cam ( not illustrated ) along the x direction , the resilient member 601 provides a resilient force to maintain the relative position between the cam and the holder to ensure the adjustable hinge works in normal condition . while the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to these embodiments . the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements within the spirit and scope of the appended claims .	8
in the following description , numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention . however , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments may be possible . all phrases , derivations , collocations and multiword expressions used herein , in particular in the claims that follow , are expressly not limited to nouns and verbs . it is apparent that meanings are not just expressed by nouns and verbs or single words . languages use a variety of ways to express content . the existence of inventive concepts and the ways in which these are expressed varies in language - cultures . for example , many lexicalized compounds in germanic languages are often expressed as adjective - noun combinations , noun - preposition - noun combinations or derivations in romanic languages . the possibility to include phrases , derivations and collocations in the claims is essential for high - quality patents , making it possible to reduce expressions to their conceptual content , and all possible conceptual combinations of words that are compatible with such content ( either within a language or across languages ) are intended to be included in the used phrases . the invention describes seismic seabed cables and methods of using same to reduce the effects of water flowing past the cables during swift current events . certain cables of the invention include elements that shed vortices , reduce drag , and reduce lifting forces on the cable . other cables of the invention include members that promote stability of the cables in the crossline direction , while yet other cables of the invention have exterior shapes allowing fluids to pass between the cable and the seabed . finally , seabed seismic cables of the invention include those wherein a combination of two or more of these features is employed . while the terms “ seabed ” and “ seafloor ” are used herein , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the invention is not limited to use of seismic cables on seabeds or seafloors , but the apparatus and methods may be used in all types of water and liquids and all types of terra firma permanently or temporarily under water or other liquid ( such as water / oil mixtures , emulsions , chemicals , and the like ), including but not limited to fresh water , oceans , seas , transition zones , tidal zones , lagoons , lakes , rivers , bays , gulfs , channels , inlets , fjords , lochs , streams , marshes , creeks , indeed anywhere shear wave seismic data is desired and where the cable may be affected by a flowing current . in strong current situations , the strongest force applied to the cable may be the lift force because of non - laminar flow behind the cable , as depicted schematically in fig1 for a prior art seabed seismic cable 2 . the non - laminar flow 4 over cable 2 lying on seabed 1 causes both a force caused by disturbed flow 8 trying to push the cable out of position , and a force 6 ( bernoulli lifting force ) trying to lift the cable from the seafloor . the disturbed flow 8 at the bottom of the cable near the impact zone with the oncoming current may cause vibration of cable 2 , which is undesirable since it creates noise in signals picked up by sensors ( not shown ) within cable 2 . furthermore , frequently , but not always , the current increases further away from seafloor 1 , so that upon initial lifting , cable 2 will experience an even greater lift force due to the even stronger current , and any increase in cable height above seafloor 1 may significantly worsen its stability . as may be seen , cable 2 is frequently subject to instability in the presence of strong water currents at or just above the seafloor . tidal currents , river currents , strong underwater streams , and bad weather ( waves ) are but a few examples . water currents induce vibrations that may be transmitted to the sensors . the noise level on the sensors may increase , which may degrade data quality and may actually stop data acquisition . furthermore , the coupling of the sensor housing to the seafloor may become poor and inconsistent , which may degrade data quality . also , any significant cable movement may require repositioning of the cable , losing time and may require picking up and re - deploying the cable . the invention provides several solutions to improve the stability of seabed seismic cables in the presence of water currents at the seafloor , without significantly increasing their weight . referring to fig2 and 3 , illustrating one embodiment 200 of the present invention , certain apparatus and methods of the invention reduce or overcome problems with previous apparatus and methods by providing elements 10 that are capable of extending generally transversely of cable 2 under the influence of water flow when the current reaches a certain magnitude , thus altering significantly the flow pattern around the cable . this will allow operation of such cables in areas with strong current and may improve the quality of the recorded data , as less vibration will be transmitted to the sensors inside cable 2 . the mechanical properties of the cable are not changed significantly in a way that could impact the quality of the data recorded by the seabed seismic system . elements 10 , 12 , and 14 may be referred to as “ fairing elements ”, or collectively as “ fairing ”, and may be attached to cable 2 at several points around the circumference of the cable , or may be a part of the cable . fairing elements 10 function to improve the flow of water without impacting the cable mechanical properties . by fairing is meant an auxiliary structure or the external surface of a cable itself that serves to reduce drag . there are different types of fairing . one useful type is hairy fairing , which does not introduce significant cable torsion , orients itself in the right direction , and has marginal impact on the cable diameter and storage volume . fairing elements may also comprise strips of material , having length much greater than their width and thickness , and this type is illustrated in fig2 . fairing elements 10 orient with the current , and will therefore not try to rotate the cable . fairing elements 10 , 12 , and 14 may be made very flexible and thin , so as to have only a marginal impact on the cable diameter , and will tend to make the flow of fluid over the cable more laminar . fairing elements 14 may also help diminish the turbulence in front of cable 2 , and may therefore reduce or prevent the pushing force mentioned earlier . fairing elements 10 , 12 , and 14 may be attached to cable 2 in three direction 120 degrees apart , as depicted , so that the apparatus is able to influence the flow past the cable efficiently no matter how the cable is oriented . full 360 degree fairing could also be used , or any angle between fairing elements for that matter . as noted in fig3 it is not necessary that all elements extend perfectly under the influence of the current in order to substantially fulfill their intended function . for example , element 10 ′ has been moved to a position under its neighboring element 10 due to some reason , for example perhaps cable 2 was pulled slightly along the seabed . elements 14 ′ are not laying perfectly on the seabed . however , as long as a significant number of elements are able to extend as elements 10 , the main function of the elements will be fulfilled . fig4 and 5 illustrate further optional features of apparatus and methods of the invention in embodiments 300 and 400 , respectively . referring to embodiment 300 in fig4 , note that elements 10 may be wider at an end 20 attached to cable 2 , and their width may decrease gradually until reaching pointed ends 22 distal from cable 2 . this feature may increase the streamline effect of the elements , and also allows a greater portion of their weight to be near cable 2 , which will help weigh down cable 2 . another option is that the elements need not all be the same in shape or length . element 24 is depicted as sorter than its neighboring elements 14 , and has a non - pointed tip distal from cable 2 . embodiment 400 of fig5 illustrates alternating long and short elements 10 and 11 , respectively , which may decrease the tendency of some elements to overlap , as previously indicated by element 10 ′ in fig3 . another prior art seabed seismic cable is illustrated schematically in perspective in fig6 . cable 2 ′ comprises a support cable 25 and a signal cable 28 enclosed within a protective cover material 31 . signal cable 28 is combined within support cable 25 at the time of manufacture , in helical fashion as illustrated . a ripcord 26 may be used to expose portion of signal cable 28 , leaving a helical channel or groove 30 in support cable 25 . one embodiment if this invention is to add channels or grooves in the cable to allow flow of water under the cable . this may be accomplished in any number of ways , one way being depicted in fig7 , which illustrates embodiment 500 , a modified version of the cable of fig6 having elements 10 , 12 , and 14 as in prior embodiments , but also including a helical flow channel 30 . by providing an alternate passage for fluid to flow below the cable ( helical groove or channel 30 ), the fluid flow above the cable may be reduced , reducing the uplift and drag . other channels may be used , such as circular channels extending all the way around the circumference of cable 2 ′ and generally parallel to elements 10 , as described in reference to fig8 . other channel configurations may be envisioned by those of ordinary skill in the art , and are considered within the present invention . fig8 illustrates an embodiment 600 of a hairy fairing useful in the invention . in this embodiment elements 10 and 14 are illustrated as undulating strands of material , which may flap up , down and all around under strong current , much like strands of string in a strong wind , or the tail of a kite . strands 10 and 14 may be attached separately , after manufacture of cable 2 , or they may be loosened from the skin of cable 2 , which might be a braided material as indicated at 32 . cable 2 may have circular grooves or channels 30 a and 30 b in the cable skin , or in a sleeve around the cable skin . alternatively , channels 30 a and 30 b may be part of a helical groove , as previously described in reference to fig7 . fig9 a , and 9 b illustrate another embodiment 700 of the invention . fig9 illustrates a seabed cable 2 having an exterior surface shape that defines , in this embodiment , a plurality of shaped channels 30 formed in cable 2 in the crossline ( y ) direction . channels 30 of this embodiment are more easily viewed in fig9 a and 9b , where the former is a cross - section taken along the line “ 9 a - 9 a ” of fig9 , and fig9 b is a side elevation view . it may be seen that the exterior shape of cable 2 , including channels 30 creates multiple paths for fluid to travel between cable 2 and seabed 1 substantially in the crossline direction . the width and depth of channels 30 or other shape perturbations may be uniform or non - uniform from channel to channel , and channels 30 may be spaced uniformly or non - uniformly along cable 2 in the inline , or ( x ) direction . furthermore , channels 30 need not extend the entire circumference around cable 2 . channels 30 are not limited to any particular shape , cross - section , length , width , depth , or volume . fig1 , 11 , 12 , and 13 illustrate side elevation views of four other seabed cable embodiments of the invention . fig1 illustrates embodiment 710 comprising a cable 2 having members 40 , shown here as pointed cones . other possible shapes for members 40 include pyramids , such as 3 - sided or 4 - sided pyramids , although the shape is not limited to any of these shapes , and more than one shape may be used on any cable , or similar shapes but having a variety of sizes may be used . members 42 are illustrated as digging into seabed 1 , while other members 44 are shown as being on a substantially impervious portion of seabed 1 , perhaps a rocky outcropping . in this embodiment , members 40 , 42 , and 44 have a double function of providing channels between members 44 and between members 42 , and substantially reducing rolling and translational movement of cable 2 on seabed 1 in the crossline direction . fig1 illustrates embodiment 720 comprising the same features as embodiment 710 , but adding fairing elements 10 . embodiment 720 thus exhibits the vortex shedding function , as well as providing channels between cable 2 and seabed 1 and the motion reducing function of members 40 , 42 and 44 . fig1 illustrates another seabed seismic cable embodiment 730 , which combines the type of channels discussed in reference to fig9 a , and 9 b , with members 40 , 42 , and 44 of fig1 and 11 . this embodiment may ensure there is a channel between members 42 and 44 even in the event that members 42 and 44 are completely dug into seabed 1 . embodiment 740 of fig1 adds fairing elements and their function to embodiment 730 of fig1 . it should be noted that in the embodiments discussed in reference to fig1 , 11 , 12 , and 13 , and indeed all embodiments and figures of the present invention , geophone housings are not depicted , but would typically be spaced along each seabed cable . u . s . pat . no . 6 , 288 , 972 discloses a cleated housing for a seismic sensor , the housing attached to the seabed cable . cleated sensor housings may be used in conjunction with any apparatus or method of the present invention . other than the inventive features discussed herein , seabed seismic sensors and their support cables ( herein referred to collectively as seabed seismic cables ) useful in the invention include those described in the article “ shear waves shine brightly ”, oilfield review , pages 2 - 15 ( 1999 ), and typically comprise an instrumented cable packed with receivers , similar to the streamers that are towed in conventional marine surveys , but designed to operate on the seafloor . one seabed seismic cable , known under the trade designation “ nessie 4c ”, contains multiple sensing units each containing one hydrophone and three orthogonally oriented geophones inside the cable , distributing their weight for optimal coupling to the seafloor . each cable may house hundreds of four - component sensors . full particle - motion vector recording of all p ( pressure ) and s ( shear ) wavefronts may be achieved , along with the pressure wavefront familiar from towed streamers . this design was an improvement over conventional ocean bottom cables , which may be employed in the present invention as well , comprising only a hydrophone and a vertically oriented geophone strapped to the outside ; however , this arrangement is incapable of recording the full particle - motion vector and may not couple adequately to the seafloor . published patent cooperation treaty application no . wo 02 / 14905 a1 , published feb . 21 , 2002 , assigned to westerngeco llc , houston , tex . describes a seabed sensor unit and support cable that may have improve coupling to the seabed . the sensor unit comprises a one or more sensing elements disposed within a protective housing having a flat base . a flat base ensures that there is an adequate contact area between the sensor housing and the earth &# 39 ; s surface , so that there is good acoustic coupling to the sensing element ( s ) mounted within the sensor housing . the housing is attached to a support cable . furthermore , the dimensions of the base of the housing may be chosen so that the extent of the base in a direction parallel to the cable is similar to the extent of the base in a direction perpendicular to the cable , which may minimize the dependence of the acoustic coupling to the sensor housing , and thus to sensing elements within the housing , on the angle between the incident seismic energy and the cable . another seabed cable useful in the invention is described ( except for the inventive concepts described herein ) in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 021 , 091 , also assigned to westerngeco , llc , which describes an elongated ocean - bottom seismic cable section of a desired length manufactured by assembling a stress member in combination with a plurality of signal communication channels . a plurality of receiver clusters is fastened to the assembly at desired intervals . each cluster includes at least two multi - axial , gimbal - supported seismic receivers that are symmetrically mounted about the axis of the cable assembly . output signals from the common axes of the respective multi - axis receivers of each cluster are coupled with each other through a suitable filter and linked to corresponding signal communication channels . the cable section is terminated by connectors for providing mechanical and communication linkage to other sections and eventually to signal - processing instrumentation . the fairing elements may be manufactured during the manufacture of the cable , or added afterwards . methods of making cables having fairing elements , such as braided hair faired cables , are not the subject of the invention , these methods being known from publications such as u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 440 , 991 ; 3 , 975 , 980 , and 4 , 756 , 270 these publications discuss the benefits of fairing of towed cables , but do not suggest faired seabed cables and methods of using same to acquire shear wave data as in the present invention . desired properties of the fairing elements include the ability to shed vortices , reduce drag , and reduce lift force on the seabed cable . the cable may be water tight , armored , and carry sufficient number of wires or optical fibers to carry acoustic data from the sensors in the cable to a data collection unit . methods of making cables having protruding members , such as member 40 , 42 , and 44 in fig1 - 13 are also known . the cables of the invention may have a minimum working strength of 4000 pounds and minimum breaking strength of 8000 pounds , and may have separate electrical ( or fiber optic ) and mechanical terminations to provide strain relief for electrical ( or fiber optic ) connectors and to enable the electrical or optical connectors to be connected and disconnected while maintaining a working strength tension . the cables may be faired along their whole length , or only portions of their length . the fairing may be 4 or more times the cable diameter . if hairy fairing is used , the cable may have a braided jacket with fiber “ hairs ” adapted to extend form the cable , and the fairing elements may vary in length and density . the elements can be single , double , four - sided , or any number of sided versions . the buoyancy of the fairing elements should be such that the elements lie on the cable and / or seabed when there is slow current , and are able to extend substantially perpendicular to the cable under the influence of strong current , especially those elements at or near the top of the cable as it lies on the seabed . those elements that are on the upstream side may be tucked under the cable and prevent the disturbances discussed earlier ( see for example element 14 in fig2 ). the cable outer skin , fairing elements , and members 40 , 42 , and 44 may be made of any natural or synthetic material . useful synthetic materials include thermoplastic elastomers , such as polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers , polyester thermoplastic elastomers , and ionomeric thermoplastic elastomers . the synthetic materials may have additives therein which reduce or prevent fouling of these elements . thermoplastic elastomers are defined and reviewed in thermoplastic elastomers , a comprehensive review , edited by n . r . legge , g . holden and h . e . schroeder , hanser publishers , new york , 1987 . thermoplastic elastomers ( as defined by legge et al . and used herein ) are generally the reaction product of a low equivalent weight polyfunctional monomer and a high equivalent weight polyfunctional monomer , wherein the low equivalent weight polyfunctional monomer is capable on polymerization of forming a hard segment ( and , in conjunction with other hard segments , crystalline hard regions or domains ) and the high equivalent weight polyfunctional monomer is capable on polymerization of producing soft , flexible chains connecting the hard regions or domains . “ thermoplastic elastomers ” differ from “ thermoplastics ” and “ elastomers ” ( a generic term for substances emulating natural rubber in that they stretch under tension , have a high tensile strength , retract rapidly , and substantially recover their original dimensions ) in that thermoplastic elastomers , upon heating above the melting temperature of the hard regions , form a homogeneous melt which can be processed by thermoplastic techniques ( unlike elastomers ), such as injection molding , extrusion , blow molding , and the like . subsequent cooling leads again to segregation of hard and soft regions resulting in a material having elastomeric properties , however , which does not occur with thermoplastics . some commercially available thermoplastic elastomers include segmented polyester thermoplastic elastomers , segmented polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers , segmented polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers blended with other thermoplastic materials , segmented polyamide thermoplastic elastomers , and ionomeric thermoplastic elastomers . the seabed seismic cables of the invention may also have advantages when the cable is in the water column during deployment in that they may experience less drag and vibration , may be easier to position the cable at pre - plot location , and may produce less noise on the seismic channels during deployment , making it easier to run acoustic positioning during deployment to help achieve accurate positioning of the seabed cable . other advantages include the cable can withstand higher currents before it starts moving . this will allow seismic acquisition in areas or period of time ( tides ) where it would not have been possible . it will limit the need for cable relaying and repositioning . cables of the invention may provide better coupling of the cable to the seafloor , resulting in better data quality , and less noise from current on the seismic channels , as there will be less turbulence around the cable . the fairing elements may also help protect the cable against abrasion and cuts in case of dragging on the seafloor , particularly when thermoplastic elastomers are used for cable outer skin , members 40 , 42 , and 44 , and fairing elements . the fairing may also be beneficial for the parts of the cable that might not be in contact with the seafloor ( some parts may be hanging because of seafloor topography , or hanging at the end of a sensor housing ). the fairing then serves its function of reducing drag and strumming . although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims . in the claims , no clauses are intended to be in the means - plus - function format allowed by 35 u . s . c . § 112 , paragraph 6 unless “ means for ” is explicitly recited together with an associated function . “ means for ” clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents , but also equivalent structures .	6
in fig1 a a logic gate according to an exemplary embodiment is depicted . the logic gate 10 comprises a pull - down network 12 , also referred to as “ n - block ”, a precharge transistor p p , a base transistor n f , also referred to as foot transistor , a keeping circuitry 14 comprising a keeping transistor p k and a switching transistor p pd . the logic gate 10 further comprises an inverter 16 . the logic gate 10 comprises an enabling input 18 for receiving an enabling signal “ enable ”, a logic tree input 19 for receiving n logic inputs of the n - block 12 and an output 20 for providing a data output signal wl . the precharge transistor p p is connected between a supply node vdd and a logic node 22 and comprises a control terminal which is connected to the enabling input 18 to receive the enabling signal “ enable ”. the precharge transistor p p is a p - channel ( e . g . mosfet ) transistor . the base transistor n f is connected between a reference node ref and the n - block 12 and comprises a control terminal which is connected to the enabling input 18 to receive the enabling signal “ enable ”. the base transistor n f is an n - channel ( e . g . mosfet ) transistor . the pull - down network 12 is connected between the logic node 22 and the base transistor n f . the pull - down network 12 comprises the logic tree input 19 for receiving the n logic inputs . the pull - down network 12 either pulls the logic node 22 to a logic zero or leaves it at its logic one pre - charged state in response to a boolean combination of the n logic inputs . the keeping circuitry 14 comprises a series connection of the keeping transistor p k and the switching transistor p pd . the series connection of keeping transistor p k and switching transistor p pd is connected between the supply node vdd and the logic node 22 . both transistors p k and p pd are p - channel ( e . g . mosfet ) transistors . a control terminal of the keeping transistor p k is coupled via the inverter 16 to the logic node 22 . the control terminal of the keeping transistor p k is connected to the output 20 of the logic gate 10 . a control terminal of the switching transistor p pd is controlled by a switching control signal “ pden ”. the central element of the exemplary embodiment is represented by the switching transistor p pd which is controlled by the switching control signal “ pden ” “ pden ”. it is its task to speed up the circuit , to avoid short - circuit currents and to reduce the faulty dimensioning risk as well as susceptibility to failure . to clarify the functionality of the switching transistor p pd , in a first section the logic gate 10 is described without the functionality of the switching transistor p pd . this can be achieved by an always switched - on switching transistor p pd , for example , by setting the switching control signal “ pden ” “ pden ” to a logical 0 . in a successive section the functionality of the switching transistor p pd is described by choosing an adequate control of the switching control signal “ pden ”. in the initial state for the consideration , the enabling signal “ enable ” is in the state 0 and the output (“ wl ” node ) 20 takes on the logical value 0 . the logical states of the inputs 19 in the pull - down network 12 remains without influence on the output 20 . by the effect of the precharge transistor p p and the keeping transistor p k , the logic node 22 , also referred to as “ precharge ” node is in the logical precharge state 1 , the switching transistor p pd is always switched - on . thereupon , valid data are applied to the pull - down network 12 , with the enabling signal “ enable ” and the output (“ wl ” node ) 20 still being in the state 0 . furthermore , the enabling signal “ enable ” changes to the state 1 . thus , the precharge transistor p p is blocked , and the base transistor n f enables the pull - down network 12 . the “ precharge ” node 22 takes on the state 1 or 0 , corresponding to the occupancy of the inputs 19 in the pull - down network 12 . in the first case , the circuit 10 does not change its state . if the occupancy of the inputs 19 of the pull - down network 12 is , however , such that the pull - down network 12 connects through , the following situation arises . in the series connection comprising the base transistor n f and the n transistors of the pull - down network 12 , a current flow develops and the charge that was stored on the “ precharge ” node 22 as well as maybe on the intermediate nodes of the pull - down network 12 flows off to ground ref . at ( nearly ) the same time , however , the output 20 still is in the state 0 , and the keeping transistor p k thus is conducting . it supplies the “ precharge ” node 22 with charge . thus , the keeping transistor p k drives (“ fights ”) against the pull - down network 12 . in the path from the supply node vdd via the keeping transistor p k , the pull - down network 12 and the base transistor n f , a short - circuit current flows . this happens until the “ precharge ” node 22 has reached the state 0 and then the output (“ wl ” node ) 20 the state 1 . only then the keeping transistor p k is turned off . the prerequisite for the correct functionality of the circuit 10 consists in the fact that the keeping transistor p k provides less charge than the amount of charge led off to ground by the pull - down network 12 in series with the base transistor n f . this can be the case if the keeping transistor p k is dimensioned to be sufficiently weak as compared with the transistors of the pull - down network 12 . thus , there is the possibility of faulty dimensioning of the keeping transistor p k , so that the pull - down network 12 , particularly if it is a series connection of several n ( e . g . n - channel ) transistors , does not have enough driver strength to overcome the current of the keeping transistor p k . if the pull - down network 12 is not constructed of transistors having great width , the keeping transistor p k should be adapted by enlarging the transistor length . here , it should be taken into consideration that such a dimensioning possibly may be produced only with great tolerance for technological reasons . apart from area losses , this leads to the design risk and reduced robustness . furthermore , at low supply voltage , the driver capability of the series connection of n transistors decreases more quickly than that of the individual keeping transistor p k . in an otherwise robust circuit , this may lead to malfunction . it is also disadvantageous that the pull - down network 12 , which determines the logic function of the logic gate 10 , is hindered in its driver capability by the keeping transistor p k , since the current through the p - channel keeping transistor p k drives against the current of the pull - down network 12 , whereby the switching speed of the circuit 10 is affected noticeably . this effect also is more strongly pronounced toward lower supply voltages . if it is attempted to avoid the above mentioned effect , there is the risk of the keeping transistor p k being designed to be too weak . in turn , this might entail that the “ precharge ” node 22 is not protected sufficiently against external disturbances . an introduction of the switching transistor p pd and its control by the switching control signal “ pden ” overcomes the problems mentioned above . the functionality of the logic gate 10 comprising the switching transistor p pd is described hereinafter . the “ precharge ” node 22 is stabilized and secured against coupling and leakage losses , not by a keeping transistor p k , but by a series connection of the keeping transistor p k and the switching transistor p pd , or the keeping circuitry 14 , respectively . the sequence of the keeping transistor p k and the switching transistor p pd in the series - connection is irrelevant here . also the sequence of the base transistor n f and the n - block 12 is irrelevant . the gate terminal of the keeping transistor p k is attached to the output node 20 for providing the output signal wl . the switching transistor p pd is connected in series with the keeping transistor p k into the path between the supply node vdd and the “ precharge ” node 22 and is controlled by the switching control signal “ pden ”. the initial state for the consideration corresponds to the one already described above . in the precharge state , the enabling signal enables in the state 0 , and the output (“ wl ” node ) 20 takes on the value 0 . the switching control signal “ pden ” here also is logically 0 . now , the “ precharge ” node 22 is in the precharge state through the effect of the precharge transistor p p , and the series connection of the keeping transistor p k and the switching transistor p pd . the occupancy of the inputs 19 in the pull - down network 12 remains without effect . valid data are further applied to the pull - down network 12 , with the enabling signal “ enable ” as well as the output 20 and the switching control signal “ pden ” still being in the state 0 . thereupon , the enabling signal “ enable ” and the switching control signal “ pden ” ( nearly ) simultaneously change into the state 1 . alternatively , the switching control signal “ pden ” may be set into the state 1 earlier . thus , the precharge transistor p p and the switching transistor p pd are blocked , and the base transistor n f enables the pull - down network 12 . the path between the supply node vdd and the “ precharge ” node 22 is interrupted by the switching transistor p pd . the “ precharge ” node 22 takes on the state 1 or 0 , corresponding to the occupancy of the inputs 19 in the pull - down network 12 . in the first case , the circuit 10 does not change its state . however , if the occupancy of the inputs 19 of the pull - down network 12 is such that the pull - down network 12 connects through , the following situation arises . in the series connection comprising the base transistor n f and the n transistors of the pull - down network 12 , a current flow develops , and the charge that was stored on the “ precharge ” node 22 , as well as maybe on the intermediate nodes of the pull - down network 12 flows off to ground ref . since the switching transistor p pd now blocks , the pull - down network 12 only has to drain off the charge stored on the above - mentioned nodes . no additional charge is supplied by the keeping transistor p k , and short - circuit current does not flow either . after the “ precharge ” node 22 has reached a state corresponding to the input 19 occupancy and function of the pull - down network 12 , the switching control signal “ pden ” may again change to the state 0 . in case the pull - down network 12 does not switch , i . e . the “ precharge ” signal ( at the “ precharge ” node 22 ) remains logically 1 , this change should happen quickly so as not to leave the “ precharge ” node 22 in a non - driven state for long . switching on the switching control signal “ pden ” may be linked directly to the enabling signal “ enable ”. switching off may be realized by a delay chain , for example . this is possible in short combinational paths with many gates switching in parallel . if the switching control signal “ pden ” is controlled correctly , embodiments of the exemplary embodiment offer a series of advantages . there is no risk of the keeping transistor p k being dimensioned to be too strong ( or the pull - down network 12 to be dimensioned too weak ). the transistor length of the keeping transistor p k remains minimal . the speed the pull - down network 12 can work with is increased because less charge has to be drained - off . the functionality of the circuit 10 is not at risk even at low supply voltages . there is no risk of the keeping transistor p k being dimensioned to be too weak . with this , the susceptibility of the “ precharge ” node 22 to disturbing influences is reduced . the short - circuit current is avoided , the power consumption drops . potentially , a reduction in area is achieved , because the width of the transistors in the pull - down network 12 may be dimensioned to be smaller . additionally , the length of the keeping transistor p k may be kept minimal . by the inclusion and the control of the switching transistor p pd a speed - up of the circuit 10 , avoidance of short circuit currents and reduction of the faulty dimensioning risk as well as susceptibility to failures is achieved . exemplary embodiments may be applied as speed - up and robustness measure also in dynamic logic , for example , domino circuits . in these families of circuits , the keeping transistor p k often is required only when circuit 10 is in idle state , because otherwise the time in which the “ precharge ” node 22 is not driven is very short . here , the control of the switching transistor p pd by the switching control signal “ pden ” is also very simple . the switching transistor p pd is blocked in the active phase and switched on in the inactive phase . if the keeping transistor p k is to become effective also in the active phase , the switch - off time instant for the switching control signal “ pden ” can be derived from the enabling signal “ enable ”, for example , through delay . fig1 b shows a set of timing diagrams of signals associated with the logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a . in a first timing diagram ( 1 .) the timing of the enabling signal “ enable ” is depicted . the enabling signal assumes a first signal state vref and a second signal state vdd and is a periodical signal . the first signal state vref corresponds to a precharge phase 100 while the second signal state vdd corresponds to an evaluation phase 101 of the logic gate 10 . a second timing diagram ( 2 .) depicts the timing of the precharge signal “ precharge ” which is the signal state which the logic node 22 assumes when the logic gate 10 is enabled by the enabling signal “ enable ”. in a first period 102 of the enabling signal , the pull down - network ( n - block ) 12 is enabling the discharge of logic node 22 while in a second period 103 of the enabling signal the n - block 12 is disabling the discharge of logic node 22 . during the precharge phase 100 of the first period 102 , the precharge signal is inverse to the enabling signal . when the enabling signal changes from the first state vref to the second state vdd and the n block 12 is enabling , a driver conflict may occur such that a switching of the precharge signal from vdd to vref does not occur upon the rising edge of the enabling signal . for a short conflicting time period 104 , a switching of the precharge signal may be non - deterministic as the charge of the logic node 22 is fed to vref by the n - block 12 while at the same conflicting time period 104 , the keeping transistor p k is delivering a charge of potential vdd to the logic node 22 . during the second period 103 of the enabling signal , the n - block 12 is disabling the discharge of the logic node 22 such that the precharge signal assumes the second state vdd without a change upon a rising edge of the enabling signal . the third timing diagram ( 3 .) shows the timing behavior of the output signal “ wl ” of the logic gate 10 which shows the inverse signal state as the precharge signal . a fourth timing diagram ( 4 .) shows the timing of the switching control signal “ pden ” which holds the first state vref for the complete representation time depicted in fig1 b . this corresponds to a permanent through connection of the switching transistor ppd . fig1 c shows another set of timing diagrams of signals associated with the logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a according to an exemplary embodiment . a first timing diagram ( 1 .) shows the timing of the enabling signal “ enable ” which corresponds to the timing of the enabling signal as depicted in fig1 b . the second timing diagram ( 2 .) shows a timing of a delayed enabling signal “ enabledel ”. a delay of d is applied to the enabling signal “ enable ” to obtain the delayed enabling signal “ enabledel ”. a third timing diagram ( 3 .) shows the timing of the switching control signal “ pden ” which corresponds to the enabling signal “ enable ” combined with the inverse of the delayed enabling signal “ enabledel ” by a logical and combination . a fourth timing diagram ( 4 .) depicts the timing of the precharge signal during a first period 102 of the enabling signal when the n - block is enabling the discharge of logic node 22 and during a second period 103 of the enabling signal when the n - block is disabling the discharge of logic node 22 . in contrast to the precharge signal depicted in fig1 b , the precharge signal depicted in fig1 c is changing its signal state during the first enabling signal period 102 ( n - block is enabling ) from vdd to vref in a deterministic manner upon a rising edge of the enabling signal without a conflicting time period 104 . no driver conflicts can be seen in the timing diagram ( 4 .) of the precharge signal . this results from the control of the switching control signal “ pden ” which switches off the first potential vdd from the logic node 22 during a transition of the enabling signal from vref to vdd for the duration of the delay time d . after the delay time d when the discharging process is finished and the precharge signal assumes a logical 0 , the switching control signal “ pden ” switches - on the switching transistor p pd to allow the keeping transistor p k taking over control . the delay time d may be dimensioned such that a bridging of the conflicting time period 104 as depicted in fig1 b may be achieved . the delay time d may , for example , be greater or equal to the conflicting time period 104 . a fifth timing diagram ( 5 .) depicts the timing of the output signal “ wl ” which assumes the inverse value of the precharge signal without showing any driver conflicting phases as the output signal “ wl ” depicted in fig1 b . fig2 shows an address decoding circuit 30 according to an exemplary embodiment . the address decoding circuit 30 uses a wired - or circuitry 32 for generation of a switching control signal “ pden ” ( rdy , respectively ). the address decoding circuit 30 comprises a logic gate 10 which corresponds to the logic gate 10 as described in fig1 having an enabling input 18 for receiving an enabling signal “ enable ”, a logic tree input 19 for receiving n logic inputs of the n - block 12 and an output 20 for providing a data output signal wl . the address decoding circuit 30 further comprises a plurality of further logic gates 10 b , 10 c and the wired - or circuitry 32 . each of the further logic gates 10 b , 10 c corresponds to the logic gate 10 as described in fig1 . while having a same enabling input 18 for receiving an enabling signal “ enable ” each of the further logic gates comprises an individual logic tree input 19 b , 19 c for receiving n logic inputs and an individual output 20 b , 20 c for providing a plurality of further data output signals wl 2 , wl 3 . the wired - or circuitry 32 comprises a wired - or node “ wiredor ”, a supply transistor p wo , an output transistor p wo1 associated with the logic gate 10 and a plurality of further output transistors p wo2 , p wo3 associated with a respective further logic gate 10 b , 10 c . a control terminal of the output transistor p wo1 is connected to the output 20 of the logic gate 10 . control terminals of the further output transistors p wo2 , p wo3 are connected to the outputs 20 b , 20 c of the respective further logic gates 10 b , 10 c . a first channel terminal of the output transistor p wo1 is connected to the reference node ref and a second channel terminal of the output transistor p wo1 is connected to the wired - or node “ wiredor ”. first channel terminals of the further output transistors p wo2 , p wo3 are connected to the reference node ref and second channel terminals of the further output transistors p wo2 , p wo3 are connected to the wired - or node . the supply transistor p wo is controlled by a supply control signal “ wopq ” at its control terminal . the supply transistor p wo is connected between the supply node vdd and the wired - or node “ wiredor ”. while the supply transistor p wo may be shared between different logic gates 10 , 10 b , 10 c a respective output transistor p wo1 , p wo2 , p wo3 will be used for each logic gate 10 , 10 b , 10 c . a condition for the switching - on ( closing ) of the switching transistor p pd by the switching control signal “ pden ” may be derived from the signal at the wired - or node “ wiredor ” which is denoted by “ rdy ” in fig2 . the logic gate 10 may be applied in any type of address decoding circuit 30 because the point at time in which the switching control signal “ pden ” is reset to the state 0 can be determined in a particularly simple way here . since an address decoder 30 typically works in a “ one - hot ” arrangement , only one of the address decoder cells 10 , 10 b , 10 c changes its state . the outputs 20 , 20 b , 20 c of the cells 10 , 10 b , 10 c may be linked by means of a “ wired - or ” connection . a “ wired - or ” connection connects different outputs 20 , 20 b , 20 c in a direct way without wasting resources to save power . if the common node “ wiredor ” has changed its state , the switching control signal “ pden ” can safely be placed into the state 0 again . the state of the node “ wiredor ” is evaluated and has direct influence on the switching control signal “ pden ”. here , the supply transistor p wo is implemented only once for the entire address decoder 30 . fig3 a shows a logic circuit 40 comprising logic gates and a reference path for generating a switching control signal for the logic gates according to an exemplary embodiment . the logic circuit 40 comprises a dynamic logic stage 42 and a dummy ( reference ) path stage 44 which are connected in parallel . the dummy path stage 44 comprises a static logic sub - circuit 46 and a dynamic logic sub - circuit 48 . the dynamic logic stage 42 comprises two dynamic logic or gates dor 1 and dor 2 and two dynamic logic and gates dand 2 and dand 3 . the two dynamic logic or gates and the two dynamic logic and gates may represent logic gates 10 , according to the logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a . the two dynamic logic or / and gates are arranged in propagation groups 51 , 52 , 53 with respect to signal propagation times which input signals of respective dynamic logic or / and gates experience when propagating through the dynamic logic stage 42 . the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 is associated with the first propagation group 51 . the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 and the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 are associated with the second propagation group 52 . the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 is associated with the third propagation group 53 . a first propagation signal 61 which may correspond to one of the n logic inputs at the logic tree input 19 as depicted in fig1 is provided at both inputs of the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 , at the first input of the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 and at the second input of the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 . a second propagation signal 62 is provided at the output of the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 which is connected to the second input of the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 and to the first input of the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 . a third propagation signal 63 a is provided at the output of the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 which is connected to the first input of the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 . a fourth propagation signal 63 b is provided at the output of the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 which is connected via an inverter inv to the second input of the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 . a fifth propagation signal 64 is provided at the output of the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 . according to propagation times of their input signals the dynamic logic or / and gates are associated to propagation groups . as the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 has only the first propagation signal 61 as input it is associated with the first propagation group 51 . the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 and the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 have beside the first propagation signal 61 additionally the second propagation signal 62 as input . the second propagation signal 62 has the additional signal propagation time of the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 with respect to the first propagation signal 61 . therefore , the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 and the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 are associated with the second propagation group 52 . the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 has the propagation signals 63 a , 63 b as inputs which are related to signal propagation times of the first propagation signal 61 propagating through the first dynamic logic or gate dor 1 and the second dynamic logic or gate dor 2 or the first dynamic logic and gate dand 2 , respectively . the second dynamic logic and gate dand 3 is associated with the third propagation group 53 . dor 1 is enabled by the enabling signal “ enable_ 1 ”, its switching transistor is controlled by the switching control signal “ pden_ 1 ”. dor 2 and dand 2 are enabled by the enabling signal “ enable_ 2 ”, their switching transistors are controlled by the switching control signal “ pden_ 2 ”. dand 3 is enabled by the enabling signal “ enable_ 3 ”, its switching transistor is controlled by the switching control signal “ pden_ 3 ”. the dynamic logic sub - circuit 48 comprises three dummy dynamic logic or gates dor 1 d , dor 2 d , dor 3 d which are arranged in dummy propagation groups 51 d , 52 d and 53 d associated with the propagation groups 51 , 52 and 53 of the dynamic logic stage 42 . each of the dummy dynamic logic or gates arranged in a respective dummy propagation group has a similar or identical signal propagation delay as the dynamic logic or / and gate of the propagation group the respective dummy propagation group is associated with . a first dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 1 d is arranged in the first dummy propagation group 51 d and receives the first propagation signal 61 at its first and second input . a second dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 2 d is arranged in the second dummy propagation group 52 d and is connected with its both inputs to the output of the first dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 1 d . a third dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 3 d is arranged in the third dummy propagation group 53 d and is connected with its both inputs to the output of the second dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 2 d . the output signal 62 d of dor 1 d has a similar propagation delay as the second propagation signal 62 . the output signal 63 d of dor 2 d has a similar propagation delay as the third or fourth propagation signals 63 a , 63 b . the output signal 64 d of dor 3 d has a similar propagation delay as the fifth propagation signal 64 . dor 1 d is enabled by a first dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 1 ”. dor 2 d is enabled by a second dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 2 ”. dor 3 d is enabled by a third dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 3 ”. the static logic sub - circuit 46 is used to combine the output signals and associated enabling signals of the dummy dynamic logic or gates dor 1 d , dor 2 d and dor 3 d to provide switching control signals “ pden 1 ”, “ pden 2 ”, and “ pden 3 ” to the dynamic logic or gates dor 1 , dor 2 and dynamic logic and gates dand 2 and dand 3 . the static logic sub - circuit 46 comprises three static logic and gates . a first static logic and gate and 1 combines the inverted output signal 62 d of dor 1 d and the first dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 1 ” by a logical and combination to provide the first switching control signal “ pden_ 1 ”. a second static logic and gate and 2 combines the inverted output signal 63 d of dor 2 d and the second dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 2 ” by a logical and combination to provide the second switching control signal “ pden_ 2 ”. a third static logic and gate and 3 combines the inverted output signal 64 d of dor 3 d and the third dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 3 ” by a logical and combination to provide the third switching control signal “ pden_ 3 ”. the switching control signals “ pden_ 1 ”, “ pden_ 2 ” and “ pden_ 3 ” are provided by a logic circuitry ( dummy path stage 44 ) representing a reference circuit for the dynamic logic stage 42 . by this circuitry it can be assured that the respective switching control signals have an adequate timing with respect to signal propagation delay of the dynamic logic gates dor 1 , dor 2 , dand 2 and dand 3 . for a greater number of combinational paths , the reference path 44 or dummy path , respectively setting the point in time at which the switching control signal “ pden ” is to be switched off in individual propagation groups 51 , 52 , 53 may be constructed . so , as to achieve better temporal behaviour the reference path 44 could operate in a slightly phase - shifted manner . the dynamic logic or gates dor 1 , dor 2 and the dynamic logic and gates dand 2 , dand 3 of the dynamic logic stage 42 are examples illustrating the functionality of a logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a . instead of a dynamic logic or / and gate also any other type of logic combinational element can be used . the dynamic logic or gates dor 1 d , dor 2 d , dor 3 d of the dynamic logic sub - circuit 48 are dimensioned to comprise similar signal propagation times as the dynamic logic gates of the dynamic logic stage 42 . the output signals 62 d , 63 d , 64 d of the dummy dynamic logic or gates dor 1 d , dor 2 d , dor 3 d are configured to change their signal state responsive to a transition of the respective dummy enabling signal from a logical 0 to a logical 1 . the respective dummy enabling signals may be coupled to the respective enabling signals such that a signal transition of the respective enabling signal triggers a signal transition of the respective dummy enabling signal . fig3 b shows a set of timing diagrams of signals associated with the logic circuit 40 as depicted in fig3 a according to an exemplary embodiment . the timing diagrams depicted in fig3 b are one possible implementation for dimensioning the logic circuit 40 as depicted in fig3 a . in this embodiment , the input signal 61 , the first enabling signal “ enable_ 1 ” and the first dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 1 ” are synchronized with respect to their rising and falling signal edges . in this embodiment all three signals are ( nearly ) equal . a second timing diagram ( 2 .) depicts the timing of the input signals 62 , 62 d , the second enabling signal “ enable_ 2 ” and the second dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 2 ”. these four signals have a synchronized timing and are delayed by a time delay d 1 with respect to the input signal 61 , the first enabling signal and the first dummy enabling signal . the time delay d 1 results from the propagation delay of the dynamic or gate dor 1 or from the propagation delay of the dynamic or gate dor 1 d , which is designed to have a similar propagation delay as the dynamic or gate dor 1 . the third timing diagram ( 3 .) depicts the timing of the first switching control signal “ pden 1 ” which is derived from the first dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 1 ” and the inverse of the input signal 62 d by a logical and combination . the first switching control signal “ pden 1 ” is synchronized to the input signal 61 and the first enabling signal “ enable_ 1 ” such that a transition of the first enabling signal from a logical 0 “ vref ” to a logical 1 “ vdd ” controls the switching transistor p pd of the first dynamic or gate dor 1 to provide for an accelerated charge transition of the respective logic node 22 . the fourth timing diagram ( 4 .) depicts the timing of the input signals 63 a , 63 b , 63 d , the third enabling signal “ enable_ 3 ” and the third dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 3 ”. these signals are synchronized with respect to their rising and falling edges and are delayed by a second time delay d 2 with respect to the input signal 62 and the second enabling signal “ enable_ 2 ”. the second time delay d 2 corresponds to the propagation delay of the second dummy dynamic or gate dor 2 d which is dimensioned such that it has a similar propagation delay corresponding to the second dynamic or gate dor 2 or the first dynamic and gate dand 2 , respectively . the fifth timing diagram ( 5 .) depicts the timing of the second switching control signal “ pden 2 ” which corresponds to a logical and combination of the second dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 2 ” and the inverse of the input signal 63 d of the third dummy dynamic or gate dor 3 d . the second switching control signal “ pden 2 ” is synchronized to the second enabling signal “ enable_ 2 ” and is dimensioned such that the switching transistor p pd of the second dynamic or gate dor 2 and the first dynamic and gate dand 2 are controlled to provide for an accelerated charge transition of their respective logic nodes 22 . a sixth timing diagram ( 6 .) shows a timing of the output signals 64 , 64 d of the third dummy dynamic or gate dor 3 d and the second dynamic and gate dand 3 , respectively . both signals are synchronized with respect to their rising and falling signal edges and are delayed by a time delay d 3 with respect to the third enabling signal “ enable_ 3 ” and the input signals 63 a , 63 b , 63 d of dand 3 and dor 3 d , respectively . the third time delay d 3 corresponds to a propagation delay of the third dummy dynamic or gate dor 3 d which is dimensioned to be similar to the signal propagation delay of the second dynamic and gate dand 3 . the seventh timing diagram ( 7 .) shows the timing of the third switching control signal “ pden 3 ” which corresponds to a logical and combination of the third dummy enabling signal “ enabledummy_ 3 ” and the inverse of the output signal “ output 64 d ” of the third dummy dynamic logic or gate dor 3 d . the third switching control signal “ pden 3 ” is synchronized to the third enabling signal “ enable_ 3 ” and the input signals 63 a , 63 b , 63 d of dand 3 and dor 3 d , respectively , to provide for an accelerated charge transition of their respective logic nodes 22 . fig4 a shows a circuit diagram of the logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a , wherein the n - block 12 comprises a dynamic logic and gate according to an exemplary embodiment . the pull down network 12 a of the logic gate 10 a comprises a dynamic logic and gate which is implemented as a series connection of two n - channel transistors n 0 and n 1 , connected between the logic node 22 and the base transistor n f . the first n - channel transistor n 0 is controlled by a first input signal a 0 and the second n - channel transistor n 1 is controlled by a second input signal a 1 . both input signals a 0 and a 1 are provided by the logic tree input 19 . fig4 b shows a circuit diagram of the logic gate 10 as depicted in fig1 a , wherein the n - block 12 comprises a dynamic logic or gate according to an exemplary embodiment . the pull down network 12 b of the logic gate 10 b comprises a logic or gate which is implemented as a series - connection of an n - channel compensation transistor n t and a parallel - connection of a first n - channel transistor n 0 and a second n - channel transistor n 1 . the series - connection is connected between the logic node 22 and the base transistor n f . the compensation transistor n t is controlled by the enabling signal “ enable ” and is adapted to compensate differences in the switching times of the first and the second n - channel transistors n 0 , n 1 . the first n - channel transistor n 0 is controlled by a first control signal a 0 and the second n - channel transistor n 1 is controlled by a second control signal a 1 . both control signals a 0 , a 1 are provided by the logic tree input 19 . the compensation transistor n t optimizes the performance of the pull down network 12 b but is not necessarily required . other embodiments may comprise a pull down network 12 b without the compensation transistor n t , such that the parallel connection of the first n - channel transistor n 0 and the second n - channel transistor n 1 is connected between the logic node 22 and the base transistor n f . the logic gate 10 may also be implemented using transistors of complementary channel type . the base transistor n f may be implemented as p - channel transistor , the pull - down network 12 implemented as a pull - up network 12 comprising n p - channel ( or optionally n - channel ) transistors , the charging transistor p p , the keeping transistor p k and the switching transistor p pd implemented as n - channel transistors . the sequence of the n - block 12 and the base transistor n f may be exchanged .	7
referring to fig1 the cylindrical pin 10 has a first end 12 securable by welding to a pipe ( not shown ), and an open end 14 . a loading shoulder 16 is provided to engage the pin for axially clamping . the pin includes a frustoconical outer surface 18 with a stress relief groove 20 located at one end . the pin also includes shoulder 24 in the form of radially extending surface facing toward the open end 14 . a cylindrical box 30 has a first end 32 securable to a pipe ( not shown ), and a second open end 34 . the box also includes a loading shoulder 36 for axially clamping the box , and a frustoconical inner surface 38 . it includes a stress relief groove 42 and a seal ring groove 44 . an &# 34 ; o &# 34 ; ring seal 45 is located in this groove . the box also has an end surface 46 in the form of a radially extending surface facing the open end 34 . clamps ( not shown ) are used to supply the required axial stabbing force , and then removed . referring now to fig2 the helical thread form is shown in detail . the thread is shown in its engaged position in fig2 and 2d . pin 10 has multiple start threads which in this case are 180 degrees apart . a first thread with a narrow groove 50 and a second with a wide groove 52 result in alternate crest surfaces 54 and 56 , having different axial extents , crest 54 being wide , and crest 56 being narrow . similarly , the box 30 has a dual start thread form 57 with narrow groove 58 and wide groove 60 producing a wide crest 62 and a narrow crest 63 . pin thread form 49 includes flanks 64 facing away from the open end of the pin . the edges 66 of the flank and the crest should be as sharp as possible since rounding these edges decreases the amount of load bearing surface of flank 64 . the grooves 50 and 52 are rounded at the root as shown at 68 to enhance the fatigue life of the connector by reducing stress concentrations at small root radii . similarly , the box 30 has flanks 70 facing away from the open end of the box . the roots or grooves 60 and 58 also are rounded 72 . the box 30 may also include a threaded opening 73 with plug 74 . this permits injection of a fluid under pressure injection for the purpose of reducing the torque required to break the connector loose . the term overlap is used to describe the dimensional difference between corresponding radii of crests such as 56 and 63 with the pin and box in the &# 34 ; as fabricated &# 34 ; condition . this is prior to assembly with both components in the unstressed condition . after assembly , the corresponding distance 76 is the tooth engagement , representing the distance of engagement of flanks 64 and 70 . this tooth engagement will be less than the overlap when shrink fit is obtained , with strain locked in the pin and box . if the pin and / or box exceed the elastic limit during assembly they would be permanently changed in size . the term residual overlap is used to describe the dimensional difference between corresponding radii of crests such as 56 and 63 if the components were allowed to go to the unstressed condition after assembly . if the elastic limit were not exceeded during installation then the overlap and residual overlap would be identical . if , however , the elastic limit is exceeded , then the residual overlap would be less than the initial overlap . the angle of the flanks 64 and 70 with respect to shoulder 24 and to box end 45 are each 12 ° and preferably within the range of 0 ° to 20 °. as the pin and box attempt to restore themselves to the unstressed condition the abutting flanks 64 and 70 cooperate along with complimentary pin and box surfaces 24 and 45 to provide an axial load on the pin and box , compressing the box end against pin shoulder 24 . for pile driving , it is important that the connector be snug and for bending some preload is to be preferred . accomplishment of preload is a function of the difference between the tooth engagement and residual overlap , this representing the residual strain and concomitant stress existing in the box and pin . the amount of the preload is a function of the included angle . fig2 a illustrates the position of the pin 10 and box 30 during the stabbing operation as initial contact is made . the axial distance which the pin must travel into the box after contact and before shouldering is referred to as the standoff . it is determined by the amount of overlap and the taper angle . in order to avoid the possibility of a crest engaging a groove before shouldering occurs , the lead of the thread must be greater than the standoff . the crest width is then selected so that when stabbing occurs initial contact is made as illustrated between wide crest 54 and the narrow crest 63 . as stabbing continues in the direction shown by arrows 78 , the wide crest 54 rides over narrow groove 58 so as to engage the following wide crest 62 . this precludes premature engagement in the wrong thread of the thread form . this condition is illustrated in fig2 b . stabbing continues with clamping force applied on the shoulders 16 , 36 approaching the maximum strain condition illustrated in fig2 c just before the connector snaps together . immediately after this , the connector snaps into the engaged position illustrated in fig2 d . fig3 illustrates a typical stress / strain curve for steel . when operating along the stress / strain curve 80 below the elastic limit 82 the material will return when unstressed to its original condition 84 . the difference in strain between points 82 and 84 may be considered the elastic strain range as indicated by 86 . if the elastic limit is exceeded , for instance , to point 88 , the material will not return to its original condition , but will return to point 90 with a permanent residual strain in the material . the material now acts elastically throughout elastic strain range 92 , representing the difference between points 88 and 90 . if the connector in its maximum strain condition , illustrated in fig2 c , has not exceeded the elastic limit 82 , the residual overlap will be the same as the original overlap . tooth engagement will approach this overlap as a maximum , when the residual radial strain on the pin and box reach zero . if the elastic limit is not reached , then the tooth engagement is reduced . if on the other hand , the maximum strain exceeds the elastic limit such as to point 88 , then the full elastic range 92 will be available for contracting the connector box and expanding the pin . the effect of dimensional tolerances on preload and tooth engagement may be minimized by designing the connector so that the elastic limit is exceeded even when the overlap is at the minimum value permitted by dimensional tolerances . accordingly , one may design the connector to operate in this condition exceeding the elastic limit . since the thread forms are helical there is only one circumferential relationship where the above described characteristics will be obtained . it accordingly is required to locate the proper circumferential alignment for aligning the connectors . the means for alignment may be as simple as marking on the outside of the pin and box , or may be the alignment key illustrated in fig6 . since the operative portions of the connector are the flanks facing away from the open end of each of the pin and box , as well as the pin shoulder 24 and the box face 45 , the preferred method of obtaining the orientation depends on measurements of these features . a selected dimension 96 is to be used for both the pin 10 and the box 30 . the location around the circumference is determined where this dimension is a preselected value 96 on pin between shoulder 24 and measuring point 98 . this measuring point is selected on the flank 64 facing away from the open end of the pin . the inward dimension 100 from the surface of crest 54 is selected as one - half of the desired tooth engagement . with this point located , a similar point is located on box 30 with the dimension being established between the pin end 45 and the corresponding engaging flank 64 . the pin and box components are then either marked or machined in accordance with the measurements so that the located points are circumferentially aligned when the connector is to be stabbed together . a typical gauge for this purpose is illustrated in fig5 a , 5b and 5c . gauge set 101 consists of a box gauge 102 and a pin gauge 103 which are constructed from 1 / 8 inch thick tooling plate . the box and pin gauges have tapered mating surfaces 104 and 105 respectively , the taper matching the frustoconical taper 18 , 38 of the connector . tooth 106 on the box gauge and tooth 107 on the pin gauge are engageable at the predetermined distance 96 from shoulder surface 108 and face surface 109 of the gauges . the use of the gauges is shown in fig5 b and 5c . referring to fig5 b , the shoulder 108 of the gauge 102 is held against the box face 45 with the mating surface 104 against the surface of crests 62 and 63 . holding the gauge parallel to the box axis it is moved circumferentially until flank 110 of tooth 106 contacts flank 70 of the box . the gauge location is then marked on the outside of the box . similarly in fig5 c , the face 109 of gauge 103 is held against the pin shoulder 24 with the mating surface 105 against the surface of crests 54 and 56 . it is moved circumferentially until flank 111 of tooth 107 contacts flank 64 of the pin . this location is marked on the pin . calibration of the gauges may be checked by resting the gauges together as shown in fig5 a . they are correct if the gap 112 between mating surfaces 104 and 105 is equal to the desired engagement 76 . this is the distance which the crest surfaces extend beyond each other when the predetermined distance 96 is held . it does not really matter what dimension 96 is , so long as it is the same for both gauges . a preferred alignment means is shown in fig6 with detail of the alignment key being shown in fig6 a . after the alignment is determined as described above , a slot 120 is machined in the box and an alignment key 122 is fastened to the pin with screws 124 . this not only permits alignment of the pin and box for stabbing , but also operates as a guide to maintain this alignment during the clamping operation . the alignment key 122 also serves as an anti - rotation device to preclude any possibility of the connector rotating loose during operation . at the time it is desired to disassemble this joint , the alignment key is removed and the joint may be unscrewed . the maximum tooth engagement is limited by the strain range of the material . with a 100 , 000 psi yield strength material , and a 30 inch diameter , it can be determined by using young &# 39 ; s modulus of 30 × 10 6 psi that the maximum elastic deflection is 0 . 1 inches on the diameter , which is 0 . 05 inches on each thread . this represents the maximum engagement that can reasonably be designed for . for the connector described here , it is recommended that a radial overlap of 0 . 04 inches and an engagement of 0 . 03 inches per thread be the design criteria , thereby providing some preload but still maintaining substantial thread engagement . the connector , as described , can axially be stabbed together without rotation , using reasonable forces such as 300 , 000 pounds for a 30 inch outside diameter connector having a frustoconical taper of 4 degrees and the same taper on the crests . the connector may furthermore be disassembled by removing any locking key and rotating the members . seal ring 45 is intended as the primary seal for sealing the connector . when the connector is to be disassembled , it may be found to be too tight for rotation with available equipment . hydraulic fluid may be injected under pressure through hole 73 to expand the box and contract the pin , as well as to supply lubrication . since the pressure energization is only required to initially break the connector loose , leakage is not fatal to its performance . should the end abutting surface of either the pin or box be damaged and require dressing , the connector need not be destroyed but can be used by again measuring the threads to find a new circumferential orientation after such dressing operations . furthermore , the connector has the possibility of being tightened by rotation should the initial installation result in a loose connector for any reason . in the thread form illustrated in fig7 the crests 130 and 132 have a steeper angle than that of the frustoconical surface 134 . the edges 136 of the flanks 138 which are the load bearing flanks remain on the frustoconical surface . the leading edge 140 of each crest is , however , drawn back from the frustoconical surface to such an extent that it has a radial dimension substantially equal to that of the corner 136 of the adjoining crest . accordingly , any crest cleared by the corner 136 will be engaged by the following crest 130 , thereby , minimizing the possibility of engaging the flanks rather than the crests in the event of slight misalignment . such a connector , however , will require more force to clamp it together , the force being approximately proportional to the tangent of the taper angle of the crest surfaces . the connectors as described in this invention inherently have small tooth engagement . it has been found that under high bending loads , the teeth can disengage on the tension side of the connector . this appears to occur because shifting of the pin away from the tension side permits disengagement of these teeth . as can be seen by looking at the earlier described connector , wide crests such as 54 fit within wide grooves or roots 60 . since the abutting flanks 64 are highly loaded , it is required that these root surfaces be rounded and accordingly , they are inherently deeper than the engaging crests . accordingly , an improved thread form is described and illustrated in fig8 and 9 . this improved thread form essentially uses a portion of the deepened groove , so that material is retained in a portion thereof which abuts with the engaging crest . in fig9 the narrow crests 56 and the wide crest 54 can be seen as well as the wide crests 62 and the narrow crests 63 on the box . the pin 10 has within thread form 49 an additional axially extending radially facing centralizing surface 150 . similarly , the box has such an axially extending radially facing surface 152 . in each case , this surface is located between a wide and narrow crest at a radial dimension which is between that of the crest surface and that of the root surface . on final snapping of the connector in place after stabbing , initial engaging action occurs between the opposing flanks 64 and 70 . the radial contraction occurs however , only until centralizing surfaces 152 engage the crest 54 and centralizing surfaces 150 engage crest 62 . the actual tooth engagement is accordingly the difference in radial dimension between the outer edge of the crest , immediately adjacent to the loaded flank and the diameter of the centralizing surface . these relative dimensions are easy to hold accurately . the centralizing surface operates to preclude the connector from drifting off center under load , whereby the teeth on the opposite side could be disengaged . furthermore , it is desirable that the connector be designed such that on stabbing an interference fit is achieved between the centralizing surface and the crest . this minimized the tendency of the box and pin to become oval under bending load . in the connector previously described , the potential tooth engagement was limited to 0 . 05 inches . of this , it is recommended that a shrink fit be obtained such that 20 % of this , i . e ., 0 . 01 inches , is used for the shrink fit of the centralizing surface . the connector of fig8 has , in addition to seal groove 44 and seal ring 45 , a seal groove 166 and seal ring 168 in pin 10 . threaded opening 73 with plug 74 is located near the stress relief groove 20 . this avoids the possibility of the opening being blocked by a centralizing surface . seal ring 168 improves sealing when the connector is pressure energized to start the release of the connector , and also operates as a backup seal . alignment of the connectors is based on axial measurement from the abutting shoulders to the thread form . therefore , the radial strain of the connector , even though it may result in a permanent set , is not detrimental to the amount of engagement obtained . since the circumferential orientation locates the thread forms at the proper axial distance from the shoulder the radial movement of the crest surfaces as the connector snaps into engagement is what produces the intended result .	4
according to the present invention , a safety device for a swimming pool , or other open area , is provided . the safety device as seen in fig1 to 3 includes a cover 10 for a swimming pool 11 . the cover 10 is mounted on a frame 12 which is movable vertically between a closed condition wherein access to the swimming pool 11 is prevented , and a raised condition . the frame comprises a plurality of water powered lifting and lowering legs 13 , each of the legs 13 adapted to move the cover between the raised and closed condition . in use , the cover is moved between a raised position wherein the cover 10 is positioned above and spaced from the surface of the pool 11 to allow swimmers to use the pool 11 ( fig1 ), and a closed position where the cover 10 is positioned to prevent access to the swimming pool 11 ( fig3 ). the movement between the raised position and the closed position will be actuated at a user &# 39 ; s convenience by providing a switch , button , or other actuation device associated with the plurality of legs 13 . the swimming pool 11 illustrated has an edge 14 , which may be straight , curved or a combination of both . although the swimming pool 11 illustrated is an in - ground type , the invention applies equally to an above - ground pool , a spa , a sand pit and the like the cover 10 for closing the swimming pool 11 comprises a fabric 15 ( e . g . shadecloth ) over the frame 12 . the cover 10 and frame is heavy or large enough to resist manual lifting of the cover ( e . g . by children ), but is light enough to be raised by the legs 13 . the frame 12 comprises an assembly of frame members to provide a rigid supporting frame . in the particular embodiment , the frame members comprise a pair of spaced apart main support beams 17 , and a number of spaced apart cross beams 19 . a peripheral frame edge 18 is provided which can be made of metal , plastic or any suitable material . the length of the main support beams 17 should be sufficient to extend over the length of the pool and therefore it is envisaged that a typical length will be between 5 - 12 m . the main support beams may be formed with a “ truss ” type configuration which is quite well - known . the cross beams 19 should be of a length sufficient to extend over the width of the pool and it is therefore envisaged that a typical length of the cross beams will be between 3 - 6 m . the cross beams may also be formed with a “ truss ” type configuration which is quite well - known . the main support beams 17 and the cross beams 19 will typically be made of metal such as galvanised steel , although other metals such as aluminium may also be used . under some circumstances , these beams may also be made from materials other than metal such as timber ( particularly lvl - laminated veneer number ), laminated plastic beams and the like . however , it is considered that galvanised metal may be the most suitable . the beams may be made of the box section , or may comprise purlins , or may be solid , tubular and the like depending inter alia on the type of material from which to beam is made . the frame is preferably shaped to allow water to drain from the cover 10 . therefore , the uppermost part of the cross beams 19 may have a downwardly sloping portion to provide drainage . the fabric 15 of the cover 10 can be attached to the frame in any suitable manner . in a particular embodiment , the fabric will be attached to the edge 18 of the frame and is preferably somewhat stretched to provide a good taut cover . in the particular embodiment , the fabric may comprise a “ shade cloth ” type material which typically comprises a woven aspect material . of course , the fabric may comprise other types of materials and may be porous or watertight . the design of the frame is such that leaves / debris that fall on the frame can be brushed off or blown off , and because the edge 18 of the frame extends past the edge 14 of the pool , the debris will not fall into the pool . if the fabric comprises a shade cloth type material , any rain will pass through the fabric to fill the pool . if the fabric comprises a watertight material , any rain will pass on to the pool surrounds . in a variation to the embodiments , it is envisaged that some form of collection means ( e . g . a small gutter ) might be provided to collect the water to a rainwater tank or something similar if the fabric comprises a watertight material . the frame can be raised above the pool or lowered by the water powered plurality of legs 13 associated with the frame 12 for the cover 10 . the legs are spaced about the periphery 14 of the swimming pool 11 to allow the efficient raising and lowering of the cover 10 . each of the legs 13 are substantially vertical allowing the swimming pool cover 10 to remain in position substantially above the swimming pool 11 when being raised and lowered . the number of legs 13 will depend on the size of the pool , and other conditions such as wind loading etc . in the particular embodiment , the swimming pool illustrated can be covered using four legs 13 . as illustrated in fig5 , each leg comprises an outer cylinder member 23 and an inner member 24 extending at least partially into the cylinder 23 . the outer cylinder member 23 can be made of cylindrical tubular plastic material and will have a typical length of between 2 - 4 m and a diameter of between 50 - 200 mm . the outer cylinder member 23 is sunk into the pool surround area such that only an upper part 43 ( see fig4 ) is flush or substantially flush with the pool surround area . a finishing collar 29 ( see fig2 ) is fitted about the upper part 43 . the collar 29 can also function to ensure that the inner member remains centred as it comes out of or retracts into the outer member . collar 29 can also function to prevent the inner member from extending too far out of the outer member . in the particular embodiment , the internal diameter of the outer member is 101 mm to give the lifting capacity at relatively low water pressure . the inner member 24 can be seen as the “ ram ” or “ piston ” and comprises a hollow cylindrical plastic tube having a length of between 2 - 4 m and a diameter which is sufficient to allow the inner member to slide into or out of the outer member 23 . the lower end of the inner member 24 is closed ( see fig5 ) and the lower end can contain a weighted material 40 such as sand , cement , grout etc to provide the cover with sufficient weight to prevent the cover lifting unnecessarily during windy or breezy conditions . to allow inner member 24 to function as a ram or piston , a pair of spaced apart collar members are attached about the inner member 24 these comprising an upper collar member 26 and a lower collar member 27 ( see fig5 ). these collar members are separated by 400 mm . to provide a good sealing between the inner member 24 and the outer member 23 , a sealing member 28 ( typically an “ o ” ring ) is fitted to the outside of upper collar member 26 ( collar member 26 may be provided with a peripheral groove to accommodate the sealing member ) 28 . a pair of sealing members 28 is fitted to lower collar member 27 to provide good sealing . the upper collar member 26 can also function as a “ stop ” to prevent excessive extension of the inner member from the outer member . for instance , the outer collar member 26 can contact the collar 29 to prevent further movement . an inlet 30 , 31 ( see fig5 ) is provided into outer member 23 and below the lower collar member 27 . the inlet can be attached to a pipe or something similar . water can be pumped through the pipe and through the inlet and pressurised water will force in member 24 to rise out of the outer member 23 and therefore to lift the cover 10 . loss of water pressure will cause the cover to move back to the lowered position . the inner member 24 and the outer member 23 can be made from pvc . of course , other materials they also be used such as metal . the inner member 24 is provided with a bracket / cap 41 ( see fig3 ) on the top of the inner member 24 . thus , when the cover 10 is in the lowered position ( see fig3 ), the bracket 41 is substantially flush with the pool paving . conversely , when the cover is in the raised position , bracket 41 is raised above the pool surrounds . bracket 41 is provided with a supporting arm 42 ( see fig3 ). supporting arm 42 is attached to the edge 18 and / or a cross beam 19 thereby operatively connecting the frame to the water powered leg members 13 . the inlet 30 in the bottom of outer member 23 can also function as the outlet 31 . a water pump ( not illustrated ) is provided to supply pressurised water to the water powered leg members . the pressurised water may comprise pool water , or mains water , tank water or water from any other source . the water pump may comprise the pool pump or a different pump . the outlet 31 is a drain - type outlet , allowing the release of the fluid disposed within the cylinder 23 due to gravity alone . the water which operates the water powered leg members can be reused and recycled . the size of the inlet pipe that supplies water to each leg member is preferably relatively narrow , or has a narrowed portion ( typically no greater than 13 mm internal diameter ). this provides a safety arrangement in the event that a pipe is fractured , the pool cover will fall slowly as opposed to suddenly because water will not be able to pass out of each leg member very quickly due to the relatively narrow pipe . all the pipes and fittings and parts of the water powered leg members are rated to twice the pressure at which the unit will be operated . all components are to be compatible with the national standards . the main pump that pressurises the system may comprise a stainless steel 240 v domestic pump and all other electrics for solenoids are 24 v and operated by a button ( on a control panel ) that must be held down to raise or lower the unit to ensure that a person is there at all times for safety reasons . a filter or strainer is positioned on the inlet side ( or pickup side ) of the pump to eliminate any foreign matter from entering into the valves on the electric solenoids . the pickup pipe with the strainer is the largest in diameter to give the volume for supply . in use , once the water is pressurised by the pump , it flows through one electric solenoid which is activated by a button on a control panel / device . the pressurised water than flows through a manifold with four outlets for each of the water operated leg members . non - return valves ( 4 ) are provided to prevent backpressure which may occur due to one leg member having more weight than the others ( which may occur because of the shape of the cover or the positioning of the leg members ). the pressurised water than flows through four gate valves which are set to equalise the pressure and volume to each leg member according to the amount of weight on each leg member . at this point , the water flows through a t piece which houses a 24 v solenoid , one for each of the four lines / pipes , each of which are attached to the narrow diameter ( 13 mm ) pipe and then into the lower end of each leg member . the cover can be lowered by activating the 4 24 v solenoids which opens the pressurised lines and lets the water flow back to the swimming pool through the 4 low pressure valves ( one for each exhaust line ) so as to control the lowering of the canopy so that it keeps the canopy level . these valves may be preset . the use of high - grade ultraviolet resistance shade cloth is preferred as the cover . the shade cloth is porous material so there is very little down draft or up draft . the material is very strong and long lasting and is strong enough to support an 80 kg person without tearing . the cover apparatus can be used domestically with home swimming pools , or at schools , etc . the cover apparatus need not be limited to swimming pools and may also be used for sand pits ( for instance to reduce animal droppings , glass , etc ) and supplying shade when in the raised position . a control panel is preferably provided which can operate the solenoids / pump etc . it is envisaged that the control panel can be locked using a key or something similar . thus , when the cover is in the down position , and the key is removed from the control panel , the cover cannot be raised . the apparatus has a major safety aspect because when in the lowered position , it is almost impossible for a child etc to fall into the pool water . even if the person falls onto the cover , the cover will not tear . the cover can also reduce evaporation from the pool when in the lowered position , and can also reduce build up of algae , and reduce the chlorine requirements . leaves and debris falling into the swimming pool is reduced almost to zero and if the cover material is a poor a shade cloth material , water ( e . g . rainwater ) can still pass through the cover to fill the pool . the cover does not sit on the pool water . the apparatus has very few moving parts and uses low pressure water to power the leg members . the edge 18 of the cover may be made from relatively soft cushioning material such that when the cover is in the lowered position ( fig3 , and also fig6 and fig7 ), the cushioning material can form a soft seal against the pool coping to prevent leaves / debris from blowing into the pool . fig6 - 7 illustrates another in embodiment of the invention , which is similar to the first embodiment described above . in this particular embodiment , a pair of leg members 50 is provided spaced from one edge of the pool and the cover 51 ( which may be similar to that described above ) is somewhat cantilevered from each leg member . an advantage of this embodiment is that there are few leg members spaced about the pool . in compliance with the statute , the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features . it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect . the invention is , therefore , claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art . throughout the specification and the claims ( if present ), unless the context requires otherwise , the term “ comprise ”, or variations such as “ comprises ” or “ comprising ”, will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers . throughout the specification and claims ( if present ), unless the context requires otherwise , the term “ substantially ” or “ about ” will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms . any embodiment of the invention is meant to be illustrative only and is not meant to be limiting to the invention . therefore , it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	4
it is to be understood that different applications of the disclosed products and methods may be tailored to the specific needs in the art . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments of the invention only , and is not intended to be limiting . in addition as used in this specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a pore ” includes two or more such pores , reference to “ a helicase ” includes two or more such helicases , reference to “ a polynucleotide ” includes two or more such polynucleotides , and the like . all publications , patents and patent applications cited herein , whether supra or infra , are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . the invention provides a method of characterising a target polynucleotide . the method comprises contacting the target polynucleotide with a transmembrane pore and a hel308 helicase such that the helicase controls the movement of the target polynucleotide through the pore and nucleotides in the target polynucleotide interact with the pore . one or more characteristics of the target polynucleotide are then measured using standard methods known in the art . steps ( a ) and ( b ) are preferably carried out with a potential applied across the pore . as discussed in more detail below , the applied potential typically results in the formation of a complex between the pore and the helicase . the applied potential may be a voltage potential . alternatively , the applied potential may be a chemical potential . an example of this is using a salt gradient across the lipid membrane . a salt gradient is disclosed in holden et al ., j am chem soc . 2007 jul . 11 ; 129 ( 27 ): 8650 - 5 . in some instances , the current passing through the pore during one or more interactions is used to determine the sequence of the target polynucleotide . this is strand sequencing . the method has several advantages . first , the inventors have surprisingly shown that hel308 helicases have a surprisingly high salt tolerance and so the method of the invention may be carried out at high salt concentrations . in the context of strand sequencing , a charge carrier , such as a salt , is necessary to create a conductive solution for applying a voltage offset to capture and translocate the target polynucleotide and to measure the resulting sequence - dependent current changes as the polynucleotide passes through the pore . since the measurement signal is dependent on the concentration of the salt , it is advantageous to use high salt concentrations to increase the magnitude of the acquired signal . high salt concentrations provide a high signal to noise ratio and allow for currents indicative of the presence of a nucleotide to be identified against the background of normal current fluctuations . for strand sequencing , salt concentrations in excess of 100 mm are ideal and salt concentrations of 1 m and above are preferred . the inventors have surprisingly shown that hel308 helicases will function effectively at salt concentrations as high as , for example , 2 m . second , when a voltage is applied , hel308 helicases can surprisingly move the target polynucleotide in two directions , namely with or against the field resulting from the applied voltage . hence , the method of the invention may be carried out in one of two preferred modes . different signals are obtained depending on the direction the target polynucleotide moves through the pore , ie in the direction of or against the field . this is discussed in more detail below . third , hel308 helicases typically move the target polynucleotide through the pore one nucleotide at a time . hel308 helicases can therefore function like a single - base ratchet . this is of course advantageous when sequencing a target polynucleotide because substantially all , if not all , of the nucleotides in the target polynucleotide may be identified using the pore . fourth , hel308 helicases are capable of controlling the movement of single stranded polynucleotides and double stranded polynucleotides . this means that a variety of different target polynucleotides can be characterised in accordance with the invention . fifth , hel308 helicases appear very resistant to the field resulting from applied voltages . the inventors have seen very little movement of the polynucleotide under an “ unzipping ” condition . this is important because it means that there are no complications from unwanted “ backwards ” movements when moving polynucleotides against the field resulting from an applied voltage . sixth , hel308 helicases are easy to produce and easy to handle . their use therefore contributed to a straightforward and less expensive method of sequencing . the method of the invention is for characterising a target polynucleotide . a polynucleotide , such as a nucleic acid , is a macromolecule comprising two or more nucleotides . the polynucleotide or nucleic acid may comprise any combination of any nucleotides . the nucleotides can be naturally occurring or artificial . one or more nucleotides in the target polynucleotide can be oxidized or methylated . one or more nucleotides in the target polynucleotide may be damaged . one or more nucleotides in the target polynucleotide may be modified , for instance with a label or a tag . the target polynucleotide may comprise one or more spacers . a nucleotide typically contains a nucleobase , a sugar and at least one phosphate group . the nucleobase is typically heterocyclic . nucleobases include , but are not limited to , purines and pyrimidines and more specifically adenine , guanine , thymine , uracil and cytosine . the sugar is typically a pentose sugar . nucleotide sugars include , but are not limited to , ribose and deoxyribose . the nucleotide is typically a ribonucleotide or deoxyribonucleotide . the nucleotide typically contains a monophosphate , diphosphate or triphosphate . phosphates may be attached on the 5 ′ or 3 ′ side of a nucleotide . nucleotides include , but are not limited to , adenosine monophosphate ( amp ), guanosine monophosphate ( gmp ), thymidine monophosphate ( tmp ), uridine monophosphate ( ump ), cytidine monophosphate ( cmp ), cyclic adenosine monophosphate ( camp ), cyclic guanosine monophosphate ( cgmp ), deoxyadenosine monophosphate ( damp ), deoxyguanosine monophosphate ( dgmp ), deoxythymidine monophosphate ( dtmp ), deoxyuridine monophosphate ( dump ) and deoxycytidine monophosphate ( dcmp ). the nucleotides are preferably selected from amp , tmp , gmp , cmp , ump , damp , dtmp , dgmp or dcmp . the polynucleotide may be single stranded or double stranded . at least a portion of the polynucleotide is preferably double stranded . the polynucleotide can be a nucleic acid , such as deoxyribonucleic acid ( dna ) or ribonucleic acid ( rna ). the target polynucleotide can comprise one strand of rna hybridized to one strand of dna . the polynucleotide may be any synthetic nucleic acid known in the art , such as peptide nucleic acid ( pna ), glycerol nucleic acid ( gna ), threose nucleic acid ( tna ), locked nucleic acid ( lna ) or other synthetic polymers with nucleotide side chains . the whole or only part of the target polynucleotide may be characterised using this method . the target polynucleotide can be any length . for example , the polynucleotide can be at least 10 , at least 50 , at least 100 , at least 150 , at least 200 , at least 250 , at least 300 , at least 400 or at least 500 nucleotide pairs in length . the polynucleotide can be 1000 or more nucleotide pairs , 5000 or more nucleotide pairs in length or 100000 or more nucleotide pairs in length . the target polynucleotide is present in any suitable sample . the invention is typically carried out on a sample that is known to contain or suspected to contain the target polynucleotide . alternatively , the invention may be carried out on a sample to confirm the identity of one or more target polynucleotides whose presence in the sample is known or expected . the sample may be a biological sample . the invention may be carried out in vitro on a sample obtained from or extracted from any organism or microorganism . the organism or microorganism is typically archaean , prokaryotic or eukaryotic and typically belongs to one the five kingdoms : plantae , animalia , fungi , monera and protista . the invention may be carried out in vitro on a sample obtained from or extracted from any virus . the sample is preferably a fluid sample . the sample typically comprises a body fluid of the patient . the sample may be urine , lymph , saliva , mucus or amniotic fluid but is preferably blood , plasma or serum . typically , the sample is human in origin , but alternatively it may be from another mammal animal such as from commercially farmed animals such as horses , cattle , sheep or pigs or may alternatively be pets such as cats or dogs . alternatively a sample of plant origin is typically obtained from a commercial crop , such as a cereal , legume , fruit or vegetable , for example wheat , barley , oats , canola , maize , soya , rice , bananas , apples , tomatoes , potatoes , grapes , tobacco , beans , lentils , sugar cane , cocoa , cotton . the sample may be a non - biological sample . the non - biological sample is preferably a fluid sample . examples of a non - biological sample include surgical fluids , water such as drinking water , sea water or river water , and reagents for laboratory tests . the sample is typically processed prior to being assayed , for example by centrifugation or by passage through a membrane that filters out unwanted molecules or cells , such as red blood cells . the sample may be measured immediately upon being taken . the sample may also be typically stored prior to assay , preferably below − 70 ° c . a transmembrane pore is a structure that permits hydrated ions driven by an applied potential to flow from one side of the membrane to the other side of the membrane . any membrane may be used in accordance with the invention . suitable membranes are well - known in the art . the membrane is preferably an amphiphilic layer . an amphiphilic layer is a layer formed from amphiphilic molecules , such as phospholipids , which have both hydrophilic and lipophilic properties . the amphiphilic layer may be a monolayer or a bilayer . the membrane is preferably a lipid bilayer . lipid bilayers are models of cell membranes and serve as excellent platforms for a range of experimental studies . for example , lipid bilayers can be used for in vitro investigation of membrane proteins by single - channel recording . alternatively , lipid bilayers can be used as biosensors to detect the presence of a range of substances . the lipid bilayer may be any lipid bilayer . suitable lipid bilayers include , but are not limited to , a planar lipid bilayer , a supported bilayer or a liposome . the lipid bilayer is preferably a planar lipid bilayer . suitable lipid bilayers are disclosed in international application no . pct / gb08 / 000563 ( published as wo 2008 / 102121 ), international application no . pct / gb08 / 004127 ( published as wo 2009 / 077734 ) and international application no . pct / gb2006 / 001057 ( published as wo 2006 / 100484 ). methods for forming lipid bilayers are known in the art . suitable methods are disclosed in the example . lipid bilayers are commonly formed by the method of montal and mueller ( proc . natl . acad . sci . usa ., 1972 ; 69 : 3561 - 3566 ), in which a lipid monolayer is carried on aqueous solution / air interface past either side of an aperture which is perpendicular to that interface . the method of montal & amp ; mueller is popular because it is a cost - effective and relatively straightforward method of forming good quality lipid bilayers that are suitable for protein pore insertion . other common methods of bilayer formation include tip - dipping , painting bilayers and patch - clamping of liposome bilayers . in a preferred embodiment , the lipid bilayer is formed as described in international application no . pct / gb08 / 004127 ( published as wo 2009 / 077734 ). in another preferred embodiment , the membrane is a solid state layer . a solid - state layer is not of biological origin . in other words , a solid state layer is not derived from or isolated from a biological environment such as an organism or cell , or a synthetically manufactured version of a biologically available structure . solid state layers can be formed from both organic and inorganic materials including , but not limited to , microelectronic materials , insulating materials such as si 3 n 4 , a1 2 0 3 , and sio , organic and inorganic polymers such as polyamide , plastics such as teflon ® or elastomers such as two - component addition - cure silicone rubber , and glasses . the solid state layer may be formed from monatomic layers , such as graphene , or layers that are only a few atoms thick . suitable graphene layers are disclosed in international application no . pct / us2008 / 010637 ( published as wo 2009 / 035647 ). the method is typically carried out using ( i ) an artificial bilayer comprising a pore , ( ii ) an isolated , naturally - occurring lipid bilayer comprising a pore , or ( iii ) a cell having a pore inserted therein . the method is preferably carried out using an artificial lipid bilayer . the bilayer may comprise other transmembrane and / or intramembrane proteins as well as other molecules in addition to the pore . suitable apparatus and conditions are discussed below . the method of the invention is typically carried out in vitro . the polynucleotide may be coupled to the membrane . this may be done using any known method . if the membrane is an amphiphilic layer , such as a lipid bilayer ( as discussed in detail above ), the polynucleotide is preferably coupled to the membrane via a polypeptide present in the membrane or a hydrophobic anchor present in the membrane . the hydrophobic anchor is preferably a lipid , fatty acid , sterol , carbon nanotube or amino acid . the polynucleotide may be coupled directly to the membrane . the polynucleotide is preferably coupled to the membrane via a linker . preferred linkers include , but are not limited to , polymers , such as polynucleotides , polyethylene glycols ( pegs ) and polypeptides . if a polynucleotide is coupled directly to the membrane , then some data will be lost as the characterising run cannot continue to the end of the polynucleotide due to the distance between the membrane and the helicase . if a linker is used , then the polynucleotide can be processed to completion . if a linker is used , the linker may be attached to the polynucleotide at any position . the linker is preferably attached to the polynucleotide at the tail polymer . the coupling may be stable or transient . for certain applications , the transient nature of the coupling is preferred . if a stable coupling molecule were attached directly to either the 5 ′ or 3 ′ end of a polynucleotide , then some data will be lost as the characterising run cannot continue to the end of the polynucleotide due to the distance between the bilayer and the helicase &# 39 ; s active site . if the coupling is transient , then when the coupled end randomly becomes free of the bilayer , then the polynucleotide can be processed to completion . chemical groups that form stable or transient links with the membrane are discussed in more detail below . the polynucleotide may be transiently coupled to an amphiphilic layer or lipid bilayer using cholesterol or a fatty acyl chain . any fatty acyl chain having a length of from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , such as hexadecanoic acid , may be used . in preferred embodiments , polynucleotide is coupled to a lipid bilayer . coupling of polynucleotides to synthetic lipid bilayers has been carried out previously with various different tethering strategies . these are summarised in table 1 below . polynucleotides may be functionalized using a modified phosphoramidite in the synthesis reaction , which is easily compatible for the addition of reactive groups , such as thiol , cholesterol , lipid and biotin groups . these different attachment chemistries give a suite of attachment options for polynucleotides . each different modification group tethers the polynucleotide in a slightly different way and coupling is not always permanent so giving different dwell times for the polynucleotide to the bilayer . the advantages of transient coupling are discussed above . coupling of polynucleotides can also be achieved by a number of other means provided that a reactive group can be added to the polynucleotide . the addition of reactive groups to either end of dna has been reported previously . a thiol group can be added to the 5 ′ of ssdna using polynucleotide kinase and atpγs ( grant , g . p . and p . z . qin ( 2007 ). “ a facile method for attaching nitroxide spin labels at the 5 ′ terminus of nucleic acids .” nucleic acids res 35 ( 10 ): e77 ). a more diverse selection of chemical groups , such as biotin , thiols and fluorophores , can be added using terminal transferase to incorporate modified oligonucleotides to the 3 ′ of ssdna ( kumar , a ., p . tchen , et al . ( 1988 ). “ nonradioactive labeling of synthetic oligonucleotide probes with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase .” anal biochem 169 ( 2 ): 376 - 82 ). alternatively , the reactive group could be considered to be the addition of a short piece of dna complementary to one already coupled to the bilayer , so that attachment can be achieved via hybridisation . ligation of short pieces of ssdna have been reported using t4 rna ligase i ( troutt , a . b ., m . g . mcheyzer - williams , et al . ( 1992 ). “ ligation - anchored pcr : a simple amplification technique with single - sided specificity .” proc natl acad sci usa 89 ( 20 ): 9823 - 5 ). alternatively either ssdna or dsdna could be ligated to native dsdna and then the two strands separated by thermal or chemical denaturation . to native dsdna , it is possible to add either a piece of ssdna to one or both of the ends of the duplex , or dsdna to one or both ends . then , when the duplex is melted , each single strand will have either a 5 ′ or 3 ′ modification if ssdna was used for ligation or a modification at the 5 ′ end , the 3 ′ end or both if dsdna was used for ligation . if the polynucleotide is a synthetic strand , the coupling chemistry can be incorporated during the chemical synthesis of the polynucleotide . for instance , the polynucleotide can be synthesized using a primer a reactive group attached to it . a common technique for the amplification of sections of genomic dna is using polymerase chain reaction ( pcr ). here , using two synthetic oligonucleotide primers , a number of copies of the same section of dna can be generated , where for each copy the 5 ′ of each strand in the duplex will be a synthetic polynucleotide . by using an antisense primer that has a reactive group , such as a cholesterol , thiol , biotin or lipid , each copy of the target dna amplified will contain a reactive group for coupling . the transmembrane pore is preferably a transmembrane protein pore . a transmembrane protein pore is a polypeptide or a collection of polypeptides that permits hydrated ions , such as analyte , to flow from one side of a membrane to the other side of the membrane . in the present invention , the transmembrane protein pore is capable of forming a pore that permits hydrated ions driven by an applied potential to flow from one side of the membrane to the other . the transmembrane protein pore preferably permits analyte such as nucleotides to flow from one side of the membrane , such as a lipid bilayer , to the other . the transmembrane protein pore allows a polynucleotide , such as dna or rna , to be moved through the pore . the transmembrane protein pore may be a monomer or an oligomer . the pore is preferably made up of several repeating subunits , such as 6 , 7 or 8 subunits . the pore is more preferably a heptameric or octameric pore . the transmembrane protein pore typically comprises a barrel or channel through which the ions may flow . the subunits of the pore typically surround a central axis and contribute strands to a transmembrane β barrel or channel or a transmembrane α - helix bundle or channel . the barrel or channel of the transmembrane protein pore typically comprises amino acids that facilitate interaction with analyte , such as nucleotides , polynucleotides or nucleic acids . these amino acids are preferably located near a constriction of the barrel or channel . the transmembrane protein pore typically comprises one or more positively charged amino acids , such as arginine , lysine or histidine , or aromatic amino acids , such as tyrosine or tryptophan . these amino acids typically facilitate the interaction between the pore and nucleotides , polynucleotides or nucleic acids . transmembrane protein pores for use in accordance with the invention can be derived from β - barrel pores or α - helix bundle pores . β - barrel pores comprise a barrel or channel that is formed from β - strands . suitable β - barrel pores include , but are not limited to , β - toxins , such as α - hemolysin , anthrax toxin and leukocidins , and outer membrane proteins / porins of bacteria , such as mycobacterium smegmatis porin ( msp ), for example mspa , outer membrane porin f ( ompf ), outer membrane porin g ( ompg ), outer membrane phospholipase a and neisseria autotransporter lipoprotein ( nalp ). α - helix bundle pores comprise a barrel or channel that is formed from α - helices . suitable α - helix bundle pores include , but are not limited to , inner membrane proteins and a outer membrane proteins , such as wza and clya toxin . the transmembrane pore may be derived from msp or from α - hemolysin ( α - hl ). the transmembrane protein pore is preferably derived from msp , preferably from mspa . such a pore will be oligomeric and typically comprises 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 monomers derived from msp . the pore may be a homo - oligomeric pore derived from msp comprising identical monomers . alternatively , the pore may be a hetero - oligomeric pore derived from msp comprising at least one monomer that differs from the others . preferably the pore is derived from mspa or a homolog or paralog thereof . a monomer derived from msp comprises the sequence shown in seq id no : 2 or a variant thereof . seq id no : 2 is the ms -( b1 ) 8 mutant of the mspa monomer . it includes the following mutations : d90n , d91n , d93n , d118r , d134r and e139k . a variant of seq id no : 2 is a polypeptide that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of seq id no : 2 and which retains its ability to form a pore . the ability of a variant to form a pore can be assayed using any method known in the art . for instance , the variant may be inserted into a lipid bilayer along with other appropriate subunits and its ability to oligomerise to form a pore may be determined . methods are known in the art for inserting subunits into membranes , such as lipid bilayers . for example , subunits may be suspended in a purified form in a solution containing a lipid bilayer such that it diffuses to the lipid bilayer and is inserted by binding to the lipid bilayer and assembling into a functional state . alternatively , subunits may be directly inserted into the membrane using the “ pick and place ” method described in m . a . holden , h . bayley . j . am . chem . soc . 2005 , 127 , 6502 - 6503 and international application no . pct / gb2006 / 001057 ( published as wo 2006 / 100484 ). over the entire length of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 2 , a variant will preferably be at least 50 % homologous to that sequence based on amino acid identity . more preferably , the variant may be at least 55 %, at least 60 %, at least 65 %, at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 % and more preferably at least 95 %, 97 % or 99 % homologous based on amino acid identity to the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 2 over the entire sequence . there may be at least 80 %, for example at least 85 %, 90 % or 95 %, amino acid identity over a stretch of 100 or more , for example 125 , 150 , 175 or 200 or more , contiguous amino acids (“ hard homology ”). standard methods in the art may be used to determine homology . for example the uwgcg package provides the bestfit program which can be used to calculate homology , for example used on its default settings ( devereux et al ( 1984 ) nucleic acids research 12 , p387 - 395 ). the pileup and blast algorithms can be used to calculate homology or line up sequences ( such as identifying equivalent residues or corresponding sequences ( typically on their default settings )), for example as described in altschul s . f . ( 1993 ) j mol evol 36 : 290 - 300 ; altschul , s . f et al ( 1990 ) j mol biol 215 : 403 - 10 . software for performing blast analyses is publicly available through the national center for biotechnology information ( http :// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov /). seq id no : 2 is the ms -( b1 ) 8 mutant of the mspa monomer . the variant may comprise any of the mutations in the mspb , c or d monomers compared with mspa . the mature forms of mspb , c and d are shown in seq id nos : 5 to 7 . in particular , the variant may comprise the following substitution present in mspb : a138p . the variant may comprise one or more of the following substitutions present in mspc : a96g , n102e and a138p . the variant may comprise one or more of the following mutations present in mspd : deletion of g1 , l2v , e5q , l8v , d13g , w21a , d22e , k47t , i49h , i68v , d91g , a96q , n102d , s103t , v104i , s136k and g141a . the variant may comprise combinations of one or more of the mutations and substitutions from msp b , c and d . the variant preferably comprises the mutation l88n . the variant of seq id no : 2 has the mutation l88n in addition to all the mutations of ms - b1 and is called ms - b2 . the pore used in the invention is preferably ms -( b2 ) 8 . amino acid substitutions may be made to the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 2 in addition to those discussed above , for example up to 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 20 or 30 substitutions . conservative substitutions replace amino acids with other amino acids of similar chemical structure , similar chemical properties or similar side - chain volume . the amino acids introduced may have similar polarity , hydrophilicity , hydrophobicity , basicity , acidity , neutrality or charge to the amino acids they replace . alternatively , the conservative substitution may introduce another amino acid that is aromatic or aliphatic in the place of a pre - existing aromatic or aliphatic amino acid . conservative amino acid changes are well - known in the art and may be selected in accordance with the properties of the 20 main amino acids as defined in table 2 below . where amino acids have similar polarity , this can also be determined by reference to the hydropathy scale for amino acid side chains in table 3 . one or more amino acid residues of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 2 may additionally be deleted from the polypeptides described above . up to 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 20 or 30 residues may be deleted , or more . variants may include fragments of seq id no : 2 . such fragments retain pore forming activity . fragments may be at least 50 , 100 , 150 or 200 amino acids in length . such fragments may be used to produce the pores . a fragment preferably comprises the pore forming domain of seq id no : 2 . fragments must include one of residues 88 , 90 , 91 , 105 , 118 and 134 of seq id no : 2 . typically , fragments include all of residues 88 , 90 , 91 , 105 , 118 and 134 of seq id no : 2 . one or more amino acids may be alternatively or additionally added to the polypeptides described above . an extension may be provided at the amino terminal or carboxy terminal of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 2 or polypeptide variant or fragment thereof . the extension may be quite short , for example from 1 to 10 amino acids in length . alternatively , the extension may be longer , for example up to 50 or 100 amino acids . a carrier protein may be fused to an amino acid sequence according to the invention . other fusion proteins are discussed in more detail below . as discussed above , a variant is a polypeptide that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of seq id no : 2 and which retains its ability to form a pore . a variant typically contains the regions of seq id no : 2 that are responsible for pore formation . the pore forming ability of msp , which contains a β - barrel , is provided by β - sheets in each subunit . a variant of seq id no : 2 typically comprises the regions in seq id no : 2 that form β - sheets . one or more modifications can be made to the regions of seq id no : 2 that form β - sheets as long as the resulting variant retains its ability to form a pore . a variant of seq id no : 2 preferably includes one or more modifications , such as substitutions , additions or deletions , within its α - helices and / or loop regions . the monomers derived from msp may be modified to assist their identification or purification , for example by the addition of histidine residues ( a hist tag ), aspartic acid residues ( an asp tag ), a streptavidin tag or a flag tag , or by the addition of a signal sequence to promote their secretion from a cell where the polypeptide does not naturally contain such a sequence . an alternative to introducing a genetic tag is to chemically react a tag onto a native or engineered position on the pore . an example of this would be to react a gel - shift reagent to a cysteine engineered on the outside of the pore . this has been demonstrated as a method for separating hemolysin hetero - oligomers ( chem biol . 1997 july ; 4 ( 7 ): 497 - 505 ). the monomer derived from msp may be labelled with a revealing label . the revealing label may be any suitable label which allows the pore to be detected . suitable labels include , but are not limited to , fluorescent molecules , radioisotopes , e . g . 125 i , 35 s , enzymes , antibodies , antigens , polynucleotides and ligands such as biotin . the monomer derived from msp may also be produced using d - amino acids . for instance , the monomer derived from msp may comprise a mixture of l - amino acids and d - amino acids . this is conventional in the art for producing such proteins or peptides . the monomer derived from msp contains one or more specific modifications to facilitate nucleotide discrimination . the monomer derived from msp may also contain other non - specific modifications as long as they do not interfere with pore formation . a number of non - specific side chain modifications are known in the art and may be made to the side chains of the monomer derived from msp . such modifications include , for example , reductive alkylation of amino acids by reaction with an aldehyde followed by reduction with nabh 4 , amidination with methylacetimidate or acylation with acetic anhydride . the monomer derived from msp can be produced using standard methods known in the art . the monomer derived from msp may be made synthetically or by recombinant means . for example , the pore may be synthesized by in vitro translation and transcription ( ivtt ). suitable methods for producing pores are discussed in international application nos . pct / gb09 / 001690 ( published as wo 2010 / 004273 ), pct / gb09 / 001679 ( published as wo 2010 / 004265 ) or pct / gb10 / 000133 ( published as wo 2010 / 086603 ). methods for inserting pores into membranes are discussed . the transmembrane protein pore is also preferably derived from α - hemolysin ( α - hl ). the wild type α - hl pore is formed of seven identical monomers or subunits ( i . e . it is heptameric ). the sequence of one monomer or subunit of α - hemolysin - nn is shown in seq id no : 4 . the transmembrane protein pore preferably comprises seven monomers each comprising the sequence shown in seq id no : 4 or a variant thereof . amino acids 1 , 7 to 21 , 31 to 34 , 45 to 51 , 63 to 66 , 72 , 92 to 97 , 104 to 111 , 124 to 136 , 149 to 153 , 160 to 164 , 173 to 206 , 210 to 213 , 217 , 218 , 223 to 228 , 236 to 242 , 262 to 265 , 272 to 274 , 287 to 290 and 294 of seq id no : 4 form loop regions . residues 113 and 147 of seq id no : 4 form part of a constriction of the barrel or channel of α - hl . in such embodiments , a pore comprising seven proteins or monomers each comprising the sequence shown in seq id no : 4 or a variant thereof are preferably used in the method of the invention . the seven proteins may be the same ( homoheptamer ) or different ( heteroheptamer ). a variant of seq id no : 4 is a protein that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of seq id no : 4 and which retains its pore forming ability . the ability of a variant to form a pore can be assayed using any method known in the art . for instance , the variant may be inserted into a lipid bilayer along with other appropriate subunits and its ability to oligomerise to form a pore may be determined . methods are known in the art for inserting subunits into membranes , such as lipid bilayers . suitable methods are discussed above . the variant may include modifications that facilitate covalent attachment to or interaction with the helicase . the variant preferably comprises one or more reactive cysteine residues that facilitate attachment to the helicase . for instance , the variant may include a cysteine at one or more of positions 8 , 9 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 44 , 45 , 50 , 51 , 237 , 239 and 287 and / or on the amino or carboxy terminus of seq id no : 4 . preferred variants comprise a substitution of the residue at position 8 , 9 , 17 , 237 , 239 and 287 of seq id no : 4 with cysteine ( abc , t9c , n17c , k237c , s239c or e287c ). the variant is preferably any one of the variants described in international application no . pct / gb09 / 001690 ( published as wo 2010 / 004273 ), pct / gb09 / 001679 ( published as wo 2010 / 004265 ) or pct / gb10 / 000133 ( published as wo 2010 / 086603 ). the variant may also include modifications that facilitate any interaction with nucleotides . the variant may be a naturally occurring variant which is expressed naturally by an organism , for instance by a staphylococcus bacterium . alternatively , the variant may be expressed in vitro or recombinantly by a bacterium such as escherichia coli . variants also include non - naturally occurring variants produced by recombinant technology . over the entire length of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 4 , a variant will preferably be at least 50 % homologous to that sequence based on amino acid identity . more preferably , the variant polypeptide may be at least 55 %, at least 60 %, at least 65 %, at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 % and more preferably at least 95 %, 97 % or 99 % homologous based on amino acid identity to the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 4 over the entire sequence . there may be at least 80 %, for example at least 85 %, 90 % or 95 %, amino acid identity over a stretch of 200 or more , for example 230 , 250 , 270 or 280 or more , contiguous amino acids (“ hard homology ”). homology can be determined as discussed above . amino acid substitutions may be made to the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 4 in addition to those discussed above , for example up to 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 20 or 30 substitutions . conservative substitutions may be made as discussed above . one or more amino acid residues of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 4 may additionally be deleted from the polypeptides described above . up to 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 , 20 or 30 residues may be deleted , or more . variants may be fragments of seq id no : 4 . such fragments retain pore - forming activity . fragments may be at least 50 , 100 , 200 or 250 amino acids in length . a fragment preferably comprises the pore - forming domain of seq id no : 4 . fragments typically include residues 119 , 121 , 135 . 113 and 139 of seq id no : 4 . one or more amino acids may be alternatively or additionally added to the polypeptides described above . an extension may be provided at the amino terminus or carboxy terminus of the amino acid sequence of seq id no : 4 or a variant or fragment thereof . the extension may be quite short , for example from 1 to 10 amino acids in length . alternatively , the extension may be longer , for example up to 50 or 100 amino acids . a carrier protein may be fused to a pore or variant . as discussed above , a variant of seq id no : 4 is a subunit that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of seq id no : 4 and which retains its ability to form a pore . a variant typically contains the regions of seq id no : 4 that are responsible for pore formation . the pore forming ability of α - hl , which contains a β - barrel , is provided by β - strands in each subunit . a variant of seq id no : 4 typically comprises the regions in seq id no : 4 that form β - strands . the amino acids of seq id no : 4 that form β - strands are discussed above . one or more modifications can be made to the regions of seq id no : 4 that form β - strands as long as the resulting variant retains its ability to form a pore . specific modifications that can be made to the β - strand regions of seq id no : 4 are discussed above . a variant of seq id no : 4 preferably includes one or more modifications , such as substitutions , additions or deletions , within its α - helices and / or loop regions . amino acids that form α - helices and loops are discussed above . the variant may be modified to assist its identification or purification as discussed above . pores derived from α - hl can be made as discussed above with reference to pores derived from msp . in some embodiments , the transmembrane protein pore is chemically modified . the pore can be chemically modified in any way and at any site . the transmembrane protein pore is preferably chemically modified by attachment of a molecule to one or more cysteines ( cysteine linkage ), attachment of a molecule to one or more lysines , attachment of a molecule to one or more non - natural amino acids , enzyme modification of an epitope or modification of a terminus . suitable methods for carrying out such modifications are well - known in the art . the transmembrane protein pore may be chemically modified by the attachment of any molecule . for instance , the pore may be chemically modified by attachment of a dye or a fluorophore . any number of the monomers in the pore may be chemically modified . one or more , such as 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 or 10 , of the monomers is preferably chemically modified as discussed above . the reactivity of cysteine residues may be enhanced by modification of the adjacent residues . for instance , the basic groups of flanking arginine , histidine or lysine residues will change the pka of the cysteines thiol group to that of the more reactive s − group . the reactivity of cysteine residues may be protected by thiol protective groups such as dtnb . these may be reacted with one or more cysteine residues of the pore before a linker is attached . the molecule ( with which the pore is chemically modified ) may be attached directly to the pore or attached via a linker as disclosed in international application nos . pct / gb09 / 001690 ( published as wo 2010 / 004273 ), pct / gb09 / 001679 ( published as wo 2010 / 004265 ) or pct / gb10 / 000133 ( published as wo 2010 / 086603 ). any hel308 helicase may be used in accordance with the invention . hel308 helicases are also known as ski2 - like helicases and the two terms can be used interchangeably . the hel308 helicase typically comprises the amino acid motif q - x1 - x2 - g - r - a - g - r ( hereinafter called the hel308 motif ; seq id no : 8 ). the hel308 motif is typically part of the helicase motif vi ( tuteja and tuteja , eur . j . biochem . 271 , 1849 - 1863 ( 2004 )). x1 may be c , m or l . x1 is preferably c . x2 may be any amino acid residue . x2 is typically a hydrophobic or neutral residue . x2 may be a , f , m , c , v , l , i , s , t , p or r . x2 is preferably a , f , m , c , v , l , i , s , t or p . x2 is more preferably a , m or l . x2 is most preferably a or m . the hel308 helicase preferably comprises the motif q - x1 - x2 - g - r - a - g - r - p ( hereinafter called the extended hel308 motif ; seq id no : 9 ) wherein x1 and x2 are as described above . the most preferred hel308 motifs and extended hel308 motifs are shown in table 5 below . the hel308 helicase may comprise any of these preferred motifs . the hel308 helicase is preferably one of the helicases shown in table 4 below or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase is more preferably one of the helicases shown in table 5 below or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase more preferably comprises the sequence of one of the helicases shown in table 5 , i . e . one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 , or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase more preferably comprises ( a ) the sequence of hel308 mbu ( i . e . seq id no : 10 ) or a variant thereof , ( b ) the sequence of hel308 pfu ( i . e . seq id no : 13 ) or a variant thereof , ( c ) the sequence of hel308 mok ( i . e . seq id no : 29 ) or a variant thereof , ( d ) the sequence of hel308 mma ( i . e . seq id no : 45 ) or a variant thereof , ( e ) the sequence of hel308 fac ( i . e . seq id no : 48 ) or a variant thereof or ( f ) the sequence of hel308 mhu ( i . e . seq id no : 52 ) or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase more preferably comprises the sequence shown in seq id no : 10 or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase more preferably comprises ( a ) the sequence of hel308 tga ( i . e . seq id no : 33 ) or a variant thereof , ( b ) the sequence of hel308 csy ( i . e . seq id no : 22 ) or a variant thereof or ( c ) the sequence of hel308 mhu ( i . e . seq id no : 52 ) or a variant thereof . the hel308 helicase most preferably comprises the sequence shown in seq id no : 33 or a variant thereof . a variant of a hel308 helicase is an enzyme that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of the wild - type helicase and which retains polynucleotide binding activity . in particular , a variant of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 is an enzyme that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 and which retains polynucleotide binding activity . a variant of seq id no : 10 or 33 is an enzyme that has an amino acid sequence which varies from that of seq id no : 10 or 33 and which retains polynucleotide binding activity . the variant retains helicase activity . the variant must work in at least one of the two modes discussed below . preferably , the variant works in both modes . the variant may include modifications that facilitate handling of the polynucleotide encoding the helicase and / or facilitate its activity at high salt concentrations and / or room temperature . variants typically differ from the wild - type helicase in regions outside of the hel308 motif or extended hel308 motif discussed above . however , variants may include modifications within these motif ( s ). over the entire length of the amino acid sequence of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 , such as seq id no : 10 or 33 , a variant will preferably be at least 30 % homologous to that sequence based on amino acid identity . more preferably , the variant polypeptide may be at least 40 %, at least 45 %, at least 50 %, at least 55 %, at least 60 %, at least 65 %, at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 % and more preferably at least 95 %, 97 % or 99 % homologous based on amino acid identity to the amino acid sequence of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 , such as seq id no : 10 or 33 , over the entire sequence . there may be at least 70 %, for example at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 % or at least 95 %, amino acid identity over a stretch of 150 or more , for example 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 , 700 , 800 , 900 or 1000 or more , contiguous amino acids (“ hard homology ”). homology is determined as described above . the variant may differ from the wild - type sequence in any of the ways discussed above with reference to seq id nos : 2 and 4 . a variant of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 preferably comprises the hel308 motif or extended hel308 motif of the relevant wild - type sequence . for instance , a variant of seq id no : 10 preferably comprises the hel308 motif of seq id no : 10 ( qmagragr ; seq id no : 11 ) or extended hel308 motif of seq id no : 10 ( qmagragrp ; seq id no : 12 ). the hel308 motif and extended hel308 motif of each of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 are shown in table 5 . however , a variant of any one seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 may comprise the hel308 motif or extended hel308 motif from a different wild - type sequence . for instance , a variant of seq id no : 10 may comprise the hel308 motif of seq id no : 13 ( qmlgragr ; seq id no : 14 ) or extended hel308 motif of seq id no : 13 ( qmlgragrp ; seq id no : 15 ). a variant of any one seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 may comprise any one of the preferred motifs shown in table 5 . variants of any one of seq id nos : 10 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 and 58 may also include modifications within the hel308 motif or extended hel308 motif of the relevant wild - type sequence . suitable modifications at x1 and x2 are discussed above when defining the two motifs . a variant of seq id no : 10 may lack the first 19 amino acids of seq id no : 10 and / or lack the last 33 amino acids of seq id no : 10 . a variant of seq id no : 10 preferably comprises a sequence which is at least 70 %, at least 75 %, at least 80 %, at least 85 %, at least 90 % or more preferably at least 95 %, at least 97 % or at least 99 % homologous based on amino acid identity with amino acids 20 to 211 or 20 to 727 of seq id no : 10 . the helicase may be covalently attached to the pore . the helicase is preferably not covalently attached to the pore . the application of a voltage to the pore and helicase typically results in the formation of a sensor that is capable of sequencing target polynucleotides . this is discussed in more detail below . any of the proteins described herein , i . e . the transmembrane protein pores or hel308 helicases , may be modified to assist their identification or purification , for example by the addition of histidine residues ( a his tag ), aspartic acid residues ( an asp tag ), a streptavidin tag , a flag tag , a sumo tag , a gst tag or a mbp tag , or by the addition of a signal sequence to promote their secretion from a cell where the polypeptide does not naturally contain such a sequence . an alternative to introducing a genetic tag is to chemically react a tag onto a native or engineered position on the pore or helicase . an example of this would be to react a gel - shift reagent to a cysteine engineered on the outside of the pore . this has been demonstrated as a method for separating hemolysin hetero - oligomers ( chem biol . 1997 july ; 4 ( 7 ): 497 - 505 ). the pore and / or helicase may be labelled with a revealing label . the revealing label may be any suitable label which allows the pore to be detected . suitable labels include , but are not limited to , fluorescent molecules , radioisotopes , e . g . 125 i , 35 s , enzymes , antibodies , antigens , polynucleotides and ligands such as biotin . proteins may be made synthetically or by recombinant means . for example , the pore and / or helicase may be synthesized by in vitro translation and transcription ( ivtt ). the amino acid sequence of the pore and / or helicase may be modified to include non - naturally occurring amino acids or to increase the stability of the protein . when a protein is produced by synthetic means , such amino acids may be introduced during production . the pore and / or helicase may also be altered following either synthetic or recombinant production . the pore and / or helicase may also be produced using d - amino acids . for instance , the pore or helicase may comprise a mixture of l - amino acids and d - amino acids . this is conventional in the art for producing such proteins or peptides . the pore and / or helicase may also contain other non - specific modifications as long as they do not interfere with pore formation or helicase function . a number of non - specific side chain modifications are known in the art and may be made to the side chains of the protein ( s ). such modifications include , for example , reductive alkylation of amino acids by reaction with an aldehyde followed by reduction with nabh 4 , amidination with methylacetimidate or acylation with acetic anhydride . the pore and helicase can be produced using standard methods known in the art . polynucleotide sequences encoding a pore or helicase may be derived and replicated using standard methods in the art . polynucleotide sequences encoding a pore or helicase may be expressed in a bacterial host cell using standard techniques in the art . the pore and / or helicase may be produced in a cell by in situ expression of the polypeptide from a recombinant expression vector . the expression vector optionally carries an inducible promoter to control the expression of the polypeptide . these methods are described in described in sambrook , j . and russell , d . ( 2001 ). molecular cloning : a laboratory manual , 3rd edition . cold spring harbor laboratory press , cold spring harbor , n . y . the pore and / or helicase may be produced in large scale following purification by any protein liquid chromatography system from protein producing organisms or after recombinant expression . typical protein liquid chromatography systems include fplc , akta systems , the bio - cad system , the bio - rad biologic system and the gilson hplc system . the method of the invention involves measuring one or more characteristics of the target polynucleotide . the method may involve measuring two , three , four or five or more characteristics of the target polynucleotide . the one or more characteristics are preferably selected from ( i ) the length of the target polynucleotide , ( ii ) the identity of the target polynucleotide , ( iii ) the sequence of the target polynucleotide , ( iv ) the secondary structure of the target polynucleotide and ( v ) whether or not the target polynucleotide is modified . any combination of ( i ) to ( v ) may be measured in accordance with the invention . for ( i ), the length of the polynucleotide may be measured using the number of interactions between the target polynucleotide and the pore . for ( ii ), the identity of the polynucleotide may be measured in a number of ways . the identity of the polynucleotide may be measured in conjunction with measurement of the sequence of the target polynucleotide or without measurement of the sequence of the target polynucleotide . the former is straightforward ; the polynucleotide is sequenced and thereby identified . the latter may be done in several ways . for instance , the presence of a particular motif in the polynucleotide may be measured ( without measuring the remaining sequence of the polynucleotide ). alternatively , the measurement of a particular electrical and / or optical signal in the method may identify the target polynucleotide as coming from a particular source . for ( iii ), the sequence of the polynucleotide can be determined as described previously . suitable sequencing methods , particularly those using electrical measurements , are described in stoddart d et al ., proc natl acad sci , 12 ; 106 ( 19 ): 7702 - 7 , lieberman k r et al , j am chem soc . 2010 ; 132 ( 50 ): 17961 - 72 , and international application wo 2000 / 28312 . for ( iv ), the secondary structure may be measured in a variety of ways . for instance , if the method involves an electrical measurement , the secondary structure may be measured using a change in dwell time or a change in current flowing through the pore . this allows regions of single - stranded and double - stranded polynucleotide to be distinguished . for ( v ), the presence or absence of any modification may be measured . the method preferably comprises determining whether or not the target polynucleotide is modified by methylation , by oxidation , by damage , with one or more proteins or with one or more labels , tags or spacers . specific modifications will result in specific interactions with the pore which can be measured using the methods described below . for instance , methylcyotsine may be distinguished from cytosine on the basis of the current flowing through the pore during its interation with each nucleotide . a variety of different types of measurements may be made . this includes without limitation : electrical measurements and optical measurements . possible electrical measurements include : current measurements , impedance measurements , tunnelling measurements ( ivanov a p et al ., nano lett . 2011 jan . 12 ; 11 ( 1 ): 279 - 85 ), and fet measurements ( international application wo 2005 / 124888 ). optical measurements may be combined 10 with electrical measurements ( soni g v et al ., rev sci instrum . 2010 january ; 81 ( 1 ): 014301 ). the measurement may be a transmembrane current measurement such as measurement of ionic current flowing through the pore . electrical measurements may be made using standard single channel recording equipment as describe in stoddart d et al ., proc natl acad sci , 12 ; 106 ( 19 ): 7702 - 7 , lieberman k r et al , j am chem soc . 2010 ; 132 ( 50 ): 17961 - 72 , and international application wo - 2000 / 28312 . alternatively , electrical measurements may be made using a multi - channel system , for example as described in international application wo - 2009 / 077734 and international application wo - 2011 / 067559 . ( a ) contacting the target polynucleotide with a transmembrane pore and a hel308 helicase such that the helicase controls the movement of the target polynucleotide through the pore and nucleotides in the target polynucleotide interact with the pore ; and ( b ) measuring the current passing through the pore during one or more interactions to measure one or more characteristics of the target polynucleotide and thereby characterising the target polynucleotide . the methods may be carried out using any apparatus that is suitable for investigating a membrane / pore system in which a pore is inserted into a membrane . the method may be carried out using any apparatus that is suitable for transmembrane pore sensing . for example , the apparatus comprises a chamber comprising an aqueous solution and a barrier that separates the chamber into two sections . the barrier has an aperture in which the membrane containing the pore is formed . the methods may be carried out using the apparatus described in international application no . pct / gb08 / 000562 ( wo 2008 / 102120 ). the methods may involve measuring the current passing through the pore during one or more interactions with the nucleotide ( s ). therefore the apparatus may also comprise an electrical circuit capable of applying a potential and measuring an electrical signal across the membrane and pore . the methods may be carried out using a patch clamp or a voltage clamp . the methods preferably involve the use of a voltage clamp . the methods of the invention may involve the measuring of a current passing through the pore during one or more interactions with the nucleotide . suitable conditions for measuring ionic currents through transmembrane protein pores are known in the art and disclosed in the example . the method is typically carried out with a voltage applied across the membrane and pore . the voltage used is typically from + 2 v to − 2 v , typically − 400 mv to + 400 mv . the voltage used is preferably in a range having a lower limit selected from − 400 mv , − 300 mv , − 200 mv , − 150 mv , − 100 mv , − 50 mv , − 20 mv and 0 mv and an upper limit independently selected from + 10 mv , + 20 mv , + 50 mv , + 100 mv , + 150 mv , + 200 mv , + 300 mv and + 400 mv . the voltage used is more preferably in the range 100 mv to 240 mv and most preferably in the range of 120 mv to 220 mv . it is possible to increase discrimination between different nucleotides by a pore by using an increased applied potential . the methods are typically carried out in the presence of any charge carriers , such as metal salts , for example alkali metal salt , halide salts , for example chloride salts , such as alkali metal chloride salt . charge carriers may include ionic liquids or organic salts , for example tetramethyl ammonium chloride , trimethylphenyl ammonium chloride , phenyltrimethyl ammonium chloride , or 1 - ethyl - 3 - methyl imidazolium chloride . in the exemplary apparatus discussed above , the salt is present in the aqueous solution in the chamber . potassium chloride ( kcl ), sodium chloride ( nacl ) or caesium chloride ( cscl ) is typically used . kcl is preferred . the salt concentration may be at saturation . the salt concentration may be 3m or lower and is typically from 0 . 1 to 2 . 5 m , from 0 . 3 to 1 . 9 m , from 0 . 5 to 1 . 8 m , from 0 . 7 to 1 . 7 m , from 0 . 9 to 1 . 6 m or from 1 m to 1 . 4 m . the salt concentration is preferably from 150 mm to 1 m . as discussed above , hel308 helicases surprisingly work under high salt concentrations . the method is preferably carried out using a salt concentration of at least 0 . 3 m , such as at least 0 . 4 m , at least 0 . 5 m , at least 0 . 6 m , at least 0 . 8 m , at least 1 . 0 m , at least 1 . 5 m , at least 2 . 0 m , at least 2 . 5 m or at least 3 . 0 m . high salt concentrations provide a high signal to noise ratio and allow for currents indicative of the presence of a nucleotide to be identified against the background of normal current fluctuations . the methods are typically carried out in the presence of a buffer . in the exemplary apparatus discussed above , the buffer is present in the aqueous solution in the chamber . any buffer may be used in the method of the invention . typically , the buffer is hepes . another suitable buffer is tris - hcl buffer . the methods are typically carried out at a ph of from 4 . 0 to 12 . 0 , from 4 . 5 to 10 . 0 , from 5 . 0 to 9 . 0 , from 5 . 5 to 8 . 8 , from 6 . 0 to 8 . 7 or from 7 . 0 to 8 . 8 or 7 . 5 to 8 . 5 . the ph used is preferably about 7 . 5 . the methods may be carried out at from 0 ° c . to 100 ° c ., from 15 ° c . to 95 ° c ., from 16 ° c . to 90 ° c ., from 17 ° c . to 85 ° c ., from 18 ° c . to 80 ° c ., 19 ° c . to 70 ° c ., or from 20 ° c . to 60 ° c . the methods are typically carried out at room temperature . the methods are optionally carried out at a temperature that supports enzyme function , such as about 37 ° c . the method is typically carried out in the presence of free nucleotides or free nucleotide analogues and an enzyme cofactor that facilitate the action of the helicase . the free nucleotides may be one or more of any of the individual nucleotides discussed above . the free nucleotides include , but are not limited to , adenosine monophosphate ( amp ), adenosine diphosphate ( adp ), adenosine triphosphate ( atp ), guanosine monophosphate ( gmp ), guanosine diphosphate ( gdp ), guanosine triphosphate ( gtp ), thymidine monophosphate ( tmp ), thymidine diphosphate ( tdp ), thymidine triphosphate ( ttp ), uridine monophosphate ( ump ), uridine diphosphate ( udp ), uridine triphosphate ( utp ), cytidine monophosphate ( cmp ), cytidine diphosphate ( cdp ), cytidine triphosphate ( ctp ), cyclic adenosine monophosphate ( camp ), cyclic guanosine monophosphate ( cgmp ), deoxyadenosine monophosphate ( damp ), deoxyadenosine diphosphate ( dadp ), deoxyadenosine triphosphate ( datp ), deoxyguanosine monophosphate ( dgmp ), deoxyguanosine diphosphate ( dgdp ), deoxyguanosine triphosphate ( dgtp ), deoxythymidine monophosphate ( dtmp ), deoxythymidine diphosphate ( dtdp ), deoxythymidine triphosphate ( dttp ), deoxyuridine monophosphate ( dump ), deoxyuridine diphosphate ( dudp ), deoxyuridine triphosphate ( dutp ), deoxycytidine monophosphate ( dcmp ), deoxycytidine diphosphate ( dcdp ) and deoxycytidine triphosphate ( dctp ). the free nucleotides are preferably selected from amp , tmp , gmp , cmp , ump , damp , dtmp , dgmp or dcmp . the free nucleotides are preferably adenosine triphosphate ( atp ). the enzyme cofactor is a factor that allows the helicase to function . the enzyme cofactor is preferably a divalent metal cation . the divalent metal cation is preferably mg 2 + , mn 2 + , ca 2 + or co 2 + . the enzyme cofactor is most preferably mg 2 + . the target polynucleotide may be contacted with the hel308 helicase and the pore in any order . in is preferred that , when the target polynucleotide is contacted with the hel308 helicase and the pore , the target polynucleotide firstly forms a complex with the helicase . when the voltage is applied across the pore , the target polynucleotide / helicase complex then forms a complex with the pore and controls the movement of the polynucleotide through the pore . as discussed above , hel308 helicases may work in two modes with respect to the nanopore . first , the method is preferably carried out using the hel308 helicase such that it moves the target sequence through the pore with the field resulting from the applied voltage . in this mode the 3 ′ end of the dna is first captured in the nanopore , and the enzyme moves the dna into the nanopore such that the target sequence is passed through the nanopore with the field until it finally translocates through to the trans side of the bilayer . alternatively , the method is preferably carried out such that the enzyme moves the target sequence through the pore against the field resulting from the applied voltage . in this mode the 5 ′ end of the dna is first captured in the nanopore , and the enzyme moves the dna through the nanopore such that the target sequence is pulled out of the nanopore against the applied field until finally ejected back to the cis side of the bilayer . the method of the invention most preferably involves a pore derived from mspa and a helicase comprising the sequence shown in seq id no : 8 or 10 or a variant thereof . any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to mspa and seq id no : 8 and 10 may be used in combination . the invention also provides a method of forming a sensor for characterising a target polynucleotide . the method comprises forming a complex between a pore and a hel308 helicase . the complex may be formed by contacting the pore and the helicase in the presence of the target polynucleotide and then applying a potential across the pore . the applied potential may be a chemical potential or a voltage potential as described above . alternatively , the complex may be formed by covalently attaching the pore to the helicase . methods for covalent attachment are known in the art and disclosed , for example , in international application nos . pct / gb09 / 001679 ( published as wo 2010 / 004265 ) and pct / gb10 / 000133 ( published as wo 2010 / 086603 ). the complex is a sensor for characterising the target polynucleotide . the method preferably comprises forming a complex between a pore derived from msp and a hel308 helicase . any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the method of the invention equally apply to this method . the present invention also provides kits for characterising a target polynucleotide . the kits comprise ( a ) a pore and ( b ) a hel308 helicase . any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the method of the invention equally apply to the kits . the kit may further comprise the components of a membrane , such as the phospholipids needed to form a lipid bilayer . the kits of the invention may additionally comprise one or more other reagents or instruments which enable any of the embodiments mentioned above to be carried out . such reagents or instruments include one or more of the following : suitable buffer ( s ) ( aqueous solutions ), means to obtain a sample from a subject ( such as a vessel or an instrument comprising a needle ), means to amplify and / or express polynucleotides , a membrane as defined above or voltage or patch clamp apparatus . reagents may be present in the kit in a dry state such that a fluid sample resuspends the reagents . the kit may also , optionally , comprise instructions to enable the kit to be used in the method of the invention or details regarding which patients the method may be used for . the kit may , optionally , comprise nucleotides . the invention also provides an apparatus for characterising a target polynucleotide . the apparatus comprises a plurality of pores and a plurality of a hel308 helicase . the apparatus preferably further comprises instructions for carrying out the method of the invention . the apparatus may be any conventional apparatus for polynucleotide analysis , such as an array or a chip . any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the methods of the invention are equally applicable to the apparatus of the invention . the apparatus is preferably set up to carry out the method of the invention . a sensor device that is capable of supporting the membrane and plurality of pores and being operable to perform polynucleotide characterising using the pores and helicases ; a fluidics system configured to controllably supply material from the at least one reservoir to the sensor device ; and a plurality of containers for receiving respective samples , the fluidics system being configured to supply the samples selectively from the containers to the sensor device . the apparatus may be any of those described in international application no . pct / gb08 / 004127 ( published as wo 2009 / 077734 ), pct / gb10 / 000789 ( published as wo 2010 / 122293 ), international application no . pct / gb10 / 002206 ( not yet published ) or international application no . pct / us99 / 25679 ( published as wo 00 / 28312 ). molecular motors are commonly used as a means for controlling the translocation of a polymer , particularly a polynucleotide , through a nanopore . surprisingly , the inventors have found that molecular motors which are capable of binding to a target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide , i . e . a position other than a 5 ′ or 3 ′ terminal nucleotide , can provide increased read lengths of the polynucleotide as the molecular motor controls the translocation of the polynucleotide through a nanopore . the ability to translocate an entire polynucleotide through a nanopore under the control of a molecular motor allows characteristics of the polynucleotide , such as its sequence , to be estimated with improved accuracy and speed over known methods . this becomes more important as strand lengths increase and molecular motors are required with improved processivity . the molecular motor used in the invention is particularly effective in controlling the translocation of target polynucleotides of 500 nucleotides or more , for example 1000 nucleotides , 5000 , 10000 or 20000 or more . the invention thus provides a method of characterising a target polynucleotide , comprising : ( a ) contacting the target polynucleotide with a transmembrane pore and a molecular motor which is capable of binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide such that the molecular motor controls the movement of the target polynucleotide through the pore and nucleotides in the target polynucleotide interact with the pore ; and ( b ) measuring one or more characteristics of the target polynucleotide during one or more interactions and thereby characterising the target polynucleotide . any of the embodiments discussed above in relation to the hel308 methods of the invention equally apply to this method of the invention . a problem which occurs in sequencing polynucleotides , particularly those of 500 nucleotides or more , is that the molecular motor which is controlling translocation of the polynucleotide may disengage from the polynucleotide . this allows the polynucleotide to be pulled through the pore rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner in the direction of the applied field . multiple instances of the molecular motor used in the invention bind to the polynucleotide at relatively short distances apart and thus the length of polynucleotide which can be pulled through the pore before a further molecular motor engages with the pore is relatively short . an internal nucleotide is a nucleotide which is not a terminal nucleotide in the target polynucleotide . for example , it is not a 3 ′ terminal nucleotide or a 5 ′ terminal nucleotide . all nucleotides in a circular polynucleotide are internal nucleotides . generally , a molecular motor which is capable of binding at an internal nucleotide is also capable of binding at a terminal nucleotide , but the tendency for some molecular motors to bind at an internal nucleotide will be greater than others . for a molecular motor suitable for use in the invention , typically at least 10 % of its binding to a polynucleotide will be at an internal nucleotide . typically , at least 20 %, at least 30 %, at least 40 % or at least 50 % of its binding will be at an internal nucleotide . binding at a terminal nucleotide may involve binding to both a terminal nucleotide and adjacent internal nucleotides at the same time . for the purposes of the invention , this is not binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide . in other words , the molecular motor used in the invention is not only capable of binding to a terminal nucleotide in combination with one or more adjacent internal nucleotides . the molecular motor must be capable of binding to an internal nucleotide without concurrent binding to a terminal nucleotide . a molecular motor which is capable of binding at an internal nucleotide may bind to more than one internal nucleotide . typically , the molecular motor binds to at least 2 internal nucleotides , for example at least 3 , at least 4 , at least 5 , at least 10 or at least 15 internal nucleotides . typically the molecular motor binds to at least 2 adjacent internal nucleotides , for example at least 3 , at least 4 , at least 5 , at least 10 or at least 15 adjacent internal nucleotides . the at least 2 internal nucleotides may be adjacent or non - adjacent . the ability of a molecular motor to bind to a polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide may be determined by carrying out a comparative assay . the ability of a motor to bind to a control polynucleotide a is compared to the ability to bind to the same polynucleotide but with a blocking group attached at the terminal nucleotide ( polynucleotide b ). the blocking group prevents any binding at the terminal nucleotide of strand b , and thus allows only internal binding of a molecular motor . an example of this type of assay is disclosed in example 4 . suitable molecular motors are well known in the art and typically include , but are not limited to , single and double strand translocases , such as polymerases , helicases , topoisomerases , ligases and nucleases , such as exonucleases . preferably the molecular motor is a helicase , for example a hel308 helicase . examples of hel308 helicases which are capable of binding at an internal nucleotide include , but are not limited to , hel308 tga , hel308 mhu and hel308 csy . hence , the molecular motor preferably comprises ( a ) the sequence of hel308 tga ( i . e . seq id no : 33 ) or a variant thereof or ( b ) the sequence of hel308 csy ( i . e . seq id no : 22 ) or a variant thereof or ( c ) the sequence of hel308 mhu ( i . e . seq id no : 52 ) or a variant thereof . the variant typically has at least 40 % homology to seq id no : 33 , 22 or 52 based on amino acid identity over the entire sequence and retains helicase activity . further possible variants are discussed above . the molecular motor used in the invention may be made by any of the methods discussed above and may be modified or labelled as discussed above . the molecular motor may be used in the methods described herein or as part of the apparatus described herein . the invention further provides a method of forming a sensor for characterising a target polynucleotide , comprising forming a complex between a pore and a molecular motor which is capable of binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide and thereby forming a sensor for characterising the target polynucleotide . the invention also provides use of a molecular motor which is capable of binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide to control the movement of a target polynucleotide through a pore . the invention also provides a kit for characterising a target polynucleotide comprising ( a ) a pore and ( b ) a molecular motor which is capable of binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide . the invention also provides an analysis apparatus for characterising target polynucleotides in a sample , comprising a plurality of pores and a plurality of a molecular motor which is capable of binding to the target polynucleotide at an internal nucleotide . this example illustrates the use of a hel308 helicase ( hel308 mbu ) to control the movement of intact dna strands through a nanopore . the general method and substrate employed throughout this example is shown in fig1 a - 1b and described in the figure caption . primers were designed to amplify a ˜ 400 bp fragment of phix174 . each of the 5 ′- ends of these primers included a 50 nucleotide non - complimentary region , either a homopolymeric stretch or repeating units of 10 nucleotide homopolymeric sections . these serve as identifiers for controlled translocation of the strand through a nanopore , as well as determining the directionality of translocation . in addition , the 5 ′- end of the forward primer was “ capped ” to include four 2 ′- o - methyl - uracil ( mu ) nucleotides and the 5 ′- end of the reverse primer was chemically phosphorylated . these primer modifications then allow for the controlled digestion of predominantly only the antisense strand , using lambda exonuclease . the mu capping protects the sense strand from nuclease digestion whilst the po4 at the 5 ′ of the antisense strand promotes it . therefore after incubation with lambda exonuclease only the sense strand of the duplex remains intact , now as single stranded dna ( ssdna ). the generated ssdna was then page purified as previously described . the dna substrate design used in all the experiments described here is shown in fig6 a . the dna substrate consists of a 400 base section of ssdna from phix , with a 50t 5 ′- leader to aid capture by the nanopore ( seq id no : 59 ). annealed to this strand just after the 50t leader is a primer ( seq id no : 60 ) containing a 3 ′ cholesterol tag to enrich the dna on the surface of the bilayer , and thus improve capture efficiency . buffered solution : 400 mm - 2 m kcl , 10 mm hepes ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm atp , 1 mm mgcl 2 , 1 mm dtt electrical measurements were acquired from single mspa nanopores inserted in 1 , 2 - diphytanoyl - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine lipid ( avanti polar lipids ) bilayers . bilayers were formed across ˜ 100 μm diameter apertures in 20 μm thick ptfe films ( in custom delrin chambers ) via the montal - mueller technique , separating two 1 ml buffered solutions . all experiments were carried out in the stated buffered solution . single - channel currents were measured on axopatch 200b amplifiers ( molecular devices ) equipped with 1440a digitizers . ag / agcl electrodes were connected to the buffered solutions so that the cis compartment ( to which both nanopore and enzyme / dna are added ) is connected to the ground of the axopatch headstage , and the trans compartment is connected to the active electrode of the headstage . after achieving a single pore in the bilayer , dna polynucleotide and helicase were added to 100 μl of buffer and pre - incubated for 5 mins ( dna = 1 . 5 nm , enzyme = 1 μm ). this pre - incubation mix was added to 900 μl of buffer in the cis compartment of the electrophysiology chamber to initiate capture of the helicase - dna complexes in the mspa nanopore ( to give final concentrations of dna = 0 . 15 nm , enzyme = 0 . 1 μm ). helicase atpase activity was initiated as required by the addition of divalent metal ( 1 mm mgcl 2 ) and ntp ( 1 mm atp ) to the cis compartment . experiments were carried out at a constant potential of + 180 mv . the addition of helicase - dna substrate to mspa nanopores as shown in fig1 a - 1b produces characteristic current blocks as shown in fig2 . dna without helicase bound interacts transiently with the nanopore producing short - lived blocks in current (& lt ;& lt ; 1 second ). dna with helicase bound and active ( ie . moving along the dna strand under atpase action ) produces long characteristic blocks levels with stepwise changes in current as shown in fig2 . different dna motifs in the nanopore give rise to unique current block levels . for a given substrate , we observe a characteristic pattern of current transitions that reflects the dna sequence ( examples in fig3 a - 3b ). in the implementation shown in fig1 a - 1b , the dna strand is sequenced from a random starting point as the dna is captured with a helicase at a random position along the strand . however , as long as the enzyme does not dissociate , the strands will all end in the same way at the 50t leader ( fig1 a - 1b ). as fig2 shows , we observe the same characteristic ending to most strands , with the current transitions ending in a long dwell time polyt level ( fig3 a - 3b ). nanopore strand sequencing experiments of this type require ionic salts . the ionic salts are necessary to create a conductive solution for applying a voltage offset to capture and translocate dna , and to measure the resulting sequence dependent current changes as the dna passes through the nanopore . since the measurement signal is dependent in the concentration of the ions , it is advantageous to use high concentration ionic salts to increase the magnitude of the acquired signal . for nanopore sequencing salt concentrations in excess of 100 mm kcl are ideal , and salt concentrations of 1 m kcl and above are preferred . however , many enzymes ( including some helicases and dna motor proteins ) do not tolerate high salt conditions . under high salt conditions the enzymes either unfold or lose structural integrity , or fail to function properly . the current literature for known and studied helicases shows that almost all helicases fail to function above salt concentrations of approximately 100 mm kcl / nacl , and there are no reported helicases that show correct activity in conditions of 400 mm kcl and above . while potentially halophilic variants of similar enzymes from halotolerant species exist , they are extremely difficult to express and purify in standard expression systems ( e . g . e . coli ). we surprisingly show in this example that hel308 from mbu displays salt tolerance up to very high levels of kcl . we find that the enzyme retains functionality in salt concentrations of 400 mm kcl through to 2 m kcl , either in fluorescence experiments or in nanopore experiments ( fig4 a - 4d ). fig4 a - 4c show the hel308 mbu dna events at 400 mm kcl , 1 m kcl , and 2 m kcl salt conditions carried out using the same system described in fig1 a - 1b . we observe similar movement across the range of salt concentrations . as the salt concentration is increased we observe an increase in the current through the nanopore ( i - open ) at a fixed voltage . this reflects the increase in the conductivity of the solution and the increased number of ions flowing through the nanopore under the applied field . in addition we also observe an increase in the minimum to maximum range of discrimination in the current levels of the dna events ( see fig4 a - 4c enlargements and bottom right plot ). we observe a ˜ 200 % increase in dna discrimination range as the salt concentration is increased from 400 mm kcl to 2m kcl ( table 6 below ; fig4 d ). most helicases move along single - stranded polynucleotide substrates in uni - directional manner , moving a specific number of bases for each ntpase turned over . although fig1 a - 1b illustrate the use of this movement to pull threaded dna out of the nanopore , helicase movement could be exploited in other manners to feed dna through the nanopore in a controlled fashion . fig5 a - 5b illustrate the basic ‘ forward ’ and ‘ reverse ’ modes of operation . in the forward mode , the dna is fed into the pore by the helicase in the same direction as the dna would move under the force of the applied field . for hel308 mbu , which is a 3 ′- 5 ′ helicase , this requires capturing the 3 ′ end of the dna in the nanopore until a helicase contacts the top of the nanopore , and the dna is then fed into the nanopore under the control of the helicase with the field from the applied potential , finally exiting on the trans side of the bilayer . the reverse mode requires capturing the 5 ′ end of the dna , after which the helicase proceeds to pull the threaded dna back out of the nanopore against the field from the applied potential , finally ejecting it on this cis side of the bilayer . fig5 a - 5b show these two modes of operation using hel308 mbu , and typical example dna events . this example illustrates the salt tolerance of a hel308 helicase ( hel308 mbu ) using a fluorescence assay for testing enzyme activity . a custom fluorescent substrate was used to assay the ability of the helicase to displace hybridised dsdna ( fig6 a ). as shown in 1 ) of fig6 a , the fluorescent substrate strand ( 100 nm final ) has a 3 ′ ssdna overhang , and a 40 base section of hybridised dsdna . the major upper strand has a carboxyfluorescein base at the 5 ′ end , and the hybrised complement has a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) base at the 3 ′ end . when hybrised the fluorescence from the fluorescein is quenched by the local bhq - 1 , and the substrate is essentially non - fluorescent . 1 μm of a capture strand that is complementary to the shorter strand of the fluorescent substrate is included in the assay . as shown in 2 ), in the presence of atp ( 1 mm ) and mgcl 2 ( 5 mm ), helicase ( 100 nm ) added to the substrate binds to the 3 ′ tail of the fluorescent substrate , moves along the major strand , and displaces the complementary strand as shown . as shown in 3 ), once the complementary strand with bhq - 1 is fully displaced the fluorescein on the major strand fluoresces . as shown in 4 ), an excess of capture strand preferentially anneals to the complementary dna to prevent re - annealing of initial substrate and loss of fluorescence . substrate dna : 5 ′ fam - seq id no : 61 and seq id no : 62 - bhq1 - 3 ′. fam = carboxyfluorescein and bhq1 = black hole quencher - 1 the graph in fig6 b shows the initial rate of activity in buffer solutions ( 10 mm hepes ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm atp , 5 mm mgcl 2 , 100 nm fluorescent substrate dna , 1 μm capture dna ) containing different concentrations of kcl from 400 mm to 2 m . the helicase works at 2 m . in this example , three different hel308 helicases were used , namely hel308 mhu ( seq id no : 52 ), hel308 mok ( seq id no : 29 ) and hel308 mma ( seq id no : 45 ). all experiments were carried out as previously described in example 1 under the same experimental conditions ( pore = mspa b2 , dna = 400mer seq id no : 59 and 60 , buffer = 400 mm kcl , 10 mm hepes ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm dtt , 1 mm atp , 0 . 1 mm mgcl 2 ). the results are shown in fig7 a - 7c . this example measures the internal binding capabilities of a number of hel308 helicases using a fluorescence assay . custom fluorescent substrates were used to assay the ability of the helicases to initiate on dna lacking native 3 ′ ends , allowing them to subsequently displace hybridised dsdna ( fig8 ). as shown in panel a of fig8 , the fluorescent substrate strand ( 50 nm final ) has a 3 ′ ssdna overhang , and a 40 base section of hybridised dsdna . the major upper strands are modified with four consecutive “ spacer 9 ” groups , either at the 3 ′ end , or internally , at the junction between the overhang and the dsdna ( as a negative control ). furthermore , the major upper strand has a carboxyfluorescein base at the 5 ′ end , and the hybridised complement has a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) base at the 3 ′ end . when hybridised , the fluorescence from the fluorescein is quenched by the local bhq - 1 , and the substrate is essentially non - fluorescent . a capture strand ( 1 μm ), that is complementary to the shorter strand of the fluorescent substrate , is included in the assay . in the presence of atp ( 1 mm ) and mgcl 2 ( 1 mm ), a hel308 helicase homologue ( 20 nm ), added to the substrate containing 3 ′- terminal “ spacer 9 ” groups , can bind to the ssdna overhang of the fluorescent substrate , move along the major strand , and displace the complementary strand as shown in panel b . once the complementary strand with bhq - 1 is fully displaced ( panel c ) the fluorescein on the major strand fluoresces . an excess of capture strand preferentially anneals to the complementary dna to prevent re - annealing of initial substrate and loss of fluorescence ( panel d ). substrate dna : seq id no : 63 with a 5 ′ fam ; seq id no : 63 with a 5 ′ fam and 3 ′ spacer (( spacer 9 ) 4 ); seq id nos : 64 ( with a 5 ′ fam ) and 65 separated by a spacer (( spacer 9 ) 4 ); and seq id no : 62 with a 3 ′ bhq1 . a number of different hel308 helicase homologues were investigated for their mid - binding abilities , these included hel308 mbu , hel308 csy , hel308 tga , hel308 mma , hel308 mhu , hel308 min , hel308 mig , hel308 mmaz , hel308 mac , hel308 mok , hel308 mth , hel308 mba and hel308 mzh . the graph in fig9 shows the relative rates of hel308 - mediated dsdna turnover , comparing 3 ′- unmodified dna and 3 ′-“ spacer 9 ” dna in 400 mm nacl , 10 mm hepes , ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm atp , 1 mm mgcl 2 , 50 nm fluorescent substrate dna , 1 μm capture dna . several hel308 homologues were observed to have greater than 20 % relative rates of hel308 - mediated dsdna turnover including , hel308 csy , hel308 tga , hel308 mma , hel308 mhu and hel308 min . this example compares the use of two hel308 helicases , hel308 mbu and hel 308 tga , and their ability to control the movement of intact long dna strands ( 900 mer ) through a nanopore . the general method and substrate employed throughout this example are shown in fig1 and described in the description of the figure above . the dna was formed by ligating a 50 - polyt 5 ′ leader to a ˜ 900 base fragment of phix dsdna . the leader also contains a complementary section to which seq id no : 69 with a chol - tag was hybridized to allow the dna to be tethered to the bilayer . finally the 3 ′ end of the phix dsdna was digested with aatii digestion enzyme to yield a 4 nt 3 ′- overhang of acgt . sequences used : seq id no : 67 - 900mer sense strand including 5 ′ leader and tether ; seq id no : 68 — anti - sense minus 4 base - pair leader 5 ′; and seq id no : 69 with several spacers and a chol - tag at the 3 ′ end . buffered solution : 400 mm - 2 nacl , 10 mm potassium ferrocyanide , 10 mm potassium ferricyanide , 100 mm hepes , ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm atp , 1 mm mgcl2 , electrical experiments were set up as described in example 1 in order to achieve a single pore inserted into a lipid bilayer . after achieving a single pore in the bilayer , atp ( 1 mm ) and mgcl 2 ( 1 mm ) were added to the chamber . a control recording at + 140 mv was run for 2 minutes . dna polynucleotide seq id nos : 67 , 68 and 69 ( dna = 0 . 15 nm ) were then added and dna events observed . finally , hel308 helicase ( mbu 1000 nm or tga , 400 nm ) was added to the cis compartment of the electrophysiology chamber to initiate capture of the helicase - dna complexes in the mspa nanopore . experiments were carried out at a constant potential of + 140 mv . the addition of helicase - dna substrate to mspa nanopores as shown in fig1 produces characteristic current blocks as the helicase controls the translocation of the dna through the pore . fig1 shows example event traces which indicate how the position of the 900 mer varied as the hel308 helicase homologue mbu controlled the translocation of the dna strand through the mspa pore . this helicase was found to mediate control of dna translocation , however , when the helicase detached from the dna , the strand was observed to move back through the pore , owing to the force exerted by the externally applied potential . in the case of the hel308 helicase homologue mbu , the 900mer strand slipped back a large number of positions ( approximately 100 - 200 bases ) each time a helicase disengaged . these rapid changes in position are indicated in fig1 by dotted circles . for this experiment , where hel308 helicase homologue mbu was used as the molecular motor , 32 % of all of the events detected were found to have read the entire length of the 900 mer strand sequence . fig1 shows similar example event traces indicating how the position of the 900 mer varied as the hel308 helicase homologue tga controlled the translocation of the dna strand through the mspa pore . this enzyme exhibited an greater tendency to bind internally , than the mbu homologue , because when the tga helicase disengages ( indicated by a change in colour black to grey in fig1 ), the dna strand moves back through the pore by a relatively small distance (& lt ; 50 bases ). for this experiment , where hel308 helicase homologue tga was used as the molecular motor , 74 % of all of the events detected were found to have read the entire length of the 900 mer strand sequence . this means that the tga helicase homologue can provide increased read lengths of single - stranded dna in comparison to the mbu helicase homologue owing to its increased tendency to bind internally . this example illustrates that by employing the hel308 helicase homologue tga it is possible to control the translocation of a 5 kb strand of dna . a similar experimental procedure was followed to that described in example 5 . it was observed that by employing the hel308 tga it was possible to detect the controlled translocation of an entire 5 kb strand of dna through ms -( b1 - g75s - g77s - l88n - q126r ) 8 . in an identical experiment using hel308 mbu , it was not possible to detect translocation of an entire 5 kb strand . this example compares the enzyme processivity of hel308 mbu helicase ( seq id no : 10 ) with hel308 mok ( seq id no : 29 ) using a fluorescence based assay . a custom fluorescent substrate was used to assay the ability of the helicase to displace hybridised dsdna ( fig1 ). the fluorescent substrate ( 50 nm final ) has a 3 ′ ssdna overhang , and 80 and 33 base - pair sections of hybridised dsdna ( fig1 panel a , seq id no : 70 ). the major lower “ template ” strand is hybridised to an 80 nt “ blocker ” strand ( seq id no : 71 ), adjacent to its 3 ′ overhang , and a 33 nt fluorescent probe , labelled at its 5 ′ and 3 ′ ends with carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) and black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) bases , respectively ( seq id no : 72 ). when hybridised , the fam is distant from the bhq - 1 and the substrate is essentially fluorescent . in the presence of atp ( 1 mm ) and mgcl 2 ( 10 mm ), the helicase ( 20 nm ) binds to the substrate &# 39 ; s 3 ′ overhang ( seq id no : 70 ), moves along the lower strand , and begins to displace the 80 nt blocker strand ( seq id no : 71 ), as shown in fig1 panel b . if processive , the helicase displaces the fluorescent probe ( seq id no : 72 , labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ) too ( fig1 panel c ). the fluorescent probe is designed in such a way that its 5 ′ and 3 ′ ends are self - complementary and thus form a kinetically - stable hairpin once displaced , preventing the probe from re - annealing to the template strand ( fig1 panel d ). upon formation of the hairpin product , the fam is brought into the vicinity of the bhq - 1 and its fluorescence is quenched . a processive enzyme , capable of displacing the 80 mer “ blocker ” ( seq id no : 71 ) and fluorescent ( seq id no : 72 , labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ) strands will therefore lead to a decrease in fluorescence over time . however , if the enzyme has a processivity of less than 80 nt it would be unable to displace the fluorescent strand ( seq id no : 72 , labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ) and , therefore , the “ blocker ” strand ( seq id no : 71 ) would reanneal to the major bottom strand ( fig1 panel e , seq id no : 70 ). additional custom fluorescent substrates were also used for control purposes . the substrate used as a negative control was identical to that of the one described in fig1 but lacking the 3 ′ overhang ( fig1 panel a , ( seq id nos : 71 , 72 ( labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ) and 73 )). a similar substrate to that described in fig1 but lacking the 80 base pair section , used as a positive control for active , but not necessarily processive , helicases ( fig1 panel b , ( seq id nos : 72 ( labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ) and 74 )). fig1 shows a graph of the time - dependent fluorescence changes upon testing hel308 mbu helicase ( seq id no : 10 ) and hel 308 mok helicase ( seq id no : 29 ) against the processivity substrate shown in fig1 in buffered solution ( 400 mm nacl , 10 mm hepes ph 8 . 0 , 1 mm atp , 10 mm mgcl 2 , 50 nm fluorescent substrate dna ( seq id nos : 70 , 71 and 72 ( labeled with a carboxyfluorescein ( fam ) at its 5 ′ end a black - hole quencher ( bhq - 1 ) at its 3 ′ end ). the decrease in fluorescence exhibited by hel308 mok denotes the increased processivity of these complexes as compared to hel308 mbu ( seq id no : 10 ). fig1 shows positive controls demonstrating that all helicases were indeed active , as denoted by a fluorescence decrease for all samples .	2
containers according to the present invention may be made of various thermoplastic resins ( e . g ., polypropylene ) by various manufacturing processes . preferably the containers are thermoformed from extruded thermoplastic sheet of substantially uniform thickness , and are sufficiently thin , economical , and durable that they are either disposable or re - usable , at the option of the user . the bases and lids may be any desired configuration in plan view , e . g ., polygonal , circular , or elliptical . as used herein , directional terms such as “ horizontal ” and “ vertical ” relate to the orientation of the assembled base and lid when the base rests on a flat horizontal surface . directional terms such as “ radial ”, “ peripheral ”, “ inner ”, and “ outer ” relate to the central vertical axis of the base and lid in that orientation . “ cross - section ” means a section in a plane including that axis . “ resilience ” and cognate terms refer to the ability of a portion of the container to resume its original shape after being bent , while “ resilient force ” and “ elastic force ” refer to a force exerted by the portion in resuming that shape . “ rib ” includes beads , fins , and similar projections of various cross - sectional shapes . fig1 shows lid 7 . fig2 shows lid 7 assembled with base 1 . as best shown in fig3 , the peripheral sealing area of base 1 includes generally vertical but inwardly inclined inner wall 2 , which forms one leg of the “ u ”. the particular base shown is a bowl . the inwardly inclined inner surface of wall 2 lies on a surface which is conical , with the apex of the cone located above base 1 . wall 2 itself is frustoconical . substantially horizontal channel portion 3 , which extends outward from the top of wall 2 , forms the transverse portion of the “ u ”. generally vertical wall 4 , which extends downward and outward from transverse portion 3 , forms the other leg of the “ u ”. annular rib 5 projects upwardly from transverse portion 3 . wall 4 terminates in a radially outwardly projecting terminal flange 6 . correspondingly , lid 7 includes inwardly inclined , frustoconical wall 8 , substantially horizontal transverse portion 9 , and generally vertical wall 10 . wall 10 has a lower portion 11 which consists of circumferentially spaced hook portions 12 located between non - hook portions 13 , as shown in fig2 and 3 , and an outwardly projecting terminal flange . hook portions 12 are elongated , radially inwardly directed indentations or undercuts in lower portion 11 , with non - hook portions 13 between them . alternatively , the entire lower portion 11 may have one continuous hook portion . that is , lower portion 11 may not have a non - hook portion 13 . the upper part of each hook portion 12 forms a concave inner surface 14 that generally faces radially inward and upward , toward rib 5 . lid 7 is more resilient than base 1 . when the base and lid are assembled , the concave inner surface 14 of each hook portion 12 mechanically locks around the edge of terminal flange 6 . the resiliency of lid 7 causes that concave surface to exert an inward and upward force on terminal flange 6 , thereby urging the sealing regions of base 1 and lid 7 together , with rib 5 contacting the underside of transverse portion 9 of the lid , and walls 2 , 8 contacting each other in an interference fit . in the embodiment shown in fig1 , there are six hook portions of 24 ° each and six non - hook portions of 35 ° each . in designing the lid , increasing the magnitudes of the arcs of hook portions will increase the magnitude of the total resilient force exerted on the base , while decreasing the former will decrease the latter . different hook portions may have different arcs . a primary seal 16 is formed where walls 2 , 8 are in contact , in a frustoconical , circular band . a secondary seal 18 is formed at the circular line where rib 5 contacts the lid &# 39 ; s horizontal transverse portion 9 . rather than have a seal inward of area seal 16 , we prefer to curve or slope the upper portion of the base &# 39 ; s side wall , as shown at 20 , in order to facilitate the drainage of any liquid away from the seal area and into the container when the container is filled with a food product . it is important that lid 7 be resilient between seal 16 and the concave surface 14 . the resulting elastic forces are the input forces for making seals 16 and 18 tighter . resiliency in the lid between the places of contact at rib 5 and concave surface 14 is especially important . at the same time , it is important that transverse lid portion 9 be sufficiently rigid that it can serve as a lever . the positive lock at concave surface 14 and the edge of terminal flange 6 is also important , since too - easy release of their engagement would unduly limit the magnitude of the elastic forces that can be applied to the seals . we believe that our invention enables those input forces to be amplified in three different systems providing a mechanical advantage — a first - class lever ( fulcrum between load and input force ), a camming surface / inclined plane , and a second - class lever ( load between fulcrum and input force ). in each lever system , the load is the seal and the input force is the downward and slightly outward elastic force exerted on wall 10 at the mechanical lock at concave surface 14 . in the case of primary seal 16 , the lever is a second - class lever whose fulcrum is rib 5 . the load is a substantially vertical downward force at seal 16 , which force is exerted by wall 2 on wall 8 . because the seal is conical , as previously described , this force produces a camming action that makes seal 16 tighter . transverse portion 9 is believed to flex at rib 5 into a very shallow , upside down “ v ”. this transverse portion is flat when the lid in the relaxed , unsealed condition . the flexure is not shown in the drawings because it is not sufficiently observable . in the case of secondary seal 18 , the lever is a second - class lever , with its fulcrum being primary seal 16 . the load is the vertically upward force exerted by rib 5 . the contact between the edge of terminal flange 6 and concave surface 14 is continuous but is not intended to create a tertiary seal . it is , however , sufficient to prevent the entry of foreign material when the base and lid are assembled . the principal purpose of the inventive structure is to provide for stronger , positive , and more reliable primary and secondary seals . we also believe , however , that it provides for easier closing , opening , and re - closing of the product - filled container , since the seals can be created and eliminated in a slightly sequential fashion , rather than simultaneously . during opening , for example , wall 10 of the lid is moved outward and upward , so that concave surface 14 disengages from the edge of terminal flange 6 and the continuous radial tension in walls 9 , 10 is relaxed . this eliminates the line seal 18 and removes the leverage and pressure from area seal 16 , which in turn make the elimination of the final seal , area seal 16 , less sudden . such removal , being less violent , is less likely to elevate , twist , or jerk the container so as to spill some of its contents . the same principles , we believe , apply to closing and re - closing the container , since they allow the interference creating area seal 16 to be reduced in the design of the container . one or more circumferential relief grooves may be provided in the top of transverse lid portion 9 , following generally the path of rib 5 of the base , in order to make walls 9 , 10 more flexible . this might be done to facilitate the engagement and disengagement of concave surface 14 from terminal flange 6 without undesired movement between walls 2 , 8 forming area seal 16 . it might also be desirable to prevent the tensioned walls 9 , 10 from unduly deforming the corresponding structure of the base . fig4 shows a variation of the invention in which sealing rib 30 is on the lid , rather than on the base . fig5 shows a variation of the invention in which sealing ribs are on both the lid and the base . the invention responds favorably to the following industry - accepted field tests , as performed on a base and lid that have not been separated before : ( 1 ) the lid cannot be easily separated from the base by a person &# 39 ; s opposed hands grasping and pulling them apart axially ; ( 2 ) the lid cannot be easily spun on the base by a person &# 39 ; s opposed hands grasping and attempting to rotate them with respect to each other ; ( 3 ) the assembled container containing a liquid is leak - resistant when turned upside down and shaken ; and ( 4 ) the user can hear the lid closing on and opening from the base , without false audible signals . rib 5 should be sufficiently wide in the horizontal direction to prevent its deformation when the lid is urged down against it , yet sufficiently narrow to provide strong pressure at the seal , in terms of psi . a rib width in the range of 0 . 040 in . to 0 . 070 in . is preferred , with 0 . 0050 in . being typical . the height of rib 5 in the vertical direction should be in the range of 0 . 010 in . to 0 . 050 in ., with 0 . 016 in . being typical . the upwardly projecting surface of rib 5 is preferably slightly convex , for convenience in its creation by thermoforming plastic sheet . the preceding portion of this paragraph applies correspondingly to the width , height , and shape of rib 30 . the thickness of the sheet material forming base 1 is typically 0 . 025 in . the thickness of the sheet material forming lid 7 is typically 15 degrees . the conical angle of area seal 16 is in the range of from 5 degrees to 20 degrees and is typically 15 degrees . the magnitude of the interference between walls 2 , 8 is in the range of from 0 . 050 in . to 0 . 50 in and is typically 0 . 125 in . this is the value of one - half the difference between the maximum outer diameter of the outer surface of wall 8 and the minimum inner diameter of the inner surface of wall 2 when the base and lid are not assembled . the drawings show the base and lid approximately to scale , except for cross - sections and spaces between them . the actual width of horizontal transverse portion 3 is approximately 0 . 250 in . the following table lists the reference characters and names of features and elements used herein : it will be understood that , while presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described , the invention is not limited thereto , but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the following claims .	1
fig1 ( a ), 1 ( b ) and 2 , 5 and 6 as well as 7 ( a )-( c ) show three different embodiments of the jumper 1 in accordance with the invention . the jumper 1 shown in the figures is used for bridging of two electrical modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ which are located next to one another ( see , fig8 ) , the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ each have a busbar 4 , 4 ′, and three openings 5 , 6 , 7 formed in each of the two sides of the middle region of the busbars 4 , 4 ′. in the housing 2 of the jumper 1 , there are two contacts 8 for engaging a respective one of the openings 5 , 7 in one of the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ of the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′. moreover , a jumper rail 9 is movably held in the housing 2 , the jumper rail 9 having two contact regions 10 and a connecting region 11 which connects the contact regions 10 , as is especially apparent from fig4 . as the representations of fig1 ( a ) & amp ; 1 ( b ) show , the jumper rail 9 can be moved out of a first end position ( fig1 ( a )) into a second end position ( fig1 ( b )). in the first end position of the jumper rail 9 , the contact regions 10 are spaced apart from the contacts 8 while the contact regions 10 in the second end position of the jumper rail 9 make electrically conductive contact with a respective contact 8 so that the two contacts 8 are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner via the jumper rail 9 . fig2 shows that , in the first embodiment of the jumper 1 , the ends 12 of the contacts 8 facing the contact regions 10 of the jumper rail 9 and the contact regions 10 are arranged parallel to one another , the contact regions 10 in the second end position of the jumper rail 9 being slipped onto the ends 12 of the contacts 8 . the electrical connection between the contacts 8 and the contact regions 10 of the jumper rail 9 is achieved in that a respective screw 13 is screwed in the ends 12 of the two contacts 8 so that , by tightening the two screws 13 , the two contact regions 10 of the jumper rail 9 are each connected in an electrically conductive manner to a respective end 12 of a contact 8 . moreover , by tightening the screws 13 , the jumper rail 9 is also fixed in the second end position . in particular , fig3 & amp ; 4 show that the contact regions 10 of the jumper rail 9 each have a recess 14 which is open on one side and which , in the second end position of the jumper rail 9 , extend partially around the shaft of one of the two screws 13 . in the second exemplary embodiment of the jumper 1 in accordance with the invention which is shown in fig5 & amp ; 6 , the ends 12 of the contacts 8 have a pin - shaped locking element 15 and the contact regions 10 of the jumper rail 9 have a corresponding catch recess 16 . in this way , the contacts 8 and the contact regions 10 of the jumper rail can be locked relative to one another in the second end position of the jumper rail as is shown in fig6 . the use of screws for implementing the electrically conductive connection between the contacts 8 and the contact regions 10 or the jumper rail 9 is thus unnecessary in this embodiment . when the jumper rail 9 is moved into the second end position , the pin - shaped locking elements 15 slide automatically into the catch recesses 16 of the contact regions 10 . the jumper rail 9 is preferably a simple punched and bent part in which the contact regions 10 and the connecting region 11 are connected integrally to one another so that the jumper rail 9 is made in one piece . moreover , the contact regions 10 are bent essentially perpendicularly away from the connecting region 11 so that the contact regions 10 can be easily connected to the screws 13 and the pin - shaped locking elements 15 of the contacts 8 upon displacement from the first end position into the second end position . the connecting region 11 of the jumper rail 9 is located in an insulating housing 17 so that the jumper rail 9 can be moved by hand out of one end position into the other end position . in order to ensure good guidance of the jumper rail 9 within the housing 2 , both for the jumper 1 as shown in fig1 ( a ), 1 ( b ) and 2 as well as for the jumper 1 as shown in fig5 and 6 , a brace 18 is formed in the housing 2 that runs in the displacement direction of the jumper rail 9 and a corresponding groove 19 is formed in the insulating housing 17 of the jumper rail 9 . the jumper rail 9 thus sits with its groove 19 on the brace 18 of the housing 2 . in addition , reliable guidance of the jumper rail 9 in displacement out of one end position into the other end position is ensured in that in the side walls 20 of the housing 2 two guide grooves 21 are formed and on the insulating housing 17 of the jumper rail 9 two corresponding guide ribs 22 are laterally formed which are guided in the guide grooves 21 . moreover on the housing 2 both a stop 23 for the jumper rail 9 in the first end position and also a stop 24 for the jumper rail 9 in the second end position are made . the stop 23 is implemented by two ribs which are formed laterally on the brace 18 , while the stop 24 is a partition which runs transversely to the direction of movement of the jumper rail . fig1 and 5 moreover show that one catch projection 25 at a time projects into the guide grooves 21 in the side walls 20 ; the catch projection together with the guide ribs 22 on the insulating housing 17 of the jumper 9 provides for the jumper rail 9 to lock in the first end position in the housing 2 . the locking between the catch projection 25 in the guide groove 21 and the guide rib 22 is however only so strong that unintentional slipping of the jumper rail 9 out of the first end position is prevented . for intentional manual displacement of the jumper rail 9 out of the first end position into the second end position conversely the locking can be simply overcome . for reliable mechanical attachment of the jumper 1 when plugged into the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′, two elastic catch elements 26 are formed on the housing 2 of the jumper 1 which lock in a second opening 6 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. for the jumper 1 as shown in fig1 and 2 , a respective catch projection is formed on the end of the two catch elements 26 , while for the jumper 1 as shown in fig5 , the catch elements 26 each have two elastic catch hooks 27 opposite one another . as is apparent from fig9 , when the jumper 1 is plugged into the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′, the two contacts 8 each lock in the middle opening 5 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′, by which the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ make contact with the contacts 8 . in addition , the two catch elements 26 each lock in the inner opening 6 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. the catch elements 26 are used solely for mechanical locking of the jumper 1 or of the housing 2 in the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′. in the exemplary embodiment as shown in fig1 , the jumper 1 is plugged into the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ such that the two contacts 8 each lock in the outer opening 7 and the catch elements 26 each lock in the middle opening 5 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. fig7 shows a third exemplary embodiment of a jumper 1 in which a plug - in jumper 28 is located on the housing 2 so as to be able to move axially . the plug - in jumper 27 likewise has two contacts 8 which can each be plugged into one of the openings 5 , 6 , 7 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. in contrast to the contacts 8 of the jumper 1 as shown in fig1 ( a ), 1 ( b ) and 2 as well as in fig5 and 6 , the contacts 8 of the plug - in jumper 28 and of the jumper 1 as shown in fig7 ( a )-( c ) are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner via a connecting region . as is apparent from the three representations shown in fig7 ( a )-( c ), the plug - in jumper 28 can be moved axially out of a first position ( fig7 a ) into the second position ( fig7 c ). if the jumper 1 with the plug - in jumper 28 in the first position as shown in fig7 ( a ) is plugged into the two electrical modular terminals 3 , 3 ′, first the two catch elements 26 with their elastic catch hooks 27 opposite one another lock in the two openings in a respective one of the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. in this first position of the plug - in jumper 28 , the contacts 8 are not yet plugged in the first openings in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ so that the busbars 4 , 4 ′ have not yet made contact with the contacts 8 . if the plug - in jumper 28 as shown in fig7 ( c ) is pushed into the second position , the contacts 8 engage the second openings in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ so that the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ of the electrical modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ which are located next to one another are short - circuited via the plug - in jumper 28 . according to the insulating housing 17 of the jumper rail 9 , the plug - in jumper 28 also has an insulating housing 29 in its connecting region so that the plug - in jumper 28 is also made safe from contact with the hands . to ensure good axial guidance of the plug - in jumper 28 , two guide ribs 30 are formed laterally on the housing 2 of the jumper 1 and corresponding thereto two guide grooves 31 are made in the insulating housing 29 . the plug - in jumper 28 could thus be pressed down simply by hand out of the first position ( fig7 a ) into the second position ( fig7 c ). however , in order to facilitate movement of the plug - in jumper 28 , an actuating element 32 is pivotally supported on the housing 2 and an end 33 of which is connected to the insulating housing 29 so that , by pivoting the actuating element 32 , the plug - in jumper 28 is pushed out of the first position into the second position . for simple actuation of the actuating element 32 a receiver 34 is made in its other end for inserting a tool , for example , the tip of a screwdriver . the plug - in jumper 28 can thus be easily moved out of the first position into the second position so that the tip of a screwdriver is inserted into the receiver 34 in the actuating element 32 and then the screwdriver is turned counterclockwise . while in the two exemplary embodiments as shown in fig1 ( a ), 1 ( b ) and 7 ( a )-( c ), the contacts 8 are made as spring contacts , in the exemplary embodiment as shown in fig5 & amp ; 6 , the contacts 8 are made as pin contacts . the contacts 8 which are made as spring contacts have two contact legs 35 which are arranged parallel to one another , and of which at least one is made elastic . fig8 to 10 show a structural unit composed of two electrical modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ which are located next to one another and which can be locked jointly on a support rail ( not shown ), and a jumper 1 which has been plugged into the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′. the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ each have a terminal housing 36 , 36 ′ which is made of insulating material and in which there are two terminal elements 37 and a busbar 4 , 4 ′. in this exemplary embodiment , the terminal elements 37 are leg spring terminals into which rigid conductors can be plugged directly through the corresponding conductor insertion openings 38 in the terminal housing 36 , 36 ′. since the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ shown in fig8 to 10 are feed - through terminals with a disconnect possibility , so - called isolating terminals , the busbars 4 , 4 ′ each are formed of two sections which can be connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner or can be separated from one another via a section disconnector which is pivotally located in the middle of the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′. the structure of the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ is essentially identical on both sides of the section disconnector 39 , in particular in the terminal housing 36 , 36 ′ on both sides of the section disconnector 39 three functional slots 40 , 41 , 42 are made which , corresponding to the three openings 5 , 6 , 7 , are located in the two parts of the busbar 4 , 4 ′. the jumper 1 can be alternatively plugged into the terminal housings 36 , 36 ′ on one of the two sides of the section disconnector 39 . moreover , the jumper 1 with its contacts 8 can be plugged either into the opening 5 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ ( fig9 ) or into the opening ( 7 ) ( fig1 ). the catch elements 26 are then plugged either in the openings 6 ( fig9 ) or in the openings 5 ( fig1 ) of the busbars 4 , 4 ′. moreover , the jumper 1 can also be plugged into the modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ turned by 180 ° so that the region 43 of the housing 2 of the jumper 1 in which the jumper rail 9 is movably guided is located over the middle region of the terminal housing 36 , 36 ′. as is apparent for the fig1 ( a ) & amp ; 1 ( b ) embodiment , the housing 2 of the jumper 1 is made roughly l - shaped . here the region 43 of the housing 2 in which the jumper rail 9 is movably guided has an open bottom . this leads to a situation in which when the jumper 1 is arranged in the two modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ as shown in fig9 for example a contact pin can be inserted through the open bottom of the housing 2 through the functional slot 42 into the third opening 7 in the two busbars 4 , 4 ′. likewise , with the jumper 1 plugged in , the terminal openings 38 are accessible so that an electrical conductor , even with the jumper 1 plugged in , can be connected to the electrical modular terminal 3 , 3 ′. in contrast thereto , the actuating opening 44 in the terminal housing 36 , 36 ′, for a jumper 1 which has been plugged in as shown in fig1 , is only accessible when the jumper rail 9 is not in the first end position , but in the second end position . this ensures that one conductor can only be removed from the terminal element 37 when a connected current transformer is short - circuited by the jumper 1 . fig1 again shows that the two contacts 8 of the jumper 1 as shown in fig1 ( a ), 1 ( b ) and 2 are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner only when the jumper rail 9 is in the second end position . in this position , then , the two contacts 8 , and thus also the two busbars 4 , 4 ′ in whose openings 5 the two contacts 8 have been plugged , are connected to make contact with one another in an electrically conductive manner via the jumper rail 9 , so that two modular terminals 3 , 3 ′ which are located adjacent to one another are short - circuited by the correspondingly switched jumper 1 .	7
fig1 is a schematic representation of apparatus 10 for use in practicing the invention . apparatus 10 comprises at least first and second transmitters 20 , 30 and a receiver 40 . transmitter 20 has at least first and second antennas 22 , 24 for transmitting signals ; and transmitter 30 also has at least first and second antennas 32 , 34 for transmitting signals . receiver 40 has at least first and second antennas 42 , 44 for receiving signals . the characteristics of the signal path from the first transmitter to the receiver are represented by the value h ij , where i identifies the receiver antenna number and j identifies the transmitter antenna number . similarly , the characteristics of the signal path from the second transmitter to the receiver are represented by the value g ij . the invention may be practiced using additional antennas and additional transmitters but the number of antennas at the receiver 40 must be equal to at least the number of transmitters . as illustrated in fig1 , transmitters 20 , 30 are located at base stations and receiver 40 is depicted as terminal equipment such as a mobile station . however , the invention may also be practiced in other configurations such as one where the transmitters are located at terminal equipment that are synchronized and the receiver at a base station . fig2 depicts the major functions of an illustrative transceiver 200 that may be used in practicing the invention . transceiver 200 comprises a receiver unit which includes a front - end processing block 202 , a modem 204 for demodulating the received signal , a codec 206 for decoding the received signal , a memory 208 and a parameter estimator block 212 . these elements are interconnected by a bus 207 and are controlled by a controller / microprocessor 210 . signals received at antenna 201 are supplied to front - end processing block 202 and processed further by modem 204 and codec 206 under control of controller / microprocessor 210 and programs stored in memory 208 . transmitter 214 has functional elements similar to those of the receiver section but operating in the opposite direction to generate a coded modulated signal that is provided to antenna 216 for transmission . general details about the operation of transceivers of the type shown in fig2 are well known . specific details of the operation of such transceivers in the context of the present invention are set forth in the following discussion . an illustrative embodiment of a pair of 3gpp transmitters 321 , 323 for use in practicing the invention is depicted in fig3 . as shown therein , transmitter 321 comprises a channel encoder 324 a , a modulator 326 a , a multiplier 327 a , a pulse shaper 328 a , and two multipliers 330 a and 331 a . transmitter 323 comprises the same functional elements which have been numbered the same but with a “ b ” suffix . while the elements of the two transmitters are functionally the same , the channel encoder 324 a , 324 b may use different channel codes and even different coding schemes ; and the modulators 326 a , 326 b may use different signal constellations . the output of each modulator is a modulated signal that is suitable for spreading when multiplied by a spreading code in multiplier 327 a or 327 b . also shown in fig3 is a source 344 that provides the same spreading code to both multiplier 327 a and multiplier 327 b . also shown are sources 340 a , 342 a , 340 b , and 342 b of weight w 11 , w 12 , w 21 and w 22 , respectively , which are provided to multipliers 330 a , 331 a , 330 b , and 331 b . in operation , a data stream from a source 301 is provided to a serial to parallel converter 303 that splits the data stream into first and second parallel data streams 325 and 327 , illustratively , by directing every other data symbol to transmitter 321 and the remaining data symbols to transmitter 323 . in fig3 , the data symbols directed to transmitter 321 are represented by the symbol “ c ” and the data symbols directed to transmitter 323 are represented by the symbol “ s ”. the first data stream is encoded by channel encoder 324 a , modulated by modulator 326 a and spread by multiplier 327 a to form a first spread data stream . the spread data stream is then pulse shaped by pulse shaper 328 a and the resulting signal is applied in parallel to multipliers 330 a and 331 a which weight the parallel signals by multiplying them with weights w 11 and w 12 . the weighted spread data streams are then supplied to antennas 332 a and 334 a for transmission . the second data stream is processed in similar fashion using the elements of transmitter 323 to produce a second spread data stream that has been spread with the same spreading code ; and the second spread data stream is then applied in parallel to multipliers 330 b and 331 b which weight the parallel signals with weights w 21 and w 22 . the weighted spread data streams are then supplied to antennas 332 b and 334 b for transmission . an illustrative embodiment of a receiver 400 for receiving signals from multiple transmitters of the type shown in fig3 is shown in fig4 a . receiver 400 comprises first and second matched filters 414 a , 414 b , a source 416 of a spreading code , first and second multipliers 417 a , 417 b , a signal processing block 418 , first and second channel decoders 420 a , 420 b , and a parallel to serial converter 422 . optional feedback paths 421 a and 421 b provide decoded signals to signal processing block 418 that may be used for turbo decoding . to recover the data stream that is transmitted from the transmitters of fig3 , the spreading code supplied by source 416 is the same as that supplied by source 344 . transmitted signals are received at antennas 412 a , 412 b . the signals received at each antenna comprise the signals transmitted from all the antennas of all the transmitters communicating with the receiver . the signals received at each antenna are filtered by matched filter 414 a or 414 b and despread by multiplier 417 a or 417 b using the same spreading code . as a result , first and second despread signals are supplied to processing block 418 . in the system of the present invention , each despread signal contains information about both the first and second data streams originally supplied to transmitters 321 and 323 . processing block 418 , which is shown in more detail in fig4 b , 4 c , 5 a , 5 b and 6 below , suppresses signal interference and detects the data symbols of the first and second data streams in the received signals . these signals are then supplied to channel decoders 420 a , 420 b which decode the signals . the output of the decoders can then be recombined by parallel to serial converter 422 into a single serial stream , if desired , to reconstitute the original data stream delivered from source 301 . further details of one embodiment of processing block 418 are shown in fig4 b . processing block 418 comprises a plurality of per finger interference suppression blocks 462 a - 462 n , first and second combiners 468 a , 468 b , first and second tentative decision blocks 472 a , 472 b , and interference cancellation and soft decision block 476 . the signals at the output of multipliers 417 a , 417 b include multipath signals that have propagated along different paths from the transmitters to the receiver and consequently have arrived at slightly different times . the stronger of these signals are supplied to different fingers of processing block 418 . the multipath signals from the first multiplier 417 a are identified by the numbers 452 a , 454 a , . . . 456 a and those from the second multiplier 417 b by numbers 452 b , 454 b , . . . 456 b . for each finger , one signal from the first multiplier and one signal from the second multiplier are supplied to a per finger interference suppression block 462 . channel information g about the channel from the second transmitter to the receiver and channel information h about the channel from the first transmitter to the receiver are supplied to all the per finger interference suppression blocks 462 a , 462 b , . . . 462 n from sources 416 a and 416 b . each per finger interference suppression block makes a preliminary decision as to the values of both the first and second data streams in the received signals and supplies these decisions via lines 464 a - n and 466 a - n to combiners 468 a and 468 b , respectively . combiners 468 a and 468 b combine the preliminary decisions from the per finger interference suppression blocks 462 a - n and supply the results via lines 470 a , 470 b to tentative decision blocks 472 a , 472 b . channel decoder information is also supplied to blocks 472 a , 472 b , from sources 422 a , 422 b . the output of tentative decision blocks 472 a , 472 b is an estimate of the received signal and its reliability . this information is supplied via lines 474 a and 474 b to the iterative interference cancellation and soft decision block 476 . channel information from sources 416 a and 416 b and received data signals from multipliers 417 a and 417 b are also supplied to block 476 . illustratively , the data signals are the signals 452 a and 452 b which are also supplied to the first per finger interference suppression block 462 a . from this information , block 476 makes a soft decision as to the value of the first and second data streams in the received signals . to understand the operation of processing block 418 , it is helpful to represent the signal processing in mathematical terms . the signal received at antenna i can be written in the form for the kth symbol and the lth finger . this can be rewritten as : r i ( k , l )= { tilde over ( h )} i ( l )· c ( k )+ { tilde over ( g )} i ( l )· s ( k )+ n i ( k , l ) i = 1 , 2 [ 2 ] where { tilde over ( h )} and { tilde over ( k )} are the channel gains for the channel from the first transmitter to the receiver and the channel from the second transmitter to the receiver . { tilde over ( h )} i ( l )= w 11 · h i1 ( l )+ w 12 · h i2 ( l ), where ∥ w 11 ∥ 2 +∥ w 12 ∥ 2 = 1 [ 3 ] { tilde over ( g )} i ( l )= w 21 · g i1 ( l )+ w 22 · g i2 ( l ), where ∥ w 21 ∥ 2 +∥ w 22 ∥ 2 = 1 [ 4 ] where w 11 , w 12 are the weights applied to the signals from transmitter 321 and w 21 , w 22 are the weights applied to the signals from transmitter 323 . on a per - finger signal model , for two antennas at the receiver , equation 2 can be rewritten as : h * is the conjugate transpose of h , i is the , identity matrix , and γ l is the signal to noise ratio in finger l . further , we define { tilde over ( h )} l ={ tilde over ( h )} ( l )=[ { tilde over ( h )} 1 ( l ) { tilde over ( h )} 2 ( l )] t and { tilde over ( g )} l ={ tilde over ( g )} ( l )=[ { tilde over ( g )} 1 ( l ) { tilde over ( g )} 2 ( l )] t [ 10 ] to obtain estimates of the values c l and s l for each finger l we need to find a set of weights w c , l = r l − 1 ·{ tilde over ( h )} l w s , l = r l − 1 ·{ tilde over ( g )} l [ 11 ] c l = w c , l · r l = c + η c , l s l = w s , l · r l = s + η s , l [ 12 ] where r l is the received signal as specified by equation [ 2 ] and η is the effective noise . as indicated , these weights are obtained by determining the correlation matrix r , inverting the correlation matrix and multiplying it by { tilde over ( h )}( l ) or { tilde over ( g )}( l ). illustrative apparatus for calculating the values c l and s l is shown in fig5 a . the apparatus comprises a weight generation block 510 and multipliers 512 and 514 . inputs to the weight generation block include the channel information specified in equation [ 9 ] and the signal to noise ratio or an estimate thereof . the received signal r l is then multiplied by multipliers with weighting signals generated by block 510 as specified in equation [ 12 ]. the values c l and s l are supplied from each per finger interference suppression block 462 a - n over lines 464 a - n and 466 a - n to combiners 468 a and 468 b where they are combined . the combined signals are then supplied to tentative decision blocks 472 a and 472 b where a minimum mean square error computation is performed to locate the minimum distance between the received signal and a point in the signal constellation . this computation is represented mathematically by in addition , the reliabilities , d c and d s , of the estimates of c and s are also computed according to the formulas the lower the value of d c or d s , the more reliable is the estimate . the output of tentative decision block 472 a is a noisy estimate of the received signal c and the reliability of this estimate , d c ; and the output of tentative decision block 472 b is a noisy estimate of the received signal s and its reliability , d s . this information is supplied to iterative interference cancellation and soft decision block 476 . the iterative interference cancellation and soft decision block 476 is shown in detail at fig6 . this block performs the same operations on the signals received from tentative decision blocks 472 a and 472 b , compares the results and picks the better one . in particular , as shown in fig7 , at step 701 it subtracts from the total received signal , r , the contribution to that signal arising from the estimated signal c or s and the associated channel gain { tilde over ( h )} or { tilde over ( g )}. what is left over is the contribution to the total received signal from the other signal and from noise . at step 702 it then makes an estimate of the value of the other signal using the same mean square error test used in the tentative decision blocks and also calculates the reliability of that estimate . at step 703 it then sums the calculated reliability for one symbol with the received reliability for the other symbol and at step 704 compares the two sums . the lower sum determines the final decision as to the value of the received signal . the apparatus of fig6 comprises first and second multipliers 608 a , 608 b , first and second adders 610 a , 610 b , first and second soft decision blocks 612 a , 612 b , third and fourth adders 614 a , 614 b and reliability decision block 620 . inputs include the soft decisions c and s , and reliabilities d c and d s , the channel information h and g and the received signal r . multiplier 608 a multiplies the channel information h and the estimated signal c ; and adder 610 a determines the difference between the received signal and the contribution to that signal arising from the estimated signal c and the channel gain h . this calculation is represented as : soft decision block 612 a then makes a new estimate s l of the signal s using a minimum mean square error determination . this is represented by next , the overall reliability d 1 for the new estimate of s and the received estimate of c is determined by calculating the reliability for the new estimate of s and summing it at adder 614 a with d c . this is represented by d 1 = d c +∥ x −{ tilde over ( g )}· ŝ 1 ∥ 2 [ 17 ] in like fashion , a new estimate of c can be determined and the overall reliability d 2 of the new estimate of c and the received estimate of s can also be determined by multiplier 608 b , adders 610 b , 614 b and soft decision block 612 b , implementing the following equations : finally , d 1 and d 2 are compared by reliability decision block 620 . if d 1 & lt ; d 2 , then the new estimate of s and the original estimate of c are accepted and supplied as the outputs of the receiver . if d 2 & lt ; d 1 , then the new estimate of c and the original estimate of s are accepted and supplied as the outputs of the receiver . fig4 c depicts an alternative receiver 480 to that of fig4 b . in this case , interference suppression is performed on a block basis rather than a per finger basis . receiver 480 comprises a block interference suppression and combining subsystem 482 , first and second tentative decision blocks 484 a , 484 b and interference cancellation and soft decision block 486 . the inputs to receiver 480 and the outputs therefrom are the same as those of receiver 418 of fig4 b . details of the block interference suppression and combining subsystem 982 are set forth in fig4 b . the subsystem comprises a weight generation block 530 and multipliers 532 and 534 . this subsystem is similar to the interference suppression block of fig5 a but the number of data signal inputs , and g and h channel gain inputs in each case is 2l where l is the number of fingers . in contrast , each interference suppression block of fig5 a has 2 data signal inputs and 2 inputs each for the g and h channel information . similarly , the mathematical representation of the processing performed in subsystem 482 is similar to that of block 462 but the matrices are much larger . thus , the correlation matrix r is defined by to obtain estimates of the values of c and s we need to final a set of weights w c = r − 1 ·{ tilde over ( h )} w s = r − 1 ·{ tilde over ( g )} [ 24 ] the estimates of c and s are supplied from subsystem 482 to tentative decision blocks 484 a and 484 b ; and the operation of these blocks and the interference cancellation and soft decision block 486 is the same as that of the corresponding elements in fig4 b . an alternative embodiment of the invention uses space - time block coding to code the transmitted signals . an illustrative embodiment of a pair of transmitters 821 , 823 for use in practicing this embodiment of the invention is shown in fig8 . as shown therein , transmitter 821 comprises a channel encoder 824 a , a modulator 826 a , a space - time block coder 828 a , first and second multipliers 834 a , 835 a , and pulse shapers 838 a , 839 a . transmitter 823 comprises the same functional elements which have been numbered the same but with a “ b ” suffix . while the elements of the two transmitters are functionally the same , the channel encoders 824 a and 824 b may use different channel codes and even different coding schemes ; and the modulators 826 a and 826 b may use different signal constellations . also shown in fig8 is a source 860 that provides the same spreading code to multipliers 834 a , 835 a , 834 b and 835 b . in operation , a data stream from a source 801 is provided to a serial to parallel converter 803 that splits the data stream into first and second parallel data streams 825 , 827 , illustratively , by directing every other data symbol to transmitter 821 and the remaining data symbols to transmitter 823 . in fig8 , the data symbols directed to transmitter 821 are represented by the symbol “ c ” and the data symbols directed to transmitter 823 are represented by the symbol “ s ”. the first data stream is encoded by channel encoder 824 a , modulated by modulator 826 a and processed by space - time block coder 828 a to produce first and second signals on output lines 830 a , 831 a . these signals are spread by multipliers 834 a , 835 a using a spreading code supplied by source 860 . the spread signals are then pulse shaped by pulse shapers 838 a , 839 a and supplied to antennas 850 a , 851 a for transmission . the second data stream is processed in similar fashion using the elements of transmitter 823 to produce two more spread data streams that have been spread using the same spreading code as that used to spread the data streams in transmitter 821 . the spread signals in transmitter 823 are then pulse shaped and supplied to antennas 850 b and 851 b for transmission . an illustrative embodiment of a receiver 900 for receiving signals from multiple transmitters of the type shown in fig8 is shown in fig9 a . receiver 900 comprises first and second matched filters 914 a , 914 b , a source 916 of a spreading code , first and second multipliers 918 a , 918 b , a space and time decoder and joint detection and interference suppression subsystem 920 , channel decoders 930 a , 930 b and parallel to serial converter 936 . optional feedback paths 931 a and 931 b provide decoded signals to subsystem 920 that may be used for turbo decoding . to recover the data stream that is transmitted from the transmitters of fig8 , the spreading code supplied by source 916 is the same as that supplied by source 860 . transmitted signals are received at antennas 912 a , 912 b . the signals received at each antenna comprise the signals transmitted from all the antennas of all the transmitters communicating with the receiver . the signals received at each antenna are filtered by matched filter 914 a or 914 b and despread by multipliers 918 a or 918 b using the same spreading code . in the system of the present invention , each despread signal contains information about both the first and second data streams originally supplied to transmitters 821 and 823 . subsystem 920 , which is shown in more detail in fig9 below , suppresses signal interference and space - time decodes the received signals . soft decisions of a first substream and a second substream are supplied to channel decoders 930 a and 930 b , respectively . the output of the decoders can then be combined by parallel to serial converter 936 into a single data stream , if desired , to reconstitute the original data stream delivered from source 801 . further details of one embodiment of subsystem 920 are shown in fig9 b . subsystem 920 comprises a plurality of per finger interference suppression blocks 942 a - 942 n , first and second combiners 948 a , 948 b , first and second tentative decision blocks 952 a , 952 b , and interference cancellation and soft decision block 956 . the signals at the output of multipliers 918 a , 918 b include multipath signals that have propagated along different paths from the transmitters to the receiver and consequently have arrived at slightly different times . the stronger of these signals are supplied to different fingers of subsystem 920 . illustratively , the multipath signals from the first multiplier 918 a are identified by r 1 × and those from the second multiplier by r 2 × . the second numeral in the subscript indicates the finger member . for each finger , one signal from the first multiplier and one signal from the second multiplier is supplied to a per finger interference suppression and space time decoder block 942 . channel information g about the channel from the second transmitter to the receiver and channel information h about the channel from the first transmitter to the receiver are supplied to all the per finger interference suppression and space time decoder blocks 942 a - n . each per finger block make a preliminary decision as to the values of first and second pairs of symbols ( c 1 , c 2 ) and ( s 1 , s 2 ) in the received signals and supplies these decisions via lines 944 a - n and 946 a - n to combiners 948 a and 948 b , respectively . combiners 948 a and 948 b combine the preliminary decisions from the per finger interference suppression and space time decoder blocks 942 a - n and supply the results via lines 950 a , 950 b to tentative decision blocks 952 a , 952 b . feedback from the channel decoder is also supplied to these blocks . the output of tentative decision blocks 952 a , 952 b is an estimate of the received signals ( c 1 , c 2 ; s 1 , s 2 ) and the reliability ( d c , d s ) of the estimate . this information is supplied via lines 954 a and 954 b to iterative interference cancellation and soft decision block 956 . channel information h and g and received signals are also supplied to block 956 . from this information , block 956 makes a soft decision as to the values of the first and second data streams in the received signals . as will be apparent , the organization of subsystem 920 as shown in fig9 b is similar to that of block 418 shown in fig4 b and much of the processing performed in subsystem 920 is also similar . the space - time block coder of fig8 operates on successive symbols , illustratively on pairs of symbols . thus coder 828 a operates on the pair of symbols ( c 1 , c 2 ), and coder 828 b operates on the pair , ( s 1 , s 2 ). for each pair of symbols provided to the input of space time coder 828 a the coder generates the complex conjugate of each symbol and rearranges them so as to provide on one output the pair ( c 1 , − c 2 ) and on the other output the pair ( c 2 , c 1 ), where the lefthand symbol in each pair is the first in time on the output . illustratively , the pair ( c 1 , − c 2 ) is output on line 830 a and transmitted from antenna 850 a and the pair ( c 2 , c 1 ) is output on line 830 b and transmitted from antenna 851 a . in like fashion , space time coder 828 b receives pairs of symbols ( s 1 , s 2 ) and provides on output lines 830 b , 831 b , the pairs of symbols ( s 1 , − s 2 ) and ( s 2 , s 1 ). the received signals that are applied to each interference suppression block 942 a - 942 n of fig9 b can be represented as where i is the antenna number , k is time and i is the finger number and it will be recognized that h le and g le are both orthogonal . thus , h il − h il = δ h , il − i , where δ h , il =\| h i1 ( l ) 2 +\| h i2 ( l )\| 2 [ 34 ] g il − g il = δ h , il − i , where δ h , il =\| g i1 ( l ) 2 +\| g i2 ( l )\| 2 [ 35 ] it will be recognized that b il is also orthogonal . illustrative apparatus for calculating estimates of the signal pairs ( c 1 , c 2 ) and ( s 1 , s 2 ) is shown in fig1 a . the apparatus comprises a pre - processing and weight generation block 1010 , multipliers 1012 , 1014 and 1016 and space - time decoders 1022 , 1024 . inputs to the pre - processing and weight generation block 1010 include the channel information h and g and the signal to noise ratio . at each finger , the received signal r l is multiplied at multiplier 1012 with the channel information represented by a l * ( see equation 33 ) to yield b l * b l =(\| b 1l \| 2 +\| b 2l \| 2 )· i = δ b , l · i [ 38 ] sets of weights w * c , l and w * s , l are determined in pre - processing and weight generation block 1010 such that w c , l =[ i − δ g , l − 1 · b l ] 2 × 4 [ 39 ] w s , l =[ i − δ h , l − 1 · b l ] 2 × 4 [ 40 ] the weights are then multiplied in multipliers 1014 and 1016 with the output ñ l from multiplier 1012 and decoded by space time decoders 1022 , 1024 to produce estimates of the signal pair ( c 1 , c 2 ) and ( s 1 , s 2 ). this processing is represented by w c , l ·{ tilde over ( r )} l = r c , l ={ tilde over ( δ )} h , l · c + ñ c , l [ 41 ] w s , l ·{ tilde over ( r )} l = r s , l ={ tilde over ( δ )} g , l · s + ñ s , l [ 42 ] since n c , l and n s , l are uncorrelated , white noise , the estimates of c and s are good soft decisions . these estimates are supplied by each finger to combiner 948 a and 948 b where the estimates are combined and supplied to first and second tentative decision blocks 952 a and 952 b . tentative decision blocks 952 a and 952 b operate in essentially the same fashion as tentative decision blocks 472 a and 472 b to generate an estimate of the received signal and its reliability , in this case operating on pairs of signals . a tentative decision as to the value of c and s is made using a mean square error computation to locate the minimum distance between the received signal and a point in the signal constellation . this computation is represented mathematically by in addition , the reliabilities d c and d s of the estimates of c and s are also computed according to the formulas the output of tentative decision block 952 a is an estimate of the received signal pair ( c 1 , c 2 ) and the reliability of this estimate , d c ; and the output of tentative decision block 952 b is an estimate of the received signal pair ( s 1 , s 2 ) and the reliability of this estimate , d s . this information is supplied to interference suppression and soft decision block 956 . the operation of interference suppression and soft decision block 956 is essentially the same as that of interference suppression and soft decision block 476 . this block performs the same operation on the signals received from tentative decision blocks 952 a and 952 b , compares the results and picks the better one . this block comprises first and second multipliers 1208 a , 1208 b , first and second adders 1210 a , 1210 b , first and second soft decision blocks 1212 a , 1212 b , third and fourth adders 1214 a , 1214 b and reliability decision block 1220 . the operation of this block is the same as that depicted in fig7 but the block is operating on signal pairs and not individual signals . the output of the block is a decision as to the value of signal pairs ( c 1 , c 2 ) and ( s 1 , s 2 ) which is provided to the channel decoders 930 a , 930 b . as in the case of the receiver of fig4 a , interference suppression can also be performed on a block basis . a receiver 980 for doing so is depicted in fig9 c . receiver 980 comprises a block interference suppression and space time decoding subsystem 982 , first and second tentative decision blocks 984 a , 984 b , and interference cancellation and soft decision block 986 . the inputs to receiver 980 and the outputs therefrom are the same as those of receiver 900 of fig9 b . details of the block interference suppression and combining subsystem 982 are set forth in fig1 b . the subsystem comprises a weight pre - processing and generation block 1030 , multipliers 1032 , 1034 and 1036 and space - time decoders 1042 , 1044 and 534 . this subsystem is similar to the interference suppression block of fig1 but the number of data signal inputs , and g and h channel gain inputs in each case is 4l where l is the number of fingers . in contrast , each interference suppression block of fig1 a has 4 data signal inputs and 4 inputs each for the g and h channel information . similarly , the mathematical representation of the processing performed in subsystem 982 is similar to that of block 942 but the matrices are much larger . the signal model for the received signals at all the fingers is represented by the columns of h are orthogonal and the columns of g are orthogonal . in addition , the pre - processing operation of the pre - processing and weight generation block 1020 produces the values the value a is supplied to multipler 1030 where it is multiplied with the received signal to produce { tilde over ( r )} to produce the value and the weight w s * is supplied to multiplier 1034 where it is multiplied by { tilde over ( r )} to produce the value the output of multiplier 1032 is supplied to st decoder 1040 where an estimate of the signal pair ( c 1 , c 2 ) is formed using the relation and the output of multiplier 1034 is supplied to st decoder 1042 where an estimate of the signal pair ( s 1 , s 2 ) is formed using the relation alternative devices for the interference suppression and space time decoding blocks of fig1 a and 10b are shown in fig1 a and 11b . apparatus 1110 of fig1 a comprises a weight generation block 1120 and first and second multipliers 1122 and 1124 . apparatus 1140 of fig1 b comprises a weight generation block 1150 and first and second multipliers 1152 and 1154 . while similar in overall configuration , the two devices have very different numbers of inputs . apparatus 1110 receives 4 input signals r , 4 signals each for the channel information h and g and the signal to noise ration . apparatus 1140 receives 4l input signals , 4l signals each for h and g and the signal to noise ration . one apparatus 1110 is used in the receiver of fig9 b for each finger while only one apparatus 1140 is used in the receiver of fig9 c . in apparatus 1110 , the correlation matrix r can be determined from the channel information and the signal to noise ratio by to obtain estimates of the signal pairs c = c 1 , c 2 and s = s 1 , s 2 for each finger , we need to find a set of weights as indicated , the weights are obtained by determining the correlation matrix , inverting it and multiplying it by the channel information h or g . the estimates are obtained by multiplying the weights at multipliers 1122 and 1124 with the received signals . thereafter , the estimates are combined at combiners 948 a and 948 b of the receiver of fig9 b and forwarded to tentative decision blocks 952 a , 952 b where an estimate of the received signals is made by a minimum mean square error computation . apparatus 1140 processes the signals in the same fashion but uses much larger matrices encompassing all the signals supplied to the interference suppression and space time decoding block . in particular , the correction matrix r has the size 4l × 4l where l is the number of fingers and the weighting matrices have the size 4l × 2 . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , numerous modifications may be made to the above invention with the spirit and scope of the invention .	7
reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention ( s ), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below . while the invention ( s ) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments , it will be understood that present description is not intended to limit the invention ( s ) to those exemplary embodiments . on the contrary , the invention ( s ) is / are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments , but also various alternatives , modifications , equivalents and other embodiments , which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . fig4 is an exploded and assembled perspective view of an exemplary muffler for a vehicle according to the present invention , in which a muffler is formed by fitting a plurality of separate first , second , and third muffler bodies 21 , 23 , 25 to each other . first muffler body 21 is constructed such that an opening is formed at one side of a cylinder having a predetermined volume therein , whereas the other front side opposite to the opening is closed , except for a boss 21 a having a through hole to fit a pipe and integrally formed with the cylinder . the cylinder is formed of a large - diameter portion 21 b and a small - diameter portion 21 c , which are integrally connected to be stepped , such that an assembly guide step 21 d is formed on the outer circumference therebetween . second muffler body 23 is also constructed such that an opening is formed at one side of a cylinder having a predetermined volume therein , whereas the other side opposite to the opening has a boss 23 a having a through hole to fit a pipe and integrally formed with the cylinder , and a baffle 22 having a plurality of punched holes 22 a . the cylinder is formed of a large - diameter portion 23 b and a small - diameter portion 23 c , which are integrally connected to be stepped , such that an assembly guide step 23 d is formed on the outer circumference therebetween . third muffler body 25 is also constructed such that an opening is formed at one side of a cylinder having a predetermined volume therein , whereas the other side opposite to the opening has a boss 25 a having a through hole to fit a pipe and integrally formed with the cylinder , and a baffle 24 having a plurality of punched holes 24 a . the cylinder is formed of a large - diameter portion 25 b and a small - diameter portion 25 c , which are integrally connected to be stepped , such that an assembly guide step 25 d is formed on the outer circumference therebetween . boss 23 a and punched holes 22 a of first baffle 22 of the second muffler body are formed at the opposite side to boss 25 a and punched holes 24 a of second baffle 24 of the third muffler body . further , in third muffler body 25 , an exhaust gas inflow pipe 26 that guides exhaust gas discharged from the engine into the muffler extends from the opening through second baffle 24 while passing through boss 25 a of second baffle 24 , whereas an exhaust gas outflow pipe 27 that guides the exhaust gas , which has flowed in the muffler , to the outside of the muffler extends from the inside of second muffler body 23 through boss 23 a of first baffle 22 , while passing through boss 21 a of first muffler body 21 . fig5 is a cross - sectional view of the exemplary muffler according to the present invention , in which an end cap 28 is fitted to the opening of third muffler body 25 to close third muffler body . accordingly , in the muffler , a first chamber 29 a is defined from the end cap of third muffler body 25 to second baffle 24 , a second chamber 29 b is defined from second baffle 24 to first baffle 22 of second muffler body 23 , and a third chamber 29 c is defined from first baffle 22 to the closed end of first muffler body 21 . a front end 26 b of exhaust gas inflow pipe 26 extends to the inside of second chamber 29 b , a rear end 27 b of exhaust gas outflow pipe 27 disposed to extend beyond front end 26 b of the exhaust gas inflow pipe in second chamber 29 b , and a plurality of punched holes 26 a , 27 a are formed at exhaust gas inflow pipe 26 and exhaust gas outflow pipe 27 , respectively . exhaust gas flowing into the muffler through exhaust gas inflow pipe 26 is guided into the second chamber , a portion of the exhaust gas in the second chamber flows into the first chamber through first baffle 22 and then is discharged outside the muffler through the punched holes of the exhaust gas outflow pipe , and the other exhaust gas in the second chamber flows into the first chamber again through second baffle 24 . further , exhaust gas that has flowed in the first chamber through punched holes 26 a of the exhaust gas inflow pipe while the exhaust gas flows through the exhaust gas inflow pipe is changed in direction and discharged outside the muffler through the exhaust gas outflow pipe , such that the pressure and noise of the exhaust gas are reduced . with reference to the cross - sectional view of fig5 , in various embodiments of the present invention , the muffler can be appropriately changed for engines by adjusting the insertion positions of pipes 26 , 27 and the positions of their punched holes to set the flow path of the exhaust gas in various ways . describing the manufacturing process of the muffler according to various embodiments of the present invention with reference to fig6 , exhaust gas outflow pipe 27 having the punched holes is first fitted in the boss of second muffler body 23 that is individually manufactured and then the exhaust pipe outflow pipe is welded throughout the circumference of the boss to be integrally attached . subsequently , exhaust gas outflow pipe 27 and small - diameter portion 23 c of second muffler body are inserted through the opening of first muffler body 21 such that the exhaust gas pipe passes through boss 21 a , and then the exhaust gas pipe is welded throughout the circumference of boss 21 a to be integrally attached . in this configuration , the outer edge of the large - diameter portion of the first muffler body is in close contact to assembly guide step 23 d of the second muffler body , such that assembly guide step 23 d functions as a guide when the second muffler body and the first muffler body is combined , and assembly guide step 23 d is welded throughout the circumference to integrally combine the second muffler body with the first muffler body . thereafter , exhaust gas inflow pipe 26 is fitted in boss 25 a of third muffler body 25 and welded throughout the circumference to be integrally combined , and then end cap 28 closes the opening of third muffler body 25 and welded to be integrally combined . the small - diameter portion of third muffler body assembled as described above is inserted through the opening of second muffler body , in which assembly guide step 25 d of the third muffler body functions as an assembly guide and is welded throughout the circumference of the large - diameter portion of the second muffler body to be integrally combined , and as a result , the entire muffler is completed . it is preferable to form the muffler bodies with baffles using a press . although one muffler is achieved by combining three , that is , first , second , and third muffler bodies 21 , 23 , 25 in various embodiments of the present invention , it is possible to achieve one muffler by combining two , or four or more muffler bodies , depending on types of engines or vehicles . further , since the front end of the exhaust gas inflow pipe extends beyond the rear end of the exhaust gas outflow pipe in the chamber , the exhaust gas discharged through the exhaust gas inflow pipe has to change the direction to inflow into the exhaust gas outflow pipe , such that flow resistance of the exhaust gas increases and exhaust noise can be reduced . when a duel muffler needs as shown in fig7 , for example , it is possible to install a muffler manufactured as described above as the left muffler and then install the muffler as the right muffler , after turning 180 degrees , such that the muffler according to various embodiments can be used for the left and right mufflers , without individually manufacturing the left and right mufflers . as shown in fig8 , it is possible to achieve a second chamber 29 ba and a third chamber 29 ca having larger volume than second chamber 29 b and third chamber 29 c according to the above embodiments by decreasing the overlapped distance between the third muffler body and the second muffler body and the overlapped distance between the second muffler body and the first muffler body . therefore , since the volume of the chambers can be easily changed , it is possible to more freely design the muffler for nhv tuning and easily achieve mufflers having appropriate structure for types of engines and vehicles , such that it is possible to apply the muffler to all the types of engines and vehicles . for convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims , the terms “ front ” and “ rear ” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures . the foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings . the exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention , as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents .	5
disclosed herein is an apparatus and method for low power , single - ended sensing in a multi - port semiconductor memory using pre - discharged bit lines . briefly stated , the apparatus and method pre - charges the sram read port bit lines to a logic low level of zero volts ( i . e ., “ pre - discharges ” the bit lines ), wherein the read port bit lines of the multi - port sram do not leak dc current when pre - discharged as such . the apparatus and method holds the sram read port bit lines that are not being read at any particular point in time at ground ( zero voltage ) potential , and energizes selected read port bit lines ( i . e ., applies a potential thereto ) only when the selected read port bit lines are accessed to read or sense the stored information within the selected memory cell . the sensing circuit pre - charges only the selected bit line to a partially high logic level , waits for the cell state to influence the bit line , and detects the result . that is , the potential applied to the selectively energized read bit lines is lower in value than the full rail voltage potential ( typically + 1 volts or vdd ). applying a potential to the selected read bit lines at some intermediate value between vdd and ground saves ac power due to the resulting relatively lower voltage swings on these bit lines . referring to fig1 , there is shown a typical multi - port ( i . e ., two port ) sram memory cell 100 . the cell 100 includes a base cell 102 that comprises six transistors 104 - 114 , wherein the base cell 102 constitutes both the write port of the memory cell 100 and the basic storage element of the memory cell 100 . fig1 also shows a single - ended read port 116 that has only a single read bit line ( here , the complement read bit line , rblc 118 ). a plurality of the read ports 116 may be used as part of a single memory cell 100 , if desired . the base cell 102 of fig1 includes a bistable latch 120 comprising a first pair of pmos ( e . g ., pfet ) and nmos ( e . g ., nfet ) transistors 104 , 106 connected in series as an inverter between a positive power supply potential vdd ( e . g ., + 1 volts ) and a ground potential ( e . g ., 0 volts ). the latch 120 further comprises a second pair of pmos and nmos transistors 108 , 110 , also connected in series as an inverter between the power supply potential vdd and ground . the transistors 108 , 110 have their respective gate terminals connected to a “ true ” storage node 122 , which is also connected to the drain terminals of both transistors 104 , 106 , which drain terminals are connected together . thus , the pmos transistors 104 , 108 operate as load transistors and the nmos transistors 106 , 110 operate as drive transistors within the base cell 102 . the base cell 102 also includes two nmos transistors 112 , 114 . a first transistor 112 is connected between a true write bit line , wblt 124 , and the storage node 122 . a second transistor 114 is connected between a complement write bit line , wblc 126 , and the drain connection of the two transistors 108 , 110 . gate terminals of these transistors 112 , 114 are connected to a common write word line , wwl 128 . as such , the transistors 112 , 114 each have their respective gate potentials controlled by the write word line , wwl 128 . the read port 116 includes two nmos transistors 130 , 132 connected in series between the complement read bit line , rblc 118 , and ground . the gate terminal of the transistor 130 is connected to a common read word line , rwl 134 . as such , the transistor 130 has its gate potential controlled by the read word line , rwl 134 . the gate of the transistor 132 is connected to the true storage node 122 in the base cell 102 . alternatively , the gate of the transistor 132 may be connected to a “ complement ” storage node formed at the junction of the two transistors 108 , 110 in the base cell 102 . in this alternative , the resulting read bit line is a true read bit line , rblt , which is the output of the read port 116 on the line 118 . in general , the transistors 130 , 132 within the read port 116 do not necessarily need to be long channel or sram - type high voltage threshold devices — they can be regular threshold devices . it suffices that these transistors 130 , 132 are such that any current leakage does not degrade the signal to a large enough extent to cause any read errors . in operation of the base cell 102 and the read port 116 , when the common write word line , wwl 128 , is active , access to the cell for write or read operations is enabled . thus , when wwl 128 is active , data may be written to the storage node 122 via the true write bit line wblt 124 . when the common write word line , wwl 128 , is inactive , the data previously written to the storage node 122 is held steady by the latch 120 . when the common read word line , rwl 134 , is active , data is read or sensed from the storage node 122 via the read bit line , rblc 118 , which is at the output of the read port 116 . in a typical sram memory cell 100 , it is not necessary to periodically assert the common write word line 128 ( i . e ., apply a voltage thereto ) to refresh the data held in the latch 120 . the data will be held in a steady state in the latch 120 as long as power is continuously applied to the cell 100 . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in a single - ended sensing apparatus for a multi - port sram , multiple rows 200 , 202 of sram memory cells 100 ( two rows 200 , 202 are shown , each row having a plurality of cells 100 ) may be connected together by their respective single read bit line — rblc 0 204 for row zero 200 , and rblc 1 206 for row one 202 . these read bit lines 204 , 206 comprise the bit line , rblc 118 , originating from the read port 116 of each memory cell 100 in fig1 . each read bit line 204 , 206 is connected through a corresponding bit switch circuit that comprises an nfet pass gate transistor 208 , 210 , each transistor having a relatively high voltage threshold . the read bit lines 204 , 206 of each row 200 , 202 pass through the corresponding bit switch circuits 208 , 210 and connect together as a complement sense line , slc 212 . the gate terminal of the pass gate nfet transistor 208 for row zero 200 is controlled ( i . e ., the nfet transistor is turned “ on ”) by a positive active signal line , bso 214 . similarly , the gate terminal of the pass gate nfet transistor 210 for row one 202 is controlled by a positive active signal line , bsl 216 . fig2 also illustrates that , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the single - ended sensing apparatus further includes an nfet transistor 218 , 220 for a corresponding each one of the read bit lines , rblc 0 204 and rblc 1 206 , connected together . the drain terminal of each nfet transistor 218 , 220 is connected to the corresponding read bit line 204 , 206 , while the source terminal of each transistor 218 , 220 is connected to ground . the gate terminal of each transistor 218 , 220 is connected to a common positive active control signal line , pdbl 222 . as described in detail hereinafter , when one or more of the transistors 218 , 220 is turned on , the corresponding read bit line 204 , 206 is pulled down to ground potential , thereby “ pre - discharging ” the corresponding read bit line 204 , 206 to zero volts . as such , no dc current leakage occurs on these lines 204 , 206 when they are pre - discharged in this manner . the complement sense line , slc 212 , is also connected to a sense line pre - charge control circuit that comprises a pfet transistor 224 . the gate terminal of this transistor 224 is connected to an active low sense line pre - charge signal , xpusl 226 . when this signal , xpusl 226 , turns on the transistor 224 , the complement sense line , slc 212 , is pre - charged to a high logic level of vdd ( e . g ., + 1 volts ). further detail regarding the operation of the complement sense line , slc 212 , and the pre - charge transistor 224 , is described hereinafter in conjunction with the signal traces of fig3 . the single - ended sensing apparatus further includes a pfet transistor 228 whose gate terminal is connected to the active low pre - charge signal , xpusl 226 . this transistor 228 is connected between vdd and the true sense line , slt 230 . the true sense line 230 is connected to one end of an nfet transistor 232 , whose gate terminal is connected to the complement sense line , slc 212 . the other end of this transistor 232 is connected to one end of another nfet transistor 234 , whose other end is connected to ground , and whose gate terminal is connected to a sense enable signal , sen_en 236 . in addition , the apparatus includes yet another pfet transistor 240 connected between vdd and the true sense line , slt 230 . the gate terminal of the transistor 240 is connected to a complement sense line , slcc 242 , which is output from an inverter 244 , the input of which is the true sense line , slt 230 . in the single - ended sensing apparatus of fig2 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the read bit lines 204 , 206 are pre - charged to a logic low level of , e . g ., ground or zero volts (“ pre - discharged ”), through the nfet transistors 218 , 220 , rather than to a logic high level of , e . g ., vdd , as in the prior art . also , as compared to the prior art , the bit switch circuit transistors 214 , 216 now comprise relatively high threshold voltage ( vt ) nfets instead of pfets . in addition , the polarity of the transistor controls signals ( i . e ., the gate voltage signals ) agree with their respective transistor device - types , and the timing of the sense line pre - charge control signal , xpusl 226 , has been changed , as illustrated in fig3 . when the read bit lines 204 , 206 are pre - charged to a logic low level , no dc leakage occurs through the read ports 116 of the sram . a slight delay in reading out the stored data occurs because the read bit lines 204 , 206 are energized to an intermediate voltage level between vdd and ground prior to the sensing or reading out of the stored values therefrom . this is done by keeping the sense line pre - charge control signal , xpusl 226 , active for some short time after the word line 128 has been activated , as shown in fig3 . ac power is reduced because only selected ones of the bit lines 204 , 206 that are being read are energized , and also because , even when energized , the selected bit lines 204 , 206 are not fully charged to vdd but instead are energized to some intermediate value between vdd and ground . this reduces the amount of the ac voltage swing on the bit lines 204 , 206 . referring to fig3 , there illustrated are several signal traces of voltage values versus time at different points in the circuit of fig2 . fig3 a illustrates the situation where a logical one is being read from row zero 200 of the memory cell 100 , while fig3 b illustrates the situation where a logical zero is being read from row one 202 of the memory cell 100 . the present invention pre - discharges all of the read bit lines low and then drives current only into the one or more selected read bit lines from a turned on pre - charge transistor 224 through a corresponding nfet bit switch device 208 , 210 . if the selected memory cell 100 being read contains a logical “ 0 ”, then the cell &# 39 ; s read port 116 will not conduct any current and the voltage on the corresponding read bit line 118 will rise . if the selected memory cell 100 being read contains a logical “ 1 ”, then the cell &# 39 ; s read port 116 will conduct the current being driven , which will counteract the rising voltage of the read bit line 118 . by driving the selected bit line through a high threshold voltage ( vt ) nfet bit switch device 208 , 210 , the read bit line voltage will never rise to a full rail potential ( vdd ), but to some intermediate value between vdd and ground . in the top trace 300 of fig3 a , the bit switch control signal , bs 0 214 , transitions to active high at approximately t = 1 , thereby turning on nfet 208 , while the pass gate transistor control signal , bsl 216 , remains at a low logic level , thereby keeping nfet 210 off . thus , the selected read bit line , rblc 0 204 is connected to the complement sense line , slc 212 , through the bit switch transistor 208 . as a result , a particular memory cell 100 in row zero 200 is selected for a read operation by way of a conventional column selection operation ( not shown ). in the same trace 300 , the pre - charge control signal , pdbl 222 , for the nfet 218 assumes a low logic level also at approximately t = 1 , thereby turning off the nfet 218 ( i . e ., removing the “ pre - discharge ” state of the read bit lines , rblc 0 204 ) and allowing the selected row zero cell 100 to be read . when a read operation of a cell 100 is complete , the pre - charge control signal , pdbl 222 , assumes a high logic level , thereby restoring the read bit line to ground . in the next trace 302 , also at time t = 1 the common read word line , rwl 134 ( fig1 ), assumes a high logic level , thereby turning on the transistor 130 in the read port 116 of the memory cell 100 . the sense line pre - charge control signal , xpusl 226 , stays at a logic low until approximately t = 2 , at which time it changes to a logic high , thereby turning off the pfets 224 , 228 . this delay between the signal transitions involving rwl 134 and xpusl 226 helps the selected bit line rblc 0 204 become energized ( i . e ., rise in voltage ) through charge sharing between the sense line , slc 212 , and the selected bit line , rblc 0 204 . this delay in time between the signal transitions involving rwl 134 and xpusl 226 must be sufficiently long to adequately charge the selected read bit line , rblc 0 204 , so that the sense line , slc 212 , does not droop below the threshold of the sensing circuit when reading a memory cell 100 that contains a logical “ 0 ” ( fig3 b ), even when the unselected cells in the selected column are leaking current . the next trace 304 shows the selected read bit line , rblc 0 204 , for the selected row , row zero 200 . the selected read bit line , rblc 0 204 , is energized and starts to increase in voltage , as described above . the next trace 306 shows the selected read bit line , rblc 0 204 , whose voltage starts to rise after the bit switch transistor 208 is activated by the signal , bs 0 214 , and while the signal , xpusl 226 , is still active low . but after xpusl 226 is deactivated high , the contents of the selected cell ( a logical “ 1 ”) start to pull down the read bit line , rblc 0 204 . in turn , this causes the voltage on the sense line , slc 212 , to drop relatively rapidly ( i . e ., between times t = 3 and t = 5 ), due to the fact that the charge sharing between the sense line , slc 212 , and the bit line , rblc 0 204 , is still occurring and to the fact that the cell discharge current of the read bit line is amplified at the sense line by the ratio of bit line capacitance to the sense line capacitance . in the second , “ read 0 ” cycle of this trace 306 ( fig3 b ), the read bit line , rblc 1 206 , does not drop in voltage after the sense line pre - charge signal , xpusl 226 , is deactivated at approximately t = 11 , because the selected cell 100 contains a logical “ 0 ” which will not pull down on the read bit line . the next trace 306 shows the sense line , slc 212 , and the sense strobe signal , set_en 236 . the timing between the deactivation of the sense pre - charge signal , xpusl 226 , and the activation of the sense strobe , set_en 236 , is large enough to ensure that the weakest cell has sufficiently pulled down the read bit line and , consequently , the sense line not to trip the sense circuit when the signal , set_en 236 , is asserted . the next two traces 308 , 310 show the true and complement outputs of the sense circuit , slt 230 , and slcc 242 . they are pre - charged to reflect the case where the cell 100 is assumed to contain a logical “ 1 ” so in the first cycle ( fig3 a ), they do not switch , while in the second cycle ( fig3 b ), they do switch . the traces in fig3 b are somewhat similar to those described in conjunction with fig3 a . the primary difference is that while in fig3 a a logical “ 1 ” is being read from a selected memory cell 100 in row zero 200 , in fig3 b a logical “ 0 ” is being read from a selected memory cell 100 in row one 202 . the apparatus and method of the present invention pre - charges the read port bit lines 204 , 206 to a logical low level so that the read ports 116 of the multi - port sram do not leak dc current . the bit lines 204 , 206 are held at ground and energized only when they are accessed , as shown in fig3 . hence the read port dc leakage due to the sram cells is reduced to zero . there is a small amount of current leakage through the bit switch transistors 208 , 210 . however , this amount of leakage is significantly less than that of the cells for all but the smallest sram sizes . in addition , the ac power is reduced because the bit lines 204 , 206 are not fully charged to a full voltage rail potential when they are energized ( as shown in fig3 ), and also because only the bit lines 204 , 206 that are being read are energized . when the selected read bit lines 204 , 206 are energized , some current leakage occurs . however , because typically only a selected few , and not all , of the bit lines are energized at any one point in time , the overall amount of current leakage caused by the energized bit lines is significantly lower then in the prior art where all of the bit lines are typically pre - charged to vdd . the read performance is delayed slightly to allow the bit lines to energize to some intermediate voltage lower than vdd prior to the read operation . the delay penalty is small , and depends on the technology voltage and temperature . for example , in a 65 nm cmos bulk technology at a slow process corner and low voltage , the delay penalty is about 140 ps . at a 1 ghz cycle time , this would represent a 14 % decrease in performance . with newer technologies , the write time of the cell limits the performance more than the read time , so delaying the read slightly may not affect overall performance at all . implementation of the present invention requires no additional area over current multi - port sram designs and , in fact , the area is significantly reduced as compared to prior art dual - ended read embodiments . the expected power savings brought about by the present invention depends on the memory configuration and the operating voltage . for example , at 1v in a 65 nm cmos - bulk technology , a two - port array configured as 8 columns with 64 cells per column , a savings of approximately 654 nw per sense amp occurs . at a cycle time of 900 ps , the ac power savings are 2400 nw per sense amp . for an asic design employing 60 two - port sram macros , each with 2000 sense amps , then approximately 78 mw leakage and 0 . 29 w ac power per chip may be saved . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment or embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims .	6
referring initially to fig1 - 3 , the present invention provides , as subsequently described in detail herein , self - adjusting connection apparatus for removably joining a tooth point 10 to an associated adapter nose 12 for use in a material displacement operation such as an earth excavation task . removable tooth point 10 has an elongated , tapered body extending along a longitudinal axis a and having a pointed outer end 14 ; a wider inner end 16 ; a pocket area 18 extending from the inner end 16 into the interior of the tooth point 10 ; top and bottom sides 20 , 22 ; and left and right sides 24 , 26 . adapter nose 12 is configured to be complementarily and removably received in the tooth pocket area 18 and projects outwardly from a suitable support lip structure 28 such as that extending along the bottom side of an earth excavation bucket ( not shown ). as illustrated in fig2 the tooth point 10 has , adjacent its inner end 16 , a tapered connection opening 30 extending between its opposite sides 24 and 26 and intersecting its internal pocket area 18 . opening 30 tapers inwardly toward the tooth side 26 as indicated . a similarly tapered connection opening 32 is formed in the adapter nose 12 . when the adapter nose 12 is operatively received in the tooth pocket 18 , the adapter nose opening 32 is communicated with opposite ends of the tooth connection opening 30 but is slightly offset therefrom toward the inner end 16 of the tooth point 10 . referring now additionally to fig4 - 6 , the self - adjusting connection apparatus of the present invention , in the illustrated preferred embodiment thereof , has four parts -- a flat , wedge shaped connector member 34 , a coiled compression spring member 36 , a force exerting member 38 , and a resilient key structure 40 . the flat , wedge shaped connector member 34 ( see fig4 and 5 ) has a relatively wide first end 42 , a smaller , relatively narrower second end 43 , an opposite pair of sloping sides 44 and 46 extending between the first and second ends 42 and 43 , and an opposite pair of generally parallel sides 48 and 50 extending between the sides 44 and 46 . a corner recess 52 extends longitudinally inwardly through the first connector member end 42 , has an inner end surface 54 , and leaves a substantial corner portion 42a of the end 42 , such remaining corner portion 42a extending across approximately one half of the left - to - right width of the upper end of the connector member 34 as viewed in fig4 . for purposes later described herein , the inner , horizontally facing side of the axially outwardly projecting corner portion 42a has an arcuate recess 55 formed in a horizontally central portion thereof . extending longitudinally inwardly from the inner recess end surface 54 is a circularly cross - sectioned internal passage 56 having a smaller diameter inner end portion 58 with a bottom end surface 60 positioned axially inwardly of the connector member end 43 . an annular interior side surface groove 62 circumscribes an outer end portion of the passage 56 and operatively receives an elastomeric o - ring seal member 64 . for purposes later described herein , a longitudinally intermediate portion 56a of the circularly cross - sectioned passage 56 ( see fig4 and 5 ) is laterally enlarged toward the connector member sloping side 46 and has , along opposite sides thereof , a stop surface 66 ( see fig5 ) that extends in a generally chordwise direction relative to the passage 56 , and a cam surface 68 which is ramped relative to the stop surface 66 . turning now to fig6 and 7 , the force exerting member 38 is representatively a one - piece metal structure having a cylindrical body 70 ( see fig6 ) having an inner end 72 from which a smaller diameter cylindrical portion 74 axially projects in a manner forming at its juncture with the inner end 72 an annular , axially facing ledge 76 . at the outer end 78 of the body 70 is a single transverse blocking flange 80 from which a hexagonally cross - sectioned driving section 82 outwardly projects in an axial direction ( see fig7 ). as best illustrated in fig7 flange 80 has a circular portion 80a and a laterally enlarged single lobe portion 80b . the laterally enlarged single lobe portion 80b has a stop surface 84 at its juncture with the circular portion 80a , a tapered outer side edge portion 86 , and an arcuate side edge indentation 88 interposed between the edge portion 86 and the circular portion 80a . a lateral indentation or pocket area 90 ( see fig6 ) extends inwardly through the side surface of the cylindrical force exerting member body 70 axially inwardly of the annular end ledge 76 and is sized to removably receive the resilient key structure 40 . resilient key structure has a resilient inner side portion 40a suitably anchored to a metal locking key member 40b forming the outer side portion of the key structure 40 . the resilient inner side portion 40a is representatively of an elastomeric material , but could alternatively be a suitable mechanical spring structure or other resilient apparatus . with reference now to fig7 - 10 , the previously described self - adjusting connection structure is assembled by placing the compression spring 36 in the connector member passage portion 58 , placing the key structure 40 , elastomeric side first , into the force exerting member pocket area 90 , pushing the inserted key structure 40 into the pocket area 90 to compress the elastomeric portion 40a and position the outer side of the metal portion 40b generally flush with the outer side surface of the force exerting member cylindrical body 70 , and then inserting the body 70 , end 72 first , into the connector member passage 56 so that the spring 36 circumscribes the reduced diameter portion 74 of the force exerting member body 70 and bears at its opposite ends against the inner passage end surface 60 and the annular ledge portion 76 of the body 70 as illustrated in fig8 and 8a . as the body 70 is pushed into the connector member passage 56 toward the spring 36 in this manner , the key structure 40 is circumferentially aligned with the laterally enlarged passage portion 56a by bringing the force exerting member flange 80 to its fig7 dashed line position in which the flange portion 80b projects outwardly beyond the side 50 of the connector member 34 . this causes the outwardly projecting metal portion 40b of the resilient key structure 40 to enter and slide downwardly along the laterally enlarged passage portion 56a ( see fig8 a and 10 ) as the bottom end of the body 70 compresses the spring 36 . the self - adjusting connection system is then readied for insertion into the aligned tooth and adapter openings 30 , 32 ( see fig2 ) by pushing the force exerting member 38 downwardly into the connector passage 56 until the bottom of the flange 80 engages the inner recess surface 54 of the connector member ( see fig8 ) at which point the key structure 40 is upwardly adjacent the bottom end of the laterally enlarged passage portion 56 . using a suitable socket wrench ( not shown ) operatively engaged with the hexagonal driving portion 82 of the force exerting member 38 , the force exerting member 38 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction ( as viewed in fig7 ) from its dotted line position to its solid line position in fig7 . this causes the metal portion 40b of the resilient key structure 40 to slidingly engage the passage cam surface 68 in a manner causing the cam surface 68 to drive the metal key structure portion 40b from its fig1 orientation into the body pocket 90 as the body 70 is rotated to its fig9 orientation in which the force exerting member 38 is in a position corresponding to its solid line orientation shown in fig7 . in this position , the compressed resilient key structure portion 40a drives the metal key structure portion 40b into forcible frictional engagement with a side surface portion of the circularly cross - sectioned passage portion 56 , thereby frictionally holding the body 70 against rotational or axially outward movement relative to the connector member 34 . the connector member 34 is then inserted , end 43 first , into the aligned tooth and connector openings 30 and 32 ( see fig1 - 3 ), through the portion of the opening 30 in the left side 24 of the tooth point 10 , until the wider end 42 of the connector member 34 is positioned inwardly of an interior side surface portion 92 of the left side 24 of the tooth point 10 ( see fig3 ). a socket wrench is then used to rotate the force exerting member 38 relative to the inserted connector member 34 in a clockwise direction ( as viewed in fig7 ) to the dashed line position of the force exerting member 38 shown in fig7 . during this rotation of the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 , the retracted metal portion 40b of the resilient key structure 40 slides along a facing circular portion of the passage 56 ( see fig9 ) toward the laterally enlarged passage portion 56a and then pops outwardly into the passage portion 56a as shown in fig1 . this rotates the flange portion 80b outwardly beyond the connector member side 50 ( see fig7 ) and axially frees the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 , thereby allowing the spring 36 to resiliently drive the force exerting member 38 outwardly from the connector member 34 to its operative position in which the now outwardly projecting flange portion 80b underlies and forcibly engages the interior side surface portion 92 of the tooth point 10 ( see fig1 and 8a ) and prevents withdrawal of the connector member 34 from within the aligned tooth point and adapter nose openings 30 , 32 . while the spring 36 is driving the force exerting member 38 outwardly from the connector member 34 , the metal portion 40b of the resilient lock structure 40 axially slides upwardly along the laterally enlarged passage portion 56a , with the receipt of the metal lock structure portion 40b in the passage portion 56a maintaining the force exerting member 38 in its dashed line orientation shown in fig7 . with the force exerting member 38 in this operative , outwardly extended position , the resilient force of the internal connector member spring 36 is transmitted through the force exerting member 38 to the wedge shaped connector member 34 tending to resiliently push it further into the aligned tapered tooth point and adapter nose openings 30 and 32 . in turn , this maintains a resilient tightening force on the tooth point 10 directed toward the adapter lip portion 28 . thus , in response to tooth point / adapter nose interface wear the tooth is continuously and automatically tightened on the adapter nose . it should be noted that this self - tightening action , in which driven axial movement of the tooth 10 along the nose portion 12 toward the support lip structure 28 occurs due to the automatic action of the self - adjusting connector system , is permitted ( as best illustrated in fig2 ) by the various axial gaps g 1 between the right or forward end of the nose portion 12 and the inner end of the tooth pocket 18 ; g 2 between the forward or right side surface of the tapered opening 30 and the connector member 34 ; and the gaps g 3 between facing interior tooth and adapter surface portions of the assembly disposed leftwardly or rearwardly of the installed connector member 34 . as will be appreciated , these gaps are generally as shown in fig2 when the tooth point 10 is originally installed on the adapter nose portion 12 , and horizontally decrease in width as tooth / adapter nose wear occurs and the tooth point 10 is automatically tightened leftwardly onto the nose portion 12 by the action of the self - adjusting connector system just described . returning now to fig7 to remove the connector system from the aligned tooth and connector openings 30 and 32 , the force exerting member 38 is simply rotated in a counterclockwise direction away from its dashed line orientation to its solid line orientation , thereby moving the flange portion 80b away from its underlying relationship with the inner side surface portion 92 of the tooth 10 ( see fig1 and 3 ) and permitting the connector member 34 to be axially removed from the aligned tooth and adapter nose openings 30 , 32 and thereby permit the tooth point 10 to be axially removed from the adapter nose 12 . this rotation of the force exerting member 38 causes the ramped connector member passage side surface 68 ( see fig9 ) to cam the metal key structure portion 40b into the force exerting member pocket 90 so that when the force exerting member 38 is rotated back to its solid line fig7 orientation the metal key structure portion 40b ( see fig9 ) is rotated into forcible engagement with the circular side surface of the connector member passage portion 56 to thereby frictionally lock the force exerting member 38 both axially and rotationally relative to the connector member . still referring to fig7 when the force exerting member 38 is in its solid line retracted insertion / removal orientation , the circular portion 80a of the flange 80 is complementarily received in the arcuate recessed area 55 of the outwardly projecting corner portion 42a of the connector member 34 , and the flange stop surface 84 is brought into abutment with a facing surface portion 94 of the connector member corner section 42a to thereby prevent further counterclockwise rotation of the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 . when the force exerting member 38 is in its dashed line extended operative orientation , the arcuate side edge indentation 88 in the flange 80 is brought into abutment with a facing surface portion 96 of the connector member corner section 42a , thereby preventing further clockwise rotation of the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 . at the same time , the metal portion 40b of the resilient key structure 40 ( see fig1 ) is rotated into engagement with the side stop surface 66 of the laterally enlarged connector member passage portion 56a to further block continued clockwise rotation of the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 . as the force exerting member 38 is being rotated from its fig7 solid line orientation to its fig7 dashed line orientation , the tapered leading side edge portion 86 of the flange section 80b facilitates the placement of the flange section 80b beneath the interior side surface portion 92 of the tooth point 10 by acting as a cam surface for engaging an edge portion of the tooth point opening 30 and slightly retracting the force exerting member 38 if the flange section 80b is only partially below the level of the surface 92 during such rotation of the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 . the self - adjusting connection system of the present invention ( representatively comprising the previously described elements 34 , 36 , 38 and 40 ) provides several advantages over conventional wedge and spool sets and resilient flex pin connector structures . first , the connection system of this invention is a non - impact system -- i . e ., it does not have to be driven into place using a sledge hammer or the like . this , it is easier and safer to install . second , it advantageously creates rigid resistant to undesirable movement of the tooth 10 axially toward and away from the adapter lip 28 . third , it provides for substantial increases in allowable fit / shift movement between the tooth and the adapter . the self - adjusting connection system of the present invention also provides several structural and operational advantages over the self - adjusting connection system illustrated and described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 718 , 070 to ruvang . for example , as can be seen in fig7 the wider outer end of the connection system is of a unique asymmetric design , with the force exerting member 38 having only a single outwardly projecting flange blocking portion 80b , and the outer end 42 of the connector member 34 having only a single corner projection with a relatively massive cross - section . because of this , damage to the outer end of the connector member 34 caused by tooth operating loads is substantially eliminated . additionally , due to the use of frictional locking of the force exerting member 38 within the connector member by means of the resilient key structure 40 , and the absence of a finite number of circumferential locking grooves in the force exerting member , the force exerting member 38 may be axially locked in an essentially unlimited number of positions relative to the connector member 34 . moreover , as previously described herein , the force exerting member 38 may moved from its fig7 dashed line operative position to its fig7 solid line release position simply by rotating the force exerting member 38 relative to the connector member 34 -- there is no need to also move the force exerting member 38 further into the connector member 34 to effect this rotational reorientation of the force exerting member 38 . accordingly , even if there is a solid build - up of dirt between the underside of the flange 80 and the bottom connector member recess surface 54 , the connection system can be easily positioned to be removed from the aligned tooth and adapter nose openings 30 , 32 merely by forcibly rotating the flange 80 to its release position as described above . as can readily be seen from the foregoing , the self - adjusting connection system of the present invention is of a simple , rugged construction , is relatively inexpensive to fabricate , and is quite simple , easy and safe to install in and remove from the tooth / adapter assembly . additionally , the built - in wear compensation and tightening feature of the connector system is substantially greater than that of the typical flex pin connector , and permits a satisfactory installation fit between a new tooth point and either an essentially unworn adapter nose portion or a partially worn adapter nose portion . while in the preferred embodiment of the self - adjusting connection system of the present invention , the resilient key structure 40 is carried by the force exerting member 38 , and the passage portion 56a is formed in the connector member 34 , other methods of releasably and frictionally locking the force exerting member 38 within the connector member 34 , both axially and rotationally , could be alternately be utilized if desired . for example , the resilient key structure 40 could be carried by the connector member 34 , and the ramped passage portion 56a could be formed on a longitudinal side surface portion of the force exerting member 38 . the foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as being given by way of illustration and example , the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited solely by the appended claims .	4
fig1 shows a schematic that generally describes one embodiment of the invention , in which energy is transferred wirelessly between two resonant objects . referring to fig1 , energy is transferred , over a distance d , between a resonant source object having a characteristic size l 1 and a resonant device object of characteristic size l 2 . both objects are resonant objects . the source object is connected to a power supply ( not shown ), and the device object is connected to a power consuming device ( e . g . a load resistor , not shown ). energy is provided by the power supply to the source object , transferred wirelessly and non - radiatively from the source object to the device object , and consumed by the power consuming device . the wireless non - radiative energy transfer is performed using the field ( e . g . the electromagnetic field or acoustic field ) of the system of two resonant objects . for simplicity , in the following we will assume that field is the electromagnetic field . it is to be understood that while two resonant objects are shown in the embodiment of fig1 , and in many of the examples below , other embodiments may feature 3 or more resonant objects . for example , in some embodiments a single source object can transfer energy to multiple device objects . in some embodiments energy may be transferred from a first device to a second , and then from the second device to the third , and so forth . initially , we present a theoretical framework for understanding non - radiative wireless energy transfer . note however that it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not bound by theory . an appropriate analytical framework for modeling the resonant energy - exchange between two resonant objects 1 and 2 is that of “ coupled - mode theory ” ( cmt ). the field of the system of two resonant objects 1 and 2 is approximated by f ( r , t )≈ a 1 ( t ) f 1 ( r )+ a 2 ( t ) f 2 ( r ), where f 1 , 2 ( r ) are the eigenmodes of 1 and 2 alone , normalized to unity energy , and the field amplitudes a 1 , 2 ( t ) are defined so that \| a 1 , 2 ( t )\| 2 is equal to the energy stored inside the objects 1 and 2 respectively . then , the field amplitudes can be shown to satisfy , to lowest order : where ω 1 , 2 are the individual angular eigenfrequencies of the eigenmodes , γ 1 , 2 are the resonance widths due to the objects &# 39 ; intrinsic ( absorption , radiation etc .) losses , and κ is the coupling coefficient . eqs . ( 1 ) show that at exact resonance ( ω 1 = ω 2 and γ 1 = γ 2 ), the eigenmodes of the combined system are split by 2κ ; the energy exchange between the two objects takes place in time ˜ π / 2κ and is nearly perfect , apart for losses , which are minimal when the coupling rate is much faster than all loss rates ( κ γ 1 , 2 ). the coupling to loss ratio κ /√{ square root over ( γ 1 γ 2 )} serves as a figure - of - merit in evaluating a system used for wireless energy - transfer , along with the distance over which this ratio can be achieved . the regime κ /√{ square root over ( γ 1 γ 2 )}& gt ;& gt ; 1 is called “ strong - coupling ” regime . in some embodiments , the energy - transfer application preferably uses resonant modes of high q = ω / 2γ , corresponding to low ( i . e . slow ) intrinsic - loss rates γ . this condition may be satisfied where the coupling is implemented using , not the lossy radiative far - field , but the evanescent ( non - lossy ) stationary near - field . to implement an energy - transfer scheme , usually finite objects , namely ones that are topologically surrounded everywhere by air , are more appropriate . unfortunately , objects of finite extent cannot support electromagnetic states that are exponentially decaying in all directions in air , since , from maxwell &# 39 ; s equations in free space : { right arrow over ( k )} 2 = ω 2 / c 2 where { right arrow over ( k )} is the wave vector , ω the angular frequency , and c the speed of light . because of this , one can show that they cannot support states of infinite q . however , very long - lived ( so - called “ high - q ”) states can be found , whose tails display the needed exponential or exponential - like decay away from the resonant object over long enough distances before they turn oscillatory ( radiative ). the limiting surface , where this change in the field behavior happens , is called the “ radiation caustic ”, and , for the wireless energy - transfer scheme to be based on the near field rather than the far / radiation field , the distance between the coupled objects must be such that one lies within the radiation caustic of the other . furthermore , in some embodiments , small q κ = ω / 2κ corresponding to strong ( i . e . fast ) coupling rate κ is preferred over distances larger than the characteristic sizes of the objects . therefore , since the extent of the near - field into the area surrounding a finite - sized resonant object is set typically by the wavelength , in some embodiments , this mid - range non - radiative coupling can be achieved using resonant objects of subwavelength size , and thus significantly longer evanescent field - tails . as will be seen in examples later on , such subwavelength resonances can often be accompanied with a high q , so this will typically be the appropriate choice for the possibly - mobile resonant device - object . note , though , that in some embodiments , the resonant source - object will be immobile and thus less restricted in its allowed geometry and size , which can be therefore chosen large enough that the near - field extent is not limited by the wavelength . objects of nearly infinite extent , such as dielectric waveguides , can support guided modes whose evanescent tails are decaying exponentially in the direction away from the object , slowly if tuned close to cutoff , and can have nearly infinite q . in the following , we describe several examples of systems suitable for energy transfer of the type described above . we will demonstrate how to compute the cmt parameters ω 1 , 2 , q 1 , 2 and q κ described above and how to choose these parameters for particular embodiments in order to produce a desirable figure - of - merit κ /√{ square root over ( γ 1 γ 2 )}√{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ . in particular , this figure of merit is typically maximized when ω 1 , 2 are tuned to a particular angular frequency { tilde over ( ω )}, thus , if γ is half the angular - frequency width for which √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ is above half its maximum value at { tilde over ( ω )}, the angular eigenfrequencies ω 1 , 2 should typically be tuned to be close to { tilde over ( ω )} to within the width { tilde over ( γ )}. in addition , as described below , q 1 , 2 can sometimes be limited not from intrinsic loss mechanisms but from external perturbations . in those cases , producing a desirable figure - of - merit translates to reducing q κ ( i . e . increasing the coupling ). accordingly we will demonstrate how , for particular embodiments , to reduce q κ . in some embodiments , one or more of the resonant objects are self - resonant conducting coils . referring to fig2 , a conducting wire of length l and cross - sectional radius a is wound into a helical coil of radius r and height h ( namely with n =√{ square root over ( l 2 − h 2 )}/ 2πr number of turns ), surrounded by air . as described below , the wire has distributed inductance and distributed capacitance , and therefore it supports a resonant mode of angular frequency ω . the nature of the resonance lies in the periodic exchangd of energy from the electric field within the capacitance of the coil , due to the charge distribution ρ ( x ) across it , to the magnetic field in free space , due to the current distribution j ( x ) in the wire . in particular , the charge conservation equation ∇· j = iωρ implies that : ( i ) this periodic exchange is accompanied by a π / 2 phase - shift between the current and the charge density profiles , namely the energy u contained in the coil is at certain points in time completely due to the current and at other points in time completely due to the charge , and ( ii ) if ρ l ( x ) and i ( x ) are respectively the linear charge and current densities in the wire , where x runs along the wire , is the maximum amount of positive charge accumulated in one side of the coil ( where an equal amount of negative charge always also accumulates in the other side to make the system neutral ) and i o = max {\|( x )\|} is the maximum positive value of the linear current distribution , then i o = ωq o . then , one can define an effective total inductance l and an effective total capacitance c of the coil through the amount of energy u inside its resonant mode : where μ o and ∈ o are the magnetic permeability and electric permittivity of free space . with these definitions , the resonant angular frequency and the effective impedance are given by the common formulas ω = 1 /√{ square root over ( lc )} and z =√{ square root over ( l / c )} respectively . losses in this resonant system consist of ohmic ( material absorption ) loss inside the wire and radiative loss into free space . one can again define a total absorption resistance r abs from the amount of power absorbed inside the wire and a total radiation resistance r rad from the amount of power radiated due to electric - and magnetic - dipole radiation : where c = 1 /√{ square root over ( μ 0 ∈ o )} and ζ o =√{ square root over ( μ o /∈ o )} are the light velocity and light impedance in free space , the impedance ζ c is ζ c = 1 / σδ =√{ square root over ( μ o ω / 2σ )} with σ the conductivity of the conductor and δ the skin depth at the frequency ω , is the magnetic - dipole moment of the coil . for the radiation resistance formula eq . ( 5 ), the assumption of operation in the quasi - static regime ( h , r & lt ;& lt ; λ = 2πc / ω ) has been used , which is the desired regime of a subwavelength resonance . with these definitions , the absorption and radiation quality factors of the resonance are given by q abs = z / r abs and q rad = z / r rad respectively . from eq . ( 2 )-( 5 ) it follows that to determine the resonance parameters one simply needs to know the current distribution j in the resonant coil . solving maxwell &# 39 ; s equations to rigorously find the current distribution of the resonant electromagnetic eigenmode of a conducting - wire coil is more involved than , for example , of a standard lc circuit , and we can find no exact solutions in the literature for coils of finite length , making an exact solution difficult . one could in principle write down an elaborate transmission - line - like model , and solve it by brute force . we instead present a model that is ( as described below ) in good agreement (˜ 5 %) with experiment . observing that the finite extent of the conductor forming each coil imposes the boundary condition that the current has to be zero at the ends of the coil , since no current can leave the wire , we assume that the resonant mode of each coil is well approximated by a sinusoidal current profile along the length of the conducting wire . we shall be interested in the lowest mode , so if we denote by x the coordinate along the conductor , such that it runs from − l / 2 to + l / 2 , then the current amplitude profile would have the form i ( x )= i o cos ( πx / l ), where we have assumed that the current does not vary significantly along the wire circumference for a particular x , a valid assumption provided a & lt ;& lt ; r . it immediately follows from the continuity equation for charge that the linear charge density profile should be of the form ρ 1 ( x )= ρ o sin ( πx / l ), and thus q o =∫ 0 1 / 2 dxρ o \| sin ( πx / l )\|= ρ o l / π . using these sinusoidal profiles we find the so - called “ self - inductance ” l s and “ self - capacitance ” c s of the coil by computing numerically the integrals eq . ( 2 ) and ( 3 ); the associated frequency and effective impedance are ω s and z s respectively . the “ self - resistances ” r s are given analytically by eq . ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) using and therefore the associated q s factors may be calculated . the results for two particular embodiments of resonant coils with subwavelength modes of λ s / r ≧ 70 ( i . e . those highly suitable for near - field coupling and well within the quasi - static limit ) are presented in table 1 . numerical results are shown for the wavelength and absorption , radiation and total loss rates , for the two different cases of subwavelength - coil resonant modes . note that , for conducting material , copper ( σ = 5 . 998 · 10 ̂− 7 s / m ) was used . it can be seen that expected quality factors at microwave frequencies are q s abs ≧ 1000 q a rad ≧ 5000 . referring to fig3 , in some embodiments , energy is transferred between two self - resonant conducting - wire coils . the electric and magnetic fields are used to couple the different resonant conducting - wire coils at a distance d between their centers . usually , the electric coupling highly dominates over the magnetic coupling in the system under consideration for coils with h & gt ;& gt ; 2r and , oppositely , the magnetic coupling highly dominates over the electric coupling for coils with h & lt ;& lt ; 2r . defining the charge and current distributions of two coils 1 , 2 respectively as ρ 1 , 2 ( x ) and j 1 , 2 ( x ), total charges and peak currents respectively as q 1 , 2 and i 1 , 2 , and capacitances and inductances respectively as c 1 , 2 and l 1 , 2 , which are the analogs of ρ ( x ), j ( x ), q 0 , i o , c and l for the single - coil case and are therefore well defined , we can define their mutual capacitance and inductance through the total energy : and the retardation factor of u = exp ( iω \| x − x ′\|/ c ) inside the integral can been ignored in the quasi - static regime d & lt ;& lt ; λ of interest , where each coil is within the near field of the other . with this definition , the coupling coefficient is given by κ = ω √{ square root over ( c 1 c 2 )}/ 2m c + ωm l / 2 √{ square root over ( l 1 l 2 )} q κ − 1 =( m c /√{ square root over ( c 1 c 2 )}) − 1 +(√{ square root over ( l 1 l 2 )}/ m l ) − 1 . therefore , to calculate the coupling rate between two self - resonant coils , again the current profiles are needed and , by using again the assumed sinusoidal current profiles , we compute numerically from eq . ( 6 ) the mutual capacitance m c , s and inductance m l , s between two self - resonant coils at a distance d between their centers , and thus q κs is also determined . referring to table 2 , relevant parameters are shown for exemplary embodiments featuring pairs or identical self resonant coils . numerical results are presented for the average wavelength and loss rates of the two normal modes ( individual values not shown ), and also the coupling rate and figure - of - merit as a function of the coupling distance d , for the two cases of modes presented in table 1 . it can be seen that for medium distances d / r = 10 − 3 the expected coupling - to - loss ratios are in the range κ / γ ˜ 2 - 70 . in some embodiments , one or more of the resonant objects are capacitively - loaded conducting loops or coils . referring to fig4 a helical coil with n turns of conducting wire , as described above , is connected to a pair of conducting parallel plates of area a spaced by distance d via a dielectric material of relative permittivity ∈, and everything is surrounded by air ( as shown , n = 1 and h = 0 ). the plates have a capacitance c p =∈ 0 ∈ a / d , which is added to the distributed capacitance of the coil and thus modifies its resonance . note however , that the presence of the loading capacitor modifies significantly the current distribution inside the wire and therefore the total effective inductance l and total effective capacitance c of the coil are different respectively from l s and c s , which are calculated for a self - resonant coil of the same geometry using a sinusoidal current profile . since some charge is accumulated at the plates of the external loading capacitor , the charge distribution ρ inside the wire is reduced , so c & lt ; c s , and thus , from the charge conservation equation , the current distribution j flattens out , so l & gt ; l s . the resonant frequency for this system is ω = 1 /√{ square root over ( l ( c + c p ))}& lt ; ω s = 1 /√{ square root over ( l s c s )}, and i ( x )→ i o cos ( πx / l ) c → c s ω → ω s , as c p → 0 . in general , the desired cmt parameters can be found for this system , but again a very complicated solution of maxwell &# 39 ; s equations is required . instead , we will analyze only a special case , where a reasonable guess for the current distribution can be made . when c p & gt ;& gt ; c s & gt ; c , then ω ≈ 1 /√{ square root over ( lc p )}& lt ;& lt ; ω s and z ≈√{ square root over ( l / c p )}& lt ;& lt ; z s , while all the charge is on the plates of the loading capacitor and thus the current distribution is constant along the wire . this allows us now to compute numerically l from eq . ( 2 ). in the case h = 0 and n integer , the integral in eq . ( 2 ) can actually be computed analytically , giving the formula l = μ o r [ ln ( 8r / a )− 2 ] n 2 . explicit analytical formulas are again available for r from eq . ( 4 ) and ( 5 ), since i rms = i o , \| p \|≈ 0 and \| m \|= i o nπr 2 ( namely only the magnetic - dipole term is contributing to radiation ), so we can determine also q abs = ωl / r abs and q rad = ωl / r rad . at the end of the calculations , the validity of the assumption of constant current profile is confirmed by checking that indeed the condition c p & gt ;& gt ; c s ω & lt ;& lt ; ω s is satisfied . to satisfy this condition , one could use a large external capacitance , however , this would usually shift the operational frequency lower than the optimal frequency , which we will determine shortly ; instead , in typical embodiments , one often prefers coils with very small self - capacitance c s to begin with , which usually holds , for the types of coils under consideration , when n = 1 , so that the self - capacitance comes from the charge distribution across the single turn , which is almost always very small , or when n & gt ; 1 and h & gt ;& gt ; 2na , so that the dominant self - capacitance comes from the charge distribution across adjacent turns , which is small if the separation between adjacent turns is large . the external loading capacitance c p provides the freedom to tune the resonant frequency ( for example by tuning a or d ). then , for the particular simple case h = 0 , for which we have analytical formulas , the total q = ωl /( r abs + r rad ) becomes highest at the optimal frequency at lower frequencies it is dominated by ohmic loss and at higher frequencies by radiation . note , however , that the formulas above are accurate as long as { tilde over ( ω )}& lt ;& lt ; ω s and , as explained above , this holds almost always when n = 1 , and is usually less accurate when n & gt ; 1 , since h = 0 usually implies a large self - capacitance . a coil with large h can be used , if the self - capacitance needs to be reduced compared to the external capacitance , but then the formulas for l and { tilde over ( ω )}, { tilde over ( q )} are again less accurate . similar qualitative behavior is expected , but a more complicated theoretical model is needed for making quantitative predictions in that case . the results of the above analysis for two embodiments of subwavelength modes of λ / r ≧ 70 ( namely highly suitable for near - field coupling and well within the quasi - static limit ) of coils with n = 1 and h = 0 at the optimal frequency eq . ( 7 ) are presented in table 3 . to confirm the validity of constant - current assumption and the resulting analytical formulas , mode - solving calculations were also performed using another completely independent method : computational 3d finite - element frequency - domain ( fefd ) simulations ( which solve maxwell &# 39 ; s equations in frequency domain exactly apart for spatial discretization ) were conducted , in which the boundaries of the conductor were modeled using a complex impedance ζ c =√{ square root over ( λ o ω / 2σ )} boundary condition , valid as long as ζ c / ζ o & lt ;& lt ; 1 (& lt ; 10 − 5 for copper in the microwave ). table 3 shows numerical fefd ( and in parentheses analytical ) results for the wavelength and absorption , radiation and total loss rates , for two different cases of subwavelength - loop resonant modes . note that for conducting material copper ( σ = 5 . 998 · 10 7 s / m ) was used . ( the specific parameters of the plot in fig4 are highlighted with bold in the table .) the two methods ( analytical and computational ) are in very good agreement and show that , in some embodiments , the optimal frequency is in the low - mhz microwave range and the expected quality factors are q abs ≧ 1000 and q rad ≧ 10000 . referring to fig5 , in some embodiments , energy is transferred between two capacitively - loaded coils . for the rate of energy transfer between two capacitively - loaded coils 1 and 2 at distance d between their centers , the mutual inductance m l can be evaluated numerically from eq . ( 6 ) by using constant current distributions in the case ω & lt ;& lt ; ω s . in the case h = 0 , the coupling is only magnetic and again we have an analytical formula , which , in the quasi - static limit r d λ and for the relative orientation shown in fig4 , is m l ≈ πμ o / 2 ·( r 1 r 2 ) 2 n 1 n 2 / d 3 , which means that q κ ∝( d /√{ square root over ( r 1 r 2 )}) 3 is independent of the frequency ω and the number of turns n 1 , n 2 . consequently , the resultant coupling figure - of - merit of interest is which again is more accurate for n 1 = n 2 = 1 . from eq . ( 9 ) it can be seen that the optimal frequency { tilde over ( ω )}, where the figure - of - merit is maximized to the value (√{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ ) , is that where √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )} is maximized , since q κ does not depend on frequency ( at least for the distances d λ of interest for which the quasi - static approximation is still valid ). therefore , the optimal frequency is independent of the distance d between the two coils and lies between the two frequencies where the single - coil q 1 and q 2 peak . for same coils , it is given by eq . ( 7 ) and then the figure - of - merit eq . ( 9 ) becomes typically , one should tune the capacitively - loaded conducting loops or coils , so that their angular eigenfrequencies are close to { tilde over ( ω )} within { tilde over ( σ )}, which is half the angular frequency width for which √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ & gt ; (√{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q 78 ) / 2 referring to table 4 , numerical fefd and , in parentheses , analytical results based on the above are shown for two systems each composed of a matched pair of the loaded coils described in table 3 . the average wavelength and loss rates are shown along with the coupling rate and coupling to loss ratio figure - of - merit κ / γ as a function of the coupling distance d , for the two cases . note that the average numerical γ rad shown are again slightly different from the single - loop value of fig3 , analytical results for γ rad are not shown but the single - loop value is used . ( the specific parameters corresponding to the plot in fig5 are highlighted with bold in the table .) again we chose n = 1 to make the constant - current assumption a good one and computed m l numerically from eq . ( 6 ). indeed the accuracy can be confirmed by their agreement with the computational fefd mode - solver simulations , which give κ through the frequency splitting (= 2κ ) of the two normal modes of the combined system . the results show that for medium distances d / r = 10 − 3 the expected coupling - to - loss ratios are in the range κ / γ ˜ 0 . 5 - 50 . in some embodiments , the results above can be used to increase or optimize the performance of a wireless energy transfer system which employs capacitively - loaded coils . for example , the scaling of eq . ( 10 ) with the different system parameters one sees that to maximize the system figure - of - merit κ / γ one can , for example : decrease the resistivity of the conducting material . this can be achieved , for example , by using good conductors ( such as copper or silver ) and / or lowering the temperature . at very low temperatures one could use also superconducting materials to achieve extremely good performance . increase the wire radius a . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . the purpose of this action is mainly to reduce the resistive losses in the wire by increasing the cross - sectional area through which the electric current is flowing , so one could alternatively use also a litz wire or a ribbon instead of a circular wire . for fixed desired distance d of energy transfer , increase the radius of the loop r . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . for fixed desired distance vs . loop - size ratio d / r , decrease the radius of the loop r . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . increase the number of turns n . ( even though eq . ( 10 ) is expected to be less accurate for n & gt ; 1 , qualitatively it still provides a good indication that we expect an improvement in the coupling - to - loss ratio with increased n .) in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size and possible voltage considerations , as will be discussed in following sections . adjust the alignment and orientation between the two coils . the figure - of - merit is optimized when both cylindrical coils have exactly the same axis of cylindrical symmetry ( namely they are “ facing ” each other ). in some embodiments , particular mutual coil angles and orientations that lead to zero mutual inductance ( such as the orientation where the axes of the two coils are perpendicular ) should be avoided . finally , note that the height of the coil h is another available design parameter , which has an impact to the performance similar to that of its radius r , and thus the design rules are similar . the above analysis technique can be used to design systems with desired parameters . for example , as listed below , the above described techniques can be used to determine the cross sectional radius a of the wire which one should use when designing as system two same single - turn loops with a given radius in order to achieve a specific performance in terms of κ / γ at a given d / r between them , when the material is copper ( σ = 5 . 998 · 10 7 s / m ): d / r = 5 , κ / γ ≧ 10 , r = 30 cm a ≧ 9 mm d / r = 5 , κ / γ ≧ 10 , r = 5 cm a ≧ 3 . 7 mm d / r = 5 , κ / γ ≧ 20 , r = 30 cm a ≧ 20 mm d / r = 5 , κ / γ ≧ 20 , r = 5 cm a ≧ 8 . 3 mm d / r = 10 , κ / γ ≧ 1 , r = 30 cm a ≧ 7 mm d / r = 10 , κ / γ ≧ 1 , r = 5 cm a ≧ 2 . 8 mm d / r = 10 , κ / γ ≧ 3 , r = 30 cm a ≧ 25 mm d / r = 10 , κ / γ ≧ 3 , r = 5 cm a ≧ 10 mm similar analysis can be done for the case of two dissimilar loops . for example , in some embodiments , the device under consideration is very specific ( e . g . a laptop or a cell phone ), so the dimensions of the device object ( r d , h d , a d , n d ) are very restricted . however , in some such embodiments , the restrictions on the source object ( r s , h s , a s , n s ) are much less , since the source can , for example , be placed under the floor or on the ceiling . in such cases , the desired distance is often well defined , based on the application ( e . g . d ˜ 1 m for charging a laptop on a table wirelessly from the floor ). listed below are examples ( simplified to the case n s = n d = 1 and h s = h d = 0 ) of how one can vary the dimensions of the source object to achieve the desired system performance in terms of κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}, when the material is again copper ( σ = 5 . 998 · 10 7 s / m ): d / r = 1 . 5 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 15 , r d = 30 cm , a d = 6 mm r s = 1 . 158 m , a s ≧ 5 mm d / r = 1 . 5 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 30 , r d = 30 cm , a d = 6 mm r s = 1 . 15 m , a s ≧ 33 mm d / r = 1 . 5 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 1 , r d = 5 cm , a d = 4 mm r s = 1 . 119 m , a s ≧ 7 mm d / r = 1 . 5 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 2 , r d = 5 cm , a d = 4 mm r s = 1 . 119 m , a s ≧ 52 mm d / r = 2 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 10 , r d = 30 cm , a d = 6 mm r s = 1 . 518 m , a s ≧ 7 mm d / r = 2 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 20 , r d = 30 cm , a d = 6 mm r s = 1 . 518 m , a s ≧ 50 mm d / r = 2 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 0 . 5 , r d = 5 cm , a d = 4 mm r s = 1 . 491 m , a s ≧ 5 mm d / r = 2 m , κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )}≧ 0 . 5 , r d = 5 cm , a d = 4 mm r s = 1 . 491 m , a s ≧ 36 mm as will be described below , in some embodiments the quality factor q of the resonant objects is limited from external perturbations and thus varying the coil parameters cannot lead to improvement in q . in such cases , one may opt to increase the coupling to loss ratio figure - of - merit by decreasing q κ ( i . e . increasing the coupling ). the coupling does not depend on the frequency and the number of turns . therefore , the remaining degrees of freedom are : increase the wire radii a l and a 2 . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . for fixed desired distance d of energy transfer , increase the radii of the coils r 1 and r 2 . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . for fixed desired distance vs . coil - sizes ratio d /√{ square root over ( r 1 r 2 )}, only the weak ( logarithmic ) dependence of the inductance remains , which suggests that one should decrease the radii of the coils r 1 and r 2 . in typical embodiments , this action is limited by physical size considerations . adjust the alignment and orientation between the two coils . in typical embodiments , the coupling is optimized when both cylindrical coils have exactly the same axis of cylindrical symmetry ( namely they are “ facing ” each other ). particular mutual coil angles and orientations that lead to zero mutual inductance ( such as the orientation where the axes of the two coils are perpendicular ) should obviously be avoided . finally , note that the heights of the coils h 1 and h 2 are other available design parameters , which have an impact to the coupling similar to that of their radii r 1 and r 2 , and thus the design rules are similar . further practical considerations apart from efficiency , e . g . physical size limitations , will be discussed in detail below . it is also important to appreciate the difference between the above described resonant - coupling inductive scheme and the well - known non - resonant inductive scheme for energy transfer . using cmt it is easy to show that , keeping the geometry and the energy stored at the source fixed , the resonant inductive mechanism allows for ˜ q 2 (˜ 10 6 ) times more power delivered for work at the device than the traditional non - resonant mechanism . this is why only close - range contact - less medium - power (˜ w ) transfer is possible with the latter , while with resonance either close - range but large - power (˜ kw ) transfer is allowed or , as currently proposed , if one also ensures operation in the strongly - coupled regime , medium - range and medium - power transfer is possible . capacitively - loaded conducting loops are currently used as resonant antennas ( for example in cell phones ), but those operate in the far - field regime with d / r 1 , r / λ ˜ 1 , and the radiation q &# 39 ; s are intentionally designed to be small to make the antenna efficient , so they are not appropriate for energy transfer . a straight conducting rod of length 2h and cross - sectional radius a has distributed capacitance and distributed inductance , and therefore it supports a resonant mode of angular frequency ω . using the same procedure as in the case of self - resonant coils , one can define an effective total inductance l and an effective total capacitance c of the rod through formulas ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). with these definitions , the resonant angular frequency and the effective impedance are given again by the common formulas ω = 1 /√{ square root over ( lc )} and z =√{ square root over ( l / c )} respectively . to calculate the total inductance and capacitance , one can assume again a sinusoidal current profile along the length of the conducting wire . when interested in the lowest mode , if we denote by x the coordinate along the conductor , such that it runs from − h to + h , then the current amplitude profile would have the form i ( x )= i o cos ( πx / 2h ), since it has to be zero at the open ends of the rod . this is the well - known half - wavelength electric dipole resonant mode . in some embodiments , one or more of the resonant objects are inductively - loaded conducting rods . a straight conducting rod of length 2h and cross - sectional radius a , as in the previous paragraph , is cut into two equal pieces of length h , which are connected via a coil wrapped around a magnetic material of relative permeability μ , and everything is surrounded by air . the coil has an inductance l c , which is added to the distributed inductance of the rod and thus modifies its resonance . note however , that the presence of the center - loading inductor modifies significantly the current distribution inside the wire and therefore the total effective inductance l and total effective capacitance c of the rod are different respectively from l s and c s , which are calculated for a self - resonant rod of the same total length using a sinusoidal current profile , as in the previous paragraph . since some current is running inside the coil of the external loading inductor , the current distribution j inside the rod is reduced , so l & lt ; l s , and thus , from the charge conservation equation , the linear charge distribution ρ 1 flattens out towards the center ( being positive in one side of the rod and negative in the other side of the rod , changing abruptly through the inductor ), so c & gt ; c s . the resonant frequency for this system is ω = 1 /√{ square root over (( l + l c ) c )}& lt ; ω s = 1 /√{ square root over ( l s c s )}, and i ( x )→ i o cos ( πx / 2h ) l → l s ω → ω s , as l c → 0 . in general , the desired cmt parameters can be found for this system , but again a very complicated solution of maxwell &# 39 ; s equations is required . instead , we will analyze only a special case , where a reasonable guess for the current distribution can be made . when l c & gt ;& gt ; l s & gt ; l , then ω ≈ 1 /√{ square root over ( l c c )}& lt ;& lt ; ω s and z ≈√{ square root over ( l c / c )}& gt ;& gt ; z s , while the current distribution is triangular along the rod ( with maximum at the center - loading inductor and zero at the ends ) and thus the charge distribution is positive constant on one half of the rod and equally negative constant on the other side of the rod . this allows us now to compute numerically c from eq . ( 3 ). in this case , the integral in eq . ( 3 ) can actually be computed analytically , giving the formula 1 / c = 1 /( π ∈ o h )[ ln ( h / a )− 1 ]. explicit analytical formulas are again available for r from eq . ( 4 ) and ( 5 ), since i rms = i o , \| p \|= q o h and \| m \|= 0 ( namely only the electric - dipole term is contributing to radiation ), so we can determine also q abs 1 / ωcr abs and q rad = 1 / ωcr rad . at the end of the calculations , the validity of the assumption of triangular current profile is confirmed by checking that indeed the condition l c & gt ;& gt ; l s ω & lt ;& lt ; ω s is satisfied . this condition is relatively easily satisfied , since typically a conducting rod has very small self - inductance l s to begin with . another important loss factor in this case is the resistive loss inside the coil of the external loading inductor l c and it depends on the particular design of the inductor . in some embodiments , the inductor is made of a brooks coil , which is the coil geometry which , for fixed wire length , demonstrates the highest inductance and thus quality factor . the brooks coil geometry has n bc turns of conducting wire of cross - sectional radius a bc wrapped around a cylindrically symmetric coil former , which forms a coil with a square cross - section of side r bc , where the inner side of the square is also at radius r bc ( and thus the outer side of the square is at radius 2r bc ), therefore n bc ≈( r bc / 2a bc ) 2 . the inductance of the coil is then l c = 2 . 0285 μ o r bc n bc 2 2 . 0285 μ o r bc 5 / 8 a bc 4 and its resistance where the total wire length is l bc ≈ 2π ( 3r bc / 2 ) n bc ≈ 3πr bc 3 / 4 a bc 2 and we have used an approximate square - root law for the transition of the resistance from the dc to the ac limit as the skin depth varies with frequency . the external loading inductance l c provides the freedom to tune the resonant frequency . ( for example , for a brooks coil with a fixed size r bc , the resonant frequency can be reduced by increasing the number of turns n bc by decreasing the wire cross - sectional radius a bc . then the desired resonant angular frequency ω = 1 /√{ square root over ( l c c )} is achieved for a bc ≈( 2 . 0285 μ o r bc 5 ω 2 c ) 1 / 4 and the resulting coil quality factor is q c ≈ 0 . 169 μ o σr bc 2 ω /√{ square root over ( 1 + ω 2 μ o σ √{ square root over ( 2 . 0285 μ o ( r bc / 4 ) 5 c )})}). then , for the particular simple case l c & gt ;& gt ; l s , for which we have analytical formulas , the total q = 1ωc ( r c + r abs + r rad ) becomes highest at some optimal frequency { tilde over ( ω )}, reaching the value { tilde over ( q )}, both determined by the loading - inductor specific design . ( for example , for the brooks - coil procedure described above , at the optimal frequency { tilde over ( q )}≈ q c ≈ 0 . 8 ( μ o σ 2 r bc 3 / c ) 1 / 4 ) at lower frequencies it is dominated by ohmic loss inside the inductor coil and at higher frequencies by radiation . note , again , that the above formulas are accurate as long as { tilde over ( ω )}& lt ;& lt ; ω s and , as explained above , this is easy to design for by using a large inductance . the results of the above analysis for two embodiments , using brooks coils , of subwavelength modes of λ / h ≧ 200 ( namely highly suitable for near - field coupling and well within the quasi - static limit ) at the optimal frequency { tilde over ( ω )} are presented in table 5 . table 5 shows in parentheses ( for similarity to previous tables ) analytical results for the wavelength and absorption , radiation and total loss rates , for two different cases of subwavelength - loop resonant modes . note that for conducting material copper ( σ = 5 . 998 · 10 7 s / m ) was used . the results show that , in some embodiments , the optimal frequency is in the low - mhz microwave range and the expected quality factors are q abs ≧ 1000 and q rad ≧ 100000 . in some embodiments , energy is transferred between two inductively - loaded rods . for the rate of energy transfer between two inductively - loaded rods 1 and 2 at distance d between their centers , the mutual capacitance m c can be evaluated numerically from eq . ( 6 ) by using triangular current distributions in the case ω & lt ;& lt ; ω s . in this case , the coupling is only electric and again we have an analytical formula , which , in the quasi - static limit h d λ and for the relative orientation such that the two rods are aligned on the same axis , is 1 / m c ≈ ½π ∈ o ·( h 1 h 2 ) 2 / d 3 , which means that q κ ∝( d /√{ square root over ( h 1 h 2 )}) 3 is independent of the frequency ω . consequently , one can get the resultant coupling figure - of - merit of interest it can be seen that the optimal frequency { tilde over ( ω )}, where the figure - of - merit is maximized to the value (√{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ ), is that where √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )} is maximized , since q κ does not depend on frequency ( at least for the distances d λ of interest for which the quasi - static approximation is still valid ). therefore , the optimal frequency is independent of the distance d between the two rods and lies between the two frequencies where the single - rod q 1 and q 2 peak . typically , one should tune the inductively - loaded conducting rods , so that their angular eigenfrequencies are close to { tilde over ( ω )} within { tilde over ( γ )}, which is half the angular frequency width for which √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ & gt ; (√{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ ) / 2 . referring to table 6 , in parentheses ( for similarity to previous tables ) analytical results based on the above are shown for two systems each composed of a matched pair of the loaded rods described in table 5 . the average wavelength and loss rates are shown along with the coupling rate and coupling to loss ratio figure - of - merit κ / γ as a function of the coupling distance d , for the two cases . note that for γ rad the single - rod value is used . again we chose l c & gt ;& gt ; l s to make the triangular - current assumption a good one and computed m c numerically from eq . ( 6 ). the results show that for medium distances d / h = 10 − 3 the expected coupling - to - loss ratios are in the range κ / γ ˜ 0 . 5 - 100 . in some embodiments , one or more of the resonant objects are dielectric objects , such as disks . consider a two dimensional dielectric disk object , as shown in fig6 , of radius r and relative permittivity c surrounded by air that supports high - q “ whispering - gallery ” resonant modes . the loss mechanisms for the energy stored inside such a resonant system are radiation into free space and absorption inside the disk material . high - qrad and long - tailed subwavelength resonances can be achieved when the dielectric permittivity ∈ is large and the azimuthal field variations are slow ( namely of small principal number m ). material absorption is related to the material loss tangent : qabs ˜ re {∈}/ im {∈}. mode - solving calculations for this type of disk resonances were performed using two independent methods : numerically , 2d finite - difference frequency - domain ( fdfd ) simulations ( which solve maxwell &# 39 ; s equations in frequency domain exactly apart for spatial discretization ) were conducted with a resolution of 30 pts / r ; analytically , standard separation of variables ( sv ) in polar coordinates was used . the results for two te - polarized dielectric - disk subwavelength modes of λ / r ≧ 10 are presented in table 7 . table 7 shows numerical fdfd ( and in parentheses analytical sv ) results for the wavelength and absorption , radiation and total loss rates , for two different cases of subwavelength - disk resonant modes . note that disk - material loss - tangent im {∈}/ re {∈}= 10 − 4 was used . ( the specific parameters corresponding to the plot in fig6 . are highlighted with bold in the table .) the two methods have excellent agreement and imply that for a properly designed resonant low - loss - dielectric object values of qrad ≧ 2000 and qabs ˜ 10000 are achievable . note that for the 3d case the computational complexity would be immensely increased , while the physics would not be significantly different . for example , a spherical object of ∈= 147 . 7 has a whispering gallery mode with m = 2 , qrad = 13962 , and λ / r = 17 . the required values of c , shown in table 7 , might at first seem unrealistically large . however , not only are there in the microwave regime ( appropriate for approximately meter - range coupling applications ) many materials that have both reasonably high enough dielectric constants and low losses ( e . g . titania , barium tetratitanate , lithium tantalite etc . ), but also c could signify instead the effective index of other known subwavelength surface - wave systems , such as surface modes on surfaces of metallic materials or plasmonic ( metal - like , negative -∈) materials or metallo - dielectric photonic crystals or plasmono - dielectric photonic crystals . to calculate now the achievable rate of energy transfer between two disks 1 and 2 , as shown in fig7 we place them at distance d between their centers . numerically , the fdfd mode - solver simulations give κ through the frequency splitting (= 2κ ) of the normal modes of the combined system , which are even and odd superpositions of the initial single - disk modes ; analytically , using the expressions for the separation - of - variables eigenfields e 1 , 2 ( r ) cmt gives κ through κ = ω 1 / 2 ·∫ d 3 r ∈ 2 ( r ) e * 2 ( r ) e 1 ( r )/∫ d 3 r ∈( r )\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 where ∈ j ( r ) and ∈( r ) are the dielectric functions that describe only the disk j ( minus the constant ∈ 0 background ) and the whole space respectively . then , for medium distances d / r = 10 − 3 and for non - radiative coupling such that d & lt ; 2r c , where r c = mλ / 2π is the radius of the radiation caustic , the two methods agree very well , and we finally find , as shown in table 8 , coupling - to - loss ratios in the range κ / γ ˜ 1 - 50 . thus , for the analyzed embodiments , the achieved figure - of - merit values are large enough to be useful for typical applications , as discussed below . note that even though particular embodiments are presented and analyzed above as examples of systems that use resonant electromagnetic coupling for wireless energy transfer , those of self - resonant conducting coils , capacitively - loaded resonant conducting coils and resonant dielectric disks , any system that supports an electromagnetic mode with its electromagnetic energy extending much further than its size can be used for transferring energy . for example , there can be many abstract geometries with distributed capacitances and inductances that support the desired kind of resonances . in any one of these geometries , one can choose certain parameters to increase and / or optimize √{ square root over ( q 1 q 2 )}/ q κ or , if the q &# 39 ; s are limited by external factors , to increase and / or optimize for q κ . in general , the overall performance of particular embodiment of the resonance - based wireless energy - transfer scheme depends strongly on the robustness of the resonant objects &# 39 ; resonances . therefore , it is desirable to analyze the resonant objects &# 39 ; sensitivity to the near presence of random non - resonant extraneous objects . one appropriate analytical model is that of “ perturbation theory ” ( pt ), which suggests that in the presence of an extraneous object e the field amplitude a 1 ( t ) inside the resonant object 1 satisfies , to first order : where again ω 1 is the frequency and γ 1 the intrinsic ( absorption , radiation etc .) loss rate , while κ 11 - e is the frequency shift induced onto 1 due to the presence of e and γ 1 - e is the extrinsic due to e ( absorption inside e , scattering from e etc .) loss rate . the first - order pt model is valid only for small perturbations . nevertheless , the parameters , κ 11 - e , γ 1 - e are well defined , even outside that regime , if a 1 is taken to be the amplitude of the exact perturbed mode . note also that interference effects between the radiation field of the initial resonant - object mode and the field scattered off the extraneous object can for strong scattering ( e . g . off metallic objects ) result in total radiation - γ 1 - e &# 39 ; s that are smaller than the initial radiation - γ 1 ( namely γ 1 - e is negative ). the frequency shift is a problem that can be “ fixed ” by applying to one or more resonant objects a feedback mechanism that corrects its frequency . for example , referring to fig8 a , in some embodiments each resonant object is provided with an oscillator at fixed frequency and a monitor which determines the frequency of the object . both the oscillator and the monitor are coupled to a frequency adjuster which can adjust the frequency of the resonant object by , for example , adjusting the geometric properties of the object ( e . g . the height of a self - resonant coil , the capacitor plate spacing of a capacitively - loaded loop or coil , the dimensions of the inductor of an inductively - loaded rod , the shape of a dielectric disc , etc .) or changing the position of a non - resonant object in the vicinity of the resonant object . the frequency adjuster determines the difference between the fixed frequency and the object frequency and acts to bring the object frequency into alignment with the fixed frequency . this technique assures that all resonant objects operate at the same fixed frequency , even in the presence of extraneous objects . as another example , referring to fig8 b , in some embodiments , during energy transfer from a source object to a device object , the device object provides energy to a load , and an efficiency monitor measures the efficiency of the transfer . a frequency adjuster coupled to the load and the efficiency monitor acts to adjust the frequency of the object to maximize the transfer efficiency . in various embodiments , other frequency adjusting schemes may be used which rely on information exchange between the resonant objects . for example , the frequency of a source object can be monitored and transmitted to a device object , which is in turn synched to this frequency using frequency adjusters as described above . in other embodiments the frequency of a single clock may be transmitted to multiple devices , and each device then synched to that frequency . unlike the frequency shift , the extrinsic loss can be detrimental to the functionality of the energy - transfer scheme , because it is difficult to remedy , so the total loss rate γ 1 [ e ] = γ 1 + γ 1 - e ( and the corresponding figure - of - merit κ [ e ] √{ square root over ( γ 1 [ e ] γ 2 [ e ] )}, where κ [ e ] the perturbed coupling rate ) should be quantified . in embodiments using primarily magnetic resonances , the influence of extraneous objects on the resonances is nearly absent . the reason is that , in the quasi - static regime of operation ( r λ ) that we are considering , the near field in the air region surrounding the resonator is predominantly magnetic ( e . g . for coils with h & lt ;& lt ; 2r most of the electric field is localized within the self - capacitance of the coil or the externally loading capacitor ), therefore extraneous non - conducting objects e that could interact with this field and act as a perturbation to the resonance are those having significant magnetic properties ( magnetic permeability re { μ }& gt ; 1 or magnetic loss im { μ }& gt ; 0 ). since almost all every - day non - conducting materials are non - magnetic but just dielectric , they respond to magnetic fields in the same way as free space , and thus will not disturb the resonance of the resonator . extraneous conducting materials can however lead to some extrinsic losses due to the eddy currents induced on their surface . as noted above , an extremely important implication of this fact relates to safety considerations for human beings . humans are also non - magnetic and can sustain strong magnetic fields without undergoing any risk . a typical example , where magnetic fields b ˜ 1 t are safely used on humans , is the magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) technique for medical testing . in contrast , the magnetic near - field required in typical embodiments in order to provide a few watts of power to devices is only b - 10 − 4 t , which is actually comparable to the magnitude of the earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field . since , as explained above , a strong electric near - field is also not present and the radiation produced from this non - radiative scheme is minimal , it is reasonable to expect that our proposed energy - transfer method should be safe for living organisms . one can , for example , estimate the degree to which the resonant system of a capacitively - loaded conducting - wire coil has mostly magnetic energy stored in the space surrounding it . if one ignores the fringing electric field from the capacitor , the electric and magnetic energy densities in the space surrounding the coil come just from the electric and magnetic field produced by the current in the wire ; note that in the far field , these two energy densities must be equal , as is always the case for radiative fields . by using the results for the fields produced by a subwavelength ( r & lt ;& lt ; 2 ) current loop ( magnetic dipole ) with h = 0 , we can calculate the ratio of electric to magnetic energy densities , as a function of distance d p from the center of the loop ( in the limit r & lt ;& lt ; d p ) and the angle θ with respect to the loop axis : where the second line is the ratio of averages over all angles by integrating the electric and magnetic energy densities over the surface of a sphere of radius d p . from eq . ( 12 ) it is obvious that indeed for all angles in the near field ( x & lt ;& lt ; 1 ) the magnetic energy density is dominant , while in the far field ( x & gt ;& gt ; 1 ) they are equal as they should be . also , the preferred positioning of the loop is such that objects which may interfere with its resonance lie close to its axis ( θ = 0 ), where there is no electric field . for example , using the systems described in table 4 , we can estimate from eq . ( 12 ) that for the loop of r = 30 cm at a distance d p = 10r = 3 m the ratio of average electric to average magnetic energy density would be ˜ 12 % and at d p = 3r = 90 cm it would be ˜ 1 %, and for the loop of r = 10 cm at a distance d p = 10r = 1 m the ratio would be ˜ 33 % and at d p = 3r = 30 cm it would be ˜ 2 . 5 %. at closer distances this ratio is even smaller and thus the energy is predominantly magnetic in the near field , while in the radiative far field , where they are necessarily of the same order ( ratio → 1 ), both are very small , because the fields have significantly decayed , as capacitively - loaded coil systems are designed to radiate very little . therefore , this is the criterion that qualifies this class of resonant system as a magnetic resonant system . to provide an estimate of the effect of extraneous objects on the resonance of a capacitively - loaded loop including the capacitor fringing electric field , we use the perturbation theory formula , stated earlier , γ 1 - e abs = ω 1 / 4 ·∫ d 3 rim {∈ e ( r )}\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 / u with the computational fefd results for the field of an example like the one shown in the plot of fig5 and with a rectangular object of dimensions 30 cm × 30 cm × 1 . 5 m and permittivity ∈= 49 + 16i ( consistent with human muscles ) residing between the loops and almost standing on top of one capacitor (˜ 3 cm away from it ) and find q c - h abs ˜ 10 5 and for ˜ 10 cm away q c - h abs ˜ 5 · 10 5 . thus , for ordinary distances (˜ 1 m ) and placements ( not immediately on top of the capacitor ) or for most ordinary extraneous objects e of much smaller loss - tangent , we conclude that it is indeed fair to say that q c - e abs →∞. the only perturbation that is expected to affect these resonances is a close proximity of large metallic structures . self - resonant coils are more sensitive than capacitively - loaded coils , since for the former the electric field extends over a much larger region in space ( the entire , coil ) rather than for the latter ( just inside the capacitor ). on the other hand , self - resonant coils are simple to make and can withstand much larger voltages than most lumped capacitors . in general , different embodiments of resonant systems have different degree of sensitivity to external perturbations , and the resonant system of choice depends on the particular application at hand , and how important matters of sensitivity or safety are for that application . for example , for a medical implantable device ( such as a wirelessly powered artificial heart ) the electric field extent must be minimized to the highest degree possible to protect the tissue surrounding the device . in such cases where sensitivity to external objects or safety is important , one should design the resonant systems so that the ratio of electric to magnetic energy density u e / u m is reduced or minimized at most of the desired ( according to the application ) points in the surrounding space . in embodiments using resonances that are not primarily magnetic , the influence of extraneous objects may be of concern . for example , for dielectric disks , small , low - index , low - material - loss or far - away stray objects will induce small scattering and absorption . in such cases of small perturbations these extrinsic loss mechanisms can be quantified using respectively the analytical first - order perturbation theory formulas all perturbations γ 1 - e rad = ω 1 ∫ d 3 rre {∈ e ( r )}\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 / u γ 1 - e abs = ω 1 / 4 ·∫ d 3 rim {∈ e ( r )}\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 / u where u = ½ ∫ d 3 r ∈( r )\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 is the total resonant electromagnetic energy of the unperturbed mode . as one can see , both of these losses depend on the square of the resonant electric field tails e 1 at the site of the extraneous object . in contrast , the coupling rate from object 1 to another resonant object 2 is , as stated earlier , κ = ω 1 / 2 ·∫ d 3 r ∈ 2 ( r ) e * 2 ( r ) e 1 ( r )/∫ d 3 r ∈( r )\| e 1 ( r )\| 2 and depends linearly on the field tails e 1 of 1 inside 2 . this difference in scaling gives us confidence that , for , for example , exponentially small field tails , coupling to other resonant objects should be much faster than all extrinsic loss rates ( κ & gt ;& gt ; γ 1 - e ), at least for small perturbations , and thus the energy - transfer scheme is expected to be sturdy for this class of resonant dielectric disks . however , we also want to examine certain possible situations where extraneous objects cause perturbations too strong to analyze using the above first - order perturbation theory approach . for example , we place a dielectric disk c close to another off - resonance object of large re {∈}, im {∈} and of same size but different shape ( such as a human being h ), as shown in fig9 a , and a roughened surface of large extent but of small re {∈}, im {∈} ( such as a wall w ), as shown in fig9 b . for distances dh / w / r = 10 − 3 between the disk - center and the “ human ”- center or “ wall ”, the numerical fdfd simulation results presented in fig9 a and 9 b suggest that , the disk resonance seems to be fairly robust , since it is not detrimentally disturbed by the presence of extraneous objects , with the exception of the very close proximity of high - loss objects . to examine the influence of large perturbations on an entire energy - transfer system we consider two resonant disks in the close presence of both a “ human ” and a “ wall ”. comparing fig7 to fig9 c , the numerical fdfd simulations show that the system performance deteriorates from κ / γ c ˜ 1 - 50 to κ [ hw ]/ γ c [ hw ] ˜ 0 . 5 - 10 i . e . only by acceptably small amounts . inductively - loaded conducting rods may also be more sensitive than capacitively - loaded coils , since they rely on the electric field to achieve the coupling . in general , another important factor for any energy transfer scheme is the transfer efficiency . consider again the combined system of a resonant source s and device d in the presence of a set of extraneous objects e . the efficiency of this resonance - based energy - transfer scheme may be determined , when energy is being drained from the device at rate γ work for use into operational work . the coupled - mode - theory equation for the device field - amplitude is where γ d [ e ] = γ d [ e ] rad + γ d [ e ] abs = γ d [ e ] rad +( γ d abs + γ d - e abs ) is the net perturbed - device loss rate , and similarly we define γ s [ e ] for the perturbed - source . different temporal schemes can be used to extract power from the device ( e . g . steady - state continuous - wave drainage , instantaneous drainage at periodic times and so on ) and their efficiencies exhibit different dependence on the combined system parameters . for simplicity , we assume steady state , such that the field amplitude inside the source is maintained constant , namely a s ( t )= a s e − iωt , so then the field amplitude inside the device is a d ( t )= a d e − iωt with a d / a s = iκ [ e ] /( γ d [ e ] + γ work ). the various time - averaged powers of interest are then : the useful extracted power is p work = 2γ work \| a d \| 2 , the radiated ( including scattered ) power is p rad = 2γ s [ e ] rad \| a s \| 2 + 2γ d [ e ] rad \| a d \| 2 , the power absorbed at the source / device is p s / d = 2γ s / d abs \| a s / d \| 2 , and at the extraneous objects p e = 2γ s - e abs \| a s \| 2 + 2γ d - e abs \| a d \| 2 . from energy conservation , the total time - averaged power entering the system is p total = p work + p rad + p s + p d + p c . note that the reactive powers , which are usually present in a system and circulate stored energy around it , cancel at resonance ( which can be proven for example in electromagnetism from poynting &# 39 ; s theorem ) and do not influence the power - balance calculations . the working efficiency is then : where fom [ e ] = κ [ e ] /√{ square root over ( γ s [ e ] γ d [ e ] )} is the distance - dependent figure - of - merit of the perturbed resonant energy - exchange system . to derive eq . ( 14 ), we have assumed that the rate γ supply , at which the power supply is feeding energy to the resonant source , is such that there are zero reflections of the fed γ supply = γ s [ e ] + κ 2 /( γ d [ e ] + γ work ), power p total back into the power supply . referring to fig1 , to rederive and express this formula ( 14 ) in terms of the parameters which are more directly accessible from particular resonant objects , e . g . the capacitively - loaded conducting loops , one can consider the following circuit - model of the system , where the inductances l s , l d represent the source and device loops respectively , r s , r d their respective losses , and c s , c d are the required corresponding capacitances to achieve for both resonance at frequency ω . a voltage generator v g is considered to be connected to the source and a work ( load ) resistance r w to the device . the mutual inductance is denoted by m . then from the source circuit at resonance ( ωl s = 1 / ωc s ): and from the device circuit at resonance ( ωl d = 1 / ωc d ): 0 = i d ( r d + r w )− jωmi s jωmi s = i d ( r d + r w ) now we take the real part ( time - averaged powers ) to find the efficiency : which with γ work = r w / 2l d , γ d = r d / 2l d , γ s = r s / 2l s , and κ = ωm / 2 √{ square root over ( l s l d )}, becomes the general eq . ( 14 ). from eq . ( 14 ) one can find that the efficiency is optimized in terms of the chosen work - drainage rate , when this is chosen to be γ work / γ d [ e ] = γ supply / γ s [ e ] =√{ square root over ( 1 + fom [ c ] 2 )}& gt ; 1 . then , η work is a function of the fom [ e ] parameter only as shown in fig1 with a solid black line . one can see that the efficiency of the system is η & gt ; 17 % for fom [ e ] & gt ; 1 , large enough for practical applications . thus , the efficiency can be further increased towards 100 % by optimizing fom [ e ] as described above . the ratio of conversion into radiation loss depends also on the other system parameters , and is plotted in fig5 for the conducting loops with values for their parameters within the ranges determined earlier . for example , consider the capacitively - loaded coil embodiments described in table 4 , with coupling distance d / r = 7 , a “ human ” extraneous object at distance d h from the source , and that p work = 10 w must be delivered to the load . then , we have ( based on fig1 ) q s [ h ] rad = q d [ h ] rad ˜ 10 4 , q s abs = q d abs ˜ 10 3 , q κ ˜ 500 , and q d - h abs →∞, q s - h abs ˜ 10 5 at d h ˜ 3 cm and q s - h abs ˜ 5 · 10 5 at d h ˜ 10 cm . therefore fom [ h ] ˜ 2 , so we find η ≈ 38 %, p rad ≈ 1 . 5 w , p s ≈ 11 w , p d ≈ 4 w , and most importantly η h ≈ 0 . 4 %, p h = 0 . 1 w at d h ˜ 3 cm and η h ≈ 0 . 1 %, p h = 0 . 02 w at d h ˜ 10 cm . in many cases , the dimensions of the resonant objects will be set by the particular application at hand . for example , when this application is powering a laptop or a cell - phone , the device resonant object cannot have dimensions larger that those of the laptop or cell - phone respectively . in particular , for a system of two loops of specified dimensions , in terms of loop radii r s , d and wire radii a s , d , the independent parameters left to adjust for the system optimization are : the number of turns n s , d , the frequency f , the work - extraction rate ( load resistance ) γ work and the power - supply feeding rate γ supply . in general , in various embodiments , the primary dependent variable that one wants to increase or optimize is the overall efficiency η . however , other important variables need to be taken into consideration upon system design . for example , in embodiments featuring capacitively - loaded coils , the design may be constrained by , for example , the currents flowing inside the wires i s , d and the voltages across the capacitors v s , d . these limitations can be important because for ˜ watt power applications the values for these parameters can be too large for the wires or the capacitors respectively to handle . furthermore , the total loaded q tot = ωl d /( r d + r w ) of the device is a quantity that should be preferably small , because to match the source and device resonant frequencies to within their q &# 39 ; s , when those are very large , can be challenging experimentally and more sensitive to slight variations . lastly , the radiated powers p rad , s , d should be minimized for safety concerns , even though , in general , for a magnetic , non - radiative scheme they are already typically small . in the following , we examine then the effects of each one of the independent variables on the dependent ones . we define a new variable wp to express the work - drainage rate for some particular value of fom [ d ] through γ work / γ d [ c ] =√{ square root over ( 1 + wp · fom [ e ] 2 )}. then , in some embodiments , values which impact the choice of this rate are : γ work / γ d [ e ] = 1 wp = 0 to minimize the required energy stored in the source ( and therefore i s and v s ), γ work / γ d [ e ] =√{ square root over ( 1 + fom [ c ] 2 )}& gt ; 1 wp = 1 to increase the efficiency , as seen earlier , or γ work / γ d [ e ] & gt ;& gt ; 1 wp & gt ;& gt ; 1 to decrease the required energy stored in the device ( and therefore i d and v d ) and to decrease or minimize q tot = ωl d /( r d + r w )= ω /[ 2 ( γ d + γ work )]. similar is the impact of the choice of the power supply feeding rate γ supply , with the roles of the source and the device reversed . increasing n s and n d increases κ /√{ square root over ( γ s γ d )} and thus efficiency significantly , as seen before , and also decreases the currents i s and i d , because the inductance of the loops increases , and thus the energy required for given output power p work can be achieved with smaller currents . however , increasing n d increases q tot , p rad , d and the voltage across the device capacitance v d , which unfortunately ends up being , in typical embodiments one of the greatest limiting factors of the system . to explain this , note that it is the electric field that really induces breakdown of the capacitor material ( e . g . 3 kv / mm for air ) and not the voltage , and that for the desired ( close to the optimal ) operational frequency , the increased inductance l d implies reduced required capacitance c d , which could be achieved in principle , for a capacitively - loaded device coil by increasing the spacing of the device capacitor plates d d and for a self - resonant coil by increasing through h d the spacing of adjacent turns , resulting in an electric field (≈ v d / d d for the former case ) that actually decreases with n d ; however , one cannot in reality increase d d or h d too much , because then the undesired capacitance fringing electric fields would become very large and / or the size of the coil might become too large ; and , in any case , for certain applications extremely high voltages are not desired . a similar increasing behavior is observed for the source p rad , s and v s upon increasing n s . as a conclusion , the number of turns n s and n d have to be chosen the largest possible ( for efficiency ) that allow for reasonable voltages , fringing electric fields and physical sizes . with respect to frequency , again , there is an optimal one for efficiency , and q tot is approximately maximum , close to that optimal frequency . for lower frequencies the currents get worse ( larger ) but the voltages and radiated powers get better ( smaller ). usually , one should pick either the optimal frequency or somewhat lower . one way to decide on an operating regime for the system is based on a graphical method . in fig1 , for two loops of r s = 25 cm , r d = 15 cm , h s = h d = 0 , a s = a d = 3 mm and distance d = 2 m between them , we plot all the above dependent variables ( currents , voltages and radiated powers normalized to 1 watt of output power ) in terms of frequency and n d , given some choice for wp and n s . the figure depicts all of the dependencies explained above . we can also make a contour plot of the dependent variables as functions of both frequency and wp but for both n s and n d fixed . the results are shown in fig1 for the same loop dimensions and distance . for example , a reasonable choice of parameters for the system of two loops with the dimensions given above are : n s = 2 , n d = 6 , f = 10 mhz and wp = 10 , which gives the following performance characteristics : η work = 20 . 6 %, q tot = 1264 , i s = 7 . 2 a , i d = 1 . 4 a , v s = 2 . 55 kv , v d = 2 . 30 kv , p rad , s = 0 . 15 w , p rad , d = 0 . 006 w . note that the results in fig1 and 13 , and the just above calculated performance characteristics are made using the analytical formulas provided above , so they are expected to be less accurate for large values of n s n d , still they give a good estimate of the scalings and the orders of magnitude . finally , one could additionally optimize for the source dimensions , since usually only the device dimensions are limited , as discussed earlier . namely , one can add r s and a s in the set of independent variables and optimize with respect to these too for all the dependent variables of the problem ( we saw how to do this only for efficiency earlier ). such an optimization would lead to improved results . an experimental realization of an embodiment of the above described scheme for wireless energy transfer consists of two self - resonant coils of the type described above , one of which ( the source coil ) is coupled inductively to an oscillating circuit , and the second ( the device coil ) is coupled inductively to a resistive load , as shown schematically in fig1 . referring to fig1 , a is a single copper loop of radius 25 cm that is part of the driving circuit , which outputs a sine wave with frequency 9 . 9 mhz . s and d are respectively the source and device coils referred to in the text . b is a loop of wire attached to the load (“ light - bulb ”). the various κ &# 39 ; s represent direct couplings between the objects . the angle between coil d and the loop a is adjusted so that their direct coupling is zero , while coils s and d are aligned coaxially . the direct coupling between b and a and between b and s is negligible . the parameters for the two identical helical coils built for the experimental validation of the power transfer scheme were h = 20 cm , a = 3 mm , r = 30 cm , n = 5 . 25 . both coils are made of copper . due to imperfections in the construction , the spacing between loops of the helix is not uniform , and we have encapsulated the uncertainty about their uniformity by attributing a 10 % ( 2 cm ) uncertainty to h . the expected resonant frequency given these dimensions is f 0 = 10 . 56 ± 0 . 3 mhz , which is about 5 % off from the measured resonance at around 9 . 90 mhz . the theoretical q for the loops is estimated to be ˜ 2500 ( assuming perfect copper of resistivity ρ = 1 / σ = 1 . 7 × 10 − 8 ωm ) but the measured value is 950 ± 50 . we believe the discrepancy is mostly due to the effect of the layer of poorly conducting copper oxide on the surface of the copper wire , to which the current is confined by the short skin depth (˜ 20 μm ) at this frequency . we have therefore used the experimentally observed q ( and γ 1 = γ 2 = γ = ω /( 2q ) derived from it ) in all subsequent computations . the coupling coefficient κ can be found experimentally by placing the two self - resonant coils ( fine - tuned , by slightly adjusting h , to the same resonant frequency when isolated ) a distance d apart and measuring the splitting in the frequencies of the two resonant modes in the transmission spectrum . according to coupled - mode theory , the splitting in the transmission spectrum should be δω = 2 √{ square root over ( κ 2 − γ 2 )}. the comparison between experimental and theoretical results as a function of distance when the two the coils are aligned coaxially is shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a comparison of experimental and theoretical values for the parameter κ / γ as a function of the separation between the two coils . the theory values are obtained by using the theoretically obtained κ and the experimentally measured γ . the shaded area represents the spread in the theoretical κ / γ due to the ˜ 5 % uncertainty in q . as noted above , the maximum theoretical efficiency depends only on the parameter κ /√{ square root over ( γ 1 γ 2 )}= κ / γ , plotted as a function of distance in fig1 . the coupling to loss ratio κ / γ is greater than 1 even for d = 2 . 4 m ( eight times the radius of the coils ), thus the system is in the strongly - coupled regime throughout the entire range of distances probed . the power supply circuit was a standard colpitts oscillator coupled inductively to the source coil by means of a single loop of copper wire 25 cm in radius ( see fig1 ). the load consisted of a previously calibrated light - bulb , and was attached to its own loop of insulated wire , which was in turn placed in proximity of the device coil and inductively coupled to it . thus , by varying the distance between the light - bulb and the device coil , the parameter γ work / γ was adjusted so that it matched its optimal value , given theoretically by √{ square root over ( 1 + κ 2 /( γ 1 γ 2 ))}. because of its inductive nature , the loop connected to the light - bulb added a small reactive component to γ work which was compensated for by slightly retuning the coil . the work extracted was determined by adjusting the power going into the colpitts oscillator until the light - bulb at the load was at its full nominal brightness . in order to isolate the efficiency of the transfer taking place specifically between the source coil and the load , we measured the current at the mid - point of each of the self - resonant coils with a current - probe ( which was not found to lower the q of the coils noticeably .) this gave a measurement of the current parameters i 1 and i 2 defined above . the power dissipated in each coil was then computed from p 1 , 2 = γl \| i 1 \| 2 , and the efficiency was directly obtained from η = p work /( p 1 + p 2 + p work ). to ensure that the experimental setup was well described by a two - object coupled - mode theory model , we positioned the device coil such that its direct coupling to the copper loop attached to the colpitts oscillator was zero . the experimental results are shown in fig1 , along with the theoretical prediction for maximum efficiency , given by eq . ( 14 ). using this embodiment , we were able to transfer significant amounts of power using this setup , fully lighting up a 60 w light - bulb from distances more than 2 m away , for example . as an additional test , we also measured the total power going into the driving circuit . the efficiency of the wireless transfer itself was hard to estimate in this way , however , as the efficiency of the colpitts oscillator itself is not precisely known , although it is expected to be far from 100 %. nevertheless , this gave an overly conservative lower bound on the efficiency . when transferring 60 w to the load over a distance of 2 m , for example , the power flowing into the driving circuit was 400 w . this yields an overall wall - to - load efficiency of ˜ 15 %, which is reasonable given the expected ˜ 40 % efficiency for the wireless power transfer at that distance and the low efficiency of the driving circuit . from the theoretical treatment above , we see that in typical embodiments it is important that the coils be on resonance for the power transfer to be practical . we found experimentally that the power transmitted to the load dropped sharply as one of the coils was detuned from resonance . for a fractional detuning δf / f 0 of a few times the inverse loaded q , the induced current in the device coil was indistinguishable from noise . the power transfer was not found to be visibly affected as humans and various everyday objects , such as metallic and wooden furniture , as well as electronic devices large and small , were placed between the two coils , even when they drastically obstructed the line of sight between source and device . external objects were found to have an effect only when they were closer than 10 cm from either one of the coils . while some materials ( such as aluminum foil , styrofoam and humans ) mostly just shifted the resonant frequency , which could in principle be easily corrected with a feedback circuit of the type described earlier , others ( cardboard , wood , and pvc ) lowered q when placed closer than a few centimeters from the coil , thereby lowering the efficiency of the transfer . we believe that this method of power transfer should be safe for humans . when transferring 60 w ( more than enough to power a laptop computer ) across 2 m , we estimated that the magnitude of the magnetic field generated is much weaker than the earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field for all distances except for less than about 1 cm away from the wires in the coil , an indication of the safety of the scheme even after long - term use . the power radiated for these parameters was ˜ 5 w , which is roughly an order of magnitude higher than cell phones but could be drastically reduced , as discussed below . although the two coils are currently of identical dimensions , it is possible to make the device coil small enough to fit into portable devices without decreasing the efficiency . one could , for instance , maintain the product of the characteristic sizes of the source and device coils constant . these experiments demonstrated experimentally a system for power transfer over medium range distances , and found that the experimental results match theory well in multiple independent and mutually consistent tests . we believe that the efficiency of the scheme and the distances covered could be appreciably improved by silver - plating the coils , which should increase their q , or by working with more elaborate geometries for the resonant objects . nevertheless , the performance characteristics of the system presented here are already at levels where they could be useful in practical applications . in conclusion , we have described several embodiments of a resonance - based scheme for wireless non - radiative energy transfer . although our consideration has been for a static geometry ( namely κ and γ e were independent of time ), all the results can be applied directly for the dynamic geometries of mobile objects , since the energy - transfer time κ − 1 (˜ 1 μs − 1 ms for microwave applications ) is much shorter than any timescale associated with motions of macroscopic objects . analyses of very simple implementation geometries provide encouraging performance characteristics and further improvement is expected with serious design optimization . thus the proposed mechanism is promising for many modem applications . for example , in the macroscopic world , this scheme could potentially be used to deliver power to for example , robots and / or computers in a factory room , or electric buses on a highway . in some embodiments source - object could be an elongated “ pipe ” running above the highway , or along the ceiling . some embodiments of the wireless transfer scheme can provide energy to power or charge devices that are difficult or impossible to reach using wires or other techniques . for example some embodiments may provide power to implanted medical devices ( e . g . artificial hearts , pacemakers , medicine delivery pumps , etc .) or buried underground sensors . in the microscopic world , where much smaller wavelengths would be used and smaller powers are needed , one could use it to implement optical inter - connects for cmos electronics , or to transfer energy to autonomous nano - objects ( e . g . mems or nano - robots ) without worrying much about the relative alignment between the sources and the devices . furthermore , the range of applicability could be extended to acoustic systems , where the source and device are connected via a common condensed - matter object . in some embodiments , the techniques described above can provide non - radiative wireless transfer of information using the localized near fields of resonant object . such schemes provide increased security because no information is radiated into the far - field , and are well suited for mid - range communication of highly sensitive information . 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 .	7
sulindac forms salts with suitable therapeutically acceptable inorganic and organic bases . these derived salts possess the same activity as the parent acid and are included within the scope of this invention . the acid is transformed in excellent yield into the corresponding therapeutically acceptable salt by neutralization of said acid with the appropriate inorganic or organic base . the salts are administered in the same manner as the parent acid compound . suitable inorganic bases to form these salts include , for example , the hydroxides , carbonates , bicarbonates or alkoxides of the therapeutically acceptable alkali metals or alkaline earth metals , for example , sodium , potassium , magnesium , calcium and the like . suitable organic bases include the following amines ; benzylamine ; lower mono -, di - and trialkylamines , the alkyl radicals of which contain up to three carbon atoms , such as methylamine , dimethylamine , trimethylamine , ethylamine , di - and triethylamine , methylethylamine , and the like ; mono -, di - and trialkanolamines , the alkanol radicals of which contain up to three carbon atoms , for example , mono -, di - and triethanolamine ; alkylene - diamines which contain up to six carbon atoms , such as hexamethylenediamine ; cyclic saturated or unsaturated bases containing up to six carbon atoms , such as pyrrolidine , piperidine , morpholine , piperazine and their n - alkyl and n - hydroxylakyl derivatives , such as n - methyl - morpholine and n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- piperidine , as well as pyridine . furthermore , there may be mentioned the corresponding quaternary salts , such as the tetraalkyl ( for example tetramethyl ), alkyl - alkanol ( for example methyltriethanol and trimethyl - monoethanol ) and cyclic ammonium salts , for example the n - methylpyridinium , n - methyl - n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- morpholinium n , n - dimethylmorpholinium , n - methyl - n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- morpholinium , n , n - dimethylpiperidinium salts , which are characterized by having good water - solubility . in principle , however , there can be used all the ammonium salts which are physiologically compatible . the transformations to the salts can be carried out by a variety of methods known in the art . for example , in the case of the inorganic salts , it is preferred to dissolve sulindac in water containing at least one equivalent amount of a hydroxide , carbonate , or bicarbonate corresponding to the inorganic salt desired . advantageously , the reaction is performed in a water - miscible , inert organic solvent , for example , methanol , ethanol , dioxane , and the like in the presence of water . for example , such use of sodium hydroxide , sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate gives a solution of the sodium salt . evaporation of the solution or addition of a water - miscible solvent of a more moderate polarity , for example , a lower alkanol , for instance , butanol , or a lower alkanone , for instance , ethyl methyl ketone , gives the solid inorganic salt if that form is desired . to produce an amine salt , sulindac is dissolved in a suitable solvent of either moderate or lower polarity , for example , ethanol , methanol , ethyl acetate , diethyl ether and benzene . at least an equivalent amount of the amine corresponding to the desired cation is then added to that solution . if the resulting salt does not precipitate , it can usually be obtained in solid form by addition of a miscible diluent of lower polarity , for example , benzene or petroleum ether , or by evaporation . if the amine is relatively volatile , any excess can easily be removed by evaporation . it is preferred to use substantially equivalent amounts of the less volatile amines . salts wherein the cation is quaternary ammonium are produced by mixing sulindac with an equivalent amount of the corresponding quaternary ammonium hydroxide in water solution , followed by evaporation of the water . sulindac or an addition salt thereof with pharmaceutically acceptable organic or inorganic bases may be administered to mammals , for example , man , cattle or rabbits , either alone or in dosage forms , i . e ., capsules or tablets , combined with pharmacologically acceptable excipients , see below . advantageously sulindac can be given orally . however , the method of administering sulindac is not to be construed as limited to a particular mode of administration . for example , sulindac can be administered topically directly to the eye in the form of drops of sterile , buffered ophthalmic solutions , preferably of ph 7 . 2 - 7 . 6 . topical administration is especially useful for treating cataracts and retinopathy in a diabetic mammal . also , it can be administered orally alone or in solid form containing such excipients as starch , milk sugar , certain types of clay and so forth . it can also be administered orally in the form of a solution or syrup , or it can be injected parenterally . for parenteral administration it can be used in the form of a sterile solution , preferably of ph 7 . 2 - 7 . 6 containing a pharmaceutically acceptable buffer . oral and parenteral administration are the preferred routes for treating neuropathy and nephropathy in a diabetic mammal . the dosage of the present therapeutic agent can vary with the form of administration . furthermore , it can vary with the particular host under treatment . generally , treatment is initiated with small dosages substantially less than the optimal dose of the compound . thereafter , the dosage is increased by small increments until the optimal effect under the circumstances is reached . in general , sulindac is most desirably administered at a concentration level that will generally afford effective results without causing any harmful or deleterious side effects . for topical administration , a 0 . 05 to 0 . 2 % solution can be administered dropwise to the eye . the frequency of installation varies with the subject under treatment from a drop every two or three days to once daily . for oral or parenteral administration a preferred level of dosage ranges from about 0 . 1 mg to about 200 mg per kilogram of body weight per day , although aforementioned variations will occur . however , a dosage level that is in the range of from about 3 . 0 mg to about 30 mg per kilogram of body weight per day is most satisfactory . unit dosage forms such as capsules , tablets , pills and the like can contain from about 5 mg to about 50 mg of sulindac , dependent on the type of unit dosage , preferably with a significant quantity of a pharmaceutical carrier . thus , for oral administration , capsules can contain from between about 5 mg to about 50 mg of sulindac with or without a pharmaceutical diluent . tablets , either effervescent or noneffervescent , can contain between about 5 to 50 mg of sulindac together with conventional pharmaceutical carriers . thus , tablets which can be coated and either effervescent or noneffervescent can be prepared according to the known art . inert diluents or carriers , for example , magnesium carbonate or lactose , can be used together with conventional disintegrating agents , for example , maize starch and alginic acid and lubricating agents for example , magnesium stearate . syrups or elixirs suitable for oral administration can be prepared from water soluble salts , for example , the sodium salt of sulindac and can advantageously contain glycerol and ethyl alcohol as solvents or preservatives . the compositions and methods of administering sulindac described in the above cited u . s . pat . no . 3 , 654 , 349 and physicians &# 39 ; desk reference can also be used in the treatment of complications associated with diabetes mellitus . sulindac , or a therapeutically acceptable salt thereof , also can be used in combination with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents to produce beneficial effect in the treatment of diabetes mellitus . in this instance , commercially available insulin preparations or oral hypolycemic agents , exemplified by acetohexamide , chlorpropamide , tolazamide , tolbutamide and phenformin , are suitable . sulindac , or a therapeutically acceptable salt thereof , can be administered sequentially or simultaneously with insulin or the oral hypoglycemic agent . suitable methods of administration , compositions and doses of the insulin preparation or oral hypoglycemic agent are described in medical textbooks ; for instance , &# 34 ; physicians &# 39 ; desk reference &# 34 ;, 34 ed ., medical economics co ., oradell , n . j ., u . s . a ., 1980 , &# 34 ; ama drug evaluations &# 34 ;, 3rd ed ., psg publishing co ., inc ., littleton , mass ., u . s . a ., 1977 , pp . 582 - 598 , and &# 34 ; the pharmacological basis of therapeutics &# 34 ;, l . s . goodman and a . gilman , eds ., 5th ed ., macmillan publishing co ., inc ., new york , n . y ., u . s . a ., 1975 , pp . 1507 - 1533 . when used in combination , sulindac , or its therapeutically acceptable salt , is administered as described previously . sulindac , or its therapeutically acceptable salt , can be administered with the oral hypoglycemic agent in the form of a pharmaceutical composition comprising effective amounts of each agent . the aldose reductase inhibiting effects of sulindac or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts with an organic or inorganic base can be demonstrated by employing an in vitro testing procedure similar to that described by s . hayman and j . h . kinoshita , j . biol . chem ., 240 , 877 ( 1965 ). in the present case the procedure of hayman and kinoshita is modified in that the final chromatography step is omitted in the preparation of the enzyme from bovine lens . the following results were obtained when sulindac was evaluated in the above in vitro test : ______________________________________compound concentration ( mole / l ) percent inhibition______________________________________sulindac 10 . sup .- 5 88 10 . sup .- 6 60 10 . sup .- 7 18______________________________________ the aldose reductase inhibiting property of sulindac and its utilization in diminishing and alleviating diabetic complications also are demonstrable in experiments using galactosaemic rats , see d . dvornik et al ., science , 182 , 1146 ( 1973 ). such experiments are exemplified hereinbelow after the listing of the following general comments pertaining to these experiments : ( a ) four or more groups of six male rats , 50 - 70 g , sprague - dawley strain , were used . the first group , the control group , was fed a mixture of laboratory chow ( rodent laboratory chow , purina ) and glucose at 20 % ( w / w %) concentration . the untreated galactosaemic group was fed a similar diet in which galactose is substituted for glucose . the other groups were fed diets containing various amounts of sulindac in the galactose containing diet . the concentration of galactose in the diet of the treated groups was the same as that for the untreated galactosaemic group . ( b ) after four days , the animals were killed by decapitation . the eyeballs were removed and punctured with a razor blade ; the freed lenses were rolled gently on filter paper and weighed . the sciatic nerves were dissected as completely as possible and weighed . both tissues were frozen and kept up to two weeks before being analyzed for dulcitol . ( c ) the tissues were homoginized in 5 % ( w / v ) trichloroacetic acid and the polyol determination on the extracts was performed by a modification of the procedure of m . kraml and l . cosyns , clin . biochem ., 2 , 373 ( 1969 ). only two minor reagent changes were made : ( a ) the rinsing mixture was an aqueous 5 % ( w / v ) trichloroacetic acid solution and ( b ) the stock solution was prepared by dissolving 25 mg of dulcitol in 100 ml of an aqueous trichloroacetic acid solution . [ n . b . : for each experiment the average value found in the tissue from rats fed the glucose diet was substracted from the individual values found in the corresponding rat tissue to obtain the amount of polyol accumulated ]. the following experiments show that sulindac diminishes and alleviates the accumulation of dulcitol in the lenses and sciatic nerves of rats fed galactose as compared to an untreated animal . the results obtained in two separate experiments are exemplified in table i . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ dulcitol accumulationgalactosaemic rats lenses sicatic nerves dose percent percentexperiment treatment mg / kg / day ug / mg decrease &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; test ug / mg decrease &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; test__________________________________________________________________________1 none 12 . 01 ± 0 . 38 1 . 67 ± 0 . 08 sulindac 31 11 . 10 ± 0 . 28 8 % n . s . 1 . 02 ± 0 . 09 39 % p & lt ; 0 . 0012 none 12 . 10 ± 0 . 30 1 . 30 ± 0 . 14 sulindac 25 10 . 46 ± 0 . 32 14 % p & lt ; 0 . 01 0 . 83 ± 0 . 19 36 % n . s . 47 10 . 71 ± 0 . 22 12 % p & lt ; 0 . 01 0 . 85 ± 0 . 10 34 % p & lt ; 0 . 05 62 10 . 06 ± 0 . 43 17 % p & lt ; 0 . 01 0 . 67 ± 0 . 04 49 % p & lt ; 0 . 01__________________________________________________________________________	8
the structure 100 shown in the perspective view of fig1 is a typical soi structure formed using conventional patterning and etching techniques . a wide variety of methods of forming the soi structure 100 can be employed . this soi structure 100 includes a handle wafer 102 that in many applications can be a non - silicon material such as a nitride and will have a thickness of approximately 200 nm - 1 mm . alternatively , if a silicon handle wafer is employed , it can be capped with a nitride layer ( not shown ) to prevent interaction of the silicon with other materials . the central region of the structure 100 is an oxide such as , for example silicon dioxide . this central region includes a buried oxide ( box ) layer 104 and a cap oxide layer 105 . within the oxide layers 104 , 105 is a silicon - on - insulator ( soi ) island 108 . on top of the cap oxide layer 105 , a hard mask 106 is formed . fig2 illustrates a cross - sectional view of the exemplary structure 100 taken along the plane a - a depicted in fig1 . from this view , it is apparent that in this embodiment the soi island 108 extends the entire length of the structure 100 and that the oxide layers 104 , 105 are approximately as thick above the island 108 as below the island 108 . however , these relative dimensions can vary without departing from the scope of the present invention . in practice , the box layer 104 is typically between 100 to 1000 nm thick as is the cap oxide layer 105 . the soi island 108 generally ranges between 20 to 250 nm thick . it is from this structure 100 that the wrap - around - gate of the present invention is formed . a cavity 402 is formed in the structure 100 as shown in fig3 and 4 . in particular , conventional photolithography techniques , such as a photo resist layer , are used to print an etching region 302 on the hard mask 106 to define the boundaries of an etching step . once the boundaries are defined , the cavity 402 is etched through the hardmask 106 , the cap oxide layer 105 , the island 108 and the box layer 104 below the island 108 . after etching , the resist layer is stripped off the hard mask 106 . one of ordinary skill would recognize that a variety of etching compounds are available that can remove these layers in one step or in a plurality of steps . furthermore , the etching can be performed in a timed - manner or simply by relying on selectivity between the various materials to ensure that only portions of the desired layers are removed . as shown in the cross - sectional view of fig4 , the etching step to form the cavity 402 is performed so as to form substantially vertical sidewalls 404 , 406 . as a result , an soi island 108 is created on each side of the cavity 402 . the width 306 of the etching region 302 , and therefore of the cavity 402 as well , is approximately between 50 to 200 nm . the length 304 , however , depends on the application . for example , the structure of fig1 only has a single soi island 108 and the length 304 would typically only need to be enough to overlap each edge of the island 108 by around 20 nm . if however , a plurality of side - by - side soi islands were formed between oxide layers 104 and 105 , then the length 304 would typically need to be enough to overlap the outside islands by around 20 nm . thus , as soi islands can vary between 25 - 2000 nm , the length 304 can vary widely based on the size of the island and the number of buried soi islands . the next step in the process is to use the cavity 402 to etch the cap oxide layer 105 and the box layer 104 . for example , buffered hydrofluoric acid ( bhf ) can be used to etch the oxide ( layers 104 , 105 ) but it will not remove any of the soi island 108 , the hard mask 106 , or the handle wafer 102 . the etch of the box layer 104 is timed or controlled so as to create the cross section profile shown in fig5 . because the etch of the oxide layers 104 , 105 occurs in three dimensions , the sides , top and bottom of each soi island 108 are exposed . fig6 is a top view of the structure 500 of fig5 with some of the visible features omitted . in particular , fig6 highlights the region 602 of the cap oxide layer 105 and the box layer 104 after the etching step with bhf is completed . while not shown in fig6 for clarity , the hardmask 106 and island 108 also would extend into the region 602 and be visible from a top view . dotted lines 604 and 606 depict the outline of the buried island 108 . fig7 illustrates a cross - sectional profile of the soi structure after completion of a number of intermediate steps . the first step is to form gate dielectric material 703 on all the exposed surfaces of each soi island 108 . once this gate dielectric 703 is formed , a gate conductor material 702 , such as polysilicon , is conformally deposited over the hard mask 106 and within the cavity 402 at a thickness of about 50 nm . this material coats the exposed surfaces of all the layers within the cavity 402 . in particular , the conformal gate conductor material 702 coats the top , bottom , face , and sides of the soi island 108 , which are coated with the gate dielectric 703 . in one embodiment of the present invention , the gate conductor material 702 substantially fills the cavity 402 and no other material - depositing steps are used . however , the cross - sectional view of fig7 illustrates an alternative embodiment , in which the gate conductor material 702 does not fill the cavity 402 . in this embodiment , a gap - fill material 704 , usually an organic material , is used to substantially fill the cavity 402 once the gate conductor material 702 is deposited . using the hardmask 106 as the guide , directional etching , such as reactive ion etching ( rie ), is used to remove some of the gap - fill material 704 within the cavity 402 to create substantially vertical sidewalls . the etching of the gap - fill material 704 is continued until a portion 706 of the gate conductor material 702 on the edge face of each soi island 108 is exposed within the cavity 402 . at this point , the soi structure 100 is as illustrated in fig7 . next , referring to fig8 , the gate conductor material 702 is isotropically etched back as shown by region 802 . throughout the cavity 402 , all exposed gate conductor material 702 is uniformly etched back . referring back to fig5 , the oxide layers 104 , 105 were isotropically etched - back a first distance , such as 100 to 500 nm . now , the gate conductor material 702 is being etched back a second distance , such as 90 to 400 nm , in region 802 . the difference between these two distances is what determines the channel length ( i . e ., the length of the region between the source and drain , of the resulting transistor ) and will be approximately 10 to 120 nm . the structure of fig8 is then modified by stripping the organic gap - fill material 704 from within the cavity 402 . a perspective view of the resulting structure is depicted in fig9 . from fig6 and fig7 , it can be determined that the gate conductor material 702 follows the profile of the oxide layers 104 , 105 and , therefore , is substantially annular in shape . thus , the gate conductor material 702 contacts both buried islands 108 . to form discrete structures , the sides of the annular gate conductor material can be trimmed , as shown in fig9 , so as to create two separate gates 904 and 906 . of particular interest , the gates 904 , 905 have a conductor region , such as 902 , that wraps around the respective island 108 . fig1 shows a cross - sectional profile of the structure of fig9 . the c - shaped profile of the gates 904 and 906 is a result of using the gap - fill material 704 in previous fabrication steps . an alternative embodiment is illustrated later that does not use the gap - fill material 704 and has solid portions in place of the c - shaped profiles of gates 904 , 906 . the gate dielectric 703 can be trimmed back now , as shown in fig1 , or etched away at a later stage to expose the surfaces of the soi island 108 . after the hardmask 106 has been stripped , the structure is nearing its final form as shown in fig1 . fig1 is a cross - sectional profile view of fig1 and shows that one side of each island 108 still has oxide layers 104 and 105 present . accordingly , it would be difficult to connect a contact , or other material layer , to this section 1202 as depicted in fig1 . accordingly , the oxide layers 104 and 105 can be stripped , as depicted in fig1 , to result in two wrap around gates 904 and 906 that each surround a respective portion of the soi island 108 . as more clearly seen in the cross - sectional profile of fig1 , the top and bottom portions of each gate 904 and 906 are aligned with each other and with the source and drain regions 1402 , 1404 . the source and drain regions 1402 , 1404 are exposed , and contacts to all regions can be easily formed . as understood , by one of ordinary skill , the exposed source / drain regions 1402 , 1404 are doped with group 3 or group 5 elements before the contacts are formed . thus , an soi device having self - aligned wrap - around gates is formed in such a manner that channel length can be easily controlled using two etch - back steps instead of a difficult long directional etch . fig1 a and 15b illustrate an alternative embodiment of the device of fig1 . in particular , the mechanical strength of the soi island 108 can be enhanced by stripping away all the box material 104 except that under the soi island 108 . a directional etching method , such as rie , could be used to affect such a result . even in this embodiment , the top of the soi island 108 remains exposed to facilitate later processing steps such as passivation or silicidation . a second difference illustrated in fig1 a and 15b involves the gate structures 1502 and 1506 . referring back to fig7 , gate conductor material 702 and gap - fill material 704 were used to fill the cavity 402 . however , if only gate conductor material 702 had been used , then the subsequent etching steps would have resulted in the gate structures 1502 and 1506 . in particular , these structures 1502 and 1506 do not have the c - shaped profile that is exhibited by the gate structures 904 and 906 of fig1 . fig1 illustrates the wrap - around gate structure of fig1 with contact formed on the source / drain regions 1402 , 1404 as well as on the gates 904 , 906 . for example , the contact 1606 provides connectivity with the gate 906 ; the contact 1602 provides connectivity with one of the source / drain regions 1402 , 1404 of the island 108 ; and contact 1604 provides connectivity with the other of the source / drain regions 1402 , 1404 of the island 108 . one of ordinary skill would recognize that there are still further modifications and variations that can be made to the disclosed exemplary embodiments without deviating from the intended scope of the present invention . for example , the exemplary silicon island 108 herein described includes substantially a rectangular cross - sectional profile . in addition to this particular shape , other styles of islands , such as circular , trapezoidal , and polygonal , can be adapted to wrap - around gates as well . additionally , the wrap - around gate does not have to completely encircle the silicon island as herein described . performance improvements are still achieved if the wrap - around gate encircles more than a majority around the periphery of the silicon island . by encircling the silicon island by at least that much , the wrap - around gate is able to act as two gate electrodes on opposite sides of the silicon island . also , the semiconductor island within the soi structure can include other semiconductor materials in conjunction with , or in replacement of , the exemplary silicon island herein described .	7
details of the process according to the invention and of the apparatus are explained in more detail below with reference to working examples . the yield was calculated by weighing the raw material used and the chemical pulp obtained after the digestion , in each case dried at 105 ° c . to constant weight ( absolutely dry ). the lignin content was determined as klason lignin according to tappt t 222 om - 98 . the acid - soluble lignin was determined according to tappi um 250 . the properties relating to paper technology were determined on test sheets which were produced according to zellcheming data sheet v / 8 / 76 . the freeness was determined according to zellcheming data sheet v / 3 / 62 . the bulk density was determined according to zellcheming method v / ll / 57 . the breaking length was determined according to zellcheming method v / 12 / 57 . the tear resistance was determined according to din 53 128 elmendorf . the determination of tensile , tear and burst index was effected according to tappi 220 sp - 96 . the whiteness was determined by producing the test sheets according to zellcheming data sheet v / 19 / 63 ; measurement was effected according to scan c 11 : 75 using a datacolor elrepho 450 × photometer ; the whiteness is stated in percent according to iso standard 2470 . the viscosity was determined according to data sheet iv / 36 / 61 of the association of the pulp and paper chemists and engineers ( zellcheming ). all % data in this document are to be understood as meaning percent by weight , unless specifically stated otherwise . the statement “ oven - dry ” in this document relates to “ oven - dry ” material which was dried at 105 ° c . to constant weight . the chemicals for the digestion are stated in percent by weight as the respective chemical used , unless explained otherwise . a sodium sulphite digestion solution is added at a liquor ratio of wood : digestion solution 1 : 3 to spruce wood chips after steaming ( 30 minutes with saturated steam at 105 ° c .). the total chemicals used was 23 . 6 %, calculated as sodium sulphite , based on oven - dry spruce wood chips . the spruce wood chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals were heated to 170 ° c . over a period of 90 minutes and were digested at this maximum temperature over 180 minutes . the initial ph was in the range from ph 8 . 0 to 9 . 5 . thereafter , the free - flowing liquid was removed by centrifuging , collected and analyzed in an arrangement for recycling unconsumed liquid and fortified and thus provided for the next digestion . fortified means that the specified sulphite concentration is established again for the next digestion by addition of fresh or reprocessed sulphite . the chemical consumption in this first digestion is 82 %. the digested spruce chips were defibrated . portions of the fibrous material thus produced were beaten for different times in order to determine the strength at different freenesses . the energy consumption for defibration of the partly digested spruce wood chips was less than 300 kwh / t of fibrous material . the yield is 78 . 6 %, based on oven - dry fibrous material . the breaking length was measured as 8 km at 14 ° sr , the tear index as 8 . 5 mn · m2 / g . the whiteness was determined as 41 % iso after the digestion . the solids content of the digestion solution was determined as 10 . 2 % after the first digestion . the same digestion solution was fortified in each case again to the initial sulphite content described above , and further digestions were carried out under the same conditions in each case . after the fifth digestion , the solids content of the digestion solution was determined again as 20 . 4 %. the calorific value of the digestion solution after the first digestion was determined as 9 . 507 j / g . after the fifth digestion with in each case reused , fortified digestion solution , the calorific value was determined as 11 . 313 j / g . after each of the five digestions under the conditions of example 1 , the consumption of sulphite was determined . it was on average 46 %. for the fifth digestion , in which in each case the waste liquor of the preceding digestions was collected for the preparation of the digestion solution , the sulphite content was determined and the specified sulphite content was re - established by addition of fresh sulphite , 30 % of the sulphite were added from unconsumed sulphite of the digestion solution from the preceding digestion and 70 % of fresh sulphite . the fibrous material according to example 2 was produced from spruce chips under the conditions of example 1 , with the following changes : in addition to the 23 . 6 % of sulphite , 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone , based on the amount of wood used , was added to the solution of chemicals . the duration of digestion was shortened to 45 minutes . at 15 ° sr , a breaking length of 10 . 9 km and a tear resistance of 82 cn / 100 g / m2 paper weight were determined for the spruce fibrous material according to example 2 . the whiteness was determined as 53 . 1 % iso and the yield was 76 . 7 %. the digestions according to examples 3 and 4 explained below relate to vapor - phase digestions . spruce wood chips are impregnated with 23 . 6 % of sulphite at a liquor ratio of wood : solution of chemicals = 1 . 5 at 120 ° c . in the vapor phase for 120 minutes . chemicals used are sulphite and 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone . at the beginning of the impregnation , a ph of 9 . 4 is established . after the impregnation , the solution of chemicals is removed . the chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals are heated with steam in about 5 minutes to 170 ° c . this steam phase at 170 ° c . is maintained over 60 minutes . thereafter , the steam is discharged and the digester is cooled to 100 ° c . in the course of 30 seconds , and ambient pressure is established . the chips are removed from the digester and defibrated . portions of the spruce fibrous material thus produced are beaten and freeness and properties of the fibrous material are determined for the beaten portions . at 14 ° sr , a breaking length of 9 . 3 km and 102 cn / 100 g / m2 paper weight were measured . the whiteness was determined as 42 . 6 % iso and the yield was 78 . 9 %. for the following examples on hardwood digestions , table 1 summarizes the experimental data . a sodium sulphite digestion solution with addition of 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone is added at a liquor ratio of wood : digestion solution 1 : 3 to birch chips after steaming ( 90 minutes with saturated steam at 105 ° c .). the total amount of chemicals used was 16 . 5 %, calculated as sodium sulphite , based on oven - dry birch chips . the birch chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals are heated to 170 ° c . and digested over 60 minutes ( example 4 ) or over 80 minutes ( example 5 ) at this maximum temperature . 26 . 32 % of the sulphite used ( example 4 ) or 32 . 52 % of the sulphite used ( example 5 ) were consumed in the course of the digestion . for example 4 , a yield of 85 . 34 % and a whiteness of 68 . 81 % iso were determined after the digestion . at 20 ° sr , a breaking length of 8 . 4 km and a tear index of 6 . 9 mn · m2 / g are measured for the birch . for example 5 , a yield of 83 . 99 % and a whiteness of 69 . 82 % iso were determined after the digestion . a sodium sulphite digestion solution with addition of 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone are added at a liquor ratio of wood : digestion solution 1 : 3 to beech chips after steaming ( 90 minutes with saturated steam at 105 ° c .). the total amount of chemicals used was 16 . 5 %, calculated as sodium sulphite , based on oven - dry beech chips . the beech chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals were heated to 170 ° c . ( examples 6 , 7 ) or to 160 ° c . ( example 8 ) and digested over 60 minutes ( example 6 ) or 48 minutes ( example 7 ) and over 55 minutes ( example 8 ). the consumption of sulphite was 54 . 3 % of the originally used sulphite in the case of example 6 , a consumption of 48 . 5 % was determined in the case of example 7 and the consumption of sulphite was 35 . 4 %, based on the originally used sulphite , in the case of example 8 . the yield was determined as 74 . 1 % for example 6 , a yield of 75 . 2 % was determined for example 7 and the yield was 82 . 4 % for example 8 . the whiteness was determined as 66 . 3 % iso for example 6 , as 62 . 9 % iso for example 7 and as 69 . 9 % iso for example 8 . for the beech fibrous material thus produced , a breaking length of 5 . 5 km was determined at 20 ° sr . the tear index was 4 . 8 mnm2 / g . a sodium sulphite digestion solution with addition of 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone is added at a liquor ratio of wood : digestion solution 1 : 4 to poplar chips after steaming ( 90 minutes with saturated steam at 105 ° c .). the total amount of chemicals used was 19 . 7 % in example 9 and 16 . 5 % in example 10 , calculated in each case as sodium sulphite , based on oven - dry poplar chips . the poplar chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals were heated to 170 ° c . and digested over 60 minutes . the consumption of sulphite was 47 . 5 % in the case of example 9 and a consumption of 55 . 8 % was determined in the case of example 10 , based in each case on the originally used sulphite . the yield was determined as 76 . 5 % for example 9 and a yield of 77 . 2 % was determined for example 10 . the whiteness was determined as 67 . 1 % iso for example 9 and as 63 . 5 % iso for example 10 . for the poplar fibrous material thus produced , a breaking length of 9 . 9 km was determined at 20 ° sr . the tear index was determined as 6 . 9 mn · m2 / g . a sodium sulphite digestion solution with addition of 0 . 1 % of anthraquinone is added at a liquor ratio of wood : digestion solution 1 : 3 to poplar chips after steaming ( 90 minutes with saturated steam at 105 ° c .). the total amount of chemicals used was 16 . 5 %, calculated as sodium sulphite , based on oven - dry poplar chips . the poplar chips impregnated with the solution of chemicals were heated to 170 ° c . ( example 11 ) or 160 ° c . ( example 12 ) and digested over 45 minutes ( example 11 ) or 90 minutes ( example 12 ) the consumption of sulphite was 51 . 4 % of the originally used sulphite in the case of example 11 . the sulphite consumption for example 12 was not determined . the yield was determined as 80 . 2 % for example 11 and a yield of 80 . 7 % was determined for example 12 . the whiteness was determined as 64 . 1 % iso for example 11 and as 69 . 3 % iso for example 12 .	3
the term &# 34 ; foamant &# 34 ; has been used elsewhere and is used in this specification to refer to a material which is capable of forming and stabilizing a foam from a mixture or emulsion of water with a displacing gas , in this case , carbon dioxide . foamants of this kind are also referred to a foaming agents but the term foamant is preferred by analogy to surfactant as a generic term for surface active agents . foamants are generally the same kind of surfactant - viscosifier materials which enable a visible foam to be produced from the water and the displacing gas . generally , these materials will enable to foam to be produced in an open container away from the confines of a porous medium and it is the ability of these foamants to produce a foam under reservoir conditions that the present invention is directed . there are many chemicals which have been tested for their suitability as foamants and they are generally surfactants , usually of the anionic type although cationic and non - ionic surfactants may also be used , as well as mixtures of various surfactants . regardless of the nature of the foamant , however , its potential for use in carbon dioxide foam flooding operations may be evaluated by the present method and apparatus . specific foamants include , for example , anionic surfactants such as sodium lauroyl sulfate , sodium dodecyl sulfate , lauroyl sulfate , potassium laurate , sodium dodecyl benzyne sulfonate , ethoxylated alcohol derivatives such as the ammonium salt of linear alcohol ethoxylate sulfate commercially available under the trademark alipal cd - 128 ( gaf ) and potassium oleate , cationic surfactants such as dodecyl ammonium chloride , hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and nonionic materials such as 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol , 2 - amino - 1 - butanol , 2 - amino - 2 - methyl - 1 - 3 - propane diol , tris ( hydroxymethyl amino ) methane , lauryl alcohol and ethoxylated alcohols such as nonyl phenoxy poly ( ethyleneoxy ) ethanol , e . g ., the commercially available material with nine ethyleneoxy units sold under the trademark igepal co - 630 ( gaf ). the apparatus shown in fig1 comprises a carbon dioxide transfer vessel 10 , suitably a cylinder of stainless steel of about 1 , 000 ml . capacity , fitted with a displaceable piston 11 separating the upper portion from the lower portion . a water inlet 12 is connected to a pump ( not shown ) by way of inlet valve 35 for admitting water at a controlled rate to the upper portion of the transfer vessel above the piston . the lower portion of the transfer vessel is connected by means of conduit 14 to the carbon dioxide main valve 15 , with pressure gauge 13 being connected in a branch conduit . from valve 15 , the carbon dioxide line divides into two branches with the lower branch going to high pressure visual cell 19 by way of inlet valve 16 and check valve 17 . the visual cell may typically be about 30 cm . high and of about 400 - 500 ml . capacity . relief valve 18 is provided in a branch conduit . the upper branch passes to the upper end of the visual cell by way of back pressure regulator 20 and pressurizing valve 21 . the opposite side of back pressure regulator 20 is connected to a regulated nitrogen source ( not shown ) by way of conduit 22 , with the back pressure relief valve 23 and back pressure gauge 24 connected in side branches of the conduit . the upper end of visual cell 19 is also connected to a back pressure regulator 25 which is again connected to the regulated nitrogen source ( not shown ) by conduit 32 and fitted with back pressure gauge 26 . the pressure over the top of visual cell 19 is indicated by pressure gauge 27 connected to the top of the cell . the remote side of back pressure regulator 25 is connected to burette 28 which , in turn , is connected to a wet test gas flow meter 29 . differential pressure transducers 30 , 31 are connected to branch conduits leading out of visual cell 19 to monitor the pressure differentials between axially spaced locations along the visual cell . the outputs of these transducers may be monitored by suitable meters ( not shown ) connected to them . in order to ensure that determinations are made under controlled temperature conditions , the apparatus may be contained in a thermostatically controlled air bath ( not shown ). in a typical procedure for measuring the foaming ability of a foamant and the stability of the foam which it produces under reservoir conditions , the high pressure visual cell is first filled with a porous medium which preferably approximates the reservoir medium . however , for many tests , an artificial medium of known wettability characteristics may be used and for this purpose , glass beads of approximately 3 mm . diameter may be used since the objective is to simulate reservoir conditions rather than to provide an exact replication of them . the oil may be chosen to simulate reservoir oil in order to simulate conditions as closely as possible . recombined reservoir oil may be used . the characteristics of the foamant are determined by first , supplying sufficient carbon dioxide to transfer vessel 10 under piston 11 . the carbon dioxide is then allowed to reach thermal equilibrium , after which the vessel is pressurized by admitting water through inlet 12 so that the carbon dioxide pressure , as indicated by pressure gauge 13 , is equal to the desired test pressure . this pressure should preferably conform to the pressure in the reservoir under which the recovery operations will be carried out . with valves 15 , 16 , 18 , 21 and 23 shut , high pressure visual cell 19 is packed with the desired packing and the top and bottom closure plates secured . a predetermined volume of solution , for example , 50 ml ., which contains the foamant under test is placed inside the cell and the cell is then sealed . the differential pressure transducers 30 , 31 and the cell pressure gauge 21 should , at this time , read zero . the nitrogen sides of each of the two back pressure regulators 20 and 25 are then loaded with sufficient nitrogen pressure that pressure gauges 24 and 26 readings are equal to the test pressure plus the pressure drop across the back pressure valve diaphragms . the visual cell is pressurized by slowly and carefully opening main valve 15 followed by valve 21 , after which the co 2 is charged into the visual cell by admitting water to the upper side of the transfer vessel 10 . this should be done gradually so that the pressure rise in the visual cell is not sudden . the cell pressurization is continued until the reading of visual cell pressure gauge 27 is equal to the desired test pressure . at this point , water injection is terminated and pressurizing valve 21 is shut . in order to generate the foam in the test cell , inlet valve 16 is opened very slowly and additional water is admitted to the upper side of the transfer vessel 10 . the water is admitted into the transfer vessel at a rate such that the advance of the carbon dioxide into the visual cell is equal to that encountered in the flooding operations under consideration , for example , about 15 to 30 centimeters per day . the flow rate is monitored by monitoring movement of piston 11 in transfer vessel 10 and checked by the use of gas flow meter 29 . any liquid passing out of the cell is collected in burette 28 in which its volume may be measured . as the carbon dioxide bubbles through the foaming agent at the bottom of the test cell , foam is generated . the advance of the foam up the column of the packing can be monitored through the visual port 33 in the side of the test cell and measured , representing the advance of the carbon dioxide through the porous medium . finally , the foam height reaches a constant value which is proportional to the superficial gas velocity and from these determinations the unit of foaminess can be determined . determinations may be based on either the injection or production rates of the carbon dioxide ( as indicated by the transfer vessel and the gas flow meter , respectively ) provided , of course , that a consistent basis is used . because carbon dioxide is soluble in water and brine , the production rate of the carbon dioxide may not be equal to the injection rate during the course of the experiment . the effect of oil on foaming ability and stability is determined by repeating the test with oil added to the foamant solution . if the oil is gas - free at the test temperature and pressure , a predetermined volume of oil is pipetted into the visual cell with the foamant solution , after which the cell is sealed . for example , 5 ml . of oil is added to the 50 ml . of foamant solution . the foaminess of a foamant has been described , together with an apparatus for determining it in non - porous media under atmospheric conditions , in trans . farad . soc ., 34 , 634 ( 1938 ), bikerman , j . j . and also , independently , in bull . chem . soc . japan , 13 , 517 ( 1938 ), sasaki , and further advances described by dyankov , chem . abs . 37 , 5299 ( 1943 ). the foaminess , f , is defined as the ratio of the foam height attained to the gas velocity : ## equ1 ## the foaminess therefore has units of time and is indicative of the foaming ability of the foamant and the stability of the foam which it generates under the selected conditions . for example , at a frontal advance rate of 0 . 0212 centimeters per minute ( 1 foot per day ), and at a steady state height of the foam generated of 20 centimeters , the foaminess for the system would be : ## equ2 ## for initial screening tests , a relatively fast advance rate may be selected so as to shorten the test duration ; however , for final determinations , the advance should match that expected under actual reservoir conditions of operation . the extent to which the foam increases the viscous resistance to gas flow may be determined by monitoring the differential pressure between pressure transducers 30 and 31 and determining the increase in flow resistance caused by the foam , in comparison to the resistance in the absence of foam . the effect of matrix wettability on foaminess may be determined by conducting the experiment under different wettability conditions . this may be achieved , for example , by altering the wettability of the packing by various conventional techniques such as the one described g . l . gaines , jr . in j . colloid interf . sci . 59 ( 3 ), 438 ( 1977 ) for altering the wettability of glass by first cleaning the glass by boiling in nitric - sulfuric acid solution , rinsing in distilled water , soaking overnight in 0 . 0025m naoh solution , followed by another distilled water rinse and dyying in a convective oven . the dried beads may then be soaked for 30 minutes in a 2δ solution of dimethylchlorosilane in carbon tetrachloride , followed by a final rinsing sequence with benzene , acetone and , finally , distilled water . the experiment may be conducted in a physically scaled manner by choosing flow variables and packing medium geometry in such a manner that : because the pressure in the test cell is maintained during the course of the experiment by the setting on back pressure regulator 25 , the secondary back pressure regulator 20 with its associated equipment may be omitted if desired . when the initial pressure in the cell , as indicated by pressure gauge 27 is correctly set , pressurizing valve 21 is closed and the secondary back pressure regulator takes no further part in the procedure . it may therefore be omitted or , if desired , replaced by a simple , manually operated valve or a check valve . if the oil contains dissolved gases at the test conditions or if it is desired to conduct the experiment in a continuous manner , the arrangement shown in fig2 may be used . it is similar to that shown in fig1 except for two additional transfer vessels which are identical to the co 2 tranfer vessel 10 . the first is an oil transfer vessel 36 . a water inlet 40 is connected to the water inlet line 48 of the co 2 vessel and to the water pump ( not shown ) by way of valve 41 . the lower portion of the oil transfer vessel is connected by means of conduit 38 to the oil main valve 39 , with pressure gauge 37 . from valve 39 the oil line is connected to the lines that lead to the upper and lower portions of the visual cell 19 . a second transfer vessel 42 is for foamant solutions . a water inlet 46 is connected to the water inlet line which is also connected to the co 2 and the oil transfer vessels . this common water pump arrangement ensures that the fluids are maintained at the same pressure so that flow can be switched from one fluid to another without causing any significant disturbance in the pressure of the system . the lower portion of foamant solution transfer vessel 42 is connected by means of conduit 44 to the foamant main valve 45 , with pressure gauge 43 in the conduit . from valve 45 the foamant line is connected to a visual cell inlet manifold 49 which leads to visual cell 19 through valves 16 and 17 , as in fig1 . the apparatus may be enclosed in a thermostatically controlled air bath ( not shown ) for controlled temperature operation . after the visual cell is packed and sealed , each of the three transfer vessels 11 , 36 , 42 are supplied with their respective test fluids . at this point , all the valves in the system are shut and the fluids are allowed to reach thermal equilibrium . at this point , valves 35 , 41 and 47 are opened and water is simultaneously admitted to the upper portions of the three transfer vessels so that the pressures of the fluids , as indicated by pressure gauges 13 , 37 and 43 , are equal to the desired test pressure . with all valves except 35 , 41 and 47 shut , the visual cell is packed with the desired packing and the top and bottom closure plates are secured . the nitrogen sides of each of the two back pressure regulators 20 and 25 are then loaded with sufficient nitrogen pressure that pressure gauges 24 and 26 readings are equal to the test pressure plus the pressure drop across the back pressure valve diaphragms . the visual cell is pressurized by slowly and carefully opening main valve 15 followed by valve 21 , after which the co 2 is charged into the visual cell by admitting water to the upper side of the transfer vessel 10 . this should be done gradually so that the pressure rise in the visual cell is not sudden . the cell pressurization is continued until the reading of visual cell pressure gauge 27 is equal to the desired test pressure . at this point , a predetermined volume of oil is injected by first opening oil valve 38 and shutting the co 2 valve 15 . for example , 5 ml . of oil is injected and the amount injected is determined from the pumping rate and the duration of injection and is verified by measuring the travel of the oil transfer vessel piston rod 50 . a predetermined volume , for example , 50 ml ., of the foamant solution is then injected at the bottom of the visual cell . this done by opening valves 42 and 16 and then shutting valves 38 and 21 . once the desired volume of foamant is injected , the co 2 injection is resumed by opening valve 15 and shutting valve 44 . the test is then continued in the same manner as described above . once the test is completed , the apparatus may be cleaned without depressuring the system by connecting valve 18 to a pump and injecting an appropriate solvent , such as toluene , followed by methanol , with final drying by nitrogen . foamants which are to be used for co 2 injection processes may be evaluated in this way . however , foamants for use in processes which involve the injection of other gases including steam , air , nitrogen , flue or exhaust gas , natural gas , methane , ethane , propane , butane , liquefied petroleum gas and mixtures of these gases , may also be evaluated in the same way , using the appropriate gas in the test sequence .	6
the term “ reducing the viability of detrimental oral microorganisms ” shall be understood to include reduction to a certain decreased level as well as reduction to zero , i . e . complete elimination of viable microorganisms . the term “ average particle size ” means that 50 % of the number of particles have a size less than or equal to the value mentioned ( e . g . 100 μm ) and that 50 % of the number of particles have a size greater than or equal to said value . according to a preferred embodiment , the average particle size is below 50 μm , most preferably about 20 μm or less . the size of the individual particles may vary in a range extending from a value below 1 μm up to about 500 μm . the “ oral cavity ” to be treated according to this invention means particularly the individual &# 39 ; s teeth and periodontal regions in the mouth . especially the individual &# 39 ; s teeth down to the gingival margin and / or the periodontal pockets of the individual &# 39 ; s mouth shall be treated , as well as root canals in endodontic treatment . the bioactive glass is preferably administered as a composition comprising particles of the bioactive glass admixed into water or an aqueous solution . especially preferable is a paste comprising about 40 to 80 weight -% of bioactive glass . the composition can optionally also include other ingredients . according to an especially preferable embodiment , the composition is a tooth paste for regular use , including the bioactive glass . some typical and preferable bioactive glass compositions are presented in table 1 . particularly preferable bioactive glasses are the glass s53p4 , which has the composition sio 2 , 53 %; cao 20 %; p 2 o 3 4 % and na 2 o 23 %, and the glass 13 - 93 , which has the composition sio 2 53 %; cao 20 %; p 2 o 5 4 %; na 2 o 6 %, n 2 o 12 % and mgo 5 %. the method according to the invention is particularly effective to reduce the viability of cariogenic bacteria , especially actinomyces naeslundii and / or streptococcus mutans . also periodontal bacteria are actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and / or porphyromonas gingivalis . however , the reduction of the viability of non - pathogenic oral bacteria such as streptococcus sanguis is lower than that for the detrimental oral microorganism . this is a very favourable feature , because essential reduction of the non - pathogenic oral bacteria is not wanted . the duration of the treatment depends i . a . on the particular bioactive glass composition used , the average particle size , the bacteria in question , etc . as will be seen from the experimental data , a period of about 10 minutes may be enough to effectively eliminate viable cariogenic bacteria ( bioactive glass s53p4 , average particle size 20 μm ), while a longer treatment is necessary for periodontal bacteria . oral bacteria are known to cause discolouring of teeth , as also coffee , tea , tobacco etc .. bioactive glass is therefore , as an effective antibacterial agent and as a mechanically cleaning agent , useful for cleaning and whitening of the teeth . the purpose of this study was to examine the antibacterial effects of a paste made of the bioactive glass s53p4 ( 8 ) on oral microorganisms representing periodontal pathogens , caries - associated microorganisms and benign oral microflora . two major pathogens were used ; actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans , which has been suggested to play a role in juvenile periodontitis ( 9 , 10 ), and porphyromonas gingivalis , which has been associated with destructive periodontal lesions in adults ( 11 , 12 , 13 ). also were studied actinomyces naeslundii , which is associated with root caries ; streptococcus mutans which is considered to play a major role in caries ; and streptococcus sanguis as a representative of the benign oral microbiota ( 14 ). the bioactive glass powder s53p4 used in this study was produced by abmin technologies ltd , turku , finland . the composition of the bioactive glass s53p4 given by weight is : sio 2 53 %, na 2 o 23 %, cao 20 % and p 2 o 5 4 %. the bioactive glass was prepared from reagent grade na 2 co 3 , cahpo 4 × 2h 2 o , caco 3 ( merck , darmstadt , germany ) and belgium sand . the glass batches were melted for 3 h at 1360 ° c . after melting , the glass was cast into a plate , which was cooled from 520 ° c . to 220 ° c . at 1 ° c ./ min in an annealing oven . the oven was turned off and air - cooled to room temperature . the plate was crushed and dry ground in an agate mill . powder , of particle size & lt ; 45 μm , ( average particle size 20 μm ), was sieved out of the batch ( 8 ). the powder was combined with a microbial suspension using a ration of glass powder and liquid ( 50 mg an 30 μl , respectively ), simulating the composition used for treatment of hypersensitive teeth ( 4 ). as controls we used 1 ) no added glass powder and 2 ) an inert sio 2 powder , containing 100 % sio 2 , of particle size & lt ; 45 μm ( biomaterials project , institute of dentistry , university of turku , finland ). the microorganisms used were actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ( atcc 29523 ), porphyromonas gingivalis ( atcc 33277 ), actinomyces naeslundii ( clinical isolate ), streptococcus mutans ( nctc 10449 ) and streptococcus sanguis ( nctc 10904 ). precultivation of a . actinomycetemcomitans , s . mutans and s . sanguis was performed at 37 ° c . in bhi ( brain heart infusion , unipath ltd , hampshire , england ). after approximately 18 h of growth , the cells were washed once in saline ( s . mutans and s . sanguis ) or in reduced transport fluid ( rtf : 0 . 6 g / l k 2 hpo 4 × 3h 2 o , 0 . 23 g / l nacl , 0 . 23 g / l ( nh 4 ) 2 so 4 , 0 . 11 g / l kh 2 po 4 , 0 . 1 g / l mgso 4 × 7h 2 o , 0 . 37 g / l disodium ethylenedinitrilo tetraacetate ; c 10 h 14 n 2 na 2 o 8 × 2h 2 o , 0 . 4 g / l na 2 co 3 , 0 . 2 g / l dithiothreitol ; c 4 h 10 o 2 s 2 ) ( 15 ) ( a . actinomycetemcomitans ). the suspensions were adjusted with saline or rtf to an optical density of approximately 1 . 0 [ a 700 ; corresponding to 10 5 - 10 7 colony forming units , ( cfu )/ ml ]. p . gingivalis was precultivated anaerobically ( 80 % n 2 , 10 % co 2 , 10 % h 2 ) at 37 ° c . on brucella agar plates ( difco laboratories , detroit , usa ). the cells were harvested after 6 days growth , washed once in brewer thioglycollate medium ( 500 g / l beef infusion , 5 g / l bacto dextrose , 0 . 5 g / l na - thioglycollate , 0 . 5 g / l bacto aga , 0 . 002 g / l bacto methylene blue ) and finally adjusted with brewer thioglycollate medium to an optical density of approximately 1 . 0 ( a 700 ; corresponding to 10 4 - 10 5 cfu / ml ). a . naeslundii was precultivated in brewer thioglycollate medium ( difco ) at 37 ° c . for 3 days , washed once in rtf and adjusted with rtf to a density of approximately 1 . 0 ( a 700 ; corresponding to 10 5 - 10 6 cfu / ml ). the bioactive glass powder ( 50 mg ) and 30 μl of the microbial suspension were first vortexed for thorough mixing for 10 min at room temperature in eppendorf tubes ( sarstedt , germany ), followed by incubation without agitation for 50 min at 37 ° c . the controls contained 1 ) no added bioactive glass powder or 2 ) 50 mg inert sio 2 powder ( particle size & lt ; 45 μm ). for assessment of viability as cpu , the incubation was stopped by adding 470 μl rtf ( a . actinomycetemcomitans , p . gingivalis , a . naeslundii ) or saline ( s . mutans , s . sanguis ), followed by vortexing and gentle sonication for 2 s to detach the microorganisms from the bioactive glass powder and from the inert sio 2 powder . the assessment of viability as cfu of the microbial suspensions was performed on solid growth media by cultivating 10 μl samples from the suspensions diluted in saline ( 10 1 - 10 7 ). the undiluted suspension was also cultivated by using 20 μl samples . a . actinomycetemcomitans and a . naeslundii were cultivated on blood agar anaerobically at 37 ° c . for 3 days and approximately 18 h , respectively . p . gingivalis was cultivated anaerobically at 37 ° c . for 6 days on brucella agar plates , s . mutans and s . sanguis were cultivated on mitis salvarius agar for approximately 18 h at 37 ° c . aerobically in an atmosphere consisting of 74 % n 2 , 19 % o 2 and 7 % co 2 . the experiment was performed with 2 - 3 parallels and repeated once . ion release from the bioactive glass paste and related ph changes the release of ions from the bioactive glass powder ( 50 mg ) during the 60 min contact with saline ( 30 μl ) was analyzed with a direct current plasma atomic emission spectroscopy dcp - aes at the department of chemistry at abo akademi university , turku , finland . the determinations were performed in triplicate . after the vortexing ( 10 min ) and incubation ( 50 min ) the samples were suspended in 5 ml laboratory grade h 2 o ( milli - quf plus , millipore , molsheim , france ), rapidly mixed and immediately filtrated with a millex - gs 0 . 22 mm filter ( millipore ). the time - dependent changes in the ph values of saline and brewer thioglycollate medium were monitored after 10 - min and 60 - min incubation with the bioactive glass powder . the measurements were performed with a combination electrode phc4406 ( radiometer , copenhagen , denmark ). the time - dependent release of calcium , phosphorous , silica and sodium from the bioactive glass paste is given in table 2 . for calcium , phosphorous , and sodium , the amount of released ions did not increase during the prolonged incubation , but for silica the amount tripled during the 10 - 60 - min incubation . the increased osmotic pressure was created mostly by an almost immediate release of high amounts of sodium , which corresponds to a concentration of 3 . 38 % at 10 min and 3 . 50 % at 60 min . during the incubation with bioactive glass powder , the mean (± standard deviation ) of the ph of both the saline and the brewer thioglycollate medium increased in 10 min from 6 . 9 (± 0 . 3 ) to 10 . 8 (± 0 . 1 ). no further increase of the ph was seen . a . actinomycetemcomitans totally lost its viability in contact with the bioactive glass powder within 60 min . a major decrease in the number of viable microbes was already seen within 10 min , as the number of viable microbes decreased from 9 × 10 5 to 9 × 10 2 . also p . gingivalis lost its viability in contact with the glass powder within 60 min . after 10 min , a decrease from 9 × 10 4 to 1 × 10 3 in the number of viable cells was seen . s . mutans lost its viability almost totally , from 6 × 10 6 to 0 . 8 × 10 1 , after 10 min incubation with the bioactive glass powder . a total loss of viability of a . naeslundii was also seen already after 10 min , from 7 × 10 6 to 1 × 10 4 and at 60 min , further down to 1 × 10 5 , ( fig1 ). however , s . sanguis was the only microbe that had any viable cells left after 60 min . the incubations with the reference material , the inert sio 2 powder , showed results similar to those of the controls with no glass powder ( fig2 ). in this study the bioactive glass paste showed a broad antibacterial effect on the microorganisms tested . the effect found may be due to several influences including high ph , osmotic effects and the ca 2 + - concentration ( 7 ). since the bioactive glass s53p4 reacts in a surface reactive manner in an aqueous environment , the release of ions and consequently the rise of the ph increases with an increasing surface area of the glass . in the form of a powder (& lt ; 45 μm ) the surface area of the glass is larger per weight unit , and thus the release of ions is high . in our experiments the surface area / volume ( sa / v ) ratio was very high , approximately 1920 cm − 1 . earlier experiments with bioactive glass s53p4 granules ( 297 - 500 μm ) where the sa / v ratio was 0 . 4 cm − 1 showed almost a linear increase in release of ions during the first 7 hours ( 16 ). owing to the high sa / v ratio in the present experiment the release of ions was up to × 300 times greater during the 60 min incubation than in the earlier experiments with granules ( 60 min : ca 24 mg / l , p not detected , si 15 mg / l , na 12 mg / l ) ( 16 ). thus , the release of ions was faster from the bioactive powder than from the granules . also the ph change observed with the & lt ; 45 μm glass powder within 60 min ( ph 7 → 11 ) was higher than that reported with granules earlier ( ph 7 → 9 ) ( 8 ). most heterotrophic bacteria grow well in media with an osmotic pressure created by 0 . 75 % salt . concentrations higher than 1 % become inhibitory for most bacteria . however , many streptococci of the oral cavity can grow well on a 5 % sucrose medium , while the growth of most other oral bacteria is inhibited under such conditions ( 17 ). as judged by the concentrations of the separate ions released from the glass powder , the total osmotic pressure was , already after 10 min , created by a concentration higher than 3 % and , after 60 min , by a concentration above 4 % ( see table 2 ). since the outer membrane of gram - negative bacteria ( a . actinomycetemcomitans , p . gingivalis ) is reported to be a more efficient permeability barrier than the cell wall of the gram - positive bacteria ( a . naeslundii , s . mutans , s . sanguis ) ( 18 ), the osmotic effects due to the bioactive glass paste could partly explain the relative resistance of the gram - negative microorganisms and the more rapid loss of viability of a . naeslundii and s . mutans . because s . sanguis , despite the lack of an effective permeability barrier , was the only microbe that managed to maintain some viability also other mechanisms must be involved . the ca + 2 - ion concentration measured in associated with the paste of bioactive glass powder used in this study was much higher ( 3 . 0 - 3 . 5 g / l ) than that shown ( 0 . 04 g / l ) in the earlier study ( 7 ) using granules ( 315 - 500 μm ) of the same bioactive glass . in addition to the immediate antibacterial effect due to the instant release of ions from the bioactive glass , possible residues of bioactive glass cause long term effects over days and even months , due to the continuing leaching of ions from the bioactive glass . in conclusion , the bioactive glass paste appears to possess a broad antimicrobial effect on microorganisms of both supra - and subgingival plaque . consequently , the bioactive glass paste may have beneficial effects on oral health both from a cariological and a periodontal point of view , in addition to its more direct therapeutic effect on root surface hypersensitivity . apparently , the clinical benefits of the bioactive glass powder when used as a paste or as a component in toothcare products come from a combination of good influences rather than from any single property , such as its ability to reduce bacterial growth . these influences include mechanical cleaning and remineralisation of both dentine and enamel . it will be appreciated that the methods of the present invention can be incorporated in the form of a variety of embodiments , only a few of which are disclosed herein . it will be apparent for the specialist in the field that other embodiments exist and do not depart from the spirit of the invention . thus , the described embodiments are illustrative and should not be construed as restrictive . 1 . suominen ea , kinnunen j . bioactive glass granules and plates in the reconstruction of defects of the facial bones . scand j plast reconstr surg hand surg 1996 ; 30 : 281 - 9 . 2 . wilsin j , clark ae , douek e , krieger j , smith wk , zamet js . clinical applications of bioglass implants . in : andersson oh , happonen r - p , editors . bioceramics vol 7 . cambridge : butterworth - heimann ltd ; 1994 . p . 415 - 22 . 3 . larmas e , sewon l , luostarinen t , kangasniemi i , yli - urpo a . bioactive glass in periodontal defects . initial clinical findings of soft tissue and osseus repair . in : wilson j , hench ll , greenspan d ., editors , bioceramics vol 8 . oxford ; elsevier science ltd ; 1995 . p . 279 - 84 . 4 . salonen j , tuominen u , andersson oh . mineralization of dentine by making use of bioactive glass s53p4 . in : andersson oh , salonen j , yli - urpo a , editors . biomaterials today and tomorrow , proceedings of the finnish dental society , turku : turku centre for biomaterials ; 1996 . p . 25 - 6 . 5 . hench ll , paschall ha . direct chemical bond of bioactive glass - ceramic materials to bone and muscle . j biomed mater res 1973 ; 7 : 25 - 42 . 6 . aitasalo k , suonpaa j , peltoia m , yli - urpo a . behaviour of bioactive glass ( s53p4 ) in human frontal sinus obliteration . sedel l , rey c , editors . bioceramics vol 10 . oxford : elseview science ltd ; 1997 . p . 423 - 32 . 7 . stoor p , kirstila v , soderling e , kangaaniemi i , herbst k , yli - urpo a . interactions between bioactive glass and periodontal pathogens . microb ecol health dis 1996 ; 9 : 109 - 14 . 8 . andersson o . the bioactivity of a silicate glass . thesei , abo akademi university , finland ; 1990 . 9 . newman mg , socransky ss , savitt ed , propas da , crawford a . studies of the microbiology of periodontitis . j . periodont 1976 ; 47 : 373 - 79 . 10 . slota j . the predominant cultivable organisms in juvenile periodontitis . scand . j . dent res 1976 ; 84 : 1 - 10 . 11 . slots j . the predominant cultivable microflora of advanced periodontits . j . dent res 1977 ; 85 : 114 - 21 . 12 . spiegel ca , hayduk es , minah ge , kryoplan gn . black pigmented bacteroides from clinically characterized periodontal sites . j . periodont res 1979 ; 14 : 376 - 82 . 13 . tanner acr , haffer c , bratthall gt , visconti ra , socransky ss . a study of the bacteria associated with advancing periodontal disease in man . j clin periodont 1979 ; 6 : 278 - 307 . 14 . burnett gw , schuster gs , oral microbiota and its disease . in : burnett gw , schuster gs , editors . oral microbiology and infectious disease . student edition . baltimore : the williams & amp ; wilkins company ; 1978 . p . 174 - 253 . 15 . syed sa , loesche wj . survival of human dental plaque flora in various transport media . appl microbiol 1972 ; 24 : 638 - 44 . 16 . andersson oh , rosenqvist j , karlsson kh , dissolution , leaching , and al 2 o 3 enrichment at the surface of bioactive glasses studied by solution analysis . j biomed mater res 1993 ; 27 : 941 - 48 . 17 . nolte wa . physiology and growth of microorganisms . in : nolte wa , editor . oral microbiology with basic microbiology and immunology . 3rd ed . st . louis : the c . v . mosby company : 1977 . p . 25 - 38 . 18 . greenwood d . morphology and nature of microorganisms . in : greenwood d , slack h , feutherer j , editors . medical microbiology . 14th ed . churchill livingstone : longman group uk limited ; 1992 . p . 11 - 30 . 19 . yamashita y , kunimori a , takehara t . effect of ca ions on cell surface electrostatics of bacterioides gingivalis and other oral bacteria . zentralblatt für bacteriologie 1991 ; 275 : 46 - 53 . 20 . cimasoni g . in : myers h , editor . crevicular fluid updated . 2nd ed . basel : krager ; 1983 . p . 70 - 1 . 21 . barbosa sv , spangberg sw , aimedia d . low surface tension calcium hydroxide solution is an effective antiseptic . int endod j . 1994 ; 27 : 6 - 10 . 22 . drake dr , vargas k , cardenzana a , srikantah r . enhanced bacterioidical activity of arm and hammer dental care , am j dent 1995 ; 8 : 308 - 12 . 23 . morrier jj , rocca jp , barsotti o . antibacterial action of dental cements . bull group int rech sci stomatol odontol 1995 ; 38 : 87 - 93 .	0
in fig1 towing vehicle 2 , trailer 4 , and trailer mount assembly 6 are illustrated . towing vehicle 2 comprises a rear axle 8 and a towing vehicle bed 10 , the bed having bed aperture 12 disposed therein . trailer 4 can comprise any conventional trailer for transporting cargo and the like and defines trailer end area 14 . trailer mount assembly 6 comprises first tongue end 16 , second tongue end 18 , and tongue 20 disposed between the first and second tongue ends . in the embodiment shown , tongue 20 comprises a gooseneck - shaped tongue and , therefore , trailer 4 is known as a gooseneck trailer . tongue 20 can extend over towing vehicle bed 10 such that second tongue end 18 is vertically disposed above rear axle 8 of towing vehicle 2 . directional arrow 22 indicates the direction of a vertical load ( and resultant shear force ) created by trailer 4 , any trailer accessories ( e . g ., tongue 20 ), and any trailer contents . trailer 4 is secured to first tongue end 16 at trailer end area 14 , typically by welds 24 or other conventional means . also , second tongue end 18 is secured , typically by welds 24 or other conventional means , to coupling assembly 26 . as illustrated in fig2 coupling assembly 26 comprises height - adjustment device 28 and coupler mechanism 30 . optionally , coupling assembly 26 further comprises locking assembly 32 and friction fit assembly 34 . in preferred embodiments , height - adjustment device 28 is disposed at an upper portion 36 of coupling assembly 26 . fig3 depicts coupling assembly 26 of fig2 rotated ninety degrees about axis a . fig2 and 3 , in combination , illustrate the various devices , mechanisms , and assemblies relative to each other in preferred embodiments . in fig4 a top , cross - sectional view of coupling assembly 26 , taken along line 4 - 4 of fig2 details height - adjustment device 28 and friction fit assembly 34 . as shown , height - adjustment device 28 comprises load - bearing pin 38 , inner member 40 , and outer member 42 . inner member 40 defines inner member periphery 44 , inner member first surface 46 , and inner member second surface 48 . in fig5 a side , cross - sectional view , taken along line 5 - 5 of fig4 illustrates the interaction between inner member 40 and outer member 42 . as shown , inner member 40 includes opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 . each aperture 52 within opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 extends from inner member first surface 46 to inner member second surface 48 . opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 are longitudinally spaced over all , or a portion , of inner member height 54 and circumferentially aligned about inner member periphery 44 ( fig4 ). while fig5 illustrates five pairs 50 of apertures 52 , the number of pairs employed can be varied to convenience . referring back to fig4 outer member 42 extends around , and is in telescopic , sliding engagement with inner member 40 . outer member 42 defines outer member periphery 56 , outer member first surface 58 , and outer member second surface 60 . as shown in fig5 outer member 42 includes opposing outer member aperture pair 62 . each aperture 64 within opposing outer member aperture pair 62 extends from outer member first surface 58 to outer member second surface 60 . opposing outer member aperture pair 62 is circumferentially - aligned about outer member periphery 56 to correspond to the circumferential alignment of opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 about inner member periphery 44 . outer member 42 defines outer member height 66 . the telescopic , sliding inner and outer members 40 , 42 are co - axially aligned about axis a , as shown in fig4 and 5 , such that the members exhibit a mating engagement . peripheries 44 , 56 ( or corresponding cross - sections ) of both inner member 40 and outer member 42 can comprise a multitude of shapes , for example , circular , square , rectangular , and the like . in one embodiment , inner member 40 and outer member 42 comprise hollow , elongate members ( e . g ., tubes ). in a preferred embodiment , the elongate members are tubular . when added together , inner member and outer member heights 54 , 66 define device height 68 ( fig5 ). as members 40 , 42 are telescopically , slidably manipulated with respect to each other , device height 68 can increase or decrease . as device height 68 changes , one of opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 can align with opposing outer member aperture pair 62 to form channel 70 through height - adjustment device 28 and , therefore , coupling assembly 26 . channel 70 , when formed , is capable of receiving load - bearing pin 38 . to operate height - adjustment device 28 , and therefore coupling assembly 26 , a desired device height is determined . thereafter , members 40 , 42 are slidably adjusted relative to each other until the desired device height is achieved . since inner member 40 comprises a plurality of opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 spaced along inner member height 54 , channel 70 can be formed at ( or very near ) the desired device height . with channel 70 formed at or near the desired device height , load - bearing pin 38 is inserted into the channel . as a result , load - bearing pin 38 occupies one of opposing inner member aperture pairs 50 and occupies opposing outer member aperture pair 62 . should a new desired height be determined , load - bearing pin 38 can be removed , members 40 , 42 re - adjusted , and the load - bearing pin re - inserted . when occupying channel 70 , load - bearing pin 38 can maintain the desired height of the coupling assembly 26 and can concurrently and / or simultaneously bear the vertical load ( i . e ., withstand the shear force ) generated by the attached trailer , any trailer accessories , and any trailer contents . in one embodiment , load - bearing pin 38 can maintain the desired height of the coupling assembly 26 and concurrently bear all , or substantially all , of the vertical load ( i . e ., withstand the shear force ) of the attached trailer , trailer accessories , and trailer contents . as used herein , the term substantially all is defined as approximately ninety - five percent ( 95 %) of the vertical load . thus , load - bearing pin 38 permits adjustablility of height - adjustment device 28 , and therefore coupling assembly 26 , while bearing the vertical load ( i . e ., withstanding the shear force ) supplied by the attached trailer , any trailer accessories , and any trailer contents . these two functions are simultaneously and / or concurrently performed without relying on friction . in a preferred embodiment , as shown in fig6 load - bearing pin 38 comprises a solid , elongate member having load - bearing pin aperture 74 proximate a first load - bearing pin end 76 . load - bearing pin aperture 74 extends laterally , and entirely through , opposing sides of load - bearing pin 38 . load - bearing pin aperture 74 is designed and configured to receive a cotter pin 72 , a hair pin , or other like securing device . as illustrated in fig6 load - bearing pin 38 can be tapered at first load - bearing pin end 76 and angled proximate second load - bearing pin end 78 . load - bearing pin 38 can be constructed of steel , or other like material , and is designed to withstand at least about thirty - two thousand five hundred pounds ( 32 , 500 lbs .) of shear force applied transverse ( i . e ., perpendicular ) to axis b . in preferred embodiments , load - bearing pin is capable of withstanding at least about thirty - nine thousand pounds ( 39 , 000 lbs .) of shear force applied transverse ( i . e ., perpendicular ) to axis b . in more preferred embodiments , load - bearing pin is capable of withstanding at least about fifty thousand pounds ( 50 , 000 lbs .) of shear force applied transverse ( i . e ., perpendicular ) to axis b . referring to fig7 adjustment of device height 68 ( fig5 ) permits angle 80 , representing trailer pitch or level , to be customized . this can be highly desirable if bed height 82 above road surface 84 is not constant . for example , bed height 82 can vary with different towing vehicles 2 , as trailer 4 endures variable loading conditions , and the like . in preferred embodiments , height - adjustment device 28 , and therefore coupling assembly 26 , is manipulated such that angle 80 comprises approximately ninety degrees . this permits trailer 4 to be approximately horizontal with respect to towing vehicle 2 and road surface 84 . in fig8 a lower portion 86 of coupling assembly 26 details coupler mechanism 30 . coupler mechanism 30 comprises stationary plate 88 , lock plate 90 , pivot pin 92 , retainer bracket 94 , lock pin 96 , and spacers 98 . stationary plate 88 comprises concave cavity 100 , flange 102 , first stationary plate aperture 104 , and second stationary plate aperture 106 . stationary plate 88 can also comprise retainer bracket 94 secured to top stationary plate surface 122 proximate lock plate assembly end 124 , typically by welds 24 . retainer bracket 94 comprises retaining plate aperture 95 . concave cavity 100 extends upwardly into inner member 40 and is configured to receive mount 108 ( e . g ., a ball mount ). mount 108 can be secured within bed aperture 12 disposed in towing vehicle bed 10 of towing vehicle 2 ( fig1 ). flange 102 provides a locale for inner member 40 to be secured to stationary plate 88 , typically by welds 24 . resultantly , height - adjustment device 28 is secured to coupler mechanism 30 , to form coupling assembly 26 , and inner member 40 generally extends vertically , upwardly from stationary plate 88 . inner member 40 can be solid , or substantially solid , so long as mount 108 can still be received in concave cavity 100 of stationary plate 88 . referring to fig8 , and 9 a , lock plate 90 comprises mount aperture 110 , first lock plate aperture 112 , a locked - open aperture 114 , and a locked - closed aperture 116 . mount aperture 110 is configured to receive and selectively secure mount 108 . as shown in fig8 pivot pin 92 occupies first stationary plate aperture 104 , one of spacer aperture 99 , and first lock plate aperture 112 . again referring to fig8 lock pin 96 occupies retaining plate aperture 95 , second stationary plate aperture 106 , and another one of spacer aperture 99 . retaining plate aperture 95 functions to prevent lock pin 96 from losing alignment with second stationary plate aperture 106 disposed beneath locking assembly 32 . lock pin 96 next alternatively occupies either locked - open aperture 114 or locked - closed apertures 116 , as highlighted in fig9 and 9a , to secure mount 108 within coupling assembly 26 . fig9 represents a top , cross - sectional view , taken along line 9 - 9 , of the coupler mechanism 30 from fig4 . in fig9 stationary plate 88 and lock plate 90 are aligned and therefore receive mount 108 within coupler mechanism 30 . as shown , lock pin 96 is disposed within locked - open aperture 114 . thus , lock plate 90 is secured , with respect to stationary plate 88 , in an open position . with mount 108 received in coupler mechanism 30 , lock pin 96 is slid upwardly and removed from locked - open aperture 114 . lock plate 90 can then be rotated about pivot pin 92 , with respect to stationary plate 88 , causing the lock plate and the stationary plate to become offset , as illustrated in fig9 a . when the two plates 88 , 90 are offset , mount aperture 110 is effectively constricted . as shown in fig9 a , lock pin 96 is then released and inserted within locked - closed aperture 116 . thus , lock plate 90 is secured , with respect to stationary plate 88 , in a locked position . in the locked position , mount 108 is retained within coupler mechanism 30 and , correspondingly , coupling assembly 26 . to once again release mount 108 from coupler mechanism 30 , the above - described method is repeated in reverse order . conventional coupler mechanisms , coupling assemblies , and methods of using the same , are detailed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 382 , 109 and 6 , 234 , 509 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by this reference . in fig3 and 8 , a preferred embodiment of locking assembly 32 is shown . locking assembly 32 comprises lock pin 96 , guide 124 , spring 126 , and cover 128 . in fig8 locking assembly 32 , with partially cut - away cover 128 , is illustrated in detail . guide 124 is attached to inner member 40 , typically by one or more welds ( not shown ), thus securing locking assembly 32 to coupling assembly 26 . as shown , locking pin 96 is slidably secured within guide 124 to permit vertical actuation of the locking pin . in preferred embodiments , locking pin 96 comprises a “ d - shaped ” handle 130 , as illustrated in fig8 to assist manual biasing of locking assembly 32 . with lock plate 90 secured courtesy of locking assembly 32 , coupling assembly 26 , and therefore trailer 4 , are prevented from undesirably disengaging from mount 108 , and therefore towing vehicle 2 . in fig4 a cross - section of friction fit assembly 34 is shown . friction fit assembly 34 comprises adjustment bolt 132 , fixed nut 134 , and lock nut 136 , each of which is threaded in preferred embodiments . fixed nut 134 can be secured , typically by one or more welds 24 , to outer member 42 proximate adjustment bolt aperture 138 . fixed nut 134 receives adjustment bolt 132 and , as the adjustment bolt is rotated , adjustment bolt end 140 travels through adjustment bolt aperture 138 in outer member 42 and is moved closer to , or farther away from , inner member 40 depending on the direction of rotation of the adjustment bolt . in a preferred embodiment , adjustment bolt 132 is rotated clockwise to bias adjustment bolt end 140 against inner member first surface 48 . once adjustment bolt end 140 is biased against inner member first surface 48 , lock nut 136 can be rotated such that the lock nut is secured against fixed nut 134 . friction fit assembly 34 inhibits relative side - to - side movement between inner and outer members 40 , 42 . in other words , friction fit assembly encourages both inner and outer members 40 , 42 to remain co - axially aligned about axis a . in preferred embodiments , friction fit assembly 34 does not carry a significant vertical load ( i . e ., withstand a significant shear force ) supplied by trailer 4 , trailer accessories , and trailer contents , even though the friction fit assembly may have the ability to do so . despite any methods being outlined in a step - by - step sequence , the completion of acts or steps in a particular chronological order is not mandatory . further , elimination , modification , rearrangement , combination , reordering , or the like , of acts or steps is contemplated and considered within the scope of the description and claims . while the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment , it is recognized that equivalents , alternatives , and modifications , aside from those expressly stated , are possible and within the scope of the appending claims .	1
referring now to fig1 there is shown a simplfied block diagram of the present invention to which there is provided a single input signal corresponding to the instantaneous velocity of an object . the velocity signal is applied as an input signal at terminal 10 and thus to a computation circuit 12 , which computation circuit 12 operates on the incoming velocity signal to derive a first output signal on a line 14 corresponding to the average acceleration of the object and a second output signal on line 16 corresponding to the predicted velocity of the object . the incoming or instantaneous velocity signal is also supplied to an input terminal of a differentiator circuit 18 , which differentiator circuit 18 provides an output signal corresponding to the instantaneous acceleration of the object . the output signal from differentiator circuit 18 and the output signal on line 14 are applied to first and second input terminals respectively of a comparison circuit 20 . comparison circuit 20 compares the two signals , one of which is proportional to actual acceleration and the other of which is proportional to average acceleration , and provides an output signal of first logical significance when the magnitude of the actual acceleration signal differs from the magnitude of the average acceleration signal by a predetermined magnitude or margin . an output terminal of comparison circuit 20 is connected to a first input terminal of a memory circuit 22 . memory circuit 22 may comprise , for example , a bi - stable multivibrator which provides an output signal having a first logical significance when an input signal of first logical significance is applied to a &# 34 ; set &# 34 ; input terminal . hereinafter , a signal of first logical significance will be referred to as a logic 1 signal . accordingly , memory circuit 22 is triggered by the output signal from comparison circuit 20 to provide an output or overspeed signal indicating that the actual acceleration differs from the average acceleration by a predetermined margin or magnitude . although referred to hereinafter as an overspeed signal , it will be understood that this output signal may also represent an underspeed condition . assuming that the inventive circuit will be utilized in an overall system which responds to the output signal developed by memory circuit 22 to effect a correction in the acceleration or velocity of the object , there is also provided within the inventive circuit a means for determining when the velocity or acceleration of the object has returned to its normal state . in particular , the output signal on line 16 , which signal corresponds to the predicted velocity of the object , is applied to a first input terminal of a comparison circuit 24 and the instantaneous or actual velocity signal is applied to a second input terminal of comparison circuit 24 . comparison circuit 24 produces a logic 1 signal when the magnitude of the actual velocity signal is within a predetermined margin of the magnitude of the predicted velocity signal . this logic 1 signal is applied to a second input terminal of memory circuit 22 . in the situation wherein memory circuit 22 comprises a bi - stable multivibrator , the second input terminal would correspond to a reset terminal for the multivibrator . accordingly , when the output signal from comparison circuit 24 goes to a logic 1 level , this signal will effect a reset of memory circuit 22 thereby providing an output signal from memory circuit 22 indicating that the system velocity has recovered to within a predetermined margin or magnitude of its predicted velocity . since the system reacts rapidly , there is a possibility that the instantaneous velocity will not have deviated significantly from the predicted velocity at the time that the comparison circuit 20 has determined that the acceleration has exceeded the predetermined limits . accordingly , the signal developed by comparison circuit 24 is inhibited for a predetermined minimum time before application to the reset terminal of memory circuit 22 . this inhibit is provided by a time delay circuit 26 having an input terminal connected to the output terminal of comparison circuit 20 and an output terminal connected to a first input terminal of an and gate 28 . a second input terminal of and gate 28 is connected to the output terminal of comparison circuit 24 and an output terminal of and gate 28 is connected to the reset terminal of memory circuit 22 . time delay circuit 26 may comprise , for example , a monostable multivibrator which is triggered when the output signal from comparison circuit 20 goes to a logic 1 state and provides a logic 0 output signal for a predetermined time interval . the logic 0 output signal will inhibit and gate 28 thus preventing the signal from comparator 24 from traversing the and gate 28 and being applied to memory circuit 22 . as can be seen , the output signal from memory circuit 22 is also applied as a feedback signal to computation circuit 12 via line 13 . this feedback signal serves to open the velocity input loop to computation circuit 12 and prevent the velocity input signal from affecting the output signals from circuit 12 . in particular , the input signal to the computation circuit 12 is held at the last value prior to the recognition that the acceleration had exceeded the predetermined limits . this allows the computation loop to continue computing , but at the old rate , i . e ., the acceleration output signal on line 14 follows the same acceleration curve as it was following prior to the sudden change in acceleration . in addition , the predicted velocity will also follow the curve that was being followed prior to the sudden change in acceleration and therefore allows the comparison circuit 24 to compare the predicted velocity with the actual velocity to determine when a recovery does occur . the preferred method of realizing the computation circuit is to use the velocity and the first derivative of velocity in the prediction . this results in a constant stored predicted acceleration and a linearly changing predicted velocity . however , higher order derivatives of acceleration could be used to allow prediction of changes in accleration . also , a time constant is introduced into the computation circuit so that sudden changes of accleration will not affect the predicted values of acceleration and velocity . for a clearer understanding of the operation of the inventive circuit , reference may be had to fig2 in which there is shown a graph of typical velocity and acceleration curves for an object such as a wheel propelling a vehicle . the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the magnitude of both velocity and acceleration . as can be seen , during the period from time 0 until time a the acceleration profile 30 remained within the detection margins indicated by dotted lines 32 and 34 . during this same period , the velocity profile v was substantially linear . at time a the instantaneous velocity and the instantaneous acceleration of the wheel changed and at time b the instantaneous acceleration exceeded the detection threshold margin estabilished at line 32 . as discussed with reference to fig1 this excursion will result in a signal being produced by comparison circuit 20 , which signal will force memory circuit 22 to produce an overacceleration signal . since the overacceleration signal is directed back to computation circuit 12 to open - circuit the velocity input signal , computation circuit 12 will not respond to the sudden change in wheel velocity . still referring to fig2 the average acceleration output signal from computation circuit 12 will follow the profile indicated at 36 since the velocity input signal is interrupted . during this period the predicted velocity output signal will follow the profile indicated at 38 since the predicted velocity is a function of the average acceleration . assuming apparatus responsive to the overacceleration signal for correcting an overacceleration condition , the actual velocity and actual acceleration will follow substantially the indicated profiles during the period from time b to time c . thus , in response to the overacceleration signal , power to the shipping wheel is reduced , the acceleration drops off and velocity begins to decrease . when the actual velocity decreases to within a predetermined margin of the predicted velocity as indicated just prior to time c , comparison circuit 24 produces an output signal which effects a reset of memory circuit 22 and removes the overacceleration signal . the circuit then accepts the actual velocity signal and continues operation as before . the curves illustrated in fig2 are typical of a wheel - slip occurring during propulsion of a vehicle . during braking of a vehicle a similar loss of adhesion will result in wheel slide . fig3 illustrates the velocity and acceleration profiles for a loss of adhesion during braking . as can be seen , the profile of velocity during braking is substantially an inverse of the velocity profile for propulsion . the inventive circuit thus functions in the same manner for wheel slide as was discussed for a wheel slip condition . referring now to fig4 there is shown a detailed circuit diagram illustrating one embodiment of the inventive apparatus of fig1 . although the embodiment of fig4 is substantially an analog circuit , it is to be understood that the functions of the inventive apparatus of fig1 could be alternatively implemented using digital processing techniques . computation circuit 12 comprises an input resistor 42 having one end thereof connected to terminal 10 and another end thereof connected through a switch 43 to an inverting input terminal of a first integrating amplifier 44 . integrating amplifier 44 may be of a type well known in the art comprising an operational amplifier 46 and a feedback capacitor 48 connected between an output terminal and the first input terminal of amplifier 46 . a second input terminal of amplifier 46 is connected through a resistor 50 to a reference potential or ground . switch 43 comprises a field effect transistor ( fet ) 52 having a source terminal connected to resistor 42 and a drain terminal connected to the first input terminal of amplifier 44 . inversely paralleled diodes 54 and 56 are connected between the source terminal of fet 52 and the reference potential in order to limit the voltage applied to fet 52 . a current sinking resistor 58 is connected between the drain terminal of fet 52 and the reference potential . fet 52 is operated as a switch to open - circuit the velocity input signal during an overspeed or underspeed condition . the output terminal of amplifier 44 is connected to a first input terminal of a second integrating amplifier 60 through a resistor 62 . with the exception of a frequency compensating resistor 64 serially connected in a feedback path with a capacitor 66 , amplifier 60 is substantially identical to amplifier 44 and comprises an operational amplifier 68 and the feedback capacitor 66 . an output terminal of integrating amplifier 60 is connected to an input terminal of an amplifier 70 of a type well known in the art , which amplifier 70 provides a gain adjustment and an inversion of the signal developed by amplifier 60 . an output terminal of amplifier 70 is connected through a resistor 71 to the source terminal of fet 52 thus completing the feedback loop for computation circuit 12 . as can be appreciated , computation circuit 12 is comprised of a double integrator and since the signal developed at the output terminal of the second integrating amplifier 60 is proportional to velocity , the signal developed at the output terminal of the first integrating amplifier 44 is proportional to average acceleration . the loop is made to be relatively slow so that sudden changes in velocity will not affect the average acceleration signal at the output of amplifier 44 and the average velocity signal at the output of amplifier 60 . since the loop consists of two integrators , there will be zero error between the actual and predicted velocity for a constant rate of change of velocity . the loop will track slow rates of velocity change but will not significantly respond to faster changes caused by wheel slips or slides . line 14 connects the output terminal of amplifier 44 to a first input terminal of comparator 20 through an input resistor 72 having one end thereof connected to line 14 and a second end thereof connected to a first input terminal of an amplifier 74 , which amplifier 74 includes a feedback resistor 75 . a second input terminal of amplifier 74 is connected through a resistor 76 to the reference potential . the velocity input signal at terminal 10 is connected through differentiator circuit 18 also to the first input terminal of amplifier 74 . differentiator circuit 18 comprises a series combination of a capacitor 78 and a resistor 80 , which resistor 80 in conjunction with resistor 72 form a summing network for combining the actual acceleration signal from differentiator circuit 18 with the average acceleration signal from amplifier 44 . resistor 80 also provides amplifier stability . accordingly , a summing junction is formed at the first input terminal of amplifier 74 , at which summing junction the difference in magnitude between the actual acceleration signal and the average acceleration signal is developed . a smoothing circuit ( not shown ) may be used with amplifier 74 to remove noise in the measured velocity signal to prevent false comparisons . an output terminal of amplifier 74 is connected to a bidirectional comparator comprising first and second comparators 82 and 84 . in particular the output terminal of amplifier 74 is connected to the inverting input terminal of comparator 82 and to the noninverting input terminal of comparator 84 . the non - inverting input terminal of comparator 82 is connected through a resistor 86 to a variable tap on a potentiometer 88 . the inverting input terminal of comparator 84 is connected through a resistor 90 to a variable tap on a potentiometer 92 . potentiometer 88 is connected between a negative reference voltage - v and the reference potential , whereas potentiometer 92 is connected between a positive reference voltage + v and the reference potential . output terminals of comparators 82 and 84 are connected respectively to first and second input terminals of a logical or gate 94 whereby a logic 1 signal developed at an output terminal of either comparator 82 or comparator 84 will result in a logic 1 signal being developed at an output terminal of or gate 94 . resistor - capacitor networks comprising resistor 83 - capacitor 85 and resistor 87 - capacitor 89 respectively are connected from the non - inverting input terminals to the output terminals of comparators 82 and 84 and provide hysteresis to force the comparators to latch in a changed state rather than to oscillate if the input signal fluctuates . the time constant of the network is kept sufficiently short to prevent adverse effects on the comparison process . the output terminal of or gate 94 is connected to an input terminal of time delay circuit 26 , illustrated in fig4 as a monostable multivibrator . circuit 26 is responsive to the leading edge of a positive going or logic 1 signal from or gate 94 to produce at an output terminal a logic 0 output signal for a predetermined time duration . such monostable multivibrators are well known in the art . the output terminal of circuit 26 is connected to a first input terminal of an and gate 96 whereby and gate 96 is forced to produce a logic 0 signal at an output terminal during the time delay period of circuit 26 . the output terminal of or gate 94 is also connected to the set input terminal of an rs flip - flop , which flip - flop corresponds to memory circuit 22 . the reset input terminal of circuit 22 is connected to the output terminal of and gate 96 . a &# 34 ; set &# 34 ; or q output terminal of circuit 22 provides the overacceleration signal . it is noted that the overacceleration signal is fed back via line 13 from circuit 22 to a gate terminal of fet 52 . thus , when circuit 22 is triggered to a set condition , fet 52 is gated off and interrupts the velocity input signal and the velocity feedback loop to amplifier 44 . this action causes amplifier 44 to provide a constant output signal magnitude , i . e ., the output signal from amplifier 44 remains at the magnitude attained just prior to fet 52 being gated off . since this constant magnitude signal is supplied to integrating amplifier 60 , amplifier 60 produces a substantially linear ramp output signal corresponding to the predicted velocity of the monitored object under conditions of constant acceleration . recovery from an overacceleration condition is detected by comparison circuit 24 . as can be seen comparison circuit 24 is substantially identical to comparison circuit 20 and thus a detailed description of the components of circuit 24 is omitted . of interest , however , is the fact that although in fig1 comparison circuit 24 is illustrated as having two input terminals for receiving signals proportional to actual and predicted velocities , the implementation of fig4 shows only a single input terminal connected to a buffer amplifier 107 . this modification is achieved by utilizing as an input signal the difference signal developed at the junction of resistor 42 and resistor 71 , which difference signal corresponds to the difference between the magnitude of the actual velocity signal and the magnitude of the predicted velocity signal . comparison circuit 24 merely compares the difference signal to a predetermined magnitude and provides a logic 1 output signal when the difference is within the predetermined margins or limits set by respective comparators 102 and 104 . since comparison circuit 24 must provide a logic 1 signal when the input difference signal is within a plus or a minus margin of the predetermined magnitude , the output signals from comparators 102 and 104 are combined in a logical nand gate 106 . nand gate 106 provides a logic 1 output signal only if both input signals are logic 0 signals . the output terminal of nand gate 106 is connected to a second input terminal of and gate 96 through an or gate 99 . thus , when the time delay is established by circuit 26 has expired , a return of the magnitude of the actual velocity signal to within a predetermined margin of the predicted velocity signal will result in a logic 1 signal being applied from circuit 24 to and gate 96 and a logic 1 signal being applied from and gate 96 to the reset ( r ) terminal of circuit 22 . this action will force a reset of circuit 22 and remove the overacceleration signal . referring now to fig5 the present invention is shown in a control system for an adjustable speed motor drive comprising the combination of a suitable d - c electric power source 108 , conversion apparatus including an inverter 110 whose power input is taken from that source , and a plurality of adjustable speed a - c motors 112a , 112b , and 112c having 3 - phase stator windings which are energized by the output of the inverter 110 and rotors coupled to separate mechanical loads such as the wheels of a traction vehicle ( not shown ). by appropriately varying the frequency and the amplitude of the excitation that the inverter 110 supplies to the stator windings of the motors 112 , the motors can be propelled ( motoring mode ) or retarded ( braking mode ) as desired . toward this end , the electric power conversion apparatus includes suitable means , indicated generally by the reference number 114 , for regulating and controlling the operation of the inverter 110 is programmed response to a plurality of input signals comprising a first call signal t call representative of the desired motor torque , another call signal φ call representative of the desired value of motor flux , and certain feedback signals representative of the actual responses of selected motor parameters , as is more fully explained below . the t call signal is developed by a torque call logic circuit 116 in response to operator command signals generally designated as &# 34 ; train lines .&# 34 ; the illustrated regulating and control means 114 includes a torque regulator 118 which is fed via line 120 with the aforesaid torque signal t call , via line 122 with a torque feedback signal representative of the actual valve of torque developed by the motor 112 as derived by a torque processing circuit 124 , and via line 126 with a speed feedback signal which is produced by suitable means , such as tachometer generators 128a , 128b , and 128c , for sensing the actual angular velocity of the rotor of the motors 112a , 112b , and 112c , respectively . the speed feedback signal on line 126 is the average of the signals produced by generators 128a , 128b , and 128c as developed by averaging circuit 131 , which circuit 131 is of a type well known in the art . in response to these inputs the torque regulator 118 supplies directly to a first input line 130 of a waveform generator 132 a stator frequency command signal f c which will determine the fundamental frequency of a sequence of periodic control signals on each of three output lines x , y , and z . the speed feedback signal is directed through a rate limit circuit 129 before application to generator 132 to prevent an excessive rate of change of wheel speed from being transmitted to the inverter control as is more fully explained in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 916 , 275 - plunkett et al , issued oct . 28 , 1975 , and assigned to the general electric company . the control signal sequences on the respective lines x , y , and z are generated by the generator 132 in 120 - degree staggered patterns to control the operation of firing and commutating means in the inverter 110 , thereby enabling the frequency of the fundamental components of the 3 - phase alternating voltages that the inverter applies to the terminals of the stator windings of the motor 112 to be varied as a function of the frequency command signal f c . the frequency command signal f c from the torque regulator 118 is also supplied to multiplying means 134 , which , in cascade with dividing means 136 , is coupled to a second input line 138 of the waveform generator 132 . in the multiplier 134 the value of the frequency command signal is multiplied by that of an integrated flux error signal on line 140 which is derived from a comparison of actual and desired values of motor flux , and in the divider 136 it is divided by the value of a signal on line 142 which is proportional to the magnitude of the inverter input voltage as sensed by a voltage transducer 144 connected across the d - c input terminals of the inverter 110 . thus the signal appearing on line 138 , hereinafter referred to as the amplitude command signal v c , varies directly with the product of the frequency command signal f c on line 130 and the integrated flux error signal on line 140 , and it varies inversely with the inverter input voltage signal on line 142 . the waveform generator 132 responds to the amplitude command signal by controlling the operation of the inverter firing and commutating means so as to vary , as a function of v c , the amplitude of the fundamental components of the 3 - phase alternating voltages that the inverter applies to the stator terminals of the motors 112 . as a result , so long as the amplitude of the fundamental stator excitation voltage is under its maximum possible level and the actual value of motor flux is equal to a constant desired value , this amplitude will track the fundamental excitation frequency so as to maintain the volts - per - hertz ratio of the excitation voltage substantially constant . the torque regulator 118 causes the frequency command signal f c to differ from the actual speed feedback signal in an amount and in a sense ( which difference represents motor slip frequency ) that minimizes any error between the motor torque feedback signal on line 122 and the torque call signal on line 120 . the torque feedback signal is obtained from the aforesaid torque processing circuit 124 which preferably is constructed and arranged in accordance with the teachings of my co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 568 , 120 , filed on apr . 14 , 1975 , and assigned to the general electric company . as is therein explained more fully , this component relies on stator excitation current feedback signals derived from an array of three current transformers 145 coupled to the respective conductors over which the inverter output is supplied to the stator terminals of the motors 112 , and it also relies on motor flux feedback signals derived from suitable means 146 for sensing the actual magnetic flux across the rotor - stator air gap inside each of the motors . the latter flux sensing means 146 is advantageously constructed in accordance with the teachings of a co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 525 , 613 plunkett et al , filed on nov . 20 , 1974 , and assigned to the general electric company . the flux sensing means 146 is arranged to produce a feedback signal φ representative of the average value of actual motor flux , and this signal is supplied to a summing circuit 148 along with the fluxcall signal φ call . the summing circuit 148 derives on line 150 a flux error signal which depends on the difference , if any , between the actual and desired values of motor flux . as is more fully explained in the above - cited co - pending application ser . no . 525 , 613 - plunkett et al , the flux error signal on line 150 is integrated by an integrator 152 , and the integrated error signal is supplied via line 140 to the multiplier 134 . consequently , the above - mentioned amplitude command signal v c on line 138 is increased or decreased in response to an error between actual and desired values of motor flux in order to change the fundamental amplitude of the stator excitation voltage as necessary to reduce the error to zero . the cross - connection of the frequency command signal f c from the frequency - control , torque regulating loop into the amplitude - control , flux regulating loop through the medium of the multiplier 134 greatly improves the stability of the motor control , especially during the braking mode of operation , and enables the amplitude - control channel to compensate for rapid speed changes without requiring fast control action in the flux regulating loop . the direction of rotation of the a - c motors 112 depends on the phase sequence of the 3 - phase alternating voltages which the inverter 110 applies to their stator terminals , which phase sequence corresponds to the sequencing of the control signal trains on the lines x , y , and z from the waveform generator 132 . to determine this sequence , a third input line 154 of the generator 132 is supplied with a forward - reverse command signal f / r from torque logic circuit 116 . the generator is arranged to reverse the sequence from x - y - z to x - z - y in response to a commanded change from forward to reverse , and vice versa . a more detailed description of the above - described elements of a motor control system may be had by reference to my co - pending applications ser . no . 568 , 120 filed apr . 14 , 1975 and ser . no . 654 , 951 filed mar . 8 , 1976 and assigned to the general electric co . the present invention is incorporated in the system of fig5 in the form of a plurality of wheel slip / slide circuits 156a , 156b and 156c . a velocity input signal is provided from tachometer - generators 128a , 128b , and 128c via lines 158a , 158b , and 158c respectively , to corresponding circuits 156a , 156b , and 156c . an over - acceleration or wheel slip / slide signal produced by one or all of the wheel slip / slide circuits 156 is connected via or gate 155 and lines 160 and 162 to logic circuit 116 and torque regulator 118 . the wheel slip / slide signal effects a reduction in the t call signal produced by logic circuit 116 in order to minimize the possibility of a subsequent wheel slip / slide as a result of full torque being suddenly reapplied to motor 112 . the wheel slip / slide signal to torque regulator 118 is utilized to open the torque feedback loop to thereby prevent a synchronous slip / slide condition . an override signal from logic circuit 116 is provided via line 164 to wheel slip / slide circuits 156 for reasons to be more fully explained with reference to fig6 . referring now to fig6 there is shown a detailed diagram of one of the inventive wheel slip / slide circuit 156 , in particular circuit 156a , in conjunction with appropriate components of the system of fig5 it being understood that circuits 156b and 156c are identical to 156a . torque call logic circuit 116 is seen to comprise a logic circuit 166 for converting the train line signals to a corresponding analog command signal for application to a slew rate limit circuit 168 via an analog switch 170 . rate limit circuit 168 is of a tape well known in the art for accepting an analog input signal and providing a corresponding output signal having a predetermined rise time . switch 170 may be , for example , a type known as an analog bilateral switch manufactured by radio corporation of america ( rca ) under the part number cd4016 . the signal developed at the output of rate limit circuit 168 is the t call signal identified previously and is supplied to a first one of the input terminals of a summing circuit 172 in torque regulator 118 . the summing circuit 172 may comprise any conventional , known summing or differential amplifier circuit such as those described in chapters 1 and 2 of the reference textbook operational amplifiers - design and application by tobey , graeme and huelsman , mcgraw - hill book company , 1971 . in addition to the commanded torque signal t call , summing circuit 172 has supplied to a second input terminal an actual torque feedback signal from torque processor circuit 124 on line 122 . the input command value of torque signal t call is representative of a desired value of torque to be developed by the induction motors 112 . summing circuit 172 combines the command value of torque with the actual value of torque , and derives an output torque error signal representative of the polarity and magnitude of any difference . the torque error signal is applied through a resistor 174 and a field effect transistor ( fet ) 176 to a first input terminal of an operational amplifier 178 , which amplifier may be a conventional , commercially available , integrated circuit amplifier of the type described in chapter 8 of the textbook entitled operation amplifiers - design and application by tobey , graeme and huelsman , published by mcgraw - hill book company , 1971 . it should be noted that the inversely paralleled diodes 180 and 182 connected between a source terminal of fet 176 and the reference potential serve merely to limit the voltage applied to fet 176 . resistor 184 connected between a drain terminal of fet 176 and the reference potential acts as a current sink for fet 176 and amplifier 178 . the transfer function designed into operational amplifier 178 is determined primarily by input resistor 174 and feedback elements comprised by resistor 186 and capacitor 188 which are adjusted to provide the operational amplifier 178 with an integral plus proportional transfer characteristic corresponding to the function [( k 1 / s ) + k 2 ] as described in the textbook by d &# 39 ; azzo and houppis , entitled feedback control system analysis and synthesis , published by mcgraw - hill book company , 1960 . thus , it will be appreciated that the operational amplifier 178 operates to derive from the torque error signal a compensated signal which by definition shall be treated as a desired motor slip frequency signal f slip . the desired slip frequency signal f slip obtained at the output of amplifier 178 is supplied through a limit circuit 190 , and may then be applied directly to control the operation of the induction motor 112 , if such an arrangement be desired . however , it is preferred that the desired slip frequency signal f slip be supplied to a second or speed summing circuit 192 . speed summing circuit 192 is similar in construction and characteristics to the summing amplifier circuit 172 , and , in addition to the slip frequency signal f slip , has supplied to it a second input feedback speed signal f shaft on line 126 derived from tachometer - generators 128 . the feedback speed signal f shaft is representative of the average of the actual speeds of the induction motor rotor shafts measured in hertz . summing circuit 192 sums together the slip frequency and actual speed feedback signals and derives at its output a speed control signal f c which is representative of a desired or commanded value of stator excitation current frequency . the commanded stator frequency control signal f c is supplied as the frequency controlling input signal to wave form generator circuit 132 . in addition to the functions previously ascribed to the inventive circuit 156 , certain other features are implemented to provide an improved combination in a wheel slip / slide application . in particular , the overacceleration signal developed at the q output terminal of circuit 22 is applied to switch 170 to effect a removal of the torque command signal from rate limit circuit 168 and to substitute therefore a zero torque command or ground input signal to limit circuit 168 . this action forces rate limit circuit 168 to slew the t call output signal toward a zero torque command . since the severity of the wheel slip / slide condition will determine how rapidly a recovery is effected , it can be seen that the degree to which t call is reduced is directly related to the severity of the wheel slip / slide . a clearer understanding of this concept may be had by reference to fig7 wherein the shaded areas represent those periods in which torque is controlled and the unshaded areas represent wheel slip / slide intervals . the graph plots the t call signal appearing at terminal 120 as a function of time . as is shown , the system &# 34 ; hunts &# 34 ; for that value of applied torque which will result in a minimum wheel slip / slide condition . in that sense the system is adaptive to the characteristics of adhesion to provide a maximum acceleration or maximum braking tractive effort . although the reduction in torque command or t call signal when applied to summing circuit 172 would effect a reduction in the torque of motor 112 , it has been found advantageous to provide an even more rapid reduction of torque command to motor 112 . referring again to fig6 it can be seen that this rapid reduction is accomplished by applying the overacceleration signal from circuit 22 to the gate terminal of fet 176 thereby interrupting the torque error signal at the input terminal of amplifier 178 . interruption of the torque error signal latches the output signal of amplifier 178 at its last value of commanded motor slip . since the signal from amplifier 178 is a motor slip command ( f slip ) and the signal on line 126 is a rate limited ( by rate limit circuit 129 ) shaft frequency signal , the control system operates in a constant motor slip frequency mode except for the slipping motor , rather than a constant torque mode during a wheel slip / slide condition . thus , the torque command is interrupted and the operation in a constant motor slip frequency mode allows the slipping or sliding one of the motors 112a , 112b , or 112c to unload and recover from the wheel slip / slide condition using the natural induction motor torque - speed characteristics . it is noted that for a plural motor system of the type shown wherein the shaft frequency ( velocity ) feedback signals are averaged , rate limit circuit 129 may be eliminated . the rate limit circuit 129 merely prevents the shaft frequency feedback signal from changing suddenly when a wheel slip or slide occurs , a function which the averaging circuit 131 inherently provides by reducing the relative impact which a change in one shaft frequency signal will have on the average output signal . however , either the averaging circuit 131 or the rate limit circuit 129 must be included in order to prevent the total motor torque from remaining contant when shaft frequency increases as a result of the shaft frequency feedback signal being summed with the commanded slip frequency signal in summing junction 192 . although the inventive circuit 156 as previously described will detect a recovery from a wheel slip / slide condition , in some instances the t call signal from rate limit circuit 168 will reach a zero torque command level before a recovery is detected . under this condition it has been found advantageous to override the wheel slip / slide circuit 156 and allow the command torque signal or t call signal to be reapplied to motor 112 before recovery of wheel slip / slide is detected . accordingly , the t call signal at the output of limit circuit 168 is applied via line 164 to a first input terminal of a bilateral comparison circuit 194 , which circuit 194 is identical to comparison circuit 24 . comparison circuit 194 compares the magnitude of the t call signal to the reference potential and provides a logic 1 output signal when t call is within a predetermined margin of the reference potential . an output terminal of comparison circuit 194 is connected to a first input terminal of an or gate 196 . a second input terminal of or gate 196 is connected to receive a delayed signal from an output terminal of delay circuit 97 , which delay circuit 97 has an input terminal connected to receive the output signal memory circuit 22 . as indicated previously , circuit 97 is provided as a back - up or fail - safe circuit and may be advantageously omitted , in which event or gate 196 may be similarly omitted . however , delay circuit 97 is provided to assure a reset of the memory circuit 22 in the event that both comparison circuits 24 and 194 fail to detect a condition for reset . in the alternative , comparison circuit 194 may be omitted and delay circuit 97 included to thereby effect a forced override of the overacceleration signal after a predetermined time delay . an output terminal of or gate 196 is connected to a first input terminal of or gate 99 , a second input terminal of or gate 99 being connected to the output terminal of comparison circuit 24 . or gate 99 in conjunction with or gate 196 serves to combine the three previously described means for resetting circuit 22 when it is appropriate to remove the overspeed signal . the invention can better be understood by considering the typical operation of the circuit of fig6 . the &# 34 ; train line &# 34 ; command signals are typically supplied as a parallel digital word calling for a particular motor current or motor torque and a direction of travel . these train line signals are converted by logic circuit 166 to an analog power call signal which , in the present example , is a torque call signal , t call . a forward / reverse direction signal is also produced by logic circuit 166 and supplied via line 154 to waveform generator 132 to thereby control the phase relationships between the x , y , z signals which signals in turn control the direction of rotation of the stator fields in motors 112 . the t call signal is applied via switch 170 to slew rate control circut 168 . slew rate control circuit 168 functions to control the rate of change of the t call signal to prevent sudden applications of power to the motors 112 . from circuit 168 the t call signal is applied to summing junction 172 where it is summed with the actual torque feedback signal to produce a torque error signal . the torque error signal is then applied through fet switch 176 to amplifier 178 , which amplifier modifies the error signal to make it conform to a motor slip frequency command signal , f slip . the f slip signal is then conducted via limit circuit 190 to summing junction 192 . limit circuit 190 serves to limit the maximum motor slip which can be commanded . in junction 192 the f slip signal is summed with the actual motor rotational frequency signal to produce a motor stator frequency command signal which latter signal is then applied to control the frequency of the a - c power applied to the motors 112 . the wheel slip / slide circuits 156 are connected to receive velocity feedback signals , which signals are supplied by tachometer generators 128 and are directly proportional to the instantaneous velocity of the wheels being driven by the motors 112 . as explained previously each wheel slip / slide circuit computates from its respective velocity input signal both the average and instantaneous accelerations of the corresponding driven wheel . so long as any change in the velocity input signals stays within the time constants of the computation circuit , the computed average acceleration will follow , without appreciable error , the instantaneous acceleration of the driven wheel and the slip / slide circuit will remain passive . however , a sudden change in the magnitude of the velocity feedback signal caused by , for example , a reduction in adhesion between the driven wheel and a rail and resulting in a wheel slip or slide , will be detected by the corresponding circuit 156 as a change in acceleration . accordingly , the circuit 156a , 156b , or 156c will produce a logic 1 output signal , which signal is applied via or gate 155 to the gate electrode of fet 176 thereby interrupting the torque error signal at the input of amplifier 178 . at the same time the circuit 156 output signal is applied via line 160 to switch 170 thereby tying the input terminal of slew rate limit circuit 168 to the reference potential and causing the t call signal at the output of circuit 168 to slew toward the reference potential at a controlled rate . with the torque error path between junction 172 and amplifier 178 open - circuited , the magnitude of the signal at the input of amplifier 178 is held at substantially the magnitude existing at the time switch 176 was opened . thus the f slip signal at the output terminal of amplifier 178 is held constant and the motors 112 are operated at a constant motor slip frequency rater than in a controlled torque mode . this action is particularly useful when , as is shown , the motors 112 actually represent a plurality of motors 112a , 112b , and 112c supplied by the same power source , since operation in a constant slip frequency mode will allow the motors driving the slipping or sliding wheel to unload without transferring the torque load of that motor to the remaining motors . therefore , since the torque applied to the wheels is not increased , there is less tendency for a non - slipping or non - sliding wheel to lose adhesion . assuming that the wheels regain adhesion before either time delay circuit 97 times out or the output signal from circuit 168 approaches the reference level , comparator 24 will detect that actual wheel velocity is within the predetermined margin of the predicted wheel velocity and will reset memory circuit 22 . the overacceleration signal ( or wheel slip / slide signal ) will thus be removed from fet 176 and switch 170 . the t call signal will therefore be reapplied to the input terminal of slew rate limit circuit 168 and the output signal from circuit 168 will begin to slew toward the magnitude of t call starting at the magnitude attained at the time the overacceleration signal was terminated . accordingly , a torque command signal of a magnitude less than that existing at the time the wheel slip / slide condition occurred will be applied to junction 172 and the resultant error signal applied to amplifier 178 thereby returning the power control system to a controlled torque mode . had the t call signal from circuit 168 reaches a magnitude within the predetermined margin of the reference potential before a recovery was detected , comparator 194 would have changed state and applied a signal to force a reset of memory circuit 22 . since the reference potential is selected to represent a zero torque command signal , the power control system would , in effect , begin applying power to the motors 112 starting from zero torque and slewing toward the command torque level . the time delay of circuit 97 may be selected to be at least as large as the time required for rate limit circuit 168 to slew over its entire range . circuit 97 thus is provided as a fail - safe or back - up circuit in the event a malfunction occurs in the detection circuits . a typical time delay for circuit 97 would be in the order of 3 / 4 to 11 / 2 seconds . from the above description of the operation of the wheel slip / slide circuit 156 in conjunction with a power control system for controlling motor torque , it can be seen that the combined systems will operate to cause motor torque to reach a level ( within the commanded torque level ) at which minimum wheel slipping or sliding occurs , or , in other words , a level at which maximum tractive effort is achieved . it can also be seen that the sensitivity of the wheel slip / slide circuit 156 is independent of the velocity or accelertion of the wheels , i . e ., the magnitude of the predetermined margins are maintained constant on either side of the actual velocity and acceleration of the wheels . as will be appreciated the present invention provides a novel means for detecting the initiation of and a recovery from an overacceleration condition . further , the inventive system has been shown to be adaptive to different rates of acceleration or deceleration by providing detection limits which bracket these rates . when applied to a traction motor control system , the present invention advantageously provides a means for detecting a wheel slip or wheel slide condition and for detecting a recovery from a wheel slip or wheel slide condition . the present invention in combination with the disclosed torque control logic provides an adaptive control system for maximizing tractive effort of an electric vehicle . the invention has been shown to provide an improved wheel slip / slide control system which is capable of detecting synchronous slips / slides and does not rely upon speed comparison between different wheels to detect a slip / slide condition . while the principles of the invention have now been made clear in illustrative embodiments , there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications in structure , arrangement , proportions , the elements , materials , and components , used in the practice of the invention , and otherwise , which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operating requirements , without departing from those principles . the appended claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace any such modifications , within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention .	1
refer first to fig1 , which illustrates the problem addressed by the present invention . a prior - art printing plate 100 is pinned , by means of a pair of end clamps 105 a , 105 b , to the plate cylinder of a printing press or a platesetter . end clamps 105 are grounded through mechanical connection to the machine frame . printing plate 100 is imaged by ablation using imaging apparatus as described below . the prior - art plate 100 has been imaged so as to produce a thin , frame - like image area 110 . this area encloses an unimaged region 112 , and is surrounded by a larger unimaged region 114 in electrical contact with both clamps 105 a , 105 b . as a result , when the plate 100 is used to print , ink is received only by image area 110 , and the printed copy is a replica of this area . fig1 b shows a cross - section of plate 100 through the imaged region 110 . the plate itself is a three - layer construction having a topmost layer 120 chosen for its lithographic affinity ; a metal ablation layer 125 , which is selectively destroyed by imaging radiation ; and a substrate 130 whose lithographic affinity is opposite to that of the layer 120 . for example , topmost layer 120 may be silicone ; ablation layer 125 may be titanium ; and substrate 130 may be polyester , all in accordance with the u . s . pat . no . re . 33 , 512 (“ the &# 39 ; 512 patent ”). the result is a dry plate whose silicone surface 120 repels ink . where the plate 100 has been imaged to reveal layer 130 , the plate accepts ink ; the imaged regions appear as slot - like gaps 135 . removal of layer 120 above areas of layer 125 that have been destroyed may entail a post - imaging cleaning process ( e . g ., rubbing with or without a cleaning liquid as described , for example , in the &# 39 ; 737 and &# 39 ; 512 patents and in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 378 , 580 ). substrate 130 is in contact with a drum or plate cylinder 140 , which , like clamps 105 , is at ground potential . imaging and / or cleaning of plate 100 results in triboelectric charging — which may be negative or , as illustrated , positive — of region 112 , which is electrically isolated from the remainder 114 of layer 120 ( and , hence , grounded clamps 105 ). electrostatic charge buildup can also occur during printing , i . e ., as ink is transferred to and from plate 110 on a press . electrostatic charge does not accumulate on region 114 because of the contact with clamps 105 . if layers 120 , 130 are nonconductive , dielectric materials , region 112 behaves as a capacitor . the larger the area of region 112 , the more charge it can accumulate , and the greater will be the potential difference between region 112 and ground . if this voltage is large enough and image area 110 thin enough ( or , with reference to fig1 b , if gaps 135 are narrow enough ), the charge can arc from region 112 to area 114 ( i . e ., across gaps 135 ). arcing results in destruction of a small additional portion of layer 120 in the region of the arc , producing a widening or puckering the image region 110 . the affected areas accept ink although they were not imaged by the laser , and manifest themselves as a series of visible defects 150 ( see fig1 c ) that mark where arcing occurred . obviously the depicted configuration represents a highly simplified plate image , but similar defects can occur even in more detailed image patterns . for example , the contents of area 114 are essentially irrelevant to the accumulation of static charge on area 112 , and arcing can occur wherever the image area 110 narrows sufficiently . the factors that favor defects 150 are a large , electrically isolated area 112 , a sufficiently thin image region 110 , and adjacent regions having path to ground . fig2 illustrates a negative - working printing member 200 according to the present invention that includes a substrate 202 , a polymeric imaging layer 204 , and a topmost layer 206 . layer 204 is sensitive to imaging ( generally ir ) radiation as discussed below , and imaging of the printing member 200 ( by exposure to ir radiation ) results in imagewise ablation of the layer 204 . the resulting de - anchorage of topmost layer 206 facilitates its removal by rubbing or simply as a result of contact during the print “ make ready ” process . preferably , the ablation debris of layer 204 is chemically compatible with water in the sense of being acted upon , and removed by , an aqueous liquid following imaging . substrate 202 ( or a layer thereover ) exhibits a lithographic affinity opposite that of topmost layer 206 . consequently , ablation of layer 204 , followed by imagewise removal of the topmost layer 206 to reveal an underlying layer or the substrate 202 , results in a lithographic image . most of the films used in the present invention are “ continuous ” in the sense that the underlying surface is completely covered with a uniform layer of the deposited material . each of these layers and their functions is described in detail below . the substrate provides dimensionally stable mechanical support to the printing member . the substrate should be strong , stable , and flexible . one or more surfaces ( and , in some cases , bulk components ) of the substrate may be hydrophilic . the topmost surface , however , is generally oleophilic . suitable materials include , but are not limited to , polymers , metals and paper , but generally , it is preferred to have a polymeric ink - accepting layer ( e . g ., applied over a metal or paper support ). as used herein , the term “ substrate ” refers generically to the ink - accepting layer beneath the radiation - sensitive layer 204 , although the substrate may , in fact , include multiple layers ( e . g ., an oleophilic film laminated to an optional metal support 210 , such as an aluminum sheet having a thickness of at least 0 . 001 inch , or an oleophilic coating over an optional paper support ). substrate 202 desirably also exhibits high scattering with respect to imaging radiation . this allows full utilization of the radiation transmitted through overlying layers , as the scattering causes back - reflection into layer 204 and consequent increases in thermal efficiency . polymers suitable for use in substrates according to the invention include , but are not limited to , polyesters ( e . g ., polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate ), polycarbonates , polyurethane , acrylic polymers , polyamide polymers , phenolic polymers , polysulfones , polystyrene , and cellulose acetate . a preferred polymeric substrate is polyethylene terephthalate film , such as the polyester films available from dupont - teijin films , hopewell , va . under the trademarks mylar and melinex , for example . also suitable are the white polyester products from dupont - teijin such as melinex 927w , 928w 329 , 329s , 331 . polymeric substrates can be coated with a hard polymer transition layer to improve the mechanical strength and durability of the substrate and / or to alter the hydrophilicity or oleophilicity of the surface of the substrate . ultraviolet or electron - beam cured acrylate coatings , for example , are suitable for this purpose . polymeric substrates can have thicknesses ranging from about 50 μm to about 500 μm or more , depending on the specific printing member application . for printing members in the form of rolls , thicknesses of about 200 μm are preferred . for printing members that include transition layers , polymer substrates having thicknesses of about 50 μm to about 100 μm are preferred . the layer 204 can be any polymer capable of stably retaining , at the applied thickness , an ir - absorptive pigment dispersion ( generally nonconductive carbon black ) adequate to cause ablation of the layer in response to an imaging pulse ; and of exhibiting water compatibility following ablation . furthermore , in embodiments where layer 204 is only partially ablated , it is either ( a ) sufficiently water - compatible to be fully removed during cleaning , or ( b ) oleophilic if some of layer remains even after cleaning . it is found that the nonconductive carbon black enhances , or even confers , the desired water compatibility of layer 204 or the ablation debris thereof . layer 204 should exhibit good adhesion to the overlying layer 206 , and resistance to age - related degradation may also be considered . in general , pigment loading levels are at least 25 wt %, and the coating is applied at a dry weight of at least 0 . 2 g / m 2 , or at least 0 . 4 g / m 2 , or at least 0 . 8 g / m 2 , or at least 1 . 0 g / m 2 , or in some embodiments , at least 1 . 5 g / m 2 . representative materials include bakelite ( phenol formaldehyde ) and other phenolic resins , vinyl chloride resins , acrylic resins , and / or polyvinyl butyral . other suitable materials include polymers formed from maleic anhydride and one or more styrenic monomers ( that is , styrene and styrene derivatives having various substituents on the benzene ring ), polymers formed from methyl methacrylate and one or more carboxy - containing monomers , and mixtures thereof . these polymers can comprise recurring units derived from the noted monomers as well as recurring units derived from additional , but optional , monomers ( e . g ., ( meth ) acrylates , ( meth ) acrylonitrile and ( meth ) acrylamides ). the carboxy - containing recurring units can be derived , for example , from acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , itaconic acid , maleic acid , and similar monomers known in the art . other suitable materials include polymer binders having pendant epoxy groups . particularly useful polymers of this type have pendant epoxy groups attached to the polymer backbone through a carboxylic acid ester group such as a substituted or unsubstituted — c ( o ) o - alkylene , — c ( o ) o - alkylene - phenylene -, or — c ( o ) o - phenylene group wherein the alkylene has 1 to 4 carbon atoms . preferred ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers having pendant epoxy groups useful to make these polymer binders include glycidyl acrylate , glycidyl methacrylate , 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexyl methacrylate , and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexyl acrylate . the epoxy - containing polymers can also comprise recurring units derived from one or more ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers that do not have pendant epoxy groups including but not limited to , ( meth ) acrylates , ( meth ) acrylamides , vinyl ether , vinyl esters , vinyl ketones , olefins , unsaturated imides ( such as maleimide ), n - vinyl pyrrolidones , n - vinyl carbazole , vinyl pyridines , ( meth ) acrylonitriles , and styrenic monomers . of these , the ( meth ) acrylates , ( meth ) acrylamides , and styrenic monomers are preferred and the styrenic monomers are most preferred . for example , a styrenic monomer could be used in combination with methacrylamide , acrylonitrile , maleimide , vinyl acetate , or n - vinyl pyrrolidone . other useful materials include polyvinyl acetals , ( meth ) acrylic resins comprising carboxy groups , vinyl acetate crotonate - vinyl neodecanoate copolymer phenolic resins , maleated wood rosins , styrene - maleic anhydride co - polymers , ( meth ) acrylamide polymers , polymers derived from an n - substituted cyclic imide , and combinations thereof . particularly useful materials include polyvinyl acetals , and copolymers derived from an n - substituted cyclic imide ( especially n - phenylmaleimide ), a ( meth ) acrylamide ( especially methacrylamide ), and a ( meth ) acrylic acid ( especially methacrylic acid ). the preferred polymeric materials of this type are copolymers that comprise from about 20 to about 75 mol % and preferably about 35 to about 60 mol % of recurring units derived from n - phenylmaleimide , n - cyclohexylmaleimide , n - benzylmaleimide , or a mixture thereof ; from about 10 to about 50 mol % and preferably from about 15 to about 40 mol % of recurring units derived from acrylamide , methacrylamide , or a mixture thereof ; and from about 5 to about 30 mol % and preferably about 10 to about 30 mol % of recurring units derived from methacrylic acid . other hydrophilic monomers , such as hydroxyethyl methacrylate , may be used in place of some or all of the methacrylamide . other alkaline - soluble monomers , such as acrylic acid , may be used in place of some or all of the methacrylic acid . other suitable polymeric materials include resins having activated methylol and / or activated alkylated methylol groups . such resins include , for example , resole resins and their alkylated analogs , methylol melamine resins and their alkylated analogs ( e . g ., melamine - formaldehyde resins ), methylol glycoluril resins and alkylated analogs ( e . g ., glycoluril - formaldehyde resins ), thiourea - formaldehyde resins , guanamine - formaldehyde resins , and benzoguanamine - formaldehyde resins . commercially available melamine - formaldehyde resins and glycoluril - formaldehyde resins include , for example , cymel resins ( dyno cyanamid ) and nikalac resins ( sanwa chemical ). the resin having activated methylol and / or activated alkylated methylol groups is preferably a resole resin or a mixture of resole resins . resole resins are well known to those skilled in the art . they are prepared by reaction of a phenol with an aldehyde under basic conditions using an excess of phenol . commercially available resole resins include , for example , gp649d99 resole ( georgia pacific ). the topmost layer participates in printing and provides the requisite lithographic affinity difference with respect to substrate 202 . in addition , the topmost layer 206 may help to control the imaging process by modifying the heat dissipation characteristics of the printing member at the air - imaging layer interface . topmost layer is substantially ( i . e ., & gt ; 90 %) transparent to imaging radiation . in dry - plate embodiments , suitable materials for topmost layer 110 include silicone polymers , fluoropolymers , and fluoro - silicone polymers . silicone polymers are based on the repeating diorganosiloxane unit ( r 2 sio ) n , where r is an organic radical or hydrogen and n denotes the number of units in the polymer chain . fluorosilicone polymers are a particular type of silicone polymer wherein at least a portion of the r groups contain one or more fluorine atoms . the physical properties of a particular silicone polymer depend upon the length of its polymer chain , the nature of its r groups , and the terminal groups on the end of its polymer chain . any suitable silicone polymer known in the art may be incorporated into or used for the surface layer 206 . silicone polymers are typically prepared by cross - linking ( or “ curing ”) diorganosiloxane units to form polymer chains . the resulting silicone polymers can be linear or branched . a number of curing techniques are well known in the art , including condensation curing , addition curing , moisture curing . in addition , silicone polymers can include one or more additives , such as adhesion modifiers , rheology modifiers , colorants , and radiation - absorbing pigments , for example . other options include silicone acrylate monomers , i . e ., modified silicone molecules that incorporate “ free radical ” reactive acrylate groups or “ cationic acid ” reactive epoxy groups along and / or at the ends of the silicone polymer backbone . these are cured by exposure to ultraviolet ( uv ) and electron radiation sources . this type of silicone polymer can also include additives such as adhesion promoters , acrylate diluents , and multifunctional acrylate monomer to promote abrasion resistance , for example . examples of suitable fluoropolymers include polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), perfluoroalkoxy ( pfa ), fluorinated ethylene propylene ( fep ), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene ( etfe ), polytetrafluoroethylene perfluoromethylvinylether ( mfa ), or tetrafluoroethylene hexafluoropropylene vinylidene ( thv ). any suitable fluoropolymer known in the art may be incorporated into or used for the surface layer 110 . in wet - plate embodiments , suitable materials for topmost layers 206 include hydrophilic polymers , such as polyalkyl ethers , polyhydroxyl compounds , and polycarboxylic acids , or oleo . for example , a hydrophilic topmost layer may include a fully hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol ( e . g ., celvol 305 , 325 and 425 sold by celanese chemicals , ltd . dallas , tex . ), which are usually manufactured by hydrolysis of polyvinyl acetates . the use of fully hydrolyzed alcohol is preferred to assure that residual non - hydrolyzed acetate does not affect the hydrophilic behavior of the surface . the presence of residual polyvinyl acetate moieties in the topmost layer promotes interaction of the non - image areas of the printing member with printing inks , which can diminish print quality . topmost layers are typically applied between 0 . 05 and 2 . 5 g / m 2 using coating techniques known in the art , such as wire - wound rod coating , reverse roll coating , gravure coating , or slot die coating . for example , in particular embodiments , the topmost layer is applied using a wire - round rod , followed by drying in a convection oven . in various embodiments , the topmost layer is applied between 0 . 2 and 2 . 5 g / m 2 , e . g ., 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 g / m 2 . in one embodiment , the topmost layer is applied between 0 . 2 and 0 . 9 g / m 2 to create a process - free printing member . applications from 1 . 0 to 2 . 5 g / m 2 create a more durable printing member , but these generally require a mild processing such as water rinse and wipe prior to press use . an imaging apparatus suitable for use in conjunction with the present printing members includes at least one laser device that emits in the region of maximum plate responsiveness , i . e ., whose λ max closely approximates the wavelength region where the plate absorbs most strongly . specifications for lasers that emit in the near infrared ( ir ) region are fully described in the &# 39 ; 512 patent and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 385 , 092 (“ the &# 39 ; 092 patent ”), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . lasers emitting in other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are well - known to those skilled in the art . suitable imaging configurations are also set forth in detail in the &# 39 ; 512 and &# 39 ; 092 patents . briefly , laser output can be provided directly to the plate surface via lenses or other beam - guiding components , or transmitted to the surface of a blank printing plate from a remotely sited laser using a fiber - optic cable . a controller and associated positioning hardware maintain the beam output at a precise orientation with respect to the plate surface , scan the output over the surface , and activate the laser at positions adjacent selected points or areas of the plate . the controller responds to incoming image signals corresponding to the original document or picture being copied onto the plate to produce a precise negative or positive image of that original . the image signals are stored as a bitmap data file on a computer . such files may be generated by a raster image processor (“ rip ”) or other suitable means . for example , a rip can accept input data in page - description language , which defines all of the features required to be transferred onto the printing plate , or as a combination of page - description language and one or more image data files . the bitmaps are constructed to define the hue of the color as well as screen frequencies and angles . other imaging systems , such as those involving light valving and similar arrangements , can also be employed ; see , e . g ., u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 577 , 932 ; 5 , 517 , 359 ; 5 , 802 , 034 ; and 5 , 861 , 992 , the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . moreover , it should also be noted that image spots may be applied in an adjacent or in an overlapping fashion . the imaging apparatus can operate on its own , functioning solely as a platemaker , or can be incorporated directly into a lithographic printing press . in the latter case , printing may commence immediately after application of the image to a blank plate , thereby reducing press set - up time considerably . the imaging apparatus can be configured as a flatbed recorder or as a drum recorder , with the lithographic plate blank mounted to the interior or exterior cylindrical surface of the drum . obviously , the exterior drum design is more appropriate to use in situ , on a lithographic press , in which case the print cylinder itself constitutes the drum component of the recorder or plotter . in the drum configuration , the requisite relative motion between the laser beam and the plate is achieved by rotating the drum ( and the plate mounted thereon ) about its axis and moving the beam parallel to the rotation axis , thereby scanning the plate circumferentially so the image “ grows ” in the axial direction . alternatively , the beam can move parallel to the drum axis and , after each pass across the plate , increment angularly so that the image on the plate “ grows ” circumferentially . in both cases , after a complete scan by the beam , an image corresponding ( positively or negatively ) to the original document or picture will have been applied to the surface of the plate . in the flatbed configuration , the beam is drawn across either axis of the plate , and is indexed along the other axis after each pass . of course , the requisite relative motion between the beam and the plate may be produced by movement of the plate rather than ( or in addition to ) movement of the beam . examples of useful imaging devices include models of the trendsetter imagesetters ( available from eastman kodak company ) that utilize laser diodes emitting near - ir radiation at a wavelength of about 830 nm . other suitable exposure units include the crescent 42t platesetter ( operating at a wavelength of 1064 nm , available from gerber scientific , chicago , ill .) and the screen platerite 4300 series or 8600 series plate - setter ( available from screen , chicago , ill .). regardless of the manner in which the beam is scanned , in an array - type system for on - press applications it is generally preferable to employ a plurality of lasers and guide their outputs to a single writing array . the writing array is then indexed , after completion of each pass across or along the plate , a distance determined by the number of beams emanating from the array , and by the desired resolution ( i . e ., the number of image points per unit length ). off - press applications , which can be designed to accommodate very rapid scanning ( e . g ., through use of high - speed motors , mirrors , etc .) and thereby utilize high laser pulse rates , can frequently utilize a single laser as an imaging source . when exposed to an imaging pulse , the exposed area of layer 204 absorbs the imaging pulse and converts it to heat . the heat builds up until the layer 204 ablates . after imaging , the topmost layer 206 is de - anchored in the areas that received imaging radiation . the exposed areas that contain ablation debris are purged of the debris prior to printing because the ablation debris generated by layer 204 is water - compatible , in some embodiments , the debris is removed during print “ make ready .” otherwise , the printing member may be subjected to the action of an aqueous liquid by manual or mechanical means . the aqueous liquid may consist essentially of water , e . g ., it may be plain tap water . alternatively , the aqueous liquid may comprise water and not more than 20 % ( or not more than 15 %) by weight of an organic solvent , e . g ., an alcohol . the alcohol may be a glycol ( e . g ., propylene glycol ), benzyl alcohol and / or phenoxyethanol . in some embodiments , the aqueous liquid may comprise a surfactant . the aqueous liquid may be heated to a temperature greater than about 80 ° f . prior to being applied to the imaged printing member . water - miscible solvents that may be present include , but are not limited to , the reaction products of phenol with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide such as ethylene glycol phenyl ether ( phenoxyethanol ), esters of ethylene glycol and of propylene glycol with acids having six or fewer carbon atoms , and ethers of ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , and of propylene glycol with alkyl groups having six or fewer carbon atoms , such as 2 - ethoxyethanol and 2 - butoxyethanol . a single organic solvent or a mixture of organic solvents can be used . by “ water - miscible ” is meant that the organic solvent or mixture of organic solvents is either miscible with water or sufficiently soluble in the aqueous liquid that phase separation does not occur . the aqueous liquid may be an aqueous solution having a ph greater than 2 and up to about 11 , and typically from about 6 to about 11 , or from about 6 to about 10 . 5 , as adjusted using a suitable amount of an acid or base . the viscosity of the processing solution can be adjusted to a value of from about 1 . 7 to about 5 cp by adding a suitable amount of a viscosity - increasing compound such as a poly ( vinyl alcohol ) or poly ( ethylene oxide ). as noted above , the aqueous liquid may include one or more surfactants . useful anionic surfactants include those with carboxylic acid , sulfonic acid , or phosphonic acid groups ( or salts thereof ). anionic surfactants having sulfonic acid ( or salts thereof ) groups are particularly useful . for example , anionic surfactants can include aliphates , abietates , hydroxyalkanesulfonates , alkanesulfonates , dialkylsulfosuccinates , alkyldiphenyloxide disulfonates , straight - chain alkylbenzenesulfonates , branched alkylbenzenesulfonates , alkylnaphthalenesulfonates , alkylphenoxypolyoxy - ethylenepropylsulfonates , salts of polyoxyethylene alkylsulfonophenyl ethers , sodium n - methyl - n - oleyltaurates , monoamide disodium n - alkylsulfosuccinates , petroleum sulfonates , sulfated castor oil , sulfated tallow oil , salts of sulfuric esters of aliphatic alkylester , salts of alkylsulfuric esters , sulfuric esters of polyoxy - ethylene alkylethers , salts of sulfuric esters of aliphatic monoglucerides , salts of sulfuric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylphenylethers , salts of sulfuric esters of polyoxyethylenestyrylphenylethers , salts of alkylphosphoric esters , salts of phosphoric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylethers , salts of phosphoric esters of polyoxyethylenealkylphenylethers , partially saponified compounds of styrene - maleic anhydride copolymers , partially saponified compounds of olefin - maleic anhydride copolymers , and naphthalenesulfonateformalin condensates . alkyldiphenyloxide disulfonates ( such as sodium dodecyl phenoxy benzene disulfonates ), alkylated naphthalene sulfonic acids , sulfonated alkyl diphenyl oxides , and methylene dinaphthalene sulfonic acids ) are particularly useful as the primary anionic surfactant . such surfactants can be obtained from various suppliers as described in mccutcheon &# 39 ; s emulsifiers & amp ; detergents , 2007 edition . particular examples of useful anionic surfactants include , but are not limited to , sodium dodecylphenoxyoxybenzene disulfonate , the sodium salt of alkylated naphthalenesulfonate , disodium methylene - dinaphthalene disulfonate , sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate , sulfonated alkyl - diphenyloxide , ammonium or potassium perfluoroalkylsulfonate and sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate . the one or more anionic surfactants can be generally present in an amount of at least 1 wt % (% solids ), and typically from about 5 wt % up to about 45 %, e . g ., up to about 30 weight %. in some embodiments , the one or more anionic surfactants can be present in an amount of from about 8 to about 20 wt %. the aqueous liquid may optionally include one or more nonionic surfactants . particularly useful nonionic surfactants include mazol pg031 - k ( a triglycerol monooleate , tween 80 ( a sorbitan derivative ), pluronic l62lf ( a block copolymer of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide ), and zonyl fsn ( a fluorocarbon ), and / or a nonionic surfactant for successfully coating the processing solution onto the printing plate surface , such as a nonionic polyglycol . these nonionic surfactants can be present in an amount of up to 10 wt %, but usually at less than 2 wt %. printing with the printing member includes applying ink to at least a portion of the printing member , preferably the oleophilic exposed areas . the ink is transferred in the imagewise lithographic pattern ( created as described above ) to a recording medium such as paper . the inking and transferring steps may be repeated a desired number of times , e . g ., the approximately 5 , 000 to approximately 20 , 000 times in a low to medium printing run . waterless printing plates in accordance with the invention generally include a carbon - polymer composite imaging layer 204 and an oleophobic top layer 206 disposed on a polyester substrate 202 . a preferred substrate is a 175 μm white polyester film sold by dupont teijin films ( hopewell , va .) labeled melinex 331 . hrj - 12362 is a phenol formaldehyde thermosetting resin supplied as a 72 wt % solid in a 60 % n - butanol solution by the si group , inc . ( schenectady , n . y .). micropigmo ambk - 2 is a 20 % solids proprietary carbon dispersion supplied by orient corporation of america ( kenilworth , n . j .). renol black r - hw 30 is a carbon black preparation available from clariant international ltd . ( switzerland ) in a granular form with a low - viscosity polyvinyl butyral binder . cymel 385 is a methylated high imino melamine crosslinker supplied by cytek industries , inc . ( west paterson , n . j .). cycat 4040 is p - toluenesulfonic acid catalyst supplied as a 40 % solution in isopropanol by cytek industries , inc . byk 307 is a polyether - modified polydimethylsiloxane surfactant supplied by byk chemie ( wallingford , conn .). the solvent , dowanol pm , is propylene glycol methyl ether available from the dow chemical company ( midland , mich .). the coating solutions were applied to the substrate using a wire - round rod and then dried and cured at 178 ° c . for one minute to produce dried coatings of about 1 . 0 g / m 2 . the oleophobic silicone top layer of the plate members was subsequently applied to the dried carbon layer . suitable formulations well known and described in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 212 , 048 ( the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference ). the resulting formulation was applied with a wire - round rod and dried and cured at 138 ° c . for about one minute to provide a coating of about 1 . 1 g / m 2 . the plates were imaged and cleaned on - press on a presstek 34di digital offset printing press . imaging was carried out with presstek &# 39 ; s profire excel imaging head at a power of about 300 mj / cm 2 . once imaging was completed , the plate was cleaned in a two - step automatic cleaning process involving rubbing against a dry roller and a towel impregnated with a glycol solution . plates made as set forth above , and having image patterns susceptible to discharge problems , were selected for testing . these were run on - press under conditions guaranteed to produce esd events ( using wero d403 - 13 ink rubber rollers manufactured by westland gummiwerke gmbh & amp ; co . ( germany )). the plates were run under these conditions for more than 1 , 000 impressions , and the resulting printed images did not show any sign of esd defects . ( presstek &# 39 ; s pearldry product , which contains a metal imaging layer , was run under the same conditions and displayed esd defects from the start of the press run ; these worsened over time .) other parameters considered during the evaluation of a printing plate are durability and environmental stability . these were tested in the laboratory by assessing adhesion ( using a x - hatch adhesive test ) and solvent resistance ( using mek and heptane rubs ) of fresh plates stored at ambient conditions and plates aged in an environmental chamber at 80 ° c . and 75 % rh for 18 hours . in the adhesive test , adhesion of the silicone coating to the metal layer is evaluated , visually and by optical - microscopy inspection , to determine whether the silicone coating can be removed with adhesive tape . the mek test involves evaluation of silicone loss after applying mek rubs using a five - pound load under reciprocation on a surface of about 20 cm in length ; the cycle is repeated to the point of visual evidence failure . the heptane test involves evaluation of silicone loss after applying 10 heptane rubs using a five - pound load under reciprocation on a surface of about 20 cm in length . the results of these test carried out on the plates of examples 1 and 2 , and the standard pearldry plate , are summarized in the following table . the laboratory test shows that the plates of examples 1 and 2 display excellent wear and solvent resistance , which is not affected by exposure to extreme high temperature and humidity conditions . plates similar to those of example 2 were prepared using carbon imaging formulations with different polymer co - binder resins . formulation examples are given below for carbon layers made with the renol black rh - hw30 carbon dispersion , but the micropigmo ambk - 2 dispersion could also have been used . vinnol e - 15 / 48a is a vinyl chloride coating resin with hydroxyl functional groups available from wacker chemie ag ( germany ). novolak p2 is an o - cresol and p - cresol phenolic resin supplied by diversitec corporation ( fort collins , co ). acryloid b - 44 is a solid thermoplastic acrylic resin available from rhom and haas ( philadelphia , pa .). these carbon formulations were applied with a wire - round rod and dried and cured at 178 ° c . for about one minute to provide a coating of about 1 . 0 g / m 2 . next , the silicone formulation given in the previous examples was applied . plates in accordance with these formulations were imaged , cleaned , and tested on press as described in examples 1 and 2 . the resulting printing members ran without exhibiting any esd - related defects . in this example , the carbon and silicone layers as described in example 1 were applied as described above onto a 200 μm ( 0 . 008 inch ) anodized aluminum alloy ( alcoa , pittsburgh , pa .). the alloy was electrochemically etched and anodized to provide an anodic layer with ra values in the order of 0 . 300 μm . the plate was imaged , cleaned and ran on a presstek 34 di digital offset printing press as described in examples 1 and 2 . the cleaning process allows for complete removal of the silicone layer and partial removal of the carbon - loaded imaging layer in the exposed areas of the plate . any residual carbon left on the exposed areas enhances the ink receptivity of the image areas of the plate . this printing member was run for more than 1 , 000 impressions without showing any esd defects . the approach of example 1 was utilized on a thin ( 50 μm ) polyester substrate , which was laminated to a 150 μm coil of aluminum 3103 alloy ( alcoa , pittsburgh , pa .). lamination was performed using a 100 % solids acrylate adhesive formulation supplied by dynatech adhesives & amp ; coatings ( grafton , w . va . ), which is cured with an e - beam radiation source . this embodiment is intended to expand the use of printing members made on polyester substrates to platemaker applications . the aluminum base facilitates handling of the plate ( principally preventing stretching on - press ). a plate made in accordance with example 1 was imaged off - press and cleaned with water in a plate washer . specifically , the plate was imaged on a kodak trendsetter image setter at a power of 300 mj / cm 2 , and cleaned automatically on a kp 650 / 860 s - ch plate washer from konings ( germany ). in this machine , the plates are cleaned with tap water at about 90 ° f . by means of two roller brushes that rotate and move up and down continuously . the plate processor was operated at a throughput speed of 1 . 9 feet / min and using a brush speed of 500 rpm . the cleaned plate was run on a gto heidelberg press using black ink and uncoated stock . under these conditions the printing member was run for 40 , 000 impressions with no signs of wear or scratch failure . a plate in accordance with example 6 was imaged off - press and cleaned with water in a plate washer . the plate was imaged on a kodak trendsetter image setter using a power of 350 mj / cm 2 and cleaned on the kph65 / 860 s - ch konings plate washer described in example 8 . the plate was run on a gto heidelberg press for more than 50 , 000 impressions . the carbon image layer formulation given below was applied to 200 μm ( 0 . 008 inch ) coil of anodized aluminum alloy ( alcoa , pittsburgh , pa .) using a wire - round rod and then dried and cured at 178 ° c . for one minute to produce dried coatings of about 0 . 75 g / m 2 . the oleophobic silicone top layer was subsequently applied to the dried carbon - containing layer as described in previous examples . the resulting plate was imaged on a kodak trendsetter image setter at the lowest acceptable exposure of 270 mj / cm 2 and cleaned automatically with water at 90 ° f . on a kp 650 / 860 s - ch plate washer from konings , as described in example 8 . the cleaned plate was run on a gto heidelberg press for 40 , 000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock . a plate made in accordance with example 1 was imaged off - press on a kodak trendsetter image setter at a power of 300 mj / cm 2 and cleaned automatically on the aquascrubber as34 ( e ) plate washer manufactured by nes worldwide inc . ( westfield , mass .). in this machine , the plates are cleaned with tap warm water ( 90 ° f .) by means of rotary scrub rollers . the cleaned plate was run on a gto heidelberg press to at least 2 , 000 impressions using black ink and uncoated stock . a plate made in accordance with example 1 was imaged off - press on a kodak trendsetter image setter at a power of 300 mj / cm 2 and manually cleaned at room temperature with the hp - 7n manual developer from toray international america ( new york , n . y .). the cleaned plate was run on a gto heidelberg press to at least 2 , 000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock . a plate made in accordance with example 1 was imaged off - press on a kodak trendsetter image setter at a power of 300 mj / cm 2 and cleaned in a two - step process . in the first step , the plate was presoaked for two minutes in a diluted water solution ( one part to four ) of the dp - 1 ctp machine pretreatment solution from toray ( toray international america , ny ). in the second step , the plate was water - cleaned on the automatic kp 650 / 860 s - ch plate washer from konings ( germany ). the plate processor was operated with tap water at about 90 ° f . and at a throughput of 1 . 9 feet / min . the cleaned plate was run on a gto heidelberg press for at least 2 , 000 impression using black ink and uncoated stock . although the present invention has been described with reference to specific details , it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations upon the scope of the invention , except as and to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims .	1
accordingly , this invention comprises a smoother rubbing adhesive stick composition with better adhesion and improved vision because of its special characteristic based on a soap gelled aqueous organic medium containing a fi1m forming , water soluble or water dispensable synthetic adhesive forming polymer wherein the adhesive composition further contains one or more indicator additives as hereinafter defined . as indicated above , the indicator additive employed in the preparation of the adhesive compositions of the present invention is a compound or chromophor which undergoes a color change from colored to colorless after the adhesive is applied to a substrate . a variety of chromophoric compounds can be employed , the only restriction being that they be compatible with the other components of the adhesive composition illustrative indicators which can be employed in the adhesive compositions of this invention include , but are not limited to , compounds such as those represented by the formula : ## str1 ## wherein each r can represent hydrogen or lower alkyl . typical compounds encompassed by the above formula include these indicators are commercially available such as phenolphthalein and its alkyl derivatives . the adhesive compositions of the present invention also include a carbamide , such as urea , and a non - ionic surfactant , such as nonyl - phenol ethoyxlate . the carbamide and the non - ionic surfactant have hlb values between 10 . 5 - 16 . suitable compositions of the present invention contain not more than about 5 % by weight and preferably from about 0 . 01 % to about 2 % by weight of the indicator additive based on the adhesive composition as a whole . in the case of the carbamide , not more than about 6 % by weight and preferably from about 0 . 1 % to about 4 . 5 % by weight based on the adhesive composition as a whole is needed . in case of the non - ionic surfactant , a quantity from about 0 . 001 % to about 5 % by weight again based on the total weight of the adhesive composition , and more preferably from about 0 . 01 % to about 1 %. in practice , an adhesive stick composition can be prepared according to the present invention , by dispersing or dissolving the adhesive polymer in the organic medium together with the gelling agent , indicator additives , carbamide and non - ionic surfactants to form a homogeneous mixture . after heating to above about 80 ° c . to about 85 ° c ., the resulting melt is molded into stick form . the melt viscosity of this formulation is considerably lower at the casting temperature usually from a [ out 60 ° c . to about 65 ° c . than other known soap gel sticks . at 60 ° c . for example , a typical melt according to the present invention has a viscosity of less than about 14 , 000 cps while for known soap gels of the prior art , the melt is characterized by viscosities from about 90 to about 100 , 000 cps . the thinner the melt viscosity , the better it is to fill and obtain a bubble - free stick while simplifying the production techniques . the modifying additives including the color indicator , carbamide and non - ionic surfactant give a special visible characteristic , improved flow and economy by reducing the amount of adhesive component employed without sacrificing bond strength . the following is a typical formulation which can be utilized in preparing the adhesive compositions of this invention : ______________________________________typical formulation______________________________________sodium myristate 5 . 0 % glycerol / sorbitol 12 . 0 % polyvinylpyrrolidone 30 . 0 % indicator additive 1 . 0 % carbamide / non - ionic surfactant 1 . 0 % water 51 . 0 % ______________________________________ 4 . 8 grams of myristic acid were introduced into an aqueous organic medium comprising 53 grams of water , 2 grams glycerol , 14 grams of 70 % sorbitrol . the system was equipped with heating , stirring and reflux condensations . 2 . 5 grams of 50 % sodium hydroxide are then added with stirring followed by heating of the mix to 80 °- 90 ° c . after a clear solution had formed , 30 grams of polyvinylpyrrolidone ( k - value 30 - 90 ) mixed with 2 grams of 3 , 3 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- l -( 3h )- isobenzofuranone , 3 . 5 gms . of carbamide and non - ionic surfactant were scattered in while stirring and the temperature was increased to 90 ° c . after the polyvinylpyrrolidone had completely dissolved , the mass was cast at about 60 ° c into standard sticks . dimensionally stable sticks were obtained after cooling to room temperature . in a similar manner , the experiments are repeated using 3 , 3 - bis [ 4 - hydroxy - 2 - methyl - 5 -( l - methyl ) phenyl ]- l -( 3h )- isobenzofuranone as the indicator . testing was carried out at room temperature ( 23 . 5 ° c ) in 35 to 37 % relative air humidity . ponding was tested on specified test paper ( chrome paper 100 gr / m 2 ) coated on one side which has already been stored at standard conditions . apply 2 &# 34 ; wide and 4 - 6 &# 34 ; long glue line under normal hand pressure to the uncoated side of the specified paper . the glue shows a purple color line on the paper . the stick was drawn over the paper 3 - 4 times under normal hand pressure . before the adhesive - coated side of the test paper was pressed onto a substrate of the same paper , the adhesive coated paper was left open for 30 - 60 seconds under the above described conditions . a colorless tearbond results in less than 15 minutes . although the invention has been illustrated by the foregoing description , it is not to be construed as being limited to the materials employed therein , but rather , the invention relates to the broad areas as hereinbefore disclosed . various modifications and embodiments thereof can be made without departing from the spirit or scope thereof .	2
fig1 schematically illustrates a measuring device 10 according to the invention in the form of an optical distance measuring device with the most important components for describing its function . however , the invention itself is not restricted to the field of optical distance measurement . the measuring device 10 comprises a housing 11 , in which a transmitting device 12 for emitting optical measurement radiation 13 and a receiving device 14 for detecting measurement radiation 16 returning from a target object 15 are arranged . the transmitting device 12 comprises a light source , which is realized by a semiconductor laser diode 18 in the exemplary embodiment illustrated . the laser diode 18 emits a laser beam 20 in the form of a light bundle visible to the human eye . for this purpose , the laser diode 18 is operated by means of a control unit 24 , which , by means of corresponding electronics , generates a temporal modulation of an electrical input signal 19 of the laser diode 18 . what can be achieved by such modulation of the diode current is that the optical measurement radiation 13 utilized for distance measurement is likewise modulated temporally in terms of its intensity in a desired manner . in particular during a distance measuring process , the laser beam bundle 20 subsequently passes through a collimation optical unit 26 in the form of an objective 28 , which is illustrated in the form of an individual lens in a simplified manner in fig1 . after passing through the objective 28 , this results in a , for example amplitude - modulated , signal of the measurement radiation 13 in the form of an almost parallel light bundle 37 , which propagates along an optical axis 38 of the transmitting unit 12 . if a distance measurement is carried out by means of the measuring device 10 , the measurement radiation 13 leaves the housing 11 of the measuring device through an optical window 44 in the end wall 45 of the measuring device 10 . the opening of the optical window 44 can be protected for example by a shutter 46 . for the purpose of actual measurement , the measuring device is then aligned toward a target object 15 whose distance 48 from the measuring device 10 is intended to be determined . the radiation reflected or scattered at the desired target object 15 forms returning optical measurement radiation 16 in the form of a returning beam bundle 49 or 50 , a certain portion of which passes back into the measuring device 10 again . two returning measurement beam bundles 49 and 50 for two different target object distances 48 are depicted for illustration by way of example in fig1 . through an entrance window 47 at the end side 45 of the measuring device 10 , the returning measurement radiation 16 is coupled into the measuring device 10 and then impinges , as illustrated in fig1 , on a receiving optical unit 52 . the receiving optical unit 52 , which is likewise merely symbolized schematically by an individual lens in fig1 , focuses the beam bundle of the returning measurement radiation 16 onto the detection area 66 of a receiving detector 54 provided in the receiving device 14 . the detector 54 has one pixel or a multiplicity of pixels for detecting the optical measurement radiation . each of the pixels has at least one light - sensitive spad ( single photon avalanche diode ) acting as a digital photon detector . by means of the spads provided in the detection area 66 , the incident returning measurement radiation 16 is converted into an electrical signal 55 and fed for further evaluation in the evaluation device 36 . in this case , on account of inherent properties of the spads , the electrical signal 55 can be regarded as a digital detection signal that reproduces a counting rate of photons impinging on the respective pixels of the detection area 66 . the evaluation device 36 can suitably sum the detection signals generated by a spad and generate therefrom a total signal corresponding to a time - dependent intensity of the light signal impinging on the spad or the light intensity . by relating this total signal to an excitation signal indicating the temporal profile of the photon rate emitted by the transmitting device 12 , it is possible to deduce a photon time of flight from the transmitting device 12 toward the target object 15 and back again to the receiving device 13 . if the transmitting device 12 periodically modulates the emitted light sinusoidally , for example , it is possible to determine a time of flight from a phase difference between the emitted and detected measurement radiation . in detail , the evaluation device 36 can forward the digital detection signals received by the receiving device 14 to different digital counters during different sampling time windows . the counters in this case act as accumulation devices . the evaluation device is in some instances also designated herein as “ binning architecture ” and the sampling time windows are in some instances designated as “ bin widths ”. in this case , the sum of the sampling time windows can correspond to the period of the modulated measurement radiation . in other words , during a sampling time window , a periodically repeating phase region of the periodically modulated detection signal is detected and the corresponding digital detection signals are accumulated in counters . for this purpose , the detection signals , temporally correlated with the periodicity of the driving signal to the laser diode 18 , can be conducted to correspondingly assigned digital counters via multiplexers during the different sampling time windows . the operation of the varying assignment of counters and sampling time windows is controlled within the evaluation device by a homogenizing device 80 . from the counting results of the digital counters accumulated over many periods , it is then possible to deduce the phase difference between the emitted and detected measurement radiation and thus to determine the desired distance . fig2 shows a schematic illustration of digital gate signals of a binning architecture on the basis of the example of four sampling windows . the size and the stability of the bin widths actually realized can constitute a particularly large systematic error source . a deviation of the bin widths from their desired value can have a considerable effect on the measurement result , particularly in the case of strong background illumination . a variation of the detection sensitivities of different bins can also similarly have a great effect on the measurement result . the control signals controlling the bin widths or sampling time windows in this case need not have the rectangular temporal profile illustrated in fig2 . other time profiles such as , for example , sinusoidal time profiles of the control signals are also possible . one possible advantage of the invention in accordance with one embodiment is described below on the basis of an example with continuously modulated laser radiation , specifically with sinusoidal modulation . with the designations given in fig3 , the modulation m on the receiving side is defined by in this case , m l1 is a factor describing the modulation depth of the laser radiation emitted on the device side , { dot over ( n )} l is the temporally averaged counting rate ( in counts / s ) with respect to the detected laser light , { dot over ( n )} bl is the temporally averaged counting rate with respect to background radiation , and dcr is a dark counting rate of the detector . under typical measurement conditions , the modulation can assume values in the percent range , for example . furthermore , an estimation of the error propagation of the bin width error δτ w to the phase error δφ yields the following relationship : the phase error is antiproportional to the modulation of the signal received under measurement conditions and proportional to the relative accuracy of the bin width relative to the modulation period . the high sensitivity of the system to deviations of the bin widths from the desired value thus become clear : given strong background illumination , a uniform phase accuracy requires a higher accuracy during the bin width calibration or a suitable evaluation method based , for example , on the homogenization of sampling time windows as described herein . fig4 shows , on the basis of the example of a binning scheme with eight sampling time windows , how the temporal width of the individual sampling time windows can vary . the plurality of sampling time windows 1 to 8 can progressively sample a period of the modulated measurement beam , wherein within each sampling time window the acquired detection signals are conducted into a counter assigned to this point in time and are accumulated in said counter . in this case , the temporal width of a sampling window can be a fraction , for example an n - th ( where n = number of sampling time windows ). for the case where the measurement radiation is modulated with frequencies in the range of 1 ghz , for example , the result here is that the temporal width of a sampling time window can be significantly shorter than 1 ns , for example in the range of 100 ps . since , as explained above , the modulated measurement radiation ultimately to be detected can make up merely approximately 1 % of the total radiation impinging on the receiving device , a variation of the width of the sampling time windows of less than 1 ps can already significantly influence the measurement result . referring to fig5 and 6 , embodiments of the invention will now be described in which , with the aid of a suitable method of varying assignment of digital counters and sampling time windows , it is possible to achieve a largely homogeneous distribution of the background light detection signal over all sampling time windows used , wherein the modulated measurement beam detection signal to be measured can furthermore be determined . for n sampling time windows , the proposed homogenizing method , in a first configuration , can consist of , for example , n = 3 partial measurements ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ), as is illustrated in fig5 . each partial measurement can consist of a multiple periodic repetition . the partial measurements can have identical or differing partial measurement durations and preferably take place on a time scale on which the background illumination does not change significantly . in a first partial measurement ( a ), a transmitted signal 103 of a periodically modulated optical measurement radiation having an unshifted phase angle is generated . the unshifted signal is respectively illustrated in row 101 in fig5 . after reflection at the target object , the transmitted signal 103 is then detected as a detection signal within the time intervals defined by the sampling time windows 115 , 125 , 135 , wherein the sampling time windows 115 , 125 , 135 form a sequence 105 of sampling time windows and have different temporal widths t a , t b , t c . consequently , each individual sampling window is assigned a detected number of individual detection signals , which are designated by a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , b 1 , b 2 . . . c 3 in fig5 . the individual detection signals are accumulated during the sampling time window in temporarily assigned counters 117 , 127 , 137 of a plurality of counters 107 . there is a one - to - one variable assignment between the counters 107 and the sampling time windows 105 . in a second partial measurement ( b ), the transmitted signal 103 having a phase shift of 2 π / n is generated . after reflection at the target object , the transmitted signal is in turn detected by the receiving device , wherein the detection signals are in turn accumulated within the sampling windows 105 in the counters assigned to this point in time . in this case , the assignment between sampling windows 115 , 125 , 135 and counters 117 , 127 , 137 is shifted cyclically by − 1 in the second partial measurement , as indicated by arrows in fig5 . consequently , by way of example , the detection signals b 2 detected within the second sampling time window 125 are accumulated in the first counter 117 , such that said counter has the content a 1 + b 2 at the end of the second partial measurement ( b ). in a third partial measurement ( c ), a transmitted signal 103 having a phase shift of 2 × 2 π / n is generated . accordingly , the detection signals detected within the sampling time windows 105 are accumulated in the counters assigned to this point in time , wherein the assignment between sampling windows 115 , 125 , 135 and counters 117 , 127 , 137 is shifted cyclically by − 2 in the third partial measurement . consequently , by way of example , the detection signals c 3 detected within the third sampling time window 135 are accumulated in the first counter 117 , such that said counter has the content a 1 + b 2 + c 3 at the end of the third partial measurement ( c ). each of the counters 117 , 127 , 137 has now received and summed exactly once the detection signals detected within each sampling time window . the absolute value of the uniformly distributed background light summed in each counter is thus distributed homogeneously independently of the temporal width of the sampling time window . at the same time , the transmitted signal 103 is mapped almost with phase fidelity . that is to say that , in the example illustrated , the transmitted signal 103 and the assignment of the sampling time windows is phase - shifted between the individual partial measurements in such a way that that sampling time window during which the phase - shifted transmitted signal 103 is detected is always linked to the first counter 117 . to summarize , in the exemplary embodiment illustrated , a transmitted signal 103 , during different partial measurements ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), is emitted in the direction of a target object , reflected there and detected by a receiving device , which can be configured , for example , as a photon counter in the form of a spad ( single photon avalanche diode ). the transmitted signal 103 is progressively phase - shifted relative to an unshifted signal 101 during the individual partial measurements ( a ), ( b ), ( c ). during sampling time windows 115 , 125 , 135 , the detection signals are forwarded to assigned counters 117 , 127 , 137 . an assignment of the counters 117 , 127 , 137 to the sampling windows 115 , 125 , 135 can vary between the individual partial measurements ( a ), ( b ), ( c ). what can be achieved in this way is that background light is distributed homogeneously over all counters 117 , 127 , 137 , whereas the transmitted signal 103 is accumulated only in specific counters 117 . measurement errors on account of non - identical temporal widths of the sampling time windows or on account of different measurement sensitivities within different sampling time windows can thereby be minimized . analogously to the homogenization of the different temporal widths of the sampling time windows , homogenization with regard to different detection sensitivities can also be effected . the relative phase shift between the individual partial measurements can be in an idealized manner , but not necessarily , exactly 2 π / n . a deviation therefrom can occur , for example , if transmitted signal and sampling time window are derived by the same non - ideal binning scheme . the phase shift can , but need not , be realized cyclically . permutations or random schemes are conceivable . one advantageous effect of the homogenization proposed herein can be achieved particularly when an assignment between sampling time windows and counters is linked to a phase shift of the transmitted signal in such a way that the detection signals of all the sampling windows are accumulated after a finite total measurement duration in a manner distributed approximately uniformly in all of the available counters . symmetry considerations with regard to the width of the sampling time windows can relax the requirement that each sampling time window increments each counter . by way of example , if the sampling time windows of the first and second halves of a modulation period are identical , then the number of interchanges or phase shifts can be halved . in the case of an even number of sampling time windows , for example , the measurement can be reduced to two partial measurements phase - shifted by π . this can have the effect that the counter readings are identical as a result of background light in the first and second halves of a modulation period . in the further exemplary embodiment illustrated in fig6 , the transmitted signal 201 is constant in terms of phase . instead , the sampling time windows 205 are shifted in terms of phase relative to the transmitted signal 201 . in this case , the number n of counters 207 ( in the example illustrated n = 4 ) or of subperiods of the transmitted signal 201 ( in the example illustrated n = 4 ) differs from the number m of sampling time windows 205 ( in the example illustrated m = 5 ). to put it another way , the period duration tps of the modulated measurement radiation 201 is different than the period duration tpa of the cyclically repeating sequence 205 of sampling time windows . by virtue of the fact that the number m of sampling time windows 205 differs from a number n of counters 207 , what can be achieved is that each of the sampling time windows in the course of a total measurement extending over many repetitions of the sequence of sampling time windows supplies detection signals to each of the counters . the total detection signal corresponding to the background light is thus distributed homogeneously over all counters , whereas the detection signal corresponding to the modulated measurement light is in each case conducted into the same counter and accumulated there . while the embodiments described above were in each case based on a receiving device with a single digital photon counter , for example in the form of a spad , the receiving device can alternatively also have a plurality of light detectors . the light detectors can operate digitally or in analog fashion . by way of example , it is possible to use a pixel array of a plurality of digitally operating spads or a ccd chip operating in an analog fashion with a plurality of pixels . a 2d or 3d camera can thereby be realized . detection signals from a respective one of the pixels can be accumulated during an assigned sampling time window in an accumulation device . for the case where the individual pixels have different detection sensitivities , a negative influence of these different detection sensitivities on the total measurement result can be considerably reduced with the aid of the homogenization described . one advantage that can be achieved by the homogenization of sampling time windows or detection sensitivities as described herein can reside in the shortening of the total measurement duration , since a calibration of the sampling time windows or of the binning architecture can be dispensed with . alternatively , with additional calibration it is possible to achieve an increased measurement accuracy . this can be advantageous particularly in measuring devices in which a high measurement accuracy is required and measurement radiation having high modulation frequencies is therefore used , since the calibration necessary at such high modulation frequencies , for example in the range of 1 ghz or more , can , particularly when there is a low signal - to - noise ratio , last for a very long time , for example longer than the actual distance measurement . a further advantage can consist in a lower power consumption since , if appropriate , there may be no need for a separate measurement for calibration purposes . a further advantage can be the low circuitry outlay required for realizing the homogenizing device . by way of example , the sampling time windows and the modulation of the measurement radiation can be derived from a common source . furthermore , a background light calibration can also be dispensed with under variable conditions such as , for example , a temperature drift .	6
it is common practice to employ door control cylinders , particularly for storm doors . the control device consists of a cylinder c having a rod r that moveably extends from one end of the cylinder c . the end of the cylinder opposite the rod r contains a fastener f 1 that is secured to the door jamb , while the rod r has a fastener end f 2 that is secured approximately at the center line of the door . as the door opens , the rod r extends from the cylinder c and prevents the door from swinging open too far . additionally , the cylinder c provides for a slow return of the rod r into the cylinder c when the door is released , thereby preventing the storm door from slamming . various releasable locking mechanisms have been developed to lock the cylinder rod r in an extended condition to hold the storm door open . the mechanism is unlocked to allow the door to close on its own . the present invention is an improved releasable locking assembly for such a door control cylinder device . referring now to fig1 - 8 , several embodiments of the releasable locking assembly 10 are shown . the assembly 10 is designed to be installed on a door control cylinder c and provide facile locking and unlocking of the cylinder rod r at any extended position . referring to fig1 the assembly 10 includes a first biasing spring member 15 that encircles the rod r adjacent the point where the rod r extends from the control cylinder c . a planar locking flange member 20 , having a central aperture , fits onto the rod r beyond the spring member 15 . the flange member 20 has a central aperture larger than the rod diameter to allow the flange member 20 to turn slightly from perpendicular and lock on the rod r . the flange member 20 has a positioning tab 25 set at a right angle to the planar flange member 20 and a locking tab 30 opposite the positioning tab 25 . the positioning tab 25 is oriented toward the control cylinder c , when the flange member 20 is installed on the rod r . a first cylindrical cup member 35 has an axial central aperture 45 in the closed end 40 that accepts the rod r , with the open end of the cup member 35 fitting snugly over the end of the control cylinder c , as illustrated in fig1 and 8 . inside the first cup member 35 is a positioning tab slot 50 into which fits the positioning tab 25 of the locking flange member 20 . the tab slot 50 extends from the first cup member closed end 40 only a portion of the distance to the cup open end , thereby providing space for the locking flange member 20 to pivot , even with the end of the control cylinder c tight against the tab slot 50 . opposite the positioning tab slot 50 is an offset aperture 55 in the first cup closed end 40 , the function of which is described below . a second cylindrical cup member 65 also has an axial central aperture 75 in the closed end 70 that accepts the rod r , with the open end of the cup member 65 fitting loosely over the first cylindrical cup member 35 secured to the end of the control cylinder c , as illustrated in fig1 and 8 . the second cup member 65 has an inwardly protruding , retaining rim portion 80 that holds the second cup member 65 over the first cup member 35 , while allowing the outer cup member 65 to move axially thereon . the closed end 70 of the second cup member 65 is biased away from the first cup member 35 by a second biasing spring 60 . in one embodiment of the invention , shown in fig2 the second biasing spring member 60 encircles the rod r . in this embodiment , a locking tab actuating member 85 protrudes from the closed end 70 and inside of the second cup member 65 . the locking tab actuating member 85 is linear and cylindrical in shape and extends through the offset aperture 55 of the first cup closed end 40 , parallel the rod r , and in register with the locking tab 30 , as seen in fig2 . in operation , the releasable locking assembly 10 is installed on a door control cylinder , as shown in fig4 - 7 . the door is opened and the cylinder rod r extends to the required degree . the first biasing spring member 15 maintains the locking flange member 20 within the first cup member 35 , against the closed end thereof , in an orientation perpendicular to the rod r . the user then gently pushes the second cup member 65 toward the cylinder c . this action causes the actuating member 85 to move and contact the locking tab 30 , pivoting the locking flange member 20 away from perpendicular and locking the rod r from retracting into the control cylinder c , thereby holding the door open . the user unlocks the rod r from the locking flange member 20 by opening the door slightly more . this small movement of the door and attached rod r takes pressure off the locking flange member 20 , allowing the biasing spring member 15 to return the locking flange member 20 to a perpendicular orientation relative to the rod r and thereby allows the rod r to retract within the control cylinder c , allowing the door to close in a controlled manner . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the release tab actuation member 85 is free floating in the offset aperture 55 of the first cup closed end 40 . in this embodiment , shown in fig1 and 4 - 8 , the biasing spring 60 encircles the actuation member 85 that has enlarged ends to retain the actuation member 85 in the first cup member offset aperture 55 and maintain the biasing spring 60 there around . in this embodiment of the invention , the actuation member 85 also contacts and actuates the locking flange member 20 by the user pushing on the second cap member 65 , as described above . referring now to fig8 another alternative embodiment of the releasable locking assembly 10 is shown . those elements common with the elements of fig1 and 2 are designated with the same number . in this embodiment , the locking flange member 20 comprises a round , flat washer encircling the rod r and biased by the first biasing spring 15 . the flange member 20 has a central aperture larger than the rod diameter to allow the flange member 20 to turn slightly from perpendicular and lock on the rod r . since the locking flange member 20 has no positioning tab 25 , the positioning tab slot 50 within the first cap member 35 is replaced by a spacer member 90 , which provides space for the locking flange member 20 to pivot , even with the end of the control cylinder c tight against the spacer member 90 . the offset aperture 55 in the first cup member end 40 contains the spring biased release actuating member 85 , as described above . in addition , a peg member 95 protrudes from the inside of the first cup member end 40 opposite the offset aperture 55 . the peg member 95 serves as a fulcrum for locking the flange member 20 onto the rod r by the user gently pushing the second cup member 65 toward the cylinder c , as described above . likewise , the flange member 20 is unlocked from the rod r by opening the door slightly more , as described above . the biased actuating member 85 and the peg member 95 cooperate to maintain the locking member 20 in a movable condition , perpendicular to the rod r , until the second cup member 65 moves toward the control cylinder c to cant the locking member 20 on the rod r to lock it in place . the descriptions above and the accompanying materials should be interpreted in the illustrative and not the limited sense . while the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferred embodiment or embodiments thereof , it should be understood that there may be other embodiments which fall within the scope of the invention .	8
fig1 schematically illustrates a ddr memory system 10 , which generally comprises a memory controller integrated circuit 12 and a memory module integrated circuit 14 . the memory module integrated circuit 14 comprises four ddr3 modules 16 , each of which may be accessed in parallel by its own dedicated bytelane 18 provided as part of the memory controller integrated circuit 12 . the memory controller integrated circuit 12 further comprises a clock / command ( clk / cmd ) module 20 which is configured to transmit clock and command signals to the ddr3 modules 16 . in the illustrated embodiment shown in fig1 , the clk / cmd signals are transmitted between the ddr3 modules in a “ fly - by ” configuration to improve signal integrity ( avoiding the reflections associated with a branching topology ). accordingly , the memory controller 12 can cause data to be read from one of the ddr3 modules 16 by issuing appropriate command ( cmd ) signals via the clk / cmd path ( in association with the clock signal clk which is also transmitted via that route ), the requested data being returned from the corresponding ddr3 module via its associated dq / dqs path to the corresponding bytelane 18 of the memory controller 12 . equally , the memory controller 12 can cause data to be written to one of the ddr3 modules 16 by issuing appropriate command ( cmd ) signals via the clk / cmd path , the write data being transmitted from the respective bytelane 18 of the memory controller 12 to the the corresponding ddr3 module via its associated dq / dqs path . in a write configuration , in order for the ddr3 modules to be able to correctly interpret the data transmitted as the dq signal , it is necessary for the relative timing of the dqs signal to be correctly calibrated , since the data strobe signal dqs indicates the sample points at which the dq signal should be sampled . each bytelane further comprises a set of delay - locked loop ( dll ) logic 22 enabling these relative timings to be adjusted under the overall control of the memory controller 12 . fig2 schematically illustrates how the fly - by topology used for the command / clock ( clk / cmd ) signalling results in a range of timing offsets between the clock signal clk and the respective data strobe signals dqs 0 , dqs 1 , dqs 2 and dqs 3 . fig3 shows a timing overview of the general ddr write process in which a write command ( wr ) is first registered , followed by receiving data ( dq ) on both the rising and falling edges of the data strobe signal ( dqs ). the data dq is transmitted from the memory controller to the ddr modules after a write latency ( wl ) delay . in order for the write data to be correctly received by the ddr modules , it is necessary for the respective dqs signal to be correctly aligned with the dq data eye , which in turn requires the dqs and clock signals to be correctly aligned with one another . as shown in fig4 a , the system has a limited degree of tolerance to misalignment ( skew ) between dqs and clk which is parameterised as +/− tdqss . equally , whilst the respective edge of the dqs signal should ideally fall relatively centrally within the dq eye , there is a “ set up ” and “ hold ” period before and after this idea alignment in which the dqs edge can move and correct operation can still result . as shown in fig4 b , this variation is parameterised as tds ( set up ) and tdh ( hold ). fig5 shows a high - level view of four main steps which are carried out in the method of one embodiment . in a first step 30 , entitled “ clock path minimisation ”, dll components provided on the clock path to enable a matching in timing between the clock ( clk ) path and the data strobe ( dqs ) path are removed , thus reducing the jitter introduced to the system by the presence of these multiple components . at a next step 32 , the “ edge alignment phase ”, the relative alignment between the clock signal ( clk ) and the data strobe signal on a selected data strobe path ( dqs ) is determined , in particular to meet the tdqss requirement of the system ( see fig4 a ). next , at step 34 , the “ edge detection phase ” is carried out in which the absolute relation between the clock signal ( clk ) and the data strobe signal ( dqs ) is determined , i . e . the specific clock edge ( amongst multiple candidates ) which is responsible for the alignment found is identified . finally , on the basis of this identified clock edge , at step 36 ( the “ write data path readjustment phase ”), the result of this write levelling process is used during the write procedure to dynamically select between alternative clock timings to correctly align with the identified clock edge . fig6 a schematically illustrates sets of components on a respective dqs path and on the clock path in a system such as that illustrated in fig1 . in particular , the dqs path comprises clock tree buffers 40 , a write levelling dll 42 , a write centering dll 44 and a write training matching dll 46 . these dll components are comprised within the dll unit 22 of each bytelane 18 in fig1 . also shown in fig6 a are a set of components on the clock path which comprise clock tree buffers 50 , command ( cmd ) matching dll 52 , write centering matching dll 54 and write training matching dll 56 . as indicated in fig6 a , it should be noted that one of the clock tree buffers 50 , the write centering matching dll 54 and the write training matching dll 56 have been provided such that the timing paths for dqs and clk are matched to one another . however , whilst in the absence of the present techniques the matching of the dqs and clk timing paths in this manner may previously have been desirable , each additional component present on the clock path adds to the system jitter . accordingly , as shown in fig6 b , after the step 30 of fig5 has been carried out , the “ dqs matching components ”, namely one of the buffers 50 together with the write centring matching dll 54 and the write training matching dll 56 have been removed from the clock path . this improves the system jitter by removing these components , although necessarily also results in a situation in which the alignment between dqs and clk has been further offset from one another . this aspect is addressed as described below . fig6 c illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the write centering matching dll 54 and the write training matching dll 56 may be bypassed by appropriate setting of the selection signal sel , which controls the multiplexer 60 . fig7 is a timing diagram showing a range of relative timings between the data strobe signal ( dqs ) and the clock signal ( labelled “ ck ” in this figure ), and the resulting write levelling response of the dram . as shown in the example “ a ”, where the clock signal transitions in advance of the dqs signal , when the dram is put into write levelling mode and the memory module samples the input clock on the rising edge of dqs the response sent back to the memory controller on the dq bus will be “ 1 ” whereas in example “ b ” where the rising edge of the clock signal falls after the dqs rising edge then the write levelling response of the dram module will be “ 0 ”. the time difference between the respective clock rising edges and the dqs rising edge in the “ a ” and “ b ” examples of fig7 also graphically illustrates the write levelling “ set up ” ( twls ) and write levelling “ hold ” ( twlh ) times for this system . however , as illustrated by the example “ c ” in fig7 , a clock rising edge which falls within the boundaries defined by twls and twlh will result in a write levelling response from the dram which is indeterminate . accordingly , when seeking to align the clock and dqs signals , this aspect needs to be taken into account such that the process is not disrupted by misidentifying where the rising clock edge is with respect to the dqs rising edge . twlo is the write levelling response time and prime dq is the dq bit which will carry the write levelling response . fig8 a - 8d show a sequence of steps which are carried out in one embodiment when performing the “ edge alignment phase ” ( see step 32 in fig5 ). the process begins at step 100 where the write levelling and the write training matching analogue dll ( 32 and 46 in fig6 a - 6c ) are set to zero . a new dqs strobe is launched and the dram response is loaded into a current response register in the respective bytelane 18 of the memory controller 12 ( see fig1 ). then at step 102 the dll step is incremented by 1 , in this example this being done by stepping the write centering dll 44 to the next 1 / 255 increment of a clock cycle . at step 104 another dqs strobe is launched and the content of a “ current response ” register is transferred to a “ previous response ” register ( these being part of the bytelane control circuitry ), whilst the dram response for this dqs strobe is loaded into the current response register . at step 106 it is determined if a transition is detected , i . e . if the content of the previous response register and the current response register differ . if they do not then the flow returns to step 102 . when a transition is detected at step 106 then the flow proceeds to step 108 where a quarter cycle interval in dll is oversampled ( the number of oversampling points being user selectable between 7 , 15 , 31 and 63 times ) and at step 110 the results of this oversampling are examined . if a majority of the oversampling results are “ 0 ” then it is determined ( at step 112 ) that the previous transition was a falling edge transition and should be discarded and the flow returns to step 102 . if however the oversampling gives a majority of “ 1 ” then ( at step 114 ) it is determined that the previous transition was a rising edge transition and the process may proceed to the averaging process to determine the edge alignment offset on the basis of this rising edge averaged over a number of iterations to allow for system jitter . the flow continues from step 116 in fig8 b . in a first step of the averaging process ( at step 118 ) it is determined if the dll step is currently zero . if it is not then at step 120 the dll is decremented by one and a dqs strobe is launched . the content of the current response register is transferred to the previous response register and the dram response is loaded as the current response . at step 122 it is then determined if a 1 - to - 0 transition is detected and if it is not then the flow returns to 118 and step 120 to continue decrementing the dll step until such a transition is found ( or the dll reaches 0 ). when a 1 - to - 0 transition is detected at step 122 , then at step 124 the current dll step value is added to a running sum of the dll steps found by the procedure and the flow proceeds to step 148 ( see fig8 d ) where it is checked if the required number of averaging steps are completed . if further averaging steps are required then the flow proceeds to step 150 where it is determined if the dll step has reached its maximum ( in this embodiment this being a dll offset corresponding to a complete clock cycle ). if it has not reached this maximum then at step 152 the dll step is now increased , such that the sweeping search for the transition is now proceeding in the opposite ( i . e . increasing dll ) direction . at step 154 another dqs strobe is launched , the current content of the current response register value is loaded into the previous response register and the dram response is loaded as the current response . at step 156 it is determined if a 0 - to - 1 transition is detected and if it is not then the flow returns to step 150 and on to step 152 to in order to increment the dll step and continue the search . if at step 150 the dll reaches its maximum ( i . e . an entire clock cycle has been swept without finding the rising edge ) then it is determined that the system jitter is unexpectedly high ( step 158 ) and write levelling cannot continue . the write levelling process aborts and ends at step 160 . conversely , when at step 156 the 0 - to - 1 transition is found , then at step 162 this value of dll offset is added to a running sum of the dll steps found by the procedure and at step 164 it is determined if the required numbered of averaging steps are completed . if further averaging steps ( in particular from this point : a further decrementing dll sweep ) is required then the flow returns to step 118 ( see fig8 b ) and ( via step 120 and 122 ) the dll step is decremented until the transition is found whereafter ( from step 148 ) if further averaging steps are still required than an increasing dll sweep is performed ( step 150 - 156 ) and so on . thus alternating phases of increasing the dll step and decreasing the dll step and performed to scan up and down and identify the transition point in each direction . returning to fig8 b , in the event that it is determined at step 118 that the dll step has reached zero then a retry procedure is carried out . this is performed because the dll step has been decremented all the way to zero without the rising edge having been identified . the retry process begins at step 126 where the number of retries for this iteration is determined based on a user programmable option of 4 or 16 times . a counter retry_required is incremented to monitor the number of times which this retry process is entered for a given averaging process . the number of performances of the retry process is limited with respect to the averaging count ( i . e . the number of measurements used in the averaging calculation ) and if the retry required count exceeds 10 % of the averaging count then the flow proceeds to step 130 and the averaging is discarded . at step 132 three quarters of a cycle of dll step is added and the flow returns to step 104 ( see fig8 a ). if the number of times the retry process has been entered does not exceed the 10 % limit at step 128 then the flow proceeds to step 134 ( see fig8 c ). here a counter retry_count is incremented to count the number of retry attempts within each retry process and at step 136 a new dqs strobe is launched and the current response register value is loaded into the previous response register and the dram response is loaded as the current response . at step 138 it is determined if a 1 - to - 0 transition is detected . if it is then the retry_count counter is reset at step 140 and the flow proceeds to step 148 ( see fig8 d ). if however at step 138 the 1 - to - 0 transition is not detected then at step 142 it is determined if retry_count has reached its programmed limit ( i . e . the user programmable option of 4 or 16 retry attempts ) and whilst this limit is not exceeded the flow returns to step 134 . if the retry count reaches this limit then at step 144 the averaging is discarded , retry_count is reset and at step 146 three quarters of a cycle of dll offset is added and the flow returns to step 104 see fig8 a ). finally , once the required number of averaging steps is complete ( determined at either 148 or 164 — see fig8 d ) then the flow proceeds to step 166 where the average of the dll steps found to correspond to the valid transitions is determined ( by dividing the dll step sum by the number of averaging values ). this determined value is then applied to the write levelling dll and any residual is added to the write centering matching dll . finally the write training matching dll is reset to zero . the edge alignment phase completes at step 168 . once the relative alignment of clk and dqs has been performed in this manner then whilst the relative alignment dqs has been achieved , in absolute terms the rising edge of the dqs strobe could have been aligned with any one of a number of clock rising edges as is schematically illustrated in the timing diagrams shown in fig9 a . this “ edge relation ” is important because it depends on the dram memory topology ( point - to - point or dimm ) as well as the pvt condition and system jitter . accordingly , whilst the above described edge alignment procedure meets the specification for satisfying tdqss , it will not satisfy the overall write levelling requirement since this alignment may vary each time the write levelling is performed and a different edge relation could result . hence , as shown in fig9 b , an iterative masking process is carried out to determine the write levelling relation after meeting tdqss ( this being the edge detection phase ). the steps carried out in one embodiment corresponding to fig9 b are shown in fig1 , which begin at step 200 where a quarter cycle is added to the dll step determined as the final average value . as can be seen by comparison of fig9 a and 9b this positions the rising edge of the dqs strobe in a position relative to the respective masked clock signal such that a reliable dram response may be obtained . then at step 202 the t 1 high pulse is masked and the dqs strobe is launched . if this results in a dram response of zero ( step 204 ) then it is concluded ( at step 206 ) that the clk / dqs relationship is between t 1 and t 2 respectively and the edge detection process is complete . if however the dram response at step 204 is not zero then next ( step 208 and 210 ) it is determined if masking the clock t 2 high pulse results in a dram response of zero . if it does , then it is concluded ( at step 212 ) that the clk / dqs relationship is between t 2 and t 2 respectively and the edge detection process is complete . if however the dram response at step 210 is not zero then next ( step 214 and 216 ) it is determined if masking the clock t 3 high pulse results in a dram response of zero . if it does , then it is concluded ( at step 218 ) that the clk / dqs relationship is between t 3 and t 2 respectively and the edge detection process is complete . if however the dram response at step 216 is not zero then next ( step 220 and 222 ) it is determined if masking the clock t 4 high pulse results in a dram response of zero . if it does , then it is concluded ( at step 224 ) that the clk / dqs relationship is between t 4 and t 2 respectively and the edge detection process is complete . finally , if the dram response at step 222 is also not a zero then the edge detection phase has failed due to unexpectedly high jitter or unexpected clk / dqs routing and the process ends in failure at step 226 . fig1 schematically illustrates how the edge detection performed according the procedure shown in fig1 can be used in one embodiment . here , the result of the edge detection is used to select between four different alternatives for a write data enable signal 250 ( write_data_en ). three concatenated flops 252 are used to generate three further versions of the write data enable signal respectively delayed by a further clock cycle each and a two bit edge code from the write levelling output is used to select between these at multiplexer 254 . hence , a “ readjusted ” data write enable signal is generated which adjusts for the clock to dqs so clk to dqs relationship determined fig1 a - 12b illustrate simulations of clk and dqs alignment before and after write levelling . fig1 a shows a single dqs strobe as used in the above - described alignment procedure and fig1 b shows the full clock signal that may result from the above - described alignment procedure . fig1 c shows a clk shaping step showing the clock masking . although particular embodiments of the invention have been described herein , it will be apparent that the invention is not limited thereto , and that many modifications and additions may be made within the scope of the invention . for example , various combinations of the features of the following dependent claims could be made with the features of the independent claims without departing from the scope of the present invention .	6
a cover 20 is illustrated in fig1 and has gauntlets or sleeves 22 attached to one side of the cover 20 , as shown in fig2 a - b . the cover 20 can be , for example , a blanket or a towel . in the example of fig1 , the cover 20 is a blanket . the blanket 20 can alternate as a blanket for warmth or , when a wearer inserts his arms through the gauntlets 22 , the blanket 20 functions like a cape , such as a superhero &# 39 ; s cape as shown in fig3 - 6 . the blanket 20 functions as a warm blanket but also wears as a cape without the hindrance of a neckband , zipper , snaps , buttons , etc . to secure the cape . in another example , the blanket 20 may be a towel and may be made of a terry cloth material . when used for a child , the blanket may be approximately 40 inches by 47 inches although obviously other sizes can be utilized , for example , for children , adults , or dolls . a design 21 may be sewn on an opposed , or back , side of the blanket 20 from the gauntlets 22 . the design 21 may vary , but in the illustrated embodiment , it is a superhero design . as examples , the design 21 could be angel &# 39 ; s wings , bat wings , airplane wings , etc . the design 21 could also be team sports logos , animals , other licensed logos , custom & amp ; corporate designs , home décor or patterned fabrics , etc . the design 21 could also allow the blanket 20 to serve as a halloween costume or may be another seasonal design . it should be understood that the design 21 illustrations provided herein are only exemplary and that other designs 21 may be used . in another example , the blanket 20 may not include the design 21 and may serve as a home fashion accessory . the gauntlets 22 may be formed from panels attached to the interior , or front side , of the blanket 20 . in the example shown in fig2 a - 6 , the gauntlets 22 are rectangular and are attached to the blanket 20 at first and second opposing sides 24 a , 24 b . however , in another example , the gauntlets 22 may be another shape such as triangular , circular , octagonal , etc . additionally , more than two gauntlets 22 may be attached to the blanket 20 at various positions to allow for rotation of the blanket 20 when converting the blanket 20 into a cape , which will be discussed in more detail below . for example , the gauntlets 22 may be sewn to the blanket 20 along the opposing sides 24 a , 24 b . it should be understood that the gauntlets 22 could vary from those in the figures . as an example , it may be that the gauntlets 22 would be adjustable . the gauntlets 22 could be a panel sewn at one side 24 a , with a velcro ® ( velcro industries b . v ., amsterdam , the netherlands ) attachment , drawstring , elastic band , or another type of adjustable attachment , to the underlying blanket at the opposed side 24 b such that the size can vary . in another example , the gauntlet 22 may be sewn to the blanket 20 at the side 24 b and may be adjustably attached to the blanket 20 at the opposed side 24 a . alternatively , the gauntlets 22 could be formed of some form of elastic material , or a material with elastic bands at some location , such that the sides of the gauntlets 22 can vary . the gauntlets 22 lay relatively flat against the blanket 20 . the flat gauntlets 22 allow the blanket 20 to function as an ordinary blanket without any awkward interruptions or protrusions in the flow of the blanket 20 fabric . this allows the blanket 20 to be folded and / or lay flat as an ordinary blanket would . referring to fig2 a - b , the gauntlets 22 may be attached to the blanket 20 at adjacent corners 20 a , 20 b of the blanket 20 . the gauntlets 22 may be positioned about the periphery of the blanket 20 or closer to the center of the blanket 20 . in one example , the gauntlets 20 may be positioned between 1 and 10 inches from either side of the blanket 20 which meet at the corners 20 a , 20 b . for example , the gauntlets 22 may be between 1 and 10 inches inward from the top edge 26 of the blanket 20 and between 1 and 10 inches inward from either of the side edges 28 a , 28 b of the blanket 20 . as is shown in fig2 b , the top edge 26 of the blanket 20 may have a length d 1 and the side edges 28 a , 28 b may have a length d 2 . the bottom edge 24 a of the gauntlet 22 may be positioned a distance d 3 from the top edge 26 of the blanket 20 . in one example , the ratio of the distances d 3 : d 2 may be less than 0 . 5 . more particularly , the ratio may be less than 0 . 4 . while the top and bottom edges 24 a , 24 b of the gauntlet 22 are shown parallel to the top edge 26 , they need not be . rather , they may merely extend along the top edge 26 . the edges 25 a , 25 b of the gauntlet 22 are perpendicular to the edges 24 a , 24 b . the inner perpendicular edge 25 a may be positioned a distance d4 from the side edge 28 b of the blanket 20 . in one example , the ratio of the distances d 4 : d 1 may be less than 0 . 6 . more particularly , the ratio of the distances d 4 : d 1 may be less than 0 . 45 . the ratio of the distances d 3 : d 2 may be less than 0 . 5 . more particularly , the ratio of the distances d 4 : d 1 may be less than 0 . 4 . in another example , the ratio of the distances d 3 : d 4 may be between 0 . 3 and 2 . 0 . more particularly , the ratio of the distances d 3 : d 4 may be between 0 . 5 and 1 . 5 . for instance , the positioning of the gauntlets 22 may be based on the size of the blanket 20 . while the edges 25 a , 25 b are shown perpendicular to the top and bottom edges 24 a , 24 b , they need not be . rather , they merely need to extend along the side edges 28 a , 28 b . the ratios d 4 : d 1 , d 3 : d 2 , and d 3 : d 4 vary according to the size of a wearer of the blanket 20 . in use , the gauntlets 22 provide a sleeve for the wearer of the blanket 20 . the backside of the sleeve is provided by the blanket 20 while the front side is provided by the gauntlet 22 . in another example , the gauntlet may include an additional panel insert ( not shown ) attached to the blanket , such that either the backside or the front of the sleeve is provided by the additional panel insert . in the example shown in fig2 a - b , the edges 24 a , 24 b of the gauntlet 22 which are attached to the blanket 20 are parallel to the top edge 26 . the perpendicular edges 25 a , 25 b are not attached to the blanket 20 , allowing the wearer to extend his or her arms completely through the sleeve for hands - free use of the blanket 20 . when the wearer maneuvers his or her hands outward from his or her body , the blanket 20 edges extend outward and the blanket 20 acts as a cape . in one embodiment , the gauntlets 22 are attached to the blanket 20 at the top and bottom edges 24 a , 24 b , but are spaced apart from the blanket . that is , the top and bottom edges 24 a , 24 b , are attached to the blanket 20 at attachments . a distance between the attachments is less than a distance between the top and bottom edges 24 a , 24 b , leaving a space , or “ tunnel ” between the gauntlets 22 and blanket 20 . still , the gauntlets 22 lay relatively flat against the blanket 20 such that the blanket 20 can be folded and / or lay flat as an ordinary blanket would . in another example , the blanket 20 may additionally include a hood ( not shown ). fig7 a - 7 b show an alternate example cover 120 where the gauntlets 122 are an integral part of the cover 120 . as is shown in fig7 a , the gauntlets 122 are tabs extending from a top edge 126 of the cover 120 . in fig7 a , the gauntlets are in an unattached position . the gauntlets 122 are shown as rectangular , but in another example , the gauntlets 122 can be another shape , such as triangular , circular , octagonal , etc . as is shown in fig7 b , the gauntlets 122 are in an attached position . the gauntlets 122 are folded down and attached to the cover 120 via a bottom edge 124 a of the gauntlet 122 , for example , by sewing . generally , the basic idea is the sleeve or gauntlets 22 provide the ability to attach a blanket 20 to the arms so it becomes a cape . this allows a “ hands free ” way of creating a cape from a blanket 20 . additionally , the blanket 20 is free from any potential choking hazards . when the wearer has his or her arms outstretched to turn the blanket 20 into a cape , he can simulate pretending to fly . finally , the gauntlets 22 make it easy for a child to wrap himself in the blanket to wear it like a bathrobe or piece of clothing . although an embodiment of this disclosure has been explained , a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the spirit and scope of this invention . for example , one of ordinary skill will appreciate that various materials or fabrics can be used , such as fleece , quilt - like materials , materials with satin borders , etc . the materials can also be complex materials including multiple types of fabrics . additionally , as is shown in fig8 a - 8 e , respectively , non - rectangular ( such as circular , oblong , triangular , pentagonal , hexagonal , etc .) shapes may be used for the cover 20 , 120 or gauntlets 22 , 122 . the above description and the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as examples illustrating the inventive concept and shall not be construed as limiting the invention . for that reason , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention .	0
reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like structures will be provided with like reference designations . it is to be understood that the drawings are diagrammatic and schematic representations of the embodiment of the present invention and are not drawn to scale . the present invention relates to the formation of a bga testing receiver that is subject to miniaturization . the bga testing receiver may be known by such terms as a silicon interconnect or an insert . the present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art caused by thinning of a photoresist at a step caused by sharp corners in a substrate . fig3 is a plan view of a bga testing receiver 52 that includes metallization within each pit in a substrate and that communicates electrically to a peripheral portion of the bga - testing receiver in order to complete electrical circuits from each pit . fig3 illustrates what is known in the art as a paddle on pit 20 ( not shown ). in the plan view , the metallization within a depression in a bga testing receiver is known as the paddle portion 56 . the paddle includes a handle portion that includes a metal line 58 that runs from paddle portion 56 to a peripheral portion 54 of bga testing receiver 52 . bond pads can be formed at the end of handle portion as shown in fig3 . wire bonding , tab tape , or other electrical connections can be used to connect to the outside circuitry . the present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art of mask thinning and circuit interruption between pit 20 in bga testing receiver 52 and metal line 58 that communicates electrically between pit 20 and peripheral portion 54 of bga testing receiver 52 . in a first embodiment of the present invention , fig4 illustrates a first step in the inventive method that is used to overcome the problems of the prior art . substrate 12 may be made from a semiconductive substrate , a dielectric substrate , a layered combination thereof , or the like . where substrate 12 consists of monocrystalline silicon , the shape of pit 20 may be dictated after a wet etch according to the orientation of the crystal lattice of substrate 12 . in fig4 it can be seen that pit 20 has sloping sides 34 due to the existence and orientation of the crystal lattice of substrate 12 where substrate 12 comprises monocrystalline silicon . the presence of vertical sides ( not pictured ) is likely where substrate 12 is made from a dielectric with no fixed crystal lattice or with an anisotropic dry etch . additional wet isotropic etches can also be employed including an anisotropic wet etch such as koh at about 50 ° c . by this etch , it can form sloping sides 34 as shown in fig4 . fig4 also illustrates processing of semiconductor structure 10 according to the inventive method . in a first embodiment , a dielectric layer 36 is formed upon substrate 12 that is substantially conformal to upper surface 24 of substrate 12 , sharp corner 22 , sloping sides 34 , and pit floor 26 of substrate 12 . formation of dielectric layer 36 may be carried out , by way of nonlimiting example , by thermal oxidation of substrate 12 where substrate 12 is composed of silicon or the like . additionally , formation of dielectric layer 36 may be carried out by deposition by either chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) or physical vapor deposition ( pvd ). additionally , dielectric layer 36 may be made by the formation or deposition of nitrides , silicides , carbides and the like . in a preferred embodiment , dielectric layer 36 is made of silicon dioxide , formed by the thermal decomposition of tetra ethyl ortho silicate ( teos ). fig5 illustrates further processing of semiconductor structure 10 depicted in fig4 . a masking layer 16 has been formed upon dielectric layer 36 and patterned in such a way so as to expose pit 20 after a fashion that , following etching of dielectric layer 36 with an etch recipe that may be firstly selective to substrate 12 and secondly selective to masking layer 16 , a ledge 40 forms that exposes a portion of upper surface 24 of substrate 12 adjacent to pit 20 . dimensions of semiconductor structure 10 according to the present invention depend upon the particular and specific application thereof . in general , the depth of pit 20 from upper surface 24 of substrate 12 down to pit floor 26 of substrate 12 is in the range from about 1 micron to about 300 microns . however , pit 20 may be deeper than 300 microns to accommodate a larger solder ball . preferably the depth of pit 20 is in the range from about 5 microns to about 200 microns , more preferably about 10 microns to about 150 microns , and most preferably about 25 microns to about 100 microns . the width of ledge 40 from sharp corner 22 to the edge 62 of dielectric layer 36 is in a range from about 0 . 2 microns to about 25 microns , preferably from about 0 . 5 to about 20 microns , more preferably from about 0 . 8 microns to about 10 microns , and most preferably from about 1 micron to about 5 microns . the height of dielectric layer 36 , or of edge 62 is preferably in a range from about 1 to about 20 microns , although it may be greater than 20 microns depending upon the application . ledge widths greater than 25 microns are used with multiple ledges and / or corners having an angle less than that of sharp corner 22 . any combination of disclosed pit depth range , a disclosed height of edge 62 of dielectric layer 36 , and a disclosed ledge width is contemplated . an alternative embodiment of the present invention includes forming a plurality of ledges in order to overcome the problems of prior art . fig6 illustrates a first step where dielectric layer 36 and a second dielectric layer 38 have been patterned by masking layer 16 by use of an anisotropic dry etch . additionally , pit 20 has been formed by an etch that is selective to substrate 12 . fig7 illustrates further processing of semiconductor structure 10 depicted in fig6 . following the anisotropic dry etch , a second etch is carried out that is isotropic . the second etch could be a wet isotropic etch . the second etch may be selective to masking layer 16 , dielectric layer 36 , and substrate 12 but may not selective to second dielectric layer 38 . thereby , an undercut may form beneath masking layer 16 and ledge 40 is created both upon a portion of upper surface 24 of substrate 12 and upon a portion of dielectric layer 36 within the undercut . thereby , ledge 40 comprises two topology steps , using a single masking layer 16 . it can be appreciated that a series of ledges may be created according to this alternative embodiment , wherein dielectric layers are selected and etch recipes are employed in etches that are variously selective to different dielectric layers , beginning with dielectric layer 36 . in general , this method of forming a semiconductor device comprises forming in succession , a plurality of dielectric layers upon an upper surface of a substrate . for this method , each subsequent - formed dielectric layer has a chemical quality that is different from the previous - formed dielectric layer . after the plurality of dielectric layers are formed , a depression may be formed through the plurality of dielectric layers with a first etch . the first etch may include etching into the substrate or the etch can stop at the substrate . optionally , pit 20 may be formed previous to formation of the plurality of dielectric layers . in order to create ledges , etching of the plurality of dielectric layers is done with at least one subsequent etch , whereby the at least one subsequent etch has an etch recipe that is progressively less selective to any given previously formed dielectric layer than to any given subsequently formed dielectric layer . in this manner , a single subsequent etch or a series of etches will cause a “ staircase ” shape and a multiple - damascene shape to form out of the plurality of dielectric layers . the “ staircase ” shape forms due to the progressively decreasing selectivity between the first - formed dielectric layer and the last - formed dielectric layer . the “ staircase ” shape will terminate at a depression in the substrate . in fig7 the depression is pit 20 that includes first dielectric layer 36 and second dielectric layer 38 . as illustrated in fig7 the staircase shape is formed by ledge 40 upon the exposed portion of second dielectric layer 38 next to an edge 62 of dielectric layer 36 , and by ledge 40 upon the exposed portion of upper surface 24 of substrate 12 . where an embodiment of the present invention includes two ledges , one above the other , the preferred composite width of the two ledges may be about two - thirds the aforementioned ranges of ledge widths . where the number of ledges is equal to three , the preferred composite ledge widths may be in a composite width range of about one - half the width range for a single ledge . dielectric layer 36 may be in a thickness range from about 1 micron to about 30 microns , preferably from about 1 . 2 microns to about 15 microns , more preferably from about 1 . 4 microns to about 10 microns , and most preferably from about 1 . 6 to about 5 microns . where there will be two of ledges 40 , as illustrated in fig7 the thickness of dielectric layer 36 and second dielectric layer 38 may be about two - thirds the thickness of dielectric layer 36 in the presence of one of ledge 40 . where there is a third of ledge 40 , the thickness of dielectric layer 36 etc ., may be about one - half the aforementioned thickness of dielectric layer 36 for a single occurrence of ledge 40 . fig8 illustrates further processing of semiconductor structure 10 as depicted in fig5 or in fig7 after formation of ledge 40 and removal of masking layer 16 . a metal layer 14 is formed on dielectric layer 36 of fig5 or upon dielectric layer 38 of fig7 . dielectric layer 36 in fig8 may therefore represent a plurality of dielectric layers as seen in fig7 . as such , fig8 is intended to represent further processing of the structures seen in fig5 and 7 . where substrate 12 may be electrically conductive or semiconductive , a sealing dielectric layer 64 is used . preferably , metal layer 14 is formed of a refractory metal , a refractory metal alloy , or other electrically conductive material such as a metal nitride such as tin or the like or silicides such as tisi or the like . preferred refractory metals include metals selected from group iiib through viiib . more preferred of the refractory metals includes the group consisting of w , ni , and ti . additionally , a preferred composition to form metal layer 14 consists of an intermetallic such as gamma tial or the like . selection of particular materials to form metal layer 14 will be dependent upon the particular application . where electrical conductivity is important , better electrical conductors will be selected . where metal wear is important during multiple repeat testing cycles , a refractory metal that resists wear during multiple contact with bgas is preferred . where high - temperature burn - in testing is important to testing of chip packages , an intermetallic such as tial may be selected whereby destructive metal flow and / or allotropic phase changes are avoided at the higher temperatures . additionally , stacks of metals which include a refractory metal on a layer can also be used . additionally , metal layer 14 may be formed upon sealing dielectric layer 64 where substrate 12 acts with sealing dielectric layer 64 as an electrically conductive composite . as set forth above , the dielectric layer can form a portion of substrate 12 . additionally , sealing dielectric layer 64 may not be etched to form pit 20 , rather it may act as a liner layer within pit 20 upon pit surface 26 and sloping sides 34 . a preferred embodiment of metal layer 14 includes a first layer of ti upon substrate 12 , followed by a second layer of tin and finally followed by a third layer of w . as a composite structure , metal layer 14 consists of a ti - rich first layer of substantially all ti , a gradation into tin x , where 0 ≦ x ≦ 1 , and a gradation into w that is substantially free of tin . alternatively , the third layer may compromise tial . following the formation of metal layer 14 , a masking layer 60 is formed upon metal layer 14 . masking layer 60 will serve as a mask in the formation of metal lines . as it can be seen in fig8 metal layer 14 also forms a metal layer step 42 above ledge 40 , and consequently the metal line - forming masking layer 60 forms a masking layer step 44 above metal layer step 42 . the formation of ledge 40 and the subsequent formations of metal layer step 42 and masking layer step 44 resists the thinning of metal line - forming masking layer 60 at regions at or above sharp corner 22 . it can be appreciated that formation of ledge 40 may be followed by formation of multiple ledges as described above , depending upon the specific application . masking layer 60 is removed once the metal lines are patterned out of metal layer 14 and etched according to a selected arrangement , resulting in metal lines 58 , that may result by way of non - limiting example in the arrangement shown in fig3 . fig8 a illustrates testing of a csp 68 that includes a solder ball 70 . it can be seen that solder ball 70 of csp 68 has been inserted into pit 20 to make electrical contact with metal layer 14 . were metal layer 14 to be viewed in plan view such as that depicted in fig3 metal layer 14 would include metal line 58 as metal layer 14 leads away from pit 20 . in a further embodiment of the present invention , formation of ledge 40 is carried out by the formation of spacer 46 as illustrated in fig9 . dielectric layer 36 , which is composed for example of an oxide of silicon , is patterned and etched in order to expose the region of substrate 12 that will correspond to the formation of pit 20 ( not shown ). a spacer material is deposited upon dielectric layer 36 and conformably upon the region that corresponds to the location of pit 20 . a spacer etch follows , whereby spacer 46 remains . optionally , the spacer etch will double as a pit - forming etch , whereby etch selectivity will be higher for spacer 46 and dielectric layer 36 than for substrate 12 . it can be appreciated that dielectric layer 36 may be formed from a plurality of dielectric layers , each of which has chemical qualities that are different from the others , as set forth above . fig1 a illustrates the result of an etch into substrate 12 , where the etch recipe is selective to spacer 46 and dielectric layer 36 . fig1 b illustrates semiconductor structure 10 after further processing of semiconductor structure 10 illustrated in fig1 a . it can be seen that a subsequent etch that is selective to dielectric layer 36 and to substrate has been carried out to remove spacer 46 , thereby exposing ledge 40 . subsequent to exposure of ledge 40 , the formation of metal layer 14 ( not shown ) is carried out and of metal line - forming masking layer 60 ( not shown ) in order to pattern metal lines . alternatively , formation of spacer 46 can be carried out substantially by beginning as set forth above . formation of spacer 46 is carried out as illustrated in fig9 and 10a . following formation of spacer 46 , a substantially anisotropic etch is carried out that may be selective to dielectric layer 36 . the structure illustrated in fig1 a is substantially identical to that in fig1 b . the removal of spacer 46 and an etch that follows causes pit 20 , seen in fig1 b , to form at a lower level than pit surface 26 of substrate 12 seen in fig1 a . fig1 a is analogous to fig1 b , whereby spacer 46 has been removed after a pit - forming etch . fig1 b illustrates the effect of the removal of spacer 46 after which a ledge - forming and pit - deepening etch creates a lower ledge 48 and a lower pit surface 66 . by comparing fig1 a and 11b , it can be seen that lower pit surface 66 of substrate 12 in fig1 b is lower than pit surface 26 of substrate 12 in fig1 a by a distance of h ′. additionally , fig1 b illustrates the formation of lower ledge 48 , at a distance of h below the level of ledge 40 as illustrated in fig1 a . distances h ′ and h may be substantially the same . accordingly , lower ledge 48 has a level that is beneath upper surface 24 of substrate 12 . at this point , dielectric layer 36 may be removed or it may be left upon upper surface 24 of substrate 12 before the formation of optional sealing dielectric layer 64 , metal layer 14 , and masking layer 16 , depending upon the preferred application . comparison of fig1 a to fig1 b illustrates this embodiment of the invention . fig1 a has a single - depth depression in substrate 12 to form pit 20 . fig1 b has a two - level depression formed into substrate 12 that makes up pit 20 . the two - level depression in substrate 12 include a first level comprising lower ledge 48 and a second level comprising lower pit surface 66 . thus , a dual - damascene pit structure comprising pit 20 is illustrated in both fig1 a and fig1 b . where dielectric layer 36 may be removed , the depression in substrate 12 that would form pit 20 in fig1 b comprises a dual - damascene depression in substrate 12 . it can now be appreciated that a combination of ledge 40 and lower ledge 48 may occur by varying the configuration of semiconductor structure 10 as depicted in fig1 b . dielectric layer 36 may be entirely removed to form the dual - damascene depression in substrate 12 as illustrated in fig1 b . additionally , combination of ledge 40 and lower ledge 48 is created by allowing dielectric layer 36 to be sufficiently thick so that an isotropic etch of dielectric layer 36 causes recession thereof away from lower ledge 48 to form ledge 40 as illustrated in fig1 c . additionally , the formation of ledge 40 may be formed by patterning a masking layer upon dielectric layer 36 sufficient to expose and remove that portion of dielectric layer 36 that forms ledge 40 . thus , the combination of lower pit surface 66 , lower ledge 48 , and ledge 40 forms a triple - damascene depression that comprises pit 20 . hence , removal of dielectric layer 36 results in a dual - damascene depression made entirely of substrate 12 . it can now be appreciated that a triple - damascene structure can be made by performing a second anisotropic etch upon semiconductor structure 10 , illustrated in fig1 c , wherein dielectric layer 36 is used as a hard mask , and whereby the levels of lower pit surface 66 , lower ledge 48 , and ledge 40 will all result in lower levels , and upper surface 24 of substrate will have a new ledge next to ledge 40 . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrated and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims and their combination in whole or in part rather than by the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope .	8
a preferred embodiment will be set forth in detail with reference to the drawings , in which like reference numerals refer to like elements or steps throughout . fig1 and 2 show an exemplary system including an integrated data center infrastructure management equipment cabinet appliance in accordance with an embodiment of the subject matter described herein . in fig1 and 2 , dashed lines are shown to illustrate components that may not be visible from the given perspective . for example , the equipment cabinet appliance ( eca ) 100 includes a completely enclosable / sealable enclosure , and therefore , the front door 107 is shown in an open position in fig1 in order to more clearly illustrate the various internal components of the eca 100 . because the back panel of the eca 100 is not removable in the embodiment shown , fig2 provides additional illustration of the components and / or connections which are located inside the eca 100 and between the back panel of the eca 100 and the back portions of the various components in the eca 100 . the eca 100 includes a cabinet frame 102 for storing , connecting , monitoring , and managing a plurality of servers , such as servers 108 . the servers 108 may , for example , be 1 u format server blades configured to perform functions desired by the user . in addition to the servers 108 , the eca 100 includes a cabinet control module ( ccm ) 110 for managing one or more functional modules 111 - 114 which provide one of : asset tracking , access control , environmental management , and power management . the functional modules 111 - 114 are managed using the central , dedicated ccm 110 which provides a single network access connection to the eca 100 . by integrating multiple features provided by the functional modules 111 - 114 in a single enclosure and managing those features using a single external network connection , the integration and configuration of this dcim implementation is easier and cheaper than with conventional devices . for the reasons stated above which distinguish the eca 100 from conventional equipment enclosures , the eca 100 of the present invention may be referred to as an “ appliance ” rather than just a rack , cabinet , or enclosure . additional details of the eca 100 will now be described in greater detail below . the cabinet frame 102 accommodates a plurality of equipment , where the cabinet frame 102 has a top wall 104 and a bottom wall 105 that is located opposite the top wall 104 . the cabinet frame enclosure 102 also includes two sidewalls 106 connected between two corresponding opposite sides of the top 104 and the bottom 105 walls and a back wall ( not shown ) connected between the top 104 and the bottom 105 and the sidewalls 106 . finally , the cabinet frame enclosure 102 includes a front door panel 107 located opposite the back wall ( not shown ), thereby defining an interior space for accommodating the equipment therein . it is appreciated that the cabinet frame 102 may include a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple equipment modules , where each module has a front panel that is a standard dimension ( e . g ., 19 inches wide ), and may include edges that protrude on each side to allow for modules to be fastened to the rack frame . equipment designed to be placed in the cabinet frame 102 may be described as rack - mount , rack - mount instrument , a rack mounted system , a rack mount chassis , subrack , rack mountable , or occasionally simply shelf . the height of the electronic modules may also have standardized dimensions ( e . g ., as multiples of 1 . 75 inches or one rack unit or u ). an industry - standard rack cabinet may be approximately 42 u - 44 u tall . rack - mountable equipment is traditionally mounted by bolting or clipping its front panel to the rack . heavy equipment or equipment which is commonly accessed for servicing , for which attaching or detaching at all four corners simultaneously would pose a problem , is often not mounted directly onto the rack but instead is mounted via rails ( or slides ). a pair of rails is mounted directly onto the rack , and the equipment then slides into the rack along the rails , which support it . when in place , the equipment may also then be bolted to the rack . the rails may also be able to fully support the equipment in a position where it has been slid clear of the rack , which may be useful for inspection or maintenance of equipment which will then be slid back into the rack . thus , the cabinet frame 102 can be used with any type of equipment commonly used in datacenters , production studios , home theaters , broadcast facilities , etc . adaptations may be used to address medical applications , such as for a pharmacy , which may have different requirements . each of the functional modules 111 - 114 will now be described in greater detail below . it is appreciated that any combination of one or more of the functional modules 111 - 114 may be present in the eca 100 without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein . further , the functional modules 111 - 114 may include multiple components such as sensors , control systems , fans , and associated processors , memory , and software . thus , the term “ module ” is not intended to be limited to any specific component ( s ) illustrated in the exemplary embodiments described below , but rather may refer to any combination of components associated with providing the functionality described . the access control module 111 provides electronic locking and access control to the interior space of the cabinet frame 102 . for example , the access control module 111 may include a keypad , a proximity card , biometric pad , or any other suitable means for controlling physical access to the cabinet frame 102 . in one embodiment , the access control module 111 provides electronic locking and access control to the eca 100 via third party electronic locks . access methods available for control may be chosen by the user and can include : a touchsensor - based key keypad for pin access and door unit selection , a proximity card reader for use of keyfob or keycard access , an on - screen touchscreen control , a remote network control , and / or biometric access . it is appreciated that the access control module 111 may also optionally integrate image - based controls including those using camera ( still and video ) technologies . it is further appreciated that the access control module 111 can make use of third party electronic locks that are specifically configured to interact with the ccm 110 . these may include certain touchsensor based keypads produced by methode inc ., certain integrated locks and proximity readers produced by southco inc ., and certain biometric scanners produced by lumidigm inc ., each of which have been integrated and configured to maximize their performance with the ccm 110 . the power management module 112 monitors and controls power distribution to equipment 108 located in the interior space of the cabinet frame 102 . for example , the power management module 112 provides sensing , reporting and control over power elements supplied to the eca 100 via power distribution units ( pdus ), powerstrips , and intelligent power battery backup devices . the power management module 112 may integrate intelligent pdu functions for monitoring and selective control of powerstrip outlets and battery control for backup or selective power increases using on - board intelligent power distribution units or intelligent powerstrips . by using the power management module 112 , a multitude of third - party pdu components can be controlled and leveraged via the single ethernet connection 119 versus taking up an additional network connection in the datacenter . it is appreciated that a range of third party pdu strips may be used for gathering key power performance data . additionally , the power management module 112 may integrate with intelligent in - rack battery devices capable of providing dynamic power peaking without the need to supply additional external power . the asset tracking module 113 automatically detects the presence or absence of equipment , such as servers 108 , from the interior space of the cabinet frame 102 using one or more nearfield radio frequency identification ( rfid ) sensors . in one embodiment , the asset tracking module 113 may include one or more rfid tags attached to each of the assets 108 to be tracked and a corresponding rfid reader located inside of the cabinet frame 102 . more specifically , the rfid reader may include a plurality of individual rfid readers that are connected in series and vertically mounted to the back 103 and / or side walls 106 of the cabinet frame 102 , as illustrated in fig2 . in one embodiment , the asset tracking module 113 may be installed in the eca 100 at each equipment mounting location ( rack unit or u ). the asset tracking module 113 automatically detects the installation or removal of assets 108 installed within the eca 100 rack unit locations via nearfield rfid technology . it is appreciated that the asset tracking module 113 is not intended to be limited to a specific implementation or configuration ; however , successful detection of the asset tags may require that the distance between the asset tag and the asset reader not exceed a predetermined distance ( e . g ., 20 mm ) additionally , some parts of the cabinet frame 102 , such as those parts located between the nearfield antenna / reader and the asset tag it is attempting to read , may be made of a non - metal material in order to avoid interfering with the wireless communication between the tag and the reader . it is appreciated that while other conventional in - rack asset detection implementations exist , they often require physical connections to be present between sensors and the assets being monitored , thereby leading to the possibility of errors in reading accuracy and missing asset installation or removal events . here , each asset only requires an asset rfid tag to be attached to the equipment prior to installation and is typically performed as a normal part of equipment delivery and registration . the environmental management module 114 monitors and controls environmental conditions within the interior space of the cabinet frame enclosure . for example , the environmental management module 114 provides sensing of temperature , humidity , airflow , and air pressure for the eca 100 in order to assess its environmental conditions . in an appropriately equipped eca cabinet frame 102 , the environmental management module 114 can also control airflow fan speeds and cabinet mounted cooling components , such as servers 108 , in accordance with industry standards . the sensor devices associated with the environmental management module 114 may be integrated with the ccm 110 sensing and control logic , which will be described in greater detail below with respect to the ccm 110 . in one embodiment , the environmental sensors may include specialized cabling and sensing thermistors for performing measurement of temperature . the cabinet control module ( ccm ) 110 provides consolidated connectivity to the one or more functional modules 111 - 114 , where the ccm 110 presents a single external network connection 119 ( e . g ., internet protocol ( ip ) address ) for managing the equipment 108 associated with the eca 100 . the ccm 110 provides a single unit that provides connectivity for all sensor / control components listed below and delivers single point ethernet based network connectivity to the eca 100 . this single point consolidation is significant to data center managers since it provides a single ip address to manage a multitude of eca functions 111 - 114 . the ccm 110 is capable of auto - discovering eca components installed and consolidates all key eca functions 111 - 114 to a single ethernet connection to the external eca environment , such as connection 119 to computer 120 , thereby greatly reducing overall datacenter connectivity costs dedicated to monitoring and control . fig3 is a schematic diagram of internal components of an exemplary cabinet control module for use in an integrated data center infrastructure management equipment cabinet appliance , in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , the ccm 110 includes a processor 122 and a memory 124 containing computer - readable and computer - executable instructions that , when executed by the processor 122 , perform steps . the memory 124 includes an asset tracking software module 126 , an access control software module 127 , an environmental management software module 128 , and a power management software module 129 . each of the software modules 126 - 129 may be associated with one or more respective physical devices located in the eca 100 , such as sensors , fans , locks , or batteries for performing various monitoring , control , or management functions . for example , the asset tracking software module 126 may be associated with ( e . g ., communicatively or otherwise connected to ) the rfid reader 113 for detecting the corresponding rfid tags located on each of the servers 108 . the access control software module 127 may be associated with the access control module 111 , which may include a keypad , proximity card reader , biometric access lock etc . the access control software module 127 may record the date and time of each successful or failed access attempt along with the identity of the user . the environmental management software module 128 may be associated with a plurality of environmental sensors and control devices shown for simplicity as environmental module 114 . thus , the environmental management software module 128 may receive environmental data , such as temperature , humidity , airflow , etc ., from the sensors of the environmental management module 114 . the environmental management software module 128 may also send control signals to one or more environmental control devices , such as fans , dehumidifiers , water pumps , etc ., for adjusting one or more of the monitored environmental factors inside the eca 100 . finally , the power management software module 129 may be associated with the power management module 112 , such as power backup batteries , power strips , or other power - related devices . the power management software module 129 can receive data from the power management module 112 for monitoring the power consumption of the servers 108 by receiving data from a power strip , for providing failover battery backup protection from an alternate power source in the event that the primary power source is unavailable by sending a signal to the alternate power source , and for recording and reporting power - related data to computer 120 . as described above , the eca 100 may include a plurality of functional modules 111 - 114 for providing asset tracking , access control , environmental management , and power management functions . because each of these functional modules may be consolidated and coordinated using the ccm 110 , various usage or automation scenarios may utilize the interdependence of these functional modules to further optimize the performance of the eca 100 . for example , various exemplary correlated automation scenarios are described below , but are not intended to be limiting . a first correlated automation scenario includes combining access control and asset tracking , where access to the cabinet 102 may be granted only to users who are authorized to access one or more specific assets 108 contained in the cabinet frame 102 . another correlated automation scenario includes combining environmental management and access control , where a temperature variance or other environmental factor may lead to the need to unlock and open the doors for additional airflow . thus , access may be granted to the cabinet frame 102 based on an indication generated by the environmental monitoring module 114 . another correlated automation scenario includes combining asset tracking and power management , where certain assets 108 identified via the asset tracking module 113 may be associated with a specific power ramp up profile based on workload that is coordinated with the power management module 112 . another correlated automation scenario includes combining information from any or all of the functional modules 111 - 114 where , for example , the asset locations , power profiles for the assets / asset locations , environmental profiles / conditions for the assets / asset locations , and the access control for the cabinet frame 102 may be analyzed together in order to optimize the overall efficiency or performance of the eca 100 . hardware requirements will now be disclosed . while the preferred embodiment has the following server hardware requirements , different implementations can have different requirements , e . g ., higher or lower requirements or the use of non - intel processors . the server should be implemented on a dedicated machine with at least a quad - core intel xeon processor with a speed of at least 2 . 2 ghz , with at least 4 gb ram and a 1 gb network interface card . persistent storage should include a 10 k rpm raid 5 , 6 , 10 array with at least three hard drives . for each application , add 1 gb ram ; for each two add - on applications , add one cpu core ; for every 2 , 500 assets for 100 locks , add 250 mhz to the processor speed and 10 mb ram . one server can access 16 sirit readers ; for each additional sirit reader , add 15 mb ram . these and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing specification . accordingly , it is to be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above - described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention . for example , numerical values are illustrative rather than limiting , as are disclosures of specific standards , technologies , or brands . it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein , but is intended to include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention , which should therefore be construed as limited only by the appended claims .	7
looking first at fig1 - 4 , there is shown a two - part anchor 5 which generally comprises a stake 100 and a cap 200 . stake 100 is adapted to be positioned in bone and form a stake for impalement by a piece of soft tissue . to this end , stake 100 generally comprises an elongated body 103 having a distal end 105 and a proximal end 110 . stake 100 has a first exterior thread 115 formed on the distal end thereof . thread 115 preferably begins at the stake &# 39 ; s distal end 105 and extends for approximately half of the total length of the stake . thread 115 is preferably a buttress thread to initially facilitate turning stake 100 into bone and to thereafter resist a pulling withdrawal of stake 100 from bone . the proximal end 110 of stake 100 terminates in a sharp point 117 . intermediate first exterior thread 115 and sharp point 117 is a second exterior thread 118 . second exterior thread 118 is also a buttress thread , but oriented with a reverse orientation from that of the aforementioned first exterior thread 115 , such that thread 118 will initially facilitate the pushing insertion of cap 200 thereover and to thereafter resist a pulling withdrawal of cap 200 from stake 100 . stake 100 also comprises a passageway 120 . passageway 120 opens on the proximal end 110 of stake 100 and preferably extends for substantially the entire length of stake 100 . passageway 120 has a non - circular cross - section , such that the passageway may receive a driving tool therein and stake 100 may thereafter be turned by the driving tool so as to set stake 100 into bone . by way of example but not limitation , passageway 120 may comprise a hexagonal cross - section , such that stake 100 may be turned by a hexagonal driver of the sort generally known in the orthopedic arts . cap 200 is adapted to cap soft tissue which has been impaled on stake 100 and thereby bind the soft tissue to the stake 100 and , hence , to the bone in which stake 100 is set . to this end , cap 200 generally comprises a flat body 205 having a distal end 210 and a proximal end 215 . a passageway 220 opens on the proximal end 215 of cap 200 and extends completely through cap 200 , whereby cap 200 can be pushed over the proximal end 110 of stake 100 once tissue has been impaled on the stake , with the distal end 210 of cap 200 engaging the top surface of the tissue impaled on stake 100 . if necessary , cap 200 can be removed from stake 100 by unscrewing the cap from the stake . in fig4 , cap 200 is shown as having a substantially round profile when viewed in end view . however , if desired , cap 200 may have a substantially elliptical profile such as is shown in fig5 and 6 , and may have two or more distally projecting feet 225 formed thereon for engaging tissue captured distal to the cap . looking next at fig7 , there is shown a stake inserter 300 which is adapted to set stake 100 into bone . stake inserter 300 generally comprises a shaft 305 having a distal end 310 and a proximal end 315 . a tip 320 extends distally from the shaft &# 39 ; s distal end 310 . tip 320 has as non - circular cross - sectional configuration corresponding to the non - circular cross - sectional configuration of the passageway 120 of stake 100 , whereby tip 320 can be inserted into passageway 120 and transfer rotary motion of stake inserter 300 to stake 100 . the tip 320 of stake inserter 300 is preferably long enough to drive stake 100 over the entire length of stake 100 , whereby to spread torsional loads over the entire stake 100 . if desired , tip 320 may be formed long enough to extend out of the end of stake 100 , and may be formed with a share distal tip ; in this event , it may be possible to set stake 100 in some types of bone without pre - drilling the bone . stake inserter 300 also comprises a handle 325 which is secured to the proximal end 315 of shaft 305 , whereby stake inserter 300 may be turned by a surgeon . looking next at fig8 - 21 , there is shown a cap inserter 400 which is adapted to set cap 200 onto the sharpened proximal end of the stake after tissue has been impaled on the stake . cap inserter 400 generally comprises a shaft 405 having a distal end 410 and a proximal end 415 . a first recess 420 is formed in distal end 410 and is sized and shaped to receive cap 200 therein . by way of example , cap inserter 400 shown in fig8 - 21 has a substantially elliptically - shaped recess 420 formed therein , wherein the cap inserter may receive the elliptical cap of fig5 and 6 therein . cap inserter 400 also comprises a second recess 425 formed in its distal end 410 . second recess 425 is sized and shaped to receive the proximal end of a stake 100 when cap inserter 100 is deploying a cap 200 on a stake 100 and trimming off the proximal end of the stake , as will hereinafter be described . cap inserter 400 also comprises a guillotine cutter assembly 430 which is adapted to trim off the sharp proximal end of stake 100 after cap 200 has been installed thereon . guillotine cutter 430 comprises an arm 435 which is pivotally attached to shaft 405 , and a blade 440 which is connected to arm 435 and adapted to move radially inwardly as arm 435 is forced parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft 405 . an outer tube 445 is placed concentrically around shaft 405 ; forcing outer tube 445 distally forces blade 440 radially inwardly , so as to cut off the sharp proximal end of a stake extending into the inserter &# 39 ; s second recess 425 . fig8 - 21 illustrate the structure and operation of the cutter assembly 430 . in fig1 , 15 , 17 , 18 , 20 and 21 , the distal extent of the stake threads 118 is shortened for clearer illustration of the cap inserter tool second recess . first , as shown in fig2 , a hole 500 is formed in a bone 505 . next , stake 100 is loaded onto the distal end of stake inserter 300 ( fig2 ) and then screwed down into the hole 500 formed in bone 505 . then stake inserter 300 is withdrawn , leaving stake 100 set in bone 505 with its sharp proximal end protruding . this process is repeated as many times as desired , until one or more stakes 100 are left protruding from bone 505 ( fig2 ). next , a piece of soft tissue 600 is pulled over the sharp protruding proximal ends of stakes 100 and impaled on the stakes ( fig2 ). then a cap 200 is loaded onto cap inserter 400 ( fig2 ), aligned with one of the deployed stakes 100 , and then set down over the protruding sharp proximal end of the stake . as this occurs , cap 200 is forced over the proximal end of the stake , so that the cap engages threads 118 and locks thereon . then outer tube 445 is moved distally , whereby to trim off the sharp proximal end of stake 100 , leaving only cap 200 standing proud over the upper surface of the soft tissue ( fig2 ). fig2 - 31 illustrate an alternative form of cap 200 . here , cap 200 is formed with a blind hole 220 extending proximally from its distal end . this blind hole 220 receives the sharp proximal end of stake 100 , whereby cap 200 can envelope and shield the sharp proximal end of stake 100 ( fig3 ). stake 100 and cap 200 can be formed out of a variety of suitable biocompatible materials . in one preferred embodiment of the invention , stake 100 and cap 200 are formed out of bioabsorbable materials . in this form of the invention , stave 100 and cap 200 are preferably configured so that they absorb at different rates , with cap 200 absorbing more quickly and stake 100 absorbing more slowly . stake 100 is preferably also configured so as to be osteogenic , i . e ., so as to encourage bone ingrowth and / or remodeling . by way of example but not limitation , stake 100 may be formed out of pla , pga , pds , polycaprolactone , hydroxyapetite , tricalcuim phosphate , osteogenic proteins , allograft bone , synthetic bone , etc . by way of further example but not limitation , cap 200 may be formed out of pla , pga , pds , polycaprolactone , etc . in this respect it should be appreciated that by forming stake 100 so that it may be driven over substantially the entire length of the stake , such that torsional loads are spread over substantially the entire length of the stake , a broader range of materials and compositions can be used for fabricating stake 100 .	8
fig1 , 2 , and 3 , depict variations having a preferred embodiment of an apparatus used to create a formulation for treating produce , typically in a storage situation . however , one skilled in the art can appreciate the multitude of other situations where the method can be used . a solid chemical agent ( 12 ) is added to the formulation chamber ( 10 ), typically through a preprocessor ( 20 ), which will be discussed in more detail hereafter . the formulation chamber ( 10 ) is typically made of a durable plastic capable of moderate temperatures up to 250 such as polypropylene or similar material . while many designs could be chosen , the cone bottom tank with a stand is preferred . the preprocessor ( 20 ) is fitted to the top opening of the formulation chamber ( 10 ). the preprocessor ( 20 ) is generally designed to accept the solid chemical agent ( 12 ), but one skilled in the art can appreciate that the preprocessor ( 20 ) can be adapted to accept both solid chemical agent ( 12 ) and solvent ( 50 ) as shown in fig3 . while the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) can be added directly to the screen ( 46 ) without adverse effect , it is preferred that a dissolution tray ( 42 ) be placed substantially below the preprocessor ( 20 ). the screen ( 46 ) is typically positioned near the collector drain to capture un - dissolved solid chemical agent ( 12 ), generally larger than 1 - 2 cm , before entering the piping ( 14 ) system . those skilled in the art can appreciate that the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) will eventually dissolve in the collector drain 48 during use . the dissolution tray ( 42 ) can be seen as a premixing section , designed to hold solid chemical agent ( 12 ) in proximity with the dispenser ( 40 ) which supplies a fresh supply of solvent ( 50 ) or solvent plus formulation through the piping ( 14 ) system . the dispenser ( 40 ) can be seen as a delivery system for the solvent , and does not need to be a high pressure application . the dissolution tray ( 42 ) has been found to greatly accelerate the dissolving of the solid chemical agent ( 12 ). further , a brim ( 44 ) can be located at the perimeter of the dissolution tray ( 42 ) to provide a section or area for mixing and dissolution . as the dissolution tray ( 42 ) fills with solution and solvent from a solvent source ( 50 ) and solid chemical agent ( 12 ), it creates a concentrated solution which drives toward saturation with the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) before flowing over the brim ( 44 ) toward the collector drain ( 48 ) forming a reservoir to mix the concentrated solution with the contents of the collector drain ( 48 ) which may comprise solvent with previous concentrations from the dissolution tray . a mechanical mixer , such as a stirring apparatus , beater , agitator , impeller , or the like , may be added to the dissolution tray ( 42 ) to further aid the mixing process . a pump ( 56 ) is positioned with piping ( 14 ) to create hydraulic head necessary to move the formulation through the series of valves and piping . for example , a solvent valve ( 54 a ), controlled by a solvent valve controller ( 52 a ) can control the flow of solvent from the solvent source ( 50 ) into the system by means of piping ( 14 ); a re - circulating valve ( 54 b ) can control the affluent stream of formulation toward the heater element ( 60 ); and a feeder valve ( 54 c ) can control flow of the formulation to the applicator line ( 64 ), such as an aerosol generator . further , the series of valves can be coordinated by means of valve controls to aid in the control of the flow . these valve controls can be coordinated manually , or by use of electric or pneumatic switches , for example , and further controlled by a processor or computer as is common to the art . for example , at start up , a solid chemical agent ( 12 ), generally under ambient conditions , is added to a preprocessor ( 20 ) by way of a hopper ( 22 ), shown in fig4 through 6 , typically in block form , and is ground to a desired consistency by means of a mill ( 24 ) which is typically driven by a motor ( 16 ) coupled with a drive mechanism ( 18 ). the mill ( 24 ) can further be comprised of a coarse mill ( 26 ) which may be comprised of a shaft ( 28 ) having a series of masticators ( 30 ) at predetermined positions along the shaft ( 28 ). the rotation of the coarse mill , can be designed to break - up a solid block to a consistency of about 6 to 8 cm . a fine mill which may be comprised of a series of wheels ( 34 ) generally having splines ( 36 ), or worm gears , or spurs , with a predetermined offset can then break up the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) further , to a consistency of about 2 to 5 mm , to aid in the dissolution process . it can be understood by one skilled in the art the advantages of this preferred method , and further that there are various equivalent means of accomplishing the task of preparing solid chemical agent ( 12 ) for dissolution . further it is contemplated that the forgoing example is illustrative in nature and that any equivalent means are within the breadth of this disclosure . for example , the solvent source ( 50 ) may initially be added to the system by means of the preprocessor ( 20 ) as illustrated in fig4 . it is further anticipated that the consistency of solid chemical agent ( 12 ) exiting the mill ( 24 ) can vary as to the consistency and size of particles . this variation is also considered within the breadth of this disclosure . it is further anticipated that the preprocessor can be replaced with another means of providing starting material . this too is considered within the breadth of the present disclosure , and does not depart from the spirit of this invention . as the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) enters the formulation chamber ( 10 ) it is collected by means of a dissolution tray ( 42 ), which is positioned substantially below the crown ( 38 ) as shown in fig7 and 8 . either approximately before , during , or after the solid chemical agent ( 12 ) is added to the formulation chamber ( 10 ), the pump ( 56 ) is actuated with at least the re - circulating valve ( 54 b ) being opened to allow the flow of liquid through the piping ( 14 ) and to through a heater element ( 60 ) which controls the exit temperature of the formulation at a predetermined temperature as discussed above . the formulation in process is then directed by piping ( 14 ) to the dispenser ( 40 ) where it exits through ports ( 41 ) to further mix with , and dissolve , the solid chemical agent ( 12 ). to aid in the dissolution process and further contain the solid chemical agent ( 12 ), a brim ( 44 ), for creating a volume for mixing can be added to the dissolution tray ( 42 ). as the formulation reaches the brim ( 44 ) it spills over and is collected by the collector drain ( 48 ). a screen ( 46 ), which may be a shelf , filter , strainer , or similar device , may be positioned between the dissolution tray ( 42 ) and the collector drain ( 48 ) to filter small amounts of solid chemical agent ( 12 ) which may find their way toward the collector drain ( 48 ). once the characteristics of the formulation have reached the proper predetermined conditions , volume , temperature , formulation and the like ; the feeder valve ( 54 c ) may be opened generally by means of the feeder valve controller ( 52 c ) to direct the desired volume of the formulation through an applicator line ( 64 ) to either an aerosol generator , or other applicator means . the re - circulating valve ( 54 b ) and the solvent valve ( 54 a ) may be positioned between opened and closed while the feeder valve ( 54 c ) is open in order to regulate the flow as desired . typically the generation of formulation using the heated solvent is rapid enough that new formulation can be generated throughout the application process without interruption . although the present invention has been described in detail , those skilled in the art will understand that various changes , substitutions , and alterations herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form . the fact that the primary embodiments centered around the treatment of potato sprouting , one skilled in the art can recognize that these methods can be used for preparing formulations for treating a number of agricultural products in a number of applications . the invention is not considered limited to examples chosen for purposes of disclosure , and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention . having thus described the invention , what is desired to be protected by letters patent is presented in the subsequent appended claims .	1
the specific 2 - nitro - 5 -( substituted - phenoxy ) phenyl alkanone derivatives are described below . one method for preparing these compounds is the use of the ullmann ether synthesis reaction between the alkali metal ( e . g ., na , k ) salt of a suitable substituted phenol , e . g ., m - hydroxy benzaldehyde or m - cresol with an active halogen - substituted aromatic , e . g ., 3 , 4 - dichlorobenzotrifluoride . the intermediate obtained may be nitrated and subsequently derivatized by known procedures . where m - cresol is used as a starting material , the product obtained can be oxidized and subsequently nitrated before the aforementioned derivatization . to a stirred solution of 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrophenyl ethanone ( 3 . 3 g ., 0 . 0092 mole ) in absolute ethanol ( 30 ml ) was bubbled methylamine for 0 . 5 hour as the temperature rose to about 40 ° c . the solution was stirred for 12 hours at room temperature and then heated to reflux for 4 hours . the solvent was stripped to give 3 . 0 g of a brown oil . recrystallization from methanol / water gave a brown solid ( 1 . 2 g ., mp . 133 °- 7 ° c .). to a solution of hydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 0 . 33 g ., 0 . 0048 mole ) and sodium acetate ( 0 . 394 g ., 0 . 0048 mole ) in 2 - 3 ml of water was added a hot solution of 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenzaldehyde ( 1 . 5 g ., 0 . 00434 mole ) in ethanol ( 10 - 12 ml ). the clear yellow solution was heated for 1 . 5 hours and then the solvent was stripped on a rotary evaporator to give a yellow waxy solid which solidified giving 1 . 5 g ., mp . 111 °- 115 ° c . recrystallization from ethanol / water gave a solid mp . 114 °- 118 ° c . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): singlet 8 . 85 ppm ( 1h ), doublet 8 . 30 ppm ( j = 4 . 5 hz , 1h ), complex multiplet 7 . 0 - 8 . 0 ppm ( 7h ). 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenzaldehyde t - butylimine was prepared in a manner similar to that shown for compound 1 . the product was an oily semi - solid . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): singlet 1 . 34 ppm ( 9h ), complex multiplet 6 . 9 - 8 . 4 ppm ( 6h ), singlet 8 . 9 ppm ( 1h ). other illustrative compounds of the present invention are shown below in accordance with the following formula : ______________________________________ ## str5 ## x y name______________________________________h ona 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenzaldehyde oxime sodium salt ## str6 ## 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenza ldehyde methylaminocarbonyloximeh ## str7 ## 5 -[ 2 chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenza ldehyde 1 -( methoxycarbonyl ) ethyloximecn ## str8 ## 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenoxy ] α - cyano - 2 - nitrobenzal - dehyde ( n , ndimethylamino - carbonyl ) oximeoc . sub . 2 h . sub . 5 ## str9 ## ethyl o ( 2 , 3 - epoxy propyl ) 5 -[ 2 - chloro - 4 - trifluorometh yl ) phenoxy ]- 2 - nitrobenzohy - droximate______________________________________ the compounds of this invention can be applied in various ways to achieve herbicidal action . they can be applied per se , as solids or in vaporized form , but are preferably applied as the toxic components in pesticidal compositions of the compound and a carrier . these compositions are preferably applied directly to the soil and often incorporated therewith . the compositions can be applied as granulars or dusts ; as liquid sprays , or as gas - propelled sprays and can contain , in addition to a carrier , additives such as emulsifying agents , binding agents , gases compressed to the liquid states , odorants , stabilizers , and the like . a wide variety of liquid and solid carriers can be used . non - limiting examples of solid carriers include talc , bentonite , diatomaceous earth , pyrophyllite , fullers earth , gypsum , flours derived from cotton seeds and nut shells , and various natural and synthetic clays having a ph not exceeding about 9 . 5 . non - limiting examples of liquid carriers include water , organic solvents such as alcohols , ketones , light oils , and medium oils and vegetable oils such as cottonseed oil . in practice , herbicidal application is measured in terms of pounds of herbicide applied per acre . the compounds of this invention are effective herbicides when applied in herbicidal amounts , i . e ., at rates between about 0 . 03 pound and about 10 pounds per acre . crop and weed species are planted in 8 &# 34 ;× 10 &# 34 ; disposable fiber flats containing potting soil to provide each flat with a 4 &# 34 ; row of all test species . crop species consist of field corn ( cn ), crabgrass ( cg ), cotton ( ct ), and soybeans ( sb ). the weed species consist of foxtail millet ( fm ), green foxtail ( gf ), velvetleaf ( vl ), cocklebur ( cb ), wild mustard ( wm ) and pigweed ( pw ). cotton , corn , soybean , and cocklebur plantings consist of 4 to 5 seeds per row depending upon species . the smaller seeded species ( velvetleaf , wild mustard , pigweed , foxtail millet and green foxtail ) are planted in an uncounted but sufficient number to provide a solid row of seedlings . plantings for the pre - and post - emergence portions of the test are identical as to seeding . the initial watering until emergence is done from the top . the post - emergence phase is propagated in advance so as to provide plants of the proper stage of development at the time of treatment . plantings for the pre - emergence phase are made not more than one day in advance of treatment . the desired stage of development for treatment of the post - emergence broadleaf species ( ct , sb , cb , vl , wm , pw ) is the one true leaf or first trifoliate leaf stage . the desired stage for corn would be a height of 3 - 4 &# 34 ;, while a 2 &# 34 ; height would be adequate for the grasses . spray applications are made with a handgun sprayer ( aspirator type ) simultaneously to one flat of established plants for the post - emergence phase and one newly seeded flat for the pre - emergence phase . the 10 lb ./ acre treatment rate consists of the uniform application of 116 milligrams of test compound to the combined area of the two flats ( 160 sq . inches ). application is made in a solvent mixture consisting of 40 ml acetone and 40 ml water and a surfactant concentration of 0 . 1 %. following spray application , flats are returned to the greenhouse where watering of the post - emergence phase is done only by subirrigation . the pre - emergence phase is top watered by sprinkling until after test species have emerged . subsequent watering is by subirrigation . two weeks after treatment , the pre - and post - emergence injury and control is rated on a 0 - 100 % injury and control scale . special physiological effects are rated as to intensity also at this time . the herbicidal test data reported for compounds 1 - 3 was obtained at application rates of 2 lbs . down to 1 / 4 lb ./ acre . the following lists the metric equivalents for each rate . test results are set forth in table i ( pre - emergence ) and table ii ( post - emergence ). table i__________________________________________________________________________dosage pre - emergencecpd . no . lbs ./ acre cg fm gf vl cb wm pw ct cn sb__________________________________________________________________________1 2 50 10 -- 0 10 30 -- -- -- -- 1 / 4 0 0 -- 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- 2 2 -- 90 90 70 0 90 80 10 0 01 / 2 -- 70 0 20 0 20 20 0 0 03 2 -- 80 60 10 10 90 100 20 10 01 / 2 -- 20 20 0 0 10 70 0 0 0__________________________________________________________________________ table ii__________________________________________________________________________dosage post - emergencecpd . no . lbs ./ acre cg fm gf vl cb wm pw ct cn sb__________________________________________________________________________1 2 60 50 -- 90 40 80 100 90 10 301 / 4 10 70 -- 10 10 40 100 40 10 102 2 20 50 -- 100 70 90 100 80 10 501 / 2 10 10 -- 100 10 90 80 30 10 303 2 -- 90 90 70 10 100 100 70 50 501 / 2 -- 60 60 10 10 90 90 50 10 401 / 4 -- 60 40 50 20 90 70 30 20 20__________________________________________________________________________	0
various aspects of the present invention are described in this section ( i ) and in greater detail in the following section ( ii ). as described with reference to the preferred embodiment shown in fig1 , an electronic muscle stimulator device is implanted in the genital region of a patient and stimulates one or more of the muscles in the region , so as to control and treat urinary stress incontinence . preferably , motion of or pressure on or in the area of the patient &# 39 ; s urinary bladder generates an electromyographic ( emg ) signal in the muscles , which is sensed by one or more electrodes and is analyzed by a control unit of the device . alternatively or additionally , non - electromyographic signals are received and analyzed by the control unit . when the control unit determines that the signals are indicative of a condition , such as an increase in abdominal or intravesical pressure , that is likely to cause involuntary urge flow from the bladder , it applies an electrical waveform to the one or more electrodes , stimulating the contacted muscle to contract and thus to inhibit the urine flow . in addition to emg sensing electrodes , the device preferably also comprises one or more other physiological sensors , described hereinbelow with reference to fig2 - 4 , which generate signals responsive to motion , to intravesical or abdominal pressure , or to urine volume in the bladder . these signals are indicative of possible incontinence that may occur due to coughing , laughing , or other strain or motion of the abdominal muscles . typically , when the urine volume in the bladder is low , there will be no urine flow even when the abdominal pressure does increase . as described with reference to a plurality of the figures , the control unit preferably processes the signals from the other sensors and uses them to determine when the electrical stimulation should be applied to the muscles . preferably , the control unit comprises a processor , e . g ., as described with reference to fig3 and 4 , which is programmed to distinguish between signals indicative of possible incontinence and other signals that do not warrant stimulation of the muscles . in particular , the processor is preferably programmed to recognize signal patterns indicative of normal voiding , and does not stimulate the muscles when such patterns occur , so that the patient can pass urine normally . detection of normal voiding is described in more detail with reference to fig7 . preferably , the processor analyzes both long - term and short - term variations in the signals , as well as rates , spectral patterns , and patterns of change in the signals . most preferably , in response to the analysis , the processor sets a threshold of an aspect of the emg signal that varies over time responsive to an assessment of the patient &# 39 ; s physiological condition , and applies the stimulation only when a transient variation in the aspect of the emg signal exceeds the threshold . methods for modifying the threshold in real time are described with reference to fig6 . in the context of the present patent application and in the claims , a “ time - varying threshold ” is to be understood as comprising substantially any appropriate time - varying detection parameters that a person skilled in the art , having read the disclosure of the present patent application , would consider useful in applying the principles of the present invention . by way of illustration and not limitation , these time - varying detection parameters may include magnitude , rate , or other aspects of the emg signal , and quantitative ultrasound , pressure , or acceleration measurements , as described herein . as described with reference to fig5 , the control unit preferably comprises a low - power , low - speed processor , which monitors the emg signals continuously , and a high - speed processor , which turns on only when the low - speed processor detects an increase in emg activity . use of the two processors has been shown to significantly reduce consumption of electrical power . the high - speed processor performs an accurate analysis of the signals to determine whether stimulation is actually warranted . reference is now made to fig1 , which is a schematic , pictorial illustration of an implantable electronic muscle stimulator device 20 , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . device 20 is preferably implanted in the genital region of a patient , as described further hereinbelow , for use in stimulating one or more of the muscles in the region , so as to control and treat urinary stress incontinence . device 20 comprises a control unit 22 and electrodes 27 and 29 , mutually coupled by an electrical lead 24 . the electrodes are preferably flexible intramuscular - type wire electrodes , about 1 - 5 mm long and 50 - 100 microns in diameter , thus designed to minimize patient discomfort . they are typically formed in the shape of a spiral or hook , as is known in the art , so that they can be easily and permanently anchored in the muscle . the wire from which the electrodes are made comprises a suitable conductive material , preferably a biocompatible metal such as silver , a platinum / iridium alloy ( 90 / 10 ) or a nickel / chromium alloy . lead 24 is preferably 5 - 10 cm long and has an insulating jacket 26 preferably comprising nylon , polyurethane , teflon or other flexible , biocompatible insulating material . an optional additional wire 28 inside jacket 26 serves as an antenna for the purpose of wireless communications with device 20 , as described further hereinbelow . control unit 22 contains circuitry , described further hereinbelow with references to fig3 , 4 and 5 , for receiving electrical signals from and applying a waveform to electrodes 27 and 29 via lead 24 . the circuitry is preferably contained in a case 25 , made of stainless steel or other suitable biocompatible metal , and is preferably about 20 mm in diameter and 4 mm thick . for some applications , the stainless steel case serves as a ground electrode for electrodes 27 and 29 when they are sensing or stimulating in a bipolar mode . alternatively , the case may be made of a plastic material which is coated with a layer of biocompatible plastic , such as polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ) or silicone . although two electrodes are shown attached to the control unit in fig1 , it is possible to use only a single electrode or , alternatively , additional electrodes and / or other sensors may similarly be coupled to the control unit , as described further hereinbelow . fig2 is a schematic , partly sectional illustration showing the genitourinary anatomy of a female patient 31 in whom device 20 is implanted , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . it will be appreciated that whereas preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with respect to female patients , the principles of the present invention can also be applied to male patients , mutatis mutandis . electrodes 27 and 29 ( not shown ) are preferably inserted into a muscle 32 , in a vicinity of urethra 34 and bladder 36 . most preferably , the electrodes are inserted into the patient &# 39 ; s levator ani muscle , which supports and reinforces the operation of the urethral sphincter and can generally compensate for lost function of the sphincter in controlling urine flow from the bladder , such as may occur in cases of stress incontinence . the electrodes are preferably inserted through an incision made in the wall of vagina 42 , and control unit 22 may likewise be implanted through this incision . alternatively , another suitable approach may be chosen for ease of access and minimization of tissue trauma . as noted hereinabove , the levator ani and sphincter cooperate with fibromuscular extensions along urethra 34 and with other muscles in the general vicinity of the pelvic diaphragm . thus , one or both of the electrodes may , alternatively or additionally , be inserted into one of these other muscles , such as the puborectalis , pubococcygeus , bulboscongiosus or the urethral sphincter itself . the precise placement of the electrodes is not essential , particularly since electrical signals tend to pass among the different muscles in the region . thus , any placement of the electrode in or on one or more of the pelvic muscles suitable for exercising urine control is considered to be within the scope of this embodiment of the present invention . control unit 22 is preferably implanted under the skin in the genitopelvic region of patient 31 . most preferably , the control unit is implanted inside the patient &# 39 ; s labia minora 38 or in the labia majora 40 , near muscle 32 . alternatively , the control unit is not implanted in the patient &# 39 ; s body , but is instead maintained outside the body , connected by lead 24 to the electrodes . this configuration is convenient particularly for an initial test period , during which the effectiveness of device 20 in treating a given patient is evaluated before permanent implantation . optionally , a miniaturized ultrasound transducer 44 is implanted in proximity to bladder 36 and is coupled to control unit 22 . signals from the transducer are analyzed to estimate the urine volume within the bladder . when the bladder is empty , there is no need to actuate electrodes 27 and 29 , even when a transient increase in the electromyogram ( emg ) signal , as described hereinbelow , indicates an increase in abdominal pressure . alternatively or additional , the emg signal itself is analyzed to gain an indication of the urine volume in the bladder , since when the bladder is full , the average emg activity typically increases . fig3 is a schematic block diagram showing circuitry used in control unit 22 to receive signals from and apply electrical waveforms to electrode 27 , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . although in this embodiment , device 20 is described as operating in a unipolar mode , the principles described hereinbelow are applicable to bipolar operation , as well , in which both electrodes 27 and 29 are active . when stress is applied to the abdomen of patient 31 , electrode 27 receives emg signals from muscle 32 . these signals are conveyed via a switch 46 , which is normally closed , to the input of an amplifier 48 , preferably a low - noise operational amplifier . amplified signals output from amplifier 48 are digitized by an analog / digital ( a / d ) converter 50 and conveyed to a central processing unit ( cpu ) 52 , preferably a microprocessor . preferably , although not necessarily , the amplified signals are not rectified prior to being digitized , to allow various forms of analysis , for example , spectral analysis , to be performed on the raw data , without the distortion imparted by rectification . cpu 52 preferably analyzes these signals and / or signals from other physiological sensors , such as ultrasound , pressure , and acceleration sensors described hereinbelow , to determine whether they fit a pattern indicating that incontinence , i . e ., involuntary urine flow from bladder 36 , is likely to result from the stress . the pattern may correspond to coughing , laughing , or other strain or motion of the abdominal muscles . the analysis preferably comprises a spectral analysis and an analysis of emg signal magnitude and rate . the cpu is programmed to distinguish between incontinence - related patterns and other signal patterns not associated with incontinence , such as signals generated when patient 31 wishes to pass urine voluntarily . preferably , the cpu gathers long - term statistical information regarding the emg and analyzes the information to “ learn ” common signal patterns that are characteristic of patient 31 . the learned patterns are used in refining decision criteria used by the cpu in determining whether or not to apply waveforms to the electrodes . fig6 is a graph that schematically illustrates results of a simulation experiment , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , including a simulated emg signal 100 of a woman suffering from stress incontinence . a variable , adaptive threshold level 102 as marked on the graph . over the course of several hours , as the woman &# 39 ; s bladder fill level increases , the average level of emg signal 100 increases accordingly . in this example , threshold level 102 is computed so as to increase as a function of the average emg . alternatively or additionally , threshold level 102 and a plurality of other time - varying detection parameters are calculated as functions of other features of the emg signal or of other aspects of the women &# 39 ; s condition ( particularly as measured by sensors 44 , 76 and 78 ( fig4 )), and are used separately or in combination in determining whether to apply stimulation to inhibit involuntary urine flow . adaptive threshold level 102 enables five possible incidents of incontinence , marked by excursions 104 of signal 100 over level 102 , to be detected reliably , with a low false alarm rate . on the other hand , if a fixed threshold level 106 is used , as is known in the art , a number of emg excursions 104 are missed , and the false alarm rate is high . fig7 includes graphs 110 and 112 that schematically illustrate experimental measurements made before , during and after voluntary voiding of urine , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . graph 112 is a continuation in time of graph 110 . the upper trace in both graphs illustrates urine flow , wherein the beginning and end of voluntary flow are marked by arrows . the lower trace illustrates measured emg signals . in a period preceding voiding , an emg signal 14 shows substantial high - frequency activity , which is generally indicative of a full bladder . as illustrated by the graphs in the preceding figures , high - frequency spikes in signal 114 ( of which none appear in fig9 ) would be interpreted by cpu 52 as signs of imminent incontinence , leading to actuation of pulse generator 54 . on the other hand , voluntary voiding is preceded by an emg signal 116 , in which there is a large but gradual increase in the signal level . signal 116 is associated with voluntary activation of the pelvic floor muscles for the purpose of passing urine from the bladder , as is a later signal 118 during voiding . therefore , cpu 52 analyzes not only the level of the emg signals , but also a rate of change of the signals , in order to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary contractions of the pelvic muscles . when the rate of charge is characteristic of voluntary voiding , no stimulation is applied by pulse generator 54 . when possible incontinence is detected in this manner , cpu 52 opens switch 46 and commands a pulse generator 54 to apply a suitable electrical waveform to electrode 27 so as to stimulate muscle 32 to contract . switch 46 is opened in order to avoid feedback of the stimulation waveform ; to amplifier 48 , and is closed again after the waveform is terminated . in the embodiment shown in fig3 , the waveform is applied to the electrode in a unipolar node , wherein case 25 of control unit 22 serves as the return ( ground ) electrode . ( this mode can be used only when case 25 comprises a conductive material . when control unit 22 has a plastic case , at least two electrodes are generally needed , in order to administer bipolar stimulation ). as muscle 32 contracts , it closes off urethra 34 , thus inhibiting the undesired urine flow . preferably , the waveform is terminated and switch 46 is closed after a predetermined period of time , typically about 5 sec , has passed . if possible incontinence is again detected at this point , the waveform is re - applied . it will be appreciated that , depending on the particular application , one or more waveforms may be employed in the practice of various embodiments of the present invention . for example , the waveform may be uniphasic or biphasic and may have a range of amplitudes , duty cycles and / or frequencies . it has been found generally that pulse frequencies in the range between 5 and 200 hz are effective in engendering contraction of the levator ani and other pelvic muscles , but it may also be possible to use frequencies outside this range . in a preferred embodiment , the waveform comprises a bipolar square wave having the following characteristics : alternatively , the waveform may comprise a decaying square wave , sinusoid or sawtooth or have any other shape found to be suitable . further alternatively or additionally , the waveform may comprise one or more bursts of short pulses , each pulse preferably less than 1 ms in duration . generally , appropriate waveforms and parameters thereof are determined during the initial test period . power is supplied to the elements of control unit 22 by a battery 56 , which may comprise a primary battery ( non - rechargeable ) and / or a rechargeable battery . alternatively , a super - capacitor , as is known in the art , may be used to store and provide the electrical power . if a rechargeable battery or super - capacitor is used , it is preferably recharged via an inductive coil 56 or antenna , which receives energy by magnetic induction from an external magnetic field charging source ( not shown ) hold in proximity to the pelvis of patient 31 . the magnetic field causes a current to flow in coil 58 , which is rectified by a rectifier 60 and furnished to charge battery 56 . wire 28 may also be used for this purpose . preferably , battery 56 comprises a standard battery , such as a lithium battery , having a nominal output of 3 volts . most preferably , pulse generator 54 comprises a dc / dc converter , as is known in the art , and a capacitor , which is charged by the dc / dc converter to a constant , stepped - up voltage level regardless of the precise battery voltage , which may vary between 3 . 5 and 1 . 8 volts . the same dc / dc converter , or another similar device , preferably supplies power to other circuit components of control unit 22 . an inductive arrangement , using wire 28 coupled to cpu 52 , is preferably used to program the cpu , using an external programming device ( not shown ) with a suitable antenna . alternatively , the programming device generates a modulated magnetic field to communicate with a receiver inside case 25 , which preferably senses the field using a hall effect transducer . such programming may be used , for example , to set an amplitude or duration of the stimulation waveform applied by pulse generator 54 , or to set a threshold level or other parameters , according to which the cpu distinguishes between electromyographic or other signals that are indicative of impending incontinence and those that are not ( e . g ., those that indicate voluntary voiding ). such programming may be carried out by medical personnel or by the patient herself , who can similarly turn the implanted control unit on and off as desired by passing a suitable magnet over the area of her pelvis . although the circuit blocks in control unit 22 are shown as discrete elements , some or all of these blocks are preferably embodied in a custom or semi - custom integrated circuit device , as is known in the art . fig4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a muscle stimulator device 70 , in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention . device 70 is substantially similar to device 20 , except for features described hereinbelow . device 70 comprises a control unit 74 , which is coupled to electrodes 27 and 29 . electrode 29 also serves as the sensing electrode , furnishing electromyographic signals via switch 46 to amplifier 48 , as described hereinabove . alternatively , electrodes 27 and 29 may be coupled as differential inputs to amplifier 49 . pulse generator 54 applies the stimulation waveforms between electrodes 21 and 29 in a bipolar mode . in addition to or instead of the electromyographic signals received from electrode 29 , cpu 52 preferably receives additional signals from other physiological sensors , such as ultrasound transducer 44 ( shown in fig2 ), a pressure sensor 76 and / or an acceleration sensor 78 , or other types of strain and motion measurement devices , as are known in the art . pressure sensor 76 is preferably implanted on or in bladder 36 , so as to detect increases in abdominal or intravesical pressure that may lead to involuntary urine loss . similarly , acceleration sensor 78 is preferably implanted so as to detect bladder motion associated with hypermobility , which is similarly associated with urine loss . the additional signals from these sensors are preferably analyzed by the cpu together with the electromyographic signals in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of detection of impending stress incontinence . an impedance sensor 79 is used to measure the tissue impedance between leads 27 and 29 , using physiological impedance measurement techniques known in the art . during long - term use of device 70 ( or other such devices ), fibrosis in the area of the implanted electrodes tends to cause the impedance to increase , so that the stimulating current for a given applied voltage decreases . the impedance measured by sensor 79 is used as a feedback signal instructing cpu 52 to increase the voltage , so that a generally constant level of simulation current is maintained . fig5 is a schematic block diagram showing details of signal processing circuitry 80 for use in device 20 or 70 , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . in order to detect impending incontinence with adequate reliability , a / d converter 50 must typically sample the emg signals from the electrodes at 1000 - 5000 hz , and cpu 52 must perform a detailed analysis of the sample stream . systems for incontinence control known in the art , operating at sample rates below 1000 hz , cannot adequately distinguish between signals that may be indicative of incontinence and those that are not . for the purpose of such high - rate sampling , cpu 52 preferably comprises a low - power , software - programmable processor . if a / d converter 50 and cpu 52 were to operate continuously , however , battery 56 would rapidly run down . therefore , circuitry 80 comprises a low - power , low - resolution a / d converter 84 and hard - coded processing logic 86 , which operate continuously at a low sampling rate , preferably at about 100 - 200 hz . input from amplifier 48 to a / d converter 84 is preferably rectified by a rectifier 82 . in operation , a / d converter 50 and cpu 52 are normally maintained in a standby state , in which their power consumption is negligible . when logic 86 , operating at the low sampling rate , detects emg signals that may be a precursor to incontinence , it signals a / d converter 50 to begin sampling at the high rate . in order not to lose significant data from the brief period before a / d converter 50 and cpu 52 turn on , signals from a / d converter 84 are preferably stored in a cyclic ( or first - in first - out ) queue 88 , such as a delay line . the entire sequence of signal detection and processing is estimated to take between 5 and 20 is , up to the point at which cpu 52 reaches a decision as to whether or not to actuate pulse generator 54 . pulse generation takes between 1 and 20 ms , with the result that contraction of the pelvic muscles begins within 15 - 50 ms of the onset of increased emg activity indicating impending urine loss . thus , urethra 34 is substantially closed off before any significant amount of urine can leak out . as shown in fig5 , emg inputs from electrodes 27 and 29 are preferably amplified before processing in a dual - differential configuration . electrode 27 and 29 are coupled to respective differential preamplifiers 87 and 89 . the outputs of the preamplifiers are differentially amplified by amplifier 48 . this configuration , which affords enhanced sensitivity and reduced noise in device 70 , is shown in fig4 . although preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereinabove with reference to treatment of urinary stress incontinence , it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention may be applied as well to treat other types of incontinence , such as urge incontinence , and to treat and enhance the function of other muscles in the body . it will be understood that the preferred embodiments described above are cited by way of example , and the full scope of the invention is limited only by the claims .	0
in fig1 and fig1 a , a first embodiment of a document - covering device according to the present invention is shown . inside the scanner , there is a document scanning window 10 for the image of a document passing across , then reflected by a mirror 11 , focused by lens 12 , and then entering into an opto - electronic module , such as a ccd ( charge couple device ) or cis ( contact image sensor ) array 13 and transformed into signals of image . a transparent tray 2 carries a document , such as a photo or other material , facing to and passing across the scanning window 10 for scanning , then moves out of the case for the user to load and unload the document ( actually , the scanning widow 10 is a line portion projective on the surface of tray 2 where image of the document is scanned line by line ). a covering device for flattening the document during scanning is a roller 30 located in parallel with the scanning window 10 and formed a touch line over the scanning window 10 where the roller will touch with the document to keep the document flaton the tray the roller 30 is adjacent to the tray 2 so that a document laid on the tray 2 will be pressed on it and moves along with the tray 2 during scanning process . the roller 30 pivots on two sides 14 , 14 &# 39 ; of the case . a first gear 31 furnished on one end of the roller 30 engages with a first rack 21 furnished on one side of the tray 2 . a second rack 22 furnished also on the tray 2 is driven by a motor 40 via a gear 41 . the linear transmission speed of the first gear 31 and first rock 21 is designed to be equal to the moving speed of the tray 2 driven by the motor 40 so that a document laid on the surface of the tray 2 and pressed by the roller 30 to move along with the tray during scanning will be exactly at the same tangent speed without sliding . after the scanning finishes , the tray 2 will be controlled to move outside the case where the roller 30 will no more press the document so that users can load and unload documents freely . in fig2 and fig2 a , a second embodiment of a document - covering device according to the present invention is shown . it differs from the first embodiment at the modifications of aforesaid first gear 31 and first rack 21 . read of said gear and rack , two taking up wheels 32 and 32 &# 39 ; are furnished on two ends of the roller 30 and directly contact with the tray 2 . so that movement of the tray 2 will drive the roller 30 rotating in the same tangent speed . in the drawings , designated numbers for the rest components are the same as in fig1 and fig1 a . in fig3 and fig3 a , a third embodiment of a document - covering device according to the present invention is shown . it differs from the first embodiment at the modifications of aforesaid first gear 31 and first rack 21 . instead of said gear and rack , a second motor 34 is used to drive the roller 30 via a gear 33 fixed at one end of the roller 30 . the rotation speed of the roller 30 is designed to be equal to the speed of the tray 2 driven by the motor 40 via the rack 22 and the gear 41 . in the drawings , designated numbers for the rest components are still the same as in fig1 and fig1 a . in fig4 and fig4 a , a fourth embodiment of a document - covering device according to the present invention is shown . the covering device includes a belt wheel 60 , a flexible holding belt 6 ( preferred of a transparent material ) and driving means for actuating the belt 6 . the axis of the belt wheel 60 is located adjacent and parallel to the scanning window 10 . one end 61 of the belt 6 is fixed at the inner side 15 of the tray 2 . the other end 62 of the belt goes around the belt wheel 6 to form a uniform small clearance between the belt and the tray 2 and then links to a pulling rim 51 via several spring elements 53 , such as springs or rubber bands . several pulleys 50 , 51 &# 39 ; furnished on a shaft which is pivoted on the case for several ropes 52 , 52 &# 39 ; going around respectively . the ends of the ropes 52 , 52 &# 39 ; are fixed on the rim 51 and the inner side 15 of the tray 2 respectively . the spring elements 53 provide a suitable tension in the circular linkage formed by the belt 6 and the ropes 52 , 52 &# 39 ;. during scanning process when the tray 2 is driven inward by a motor 40 via a gear 41 and a rack 23 furnished on the tray 2 , the belt 6 will gradually cover a document laid on the tray 2 into the clearance between the belt and the tray and prevent it from sliding . the mirror 11 , lens 12 and opto - electronic module 13 provide scanning functions as described above . in fig5 and fig5 a , a fifth embodiment of a document - covering device according to the present invention is shown . it differs from the fourth embodiment at the modifications of aforesaid motor 40 , gear 41 and rack 23 . instead of driving the tray 2 by gear and rack , a motor 42 is used to drive the shaft of the pulley 50 , 50 &# 39 ; directly via a gear 54 , then pulls the belt 6 and the tray 2 moving synchronously via the rope 52 , 52 &# 39 ;. in the aforesaid drawings of embodiments , light means for illuminating the documents to be scanned were not shown . it is apparent to those skilled in the art that light means can be located beyond or under the tray , and various changes for applying the invention to scan reflective or transparent documents may be made without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed .	7
referring initially to fig1 there is shown an exploded view of a tag generally indicated at 19 . the tag 19 is shown to include a sheet 20t having pressure sensitive adhesive 21 and 22 on opposite faces thereof . a mask 23 in a spiral pattern covers a portion of the adhesive 21 and a release sheet 24t is releasably adhered to the adhesive 22 . the mask 23 renders the adhesive 21 which it covers non - tacky or substantially so . a conductor spiral indicated generally at 25 includes a spiral conductor 26 having a number of turns . the conductor 26 is of substantially the same width throughout its length except for a connector bar 27 at the outer end portion of the conductor spiral 26 . there is a sheet of dielectric 28t over and adhered to the conductor spiral 25 and the underlying sheet 20t by means of adhesive 29 . a conductor spiral generally indicated at 30 includes a spiral conductor 31 having a number of turns . the conductor 31 is adhered to adhesive 29 &# 39 ; on the dialectric 28t . the conductor 31 is substantially the same width throughout its length except for a connector bar 32 at the outer end portion of the conductor spiral 30 . the conductor spirals 25 and 30 are generally aligned in face - to - face relationship except for portions 33 which are not face - to - face with the conductor 26 and except for portions 35 which are not face - to - face with the conductor 31 . a sheet 37t has a coating of a pressure sensitive adhesive 38 masked off in a spiral pattern 39 . the exposed adhesive 38 &# 39 ; is aligned with the conductor spiral 30 . adhesive is shown in fig1 by heavy stippling and the masking is shown in fig1 by light stippling with cross - hatching . the connector bars 27 and 32 are electrically connected , as for example by staking 90 . it should be noted that the staking 90 occurs where connector bars 27 are separated only by adhesive 29 . there is no paper , film or the like between the connector bars 27 and 32 . accordingly , the staking disclosed in the present application is reliable . with reference to fig3 there is shown diagrammatically a method for making the tag 19 shown in fig1 and 2 . a roll 40 is shown to be comprised of a composite web 41 having a web 20 with a full - gum or continuous coatings of pressure sensitive adhesive 21 and 22 on opposite faces thereof . the web 20 is &# 34 ; double - faced &# 34 ; with adhesive . a release liner or web 42 is releasably adhered to the upper side of the web 20 by the pressure sensitive adhesive 21 , and the underside of the web 20 has a release liner or web 24 releasably adhered to the pressure sensitive adhesive 22 . as shown , the release liner 42 is delaminated from the web 20 to expose the adhesive 21 . the adhesive coated web 20 together with the release liner 24 pass partially about a sandpaper roll 43 and between a pattern roll 44 and a back - up roll 45 where mask patterns 23 are applied onto the adhesive 21 to provide longitudinally recurring adhesive patterns 21 &# 39 ;. masking material from a fountain 46 is applied to the pattern roll 44 . with reference to fig4 the portion marked a represents the portion of the web 20 immediately upstream of the pattern roll 44 . the portion marked b shows the mask patterns 23 printed by the roll 44 . the patterns 23 are represented by cross - hatching in fig4 . with reference to fig3 the web 20 now passes through a dryer 47 where the mask patterns 23 are dried or cured . the adhesive 21 is rendered non - tacky at the mask patterns 23 . a web 49 of planar , electrically conductive material such as copper or aluminum from a roll 48 is laminated onto the coated web 20 as they pass between laminating rolls 50 and 50 &# 39 ;. reference character c in fig4 denotes the line where lamination of the webs 20 and 49 occurs . with reference to fig3 the laminated webs 21 and 49 now pass between a cutting roll 51 having cutting blades 52 and a back - up roll 53 . the blades 52 cut completely through the conductive material web 49 but preferably do not cut into the web 20 . the blades 52 cut the web 49 into a plurality of series of patterns 25 and 30 best shown in the portion marked d in fig5 . with reference again to fig3 there is shown a roll 54 comprised of a composite web 55 having a web 37 with a full - gum or continuous coating of pressure sensitive adhesive 38 and a release liner 56 releasably adhered to the adhesive 38 on the web 37 . the release liner 56 is separated from the web 37 and the web 37 passes about a sandpaper roll 57 . from there the web 37 passes between a pattern roll 58 and a back - up roll 59 where mask patterns 39 are applied onto the adhesive 38 to render the adhesive 21 non - tacky at the mask patterns 39 to provide longitudinally recurring adhesive patterns 38 &# 39 ; ( fig1 ). masking material from a fountain 60 is applied to the pattern roll 58 . the masking material of which the patterns 23 and 39 are comprised is a commercially available printable adhesive deadener such as sold under the name &# 34 ; aqua superadhesive deadener by environmental inks and coating corp , morganton , n . c . from there the web 37 passes partially about a roll 61 and through a dryer 62 where the mask patterns 39 are dried or cured . the adhesive 38 is rendered non - tacky at the mask patterns 39 . from there the webs 20 , 49 and 37 pass between laminating rolls 63 and 64 . fig5 shows that lamination occurs along line e where the web 37 meets the web 49 . when thus laminated , each adhesive pattern 21 &# 39 ; registers only with an overlying conductor spiral 25 and each adhesive pattern 38 &# 39 ; registers only with an underlying conductor spiral 30 . the webs 20 , 37 and 49 pass successively partially about rolls 65 and 66 and from there the web 37 delaminates from the web 20 and passes partially about a roll 67 . at the place of delamination , the web 49 separates into two webs of conductor spirals 25 and 30 . as shown in fig6 delamination occurs along the line marked f . when delamination occurs , the conductor spirals 30 adhere to the adhesive patterns 38 &# 39 ; on the web 37 , and the conductor spirals 25 adhere to the adhesive patterns 21 &# 39 ; on the web 20 . thus , the conductor spirals 30 extend in one web and the spirals 25 extend in another web . the web 20 passes partially about rolls 68 , 69 and 70 and from there pass between an adhesive coating roll 71 and a back - up roll 72 . adhesive 29 &# 39 ; from a fountain 73 is applied to the roll 71 which in turn applies a uniform or continuous coating of adhesive 29 &# 39 ; to the web 20 and over conductive spirals 25 . the portion marked g in fig6 shows the portion of the web 20 and conductor spirals 25 between the spaced rolls 66 and 72 . the portion marked h shows the portion of the web 20 between the spaced rolls 72 and 74 . with reference to fig3 the web 20 passes through a dryer 75 where the adhesive 29 &# 39 ; is dried . a plurality , specifically two laterally spaced dielectric webs 28a and 28b wound in rolls 76 and 77 are laminated to the web 20 as the webs 20 , 28a and 28b pass between the rolls 74 and 74 &# 39 ;. this laminating occurs along reference line i indicated in fig6 . with reference to fig3 the web 20 with the conductor spirals 25 and the dielectric webs 28a and 28b pass about rolls 78 and 79 and pass between an adhesive applicator roll 80 and a back - up roll 81 . the roll 80 applies adhesive 82 received from a fountain 83 to the webs 28a and 28b and to the portions of the web 20 not covered thereby . from there , the webs 20 , 28a and 28b pass through a dryer 84 and partially about a roll 85 . the web 37 which had been separated from the web 20 is laminated at the nip of laminating rolls 86 and 87 along a line marked j in fig7 to provide a composite tag web generally indicated at 88 . the webs 20 , 28a , 28b and 37 are laminated between rolls 86 and 87 after the conductor spirals 30 have been shifted longiutudinally with respect to the conductor spirals 25 so that each conductor spiral 30 is aligned or registered with an underlying conductor spiral 25 . the shifting can be equal to the pitch of one conductor spiral pattern as indicated at p ( fig9 ) plus the width w of one conductor , or by multiples of the pitch p plus the width w of one conductor . thus , each pair of conductor spirals 25 and 30 is capable of making a resonant circuit detectable by an appropriate article surveillance circuit . fig8 shows the web 20 and the web 37 rotated apart by 180 °. fig9 shows the web 20 and the web 37 rotated apart by 180 ° and as having been shifted with respect to each other so that the conductor spirals 25 and 30 are aligned . as best shown in fig1 , the dielectric 28a terminates short of stakes 90 resulting from the staking operation . by this arrangement the stakes 90 do not pass through the dielectric 28a ( or 28b ). fig1 shows the conductor spirals 25 and 30 substantially entirely overlapped or aligned with each other , except as indicated at 35 for the conductor spiral 25 and as indicated at 33 for the conductor spiral 30 . each circuit is completed by staking the conductor bars 27 and 32 to each other as indicated at 90 or by other suitable means . the staking 90 is performed by four spiked wheels 89 which make four stake lines 90 in the composite web 88 . the spiked wheels 89 pierce through the conductor bars 27 and 32 and thus bring the conductor bars 27 and 32 into electrically coupled relationship . the web composite 88 is slit into a plurality of narrow webs 91 and 92 by slitter knife 93 and excess material 94 is trimmed by slitter knives 95 . the webs 91 and 92 are next cut through up to but not into the release liner 24 by knives on a cutter roll 96 , unless it is desired to cut the tags t into separated tags in which event the web 88 is completely severed transversely . as shown , the webs 91 and 92 continue on and pass about respective rolls 97 and 98 and are wound into rolls 99 and 100 . as shown in fig7 the staking 90 takes place along a line marked k and the slitting takes place along a line marked l . the sheet 37t , the dielectric 28t , the sheet 20t and the sheet 24t are respectively provided by cutting the web 37 , the web 28a ( or 28b ), the web 20 and the web 24 . other embodiments and modifications of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art , and all such of these as cost within the spirit of this invention are included within its scope as best defined by the appended claims .	7
labelling of biological entities with qds has been reported in the prior art . a given size population of qds will fluoresce at a specific wavelength , which has been used in the detection and diagnosis of medical conditions via in vivo animal studies . the fluorescence wavelength ( colour ) of qds depends on the particle size . the present disclosure expands on prior art imaging techniques , by combining two or more size populations of qds , each population ( colour ) being labelled with moieties that will selectively bind to a disease marker that is present in one condition but is not observed in the condition ( s ) that are detectable using the other size population ( s ) of labelled qds . by combining the technique with capsule endoscopic imaging , the labelled biological entities can be observed by their fluorescence upon illumination by the endoscopic light source . the technique offers the potential to distinguish between two or more differential diagnoses by the colour that the tissue fluoresces upon illumination . when combined with clinical findings ( such as symptoms ), this may enable patients to be diagnosed where the location of their condition has previously proved challenging to biopsy , such as areas of the small bowel beyond the reach of standard endoscopes . table 1 summarizes some inflammatory conditions that can affect the small bowel and the histological presentations used to assist in making a diagnosis when a biopsy is taken . where applicable , strategies that could potentially be developed to label these histological observations with qds , within the scope of the present method , are included . qds can be used for the detection of bacteria , e . g . mycobacterium tuberculosis in the case of gastrointestinal tuberculosis ( gitb ). edgar et al . proposed a method of detecting slow growing bacterial strains such as mycobacterium . [ r . edgar , m . mckinstry , j . hwang , a . b . oppenheim , r . a . fekete , g . giulian , c . merril , k . nagashima and s . adhya , proc . natl . acad . sci ., 2006 , 103 , 4841 ] the method , which was successfully demonstrated for the detection of e . coli , involved engineering a phage ( virus that infects bacteria ) displaying a peptide that can be biotinylated , bound to its outer shell . streptavidin - coated qds were conjugated to the phage . in the presence of bacteria sensitive to the phage , the phage would infect the bacteria , producing progeny virions that could be biotinylated by a protein in each bacterium . this technique enabled a high degree of amplification to occur for each bacterium present , accelerating the rate at which detection could occur . thus , by conjugating streptavidin - coated qds to a phage that invades m . tuberculosis , the method can detect gitb during capsule endoscopy . white blood cells ( wbcs ), or leukocytes , are the components of the blood that act as part of the body &# 39 ; s immune system to defend itself from attack by harmful species such as bacteria , viruses , parasites , and foreign bodies . in autoimmune diseases , the immune system fails to recognise its own tissue , instead attacking it as if the tissue were a foreign species . high levels of wbcs are typically observed in and around inflamed tissue , though one or more types of wbc may be characteristically expressed by a particular condition . for instance , in conditions affecting the small bowel , high levels of macrophages and neutrophils ( characteristic of granulomas and crypt inflammation ) may be expressed in crohn &# 39 ; s disease , while over - expression of eosinophils is typical of lupus enteritis . activated white blood cells express certain proteins or enzymes , many of which have a known antibody . by conjugating qds to the appropriate antibody , the method can be developed to detect high levels of specific types of wbcs in situ from the colour that they fluoresce . as summarised in table 1 , granulomas are observed of a number of small bowel conditions . granuloma size and distribution from biopsy sites are often used to differentiate between diagnoses . since granulomas are collections of macrophages , one method for their detection would be via macrophage labelling . certain cytokines ( cell signalling proteins ), e . g . tnf - α and inf - γ , are secreted by macrophages . monoclonal antibody therapies , targeting cytokines , have recently generated high interest , and as such a number of cytokine antibodies are commercially available . conjugation of appropriate cytokine antibodies to qds could be exploited as a method of detection of macrophages in vivo . yuan et al . conjugated human anti - rabbit tnf - α antibody to cdte qds by forming an acrylamide bond between carboxyl groups capping the qds and amino groups of the tnf - α antibody . [ l . yuan , x . hua , y . wu , x . pan and s . liu , anal . chem ., 2011 , 83 , 6800 ] prior to this , the cdte qds were implanted onto the surface of polymer - functionalised silica nanospheres . once conjugated with the cytokine antibodies , the qd - polymer functionalised silican nanosphere labels were used to detect tnf - α antibodies via electrochemiluminescence and square - wave voltammetry measurements . integrin α m is a protein expressed by macrophage cells . the cd11b antibody targets macrophage cells that express integrin α m . jennings et al . used fluorescent cd11b - nanoparticle conjugates to detect macrophage cells in mouse spleen tissue in vitro . [ t . l . jennings , r . c . triulzi , g . tao , z . e . st . louis and s . g . becker - catania , sensors , 2011 , 11 , 10570 ]. cd11b is sulphydryl - reactive , so was conjugated with maleimide - capped qds via a thioether bond between sulphydryl groups , formed by reduction of disulphide links on the antibody , and the maleimide ligand . in the same publication , leukocyte detection was also reported via qd conjugation to an amine - reactive antibody , b220 , which targets b - cells ( lymphocytes ). conjugation was achieved by first modifying the antibody with a heterobiofunctional crosslinking molecule that targets functionalities commonly found in proteins , forming a hydrazine functionality that would ligate to 4 - formylbenzene - capped nanoparticles via a bis - aryl hydrazine bond . eosinophils , which are typically over - expressed in certain autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus , are by definition eosinophilic , i . e . can be stained by the fluorescent dye eosin . thus , eosinophils in biopsy samples are typically detected via staining with eosin . eosinophil development occurs in the presence of interleukin - 3 ( il - 3 ) and interleukin - 5 ( il - 5 ) cytokines . as such , elevated levels of eosinophils in the gi tract , as may be observed in lupus enteritis , could potentially be detected using qds conjugated to interleukin antibodies . a method to conjugate rabbit anti - il - 3 to colloidal gold nanoparticles for the detection of il - 3 using fluorescence immunoassay techniques has previously been described by pot ćeková et al . [ l . pot ćeková , f . frando , m . bambousková and p . dráber , j . immunological methods , 2011 , 371 , 38 ] it is therefore be possible to conjugate colloidal qds to anti - il - 3 for the detection of il - 3 , as an indicator of the presence of eosinophils , in vivo . crypt cell inflammation , as observed in crohn &# 39 ; s disease , is typically accompanied by over - expression of activated neutrophils . qd labelling of activated neutrophils has been described by hoshino et al ., via the conjugation of anti - myeloperoxidase antibodies to fluorescent nanoparticles . [ a . hoshino , t . nagao , a . nakasuga , a . ishida - okawara , k . suzuki , m . yasuhara and k . yamamoto , ieee trans . nanobiosci ., 2007 , 6 , 341 ] the myeloperoxidase enzyme is expressed on the surface of activated neutrophils , so the technique was found to selectively detect activated neutrophils , without binding to inactivated neutrophils . thus , in the method described herein , by preparing a contrast agent that combines a number of different qd labels , each type of qd biomarker having a different size population of qds and therefore a different fluorescence wavelength , it is possible to distinguish between two or more potential causes of inflammation by the colour ( s ) inflamed tissue in the small bowel fluoresces upon irradiation by a capsule endoscope . immune cells , many of which have a known antibody , are over - expressed at sites of inflammation . the type of immune cells released depends on the nature of the underlying cause of inflammation , with one or more varieties of immune cell being characteristic markers of a specific condition . thus , labelling of immune cells using qd - immune cell antibody conjugates could be exploited as a method of their detection in vivo . a further embodiment involves the employment of the qd imaging technique to assess a patient &# 39 ; s potential response to one of more monoclonal antibody therapies . monoclonal antibody therapies target over - expressed immune cells that are responsible for the inflammatory reaction in certain diseases with the aim of damping the body &# 39 ; s immune response . a wide range of monoclonal antibody therapies have now been developed , many of which are licensed for the treatment of disease . as such , a large number of monoclonal antibodies are commercially available . manipulation of the surface functionalisation of qds such that they can be conjugated to monoclonal antibodies used in disease treatment may offer a means to detect whether a patient will respond to that treatment ; if the qd - antibody conjugate binds to the site of inflammation the treatment may be of benefit , whereas if no fluorescence is observed the antibodies are unlikely to target the site of inflammation and therefore the treatment may not be a worthwhile option . tnf - α is a cytokine that is predominantly produced by activated macrophages . monoclonal antibody therapies targeting tnf - α include infliximab and adalimumab , both of which cost in excess of £ 1000 per treatment . tnf - α has previously been labelled with qds . [ l . yuan , x . hua , y . wu , x . pan and s . liu , anal . chem ., 2011 , 83 , 6800 ] cdte qd - polymer - functionalised silica nanospheres were bonded to anti - rabbit tnf - α antibodies , to detect tnf - α using electrochemiluminescence and square - wave voltammetry measurements . similarly , the binding of anti - tnf - α antibodies to the surface of qds or qd polymer beads can be used to detect tnf - α in vivo . this can be used as an indicator of macrophage activity , which in turn may be proportional to the size and distribution of granulomas . for assessment of a patient &# 39 ; s potential response to anti - tnf - α antibody therapy , by administering a contrast agent comprising qds conjugated with anti - tnf - α antibodies prior to a capsule endoscopy , an assessment as to whether high levels of tnf - α are being expressed at sites of inflammation , and therefore whether the patient is likely to benefit from anti - tnf - α antibody therapy , can be made . another cytokine , inf - γ , acts as a macrophage - activating factor . binding anti - inf - γ to qds could be used to detect presence of granulomas ( macrophages ). the cytokine il - 1β , “ catabolin ”, is produced by activated macrophages , monocytes , fibroblasts and dendric cells . its therapeutic antibody , canakinumab , is licensed for the treatment of a number of autoimmune diseases , with further clinical trials in progress to assess its potential in the treatment of other conditions . conjugation of qds with canakinumab can therefore be used to detect the presence of activated macrophages , monocytes , fibroblasts and / or dendric cells at the site of inflammation , and / or to assess a patient &# 39 ; s potential response to treatment with canakinumab . within the scope of the present disclosure , by way of example , a contrast agent comprising a first colour of qds conjugated to anti - tnf - α antibodies and a second colour of qds conjugated to canakinumab ( in appropriate proportions such that their adherence to inflamed tissue is approximately equal ) can be administered to a patient prior to capsule endoscopy . the patient &# 39 ; s potential response to treatment with one or other of the therapies can hence be evaluated by the colour ( s ) that the inflamed bowel tissue fluoresces upon irradiation by the capsule endoscope , with the relative fluorescence intensities acting as a predictor of which , if either , of the two therapies is likely to be the most effective . the method is not restricted to the comparison of two antibody therapies ; any number of qd - antibody conjugates can be incorporated into the contrast agent providing that their fluorescence wavelengths are sufficiently distinguishable by the naked eye . for use in vivo , the qd contrast agent should be non - toxic and emit in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum . this can be achieved using many types of semiconductor material ( toxic or otherwise , providing the nanoparticles are appropriately functionalised to render them non - toxic in vivo ). for example , iii - v - based qds , such as inp - based qds ( including alloys and doped derivatives thereof ), may be employed . recent evidence claims that the cytotoxicity of inp - based qds is reduced upon decomposition in vivo , suggesting that the material would be safe for use in contrast agents administered to humans . [ h . chibli , l . carlina , s . park , n . m . dimitrijevic and j . l . nadeau , nanoscale , 2011 , 3 , 2553 ] an example of suitable commercially available qd material is cfqd ® quantum dots ( nanoco technologies , uk ). in some embodiments , the qd cores are capped with one or more shell layers of a wider band gap material , which may include one or more compositionally graded alloys , to eliminate surface defects and dangling bonds , thus improving the qd optical properties . examples include , but are not restricted to , inp / zns , inp / zns / zno , or inp / znse 1 - x s x . conjugation of qds to antibodies or other analytes depends on functionalisation of the nanoparticles with ligands containing moieties that are able to bind to accessible functionalities in the antibody . methods to alter the surface functionality of qds are well known in the prior art , and include ligand exchange procedures and polymerisation techniques . if specific particle sizes are required , e . g . larger than the qd regime so as to adhere only to cell membranes rather than penetrating into cells , qds can be incorporated into polymer beads . the beads can then be functionalised to conjugate to the desired analyte . incorporating qds into polymer beads in this fashion may also provide an effective means to achieve aqueous compatibility , as described in the applicant &# 39 ; s co - pending us patent application 2010 / 0059721 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . after selecting two or more desired qd - analyte conjugates , a contrast agent may be prepared by mixing the labelled qds in appropriate concentrations such that their relative affinity to their respective target cells are equal , i . e . for a given area of inflamed tissue , approximately equal fluorescence intensities would be observed by the naked eye regardless of the qd - analyte conjugate ( colour ) with which it is labelled . the observed fluorescence intensity should take into consideration the human eye &# 39 ; s spectral response in low light intensity conditions produced by the pulse of light from a capsule endoscope . one skilled in the art will be able to develop a method to quantify the fluorescence intensity from each colour of qd - analyte conjugates using computerised software . for imaging of the small bowel , in some embodiments the contrast agent is prepared into an oral solution to be ingested by the patient prior to the capsule endoscopy examination . however , the method of administration is not restricted to the oral route ; one skilled in the art will realise that other methods of administration , such as a suppository or intravenous injection , may be suitable depending on the tissue or organ to be imaged . other than the qd - analyte conjugates , the additional components of the contrast agent , which may be added to assist in the delivery of the qd fluorescent labels and / or improve the palatability of the solution , should not fluoresce in the visible region under illumination by the wavelength of light used in the capsule endoscope . all components should be non - toxic . the contrast agent should be designed such that the qd fluorescent labels remain in the small bowel for at least the time it takes to ingest the solution and perform the examination ( in the region of ten hours ), but should not remain in the body for substantially longer . in the presence of the appropriate disease marker , a qd - analyte conjugate will bind to the bowel wall . where a disease marker is not present in the bowel , the corresponding qd - analyte conjugate will not bind to the bowel wall and will be excreted . following administration of the contrast agent , a capsule endoscopy is performed on the patient to image the small bowel . the qd - analyte conjugate ( s ) that are bound to the bowel wall are detected by their fluorescence upon irradiation by the capsule endoscope , enabling the presence of one or more specific disease markers to be identified . the process of using qds to detect specific disease markers is described in fig2 . it is the aim of the present method that the qd - containing contrast agent described herein should enhance the diagnostic capabilities of the capsule endoscopy technique , by labelling specific disease markers with qds emitting at a distinct wavelength depending on the cause of the underlying disease , to improve in the diagnosis of conditions affecting the small bowel . rather than just using one colour of qds , the present method labels specific analytes with different coloured qds which can help to distinguish between several conditions in a single endoscopy , rather than just a positive or negative answer for a single condition . further , the precise wavelength tunability of qds and the ability to control their conjugation by manipulating their surface chemistry offers the potential to design bespoke contrast agents based on the patient &# 39 ; s presenting symptoms and other test results . the imaging technique is non - invasive , unlike conventional endoscopies where there is a risk of bleeding from a biopsy site . the capsule endoscopy procedure is usually comfortable , with the patient being able to continue with daily activities throughout the test and without a recovery period afterwards . in contrast , conventional endoscopic procedures are uncomfortable , often requiring prolonged periods of sedation and a recovery period in the region of 24 hours . when using the contrast agent to assess the potential response to monoclonal antibody therapies , the technique may provide faster access to the most effective treatment , rather than subjecting a patient to sequential courses of different treatments until a satisfactory response is achieved . this may not only save time , reducing the risk of the patient &# 39 ; s health deteriorating further , but may also save money since monoclonal antibody therapies are highly expensive , while two or more doses may be required to assess the patient &# 39 ; s response . further , by providing faster access to the most effective treatment , potential side - effects of the ineffective treatment ( s ) are also avoided . in summary , the present method may be of benefit to both the patient and the healthcare provider , by delivering a faster diagnosis and identification of an appropriate treatment . 1 . yuan et al ., anal . chem ., 2011 , 83 , 6800 , “ polymer functionalized silica nanosphere labels for ultrasensitive detection of tumor necrosis factor - alpha ” 2 . jennings et al ., sensors , 2011 , 11 , 10570 , “ simplistic attachment and multispectral imaging with semiconductor nanocrystals ” 3 . edgar et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci ., 2006 , 103 , 4841 , “ high - sensitivity bacterial detection using biotin - tagged phage and quantum - dot nanocomplexes ” 4 . liandris et al ., plos one , 2011 , 6 , e20026 , “ detection of pathogenic mycobacteria based on functionalized quantum dots coupled with immunomagnetic separation ” 5 . hoshino et al ., ieee trans . nanobiosci ., 2007 , 6 , 341 , “ nanocrystal quantum dot - conjugated anti - myeloperoxidase antibody as the detector of activated neutrophils ” 6 . pot ćeková et al ., j . immunological methods , 2011 , 371 , 38 , “ rapid and sensitive detection of cytokines using functionalized gold nanoparticle - based immuno - pcr , comparison with immuno - pcr and elisa ”	0
the subject matter of the present invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements . however , the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent . rather , the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways , to include different components , combinations of components , steps , or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document , in conjunction with other present or future technologies . referring initially to fig1 , a collapsible storage cabinet 100 is depicted in its fully assembled condition . the collapsible storage cabinet 100 of the present invention can serve a variety of uses . one such use is being in a garage to store tools , supplies or other similar equipment . the collapsible storage cabinet 100 includes a collapsible subassembly 101 having a front wall 102 and an opposing back wall 104 spaced a distance apart when the cabinet is in the fully assembled condition . referring to fig3 , the collapsible storage cabinet 100 is provided with a bracket 105 for hanging the cabinet 100 from a wall , if desired . the bracket 105 would be mounted to the wall and the storage cabinet would be supported thereon by way of a lip 111 along an edge of the bracket 105 interlocking with a corresponding lip 113 extending from the back side of the rear wall 104 . the collapsible storage cabinet 100 also comprises a pair of folding sidewalls 106 extending between and coupling the front wall 102 and back wall 104 , as shown in fig1 and 5 . the folding sidewalls 106 are connected to the front wall 102 and back wall 104 by a hinge 108 ( fig5 and 7 ) or other comparable device . the hinge 108 permits the one or more panels 110 , which form the sidewalls 106 , to collapse as shown in fig2 - 5 . referring now to fig2 , and 5 , the front wall 102 and back wall 104 each comprise additional structural features which aid in the packaging of the storage cabinet 100 in its collapsed condition for shipment and storage . more specifically , the front wall 102 further comprises a pair of extensions 102 a and corresponding first pair of generally planar end faces 112 which extend from the front wall 102 . the back wall 104 , similarly , also has a pair of extensions 104 a and a corresponding second pair of generally planar end faces 114 . the first and second generally planar end faces 112 and 114 are located such that when the storage cabinet 100 is in the fully collapsed state , as shown in fig4 , the first pair of generally planar end faces 112 are positioned adjacent to and parallel with the second pair of generally planar end faces 114 , thereby forming an interior cavity or open region 116 between the front wall 102 , the back wall 104 , and the collapsed sidewalls 106 . as it can be seen in fig4 , when the storage cabinet 100 is in the collapsed condition , the plurality of panels 110 forming the pair of collapsible sidewalls 106 are folded so as to be in contact with each other . furthermore , the plurality of panels 110 are folded so as to also be contained between the front wall 102 and back wall 104 . that is , as can be seen in fig5 and 7 , the plurality of panels 110 which form the collapsible sidewalls 106 are hinged to the extensions 102 a of the front wall 102 and extensions 104 a of the back wall 104 so that the hinges 108 are not visible from the exterior of the collapsible storage cabinet 100 when it is in its fully assembled position . a lip 103 extends beyond an inner edge of one of the panels 110 on each side to prevent the panels 110 from opening or flexing outward . further , in the illustrated embodiment , the hinges 108 are not standard , piano - type hinges in that they do not directly couple interior corners of the extensions 102 a , 104 a to interior corners of the panels 110 , as one would normally think a hinge would do . instead of keeping the corners adjacent to each other throughout the collapsing of the cabinet 100 , the hinges 108 are constructed to move the panels 110 between being aligned with the extensions 102 a , 104 a in the fully assembled position , as best illustrated in fig7 , to being adjacent the extensions 102 a , 104 a in the fully collapsed position , as best illustrated in fig2 . as illustrated in fig2 , the hinges 108 permit each panel to be moved to a location generally perpendicular to and next to or inside of , as opposed to cattycorner or diagonal , the extension to which it is connected . this moves the panels 110 out of the way so the front extensions 102 a almost touch ( or do touch ) the rear extensions 104 a . if the panels 110 were connected to the extensions 102 a , 104 a with piano hinges , the abutting panels 110 would space the extensions 102 a , 104 a further apart , thus making the depth ( i . e ., the vertical dimension in fig2 ) of the collapsed cabinet unit greater . as illustrated in fig2 and 8 , the hinges 108 accomplish this by being attached to an inner face of the extensions 102 a , 104 a and an inner face of the panels 110 . the hinges include an angled bracket portion that spans the space between the panels 110 and the extensions 102 a , 104 a in the fully assembled position . the hinges 108 , as best seen in fig7 and 10 , also include a plurality of openings 115 therein into which a clip 117 may be placed . a clip 117 may be placed in an opening in each of the hinges 108 at a same vertical height and the shelf 150 may be removably supported thereon . the storage cabinet 100 further comprises a front frame 118 , as shown in fig1 , and 5 , with the front frame 118 encompassing one or more doors 120 . as it can be seen from fig1 , 5 , 7 , and 9 , the embodiment of the collapsible storage cabinet 100 depicted has two doors 120 which open outward , thereby providing access to the inside of the storage cabinet 100 . the doors 120 are hinged to a side portion of the front frame 118 in a traditional cabinet - style arrangement . however , the exact number and arrangement of the one or more doors 120 can vary . the one or more doors 120 and front frame 118 also include a locking mechanism 122 permitting the user of the storage cabinet 100 to selectively lock the one or more doors 120 . a key type locking mechanism 122 is utilized in the collapsible storage cabinet 100 shown in fig1 - 5 , and 7 . however , it is possible to utilize other types of locking mechanisms , such as a combination lock . referring now to fig6 , the collapsible storage cabinet 100 also comprises a wall member 130 having a unique structural design . the wall member 130 is preferably used as a top wall 132 and / or a bottom wall 134 for the collapsible storage cabinet 100 , as shown in fig1 , and 9 . the wall member 130 has a generally planar body 136 having a length dimension l and a width dimension w . the wall member 130 also has a pair of first support walls 138 , oriented generally perpendicular to the generally planar body 136 , and a pair of first lips 140 that are parallel to the generally planar body 136 . the wall member 130 also comprises a pair of second support walls 142 , oriented generally perpendicular to the generally planar body 136 , as well as the pair of first support walls 138 . each of the second support walls 142 also comprise a second lip 144 which , like the first lip 140 , is generally parallel to the generally planar body 136 . the first and second lips 140 and 144 each contain one or more openings 146 to aid in securing the top wall 132 and the bottom wall 134 to the collapsible subassembly 101 . the one or more openings 146 correspond to respective openings 148 in top and bottom portions of the front wall 102 , the back wall 104 , and the sidewalls 106 , as shown in fig5 and 7 . the wall member 130 , shown in fig6 , can be fabricated from a single piece of sheet metal that is cut and formed to the desired shape by a bending process such as a press brake . utilizing such a process provides an economical and reliable means of fabrication . more specifically , the wall member 130 has a generally planar body 136 , which is cut and then folded on each of its four sides to form the first support walls 138 and second support walls 142 . then the first and second lips 140 and 144 are formed by bending a portion of the first and second support walls , 138 and 142 , respectively . the one or more openings 146 can be placed in the wall member 130 at a convenient time in the manufacturing process . referring back to fig2 , the storage cabinet 100 shown in its collapsed and packaged condition . the collapsed condition provides a more compact product to be shipped to retailers . more specifically , the storage cabinet , when collapsed , defines an open region 116 , as discussed above . the open region 116 is sized such that the top wall 132 , bottom wall 134 , one or more shelves 150 , and the bracket 105 , along with any fasteners , clips , or other hardware , can be placed within the open region 116 for purposes of packaging and shipping the collapsible storage cabinet 100 . fig2 also shows how the collapsible storage cabinet 100 fits within a limited amount of disposable packaging 107 ( e . g ., cardboard ), which may or may not include multiple layers and / or padding 109 ( e . g ., foam ) so as to protect the collapsible storage cabinet 100 when in transit . the storage cabinet 100 of the present invention provides numerous benefits over cabinets of the prior art , some of which are quick and easy assembly , improved structural support , and enhanced storage features . as shown in fig2 , the collapsible storage cabinet 100 provides a more efficient packaging , thereby using less storage space for shipping and in retail locations . with respect to assembly of the collapsible storage cabinet 100 , once the top wall 132 , bottom wall 134 , and one or more shelves 150 are removed from the packaged unit in fig2 , the collapsible storage cabinet 100 is opened by separating the front wall 102 from the back wall 104 , as shown in fig5 . then , once the folding sidewalls 106 are fully extended , the top wall 132 is secured to the upper portion of the front wall 102 , the back wall 104 and the sidewalls 106 , as shown in fig7 . a plurality of removable fasteners 152 , such as screws or bolts , are placed through the one or more openings 146 in the first and second lips 140 and 144 and into the corresponding openings 148 in the front wall 102 , back wall 104 and sidewalls 106 . the corresponding openings 148 may be threaded such that the removable fasteners 152 engage and secure the top wall 132 to the storage cabinet 100 . it is possible for other types of fasteners 152 to be used such as ¼ turn fasteners or push pin connectors . the bottom wall 134 is secured to the collapsible storage cabinet 100 in the same manner as the top wall 132 . finally , the one or more shelves 150 are placed in the storage cabinet 100 , as shown in fig9 . in the event the storage cabinet 100 is to be collapsed , the one or more shelves 150 are removed , the fasteners 152 are removed , and the top wall 132 and bottom wall 134 are then removed . the storage cabinet 100 can then be collapsed to the flattened condition shown in fig3 and 4 . the design of the top wall 132 and bottom wall 134 also provide increased structural stability for the storage cabinet 100 . referring to fig8 , a partial cross - sectional view of the storage cabinet 100 depicting the top wall 132 is shown . a similar construction occurs with respect to the bottom wall 134 . this cross section view of the storage cabinet 100 shows the generally planar body 136 , first support walls 138 and first lips 140 . the first support walls 138 , which are generally perpendicular to the generally planar body 136 , are thereby generally parallel to the inner portions of the front wall 102 and back wall 104 , providing increased structural rigidity to the collapsible storage cabinet 100 , helping to prevent any twisting or lateral movement of the front wall 102 or back wall 104 , and helping to prevent collapsing of the folding sidewalls 106 . the recessed , tray - like shape of the wall member 130 , provides for a portion of the wall member 130 being between the front wall 102 , the back wall 104 , and the sidewalls 106 when the collapsible storage cabinet 100 is in its fully assembled condition , thereby providing enhanced anti - collapsibility functionality when compared to a flat top or bottom that merely spans across the upper or lower edges of the walls 102 , 104 , 106 . in addition to the structural benefits discussed above , the geometry of the top wall 132 also provides an enhanced feature for the collapsible storage cabinet 100 . that is , the tray - like shape of the top wall 132 allows for additional items , such as small tools or supplies , to be stored on top of the storage cabinet 100 without a risk of them falling or rolling off of the top wall 132 . the collapsible storage cabinet 100 is preferably fabricated from sheet metal such as stainless , galvanized or tool steel . however , for lighter and less rugged applications , it is possible for the collapsible storage cabinet 100 to be fabricated from lighter weight materials , such as plastic . turning now to fig1 - 13 , an alternate method of supporting a shelf in the collapsible storage cabinet 100 is disclosed . to provide increased rigidity to the collapsible storage cabinet 100 when in the fully assembled position , the shelf 150 may be coupled to the hinges 108 , one or more panels 110 , the sidewalls 106 , and / or the back wall 104 . with the use of the clips 117 discussed above , the shelf 150 simply sits on the clips 117 . however , by replacing the openings 115 and clips 117 with a tongue 154 , a more secure connection may be made . as illustrated in fig1 , a tongue 154 may be formed where the opening 115 would otherwise be located . the tongue 154 may be formed by bending a portion of the metal into tongue - like configuration . the tongue 154 defines a space or gap 156 between the tongue 154 and the panel or wall in which it is formed ( e . g ., hinge 108 , sidewall 106 , back wall 104 , etc .). a bottom portion 158 of the shelf 150 is provided with one or more openings 160 . the shelf is placed inside the collapsible storage cabinet 100 when it is in the fully assembled position in a horizontal orientation above the tongues 154 . it is then lowered down toward the tongues , wherein a distal end 162 of the tongues 154 are received in the openings 160 in the bottom of the shelf 150 . the shelf 150 is lowered until a bottom of the shelf 150 abuts the tongue 154 , as illustrated in fig1 . a portion of the shelf 150 is pinched between the tongue 154 and the hinge 108 to , in essence , clamp the shelf 150 in place . this makes the shelf 150 more secure , but also ties the panels 110 together and to the shelf , for a more secure arrangement . the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments , which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive . alternative embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above , together with other advantages which are obvious and inherent to the system and method . it will be understood that certain features and sub - combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub - combinations . this is contemplated by and within the scope of the claims .	0
fig1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention . the first embodiment of the spray nozzle adapter 10 shown in fig1 is suitable for use with a conventional spray nozzle 20 . the spray nozzle adapter 10 includes an intake coupler 30 defining an intake orifice 32 , an extended shaft 50 coupled to the intake coupler 30 , the extended shaft 50 defining an outlet orifice 52 . the spray nozzle adapter 10 further includes a deflector member 60 for deflecting water away from the user . fig2 illustrates an exploded view which shows all of the internal components of the spray nozzle adapter 10 . the intake coupler 30 preferably has a cylindrical shape with an internal thread 33 which matches that of the outer thread 21 of the spray nozzle 20 ( shown in fig1 ). the outer diameter of the intake coupler 30 is preferably the same as the cylindrical body of the spray nozzle 20 for matching construction and look . the intake coupler 30 forms an intake orifice 32 for receiving fluid from the spray nozzle 20 . securely attached to the opposite end of the intake coupler 30 is an extended shaft 50 which has an inner cavity 54 axially extending from the intake coupler 30 and the outlet orifice 52 . the intake orifice 32 , inner cavity 52 and the outlet orifice 52 are in fluid communication with each other . on the outer top surface of the intake coupler 30 , substantially surrounding the extended shaft 50 , there are provided a plurality of protrusions 35 for receiving a deflector member 60 . in the preferred embodiment , there are four protrusions 35 evenly spaced , such as approximately every 90 degrees , around the extended shaft 50 . there is also provided a washer 37 configured to be snugly fitted inside the intake coupler 30 to form a watertight seal between the spray nozzle 20 and the intake coupler 30 . the washer 37 is made of any suitable liquid sealing material , such as rubber , plastic , metal , etc . the washer 37 may be of any suitable shape . in the preferred embodiment , the washer 37 is circular with a cylindrical extension 38 having a hollow interior protruding from the center of the body . provided in the inner cavity 54 of the extended shaft 50 is a valve assembly 80 having a lever 90 , a reinforcing cylinder 70 and a valve 71 . the valve 71 has a cylindrical body which is configured to fit snugly inside the inner cavity 54 . the outer diameter of the valve 71 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the inner cavity 54 to allow the axial movement of the valve 71 . the valve 71 also has a plug 72 which is used to plug the outlet orifice 52 to prevent the exiting of water . the diameter of the plug 72 is slightly larger than the diameter of the outlet orifice 52 to completely block the flow of water . the plug 72 is generally disposed in the center of the valve 71 supported by a plurality of ribs 76 . preferably , the ribs 76 are disposed in two separate locations to support the plug 72 substantially in the center of the valve 71 . also illustrated in fig2 is the lever 90 which couples the valve 71 of the spray nozzle adapter 10 to the nozzle plug 22 of the spray nozzle 20 . at one end of the lever 90 , there are two substantially parallel notches 92 for engaging the nozzle plug 22 . the notches 92 may be curved to securely snap around the nozzle plug 22 . the other end of the lever 90 has a hook 94 which is inserted into a hole 74 formed in the body of the valve 71 . once the hook 94 is properly inserted into the hole 74 , a reinforcing cylinder 70 is inserted into the valve 71 . the reinforcing cylinder 100 has a groove 73 formed along the axial direction of the outer body for receiving the lever 90 . the reinforcing cylinder 100 securely couples the lever 90 with the valve 71 . in the preferred embodiment , the lever 90 has a slanted mid - section 93 to place the notches 92 near the center of the of extended shaft 50 to engage the nozzle plug 22 . the deflector member 60 is shown in both fig1 and 2 . the deflector member 60 in fig2 is a simplified drawing of fig1 . the deflector member 60 has an accordion - type shell which allows it to be retracted when it is depressed against a surface , such as the ground . in particular , the deflector member 60 has a plurality of rigid rings 64 with flexible membranes 62 interposed between the rigid rings 64 . the base portion 68 of the deflector member 60 has a center opening 69 and four smaller openings 67 evenly disposed around the center opening 69 . the center opening 69 is for receiving the extended shaft 50 , while the smaller openings 67 are for receiving the correspondingly disposed protrusions 35 on the intake coupler 30 to prevent the spray nozzle adapter 10 from rotating . the assembling of the spray nozzle adapter 10 is as follows . first , the hook 94 of the lever 90 is inserted into the hole 74 of the valve . the reinforcing cylinder 70 is slid into the valve 71 , firmly holding the lever 90 against the inner wall of the valve 71 . the whole valve assembly 80 is then inserted in the inner cavity 54 of the extended shaft 50 . the parallel notches 92 of the lever 90 are then slid or snapped behind the nozzle plug 22 to engage the nozzle plug 22 of the spray nozzle 20 ( shown in fig1 ). the intake coupler 30 is screwed onto the spray nozzle 20 by engaging the matching thread 21 . when the intake coupler 30 is completely mounted to the spray nozzle 20 , the plug 72 of the valve 110 completely blocks the outlet orifice 52 . the deflector member 60 is disposed on the intake coupler 30 aligning the protrusions of the intake coupler 30 with the openings 67 . the deflector member 60 is securely mounted by screwing a mounting bolt 85 , which has an inner thread 87 , onto the matching outer thread of the extended shaft 50 . the internal structure and component arrangement in the extended shaft 50 is illustrated in fig1 . the intake coupler 30 and the extended shaft 50 may be made of any suitable metal or rigid plastic material , such as steel , stainless steel , copper , etc . the operation of the spray nozzle adapter 10 according to the first embodiment is discussed below in reference to fig1 . after a desired ground spot is located , the extended shaft 50 is inserted into the ground . due to the narrow tip design of the extended shaft 50 , penetration into the ground is relatively easy . when the extended shaft 50 is inserted either in vertical or in other angle , the deflector member 60 substantially covers the outer parameter around the extended shaft 50 to prevent any splashing of water or dirt . when the trigger is depressed in the spray nozzle 20 , the nozzle plug 22 is pulled back which in turn retracts the valve 71 . the plug 72 is also pulled back from the outlet orifice 52 . as a result , pressurized liquid is emitted from the outlet orifice 52 , loosening dirt in the surrounding regions . the softening of dirt allows for easy retraction of weed or unwanted plants from the ground . in addition , such use of the present invention provides effective underground irrigation . fig3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention . the second embodiment of the spray nozzle adapter 110 shown in fig3 is also suitable for use with a conventional spray nozzle 120 . the spray nozzle adapter 110 has a similar construction to that of the first embodiment , except that it has a dual extended shaft 150 spatially positioned adjacent to each other for emitting two separate fluid streams . the spray nozzle adapter 110 includes an intake coupler 130 defining an intake orifice 132 , two extended shafts 150 coupled to the intake , each extended shaft 150 defining an outlet orifice 152 . the spray nozzle adapter 110 further includes a deflector member 160 for deflecting liquid away from the user . fig4 illustrates an exploded view which shows all of the internal components of the spray nozzle adapter 110 . the intake coupler 130 has a cylindrical shape with an internal thread 133 . the outer diameter of the intake coupler 130 is preferably the same as the cylindrical body of the spray nozzle 120 for matching construction and look . the intake coupler 130 forms an intake orifice 132 for receiving water from the spray nozzle 120 . securely attached to the opposite end of the intake coupler 130 are , preferably , two extended shafts 150 each having an inner cavity 154 axially extending from the intake coupler 130 and the outlet orifice 152 . the intake orifice 132 , inner cavity 154 and the outlet orifice 152 are all in fluid communication with each other . on the inner surface of the intake coupler 130 , there is provided an inner thread 133 formed between the beginning of the intake orifice 132 and the substantially middle portion of the intake coupler 130 for receiving a cylindrical adapter 115 having a matching outer thread 116 . the cylindrical adapter 115 has an inner thread 117 which mates with a thread 121 of the spray nozzle 120 . there is also provided a washer 137 , in a shape of a ring , configured to be fitted inside the cylindrical adapter 115 to form a watertight seal between the spray nozzle 120 and the intake coupler 30 . the washer 37 is made of any suitable fluid sealing material , such as rubber , plastic , metal , etc . provided in the inner cavities 154 of the extended shafts 150 is a valve assembly 280 . the valve assembly 280 includes a substantially u - shaped valve 210 and a hook 290 . the valve 210 is preferably made of any suitable rigid material , such as steel or plastic . the valve 210 has a base 213 and two prongs 214 . each prong 214 is configured to fit inside each inner cavity 154 of the shaft 150 through a cavity opening 157 . the width of the prong 214 is slightly smaller than the inner width of the inner cavity 154 to allow axial movement of the valve 210 . the valve 210 also has two plugs 212 , each plug 212 being disposed at the tip of each prong 214 . the plugs 212 are used for stopping the flow of water from the outlet orifice 152 . the diameter of each plug 212 is slightly larger than the diameter of the outlet orifice 152 to completely block the flow of water . in order to place the plugs 212 centrally with regard to the outlet orifices 152 , there provide are a plurality of support legs 218 protruding from the prongs 214 . each support leg 218 may be formed by bending a portion of prong 214 outward thus allowing each leg 218 to make contact with the inner walls of the shaft 150 . alternatively , the legs 218 may be formed as protrusions when the valve 210 is molded . preferably , there are four legs 218 formed on each prong 214 , two legs 218 extending outward with the other two legs 218 extending inward . the hook 290 couples the valve 210 of the spray nozzle adapter 210 to the nozzle plug 122 of the spray nozzle 120 . preferably , the nozzle plug 122 has an extension 124 with a hole for engaging the hook 290 . the hook 290 is coupled to the base 213 of the valve 210 through an aperture 215 . the hook 290 has a neck portion 291 which couples to the aperture 215 . alternatively , the hook 290 and the valve 210 may be made of a single integral piece material . furthermore , in lieu of using the hook 290 and the extension 124 , the second embodiment of the present invention may utilize an alternative way to engage the nozzle plug 122 of the spray nozzle 120 with the valve 210 so that the movement of the nozzle plug 122 is relayed to the valve 210 . for instance , the base portion 213 of the valve 210 may have an extension having a lever 90 with parallel notches 92 , such as one shown in fig2 to engage the nozzle plug 122 . the deflector member 160 is shown in both fig3 and 4 . similar to that of the first embodiment , the deflector member 160 of the second embodiment has an accordion - type shell which allows it to be retracted when the lower member is depressed against a firm surface , such as the ground . in particular , the deflector member 160 has a plurality of rigid rings 164 with flexible membranes ( not shown but similar to 62 in fig1 ) interposed between the rigid rings 164 . the base portion 168 of the deflector member 160 has a cylindrical shape and is made of an elastic material to enable the base portion 168 to cover the intake coupler 130 . in other words , the shaft 150 and the intake coupler 130 assembly is inserted into the deflector &# 39 ; s base portion 168 through two openings 169 . when fully inserted , the two shafts 150 protrude out of the base member 168 , while the base member 168 covers the intake coupler 130 , as shown in fig3 . the assembling of the spray nozzle adapter 210 is as follows . first , the hook 290 is inserted into the aperture 215 of the valve 210 . the entire valve assembly 280 is inserted in the inner cavity 154 of the extended shaft 150 . the other end of the hook 290 is inserted into a hole of the extension 124 formed on the nozzle plug 122 . the cylindrical adapter 115 is screwed into the intake coupler 130 . both the cylindrical adapter 115 and the intake coupler 130 are screwed onto the spray nozzle 20 . when the intake coupler 130 is completely mounted to the spray nozzle 120 , the plugs 212 of the valve 210 completely block the outlet orifices 152 . the deflector member 160 is disposed on the intake coupler 130 and is securely mounted by the elastic type material of the base portion 168 which covers the intake coupler 130 . the intake coupler 130 and the extended shaft 150 of the second embodiment may be made of any suitable metal or rigid plastic material , such as steel , stainless steel , copper , etc . the operation of the spray nozzle adapter 110 according to the second embodiment is discussed below . after a desired ground spot is located , two extended shafts 150 are inserted into the ground . due to the sharp and narrow construction of the extended shafts 50 , penetration into the ground can be easily accomplished without much force . when the extended shafts 150 are inserted , the deflector member 160 fully covers the outer parameter to prevent any splashing of fluid and dirt . when the trigger is depressed in the spray nozzle 120 , the nozzle plug 122 is pulled back which in turn retracts the valve 210 . as a result , pressurized water is emitted from the outlet orifices 152 , loosening the dirt and surrounding regions . the softening of dirt allows for easy retraction of weeds or unwanted plants from the ground . while the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention , it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof . the accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention . the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims , rather than the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein .	1
turning attention to the drawings , fig1 is a generalized diagram showing a wireless data communication system 10 that makes use of an access channel having embedded pilot symbols in order to effectuate coherent demodulation . the system 10 consists of a base station 12 and a field unit 20 . the base station 12 is typically associated with a predetermined geographic region 14 in which wireless communication service is to be provided . the base station 12 contains several components , including a radio transmitter 15 , receiver 16 , and interface 17 . the interface 17 provides a data gateway between the base station 12 and a data network 18 such as the internet , a private network , a telephone network , or other data network . the field unit 20 consists of a corresponding receiver 21 , transmitter 22 , and interface 23 . the interface 23 permits the field unit 20 to provide data signals to and receive data signals from computing equipment 24 such as a laptop computer , personal digital assistant ( pda ), or other computing equipment . the interface 23 may be a pcmcia bus , usb port , or other standard computer interface . the base station 12 communicates with the field unit 20 by exchanging radio signals over various radio channels . the present invention is of particular advantage in a system 10 which uses code division multiple access ( cdma ) modulation to define the channels . in the specific embodiment discussed herein , it is therefore understood that a specific pseudorandom ( pn ) code ( which may or may not be augmented with orthogonal codes ) is used to define each of the various logical channels on a given radio carrier frequency . the forward link 30 consists of various types of logical channels , including at least a pilot channel 31 , a paging channel 32 , and one or more traffic channels 33 . the forward link 30 is responsible for forwarding data signals from the base station 12 towards the field unit 20 . the pilot channel 31 contains typically no baseband information , but rather a stream of bits that are used to permit the field unit 20 to synchronize to the signals sent in the other forward link logical channels such as the paging channel 32 and traffic channels 33 . the paging channel 32 is used to transmit messages from the base station 12 to the field unit 20 that control various aspects of communication , but most importantly , control assignment of various traffic channels 33 for use by each field unit 20 . the forward traffic channels 33 are used to transmit data voice or other signaling messages from the base station 12 towards the field unit 20 . signals are also carried from the field unit 20 towards the base station 12 over a reverse link 40 . the reverse link 40 contains several logical channel types including at least an access channel 41 , a synchronization ( sync ) channel 42 , and one or more traffic channels 43 . for the reverse link 40 , the access channel 41 is used by the field unit 20 to communication with the base station 12 during periods of time when the field unit 20 does not have a traffic channel 43 already assigned . for example , the field unit 20 typically uses the access channel 41 to originate request for calls as well as to respond to messages sent to it on the paging channel 32 . the sync channel 42 on the reverse link may assist in or with the traffic channels 43 to permit the field unit 20 to efficiently send data to the base station 12 using synchronous modulation techniques . the present invention relates to the formatting and use of the reverse link access channel 41 . specifically , the invention uses an access channel 41 that contains within it certain formatting such as certain symbols used to convey pilot signal information . the access channel 41 signal format is shown in more detail in fig2 . an epoch or frame 50 consists of a preamble portion 51 and payload portion 52 . the preamble 51 is further defined as a series of symbols including a pilot block 53 and barker code block 54 . multiple pilot blocks 53 and barker code blocks 54 make up the preamble 51 ; in the illustrated preferred embodiment , a pilot block 53 and barker code block 54 are repeated four times in each frame 50 . the barker code blocks 54 assist in allowing the receiver to determine where the start of a frame 50 is . each pilot block 53 consists of a number of repeated pilot symbols . in the preferred embodiment , 48 pilot symbols are repeated in each pilot block 53 . the pilot blocks 53 are used to assist with timing reception and decoding of the information symbols which make up the access channel 41 . the second portion of each frame 50 is the payload portion 52 . the payload portion 52 includes a data portion consisting of the information to be sent from the field unit 20 to the base station 12 . as shown in fig2 , pilot symbols 53 are inserted in the data portion of the payload portion 52 . a pilot symbol , for example , may be inserted every eight payload symbols . as will be discussed in greater detail later , these pilot symbols embedded in the payload portion 52 further assist with the coherent demodulation process of the information contained in the data portion . the pilot symbols 53 typically consist of a series of positive data bits only . therefore , they do not in and of themselves contain timing information . the barker code blocks 54 may consist of predetermined patterns of bits , as shown in fig2 . binary phase shift keyed ( bpsk ) bit encoding may be used to indicate a barker sequence consisting of three positive bits followed by three negative bits , followed by a single positive bit , a pair of negative bits , a positive bit , and then a negative bit . the positive logic barker sequence + b may be alternately sent with the negative of the barker sequence − b to further assist in aligning the beginning of each frame 50 at the receiver 16 . the use of multiple pilot blocks 53 and barker code blocks 54 permit an averaging process to be performed in the acquisition of each access channel 41 is described further below . fig3 is a generalized block diagram of the portion of the receiver 16 used by the base station 12 to demodulate the reverse link access channel 41 . as shown , the access channel receiver consists of two functions including access acquisition function 60 and data decoding 62 . in a preferred embodiment , multiple data decoding blocks 62 - 1 , 62 - 2 , . . . 62 - n may be used as individual rake receiver portions , or receiver “ fingers ,” tuned to different timing delays . in general , the preamble pilot symbols are first processed by the access acquisition function 60 . these provide generalized timing information which is then fed to the data decoding function 62 , along with the payload portion containing the data symbols and embedded pilot symbols . each of the individual fingers 62 - 1 , 62 - 2 , . . . , 62 - n make use of the timing information provided by the access acquisition function 60 to properly decode the data in the access channel . this receiver signal processing can now be understood more readily by reference to fig4 , which is a more detailed diagram of both the access acquisition function 60 and data decoding function 62 . in particular , the access acquisition function 60 is seen to include a pilot correlation filter ( pcf ) 70 as well as an integration function 72 . as will be discussed in more detail below , the pcf 70 is a matched digital filter having coefficients matched to provide an impulse response to input preamble pilot signals . the integration function 72 operates on successive outputs of the pilot correlation filter 70 to provide a smoothed estimate of timing information inherent in the pilot symbols . the data decoding portions 62 each include a data matched filter 80 , a selection function 82 , a dot or “ cross ” product function 84 , integration functions 86 , and delay 88 . a summer 90 operates on the outputs of the individual data decoders 62 - 1 , 62 - 2 , . . . , 62 - n to provide an estimate of the payload data . briefly , each of the data decoders 62 operates as a synchronous demodulator to provide an estimate of the data symbols for a given respective possible multipath delay . although three data decoders 62 are shown in fig4 , it should be understood that a smaller number of them may be used depending upon the anticipated number of multipath delays in the system 10 . fig5 is a more detailed block diagram of the access acquisition function 60 . this circuit includes the previously mentioned pilot correlation filter 70 in the form of a pair of pilot correlation matched filters ( pcmfs ) 700 - 1 , 700 - 2 , and a corresponding pair of vector infinite impulse response ( iir ) filters 710 - 1 and 710 - 2 . in addition , the integration function 72 is provided by the pair of magnitude squaring circuits 720 - 1 and 720 - 2 , a summer 722 , and threshold detector 724 . in operation , the access channel 41 signal is fed to the pilot correlation matched filter ( pcmf ) sections 700 - 1 and 700 - 2 . the pair of pcmfs 700 are used in a ping pong arrangement so that one of the pcmfs may be operating on received data while the other pcmf is having its coefficients loaded . in the preferred embodiment , the access channel is encoded using 32 pn code chips per transmitted symbol . at the receiver , 8 samples are taken per chip ( e . g ., 8 times the chip rate of 1 . 2288 megahertz ( mhz )). the pilot correlation matched filter 700 must not only be matched to receive the pilot symbols , but also to the particular pseudorandom noise ( pn ) code used for encoding the access channel . a controller is used to control the operation of the two portions of the access acquisition function 60 , both the top half and bottom half , as illustrated . continuing with the discussion of the pilot correlation filter 70 , the vector iir filter 710 - 1 receives the output of the pcmf 700 - 1 in the form of in - phase ( i ) and quadrature ( q ) samples . as shown in the signal diagram 750 next to the output of the pcmfs 700 , the output tends to be a series of peaks spaced apart in time , with the peak spacing , depending upon the multipath delays experienced on the reverse link . for example , a peak occurring at a first time t1 may be associated with the most direct signal path taken . a second peak may occur at a time t2 associated with a portion of the signal which follows an alternate path . finally , a third peak may be associated with a time t3 which follows yet a different path from the field unit 20 to the base station 12 . the series of peaks are output for each of the 48 symbols in the pilot burst . the function of the vector iir filter 710 - 1 is thus to average these pilot bursts to provide a more well defined set of peaks 760 which represents the outputs of the pcmf 700 - 1 averaged over time . the averaging process implemented by the vector iir filter 710 - 1 may , for example , eliminate a false peak , such as that occurring at time t4 , which is attributable to a noise burst and not to an actual multipath signal portion . the output 760 of the vector iir filter 710 thus represents an estimate of where the true multipath peaks occur in the reverse link access channel 41 . of ultimate interest is the signal level of the received pilot signal . to determine this level , the magnitude block 720 - 1 takes the magnitude of the vector iir output signal 760 . the sum circuit 722 thus sums these signals as provided by each of the two ping pong branches 700 . a threshold detector 724 is then applied to the summed signal to provide an output similar to the plot 770 . the threshold detector is set at a predetermined amplitude th so that an output appears as in plot 780 . the points at which the summed signal output crosses the threshold th indicate points at which rake fingers 62 will be assigned to processes the signal . in particular , the peaks occurring at times t1 , t2 and t3 are examined , and each respective time is used and assigned to a respective data matched filter 80 and the corresponding finger 62 . these provide an estimate of possible phases from the pilot symbols which is in turn used in the data decoding process . fig6 illustrates how the data detection process of the three rake fingers 62 . each finger 62 is identical . an exemplary rake finger 62 - 1 consists of a corresponding data correlation matched filter ( dcmf ) 80 - 1 , a peak sample detector 81 - 1 , a switch 82 - 1 , a vector iir filter 83 - 1 , complex conjugate function 85 - 1 , and dot product circuit 84 - 1 . in operation , the access channel signal is first fed to the data correlation matched filter ( dcmf ) 80 - 1 . this filter 80 - 1 is loaded with coefficients at a specific phase delay of the pn sequence . in this instance , the phase delay loaded is that data associated with the time t1 indicated from the output of the access acquisition function 60 . the output of data correlation matched filter 80 - 1 will consist of a signal having a localized peak . as shown in the diagram next to the peak sample detector 81 - 1 , the peak sample detector 81 - 1 selects a predetermined number of samples around this peak for further processing . these peak values are then fed to the switch 82 - 1 . the switch 82 - 1 , under the operation of the data decoder controller 790 , alternately steers the peak detected signal , depending upon whether it contains pilot symbols or pilot plus data symbols . the decoder controller 790 may be synchronized with a start of frame indication as determined by the received barter symbols in the preamble portion , and therefore knows the position of pilot symbols in the payload portion . thus , while receiving the payload or data portion 52 of the access channel frame 50 , the signal will be steered to the lower leg 88 - 1 , in the case of receiving a pilot symbol , or in the case of receiving a data symbol , will be steered to the upper leg 89 - 1 . the pilot symbols of the payload portion 52 are processed in a manner similar to the pilot symbol processing in the preamble portion 51 . that is , they are processed by a vector iir filter 83 - 1 to provide an average estimate of an estimate signal value [ p ] e j . the complex conjugate of this pilot estimate is then determined by the complex conjugate function 85 - 1 . data symbols steered to the upper leg 89 - 1 provide a data estimate signal x n e je . the two estimate signals , data and pilot are then fed to the multiplier 84 - 1 to provide a cross product of the pilot symbols with the data symbols . this causes the phase terms of the complex signal to cancel more or less . that is , the phase estimate ( theta ) should be approximately equal to the measured phase theta of the pilot symbols . the output thus represents the pilot channel energy \| p \| x n . given a pilot symbol normalized value of 1 , the data is therefore recovered . returning to fig4 , the reader will recall that this is the output of only one rake finger 62 - 1 . each rake finger output is , therefore , then fed through the integrators 86 , 87 , additional dot product circuits 89 , and delays 88 - 1 , to the summer 90 to provide a final estimate of the data , x . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims .	7
an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of s - bpda : py was obtained by a reaction with s - bpda and saturated py vapour in 40 hours at 100 ° c . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of s - bpda is shown in fig1 . and the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the obtained complex is shown in fig2 . the solvent used at the measurement was dmf - d 7 . after heating of the acid anhydride complex in dmso 2 hours at 120 ° c ., the yield of the acid anhydride complex was 50 %. and after heating of the acid anhydride complex in py 1 hour at 100 ° c ., the yield of the acid anhydride complex was 60 %. an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of s - bpda : nmp was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with s - bpda and saturated nmp vapour in 40 hours at 200 ° c . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the obtained complex is shown in fig3 . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of s - bpda : tea was obtained by a reaction with s - bpda and saturated tea vapour in 40 hours at 80 ° c . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of pmda : py was obtained by a reaction with pmda and saturated py vapour in 40 hours at 100 ° c . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of pmda : tea was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with pmda and saturated tea vapour in 40 hours at 80 ° c . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the obtained pmda complex is shown in fig5 . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of pmda : nmp was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with pmda and saturated nmp vapour in 40 hours at 200 ° c . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of btda : py was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with btda and saturated py vapour in 40 hours at 100 ° c . after heating the acid anhydride complex in dmso 2 hours at 120 ° c ., the yield of the acid anhydride complex was 75 %. an acid anhydride complex having a combination ratio 1 : 2 of 6fda : py was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with 6fda and saturated py vapour in 40 hours at 100 ° c . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the obtained 6fda complex is shown in fig7 . an acid anhydride complex having an equivalent ratio 1 : 2 of 6fda : tea was obtained nearly quantitatively by a reaction with 6fda and saturated tea vapour in 40 hours at 80 ° c . a reaction was occured by adding of nmp dropwise in 3 hours to 60 g . of s - bpda powder with stirring under a condition heated at 80 ° c . - 120 ° c . in inactive atmosphere , and a brown powder was obtained . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of s - bpda and the reaction product were measured . the formation of an acid anhydride complex was confirmed by observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field . a reaction was occured by adding of dsmo dropwise in 3 hours to 60 g . of s - bpda powder with stirring under a condition heated at 80 ° c . - 120 ° c . in inactive atmosphere , and a brown powder was obtained . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the reaction product was measured . the formation of an acid anhydride complex was confirmed by observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field . a reaction was occured by adding of thf and γ - propiolactam dropwise in 3 hours to 60 g . of s - bpda powder with stirring under a condition heated at 80 ° c .- 120 ° c . in inactive atmosphere , and a brown powder was obtained . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the reaction product was measured . the formation of an acid anhydride complex was confirmed by observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field . with other experiments which used lactams having different ring size from 5 to 10 under the same condition , the formation of acid anhydride complexes were confirmed by the observation of nuclear magnetic resonance spectrums . and in the case using n - methylacetamide , which is a same secondary amide as a lactam , the formation of a complex was also confirmed . a mixture of 240 g . of thf and 6 g . of s - bpda was heated 1 - 3 hours with py in inactive atmosphere , and a yellow transparent solution was obtained . by adding the yellow solution to 20 times volume of n - hexane , a pale yellow substance was precipitated . the precipitate was separated from the liquid by filtration and was dried 12 hours at 60 ° c . in vacuum . a 7 . 2 g . of powder was obtained . the formation of a complex was confirmed by observation of a same peak shifting to lower magnetic field as shown in fig2 in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the powder . a mixture of 240 g . of caprolactam , 6 g . of s - bpda , and γ - propiolactam was heated 1 - 3 hours in inactive atmosphere , and a yellow transparent solution of a complex was obtained . the formation of a complex was confirmed by observation of a same peak shifting to lower magnetic field as shown in fig2 in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution . the formation of a complex in the reaction product obtained by a same experiment as example 10 except using btda instead of s - bpda was confirmed by observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the reaction product and btda . the formation of a complex in the reaction product obtained by a same experiment as example 10 except using pmda instead of s - bpda was confirmed by observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the reaction product and pmda . a mixture of 240 g . of nmp , 60 g . of s - bpda , and ε - caprolactam was heated 36 hours at 180 ° c .- 200 ° c . in inactive atmosphere , and a brown solution was obtained . the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution is shown in fig8 . the formation of any complex is not observed , but a quantitative formation of bisimide compound was confirmed . the time depending change of the yield of the product was measured by a chromatographic method , and the results are shown in fig9 ( a ) to fig9 ( c ). the reaction was very slow and the formation of bisimide carboxylic acid was scarsely observed in the reaction of 1 - 3 hours . a mixture of s - bpda and a complex comprising s - bpda and dmso was dissolved in dmso contianing water . the changing of the composition was observed by measurement of nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . the results are shown in fig1 and fig1 . it was revealed that s - bpda was hydrolized as the peaks of s - bpda which were observed at the dissolution had been disappeared after 18 hours . on the other hand , the peaks of s - bpda complex were observed even after 18 hours without any change . the result of the experiment mentioned above revealed that the formation of a complex achieved lowering of the hydrolizing property and significant stabilizing of s - bpda . a reaction was occured by adding slowly an equivalent p - pda to a solution of s - bpda complex which was obtained in example 1 with stirring and ice - cooling . the viscosity of the varnish after the reaction of 3 hours with stirring was 8 poises at 30 wt . % of solid content . a same experiment as example 9 except using an equivalent dde instead of p - pda was held . the viscosity of the varnish obtained by the experiment was 15 poises at 30 wt . % of solid content . a reaction was occured by adding slowly an equivalent p - pda to a solution of a complex obtained in example 4 in nmp with stirring . the viscosity of the varnish after the reaction of further 3 hours with stirring was 42 poises at 30 wt . % of solid content . a solution was prepared by dissolving 22 g . of p - pda in 240 g . of nmp with stirring . a reaction was occured by adding an equivalent ( 60 g .) s - bpda to the solution slowly with stirring by a stirrer connected to a motor and ice - cooling in inactive atmosphere . the viscosity of the reactant was increased as the addition of the solution was going on , and finally , at the time when total solution had added , it became impossible to stir the reactant because of increased viscosity . a same reaction as comparative example 2 except using an equivalent ( 41 g .) of dde instead of p - pda was held . it became impossible to stir the reactant on the half way of the reaction . a varnish which was obtained in example 17 and applied on the surface of a glass substrate with an applicator was dried one hour at 100 ° c ., and was hardened by heating up to 400 ° c . at the rate of 200 ° c ./ hour and kept 10 minutes at 400 ° c . a film obtained was cut out into a test piece of 5 mm × 50 mm , and its mechanical strength was measured . the break strength of the film was 36 kg ./ mm 2 and the break elongation was 25 %. and the durable temperature defined as the temperature at which 3 % loss in its weight occurs in 100 minutes was 520 ° c . a varnish synthesized in example 19 was hardened at 350 ° c . as the final hardening temperature and was measured the mechanical strength of the film . the break strength was 28 kg ./ mm 2 and the break elongation was 52 %. the durable temperature defined same as example 21 was 491 ° c . a film was prepared from a varnish synthesized in example 20 by the same process as example 12 and was measured the mechanical strength . the break strength was 41 kg ./ mm 2 and break elongation was 22 %. the durable temperature defined same as example 20 was 517 ° c . a reaction was occurred by adding 2 / 3 of an equivalent ( 54 . 4 g .) s - bpda slowly to a solution of 30 g . of p - pda in 200 g . of nmp . the reaction was carried on further 5 hours after s - bpda was added , and a dense green solution was obtained . by adding 27 . 2 g . of phthalic anhydride to the solution so as to make the ratio of amine and acid anhydride an equivalent and carrying on the reaction further 5 hours , a yellow transparent oligomer varnish having viscosity of 25 poises was obtained . the varnish was hardened by the same process as example 20 . in the hardening process , a large number of cracks were generated on the surface of the hardened body and any of film was not obtained . the measurement of mechanical strength was impossible . a reaction was occurred by adding 2 / 3 of an equivalent ( 31 . 3 g .) pmda slowly to a solution of 50 g . of dde in 200 g . of nmp . the reaction was carried on further 5 hours after pmda was added , and a dense green solution was obtained . by adding 21 . 6 g . of phthalic anhydride to the solution so as to make the ratio of amine and acid anhydride an equivalent and carrying on the reaction further 5 hours , a yellow transparent oligomer varnish having viscosity of 19 poises was obtained . the varnish was hardened by the same process as example 20 . in the hardening process , a large number of cracks were generated on the surface of the hardened body same as comparative example 6 and any of film was not obtained . the measurement of mechanical strength was impossible . a half - esterified solution was synthesized by a reaction of 60 g . of s - bpda and 2 times of an equivalent ethyl alcohol in 200 g . of nmp in 2 hours at 100 ° c . the solution was cooled down to room temperature and was added with an equivalent of p - pda to s - bpda . by dissolving the additives with stirring , a varnish having a half - ester as a functional group to cause polymerization in hardening process was obtained . the viscosity of the varnish was 1 . 8 poises . in the same hardening process as comparative example 5 , a large number of cracks were generated on the surface of the hardened body and any of film was not obtained . the measurement of mechanical strength was impossible . a varnish solution having a concentration of 40 wt . % and viscosity of 42 poises was obtained by dissolving a resin having ethynyl groups at the terminal of the molecular chain in nmp . the varnish was hardened by the same process as example 21 . an obtained film was too fragile to be measured the mechanical strength . the result of the measurement of flatness of a film produced from the varnish synthesized in example 17 by applying it on the surface of an aluminum pattern of which structure is shown in fig1 and hardened there was 0 . 80 . the flatness is defined by the following equation and the value is more preferable as it close to 1 . ## equ1 ## the symbols in the equation ( 3 ) are defined in fig1 . the evaluation pattern to be used for the measurement of the flatness of a polyimide film is shown in fig1 . using the pattern , the flatness of a film produced on the surface of the pattern was measured according to the definition shown in fig1 . the result of the measurement of flatness of a film produced from the varnish synthesized in example 18 by applying it on the surface of an aluminum pattern of which structure is shown in fig1 and hardened there was 0 . 83 . a polyamic acid varnish having a concentration of 15 wt . % which was synthesized from p - pda and s - bpda by a conventional process was applied and hardened by the same process as example 25 , and the flatness of the film was measured . the result was 0 . 44 . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 6 g . of btda to 240 g . of thf and heating 1 - 3 hours with dmso in inactive atmosphere . the formation of a complex was confirmed by observation of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution which was measured after the same treatment as example 13 . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 6 g . of btda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of thf and heating 1 - 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum measured after the same treatment as example 13 , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . and in the same experiment except using different ring size of lactam from 5 to 10 , the formation of a complex was confirmed by the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . and in the case of using n - methylacetamide , the formation of a complex was also confirmed . a transparent yellow solution was obtained by adding 6 g . of btda to 240 g . of thf and heating 1 - 3 hours with py in inactive atmosphere . a yellow precipitate was obtained by adding the solution to 20 times volume of n - hexane . after the same treatment as example 13 , the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . in the spectrum , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent yellow solution of a complex was obtained by adding of 6 g . of btda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of caprolactone and heating 1 - 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . after the same treatment as example 13 , the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a brown solution was obtained by adding 6 g . of btda and ε - caprolactam to 240 g . of nmp and heating 36 hours at 180 ° c .- 200 ° c . in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution , the formation of a complex was not observed , but quantitative yield of bisimide compound was confirmed . by measuring the time depending change of the yield of the product by a liquid chromatographic method , it was revealed that the reaction went on very slowly and the formation of bisimide carboxylic acid was scarcely observed in the reaction of 1 - 3 hours . a mixture of btda and a complex comprising btda and dmso was dissolved into dmso containing water , and the change of the solution was measured with a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . the result revealed that the peaks of btda which was observed at the moment of dissolving disappeared after 18 hours and hydrolysis of btda had occurred . on the other hand , the peaks of the complex including btda was observed even after 18 hours without any change , and it was confirmed that the formation of a complex achieved lowering of hydrolyzing property and significant stabilizing of btda . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 60 g . of dsda to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours with nmp in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum which was measured after the solution was treated by the same process as example 13 , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 6 g . of dsda to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours with dmso in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum which was measured after the solution was treated by the same process as example 13 , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . after adding 60 g . of dsda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of thf , the solution was heated 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . after the solution was treated by the same process as example 13 , a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed in the spectrum and the formation of a complex was confirmed . and in the same experiment except changing the ring size of lactams to 5 - 10 , the formation of a complex was confirmed with the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . and in the case of using n - methylacetamide which is a same secondary amine as lactam , the formation of a complex was also confirmed . a transparent yellow solution was obtained by adding 6 g . of dsda to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours with py in inactive atmosphere . a pale yellow precipitate was obtained by adding the solution into 20 times of volume of n - hexane . after the precipitate was treated with the same process as example 4 , a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent yellow solution was obtained by adding 60 g . of dsda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of caprolactone and heating 3 hours with γ - propiolactam in inactive atmosphere . after the precipitate was treated with the same process as example 4 , the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a brown solution was obtained by adding 60 g . of dsda and ε - caprolactam to 240 g . of nmp and heating 36 hours at 180 ° c .- 200 ° c . in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution , the formation of a complex was not observed , but the quantitative formation of bisimide carboxylic acid was confirmed . the reaction went on slowly and the formation of bisimide carboxylic acid was scarcely observed in the reaction of 1 - 3 hours . a mixture of dsda and a complex of dsda was dissolved into dmso containing water and change of the solution was measured with the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . the peak of dsda which was observed at the moment of dissolution disappeared after 18 hours and hydrolysis of dsda was confirmed . on the other hand , the peak of a complex of dsda was observed even after 18 hours without any change . the result revealed that the formation of a complex achieved lowering of hydrolyzing property and significant stabilizing of dsda . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 60 g . of 6fda to 240 g . of nmp and heating 3 hours at 80 ° c .- 120 ° c . in inactive atmosphere . in the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of 6fda and of the solution , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 6 g . of 6fda to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours with dmso in inactive atmosphere . after the solution was treated by the same process as example 4 , the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent brown solution of a complex was obtained by adding 60 g . of 6fda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . and after the solution was treated with the same process as example 4 , the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum was measured . the formation of a complex was confirmed by the observation of a peak shifting to lower magnetic field in the spectrum . and , in the same experiment except changing the ring size of lactam to 5 - 10 , the formation of a complex was confirmed with the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . and also , in an experiment using n - methylacetamide which is same secondary amide as lactam , the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent yellow solution was obtained by adding 6 g . of 6fda to 240 g . of thf and heating 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum measured after the solution was treated by the same process as example 4 , a peak shifting to lower magnetic field was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a transparent yellow solution of a complex was obtained by adding 60 g . of 6fda and γ - propiolactam to 240 g . of caprolactone and heating 3 hours in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum measured after the solution was treated by the same process as example 4 , the same peak shifting to lower magnetic field as seen in fig2 and 3 was observed and the formation of a complex was confirmed . a brown solution was obtained by adding 60 g . of 6fda and ε - caprolactam to 240 g . of nmp and heating 36 hours at 180 ° c .- 200 ° c . in inactive atmosphere . according to the nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the solution , the formation of any complex was not observed . but , the quantitative formation of bisimide compound was confirmed . the time depending change of the yield of the product was measured with a liquid chromatographic method , and it was revealed that the reaction went on very slowly and the formation of bisimide carboxylic acid was scarcely observed in reaction of 1 - 3 hours . a mixture of 6fda and a complex comprising 6fda and dmso was dissolved into dmso containing water and a change of the solution was measured with a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . the peaks of 6fda , which was observed at the time of the dissolution , was disappeared after 18 hours and hydrolysis of 6fda was confirmed . on the other hand , the peak of the complex was observed without any change . with this observation , it was confirmed that the formation of a complex achieved lowering of hydrolizing property and significant stabilizing of 6fda .	2
the method of control of this invention is such that in the case of a zinc phosphate conversion coating treatment solution which does not contain nickel ions the zinc ion concentration in the said solution can be controlled using method ( 1 ) described above and in the case of a zinc phosphate conversion coating treatment solution which does contain nickel ions the zinc ion concentration and the nickel ion concentration can be controlled for example by determining the total zinc ion + nickel ion concentration in the treatment solution using the aforementioned method ( 1 ), determining the nickel ion concentration in the solution using the aforementioned method ( 2 ) and then determining the zinc ion concentration as the difference between the former concentration and the latter concentration using the aforementioned method ( 3 ). the importance of the control of the zinc ion concentration and the zinc ion + nickel ion concentration is described below before proceeding with the description of an example of the invention . it has been found in recent years that the thinner coatings which provide superior corrosion resistance and paint adhesion are fine undercoatings in which one of the main components is phosphophilite ( zn 2 fe ( po 4 ) 2 . 4h 2 0 ). coatings of this type have a structure consisting of hopite ( zn 3 ( p0 4 ) 2 . 4h 2 0 ) and phosphophilite , and the following ratio is employed as a measure of the proportion of phosphophilite in the coating . the value of p / p + h approaches 1 as the phosphophilite content of the coating increases and conversely the value of this ratio falls as the hopite content of the coating increases and the phosphophilite content falls . fig1 is a ternary diagram which shows the relationship between the zinc ion concentration in the treatment solution , the treatment conditions and the value of p / p + h for the coating which is formed on the surface of cold rolled steel sheet on carrying out forming treatments using the procedures described in table 2 with four types of treatment solution which had different zinc ion concentrations for use with automobile steel sheet ( jis - g - 3141 , spcc - d ) as shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________composition of the treatment solutionscomponent concentration ( g / l ) ______________________________________zn z . sub . 1 = 0 . 72 z . sub . 2 = 1 . 24 z . sub . 3 = 1 . 65 z . sub . 4 = 2 . 16po . sub . 4 15clo . sub . 3 0 . 5no . sub . 2 0 . 1______________________________________ table 2______________________________________treatment conditionstreatment conditionsprocess x . sub . 1 x . sub . 2 , x . sub . 3 , x . sub . 4 x . sub . 5______________________________________degreasing mild alkaline cleaner 20 g / l , 58 ° c . one minute one minute 2 minute spray followed spray followed spray by a 2 minute by a 2 minute dip dipwater normal tem - normal tem - normal tem - rinse perature 20 perature 20 perature 20 second spray second spray second spraysurface titanium -- -- activia - activatingtion rinse , 3 g / l , 15 second sprayconversion two minute 57 ° c . two minutecoating dip , 57 ° c . spray 57 ° c . pre - spray dip ( sec ) ( min ) x . sub . 2 15 2 x . sub . 3 30 2 x . sub . 4 45 2water normal tem - normal tem - normal tem - rinse perature 20 perature 20 perature 20 second spray second spray second spraydeionized normal tem - normal tem - normal tem - water perature 15 perature 15 perature 15rinse second spray second spray second spraydrying electric oven , electric oven , electric oven , 2 minutes at 2 minutes at 2 minutes at 105 ° c . 105 ° c . 105 ° c . ______________________________________ the forming treatment conditions x in table 2 are such that x 1 involved a dipping treatment , x 2 , x 3 , and x 4 involved first spraying the steel sheet ( referred to below as a prespray ) and then dipping the steel sheet in the same treatment solution , the duration of the prespray being different in each case as shown in table 2 , and x 5 involved in spraying treatment with the treatment solution only . y is the value of p / p + h for the skin film and z in the zinc ion concentration ( g / l ) in the treatment solution . thus z 1 = 0 . 72 , z 2 = 1 . 24 , z 3 32 1 . 65 and z 4 = 2 . 16 . according to fig1 the value of y increases from 0 . 84 ( z 4 ) to 0 . 97 ( z 1 ) under the conditions x 1 , from 0 . 56 ( z 4 ) to 0 . 86 ( z 1 ) under the conditions of x 2 , from 0 . 36 ( z 4 ) to 0 . 77 ( z 1 ) under the conditions of x 3 , from 0 . 30 ( z 4 ) to 0 . 71 ( z 1 ) under the conditions of x 4 and from 0 . 21 ( z 4 ) to 0 . 72 ( z 1 ) under the conditions of x 5 and in all cases the value of p / p + h tended to increase as the concentration of zinc ions in the treatment solution was reduced . that is to say the zinc ion concentration in the treatment solution should be controlled at a low level to form coatings which have a high phosphophilite content . thus although there is some difference due to the treatment conditions employed it is possible to form coatings which have a comparatively high p / p + h value , which is to say coatings in which the phosphophilite content is comparatively high , by maintaining a zinc ion concentration of about 0 . 7 g / l in the treatment solution . it is therefore very important that the optimum zinc ion concentration in the treatment solution and the range within which it should be maintained should be obtained and that the zinc ion concentration should be controlled within this range . the relationship between the concentration of zinc ion in the treatment solution and the coating weight is shown in fig2 where x is the zinc ion concentration ( g / l ) in the treatment solution and y is the coating weight . the relationship between x and y was obtained by degreasing samples of the aforementioned automobile steel sheet by spraying with a weakly alkaline cleaner , rinsing the steel with water and then treating with a zinc phosphate based conversion coating agent in which the zinc ion concentration differed within the range 1 - 6 g / l and then measuring the weight of the coating after rinsing with water and drying . it is well known that a low coating weight and a fine film are preferred as an undercoat for coatings and the weight of the undercoating is an important factor . it is clear from fig2 that the weight of the coating tends to fall as the zinc ion concentration is reduced and so careful control of the zinc ion concentration is of importance from this point of view . the relationships between the value of p / p + h for the coating and the corrosion resistance when a three coat coating process including the electrodeposition of a coating under the conditions described below on top of the conversion coating had been carried out are shown in fig3 and 4 . fig3 relates to anionic electrodeposition and fig4 relates to cationic electrodeposition , the other coating conditions being the same in both cases . in fig3 and 4 , x is the scab corrosion resistance after coating obtained using the test procedure outlined below , a value of zero indicating the best result while larger values indicate worsening results to the worst possible result which has a value of 6 . y has the same significant as in fig1 . ______________________________________anionic electrodeposition : polybutadiene system , voltage 150 v , 22 . 0 coulomb / dm . sup . 2 , 170 ° c ., 20 minute bake . cationic electrodeposition : epoxy system , voltage 175 v , 9 . 8 coulomb / dm . sup . 2 , 185 ° c ., 20 minute bake . intermediate coat : melamine alkyd system , 140 ° c ., 20 minute bake . top coat : melamine alkyd system , 140 ° c ., 20 minute bake . ______________________________________ the coated sheet is immersed in water at 38 ° c . for 5 days and dried . immediately after drying 1001 / 4 inch nuts are dropped freely down a vinyl chloride resin pipe of diameter 5 cm onto the coated sheet from a position 4 . 5 meters above the coated sheet to damage the coated sheet which is then subjected to repeated salt spray tests and outdoor exposure tests . when the test cycle is complete the sheet is examined to determine the extent and density of scab corrosion and an assessment is made on a scale ranging from 0 to 6 . it is clear from fig3 and 4 that the scab corrosion resistance after coating improves as the value of p / p + h increases in all cases . as mentioned earlier the zinc ion concentration in the treatment solution is of importance for maintaining a high p / p + h value , which is to say that the value of p / p + h is inversely proportional to the zinc ion concentration , and so it is important that the zinc ion concentration be maintained at a low value within the range of possible zinc ion concentrations . an outline of the relationship between the nickel ion concentration in the treatment solution and the corrosion resistance is shown in fig5 . thus baths were made up using a zinc phosphate conversion coating agent in accordance with the instructions , nickel ions were added at various concentrations ( x ) ranging from 0 . 2 to 1 . 4 g / l and cold rolled steel sheets were subjected to a forming treatment as specified in the instructions in these baths . the results ( y ) of corrosion tests carried out after coating these sheets were as shown in fig5 . a poor result has a y value of 1 and the value of y increases as the corrosion resistance improves . on looking at fig5 it is clear that the nickel ion concentration has a considerable effect on the corrosion resistance of the sheets after coating and that a nickel ion concentration in the range 0 . 5 - 1 . 2 g / l is preferred . hence it is necessary to control the nickel ion concentration in the treatment solution as well as the zinc ion concentration . thus on the basis of the facts described above it is clear that , in connection with the method of control of this invention , it is necessary to control the zinc ion concentration and the zinc + nickel ion concentration in the treatment solution if coatings of consistently high quality are to be formed . the method of control of this invention is described in more detail below . the value of p / p + h was 0 . 85 for the coating obtained by spraying automobile steel sheet ( spcc - d ) for 2 minutes with a treatment solution at 55 ° c . which had a total acidity of 20 points , a phosphate ( p0 4 ) ion concentration of 15 g / l , a zinc ion concentration of 0 . 8 g / l , a nickel ion concentration of 0 . 7 g / l and which also contained nitrate ions ( n0 3 ), chlorate ions ( cl0 3 ), nitrite ions ( n0 2 ), fluoride ( f ) ions and sodium ions . the p / p + h value could be maintained at 0 . 85 ± 0 . 05 by controlling the total acidity of the treatment solution to 20 ± 1 point , the free acidity to 1 ± 0 . 1 point , the zinc ion concentration to 0 . 8 ± 0 . 1 g / l , the nickel ion concentration to 0 . 7 ± 0 . 1 g / l and the promotor ( n0 2 ) concentration to 2 . 5 ± 0 . 5 points . it is difficult to control the zinc ion concentration to within the range of 0 . 8 ± 0 . 1 g / l using an ion meter which has a sensitivity of ± 1 -± 2 mv since the potential difference in this case is only 3 . 2 mv . hence in the control method of this invention a complexometric titration is carried out using edta to determine the zinc ion concentration and the zinc ion + nickel ion concentration on the basis of the change in potential which occurs in this case . an outline of the equipment for controlling the treatment solution automatically installed in a metal surface treatment plant for realizing the control method of this invention is described below with reference to fig6 . thus in fig6 is the spray zone of the treatment plant and treatment is achieved with a circulating system in which the treatment solution in the treatment solution tank 2 is taken up and sprayed out by the pump 3 . the treatment solution tank 2 is provided with the service tank 4 for supplying phosphate replenisher with a high zinc content , the service tank 5 for supplying phosphate replenisher which a low zinc content and the service tank 6 which supplies the promotor and these tanks are established close by so that each of these liquids can be supplied to the treatment solution tank 2 by means of the pumps 7 , 8 and 9 respectively . some of the treatment solution which has been drawn up from the aforementioned treatment solution tank 2 by the pump 3 is split off as a test sample before spraying and transferred via the needle valve 10 , the pressure reducing valve 11 , the electromagnetic valve 12 and the prominent pump 16 into the cell 17 . moreover the excess sample solution which has been drawn up is returned to the aforementioned treatment tank 2 via the check valve 13 , the electromagnetic valve 14 and the needle valve 15 . the calcium ion electrode 18 and the reference electrode 19 are established in the aforementioned cell 17 which is also provided at the bottom with the stirrer 20 for agitating the liquid in the cell and the drain valve 21 for exhausting the liquid from the cell . a sample of volume about 10 ml is deposited in the cell 17 and 15 ml of reagent a ( 0 . 02 m edta solution ) from the reagent tank 22 and 10 ml of reagent b from the reagent tank 23 ( reagent b is a mixture of ph 10 buffer solution and ion stength controlling agent isa prepared by dissolving 70 grams of ammonium chloride in water , adding 570 ml of concentrated aqueous ammonia and making up to a total volume of 1 liter and mixing this solution with 1 liter of 5m aqueous sodium chloride solution ) are added to the sample via the prominent pumps 26 and 17 and the mixture is agitated with the stirrer 20 . the liquid in the cell is then left to stand for 1 - 3 minutes and if there is no change to be seen in the potential of the calcium ion electrode 18 before and after standing the titrant ( 0 . 02m aqueous calcium chloride solution ) is added in 0 . 1 ml aliquots to the cell 17 from the titrant tank 25 via the prominent pump 29 . the change in the potential of the calcium ion electrode 18 which accompanies the addition of the titrant is read out and the maximum value of the differential value of the change in this potential is taken as the end point of the titration . the titre at this time is obtained as &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; ml . the drain valve 21 is then opened and the liquid is exhausted from the cell which is then rinsed out with water . next a further 10 ml sample of treatment solution is collected in the cell 17 in the same way as described above and , as before 15 ml of reagent a and 10 ml of reagent b are added to the cell , along with 10 ml of reagent c ( a 0 . 2m aqueous solution of ammonium glycolate ) from the reagent tank 24 via the prominent pump 28 and the mixture is agitated . the titrant is then added in 0 . 1 ml aliquots and the change in the potential of the calcium ion electrode 18 is read out in the same way as described above . here again the maximum value of the differential value is taken to be the end point and the titre at this time is obtained as &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; ml . data put out on the basis of the changes in potential are fed to the control part 35 via the output converting part 30 and , on the basis of the data received , the zinc ion concentration or , in the case of a treatment solution which contains nickel , the zinc ion concentration and the total zinc ion + nickel ion concentration , is computed in the said control part 35 using the equations given below . moreover as in the past a sample of the treatment solution is introduced into the promotor concentration measuring device 31 and the total acid concentration measuring device 32 for the measurement of the promotor concentration , the total acid and the free acid in the treatment solution and the data from these measuring devices are input to and dealt with in the control part 35 . ______________________________________zinc ion + nickel ion = 0 . 02 × ( 15 - a ) ÷ 10 mol / lconcentrationnickel ion concentration = 0 . 02 × ( 15 - b ) ÷ 10 mol / l = 0 . 02 × ( 15 - b ) ÷ 10 × 58 . 69 g / lzinc ion concentration = 0 . 02 × ( b - a ) ÷ 10 mol / l = 0 . 02 × ( b - a ) ÷ 10 × 65 . 38______________________________________ g / l the relationship between the change in the potential and the titre when the treatment solution is titrated complexometrically using a calcium ion electrode is shown graphically in fig7 where x represents the titre ( ml ) of 0 . 02m calcium chloride titrant solution and y is the calcium ion potential . the curves shown in fig7 are as follows : b : curve obtained when ammonium thioglycolate and edta were both added . once the concentrations in the treatment liquor have been determined using a procedure of the type described above the pumps 7 , 8 and 9 of the service tanks 4 , 5 and 6 respectively are driven by means of signals from the control part 35 via the broken lines in fig6 when the concentrations reach the lower levels of the control ranges and the various replenishers and the promotor are supplied independently to the treatment tank 2 . the supply of replenisher and promotor gradually increases the concentrations of the various components in the treatment solution in the treatment tank 2 and when the concentrations reach the upper limits of the control ranges a signal indicating that this level has been reached is put out from the cell 17 to the control part 35 , signals are generated for stopping the supply of replenisher and promotor and the pumps 7 , 8 and 9 are stopped . it is possible in this way to maintain the concentration of each component in the treatment solution within the control range automatically . as an example the concentrations of the components in a treatment solution which did not contain nickel ions are shown in table 3 along with the actions for replenishment due to the signals . table 3______________________________________ promotor replenishmenttotal acid zinc ion conc . indications______________________________________down down down replenisher b + promotordown ok down replenisher b + promotorok down down use replenisher a for further replenishment , promotorok up down use replenisher b for further replenishment , promotordown up down replenisher b + promotordown ok down replenisher b + promotorup down down replenisher a + promotor ( the former replenisher corresponds with the reduction of total acid ) up up down promotor ( replenisher supply temporarily stopped ) up up up supply of replenisher and promotor temporarily stopped______________________________________ ( notes ) down : indicates the lower limit of the control range has been reached . up : indicates the upper limit of the control range has been reached . ok : indicates that the result is within the control range . furthermore a summary of the treatment control data and the values of p / p + h of the coatings formed on the surface of cold rolled steel sheets when automatic control of this invention had been used in an actual spray treatment line is shown in table 4 , but the data and operation for the control and replenishment of the promotor are omitted . table 4__________________________________________________________________________ treatment solution replenishment composition rate ( kg / hr ) coating timea ml b mltitre . sup . 1 0 . 8 ± 0 . 5zn g / l 0 . 7 ± 0 . 5ni g / l 20 + 1 pointtotal acid a . sup . 2replenisher b . sup . 3replenisher ## str1 ## __________________________________________________________________________ 9 - 00 2 . 9 9 0 . 8 0 . 7 20 . 1 25 25 0 . 86 9 - 30 3 . 0 9 . 1 0 . 8 0 . 69 19 . 6 32 . 6 26 . 6 0 . 8310 - 00 2 . 5 8 . 8 0 . 82 0 . 73 20 . 5 19 . 3 19 . 3 0 . 8510 - 30 3 . 0 9 . 1 0 . 80 0 . 69 19 . 7 27 . 0 29 . 9 0 . 8311 - 00 2 . 5 8 . 8 0 . 82 0 . 73 20 . 6 18 . 1 18 . 1 0 . 8411 - 30 3 . 0 9 . 1 0 . 80 0 . 69 19 . 4 28 . 7 35 . 1 0 . 8212 - 00 2 . 5 8 . 9 0 . 83 0 . 72 20 . 5 18 . 3 20 . 2 0 . 8512 - 30 2 . 8 9 . 0 0 . 81 0 . 70 19 . 8 24 . 6 30 . 0 0 . 8213 - 00 2 . 6 9 . 0 0 . 83 0 . 71 20 . 3 19 . 4 23 . 7 0 . 8413 - 30 3 . 0 9 . 0 0 . 79 0 . 70 19 . 8 27 . 3 27 . 3 0 . 8614 - 00 2 . 7 8 . 9 0 . 80 0 . 72 20 . 2 23 . 8 21 . 6 0 . 87__________________________________________________________________________ treatment solution : 10m . sup . 3 - ( notes ) . sup . 1 0 . 02m aqueous calcium chloride solution . . sup . 2 principal components zn 2 . 18 %, ni 1 . 76 %, po . sub . 4 27 . 2 %. . sup . 3 principle components zn 1 . 31 %, ni 1 . 76 %, po . sub . 4 27 . 2 % in the data shown in table 4 the zinc ion and the nickel ion concentrations and the total acid are maintained within the limits of 0 . 8 ± 0 . 5 g / l , 0 . 7 ± 0 . 5 g / l and 20 ± 1 point respectively and the value of p / p + h for the coating is maintained consistently at a high value of 0 . 82 - 0 . 87 . thus by controlling the zinc ion and nickel ion concentrations within suitable ranges it is possible to form consistently high quality coatings which have a high value for p / p + h , which is to say that it is possible to form consistently coatings which have a high phosphophilite content . the control method for zinc phosphate based conversion coating treatment solutions of this invention involves removing samples of the treatment solution and determining the zinc ion and nickel ion concentrations or the total zinc ion + nickel ion concentration in the sample , the concentrations detected being the concentrations of each component in the treatment solution . the treatment solution is then controlled on the basis of these concentrations and so it is possible without difficulty to control the concentrations of these components precisely and it is possible to form consistently coatings of high quality because of this accurate control , a result which has not been possible in the past where the zinc ion and nickel ion concentrations have not been measured directly and where control has been achieved by determining the free acid , the total acid and the promotor concentrations , and this invention provides superior results .	2
fig1 is a schematic view of a surgical suction system built in accordance with the present invention for removing debris from a surgical site , including a probe tip 10 , a first filter 12 , a second filter 14 , and a vacuum source 16 . the surgical suction system may be partly composed of a central vacuum system within the hospital , with the probe tip 10 and the first filter 12 being disposed within an operating room , and with the second filter 14 and the vacuum source 16 being disposed in another part of the hospital in the form of a central vacuum system . in accordance with the present invention , the first filter 12 includes a filter section 17 , a slider 18 , and a reservoir 19 . when the slider 18 is moved into the filter section 16 , debris held on a surface of a filter surface ( not shown ) within the filter section 17 is scraped off the filter surface and deposited within the reservoir 19 . fig2 is a longitudinal cross - sectional view of a surgical suction probe 24 built in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the slider 18 and the probe tip 10 are configured as integral parts of a sliding member 26 . the filter section 17 includes a housing 20 with the reservoir 19 near a proximal end 28 of the filter section 17 , a cylindrical filter 30 , and a hollow tube 32 extending through the proximal end 28 in communication with a chamber 34 within the cylindrical filter 30 . the cylindrical filter 30 includes a number of holes 36 , extending between the chamber 34 within the filter 30 and a chamber 38 within the housing 19 . preferably , the filter holes 36 extend in a hole pattern 40 along each of two diametrically opposed sides of the cylindrical filter 30 , with the individual holes 36 being aligned in a common direction , facilitating the manufacture of the cylindrical filter 30 by a thermoplastic molding process . to use the surgical suction probe 24 to remove debris from a surgical site , the external end 42 of the hollow tube 32 is connected to a vacuum system by means of a flexible hose 44 . the probe tip 10 is then placed within the surgical site so that debris is sucked inward through a tip aperture 46 at the distal end of the probe tip 10 . the debris is pulled through the hollow probe tip 10 and through a chamber 48 within the slider 18 . the debris is then pulled into the chamber 38 within the filter section 17 . the portions of the debris which can pass through the filter holes 36 enter the chamber 34 within the cylinder filter 30 , while particles which are too big to pass through the filter holes 36 remain within the chamber 38 , generally being held within the annular region 50 within the chamber 38 outwardly adjacent the cylindrical filter 30 . the tip aperture 46 is preferably substantially larger in diameter than each of the individual filter holes 36 , so that debris particles within a range of sizes , having been drawn into the suction probe 10 , are not allowed to pass through this probe 10 into the hollow tube 32 and thereafter into the flexible hose 44 ( shown in fig1 ) to the associated vacuum system . also , the individual filter holes 36 are preferably substantially smaller in diameter than the hollow tube 32 . these conditions are met , for example , with a tip aperture 46 having a diameter of 4 . 8 mm ( 0 . 188 inch ), individual filter holes 36 having diameters of 1 . 9 mm ( 0 . 073 inch ), and a hollow tube 32 having an internal diameter of 6 . 4 mm ( 0 . 250 inch ). furthermore , to prevent debris from being trapped within the probe tip 10 , the tip aperture 46 is preferably the smallest part of the opening 52 extending through the probe tip . for example , this opening 52 may be tapered from the tip aperture 46 , having a diameter of 4 . 8 mm ( 0 . 118 inch ) to an opening at the proximal end 54 of the probe tip 10 having a diameter of 6 . 4 mm ( 0 . 250 inch ). the suction probe 24 can be used in this way to remove debris until debris accumulates within the annular region 50 outwardly adjacent the cylindrical filter 30 to an extent sufficient to substantially block the flow of material into the cylindrical filter 30 . as this occurs , the efficiency of the suction probe 24 declines to a noticeable extend , and the probe is removed from the surgical site so that debris can be cleared from the annular region 50 by manually moving the slider 18 in the direction of arrow 18 in the direction of arrow 56 , with the slider 18 moving into the annular region 50 . this movement pushes debris held within the annular region 50 into the reservoir 19 forming a proximal portion of the chamber 38 within the filter section 17 . thus , with the housing 20 , the slider 18 , and the cylindrical filter 30 being aligned coaxially , the annular region 50 is cleared with a single movement of the slider 18 . after debris is cleared in this way , the slider is manually returned to its initial position , opposite the direction of arrow 56 , and the process of removing debris from the surgical site is continued . this method for cleaning debris from the annular region 50 is practical because the suction probe 24 is disposable , being discarded after use on a single patient or on a single surgical site . thus , the reservoir 19 can be configured to be of adequate size to avoid overfilling before the suction probe 24 is discarded . typically , the suction probe 24 aspirates a mixture of air , liquid , and particles such as bone fragments and pieces of bone cement . this mixture does not fill the chamber 38 with liquid , so the slide 18 can be moved in the direction of arrow 56 while compressing air within the chamber 38 and while forcing a slurry of small particles and liquid into filter holes 36 which have not become totally clogged . fig3 and 4 show a mechanism for controlling movement of the slider 18 into the filter chamber 38 . this type of control is needed to allow the suction probe 24 to be operated as described above ; without a mechanism to hold the slider 18 in its extended position , as shown in fig2 the slider 18 would be pulled inward , in the direction of arrow 56 by suction established within the filter section chamber 38 . fig3 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross - sectional view of the distal end 58 of the filter housing 20 , particularly showing locking segments 60 extending radially inward , while fig4 is a transverse cross - sectional view of the suction probe 24 , taken as indicated by section lines iv — iv in fig2 . the slider 18 includes four integral locking tabs 62 , extending outward from its proximal end 64 in a cruciform pattern . during the cleaning of debris from a surgical site , these four locking tabs 62 are held within four corresponding circumferential grooves 64 , each of which extends partly around a locking segment 60 at the distal end 58 of the filter housing 20 . a groove 66 extends between each pair of adjacent locking segments 60 , providing four grooves 66 in a cruciform pattern . thus , when it is determined that the annular region 50 outwardly adjacent the cylindrical filter 30 is to be cleaned , the suction probe 24 is removed from the surgical site , and the slider 18 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction of arrow 68 relative to the filter section 17 . such rotation ends with the four locking tabs 62 aligned with the four corresponding grooves 68 , in a relationship allowing the slider 18 to be moved in the direction of arrow 56 into the chamber 38 within the filter section 17 . after the annular region 50 is cleaned by moving the slider 18 into the chamber 38 , the slider 18 is pulled outward , opposite the direction of arrow 56 , and is rotated as needed to align the locking tabs 62 with the grooves 68 . when this alignment occurs , the slider 18 is pulled outward into the fully extended position in which it is shown in fig2 . the slider 18 is then rotated opposite the direction of arrow 68 relative to the filter section 17 , locking the slider 18 in place in its fully extended position , and the probe tip 10 is returned to the surgical site to continue the suction process . a sliding seal is maintained between the proximal end 64 of the slider 18 and the internal surface of the filter housing 20 by means of an o - ring seal 70 held within a grooved seal holder 72 of the slider 18 . this outward - extending seal holder 72 also contacts the inward - extending locking segments 60 of the filter housing 20 , preventing the slider 18 from being separated from the filter housing as the slider 18 is pulled opposite the direction of arrow 56 . the filter housing 20 and various other members of the suction probe 24 are preferably composed of a transparent material , such as a transparent form of polycarbonate , so that material clogging the filter can be easily observed . referring again to fig1 a surgical suction probe built in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention includes a first filter 12 which is separate from the probe tip 10 , but which includes a slider 18 and a reservoir 19 operating as described above relative to the first embodiment 24 . the first filter 12 and the probe tip 10 are separated by a flexible hose 74 , through which debris is drawn . thus , the flexible hose 74 of fig1 is optional , only being used as a part of a second embodiment of the suction probe . fig5 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross - sectional view of a distal end of a filter housing 76 in engagement with a proximal end of a slider 78 , with both the filter housing 76 and the slider 78 being made in accordance with a third embodiment 80 of the present invention . the filter housing 76 includes an internal thread 82 , while the slider 78 includes an external thread 84 , forming an alternative arrangement for locking the slider 78 in place on the filter housing 76 during the use of the suction probe 80 to remove debris from a surgical site . each of the threads 82 , 84 may be a single thread , extending partly or fully around the circumference of a threaded surface , or there may be two or more threads on the housing 76 and the slider 78 , spaced apart from one another to extend in an intertwined manner or limited in length to separate portions of the circumference of the threaded surface . an advantage of using multiple threads arises from the fact that multiple angular positions are available for starting the process of screwing the slider 78 into a locked condition on the filter housing 76 . an advantage of this third embodiment 80 over the first embodiment 24 , discussed above in reference to fig2 - 4 , arises from the ease with which such threads are engaged , compared with a need , in the first embodiment 24 , to align the locking tabs 62 with the grooves 66 , before the slider 18 can be moved opposite the direction of arrow 56 into a locked condition . other aspects of the filter housing 76 and the slider 78 are the same as those of the corresponding filter housing 76 and the slider 18 of the first embodiment 24 . referring to fig1 and 5 , during the process of assembling the first embodiment 24 of the suction probe the various elements are joined in a manner allowing the slider 18 to be moved in the direction of arrow 56 and opposite thereto , but so that it cannot be separated from the remaining parts of the suction probe . the distal end 28 is permanently attached within the filter housing 17 , for example , by an adhesive . the grooved seal holder 72 prevents separation of the slider 18 in the direction of arrow 56 from the filter housing 17 . the debris trapped in the reservoir 19 remains there as the suction probe 24 is disposed . similar conditions occur in the third embodiment 80 of the suction probe , with the slider 78 being trapped to slide within the filter housing 76 , and with debris being trapped in the reservoir . in many applications , this is advantage , providing for the containment of potentially dangerous waste . in some applications , there is a need to remove and save the debris stored in the reservoir 19 , for example , for examination by a pathologist . therefore , fig6 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross - sectional view of the proximal end of a fourth embodiment 88 of the suction probe , which is configured so that the distal end 90 may be removed from the filter housing 92 , providing for the removal of debris from the reservoir 19 . an o - ring 94 in a groove 96 within the distal end 90 forms a seal between the distal end 90 and the filter housing 92 . the distal end 90 and the filter housing 92 are also provided with mating threads 98 , which hold the distal end 90 attached to the filter housing 92 . the contents of the reservoir 19 are emptied after the distal end 92 is unscrewed from the filter housing 92 . while the present invention has been described in its preferred forms of embodiments with some degree of particularity , it is understood that this description has been given only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction , fabrication , and use , including changes in the combination and arrangement of parts , may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	8
the arrangement shown in fig1 includes an optical radiation source such as a laser 1 of any type used in optical fibre communications e . g . fp , dfb , eml , vcsel , these acronyms being well known to those of skill in the relative art . the laser 1 has its output coupled to a multimode fibre f in a typical offset launch arrangement as already discussed in the introductory portion of the description . the coupling could be butt or , according to the presently preferred embodiment shown , via a lens , such a spherical ( i . e . “ ball - type ”) lens 2 . a basic requirement to be complied with by the arrangements shown is for the radiation beam r that propagates from the laser 1 to be capable of moving in a controlled manner relative to the end face f 1 of a fibre f into which the radiation r is launched . in that way , the launch path of the radiation r produced by the source 1 into the end face f 1 of the fibre f may be selectively varied to achieve an adjustable offset launch of the optical radiation r into the optical fibre f . movement of radiation beam r can be either done optically ( e . g . by means of a refractive index change ) or physically ( e . g . by moving any of the components such as the fibre f , the laser 1 and / or the lens 2 with respect to each other ). physical movement can be produced e . g . thermally or via an electromechanical means . a micro electro - mechanical system or mems is exemplary of such electromechanical means . in all of fig1 to 3 references 1 and 2 indicate the laser source and the lens already described in the foregoing . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 , the end of the fibre f near the end face f 1 is arranged over a high ( thermal ) expansion member in the form of e . g . a rod 3 , which in turn is mounted on a heater element 4 . activating / de - activating the heater 4 leads to a change in the temperature of the rod 3 and hence to a variation in the position of the fibre f mounted thereon relative to the optical beam r . this occurs as schematically shown by the double arrow in fig1 and provides a means of having an adjustable offset launch at the transmitter , so that the optimum lateral offset is established for a particular fibre . fig2 shows a twin arrangement of two laser sources 1 producing radiation beams r to be injected into two respective fibres f . each one of the lasers 1 has an associated lens 2 , such as a ball lens , wherein a change in the refractive index is induced . preferably this occurs via a pair of liquid crystals ( lcs ) 6 having the lens 3 sandwiched therebetween . by applying a variable voltage across the lc ( i . e . by changing the voltage across the lens 2 ), its profile is changed , which in turn results in an offset beam steer . this again provides a means of having an adjustable offset launch at each of the laser sources 1 , so that the optimum lateral offset is established for each particular fibre f . an alternative ( not directly shown ) may be using a lens design for the lc . then its focal point may be altered or in this case the beam would be deflected to a different position . in order for this to be controlled , it is important for each active element ( e . g . each liquid crystal 6 ) to have feedback from the other end of the fibre f . to that effect , a pilot tone or equivalent is generated ( in a manner known per se ) at the other end of the fibre f . this is transmitted back towards the laser source 1 , i . e . to the transceiver that includes the source 1 . the tone is an instruction to an active element / actuator to move ( or not to move ) the beam relative to the end face f 1 of the fibre f in a particular direction . fig3 shows that , as an alternative to the liquid crystals considered in the foregoing , the actuator in question may be represented by a micro electro - mechanical system or mems configured for rotating a reflective mirror 7 . the mirror 7 is interposed in the path between the lens 2 and the input face f 1 of the fibre 1 . rotating the mirror 7 as schematically shown by the double arrow of fig3 allows the beam to move across the fibre face f 1 . this again provides a means of having an adjustable offset launch at the laser source 1 , so that the optimum lateral offset is established for each particular fibre . without prejudice to the underlying principles of the invention , the embodiments and details may vary , also significantly , with respect to what has been described by way of example only , without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims that follow . specifically , those of skill in the art will appreciate that terms such as “ optical ”, “ light ”, and the like are evidently used herein with the meaning currently allotted to those terms in fibre and integrated optics , being thus intended to apply , in addition to visible light , also e . g . to radiation in the infrared and ultraviolet ranges .	6
as shown in fig1 and fig2 the self - powered mobile body lift includes four major components . the base ( 1 ), ball bearing turntable ( 2 ), pedestal ( 3 ), i . e . an upright having a lower or foot portion and an upper or lift group receiving portion ; and the motorized lift group ( 4 - 11 ). the base ( 1 ) and the pedestal ( 3 ) are joined together by attachment to opposite sides of the ball bearing turntable ( 2 ). the motorized lift group is mounted inside the pedestal and includes a motor ( 4 ), motor frame ( 5 ), lead screw ( 6 ), beam ( 7 ), kneeboard ( 8 ), two lift arms ( 9 ), two telescopic inner arms ( 10 ) and a seat strap ( 11 ). to appreciate the scale of the drawings , it may be noted that turntable ( 2 ) there shown is one foot in outer diameter . the motor ( 4 ) is powered by a battery ( 12 ). the motor is operated by two electrical switches ( 13 ) ( and 13 &# 39 ;) which control the direction of rotation of the motor ( 4 ). the switches are of the kind which stay closed only so long as held in that position by the user . the motor is mounted inside the motor frame ( 5 ) by pins ( 17 ). a lead screw ( 6 ) is attached to the motor ( 4 ) and the lead screw ( 6 ) passes through a ball bearing nut ( 14 ) captured in beam ( 7 ). on each end of beam ( 7 ) are attached two outer arms ( 9 ) by means of pins ( 15 ). the outer arms ( 9 ) are mounted to the knee board ( 8 ) by pins ( 16 ). the telescopic inner arms ( 10 ) slide inside the outer arms ( 9 ). the motorized lift group is mounted through the motor frame ( 5 ) and knee board ( 8 ) inside the pedestal ( 3 ). the knee board ( 8 ) and motor frame ( 5 ) do not move with respect to each other and provide the mechanical frame of the motorized lift group . during operation of the lift the motor ( 4 ) pivots on pins ( 17 ), and the beam ( 7 ) pivots on pins ( 15 ). this pivoting action between the motor ( 4 ) and beam ( 7 ) reduces bending forces on the lead screw ( 6 ). the body lift may be adjusted to fit any body size by lowering or raising the motorized lift group ( 4 - 11 ) as a unit inside the pedestal ( 3 ). this is equivalent to setting the arm ( 9 ) height . proper adjustment is made when pin ( 16 ) is at the same height as the subject knee joint , and the two inner arms ( 10 ) are slid inside the outer arms ( 9 ) so that the end of the arms coincide with the invalid &# 39 ; s hip joints . an invalid will be lifted from a seated position to a standing position against the pedestal ( 3 ) when the proper electrical switch ( 13 )( 13 &# 39 ;) activates the motor ( 4 ). the motor ( 4 ) rotates the lead screw ( 6 ) and pulls beam ( 7 ) downward by means of the ball bearing nut ( 14 ) captured in beam ( 7 ). as beam ( 7 ) moves downward the arm group ( 9 , 10 ) pivots on pins ( 16 ) and raises the invalid supported by the seat strap ( 11 ) to a standing position . fig3 f shows the rotated configuration of the lift . an important feature of the invention is the offset rotation of the pedestal ( 3 ). the point of rotation of the pedestal ( 3 ) is shown in fig3 f by the &# 39 ; x &# 39 ;. this rotation construction moves the mass of the pedestal ( 3 ) toward the opposite side of the base ( 1 ) from the side of the desired seating position . this center of gravity shift offsets the weight of the person being lifted when in the rotated position . this results in the ability to employ a base ( 1 ) with a narrow distance between the wheels ( 20 ). referring once more to fig1 a locking lever ( 18 ) is provided to selectively prevent rotation of the pedestal ( 3 ) with respect to the base ( 1 ). when the lever ( 18 ) is raised it causes a rod ( 18a ) equipped with a rubber foot ( 18b ) to extend down through the pedestal ( 3 ) onto the base ( 1 ) and prevent rotation of the pedestal . a similar lever ( 19 ) lowers a singular ball caster ( 19a ) located under the base ( 1 ), which raises the rear of base ( 1 ). the ball caster and two forward wheels ( 20 ) enable the lift to be moved to any desired location . the seat strap supports the invalid when being raised from or lowered to a seated position . a lower back strap ( 21 ) is carried on a hook near the top of pedestal ( 3 ) at one side thereof and may be removed from the hook and fastened on opposite sides of the pedestal as shown in fig5 ( d ) to reduce back strain when the invalid remains in a standing position for an extended period of time . an electrical receptacle ( 22 ) is provided to connect an external battery charger to the battery ( 12 ). ( see also fig3 ). the operation of the invalid lift is best understood in conjunction with fig3 a - 3e . the self - powered mobile body lift is shown in fig3 a from the occupant side of the lift . the lift arms ( 9 ) are in an intermediate position and the seat strap ( 11 ) is connected to both telescoping inner arms ( 10 ). to use the lift an invalid would position themself in front of the pedestal ( 3 ), unclip one side of the seat strap ( 11 ) from arm ( 10 ), and lower the arm assembly by activating the appropriate switch ( 13 or 13 &# 39 ;). by placing the seat strap ( 11 ) under the buttocks and refastening it to arm ( 10 ), and positioning their knees in contact with the knee board ( 8 ), the person is ready to be elevated to a standing position as shown in fig3 d . the user &# 39 ; s hand is on the electrical operating button ( 13 , 13 &# 39 ;). referring now to fig5 pushing the up button ( 13 ) causes the person to be lifted from a seated position . in fig3 c the person has been lifted to an intermediate position . the knees are still in contact with the knee board ( 8 ) and their right hand continues to depress the electrical switch ( 13 ). the electrical switch must remain depressed to operate the lift . it should be noted that the seat strap ( 11 ) in addition to lifting the person , is now starting to pull the body towards the pedestal ( 3 ). the fact that the left hand ( not shown ) may be free indicates the stability of the apparatus . a full standing position has been reached in fig3 d . the seat strap ( 11 ) holds the body against the pedestal ( 3 ). the lower back strap ( 21 ) is shown in use for illustration and is only employed for extended periods of standing . the lever ( 18 ) has been moved to unlock the pedestal ( 3 ) from the base ( 1 ) and enable rotation of the pedestal ( 3 ), allowing the person to move to a new seated position . strap ( 21 ) around the midback reduces fatigue when standing for extended periods and is not used during simple transfers . in fig3 e the down button ( 13 &# 39 ;), see also fig5 has been pushed and the person has rotated themself and the pedestal , e . g . 90 degrees , and lowered to a new seated position . this new seated position could be inside an automobile , onto a chair , or onto a bathroom tub or toilet . fig3 f shows the pedestal rotated on the base . the locking lever ( 18 ) on top of the pedestal , see also fig3 ( d ) and fig1 prevents rotation when it is in the down position ( fig3 a , 3b , 3c , 3e ). the lift is powered by a 12 v dc motor ( 4 ) and battery ( 12 ) located inside the pedestal ( 3 ). lifting action is accomplished through ball bearing lead screw ( 16 ) which drives the beam up and down through a nut ( 14 ) in the beam . on each end of the beam are attached arms with pins at point a . the arms are mounted to the knee board ( 8 ) with pins ( 16 ) at point d . the motor is mounted to the motor frame ( 15 ) with pins ( 17 ) at point c . as the motor turns the lead screw and pulls beam ( 7 ) down , arms ( 9 ) pivot about point d , resulting in point e following the dotted arc . as shown in fig4 the dotted arc is a portion of a circle , point d being stationary relative to the pedastal during operation of the apparatus . during this motion the motor pivots at point c and the beam pivots at point a ( point a also moves in an arc ). this action between the motor and beam reduces bending forces on the lead screw . a person will be lifted to a standing position with no discomfort if point d is centered at the pivot point of the knee , and point e is centered on the buttocks . thus , the pivot points d of the two arms ( 9 ) define a horizontal pivot axis extending in the same direction as the knee support means ( 8 ), as seen in fig1 and 2 , point d being identified in fig1 by reference number ( 16 ). point d is adjusted by moving the knee board ( 8 ), see also fig1 up or down . any suitable means may be employed to effect adjustment of the height of the kneeboard relative to the pedastal . the knee board and motor frame move as a unit to maintain proper relationship of the arms to the pedestal . point e is adjusted by the telescopic nature of the ends of the arms . a strap at point e , e . g . strap 11 , fig1 supports the person during motion . since the distance from a person &# 39 ; s knee to his buttocks remains constant from sitting to standing , points d to e do so also . the person is held in the standing position between the strap ( 11 ) on the buttocks and the pedestal ( fig3 d ). the ball bearing turntable ( 2 ) enables the standing person to pivot to a new position . the motor is reversed and the person is lowered into a new seated position . the placement of the turntable results in adjustment of the center of gravity during rotation . stabilizer legs at point f have not been needed on the present prototype . at g a toggle clamp ( 19 ) lowers a single caster to jack up the rear of the lift to move it to a new location . an additional toggle clamp ( 18 ) at h locks the turntable during lifting . referring now to fig5 there is shown the wiring diagram for the electric circuit of the apparatus shown in fig1 - 4 . the motor ( 4 ) is connected via the terminal marked red to the red terminal of push button switch ( 13 ) and via the terminal marked yellow to the yellow terminal of push button switch ( 13 &# 39 ;). push button switch ( 13 ) is shown to include three terminals marked white , red , and green respectively , and to include a moveable switch blade connected to the red terminal , the blade also being marked red . it is further indicated that the normally closed ( nc ) position of the switch is with the switch blade contacting the white terminal , the tan terminal being normally open ( no ). thus , the red terminal of motor ( 4 ) is normally connected to the white terminal of the switch which in turn is connected by the white wire to the common ( com ) terminal of the single pole double pole switch ( spdt ) marked ( dwn ). the normally closed ( nc ) terminal of the ( spdt ) switch marked ( dwn ) is connected by the black wire to the negative ( neg ) pole of battery ( 12 ). the positive ( pos ) pole of battery ( 12 ) is connected by the orange wire to the normally closed ( nc ) terminal of the single pole double throw switch ( spdt ) marked ( up ). the common ( com ) terminal of the spdt switch marked ( up ) is connected by the tan wire to the tan terminal of push button switch ( 13 ), which terminal , as previously noted , is normally open , so the motor is not energized . push button switch ( 13 &# 39 ;) is shown to include three terminals marked black , yellow , and orange , respectively , and to include a moveable switch blade connected by the yellow terminal , the blade also being marked yellow . it is further indicated that the normally closed ( nc ) position of the switch is with the switch blade contacting the black terminal , the orange terminal being normally open ( no ). thus , the yellow terminal of motor ( 4 ) is normally also connected by the black wire to the negative ( neg ) terminal of battery ( 12 ). the positive ( pos ) pole of battery ( 12 ) in also connected by the orange wire to the orange terminal of push button switch ( 13 ) which terminal , as previously noted , is normally open , so the motor is not energized . if either one of push button switches ( 13 ), ( 13 &# 39 ;) is actuated to close its normally open contact , tan or orange , the motor will be energized in one direction or the other , up for switch ( 13 ) or down for switch ( 13 &# 39 ;), as indicated on the wiring diagram . as indicated on the diagram , a ccw ( counter clockwise ) motor rotation effects an up motion , with the motor &# 39 ; s red ( r ) terminal positive (+) and the motor &# 39 ; s yellow ( y ) terminal negative (-). a cw ( clockwise ) motor rotation effects a down ( dwn ) motion , with the motor &# 39 ; s red ( r ) terminal negative (-) and the motor &# 39 ; s yellow ( y ) terminal positive (+). if the spot switch marked ( up ) is moved to open position , the motor can not be energized in the up direction . if the spot switch marked ( dwn ) is moved to the open position , the motor can not be energized in the down ( dwn ) direction . if both of the spot switches are moved to the open position , the motor cannot be energized to move in either direction . connected across the black and orange wires is receptacle 22 adapted to receive the plug on the end of an electric cord leading to a battery charger ( not shown ). although not present on the apparatus described above , it is possible to motorize the turntable and the entire lift . the lifting mechanism could be an addition to a wheelchair to obtain complete mobility . while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described , modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention .	0
fig1 is a perspective view of the package 10 showing the cover 12 and the bottom 14 . the cover 12 has a top 16 and a continuous wall 17 having four sides 18 , 20 , 22 and 24 . the side 18 has a large flat area 26 . the flat area 26 is ideally suited for applying adhesive labels to the cover of the container . shown below the large flat area 26 are two latch assemblies generally designated as 28 . these will be discussed in greater detail below . the cover 20 also includes four pads 30 , 32 , 34 , and 36 . as shown in fig1 none of the walls 18 - 24 are perfectly flat . instead all of them terminate in a lower rim 40 which projects outwardly and downwardly from the rest of the wall . as shown in fig1 and 3 , the bottom 14 is not symmetrical . by making the bottom 14 non - symmetrical , one is able to mechanically identify the h - bar end of the cassette from the box 14 as shown in fig3 . the bottom 14 includes a base 41 and a continuous upright wall 69 that terminates in a continuous inverted u - shaped channel 70 . the continuous upright wall 69 includes four corner posts 42 , 44 , 46 and 48 visible in the drawings . each corner posts includes an indentation 50 which is capable of mating with members 32 , 34 and 36 on the cover so that multiple packages incorporating the present invention can be readily stacked . the posts are separated by side walls 60 , 62 , 64 and 68 . again , to the extent possible the elements of the bottom 14 are rounded in profile to enable easier cleaning . one can also see how the side walls 60 , 62 , 64 and 68 and posts 42 , 44 , 46 and 48 are all integrally molded to form the continuous upright wall 69 and terminate in a continuous , inverted u - shaped channel 70 that rolls over and projects downwardly from the top of the continuous upright wall . projecting outwardly from the bottom of the u - shaped channel 70 is a lip 72 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , each latch 28 comprises an outwardly projecting hollow member 74 having a trapezoidal shaped wall 76 and an open center 78 . each hollow member 74 projects from the u - shaped channel 70 . the open center 78 is in communication with the space between the outer wall of the u - shaped channel and the remaining elements of the side wall of the base . thus , during washing drainage of the u - shaped channel 70 is provided through the open center 78 of the member 74 of the latch 28 . the base includes four such hollow members 74 . two are located along the wall 60 , two are located along the opposite wall 64 . the separation distance between the pair of latches along each wall 60 and 64 is significant . they are further apart than the latching assemblies of prior art latches . in fact , the center point of each hollow member 74 is closer to an end of the associated wall than to the center of the wall . details related to the interior design of the bottom 14 are shown in fig3 . as shown , the side walls 60 and 64 project an equal distance into the center cavity of the base . also included is a channel 67 surrounding raised center section 69 . this channel 67 and six ribs located with the channel allows for suitable mating between the bottom of wafer cassette 80 and the bottom 14 . fig3 also makes clear that the members 74 and the openings 78 therein do not extend all the way into the center cavity of the bottom 14 . fig3 also shows two of four rib receiving pockets 82 and 84 associate with wall 68 as well as the elastomeric seal 100 which includes a tab 102 another pair of rib receiving orifices ( not shown ) are associated with wall 62 . fig4 is shown as the interior of the cover 12 . projecting inwardly from the walls of the cover are four ribs 90 , 91 , 92 and 93 . each of these ribs has a somewhat pointed top section which is intended to mate with a corresponding rib receiving orifice 82 on the bottom 14 . for example , rib 90 will mate with interlock orifice 82 and rib 93 will mate with interlock orifice 94 as the cover is closed . this provides additional strength along the sides 24 and 20 of the cover . the sides 22 and 26 of cover 12 each include a pair of generally trapezoidal - shaped orifices 95 . each orifice 95 is intended to be aligned with one of the hollow members 74 . the orifice 95 is slightly larger than the trapezoidal - shaped wall 76 so that these two elements of latch 28 can be mated to latch the cover 12 and bottom 14 together . more specifically , when the cover 12 and bottom 14 are in the closed position , the wall which defines each orifice 95 surrounds an associated member 74 to lock the cover to the bottom of the device . these orifices are intended to be aligned with the member 74 and spaced in such a way that when the package is assembled there is a reduction in box deflection and seam gap , particularly when the package is loaded with wafers . fig4 also shows a wafer cushion 110 . in one embodiment , the wafer cushion 110 and cover 12 is integrally molded as a single unit . in another embodiment , a separate wafer cushion 110 is molded as a separate piece which is designed to snap into place within the cover 12 in the position shown in fig4 . when a separate wafer cushion 110 is provided , the wafer cushion 110 includes a plurality of fingers 111 which are intended to engage the wafers . the fingers 111 are shaped in such a way that when they are compressed , they nearly parallel the wafer edge . this serves to transfer the force to the rear of the spring 114 decreasing its resistance to deflection and minimizing wafer movement . this can be better seen in fig6 which will discussed in greater detail below . fig5 shows a separate wafer cushion 110 . the wafer cushion has a plurality of fingers 111 , an exterior frame 112 and a plurality of orifices 113 through the exterior frame 112 . the frame 112 and orifices 113 are used to secure the wafer cushion 110 to the container cover 12 . fig6 shows in greater detail the relationship between a wafer 120 , the cover 12 , and components of the wafer cushion 110 , including the fingers 111 , the frame 112 and the orifices 113 . as shown , the cover 12 includes radial snaps 114 . these snaps 114 are designed to pass through the orifices 113 and engage the frame 112 to hold the cushion 110 in place . the fingers 111 project downwardly and inwardly from the outside of the frame 112 . as indicated above , when the fingers 111 engage a wafer 120 , they are compressed in such a way that the fingers become inclined to the point where they are nearly parallel the wafer edge 121 . again , this serves to transfer the force load to the rear of each spring finger increasing its resistance to deflection and minimizing wafer movement . fig7 is a cross - sectional view showing the manner in which the components of the package 10 cooperate to hold wafers , ( such as 120 ) in place . as shown , the bottom 14 and cover 12 enclose the cassette 80 and any wafers 120 held therein . the cassette 80 has two rows of teeth 81 and 82 . the teeth in rows 81 and 82 are separated by slots . the wafers are held in the slots and kept separate by the teeth . thus , the teeth in rows 81 and 82 cooperate with the teeth 111 associated with the cover to securely retain the wafers . generally speaking , in the prior art contact between the teeth and the wafers has been restricted to a very few points . this has been a goal of prior art designs based upon the theory that it would reduce rubbing and scraping of the wafers which not only damages the wafers , but also results in increased particulation . one disadvantage of this prior art technique is that high stress points were created circumventing the theoretical advantages of the prior art approach . one improvement made in the wafer carrier 80 of the present design is to provide a radial contact area 85 in the foot area of the teeth in rows 81 and 82 . see fig7 and 9 . this eliminates the high stress point contact used in previous designs . instead , contact along a line is provided to minimize stress on the wafers and reduce particle generation . it also serves to hold the wafer 120 vertically in the cassette 80 with minimal tilt . therefore , the chance of the wafers becoming cross - slotted with the springs 111 associated with the cover 12 is greatly reduced . fig7 and 8 show in cross - section the manner in which the seal 100 cooperates with the bottom 14 and cover 12 . the elastomer seal 100 seats within a channel 102 in the bottom 14 . the top includes a downwardly projecting lip 104 which engages the seal 100 when the package is closed . the seal 100 is designed to relieve pressure when the differential between the inside and the outside of the package exceeds approximately 1 / 20 pounds per square inch . this serves to prevent mechanical expansion and contraction of the package during shipping which could cause particle generation or other damage to the wafers 120 . fig7 and 8 also show that when the package is closed , a large relatively flat surface 150 is created along the seam between the cover 12 and bottom 14 of the package . this is a surface for taping the seam with an adhesive - backed tape to prevent contaminates from entering the package . fig1 and 11 show an alternative seal 100 . this alternative seal includes a rail 101 and a wall 104 projecting downwardly from the rail 101 . when in place . the rail 101 sits on the top of the continuous upright wall 69 and the wall 104 of the seal 100 is located on the inside of the continuous upright wall 69 . the seal has four rib alignment slots 105 , each of which is designed to be aligned with the rib receiving orifices 82 and 88 on the base as well as ribs 90 , 91 , 92 and 93 on the cover . finally , the seal 100 has four tabs 102 , one tab at each corner . the foregoing description is presented to comply with the disclosure requirements of the patent statutes and is not intended to be limiting . it should be understood that the following claims define the metes and bounds of the invention , that the claims are entitled to a full range of equivalents , and that the terms &# 34 ; disk &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; disks &# 34 ; are to be given their broadest possible meaning so as to include , but not be limited to , both semiconductor wafers and memory disks .	7
in all instances , except for the fig3 embodiment , which is headless , the illustrated fasteners are generally in the form of a nail having a constant diameter shank with a head at one end . the shank may have a pointed tip and may be plain , that is to say , devoid of any surface formation , for some distance from the tip . in manufacture , an initially plain cylindrical shank may have a plurality , say five , of helical flutes rolled into it so as to produce five equiangularly spaced apart helical ribs between the respective flutes . thus the flutes are recessed relative to the original shank surface and the ribs are elevated relative to the original shank surface . the flutes and ribs together constitute a surface formation , as that term is used herein , in the form of a multi - start , helical thread extending from the end of the plain portion of the shank remote from the tip towards the other , in most instances headed , end of the shank . except for the fig4 embodiment , in which the surface formation extends for substantially the full length of the shank , the helical formation may be pitched so as to produce no more than one full turn , or thereabouts , over the length of the formatted portion of the shank . the roll forming dies are such that each flute commences ( at the flute &# 39 ; s end nearer to the tip end of the shank ) with zero penetration , and the degree of penetration increases gradually as the distance from the tip increases , at least until a maximum value is reached , which may be maintained for a short end part of the surface formation . as the penetration increases , that is to say as the depth of the flutes increases , the amount of displaced metal forming the ribs increases and the crest diameter of the ribs similarly increases . the fig1 embodiment may be regarded as a general purpose fastener according to the invention . it comprises a plain shank portion 9 having a pointed tip 10 , and a formatted shank portion 11 extending from its junction with the plain portion 9 to the underside of a head 12 . that junction is the start - of - taper position of this embodiment whereat the crest diameter of the ribs of the formation equals the shank diameter . the crest diameter increases steadily from that position to a maximum at the end - of - taper position , coinciding with the end of the formation immediately under the head 12 . the root diameter of the flutes of the formation likewise decreases steadily from that junction to a minimum immediately under the head 12 . the head 12 is circular except for a missing segment . this enables the fasteners to be closely stacked in a nail gun magazine . in other embodiments other conventional heads may be provided . on driving the fastener through a metal sheet , for example a flange of a roll - formed , sheet metal structural member , the sheet is pierced by the tip 10 and a relatively ragged hole is formed , through which the smooth shank portion 9 proceeds . that hole has a &# 34 ; diameter &# 34 ; appreciably less than the maximum crest diameter of the ribs . as the crests of the ribs engage the edges of that hole they gradually displace the metal of the sheet and the displaced metal may gradually flow into the flutes of the fastener without further tearing . the end result is a ribbed fastener extending through a tight fitting hole in the sheet . the sheet may be in contact with the head or spaced some distance therefrom , depending on the nature of the article being fixed to the sheet , but , in use , a fastener would be chosen of such a size that the sheet will always be well away from the junction between the plain portion 9 and the formatted portion 11 of the shank and be transfixed by the formatted portion 11 . furthermore , the sheet will be positioned at the largest rib diameter it meets during the driving process . the other illustrated embodiments are generally similar to the fig1 embodiment and their natures will be largely self - evident , thus corresponding parts are correspondingly numbered in the several figures unless specifically referred to below , and not further described . the fig2 embodiment is adapted to be used to secure plaster board or the like to a sheet metal wall stud . to that end it has a fully circular head 13 that is thinner than the general purpose flat head 12 . for this usage it is not necessary for the formatted ribbed and fluted portion 14 of the shank to extend fully to the underside of the head , and for ease of manufacture a short unribbed portion 15 may be immediately under the head 13 . the end - of - taper position coincides with the head end of the formation . the fig3 embodiment is generally similar to the fig1 embodiment except for the absence of a head . it is used typically for securing skirting and similar trimming strips in place . the fig4 embodiment has a very short smooth shank portion 16 by comparison with that of the fig1 embodiment , and a correspondingly longer formatted portion 17 . the fig5 embodiment is short , of relatively large diameter , and its shank 18 is wholly formatted . it may be used to secure two pieces of sheet metal flatly against each other , for example , to form the joints between roll - formed sheet metal structural members in roof trusses , wall frames and other frameworks . the fig6 embodiment is generally similar to the fig1 embodiment but has a relatively short shank and a relatively thick head 19 . it may be used , in conjunction with a neoprene or other resilient sealing washer 21 , to fasten wall and roof cladding sheets of metal to sheet metal supporting members where the cladding sheet lies flatly against the supporting member at the position of the fastener . the fig7 ( a )- 7 ( c ) embodiment is intended for the fixture of corrugated roof or wall cladding panels to sheet metal supports , and is a good example of the selection of the position and length of the formatted shank portion to suit the intended use , so as to ensure that the sheet metal is transfixed by a formatted portion of the shank wherever the fastening relies on the frictional grip between the two . the fig7 ( a ) fastener has a relatively long shank with a more or less centrally placed formatted portion 22 spaced from the head 23 by a relatively long plain portion 24 . fig8 shows the fig7 ( a ) fastener in use , holding a corrugated roofing panel 27 to a flange 25 of a sheet metal purlin . the hole in the crest of the panel &# 39 ; s corrugation is sealed by a sealing washer 26 in conventional manner . the flange 25 is located well within the ambit of the formatted portion 22 , but towards the larger diameter end thereof . fig7 ( b ) and 7 ( c ) show cross - sections of the fastener in fig7 ( a ). the efficacy of fasteners according to the invention may be seen from the following summary and results of comparative tests between nails according to the invention and commercially available plain and parallel fluted shank nails . all the nails were of nominally the same shank diameter . each nail was hammered through sheet steel test pieces sandwiched between two plates with 20 mm diameter clearance holes for the nails . the sheet steel test pieces were cut from commercially available coated steel strip of the same nominal hardness and strength . three series of tests were run using test pieces having thicknesses of 0 . 6 mm , 0 . 75 mm and 1 . 0 mm respectively . the nails were withdrawn by pushing onto the point , and the maximum load before the nail released was recorded . a minimum of five tests was performed for each case -- ten for the nails in accordance with the invention in the case of the two thinner steels . the test nails were both helically fluted and ribbed , with five of each . the standard spiral shank nail was of course untapered and had six ribs . the results showing the mean and maximum connection strengths in newtons that were recorded in each instance are tabulated below . ______________________________________connection strength ( n ) base metal nail of the plain conventionalthickness ( mm ) lnvention shank nail fluted shank nail______________________________________0 . 6mean value 260 104 121max . value 314 126 1410 . 75mean value 315 184 97max . value 426 212 1021 . 0mean value 479 223 216max . value 574 272 348______________________________________	8
fig1 - 4 show a fishing box 10 according to the present invention , which comprises a main elongated container 12 having a thicker first end portion 12 a provided with a pivotable lid 14 , a thinner intermediate portion 12 b and a thinner second end portion 12 c , with the latter being removably engageable in an coextensive fashion with intermediate portion 12 b so that portions 12 a , 12 b and 12 c form a single elongated main compartment inside main container 12 wherein fishing rods f can be fitted ( fig4 ). the thicker first end portion 12 a is destined to house the fishing rod end portions that are equipped with reels r , while the thinner extension portion formed by the coextensive intermediate and second end portions 12 b , 12 c is destined to house the portions of the rods extending away from the reels . a buckle 16 releasably attaches removable second end portion 12 c to intermediate portion 12 b . other buckles 18 , 20 are used to releasably attach lid 14 in a closed condition . fishing box 10 further comprises a first and a second casing 22 , 24 that can be removably attached to main container 12 . indeed , the coextensive intermediate and second end portions 12 b , 12 c of container 12 are provided with coextensive tracks 26 , 28 on their upper surface which are engageable by complementary tracks 30 and 32 respectively provided on the lower surfaces of casings 22 and 24 ( fig3 ). container first end portion 12 a forms an abutment shoulder 33 adjacent intermediate portion 12 b , on which first casing 22 will abut when installed on container 12 in an attached , operative fashion . pairs of releasable buckles 34 , 36 and 38 , 40 allow releasable attachment of casings 22 , 24 onto main container 12 . casings 22 , 24 otherwise conventionally include lids 22 a , 24 a sealingly closed with buckles which can be opened to reveal storage areas ( not shown ) in casings 22 , 24 , wherein smaller fishing gear may be stored , such as knives , tackles , lures , spinners , artificial flies , and so on . casings 22 , 24 are also provided with small independent handles 22 b , 24 b that allow each casing 22 , 24 to be independently carried . an elongated handle 42 is integrally attached on the front surface of main container 12 . it can be seen that handle 42 extends from approximately the mid - length of the container first end portion 12 a to the junction between the container intermediate and second end portions 12 b and 12 c , being attached to intermediate portions 12 b . handle 42 could alternately extend the whole length of container first end and intermediate portions 12 a , 12 b . handle 42 has a hollow tubular body in which the shaft of a landing net n can be removably engaged ( fig5 ). bottom support pads 44 are provided on the bottom surface of container 12 , at both extremities thereof . pads 44 are annular , and destined to be releasably engaged by complementary support legs 46 ( fig5 ) to support fishing box 10 spacedly over ground . the flat upper surface formed by the coextensive lid 14 , first casing 22 and second casing 24 may thus be used as a working table then box 10 is raised on support legs 46 . legs 46 may be stored in main container 12 when they are not in use . also , an endwisely protruding lip 48 is provided on the top surface of lid 14 , for supporting a bench vice when box 10 is used as a work surface , for example for making fishing lures . furthermore , a sheet roll of knurled surfaced material , otherwise stored in container 12 , may be unrolled over the flat top working surface to shield these surfaces from damage and to provide an anti - skid surface texture for facilitating fish handling thereon . the fishing box 10 according to the present invention thus provides means of carrying a desired amount of fishing gear . container 12 may indeed be carried without installing thereon casings 22 , 24 , and either one or both casings 22 , 24 may be added , as desired . also , since elongated handle 42 extends along a substantial portion of the length of fishing box 10 , it allows fishing box 10 to be carried approximately at the longitudinal position of its center of gravity , notwithstanding whether none , one or both casings 22 , 24 are installed on fishing box 10 , and notwithstanding most longitudinal weight repartitions within said fishing box 10 ( i . e . the expression “ most longitudinal weight repartitions ” include weight repartitions which would be expected inside a fishing box , and exclude very unusual weight repartitions such as 90 % of the weight being located in a concentrated spot at one end of the box 10 ). indeed , by moving his hand along handle 42 , a person can thus hold fishing box 10 approximately at the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of fishing box 10 . it is noted that the “ substantial portion ” of the length of fishing box 10 is defined as the portion of fishing box 10 along which it is most likely that the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of fishing box 10 be located , considering usual weight repartitions within the fishing box and considering that the fishing box may have different weight repartitions according to the number of casings 22 , 24 that are attached to container 12 . that is to say , fishing box 10 is likely to have the longitudinal position of its center of gravity located at different positions depending on the following factors : ( a ) are the casings 22 and / or 24 attached to container 12 ; and ( b ) how is the load spread inside container 12 and eventually casings 22 and 24 if they are attached to container 12 ? considering that a normal loading of fishing box 12 will see the load more or less equally longitudinally spread in each casing 22 , 24 and container 12 proportionally to the available area per unit of length of each casing / container , then the presence or absence of casings 22 , 24 will influence the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box 10 . if both casings 22 , 24 are not installed on container 12 , then the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box 10 will probably be located at the container first end portion 12 a , and more particularly probably not further away from container intermediate portion 12 b than half the length of container first end portion 12 a ; whereas if both casings 22 , 24 are installed on container 12 , then the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box 10 will probably be located somewhere along the container intermediate portion 12 b . thus , handle 42 is sized to extend along a substantial proportion of the length of box 10 , which has a variable longitudinal weight repartition . it is noted that water - tight seals are provided on all lid openings 22 a , 24 a , 14 . consequently , box 10 is water - tight and buoyant . also , the inner compartments which are defined inside each casing 22 , 24 can be provided with equipment shelves or racks , as known in the art . sponge members can furthermore be provided inside container 12 to hold and protect the fishing rods f . although a fishing box including one container and two casings has been illustrated in the drawings and described in the present specification , it is understood that a different type of fishing box assembly including at least two box compartments ( which may include containers and / or casings ) and possibly more than three box compartments is considered to be within the scope of the present invention . it is noted that the fishing box 10 could include a container extension 12 c which is much shorter ( not shown ), and which in fact would act only as a removable cap to close the otherwise open mouth opening 12 d of container intermediate portion 12 b . such a short cap extension can be used if shorter fishing rods are to be carried in container 12 . in such a situation , it is understood that second casing 24 would not be used , since the short cap extension would be much too short to support casing 24 . support pads 44 would still be provided on the short cap extension , in which the support legs 46 could be inserted .	8
referring to the drawings and first to fig1 a and 1b , there is shown a grain separator 10 according to the present invention . the grain separator 10 illustrated in fig1 a and 1b comprises a plurality of modular grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 for separating grain according to size and type of grain . each modular grain separator unit 7 , 8 , 9 having an internal modular drive system similar to that indicated as 100 in fig4 for driving the units 7 , 8 , 9 . the number of grain separator units in a particular installation is selected to effect proper separation . the number of units depends upon the number , type and size of the different grains that are present in the inlet stream . in the illustrative embodiment illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , three grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 are shown . the inlet stream of grain to be separated enters the grain separator 10 through inlet feed hopper 12 . the grain subsequently moves into the first grain separator unit 7 . the grain is moved forward from left to right in fig1 by the motion of a rotatable helical screw 14a . the rotatable helical screw 14a is mounted on a rotatable shaft 13 . the shaft 13 is rotatably supported on each end by bearings 15 and 11 and an intermediate bearing 19 . as the grain moves out of feed hopper 12 , it enters a rotating cylinder 16 shown cut - away in fig1 a . rotatable cylinder 16 is lined on its interior surface with a plurality of semi - spherical indentations 200 as shown in fig3 . the indentations 200 remove grain from the inlet stream based on the length of the grain as explained below . cylinder 16 surrounds rotating helical screw 14b and shaft 13 . a trough 17 , shown in cut - away in fig1 a and in fig3 is also mounted inside of cylinder 16 and also surrounds rotating helical screw 14b and shaft 13 . the trough 17 is open at its top and is mounted on shaft 13 . the trough 17 does not rotate with the cylinder 16 . however , as illustrated in fig3 the angle of opening a in the trough may be adjusted with respect to the center line of shaft 13 . this adjustment may be effected by rotating a handle 21 on the exterior of the grain separator unit 7 . depending on the angle a of the top opening of trough 17 to the center line of shaft 13 the size of the grain to be separated can be precisely controlled . as stated above , grain of a certain length will be lifted by the indentations in cylinder 16 . the grain raised by the indentations , depending on the angle a of the trough opening to the centerline of shaft 13 , will either travel over the edge of the trough and enter into the trough 17 or be returned to cylinder 16 . grain of other lengths will not be lifted up by the indentations in the surface of cylinder 16 and will remain therein . thus , separation of the grain into two streams will take place . the two streams of grain will continue to travel axially along the cylinder 16 and trough 17 . at the other end , the two streams of grain will exit through a first outlet spout 18 and a second outlet spout 20 respectively . as illustrated in fig7 the grain exiting through outlet spout 18 will feed into the inlet feed hopper of the second separator unit 8 while the grain exiting through outlet spout 20 will feed into the inlet feed hopper of the third separator unit 9 . the grain separation process described above will then similarly occur in each of the grain separator units 8 and 9 . the grain from separator unit 8 will separate into two streams and will exit through outlet spout 54 and outlet spout 55 respectively . the grain from separator unit 9 will separate into two streams and will exit from outlet spout 56 and outlet spout 57 respectively . grain separator units 8 and 9 are composed of essentially the same separation components as described above for grain separator unit 7 . the modular drive system for the grain separator 10 is located internal to the grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 and thus does not interfere with the spouts of the grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 . the drive system is of a modular nature so that , depending upon the required grain separation parameters , the necessary number of grain separation units can be easily arranged and stacked . in addition , the components of the drive system are sealed and operate in a relatively clean environment . preferably , the internal drive system is generally arranged so that the shaft and rotatable helical screw are driven from the grain inlet end of the grain separator unit . fig1 a , 1b , 4 and 5 illustrate the drive system for the grain separator 10 . the three unit grain separator 10 is driven by one electric motor 22 . illustratively , electric motor 22 is a two horsepower , 1800 rpm , a . c ., explosion - proof motor . the electric motor 22 supplies power to the drive system through a worm gear speed reducer 24 . the worm gear speed reducer has a ratio of 10 to 1 and has a spline shaft 26 at its outlet . the spline shaft 26 is coupled to a universal joint 27 which in turn is coupled to a rotatable telescoping drive shaft 28 . the drive shaft 28 is coupled at the opposite end to another universal joint 29 which is identical to universal joint 27 . universal joint 29 is coupled to a bevel gear box 30 through a spline shaft 31 . the bevel gear box 30 transmits power through two outlet shafts . at one of its outlets , the bevel gear box 30 is coupled by a spline shaft 33 to another identical universal joint 32 . universal joint 32 in turn is coupled to a second rotatable telescoping drive shaft 34 . telescoping drive shaft 34 connects with another identical universal joint 35 at the other end thereof . universal joint 35 connects to a small pulley 36 which is rotatably mounted on the free end of a stub shaft 42 . the stub shaft 42 is rotatably mounted in bearings 43 on a wall 39 of grain separator 10 . a larger pulley 6 is mounted on shaft 13 , near the grain inlet end , and is aligned with small pulley 36 . a drive belt 38 is mounted on pulleys 6 and 36 and transmits power from drive shaft 34 to shaft 13 . thus , when rotatable drive shaft 34 is rotating , shaft 13 is rotated by the action of drive belt 38 between pulleys 6 and 36 . with shaft 13 and consequently helical screw 14a and 14b in motion , the grain is drawn through inlet feed hopper 12 and the grain separation process described above is commenced . the bevel gear box 30 is coupled at its other outlet shaft to the drive system for grain separator unit 8 . at this outlet , bevel gear box 30 is coupled via a spline shaft 37 to another identical universal joint 43 . universal joint 43 is coupled to another rotatable telescoping drive shaft 44 . telescoping drive shaft 44 is identical to telescoping drive shaft 28 . telescoping drive shaft 44 is coupled to a universal joint 45 at the other end thereof . universal joint 45 is coupled by a spline shaft 58 to a second bevel gear box 46 . bevel gear box 46 is identical to bevel gear box 30 with two outlet shafts for power transmission . bevel gear box 46 is coupled at one outlet via a spline shaft 47 to a universal joint 48 . universal joint 48 is coupled to a rotatable telescoping drive shaft 50 . telescoping drive shaft 50 is identical to telescoping drive shafts 44 and 28 . telescoping drive shaft 50 is coupled to a universal joint 52 . universal joint 52 is coupled to a small pulley 60 which is mounted on the free end of a second stub shaft 62 . the stub shaft 62 is rotatably mounted in bearings 61 on a wall 53 of grain separator 10 . a large pulley 65 is mounted on a shaft 66 and is aligned with small pulley 60 . a drive belt 64 is mounted on pulleys 65 and 60 . rotatable helical screws 68a and 68b identical to helical screws 14a and 14b are mounted on shaft 66 . drive belt 64 thus transmits power from drive shaft 50 to shaft 66 . as described above for grain separator unit 7 , shaft 66 and helical screws 68a and 68b will be rotated by the action of drive belt 64 between pulleys 65 and 60 . consequently , grain will be moved through the grain separator unit 8 and further separation will occur . bevel gear box 46 is coupled at its other outlet shaft to the drive system for grain separator unit 9 . at this outlet , bevel gear box 46 is coupled via a spline shaft 69 to a universal joint 70 . universal joint 70 is coupled to a rotatable telescoping drive shaft 72 which is identical to rotatable telescoping drive shafts 50 , 44 and 28 . telescoping drive shaft 72 is coupled on its opposite end to a universal joint 74 . universal joint 74 in turn is coupled via a spline shaft 75 to a third bevel gear box 76 . bevel gear box 76 is identical to bevel gear boxes 46 and 30 . at its outlet bevel gear box 76 is coupled via a spline shaft 78 to a universal joint 80 . universal joint 80 , in turn , is coupled to a rotatable telescoping drive shaft 82 . telescoping drive shaft 82 is coupled at the opposite end to a universal joint 84 . universal joint 84 is coupled to a small pulley 86 which is mounted on the free end of a third stub shaft 88 . the stub shaft 88 is rotatably mounted in bearings 89 on a wall 90 of grain separator 10 . a large pulley 91 is mounted on a shaft 94 and is aligned with small pulley 86 . a drive belt 92 is mounted on pulleys 91 and 86 . rotatable helical screws 96a and 96b , identical to helical screws 14a and 14b are mounted on shaft 94 . drive belt 92 thus transmits power from drive shaft 82 to shaft 94 . as described above for grain separator 7 , shaft 94 and helical screws 96a and 96b will be rotated by the action of drive belt 92 between pulleys 91 and 86 . consequently , grain will be moved through the grain separator unit 9 and further separation will occur . in operation , each of the grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 are driven by the electric motor 22 through speed reducer box 24 . speed reducer box 24 in turn rotates drive shaft 28 which powers bevel gear box 30 . bevel gear box 30 in turn supplies power to drive shaft 34 . thus , drive shaft 34 and pulley 36 are rotated . through the action of belt 38 , pulley 6 mounted on shaft 13 is also rotated . the consequent rotation of drive shaft 13 commences the grain separation process in grain separator unit 7 . bevel gear box 30 at its other outlet is connected to the drive system for grain separator unit 8 . thus bevel gear box 30 rotates drive shaft 44 which in turn supplies power to bevel gear box 46 . bevel gear box 46 in turn causes drive shaft 50 to rotate along with pulley 60 . through the action of drive belt 64 pulley 60 causes pulley 65 to rotate . pulley 65 which is mounted on drive shaft 66 thus causes shaft 66 to rotate and consequently the grain separation process in grain separator unit 8 commences . bevel gear box 46 at its other outlet is coupled to the drive system for grain separator unit 9 . bevel gear box 46 thus causes drive shaft 72 to rotate and powers bevel gear box 76 . bevel gear box 76 causes drive shaft 82 to rotate and also pulley 86 which is coupled to drive shaft 82 . through the action of drive belt 92 , pulley 86 causes pulley 91 to rotate . pulley 91 which is mounted on drive shaft 94 causes drive shaft 94 to rotate and consequently the grain separation process in grain separator unit 9 commences . when the grain separation parameters require additional steps of grain separation , additional modular grain separator units can be easily arranged in the stack . the additional units would be substantially similar to the grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 and would have drive systems coupled in a manner similar to that described above . for example , the first additional unit would be coupled to the second power outlet shaft 98 on bevel gear box 76 . as described above , many of the parts of the drive system are identical and modular in nature . in addition the components of the drive system are sealed and internal to the grain separator units . therefore , the layout of the stacked grain separator units is much less complicated than in existing separator units where the drive systems are external to the separator unit . generally , in operation of the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings , grain will enter the inlet feed hopper 12 and subsequently be propelled by rotatable helical screw 14a . the grain will then enter rotatable cylinder 16 which is lined on its interior surface with a plurality of semi - spherical indentations 200 . the indentations 200 will remove grain from the inlet stream based on the length of the grain . the grain will then be lifted up and depending on the relative angle a of trough 17 to the center line of shaft 13 , certain grain will enter the trough 17 and other grain will return to the interior of rotatable cylinder 16 . thus , two streams of separated grain will be formed . one stream will exit grain separator unit 7 through outlet spout 18 . while the second grain stream will exit through outlet spout 20 . the grain exiting through outlet spout 18 will feed into the inlet feed hopper of the second separator unit 8 while the grain exiting through outlet spout 20 will feed into the inlet feed hopper of the third separator unit 9 . the grain separation process described above will then similarly occur in each of the grain separator units 8 and 9 . as described above , the grain separator 10 is comprised of modular grain separator units 7 , 8 , 9 and is driven by the modular internal drive system . thus , the present invention will be able to provide for the varied needs of users through a grain separator which is compact , relatively easy to construct and erect , and provides for increased life of the drive system components . the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the described embodiment and departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages .	1
fig1 shows a electronic assembly 20 that includes an electronic component 22 , such as a silicon chip or any other electronic component . such components may be on the order of one millimeter by one millimeter , or even smaller . however , no size limitation should be taken as being implied by this example . component 22 is shown communicating , as known , with a schematically shown system 19 through pins 28 . electronic component 22 is the electronic portion itself . electronic component 22 has a zone 24 and a zone 26 that may generate more heat than zone 24 , in one example . fig2 shows a cooling fluid assembly or package 30 for the electronic component 22 . the package 30 incorporates a supply port 17 , a supply plenum 42 , a return port 19 and a return plenum 40 . as shown , the electronic component 22 is in contact with an impingement channel layer 32 . an orifice layer 34 is spaced further away from the assembly 20 , and a slot layer 37 is spaced outwardly of the orifice layer 34 . headers 36 and 38 each serve one of the plenums 40 and 42 . in embodiments , as mentioned , the electronic component 22 , which is part of the assembly 20 may be on the order of one millimeter by one millimeter . the total package 30 for such a component may extend for a left to right hand distance ( as shown in fig2 ) on the order of two millimeters . a thickness measured perpendicular to a face of the assembly 20 of the impingement channel layer 32 may be 0 . 1 millimeter , a thickness of the orifice layer 34 may be 0 . 015 millimeter , a thickness of the slot layer 37 may be 0 . 035 millimeter , a thickness of the header layer 36 may be 0 . 065 millimeter , and a thickness of the header layer 38 may be 0 . 070 millimeter . in general , the layers have thicknesses that are all preferably less than 0 . 15 millimeter , and the thicknesses of the orifice layer 34 and slot layer 37 are less than 0 . 05 millimeter . as can be appreciated , the several layers 32 , 34 , 37 , 36 , and 38 provide a very compact overall package 30 . as will be explained below , the layers deliver fluid to cool the electronic component 22 in an efficient and reliable manner . fig3 shows the package 30 , with the supply tube 17 communicating with a supply channel 46 . a source of cooling fluid 45 communicates into the channel 46 . similarly , the return tube 19 communicates with a channel 44 that delivers the fluid back to a downstream destination 47 , which may communicate with a heat exchanger he . that is , the cooling fluid may pass through a closed circuit between the downstream destination 47 and supply 45 , with an intermediate heat exchanger he . a size of the channels 44 and 46 may be on the order of 0 . 15 millimeter by 1 . 0 millimeter . fig4 shows the impingement channel layer 32 . the impingement channel layer has a zone 131 with channels 132 . a zone 136 has channels 134 . the density of channels 134 in zone 136 is higher than the density of channels 132 in zone 131 . in general , the spacing between channels 134 is less than the spacing between channels 132 . as can be appreciated , the zone 136 corresponds to the higher heat generating area 26 while the zone 131 is positioned over the lower heat generating area 24 . the channels 132 and 134 are shown to extend generally along an entire length of the electronic component 22 . the channels 132 and 134 may have a width of approximately 0 . 0060 millimeter , and a height of 0 . 050 millimeter . more generally , the width of the channels 132 and 134 is less than 0 . 010 millimeter . fig5 shows an orifice layer 34 . an area 140 has holes or orifices 142 , while an area 144 has holes or orifices 146 . as can be appreciated from fig5 , the density of holes 146 in area 144 is much greater than the density of holes 142 in area 140 . again , this corresponds to the zones 24 and 26 on the electronic component 22 . the orifices 142 and 146 may have a hydraulic diameter of 0 . 0055 millimeter . in general , the hydraulic diameter of the orifices is less than or equal to 0 . 10 millimeter . a top , or outer face , of a slot layer 37 is illustrated in fig6 . the slot layer 37 has a plurality of slots 156 in an area 152 and a plurality of slots 154 in an area 150 . the density of slots 154 in area 150 is greater than the density of slots 156 in area 152 . again , the area 150 corresponds to the high heat zone area 26 on the chip 22 . as shown in fig6 , within area 152 , there are actually wider slots 156 w , and shorter slots 156 s . the slots 156 s are typically aligned with flow that would include the higher density slots 154 . thus , the volume of fluid supplied to cool or be returned from the higher heat generating area on the electronic component 22 , results in a smaller volume through the smaller slots 156 s . fig7 shows further details of the slot layer 37 . the channels in layer 32 and orifices in layer 34 are omitted here . channels 190 extend between ribs 191 . similarly , channels 192 extend between ribs 193 . the effect of the ribs 191 , 193 is to break the flow between the orifice layer 34 and the slot layer 37 into separate flows . one set of channels 190 communicates with columns 200 in a supply header 36 while an adjacent channel 190 communicates through slots 156 to an area 210 between columns 200 . as can be seen , columns 200 and area 210 are formed within a return header 36 . as can be appreciated from fig7 , columns 301 associated with the higher density range extend along an entire length of the higher density range . spaced into the plane of this paper would be a similar elongated portion of an upper supply header 38 . channels 212 between the columns 200 communicate with an area 214 and then the return port 19 . area 214 is the interior of the plenum 40 . a wall 310 of the supply header 38 blocks flow from its spaces 202 and its channels 205 from reaching area 214 . similarly , a wall 330 on the return header 36 blocks flow from the areas 210 and channels 212 from reaching an area 204 and communicating with the supply port 17 . area 204 is the interior of plenum 42 . fig8 shows detail of a top surface of the return header 36 . there are openings or slots 220 over the columns 200 in a low density area 222 . there are closed areas over the channels 212 between the columns 200 . as shown , there is a higher density of slots or openings 224 over the central area 226 , which will in turn relate back to all of the other high density areas , and eventually back to the high heat flux area 26 . here again , there are wider slots 220 w , and wider columns 200 w , and shorter or smaller slots 220 s and smaller columns 200 s , again associated with area 222 . the smaller slots and columns 220 s and 200 s will be in flow communication with the area 226 , which will receive a higher percentage of the flow . use of the columns 200 evenly distributes fluid across the entire surface of the orifice plate and at a uniform pressure . the columns 200 also provide structural support , so that the layers of silicon are not separated due to the pressure being distributed across an entire unsupported area . fig9 a is a reverse model of the layers 36 , 37 and 38 . fig9 a is actually illustrating the flow passages and not the structure . as can be appreciated , there are channels 190 and 192 , which are found in the slot layer 37 . further , the supply channel spaces 180 can be seen communicating with the area 204 , and then the supply port 17 . the return port 19 communicates with the area 214 and the channels 212 . passages 174 are formed within the columns 200 . passages 181 are formed between the columns 400 in the upper header 30 . fig9 b is also a reverse model of the layers 34 , 37 and 36 . the holes or orifices form flow spaces 172 . as shown , these are separated by a break 300 from other holes or spaces 176 , to provide return and supply holes . further , there are spaces 172 h at the higher density area , and spaces 172 l at the lower density area . the slot layer 37 provides slots 170 h and 170 l , respectively . structure 182 corresponds to the columns , and spaces 180 correspond to the channels 210 in the layer 36 . since fig9 a and 9b are “ reverse ” of the structural fig1 - 8 , it should be understood that breaks , such as shown at 300 , between a channel 170 and the space 180 would actually be defined by structure . that is , there is a wall separating those flow passages in the actual package 30 . in embodiments , the total flow area of the return flow area 214 is greater than the total flow area of the supply flow area 204 . in embodiments , the return header flow area was 0 . 60 millimeter 2 while the total flow area of the supply header was 0 . 35 millimeter 2 . in embodiments , the total flow area of the return header is at least 1 . 5 the total flow area of the supply header . it should be understood that the sizes disclosed throughout this application are to be seen as exemplary , and illustrate the extremely small size of the package which is provided to cool the electronics assembly 20 . as can be appreciated , all of the flow passages and the structure disclosed to form the flow passages are extremely small . the structure may be layered utilizing known silicone etching techniques or other layering techniques appropriate for such small construction . the complete supply of fluid to the surface of the electronic component 22 and the return will now be described . fluid is supplied into channel 46 and through supply port 17 into the area 204 . this fluid flows into channels 212 and through slots 154 / 156 on top of the slot layer 37 . the slots 154 / 156 lead into channels 190 / 192 in the slot layer 37 , then through orifices or holes 146 or 142 in the orifice layer 34 , and into channels 132 or 134 in the impingement channel layer 32 . the fluid is then directed off surfaces on the electronic component 22 . since the holes or orifices 146 and 142 are small , the fluid impinges in a jet flow . the fluid flows along the channels 132 or 134 and then passes back through other holes 142 or 146 in the orifice layer 34 at locations aligned with slots 156 or 154 in the slot layer 37 that connect into columns 200 . this will , in turn , supply the fluid into channels 205 to pass into the area or plenum 214 and then the return port 19 . from return port 19 , the fluid returns to the channel 44 and the downstream location 47 . the present invention thus provides a way of providing uniform pressure fluid and a variation in the volume of fluid supplied to distinct areas on an electronic component . in one embodiment , the cooling fluid utilized may be a freon - based refrigerant such as fc3283 . of course , other fluids including liquid and gaseous fluids , may be utilized . although an embodiment of this invention has been disclosed , a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this disclosure . for that reason , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure .	7
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . in the present invention , enhanced data can correspond to such data having information such as a program execution file , stock information and the like or may correspond to video / audio data . and , known data is the data previously known by agreement between transmitting and receiving sides . moreover , main data is the data receivable by a conventional receiving system and includes video / audio data . the present invention enhances reception performance of a receiver in a manner of multiplexing enhanced data and known data known by a transmitting / receiving side and transmitting the multiplexed data . in particular , by performing non - systematic rs encoding on enhanced data including known data , the present invention enables a repetitive long known data sequence to be inserted and raises a degree of freedom for an insertion place . fig1 is a block diagram of a digital broadcast transmitting system according to one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , a digital broadcast transmitting system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an e - vsb pre - processor 101 , an e - vsb packet formatter 102 , a packet multiplexer 103 , a data randomizer 104 , a scheduler 105 , an e - vsb post - processor 110 , an rs ( read - solomon ) encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity holder inserter 121 , a data interleaver 122 , a trellis encoding unit 123 , a backward - compatibility processor 130 , a frame multiplexer 140 and a transmitter 150 . in the above - configured transmitting system , main data is outputted to the packet multiplexer 103 by transport packet unit , whereas enhanced data is outputted to the e - vsb pre - processor 101 . the e - vsb pre - processor 101 performs pre - processing such as additional error correction encoding , interleaving , null data insertion and the like on the enhanced data and then outputs the pre - processed data to the e - vsb packet formatter 102 . the e - vsb packet formatter 102 configures a group by multiplexing the pre - processed enhanced data and previously defined known data or a known data place holder together under the control of the scheduler 105 . the e - vsb packet formatter 102 divides data within the group into 184 - byte enhanced data packets , attaches a 4 - byte mpeg header to a front of each of the packets and then outputs a 188 - byte enhanced data packet ( i . e ., mpeg compatible packet ). in particular , one enhanced data packet group includes a plurality of consecutive enhanced data packets . an insertion place of the known data will be explained in detail later . an output of the e - vsb packet formatter 102 is inputted to the packet multiplexer 103 . the packet multiplexer 103 performs time division multiplexing on the 188 - byte main data packet and the 188 - byte enhanced data packet by transport stream ( ts ) packet unit to output under the control of the scheduler 105 . in particular , the scheduler 105 generates a control signal enabling the packet multiplexer 103 to multiplex the main and enhanced data packets together and then outputs the control signal to the packet multiplexer 103 . if so , the packet multiplexer 103 having received the control signal multiplexes the main data packet and the enhanced data packet into the ts packet unit to output . an output of the packet multiplexer 103 is inputted to the data randomizer 104 . the data randomizer 104 removes mpeg sync byte from an input packet , randomizes the rest 187 bytes using an internally generated pseudo - random byte and then outputs the randomized packet to the e - vsb post - processor 110 . the e - vsb post processor 110 includes an rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 , a data interleaver 112 , an e - vsb convolutional coder 113 , a data interleaver 114 and an rs byte remover 115 . the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 of the e - vsb post - processor 110 performs systematic rs encoding or non - systematic parity place holder insertion on the randomized data . in particular , if a 187 - byte packet outputted from the data randomizer 104 is a main data packet , the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 attaches a 20 - byte parity byte to a rear of the 187 - byte data by performing systematic rs encoding like the conventional atsc vsb system and then outputs the attached data to the data interleaver 112 . meanwhile , if a 187 - byte packet outputted from the data randomizer 104 is an enhanced data packet , the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 determines a 20 - parity byte place within the packet , inserts a null byte in the determined parity byte place , sequentially inserts bytes of the enhanced data packet in the rest of 187 byte places and then outputs them to the data interleaver 112 . the data interleaver 112 performs data interleaving on an output of the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 and then outputs it to the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 . a data interleaving operation of the data interleaver 112 will be explained in detail later . the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 performs convolutional coding on an output of the data interleaver 112 and then outputs it to the data deinterleaver 114 . the data deinterleaver 114 performs data deinterleaving on input data by a reverse process of the data interleaver 112 and then outputs the deinterleaved data to the rs byte remover 115 . the rs byte remover 115 removes the 20 - byte parity attached by the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 111 . in this case , if the inputted data is the main data packet , the rs byte remover removes last 20 bytes from 207 bytes . if the inputted data is the enhanced data packet , the rs byte remover 115 removes 20 - byte rs parity place holders from 207 bytes . this is to re - calculate parities since original data is modified by the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 in case of the enhanced data . the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 converts inputted bytes to symbols , performs convolutional coding on an enhanced data symbol only , converts the coded result to bytes , and then outputs the converted bytes . in particular , the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 outputs data without modification if an output of the data interleaver 112 is the main data , the mpeg header byte attached by the e - vsb packet formatter 102 or the rs parity byte or parity place holder byte attached to the enhanced data packet by the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 111 . meanwhile , the known data can be inserted in the enhanced data packet by the e - vsb packet formatter 102 . alternatively , the e - vsb packet formatter 102 inserts a place holder of the known data and the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 inserts the known data in the corresponding place instead of the place holder . and , the e - vsb convolutional coder 113 outputs the known data symbol without additional coding like the main data . an output of the rs byte remover 115 is inputted to the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 . like the former rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 111 , if a 187 - byte packet outputted from the rs byte remover 115 is a main data packet , the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 attaches 20 - byte parity bytes to a rear of 187 - byte data by performing systematic rs encoding in the same manner of the conventional atsc vsb system . in case of an enhanced data packet , a 20 - parity byte place is determined and it is able to insert rs parity obtained by performing non - systematic rs encoding in the determined parity byte place or to insert null byte therein instead of the rs parity . and , bytes within the enhanced data packet are sequentially inserted in the rest 187 byte places among 207 byte places . the null byte can be set to an arbitrary value and is replaced by a parity value calculated by a non - systematic rs encoder 133 of the backward - compatibility processor 130 . hence , the null byte plays a role in holding a place of the parity byte of a non - systematic rs code . an output of the rs encoder and non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 is outputted to the data interleaver 122 and also inputted to a backward - compatibility processor 130 to re - calculate parity in case of the enhanced data packet . besides , the data interleaver 122 performs interleaving on input data according to the same interleaving rule of the former data interleaver 112 . fig3 is a diagram of the data interleaver ( 122 or 112 ) shown in fig2 , in which a convolutional interleaver is exemplarily shown . in this case , the number of branches is 52 and the number ( m ) of unit memory bytes is 4 ( m = 4 ). referring to fig3 , in the data interleaver , if a first byte is inputted , it is directly outputted via a first branch . a second byte is inputted via a second branch , by which a value prior to 52 * 4 byte is outputted . fig4 is a diagram for explaining input and output sequences of a data interleaver on a vsb frame . referring to fig4 , data inputs are sequentially inputted by segment unit from top to bottom . and , bytes within a segment are sequentially inputted left to right . numerals in the drawing indicate output sequences of a data interleaver . in this case , the data interleaver operates by 52 - segment unit . an output of the data interleaver 122 is inputted to the trellis encoding unit 123 . and , the trellis encoding unit 123 encodes a 2 - bit input into three bits to output . an output of the trellis encoding unit 123 is inputted to the frame multiplexer 140 . the frame multiplexer 140 inserts a field sync and a segment sync in the output of the trellis encoding unit 123 and then outputs a corresponding signal to the transmitter 150 . the transmitter 150 includes a pilot inserter 151 , a vsb modulator 152 and a radio frequency ( rf ) converter 153 . and , the transmitter 150 plays the same role of the conventional vsb transmitter . to make the output data of the trellis encoding unit 123 into known data defined by a transmitting / receiving side , initialization of a memory within the trellis encoding unit 123 is needed for the known data inserted in the enhanced data packet . for the initialization , an input of the trellis encoder needs to be modified . and , rs parity affected by the correspondingly modified data is re - calculated to be substituted for original parity data . this process is performed by the backward - compatibility processor 130 . fig2 is a detailed diagram of the trellis encoding unit 123 that can be initialized . referring to fig2 , a trellis encoding unit according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a byte - to - symbol converter 201 , a multiplexer 202 selecting a trellis encoder input , a trellis encoder 203 and an initialization controller 204 initializing the trellis encoder . the byte - to - symbol converter 201 of the trellis encoder unit receives data - interleaved data by byte unit , converts the received data to symbol unit , performs 12 - way interleaving , and then outputs the interleaved data to the multiplexer 202 . in general , an output of the byte - to - symbol converter 201 is selected by the multiplexer 202 and is then directly outputted to the trellis encoder 203 . yet , if the interleaved data is known data and if the known data corresponds to a beginning part of a known data sequence consecutively inputted , initialization of the trellis encoder 203 is necessary . the trellis encoder 203 includes a memory device and a current output is affected by a current and previous inputs . so , in order to output a known data pattern after trellis encoding , a process for initializing the memory device within the trellis encoder 203 to a predetermined value is needed . in case that the initialization of the memory device of the trellis encoder 203 is needed , a portion of the known data is replaced by initialization data to be outputted to the trellis encoder 203 . if so , the memory device within the trellis encoder 203 is initialized to a predetermined value by the initialization data . an output of the trellis encoder 203 after the initialization can becomes the known data encoded into a pattern promised by the transmitting / receiving side . the initialization controller 204 initializing the trellis encoder 203 receives a value of the memory device within the trellis encoder 203 , generates initialization data to be inputted to the trellis encoder 203 , and then outputs the generated data to the multiplexer 202 and the backward - compatibility processor 130 . in particular , the trellis encoder 203 encodes an upper bit of two bits configuring one symbol into 1 bit using one memory device and then outputs the 1 bit . and , the trellis encoder 203 encodes a lower bit of the two bits into 2 bits using two memory devices and then outputs the 2 bits . in this case , if input data is the known data and if the known data corresponds to a beginning part of a consecutively inputted known data sequence , the memory devices need to be initialized to output specific known data after trellis encoding . so , if the initialization of the memory device within the trellis encoder 203 is needed , the initialization controller 204 generates initialization data according to a current state and specific initialization state of the memory device and then outputs the generated initialization data to the multiplexer 202 . the initialization data consists of 4 bits , i . e ., two symbols . in this case , the trellis encoder 203 includes twelve encoders . and , twelve bytes outputted from the multiplexer 202 are sequentially inputted to the twelve encoders , respectively . in this case , initial four bits , i . e ., two symbols of each byte can become the initialization data . in particular , the initialization controller 204 generates initialization data for initializing the memory device of the trellis encoder 203 in the two symbol sections from which a known data sequence starts and then outputs the generated initialization data to the multiplexer 202 and the backward - compatibility processor 130 . the backward - compatibility processor 130 receives the output of the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic parity place holder inserter 121 and the output of the initialization controller 204 of the trellis encoding unit 123 , generates non - systematic 20 - byte parity and then outputs the generated parity to the multiplexer 202 of the trellis encoding unit 123 . in particular , since the initialization for the memory device of the trellis encoding unit 123 is achieved by new data instead of being achieved by the data interleaved by the data interleaver 122 , the rs parity is re - generated to be substituted for original parity data . and , this is performed by the backward - compatibility processor 130 . the backward - compatibility processor 130 includes a packet buffer 131 , a symbol - to - byte converter 132 , a non - systematic rs encoder 133 and a byte - to - symbol converter 134 . the output of the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 is inputted to the data interleaver 122 and the packet buffer 131 of the backward - compatibility processor 130 . and , the initialization data of the initialization controller 204 of the trellis encoding unit 123 is inputted to the multiplexer 202 of the trellis encoding unit 123 and the symbol - to - byte converter 132 of the backward - compatibility processor 130 . in this case , since the input and output of the rs encoder and non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 follow byte units , the symbol - to - byte converter 132 converts the symbol unit of the initialization data to the byte unit and then outputs the converted data to the packet buffer 131 . the packet buffer 131 receives a byte output of the rs encoder and non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 and a byte output of the symbol - to - byte converter 132 , temporarily stores the received outputs and then outputs the stored outputs to the non - systematic rs encoder 133 . the non - systematic rs encoder 133 receives a byte output of the packet buffer 131 , generates 20 - byte parity and then outputs the generated parity to the multiplexer 202 of the trellis encoder 13 via the byte - to - symbol converter 134 for the unit conversion to the symbol unit . if the inputted data , which was interleaved and converted to the symbol , corresponds to the beginning part of the known data sequence , the multiplexer 202 selects to output an initialization symbol of the initialization controller 204 instead of the inputted symbol . if the inputted data is a parity place holder , the multiplexer 202 selects an output symbol of the symbol - to - byte converter 134 of the backward - compatibility processor 130 instead of the inputted symbol . in other cases , the multiplexer 202 selects the inputted data from the byte - symbol converter 201 , which was interleaved and converted to the symbol , and then outputs the selected data to the trellis encoder 203 . in particular , symbols at the first two places of the known data sequence are substituted by the initialization symbols to be inputted to the trellis encoder 203 . a symbol at a parity place within each packet is substituted by the parity symbol re - calculated by the backward - compatibility processor 130 to be inputted to the trellis encoder 203 . in case that the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 inserts a null byte for the enhanced data packet instead of inserting a non - systematic rs parity , a non - systematic rs parity of the enhanced data packet is calculated by the backward - compatibility processor 130 regardless of the initialization of the trellis encoder and is then inputted to the trellis encoder 203 . the trellis encoder 203 performs trellis encoding on the data outputted from the multiplexer 202 and then outputs the encoded data to the frame multiplexer 140 . and , the trellis encoder 203 outputs a state of the memory device within the trellis encoder to the initialization controller 204 . known data insertion and non - systematic rs parity place setting according to the present invention are explained in detail as follows . first of all , if an inputted 187 - byte packet is a main data packet , the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter generates 20 - byte parity by performing systematic rs encoding like the atsc vsb system and then attaches the generated 20 - byte parity to a rear of the 187 - byte . in case of an enhanced data packet , 187 bytes among 207 bytes to be outputted correspond to the inputted data and 20 bytes become a parity byte . this is the same case of the systematic rs encoding . yet , a place of the 20 - byte parity may differ within 207 bytes for each enhanced data packet and a parity value is found by non - systematic rs encoding . once the parity place is determined , data is placed at 187 bytes where the parity is not located . non - systematic parities inserted by the rs encoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter may become practical parties or just correspond to a meaningless byte for holding the parity place . in case that the non - systematic rs parities are inserted as the meaningless byte , the backward - compatibility processor calculates the parity value for substitution . the rs parity is re - calculated by the backward - compatibility processor for the enhanced data packet including the trellis initialization data . for an enhanced data packet that includes a known data to be replaced by the trellis initialization data , it is required to re - calculate the rs parity data for the enhanced data packet since the replacement by the initialization data is performed in the trellis encoding unit 123 which is behind the rs encoder or non - systematic rs parity place holder inserter 121 . if a place of a parity existing within one packet comes behind the data to be substituted by initialization at an input of the trellis encoder , it is able to calculate a new parity by rs encoding by using the substituted data . in this case , if systematic rs encoding is performed on the enhanced data packet including the initialization data , it is unable to insert known data in a parity area since the rs parity place is already determined . and , a place of data coming ahead of the parity is very limited . so , an area available for trellis initialization is correspondingly limited . yet , if the non - systematic rs encoding is performed on the enhanced data packet including the initialization data , the parity place is movable and the known data can be inserted in the parity area of the systematic rs encoding . and , it is also advantageous that the limitation of the data place for the trellis initialization is almost eliminated as compared with the case of using the systematic rs encoder . if one packet is inputted to the data interleaver shown in fig3 , it is interleaved and outputted by byte unit . the interleaving does re - ordering of data sequence . fig4 is a diagram for explaining input / output order of a data interleaver on a vs frame . referring to fig4 , data within a packet is inputted to the data interleaver by byte unit . in this case , the data is inputted top to bottom according to a segment sequence . and , the data in inputted from a left first byte to a right 207 th byte in order within a segment . thus , if the data is inputted and if an n th field starts in fig4 , a data interleaver input is carried out in a sequence of byte # 1 , byte # 210 and the like . and , a data interleaver output is carried out in a sequence of byte # 1 , byte # 2 , byte # 3 and the like . hence , the sequence of the inputted bytes and the sequence of the outputted bytes are different from each other by interleaving . in particular , since the data interleaver has the configuration of the convolutional interleaver having the branch ( b ) of 52 , the sequence , as shown in fig4 , goes round by a 52 - byte cycle in outputting one segment . hence , byte # 210 byte # 262 and the like are outputted after byte # 1 , byte # 53 , byte # 105 and byte # 157 have been outputted . so , if the systematic rs encoding is to be performed , parity should exist at last 20 bytes of each segment . and , parities can be outputted according to the interleaved output sequence ahead of the initialization bytes for the trellis initialization for the known data generation . if so , rs encoding should be performed ahead of information indicating how data should be substituted for the initialization . yet , this is impossible . so , error takes place in rs decoding . in aspect of one segment unit for the data interleaver output , each segment can be configured in a manner that substitution data for initialization is located at a place of data outputted ahead of all systematic rs parity bytes . yet , places of initialization bytes are restricted to limited area , and thus this puts limitation on an area in which known data can be inserted . yet , as mentioned in the foregoing description , in aspect of a place of rs parity within one segment and in aspect of an output of the data interleaver , the restriction , which occurs in case of using the systematic rs encoding only , for the known data insertion place can be eliminated only if parity is calculated by enabling the rs parity to be outputted behind the initialization bytes and by performing the non - systematic rs encoding . and , compatibility with the conventional vsb receiver incapable of supporting e - vsb can be maintained as well . fig5 is diagram of data configurations before and after a data interleaver according to known data insertion of the present invention . in fig5 a , a data configuration at an input end of a data interleaver is shown . and , a configuration at an output end of the data interleaver corresponding to the input configuration of fig5 a is shown in fig5 b . first of all , a receiver receives data in an order of a data interleaver output end . to receive consecutive known data , known data should be consecutively inserted like the numbering sequence of fig4 . in order to make one segment received by the receiver into the known data like the example shown in fig5 b , one segment is divided into 52 bytes unit and the known data should be inserted in the same byte position by 52 - byte unit like the example shown in fig5 a . in this case , an initialization byte needs to be placed at a beginning part of a known data sequence . hence , once a place of the known data within the segment is determined , a place , where normal data ends and the known data begins in aspect of a data interleaver output end , is determined as the place of the initialization byte . once the places of the known data and the initialization byte are determined , it is able to determine a place of a non - systematic rs parity byte . in this case , parity bytes are placed to be outputted behind the initialization bytes in aspect of the data interleaver output . in particular , in aspect of one segment , since a sequence having a small numbering in fig4 is firstly outputted from the data interleaver , the rs parity is placed to a number later than the numbering sequences of the initialization bytes . fig6 shows an example that known data , initialization bytes and non - systematic rs parity bytes are placed within one segment . referring to fig6 , one segment consists of 207 bytes . first three bytes are fixed as mpeg header bytes and the rest 204 bytes are configured with data . 20 bytes among the 204 bytes are rs parity bytes and the rest 184 bytes consist of pure data bytes and known data bytes . the known data bytes can be divided into bytes for initialization and pure known data bytes . in fig6 , in aspect of a data interleaver output , one segment is divided by 52 - byte unit to output known data consecutively and the known data is placed at the same place for each 52 - byte group . if a place of the known data is determined and if an initialization byte exists at a specific place within a segment , non - systematic rs parity is placed behind the initialization byte in aspect of a data interleaver output . for example of inserting the known data , in aspect of a data interleaver output configuration shown in fig5 b , if known data is inserted behind mpeg header in a first segment to reach the end of the segment , the mpeg header bytes in the second segment can be used a continuation of the known data because the mpeg header bytes for an enhanced data packet have a pre - determined value between a transmitter and a receiver . thus , the enhanced data packet according to the present invention can be configured to include the enhanced data carrying information and the known data inserted for reception performance enhancement . in this case , the known data is unable to be located at a place of a 3 - byte mpeg header in aspect of one segment unit , needs initialization byte at a beginning part of the known data , and rs parity bytes are placed to be outputted behind the initialization byte at an output of the data interleaver . so , this is taken into consideration to enable the e - vsb packet formatter 102 to determine the corresponding known data place . once the place of the known data is determined , a place of the initialization is correspondingly determined . and , an enhanced data packet is configured to place an rs parity behind the initialization byte place . for instance , if one segment is divided into four groups by 52 - byte unit ( last fourth group includes 51 bytes ), the known data can be placed at any place of each of the groups except places of last five bytes of each group . fig7 is a block diagram of a digital broadcast receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , the digital broadcast receiving system receives data transmitted from the digital broadcast transmitting system shown in fig1 and then recovers the received data into original data by demodulation and equalization . referring to fig7 , a digital broadcast receiving system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a tuner 701 , a demodulator 702 , a known data detector & amp ; generator 704 , a viterbi decoder 705 , a data deinterleaver 706 , an rs decoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity remover 707 and a derandomizer 708 . and , the digital broadcast receiving system includes a main data packet remover 709 , an e - vsb packet deformatter 710 and an e - vsb data processor 711 . the tuner 701 tunes to down - convert a frequency of a specific channel and then outputs it to the demodulator 702 and the known data detector & amp ; generator 704 . the demodulator 702 performs carrier recovery and timing recovery on the tuned channel frequency so that converts the input signal to a baseband signal and then outputs the baseband signal to the equalizer 703 and the known data detector & amp ; generator 704 . the equalizer 703 compensates distortion on channel included in the demodulated signal and then outputs the compensated signal to the viterbi decoder 705 . in this case , the known data detector & amp ; generator 704 detects a known data symbol sequence inserted by a transmitting side from input / output data of the demodulator 702 , i . e ., data before or after the demodulation and then outputs a generated symbol sequence of the known data to the demodulator 702 and the equalizer 703 . the demodulator 702 is able to enhance demodulation performance using the known data symbol sequence in timing or carrier recovery . likewise , the equalizer 703 is able to enhance equalization performance using the known data . the viterbi decoder 705 converts main data symbol and enhanced data symbol outputted from the equalizer 703 to bytes by viterbi decoding and then outputs the converted bytes to the deinterleaver 706 . the deinterleaver 706 performs a reverse process of the data interleaver of the transmitting side and then outputs a corresponding signal to the rs decoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity remover 707 . the rs decoder and non - systematic rs parity remover 707 performs systematic rs decoding in case that the received packet is a main data packet . if the received packet is an enhanced data packet , the rs decoder & amp ; non - systematic rs parity remover 707 removes non - systematic rs parity byte from the packet and then outputs it to the derandomizer 708 . the derandomizer 708 performs a reverse process of a randomizer on an output of the rs decoder and non - systematic rs parity remover 707 , inserts mpeg sync byte in a front of each packet and then outputs it by 188 - byte packet unit . an output of the derandomizer 708 is outputted to both a main mpeg decoder ( not shown in the drawing ) and the main data packet remover 709 . the main mpeg decoder performs decoding on a packet corresponding to main mpeg only . this is because the enhanced data packet , which has null - packet pid or different pid with the main data stream , is ignored by the main mpeg decoder instead of being used for the decoding . meanwhile , the main data packet remover 709 removes 188 - byte main data packet from the output of the derandomizer 708 and then outputs it to the e - vsb packet deformatter 710 . the e - vsb packet deformatter 710 removes 4 - byte mpeg header and place holders for the known data inserted by the e - vsb packet formatter of the transmitting side , and then outputs it to the e - vsb data processor 711 . the e - vsb data processor 711 finally outputs enhanced data by performing a reverse process of the e - vsb pre - processor 101 of the transmitting side on an output of the e - vsb packet deformatter 710 . first of all , the present invention is strong against error in transmitting supplemental data via a channel . and , the present invention is compatible with a conventional vsb receiver . moreover , the present invention enables an errorless reception of supplemental data on a channel having ghost and noise worse than those of the related art vsb system . secondly , the present invention transmits known data inserted in a specific place of a data area , thereby enhancing reception performance of a receiving system having considerable channel variations . in particular , the present invention can move a parity place by performing non - systematic rs encoding on enhanced data packet including known data , thereby inserting a consecutively long known data sequence and raising a degree of freedom of an insertion place . in particular , it is possible to insert known data in a parity area of systematic rs encoding and to expand an area where initialization bytes can be inserted . finally , the present invention is effectively applicable to a portable or mobile receiver requiring robustness against noise with considerable channel variations . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents .	7
detailed description will be made below of the circuit configurations of switching power supply circuits according to preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows a switching power supply circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , reference numeral dr denotes a rectifying diode for rectifying ac power v ac to produce a dc voltage . reference numerals cb 1 and cb 2 denote capacitors for smoothing the dc voltage produced by the rectifying diode dr . reference numerals rb 1 and rb 2 denote voltage balancing resistors for equalizing the voltages applied to the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 . reference numeral a denotes a connection point at which the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 as well as the resistors rb 1 and rb 2 are connected in series . reference numeral b indicates a portion ( point ) at which the dc voltage vi smoothed by the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 appears . reference numeral ctrl denotes a pwm control circuit for performing pwm control on the primary side of the transformer of the switching power supply circuit . specifically , the pwm control circuit is made up of a power control ic which outputs a pwm control signal . for example , an ic such as ha16107fp available from hitachi , ltd . is used . reference numeral c indicates a terminal used for supplying necessary power to the pwm control circuit ctrl . reference numeral m denotes a switching device . reference numerals cs , ds , and rs denote a snubber capacitor , a snubber diode , and a snubber resistor for surge voltage absorption , respectively . reference numeral r 1 denotes a resistor of the starting circuit used for supplying power to the pwm control circuit ctrl during and after the startup of the switching power supply circuit . even though fig1 shows only one resistor r 1 , a plurality of resistors may be connected in series and the number of the series - connected resistors may be adjusted as necessary . reference numerals d 1 , d 2 , c 1 , and c 2 denote diodes and smoothing capacitors , respectively . in the rectifier system with the rectifying diode dr shown in fig1 , a single - phase current is rectified by a bridge circuit . however , the present invention is not limited to a particular type of rectifier system . the present embodiment of the invention connects the resistor r 1 to the point a , whereas the related prior art technique connects the resistor r 1 of the starting circuit to the point ( portion ) b located at a position after the smoothing capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 . according to the present embodiment , the voltage va at the point a is lower than the voltage vi at the point b , making it possible to reduce the voltage applied to the resistor r 1 and thereby lower the loss produced in the resistor r 1 . furthermore , it is possible to reduce the number of series - connected resistors and thereby reduce the heat dissipation space . as a result , the reliability can be enhanced . fig2 shows the relationship between the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a and the power loss produced in the resistor r 1 , assuming that the pwm control circuit ctrl requires substantially an equal current for all values of the voltage v a . the figure indicates that the power loss produced in the resistor r 1 can be reduced substantially in proportion to the decrease in the voltage at the dividing point a . specifically , the resistor r 1 receives the dc voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a minus the voltage vctrl applied to the pwm control circuit ctrl . in most cases , the voltage applied to the pwm control circuit ctrl is substantially constant and ten - odd volts or less . furthermore , the operational current required for the pwm control circuit ctrl is also substantially constant . therefore , when power is supplied to the pwm control circuit with the resistor r 1 connected to the voltage dividing point a , the power loss can be reduced substantially in proportion to the decrease in the voltage at the voltage dividing point a . consider , by way of example , that the voltages applied to the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are made equal to each other and thereby the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a is set equal to half of the voltage vi at the point b . in such a case , the voltage applied to the resistor r 1 is substantially half of that for the related prior art technique . at that time , the values of the resistors rb 1 , rb 2 , and r 1 are set such that v a = vi / 2 based on formula 1 described later . in this case , if a current is drawn to the starting circuit from the voltage dividing point a at which the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are connected in series as shown in fig1 , the voltages of the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 become unbalanced since the values of the balancing resistances connected in parallel to the capacitors are not equal . therefore , the combined impedances must be set so as to balance the voltages . fig3 shows an equivalent circuit of the portion of the switching power supply circuit in fig1 which consists of the resistors rb 1 and rb 2 , the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 , and the input impedance rctrl of the pwm control circuit ctrl . let v a denote the voltage at the voltage dividing point a at which the capacitors are connected in series and vi the voltage at the point b in the dc voltage section . the current i 1 flowing through the resistor rb 1 is the sum of the current i 2 in the resistor rb 2 and the current i r in the resistor r 1 . the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a is determined by the voltage drop across the resistor rb 1 , while the values of i 2 and i r are determined by the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a and the values of the resistors rb 2 , r 1 , and r ctrl . the following formula ( formula 1 ) is derived from the above relations . v a = 1 1 + rb ⁢ ⁢ 1 ⁢ rb ⁢ ⁢ 2 + r ⁢ ⁢ 1 + r ctrl rb ⁢ ⁢ 2 ⁢ ( r ⁢ ⁢ 1 + r ctrl ) ⁢ vi ( formula ⁢ ⁢ 1 ) based on formula 1 , the values of the resistors rb 1 , rb 2 , and r 1 are determined such that the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a is set to a desired value . it should be noted that the value of r ctrl is determined based on the specifications of the pwm control circuit , separately . furthermore , the relation v c & lt ; v a & lt ; vi must hold . as described above , the resistor r 1 , and the resistors rb 1 and rb 2 connected in parallel with the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 can be set to appropriate values to stably set the voltages of the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 to arbitrary values . thus , the voltages applied to the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 can be set to arbitrary values and balanced . furthermore , the power supplied to the control circuit ctrl from the voltage dividing point a at which the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are connected to each other is set smaller than that for the related prior art technique . fig4 shows a switching power supply circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention , wherein three capacitors are connected in series . referring to fig4 , reference numerals cb 1 , cb 2 , and cb 3 denote capacitors , while reference numerals rb 1 , rb 2 , and rb 3 denote resistors connected in parallel to the capacitors . in fig4 , the resistor r 1 is connected to the connection point at which the capacitors cb 2 and cb 3 are connected in series . for example , the voltages applied to the capacitors cb 1 , cb 2 , and cb 3 can be balanced by setting the values of the resistors rb 1 , rb 2 , rb 3 , and r 1 such that they satisfy the following formula ( formula 2 ). v a = 1 1 + ( rb ⁢ ⁢ 1 + rb ⁢ ⁢ 2 ) ⁢ rb ⁢ ⁢ 3 + r ⁢ ⁢ 1 + r ctrl rb ⁢ ⁢ 3 ⁢ ( r ⁢ ⁢ 1 + r ctrl ) ⁢ v i ( formula ⁢ ⁢ 2 ) in this case , if the value of the resistor rb 1 is set equal to that of the resistor rb 2 , the voltage v a at the voltage dividing point a shown in fig4 is equal to one - third of the voltage vi at the point b shown in fig4 . even though fig4 shows an example using 3 capacitors , the present embodiment is not limited to the number of series - connected capacitors . the function - of the present embodiment can be also realized by use of 4 or more capacitors . fig1 and 4 show circuit configurations of the so - called flyback converter . however , the present embodiment is not limited to a particular type of switching power supply circuit system . for example , it may be applied to a forward converter or a half - bridge or full - bridge . fig5 shows a switching power supply circuit according to still another embodiment of the present invention , wherein capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are connected in series and two resistors rb 1 and rb 2 or rb 3 and rb 4 are connected to each capacitor . as shown in fig5 , a resistor r 1 is connected to the connection point at which the resistors rb 3 and rb 4 are connected in series . the arrangement shown in fig5 makes it possible to further reduce the voltage applied to the resistor r 1 . even though fig5 shows an example in which two resistors are connected in parallel to each of the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 , the present embodiment is not limited to the number of such resistors ( for example , 3 or more resistors may be connected ). furthermore , an equal number of resistors need not be connected to each of the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 . fig6 shows an example in which electrical equipment incorporates a switching power supply using a power supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention ; specifically the switching power supply is used in a frequency converter . in fig6 , reference numerals d 1 to d 6 denote rectifying diodes for three - phase current which collectively constitute a rectifier ( converter section ) for receiving an ac current from an ac power supply v ac and converting it to a dc voltage . reference numerals q 1 to q 6 denote inverter switching devices . power transistors such as igbts or bipolar transistors are used as the inverter switching devices . reference numerals fwd 1 to fwd 6 denote inverter flywheeling diodes constituting the inverter section for converting a dc intermediate voltage ( p - n dc voltage ) to a three - phase ac voltage whose amplitude and frequency can be arbitrarily changed . the inverter ( or frequency converter ) of the present embodiment shown in fig6 has at least the above inverter section or converter section . it should be noted that the example shown in fig6 is configured such that the output ( voltage ) of the converter section is used as the dc intermediate voltage ( p - n dc voltage ). however , the present embodiment is not limited to the above configuration in which the inverter has a converter section therein . therefore , for example , the inverter may be configured such that it has no converter section and a dc intermediate voltage ( p - n dc voltage ) is supplied from an external power supply . a thyristor thy and a resistor rd collectively constitute an inrush current blocking circuit to the capacitors c 1 and c 2 . in fig6 , reference numerals cb 1 and cb 2 denote smoothing capacitors in the dc intermediate voltage section of the frequency converter . in the example of fig6 , the two capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are connected in series and voltage balancing resistors rb 1 and rb 2 are connected in parallel to the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 . the ( power supply ) ps shown in fig6 is the same as that shown in fig1 and is made up of a pwm control circuit ctrl , a switching device m , a transformer t , etc . ( constituting a switching power supply circuit ). the power supply ps is used as a control source for supplying a control voltage to the inverter control circuit ctrl of this frequency converter . in fig6 , a resistor r 1 is connected to the connection point a at which the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are connected in series , as in fig1 . furthermore , the primary winding l 1 of the transformer is connected to the point p on the positive side of the dc voltage in fig6 ( for the power supply ps , the point p corresponds to the point b in fig1 ). the point n on the negative side in fig6 , on the other hand , is connected to a common potential for the pwm control circuit ctrl and the switching device m . in the above embodiments , the values of the resistors ( impedance values ) connected in parallel to the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 are set such that the voltages applied to the capacitors are equalized . this arrangement is effective in efficiently using the capacities of the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 since capacitors of the same rated voltage are usually used as the capacitors cb 1 and cb 2 . further , consider the case where with a high receiving voltage , the voltages applied to the capacitors exceed their withstand voltages or a certain margin must be provided for these voltages . in such a case , it is necessary to install two or more capacitors connected in series . the embodiments of the present invention utilize this series - connection arrangement to reduce the power loss produced in the starting resistor . therefore , it is not necessary to prepare a special capacitor for startup , resulting in a simple configuration and low cost . the present invention can lower the voltage applied to the resistor for supplying power to a switching power supply and thereby reduce the power loss , resulting in a reduced amount of generated heat . furthermore , the present invention makes it possible to miniaturize the device and reduce the cost .	7
the depicted illustrative embodiment of the prosthesis according to the invention is an ankle joint prosthesis . it will be noted that the invention can also be applied to other types of endoprostheses , for example intervertebral endoprostheses . the important point is that the endoprosthesis has two bearings whose planes of movement are defined by slide surfaces . the endoprosthesis according to the depicted illustrative embodiment basically comprises three components . the first component is a shin bone component 1 designed to be arranged on the lower end of a tibia 91 . it has a plate - shaped part 10 whose bottom forms a flat slide surface 11 . the shin bone component 1 is connected fixedly to the tibia 91 . the fibula 90 extends parallel to the tibia 91 . the prosthesis further comprises a component 4 which is connected to the ankle bone 92 . it has a saddle - like configuration and has a convexly curved slide surface 44 on its top . it can be configured in the manner of a jacket of a cylinder . however , it can equally well have a cone - shaped design . a guide rib 46 , which lies in the ap direction , is arranged on it . this serves for guiding purposes in a flexion and extension movement of the ankle joint . an intermediate part 2 is arranged between the shin bone component 1 and the ankle bone component 4 . on its top , it has a flat slide surface 21 which is configured to match the slide surface 11 of the shin bone component 1 . on its bottom , the intermediate part 2 has a slide surface 24 which is congruent to the slide surface 44 of the ankle bone component 4 . it additionally has a groove 26 which is designed to receive the rib 46 in a longitudinally displaceable manner . in this way , the intermediate part 2 is guided laterally in relation to the ankle bone component 4 . only flexion and extension movements are thus permitted . by contrast , the plane slide surfaces 11 , 21 permit any desired movement in a horizontal plane , that is to say both longitudinal and transverse movements and also , in particular , a rotation about the vertical axis . the shin bone component 1 and the ankle bone component 4 are expediently made of metal , for example a cobalt - chromium alloy provided on its respective outer face with a coating that promotes bone growth ( for example calcium phosphate ). the intermediate part 2 , by contrast , is preferably made of a plastic material that promotes sliding , in particular polyethylene . however , this is not intended to rule out the possibility of also using other materials with sufficient strength and slidability . fig1 shows the endoprosthesis at its intended site of implantation at the distal end of the tibia 91 . at its distal end , the tibia 91 forms a plateau on which the shin bone component 1 of the endoprosthesis according to the invention is arranged . this plateau is limited in the medial direction by a continuation of the tibia 91 , the so - called medial malleolus 93 , and in the lateral direction by a corresponding continuation of the fibula 90 , namely the lateral malleolus 94 . they enclose the plateau of the tibia 91 , and therefore the shin bone component 1 of the endoprosthesis , like a fork . this can be seen clearly in fig2 . it has been shown that , some time after implantation , a formation of tissue material ( fibrosis ) 99 often occurs in the area between the medial malleolus 93 and the intermediate part . this can cause pain which not only could be very unpleasant for the patient but in quite a few cases could also necessitate surgical intervention to remove the tissue material 99 . according to the invention , in order to avoid or reduce the fibrotic tissue material 99 , a projection 39 is formed at least on a longitudinal face 33 of the intermediate part 2 , expediently on the medial face . the projection extends outward relative to a contour which is congruent with the intermediate part 2 . the projection preferably has an arc - shaped outer contour , the arc extending across the entire length . the projection 39 is expediently curved in two dimensions , that is to say it has a spherical surface shape . the radii of curvature here are of different sizes , a weak curvature in the horizontal plane ( as is shown in fig2 ) and a stronger curvature in a frontal plane ( as is shown in fig1 ). to obtain the largest possible radius of curvature in the horizontal plane , the midpoint 30 of the circle defined by the radius of curvature preferably does not lie centrally in the intermediate part 2 but is instead eccentrically offset in the lateral direction and preferably also in the frontal direction . the outer face of the projection 39 is smooth . the illustrative embodiment shown represents one option , specifically one in which the front face and the rear face of the intermediate part 2 are also each provided with a projection 39 ′ and 39 ″, respectively . as can be seen from fig3 , they deviate in shape from the projection 39 , namely being of cylindrical - sleeve shape . in addition , they do not extend over the entire height of the intermediate part 2 . a transition of equal curvature between the projections 39 , 39 ′, 39 ″ is not necessary , but the geometries are expediently chosen such that the transition is stepless . the lateral longitudinal face of the intermediate part 2 expediently has no projection . this serves to ensure free movement of the intermediate part 2 . this also has the advantage of providing an unambiguous orientation of the intermediate part 2 , as a result of which the danger of its being fitted in an incorrect position is reduced . the projection 39 is normally designed in one piece with the intermediate part 2 . however , this should not rule out the possibility of choosing a multi - part construction in which the projection 39 is designed as a separate part and is secured on the intermediate part 2 by suitable securing means . the latter option affords the advantage that , for the projection 39 , it is possible to choose a material which especially promotes sliding and is especially suitable for contact with the fibrotic tissue material 99 , without compromising the mechanical load - bearing capacity of the intermediate part 2 . in the areas where contact with tissue material 99 is to be expected , the projection 39 is provided with a protective layer 50 . by this means , there is no danger of damage to the surrounding tissue 99 by abrasion or the like . during movement of the endoprosthesis , particularly during rotation , but also during a forward or rearward movement in the longitudinal direction , the projection 39 ensures that fibrotic tissue material 99 is forced back . this effectively counteracts infiltration of the fibrotic tissue 99 into the area of the endoprosthesis . finally , it will be noted that the configuration according to the invention of an intermediate part 2 with a projection 39 is not limited to ankle - joint endoprostheses .	0
the following examples were carried out for the purpose of determining the increase in fluidizing gas velocity obtainable from u o , the minimum superficial gas velocity , to u t , the transition velocity , for unmagnetized particles as compared with the increase obtainable for magnetized particles . as is generally known , the minimum superficial gas velocity required to fluidize the bed is that superficial gas velocity required to transform the bed of particles at rest , i . e . a fixed bed , to a bed in the fluidized state , i . e . a fluidized bed . in general , this minimum fluidization superficial gas velocity is the gas velocity observed when the pressure difference of the gas passing through the fluidized bed , as measured between upper and lower surfaces of the bed , is first substantially the same as the bed weight per cross - sectional area . as is well known , superficial gas velocity is a measure of the linear gas velocity that would pass through an empty vessel and it is measured in feet per second , centimeter per second , etc . transition velocity is the fluidizing gas velocity at which bubbles first begin to appear and the bed height begins to fluctuate . another object was to compare the increases obtainable for various materials to determine which materials gave the most satisfactory results in imparting stability to a fluidized bed . table i______________________________________ reaction conditions principal feed hydrogenconversion temp . pressure , rate ratedesired ° f . psig v / v / hr . scf / bbl______________________________________hydrofining 500 - 800 50 - 2 , 000 0 . 1 - 10 . 0 500 - 10 , 000hydrocracking 450 - 850 200 - 2 , 000 0 . 1 - 10 . 0 500 - 10 , 000cataytic 700 - 1 , 000 0 - 50 0 . 1 - 20 . 0 0crackingcatalytic 850 - 1 , 000 50 - 1 , 000 0 . 1 - 20 . 0 500 - 10 , 000reforming______________________________________ table ii__________________________________________________________________________properties of permanent magnet materials ρp particle b remanence h . sub . c coercivity t . sub . cmaterials abbreviated name density g / cm . sup . 3 gauss oer ° c__________________________________________________________________________magnet steels 35 % co 8 . 2 9000 250 890 2 % co 7 . 8 9800 80 775 36 % fe co 8 . 6 10400 270 -- precipitation alloys alnico &# 39 ; s 6 . 9 - 7 . 4 5500 - 14000 450 - 1450 750 - 850powder magnets gecolloy 4 4 - 5 9000 340 980 ( fe powder ) fe - co 6000 - 9000 350 - 620 lodex 41 9 . 9 4300 1000 980 ( co , pb , fe , sb ) rare - earth - co 8 7700 - 12000 2600 - 9000 600 - 850ferrites ( ceramic ) ba , sr , ferrites 3 - 5 1600 - 4100 1800 - 3300 450__________________________________________________________________________ a 2 and 3 inch internal diameter by 24 inch high plexiglas fluidized bed unit supplied with a porcelain porous plate distributor were employed in all runs . rotameters and valves were used to control and measure gas flow rates . the gas inlet means was attached to the bottom of the fluid bed apparatus . the fluid bed apparatus was arranged in a vertical position . the fluidizing gas was air at ambient conditions . the solids were steel shot , reduced iron ore indox 5 ( 92 % fe , 8 % feo x ), sintered ferrite ( barium ferrite -- ba 0 . 6 fe 2 o 3 ). alnico 5 ( 14 % ni , 8 % al , 24 % co , 3 . 2 % ca , 50 . 8 % fe ), and composite ceramic / wax ( 11 . 4 vol %, ba 0 . 6 fe 2 o 3 , 88 . 6 vol % wax ), ( 11 vol vol % ba 0 . 6 fe 2 o 3 , 89 vol % alsi ). unmagnetized steel shot , 92 % fe / 8 % feo x solids , and 14 % ni , 8 % al , 24 % co , 3 . 2 % cu , 50 . 8 % fe alnicos were sieved to desirable size cuts . large pieces of ferrite magnets were crushed and sieved to a narrow size cut . the wax composite particles were prepared by suspending finely ground ferrite powder ( less than 44 mm ) and molten carnuba wax . after cooling to ambient temperature , the resulting odd shape and size composite particles were crushed in a ball mill and sieved . the ferrite / al - si composite particles were prepared by spray drying of a suspension of al - si gel and ferrite powder . known quantities of solids tightly packed in a 1 . 5 inch inner diameter by 5 . 5 inch long plexiglas cylinder were magnetized by exposure to a transverse electromagnetic field generated by a magnetometer . in another set of runs the particles were magnetized in a fluidized bed by applying an axial magnetic field . a gauss meter was used to measure the applied field . particle magnetization m p and coercivity h c was estimated from the hysteresis curves of the materials under consideration and the transverse field demagnetization coefficient of the plexiglas cylinder . fig6 shows the magnetization curve and the demagnetization curves of sintered ceramic particles for three peak magnetizing fields , h e of 860 , 1250 and 2400 oersteds . assuming spherical particles , the interception of the demagnetization curve and the operating line of slope 1 / d = 3 shown in the same figure determines particle magnetization m pr . coercivity h c is determined from the interception of the demagnetization curve and the horizontal axis as indicated in fig5 . narrow cuts of unmagnetized solid were weighed , placed in the fluidization unit and the pressure drop and bed expansion were measured as a function of air flow rate . from this the minimum fluidization velocity and bed pressure drop at minimum fluidization were determined . after the solids were removed from the bed they were placed in a plexiglas cylinder , packed tightly to a known voidage and magnetized by exposing them to a transverse magnetic field of known intensity . in some runs , the particles were placed in a fluidized bed and they were magnetized by application of an axial magnetic field . the magnetized solids were placed in the fluidization unit and the pressure drop , expansion and velocity at which bubbling first appeared were measured . table iii summarizes the results of 17 different runs which were carried out to measure the increase in transition velocity obtainable based on various particle characteristics and method of magnetization . the highest bed expansion of 35 % was achieved with 80 microns 92 % fe 8 % feo x particles at a transition velocity 7 . 6 times the minimum fluidization velocity ( run 3 ). the maximum transition velocity of 108 cm / sec ( 11 times the minimum fluidization velocity ) was recorded with 300 micron sintered ferrite particles ( run 13 ). increasing particle size resulted in less stable beds with lower expansion and smaller transition to minimum fluidization velocity ratios , illustrated by runs 3 , 4 and 5 . however , the transition velocity of large particles was higher than that of small particles . particle density also had a similar though weaker effect on bed stability illustrated by runs 2 and 9 . increasing particle magnetization increased bed stability ( runs 5 and 7 , 11 and 12 , 14 and 15 ). for the same particle characteristics and approximately the same particle magnetization transition velocities were higher when the particles were magnetized in a fluidized bed with axial field than when they were magnetized in a packed bed with a transveric field ( runs 6 , 7 , 8 and 11 , 12 , 13 ). the marked increase in transition velocity illustrated by runs 6 and 7 shows a clear relationship between an increased transition velocity and higher coercivity . the following example further illustrates the claimd invention . 1430 grams of ba 0 . 6 fe 2 o 3 was charged into an open top cylindrical plexiglas fluidization chamber having an inner diameter of 3 inches and a height of 24 inches above porous porcelain plate ( run 27 - 4 ). the gas density π p in grams per cubic centimeter were 5 . 0 . the bed voidage ε o was 0 . 598 . the superficial velocity for the unmagnetized particles u o was 6 . 1 centimeters per second . when these particles were magnetized in the aforedescribed manner , the following physical measurements were obtained . the ferrite particles were magnetized to a magnetization ( m p ) 480 gauss by subjecting them to an applied magnetic field ( h a ) of 1420 oersteds . under these conditions a bed height ( l om ) of 18 . 0 centimeters was attained . the bed voidage at incipient fluidization ( ε om ) of 0 . 651 was obtained . the superficial gas velocity at incipient fluidization u om 27 . 97 centimeters per second was obtained . the bed expansion ( e ) of 1 . 14 was attained . a bed voidage ( ε t ) of 0 . 693 was attained . a superficial gas velocity at transition ( u t ) of 67 . 3 centimeters per second was attained . the ratio of superficial gas velocity at transition to superficial gas velocity at incipient fluidization u t / u o of 11 was obtained . table iii shows the aforedescribed physical characteristics of magnetized and unmagnetized particles for all runs . the u t / u o obtained in each case was for a substantially non - bubbling bed which is defined as a bed where fluctuations in bed height are 1 % or less . table iii__________________________________________________________________________fluidization characteristics of magnetic particles unmagnetized magnetized . sup . m pr . sup . h a material run no . . sup . d p μm size range μm ρp g / cm . sup . 3 . sup . u o cm / sec εo hc gauss oers . __________________________________________________________________________steel shot 1 150 105 - 180 7 . 8 11 . 5 0 . 65 50 150 15100steel shot 2 220 180 - 250 7 . 8 19 . 8 0 . 62 50 150 15100reduced iron ore ( fior ) 3 80 44 - 105 4 . 8 0 . 6 0 . 42 30 95 15100reduced iron ore ( fior ) 4 150 105 - 180 4 . 8 2 . 4 0 . 44 30 95 15100reduced iron ore ( fior ) 5 220 180 - 250 4 . 8 6 . 7 0 . 44 30 95 15100ferrite , indox 5 6 220 180 - 250 5 6 . 4 0 . 54 130 140 1000ferrite , indox 5 7 220 180 - 250 5 6 . 5 0 . 54 520 470 1700ferrite , indox 5 8 310 250 - 355 5 12 . 0 0 . 53 530 480 1700ferrite composites 9 220 180 - 250 1 . 5 1 . 8 0 . 53 150 160 400011 . 4 vol % in waxferrite composites 10 310 250 - 355 1 . 5 4 . 6 0 . 53 260 240 1000011 . 4 vol % in waxferrite , indox 5 11 200 180 - 250 5 6 . 1 0 . 598 160 140 780ferrite , indox 5 12 200 180 - 250 5 6 . 1 0 . 598 570 480 1420ferrite , indox 5 13 300 250 - 355 5 12 . 0 0 . 560 570 480 1420ferrite composites 14 205 105 - 355 1 . 45 2 . 8 0 . 585 140 165 400011 vol % in al - siferrite composites 15 205 105 - 355 1 . 45 2 . 8 0 . 585 210 260 600011 vol % in al - sialnico 5 16 165 105 - 250 7 . 62 10 . 1 0 . 573 100 180 400alnico 5 17 165 105 - 250 7 . 62 10 . 1 0 . 573 205 400 550 magnetized run εom . sup . u om e . sup . u t method of material no . cm εom cm / sec expansion εt cm / sec . sup . u t /. sup . u o magnetiziation__________________________________________________________________________steel shot 1 16 . 8 0 . 69 14 . 5 1 . 12 0 . 72 21 . 6 1 . 9 fixed bed / transversesteel shot 2 17 . 4 0 . 66 26 . 5 1 . 12 0 . 70 41 . 2 2 . 1 fieldreduced iron ore ( fior ) 3 16 . 0 0 . 44 1 . 35 1 . 0 0 . 59 4 . 9 7 . 6 fieldreduced iron ore ( fior ) 4 16 . 1 0 . 46 3 . 4 1 . 20 0 . 55 10 . 4 4 . 3 fieldreduced iron ore ( fior ) 5 18 . 8 0 . 49 8 . 8 1 . 16 0 . 55 17 . 7 2 . 5 fieldferrite , indox 5 6 19 . 1 0 . 55 7 . 9 1 . 15 0 . 61 17 . 7 2 . 8 fieldferrite , indox 5 7 18 . 0 0 . 59 11 . 6 1 . 27 0 . 68 39 . 0 6 . 1 fieldferrite , indox 5 8 19 . 3 0 . 58 24 . 3 1 . 17 0 . 64 49 . 0 4 . 1 field ( 55 . 0 )* ( 4 . 7 )* ferrite composites 9 18 . 3 0 . 55 2 . 5 1 . 22 0 . 64 8 . 0 4 . 4 field11 . 4 vol % in waxferrite composites 10 19 . 3 0 . 55 8 . 5 1 . 17 0 . 62 18 . 9 4 . 1 field11 . 4 vol % in waxferrite , indox 5 11 -- -- -- 1 . 21 0 . 721 43 . 8 7 . 2 fluid bed / axialferrite , indox 5 12 18 . 0 0 . 651 27 . 9 1 . 14 0 . 693 67 . 3 11 . 0 fieldferrite , indox 5 13 -- -- -- 1 . 22 0 . 756 108 . 0 9 . 0 fieldferrite composites 14 19 . 6 0 . 663 6 . 6 1 . 18 0 . 717 15 . 4 5 . 5 field11 vol % in al - siferrite composites 15 -- -- -- 1 . 33 0 . 750 22 . 3 8 . 0 field11 vol % in al - sialnico 5 16 -- -- -- 1 . 11 0 . 689 31 . 4 3 . 1 fieldalnico 5 17 -- -- -- 1 . 17 0 . 704 43 . 1 4 . 3 field__________________________________________________________________________ * after stirring	1
a pixel cell array in accordance with the present invention features pixels having overlapping edges . these overlapping edges provide a reflective metal surface to reflect incident light and thereby prevent absorption of light in inter - pixel regions that can give rise to the appearance of dark lines between the reflective pixel electrodes . fig2 a - 2 b show plan and cross - sectional views , respectively , of adjacent pixel cells in an array in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . pixel array portion 200 includes adjacent pixel electrodes 202 a and 202 b separated by inter - pixel regions 204 . electrodes 202 a and 202 b are formed over intermetal dielectric layer 206 , and communicate with underlying interconnect metallization layer 212 through metal - filled vias 214 . the underlying edges of first reflective pixel electrodes 202 a underlie inter - pixel regions 204 . the overlapping arrangement of adjacent electrodes 202 a and 202 b promotes the uniform brightness of the array . this is because the underlying edge of first reflective pixels 202 a reflect incident light that has penetrated through dielectric layer 206 remaining in inter - pixel region 204 . this ensures that dark lines indicating absorption of incident light do not appear in the light valve display . fig3 aa - 3 ib illustrate the process steps for forming an array of pixel cells in a light valve in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention . for purposes of convention , all fig3 xa illustrate a plan view of the pixel cell array , and all fig3 xb illustrate a cross - sectional view of the pixel cell array along line a - a ′ of the fig3 xa . fig3 aa - 3 ab illustrate the starting point for the process . intermetal dielectric layer 300 is formed over interconnect metallization layer 302 . first dielectric layer 304 is formed over intermetal dielectric 300 , and second dielectric layer 306 is formed over first dielectric layer 304 . first dielectric layer 304 ( typically silicon nitride ) is formed from a different material than second dielectric layer 306 ( typically silicon oxide ). first vias 312 are etched in center portions 320 a of first alternate pixel regions 320 through second dielectric layer 306 , first dielectric layer 304 , and intermetal dielectric layer 300 to stop on interconnect metallization layer 302 . first vias 312 are then filled with electrically conducting material . in fig3 ba - 3 bb , first photoresist mask 308 is patterned over pixel regions , and second dielectric layer 306 and first dielectric layer 304 are etched to form trench 310 in inter - pixel regions . in fig3 ca - 3 cb , first photoresist mask 308 is removed , and reflective metal layer 316 is formed over the entire surface , including within trench 310 . in fig3 da - 3 db , second photoresist mask 318 is patterned over first alternate pixel regions 320 , including the bottoms of trench 310 . second photoresist mask 318 forms a checkerboard pattern , with corners 320 a of masked first alternate pixel regions 320 omitted in order to ensure adequate electrical isolation between diagonally - situated pixels . fig3 ea - 3 eb show etching of first metal layer 316 and underlying second dielectric layer 306 in regions unmasked by second photoresist mask 318 . where first reflective metal layer 316 has conformed to a trench sidewall , first reflective metal layer 316 will be removed all of the way down to underlying intermetal dielectric 300 , creating gap 321 . fig3 fa - 3 fb show deposition of a third dielectric layer 322 over the entire surface . third dielectric layer 322 will underlie inter - pixel regions of the array . incident light penetrating third dielectric layer 322 in inter - pixel regions will be reflected by underlying first reflective metal layer 316 . light reflected in inter - pixel regions will thus experience a phase difference relative to incident light reflected by the surface of the array . this difference in phase is due primarily to the longer path length traversed by incident light crossing , and reflected light re - crossing , third dielectric layer 322 . accordingly , the thickness of third dielectric layer 322 should be specifically tailored to generate constructive interference with light reflected by the surface of the array . generation of constructive interference between reflected light is described in detail in co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 872 , 013 , entitled “ reflectance enhancing thin film stack ”, filed jun . 7 , 1997 and hereby incorporated by reference . second vias 324 are next etched in center portions 321 a of second alternate pixel regions 321 through third dielectric layer 322 , first dielectric layer 304 , and intermetal dielectric 300 to stop on interconnect metallization 302 . second vias 324 are then filled with electrically conducting material , typically tungsten . fig3 ga - 3 gb show formation of a second reflective metal layer 326 over the entire surface , followed by formation of a fourth dielectric layer 328 over second reflective metal layer 326 . fig3 ha - 3 hb show the final step of the process flow in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention , wherein the surface of the array is chemical - mechanical polished . specifically , chemical mechanical polishing is performed through upper portions of second reflective metal layer 326 to stop on first reflective metal layer 316 and second reflective metal layer 326 . this reveals discrete reflective metal pixel electrodes 328 and 330 , electrically coupled with interconnect metallization layer 302 through first vias 312 and second vias 324 , respectively . first and second reflective pixel electrodes 328 and 330 are separated by remaining third oxide layer 322 . third oxide layer 322 in inter - pixel regions 332 is not shown in fig3 ha , as this layer is substantially transparent . fabrication of the liquid crystal silicon light valve is completed by adding liquid crystal material , and then sealing a translucent top plate over the structure . the thin lc transducer pixel cell and the process for forming this pixel cell in accordance with the present invention offers a number of important advantages . one advantage is that light incident to inter - pixel regions is reflected by the underlying edges of adjacent pixels rather than being absorbed into the substrate . this prevents the appearance of dark lines associated with the absorption of light , and also shields the underlying substrate from the unwanted currents generated by light leakage . although the invention has been described in connection with one specific preferred embodiment , it must be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to this embodiment . various other modifications and alterations in the structure and process will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention . for example , as shown in fig3 ba , the photoresist layer forming the first photoresist mask 308 may be specifically patterned to exclude corners of pixel regions , thereby providing space for dielectric material between diagonally - situated pixels . however , there are several possible alternatives to this step . [ 0048 ] fig4 shows a plan view of a photoresist masking step in a process flow in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 first photoresist mask 400 is formed by patterning a photoresist layer in a precise checkerboard pattern , followed by carefully over - exposing the photoresist layer during development . as a result of this calculated over - exposure , corners 400 a of first photoresist mask 400 are rounded and exclude corner portions 400 a . yet another possible embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , which show plan and cross - sectional views , respectively , of an alternative reflective metal pixel array . pixel array portion 500 includes adjacent pixel electrodes 502 a and 502 b separated by inter - pixel regions 504 . electrodes 502 a and 502 b are formed over intermetal dielectric layer 506 , and communicate with underlying interconnect metallization layer 512 through metal - filled vias 514 . the raised edges of first reflective pixel electrodes 502 a overlie inter - pixel regions 504 . the overlapping arrangement of adjacent electrodes 502 a and 502 b promotes the uniform brightness of the array . this is because the overlying edge of first reflective pixels 502 a reflect incident light that would otherwise penetrate through dielectric layer 506 in inter - pixel regions 504 . this ensures that dark lines indicating absorption of incident light do not appear in the light valve display . fig6 aa - 6 fb illustrate the process steps for forming an array of pixel cells in a light valve in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention . for purposes of convention , all fig6 xa illustrate a plan view of the pixel cell array , and all fig6 xb illustrate a cross - sectional view of the pixel cell array along line a - a ′ of the fig6 xa . fig6 aa - 6 ba show the starting point for the process . intermetal dielectric layer 600 is formed over interconnect metallization layer 602 . vias 604 are etched through intermetal dielectric 600 to stop an interconnect metallization layer 602 . vias 604 are then filled with electrically conducting material , and the electrically - conducting material is removed outside of vias 604 . fig6 ba - 6 bb show the next step , wherein first reflective metal layer 606 is formed over the entire surface . first photoresist mask 608 is then patterned such that first pixel regions 610 are masked , while second pixel regions 612 are exposed . fig6 ca - 6 cb show etching of first reflective metal layer 606 to stop on intermetal dielectric layer 600 in second pixel regions 612 unprotected by first photoresist mask 608 . first photoresist mask 608 is then stripped , and first dielectric layer 614 is formed over the entire surface , including portions of first reflective metal layer 606 remaining in first pixel regions 610 . fig6 da - 6 db show patterning of second photoresist mask 616 over portions of dielectric layer 614 overlying first pixel regions 610 . portions of first dielectric layer 614 exposed by second photoresist mask 616 are then etched to stop on underlying intermetal dielectric layer 600 . where both first dielectric layer 614 and intermetal dielectric 600 are formed from silicon oxide , a thin silicon nitride layer formed prior to dielectric layer 616 can serve as an etch stop . fig6 ea - 6 eb show the removal of second photoresist mask 616 , followed by the formation of second reflective metal layer 618 over the entire surface . fig6 fa - 6 fb show the patterning of third photoresist mask 620 such that first pixel regions 610 are unmasked . exposed portions of second reflective metal layer 618 are then etched selective to first dielectric layer 614 , and exposed portions of first dielectric layer 614 are then etched selective to underlying first reflective metal layer 606 . subsequent removal of third photoresist mask 620 reveals the complete pixel array shown in fig5 a - 5 b . the second embodiment of the present invention continues to offer the advantage of blocking penetration of incident light into the underlying substrate in inter - pixel regions , thereby preventing unwanted flickering . the second embodiment also presents the appearance of dark lines in light - absorbing inter - pixel regions . however , the second embodiment depicted in fig5 a - 5 b and 6 aa - 6 fb is less favored than the first embodiment for several reasons . first , the overlapping edges of the pixels create unwanted surface topography . incident light can scatter off of these raised features , degrading the overall reflectance of the array . additionally , the process for forming the second embodiment calls for etching through the second reflective metal layer and first dielectric layer to stop on the first reflective metal layer . this first metal layer ultimately serves a reflective pixel electrode , and exposing it to etchant during this step can roughen the surface of the metal and degrade its reflectance . however , it should also be recognized that the second embodiment of the present invention offers certain advantages over the first embodiment . for example , the alignment tolerance for the third photoresist masking step is relatively large , as etching can take place at any point within the first pixel regions . given the plurality of possible specific embodiments of the present invention , it is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention , and that methods and structures falling within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby .	6
turning now to the drawings , which describe the presently preferred embodiments of the invention for the purpose of describing the operation and use thereof and not by way of limitation of the scope of the invention , and in which like reference characters refer to corresponding elements throughout the several views , fig3 to 5 illustrate a tool 40 constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention and including gripping needle - nose members 52 and 53 and hollow handles 42 and 43 . in order to use members 52 and 53 , handles 42 and 43 are manually pivoted about the pins 46 and 45 , respectively , in the direction of arrows c and d to displace handles 42 and 43 to the position shown in fig5 . when handles 42 and 43 are in the storage position of fig3 , needle - nose wire manipulating members 52 and 53 are housed in handles 42 and 43 , respectively , against stops 50 and 50 a , respectively . when tool 40 is in the storage orientation of fig3 , hook 48 and / or cutting blade 47 can be pivotally moved from their storage position in handle 42 to a deployed position in which hook 48 and / or blade releaseably lock ( like the blades of many pocket knives ) and that enables hook 48 and / or blade 47 to be utilized . if desired , hook 48 and blade 47 can be pivoted in the direction of arrow e until each is located on top of handle 42 in fig3 and is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of handle 42 . handles 42 and 43 are then grasped with one hand of a user and are manipulated to move hook 48 and / or blade 47 in a desired manner . if desired , tool 40 can be fabricated with crimping jaws 26 , 29 substituted for needle nose members 52 , 53 . or , wire manipulating members 52 and 53 can be shaped and dimensioned to pull , cut , crimp , or perform any other desired function or functions with respect to manipulating wires in a telecommunications box . member 52 includes cutting edge 62 . member 53 includes cutting edge 63 . when tool 40 is in the storage orientation of fig3 , edges 62 and 63 currently overlap , but need not do so . in fig5 , grasping handles 42 and 43 and displacing them toward one another in the direction of arrows e and f causes members 53 and 52 to pivot about pin 49 in the direction of arrows of arrows h and g , respectively . spring 51 generates expansion forces that function to maintain members 52 and 53 open or spaced apart in the position illustrated in fig5 . a cutting edge 62 , 63 is formed in each of members 46 , 49 . when members 46 , 49 are closed as illustrated in fig3 , edges 62 , 63 overlap one another . edges 62 and 63 are used to cut a piece of wire by placing the wire between edges 62 and 63 when members 52 and 53 are opened to the position shown in fig5 and by then manually pressing handles 42 and 43 in the direction of arrows e and f to squeeze edges 62 , 63 through the wire to cut the wire into two pieces . the lower end 44 of hollow handle 42 includes , as shown in fig4 , an inner surface shaped and dimensioned to slidably fit over a standard ⅜ inch wide nut such that handle 42 can be rotated to turn the nut and open a telecommunication box door on which the nut is mounted . similarly , the lower end 43 a of handle 43 includes an inner surface shaped and dimensioned to slidably fit over a standard 7 / 16 inch wide nut such that handle 43 can be rotated to turn the nut and open a telecommunication box door on which the 7 / 16 inch nut is mounted . lower ends 43 a , 44 can be shaped and dimensioned in any desired manner as long as they perform the function of engaging a nut or other component on a telecommunication box door such that the nut can be operated by manipulating tool 40 to open ( or close ) the door . hollow tool 54 is slidably mounted in handle 43 . tool 54 includes aperture 232 a . the upper or outer end 233 of aperture 232 a includes an internal approximately 5 / 16 wide hex surface . this hex surface is slightly wider than the remaining portion of aperture 232 a , producing neck or ledge 232 d . bit 201 includes phillips tip 202 , small flat head screwdriver tip 209 , external hex surface 207 having a width indicated by arrows y and shaped to slidably insert into the hex surface formed in end 233 , and spring loaded ball bearing 208 that bears against the hex surface in end 233 when bit 201 is inserted in tool 54 in the same manner that tool 212 is inserted in tool 53 in fig8 . bit 212 includes sni tool 215 with tip 216 , large flat head screwdrivertip 214 , external hex surface 213 having a width indicated by arrows 211 and shaped to slidably insert into the hex surface formed in end 233 , and spring loaded ball bearing 215 that bears against the hex surface formed in end 233 when bit 212 is inserted in barrel 204 to the position illustrated in fig8 . bit 201 can be inserted in aperture 233 such that tip 209 extends outwardly from aperture 233 and is visible , or , bit 201 can be inverted and inserted in aperture 233 such that tip 202 is visible and tip 209 is inside aperture 233 and is not visible . when bit 212 is inserted in aperture 233 in the direction of arrow 234 , hex surface 213 contacts ledge 232 d to halt the travel of bit 212 in the direction of arrow 234 such that bit 212 is seated in aperture 233 with tip 214 in the position shown in fig8 ( or with sni tool 215 in a comparable position in the event bit 212 is inverted from the position shown in fig1 and is inserted in aperture 233 ). the tools or tips provided on a bit 201 , 212 can be varied as desired , or additional bits can be provided . for example , in bit 201 , end 202 can be a flathead screwdriver tip instead of a phillips screwdriver tip , end 209 can be a sni tool instead of a flathead screwdriver tip , etc . hex surface 207 , 213 is slidably received by the hex surface formed in the end 233 such that bit 201 , 212 is prevented from rotating in aperture 233 of tool 54 in the directions indicated by arrows 350 . leg 43 includes a pair of equivalent , parallel , spaced apart , opposed slots 55 ( fig4 ) and 58 ( fig5 ). slot 55 includes at either end an opening 56 having a diameter greater than the width of slot 55 . slot 58 includes at either end an opening 57 having a diameter greater than the width of slot 58 . a pair of spring loaded pins 76 , 77 are mounted on the upper end of tool 54 . pin 76 includes head 61 , neck 64 , and body 65 . pin 77 includes head 60 , neck 62 , and body 63 . spring 75 ( fig8 ) acts outwardly against and maintains pin 76 in the position illustrated in fig6 and 8 . spring 74 acts outwardly against and maintains pin 77 in the position illustrated in fig6 and 8 . when tool 54 is in the stored position illustrated in fig4 and 6 , the body 63 , 65 of each pin is seated in the opening 57 at the top of each slot 58 , 55 , respectively . tool 54 is moved from the stored position of fig6 and 8 to the deployed position of fig5 by using the fingers of a hand to squeeze or depress heads 61 and 60 of pins 76 and 77 inwardly in the direction of arrows p and q to compress springs 75 and 74 , respectively , and by simultaneously using the fingers to slide pins 76 and 77 through slots 58 and 55 toward end 43 a . tool 54 moves simultaneously with pins 76 , 77 . when tool 54 is in the storage position of fig6 and pins 76 and 77 are inwardly depressed in this manner , necks 64 and 62 are positioned in the opening 57 at the top of each slot 58 , 55 . the diameter of each neck 64 , 62 is slightly less than the width of slots 58 and 55 , which permits each neck 64 , 62 to slide downwardly along its associated slot 58 or 55 to the opening 56 at the bottom or lower end of the slot 58 , 55 . once necks 64 , 62 are each at the lower end of their respective slot 58 and 55 , the user releases the fingers depressing heads 61 and 60 of pins 76 and 77 , permitting springs 75 and 74 to expand resiliently and return pins 76 and 77 to the positions illustrated in fig6 and 8 . when pins 76 and 77 are in the positions shown in fig5 , the body 65 , 63 of each pin is in the opening 56 at the bottom end of the slot . the diameter of the body 65 , 63 of each pin 76 , 77 is slightly less than that of opening 56 and is greater than the width of slot 58 , 55 . consequently , when a pin body 65 , 63 is in an opening 56 , 57 , the tool is secured in place and can not be slid from the stored to the deployed position , or vice versa , until pins 76 and 77 are inwardly depressed p , q to position necks 64 and 62 in an opening 56 , 57 . when tool 54 is in the deployed position illustrated in fig5 , a bit 201 , 212 can be inserted in or removed from tool 54 in the manner earlier described . an alternate bit 70 that can be utilized in tool 54 is illustrated in fig1 and 12 and is called a punch down bit . the bit 70 includes a central hex section 71 comparable to the hex sections 207 and 213 found in bits 201 , 212 . bit 70 includes at least one hollow punch down end 72 . end 72 includes a cutting edge 73 . the alternate end 72 a also comprises a hollow punch down , but the punch down in end 72 a does not include a cutting edge . a variety of punch down tool configurations are known and can be utilized in a bit 70 . fig6 is a side view of handle 43 taken from the side indicated by arrow a in fig3 . fig7 is a side view of handle 42 taken from the side indicated by arrow b in fig4 . in use , a telephone technician travels to a selected telecommunication junction box . the technician depresses pins 76 and 77 and moves tool 54 from the stored position of fig4 to the deployed position of fig5 . bit 212 is inserted in tool 54 with the sni tool 215 extending outwardly from tool 54 and end 43 a . the technician utilizes handle 43 and sni tool 215 to unthread the bolt or bolts securing one or more doors in a telecommunication junction box . or , if appropriate , the technician opens one or more doors in a telecommunication box by utilizing one of the hex openings at the end of a handle 42 , 43 to turn a nut that secures the door in a closed configuration . after the telecommunication box door is open , the technician can , if appropriate , place one of the internal hex openings at the end of a handle 42 , 43 over a hex nut or hex head screw in or on the telecommunication junction box and turn the handle 42 , 43 to loosen ( or tighten ) the nut or screw . the technician can also utilize any of the tips 202 , 209 , 214 on a bit 201 or 212 ( by appropriately installing a bit in deployed tool 54 so the desired tip can be utilized ) to install or remove screws or other components from a telecommunication junction box . the technician grasps tool 40 in the configuration of fig5 ( with or without tool 54 deployed from handle 43 ); reaches inside the junction box with tool 40 ; maneuvers tool 40 to position a desired wire 15 between members 52 and 53 ( this typically requires tapered members 52 and 53 to be pushed into a grouping or bundle of telephone wires , after which handles 42 and 43 are displaced in directions opposite those indicated by arrows e and f to slightly open jaws or members 52 and 53 ); displaces handles 42 and 43 in the directions of arrows e and f to squeeze and grasp the desired wire 15 between members 52 and 53 ; pulls the tool 40 to pull the desired wire 15 to a desired location inside or outside of the junction box 16 ; grasps the wire 15 with one hand ( hook 48 can also be deployed in the direction of arrow e and utilized to engage and pull a desired wire in the telecommunications box ); deploys blade 47 in the direction of arrow e ; uses the other hand to cut one or more wires 15 with tool blade 47 ( or cuts wire 15 by placing the wire between open cutting edges 62 and 63 and by displacing handles 42 and 43 in the direction of arrows e and f ); grasps one end of the cut wire 15 and slips the end of the cut wire into an opening in a crimping button ( or in a punch down or other crimping or splicing device ); opens with one hand handles 42 and 43 in directions opposite those indicated by arrows e and f ; places with another hand the crimping button intermediate members 52 and 53 ; and , displaces handles 42 and 43 in the directions indicated by arrows e and f to generate compressive forces against the crimping button to force teeth in the button through the insulation in the end of the wire ( s ) positioned in the crimping button . if wire 15 is placed in a punch down , bit 70 is inserted in deployed tool 54 and hollow end 72 or 72 a , as the case may be , is used in conventional fashion to secure wire 15 in the punch down . in use , hollow end 72 or 72 a slides over the punch down and functions to press wire 15 into the groove at the bottom of the punch down . the method of the invention permits a telecommunications technician to find , position , cut , crimp , and / or punch down using a single tool 40 . the tapered configuration of members 52 and 53 is preferred because the distal ends of members 52 , 53 must be able to slide into or pierce groups or bundles of wire to grasp a single wire in the bundle . sni tools come in different sizes , but each such tool includes a detent to receive a dimple that extends upwardly from the bottom of an internal hex aperture formed in a bolt . as used herein , a pairgain tool is considered to be a sni tool .	1
therefore , the technical problem to be solved in the present invention is to provide a new method for preparing an acellular dermal matrix which can efficiently increase tissue stability and minimize change of biological properties compared with conventional methods . to solve the above problems , the present invention provides a method for preparing an acellular dermal matrix comprising the steps of : i ) removing epidermis of allograft skin ; ii ) removing cells in dermis ; iii ) mixing glycerol , propylene glycol and a basic solvent or solution ; iv ) dissolving sucrose in the solution to a final concentration of 20 to 40 % by weight to obtain a cryoprotectant ; v ) penetrating the cryoprotectant into the skin from which epidermis and cells in dermis are removed ; and vi ) freeze - drying the cryoprotectant - penetrated skin . the present invention also provides an acellular dermal matrix which is prepared by the above method . in the present invention , epidermis and cells in dermis of allograft skin are removed to avoid immunorejection . the removal of epidermis and cells in dermis may be carried out according to various methods known in the art , and there is no special limitation thereto . the removal of epidermis may be carried out , for example , by treatment with enzymes such as trypsin , collagenase or dispase , or nacl solution . the removal of cells in dermis may be carried out , for example , by treatment with triton x100 , tween 20 , tween 40 , tween 60 , tween 80 , sds ( sodium dodecylsulfate ) and the like . in the present invention , glycerol , propylene glycol , and a basic solvent or solution are used as basic constituents of a cryoprotectant . in the present invention , the basic solvent or solution refers to a solvent or solution which acts as a base for the preparation of the cryoprotectant , and distilled water , normal saline , a buffer solution which is used in treating animal cells or an animal cell culture medium may be used . in the present invention , the buffer solution — which is used in the treatment of animal cells — may be used without specific limitation . the example of the buffer solution includes , but is not limited to , pbs ( phosphate - buffered saline ), hbss ( hank &# 39 ; s balanced salt solution ), tbs ( tris - buffered saline ), taps ( n - tris ( hydroxymethyl ) methyl - 3 - aminopropanesulfonic acid ) buffer , bicine ( n , n - bis ( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) glycine ) buffer , hepes ( 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 1 - piperazineethanesulfonic acid ) buffer , tes ( n - tris ( hydroxymethyl ) methyl - 2 - aminoethanesulfonic acid ) buffer , pipes ( piperazine - n , n ′- bis ( 2 - ethanesulfonic acid ) buffer , cacodylate buffer , mes ( 2 -( n - morpholino ) ethanesulfonic acid ) buffer and the like . in the present invention , the animal cell culture medium used may be any medium known in the art . in the present invention , the example of the animal cell culture medium includes , but is not limited to , mem ( minimum essential media ), dmem ( dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagle media ), rpmi 1640 , imdm ( iscove &# 39 ; s modified dulbecco &# 39 ; s media ), defined keratinocyte - sfm ( without bpe ( bovine pituitary extract )), keratinocyte - sfn ( with bpe ), knockout d - mem , aminomax - ii complete medium and aminomax - c100 complete medium . in the present invention , glycerol , propylene glycol and the basic solvent or solution may be preferably used in a mixing ratio of 0 . 5 ˜ 2 : 0 . 5 ˜ 2 : 6 ˜ 10 , more preferably 0 . 8 ˜ 1 . 5 : 0 . 8 ˜ 1 . 5 : 7 ˜ 9 , most preferably 1 : 1 : 8 , based on weight . in the present invention , if the mixing ratio of glycerol and propylene glycol is less than 0 . 5 , there may be a problem of freezing damage in a freezing step . if the mixing ratio of glycerol and propylene glycol is greater than 2 , there may be a problem of the denaturation of tissue after freeze - drying . in the present invention , a cryoprotectant is prepared by dissolving sucrose in the solution in which the basic constituents are mixed to the final concentration of 20 to 40 % by weight . when freezing is carried out by using a slow freezing method , loss of moisture in cells and tissues can occur . as a result , ice crystals are formed in cells , and cells and tissues are physically destroyed by them . in addition , shrinkage of tissues caused by evaporation of moisture at the time of freeze - drying causes destruction of tissues — in which bondage of collagen fibers composing most of the tissue is weakened or disconnected by destroying tissues due to ice crystals — to be accelerated . the acellular dermal matrix prepared as such has weak tensile strength , so that it is difficult to expect good prognosis after surgery when it is transplanted at the joint sites of burn patients . as such , the maximum prevention of formation of ice crystals in tissues is the prerequisite of the cryoprotectant . in the present invention , glycerol having a property of membrane permeability , high concentration of sucrose and propylene glycol having a property of membrane impermeability are used as the major ingredients of cryopreservation solution to protect and stabilize tissues from physical destruction caused by ice crystals . in addition , propylene glycol used in the present invention is used as a food additive and in cosmetics since it shows little toxicity compared with other glycols , and has antibiotic activity to prevent proliferation of bacteria and fungi . therefore , the cryoprotectant of the present invention can protect tissues from contamination after freeze - drying . as explained above , the stability of tissue of the acellular dermal matrix prepared according to the present invention can be improved . in addition , the optimal mixing ratio of sucrose , glycerol , propylene glycol , and the basic solvent or solution can further improve the stability of the dermal tissue . in the present invention , if the concentration of sucrose is less than 20 % by weight , the stability of the tissue may be decreased due to ice crystals formed in a freezing step . if the concentration of sucrose is greater than 40 % by weight , the stability of the tissue may be deteriorated by sugar crystals formed in the tissue after freeze - drying due to high concentration of sugar ingredients . in the present invention , the cryoprotectant is most preferably prepared by dissolving sucrose in the basic constituents - mixed solution to the final concentration of 30 % by weight . in the present invention , the penetration of the cryoprotectant into the skin from which epidermis and cells in dermis are removed may be carried out according to conventional methods known in the art . preferably , the cryoprotectant may be penetrated into the skin tissue in a low - temperature bath . because the sugar ingredient may be the cause of contamination as a nutrient source , it is preferable to treat a cryoprotectant at low temperature . in addition , because the treatment of cryoprotectant at room temperature may induce denaturation of collagen tissue which is a raw material , it is preferable to penetrate the cryoprotectant into the skin at low temperature rather than room temperature . time needed for penetration may vary depending on the size of skin tissue and other factors . for example , the cryoprotectant may be penetrated into the skin tissue in a 4 ° c . low - temperature bath for about 6 to 24 hours . in the present invention , it is preferable that the cryoprotectant - penetrated skin be frozen by using a freeze - dryer which can control the temperature rate . use of a freeze - dryer that can control freezing rate allows the skin tissue to be frozen at a desired rate . in the present invention , the freezing rate of skin with the freeze - dryer that can control freezing rate is preferably − 0 . 1 ° c . to − 5 ° c . per minute , and most preferably − 1 ° c . per minute . the acellular dermal matrix for transplantation prepared according to the processing method of the present invention shows that the stability of the tissue is high , extracellular matrix and basement membrane are well maintained without impairment , and the change of biological properties is minimized . as a result , the success rate of acellular dermal matrix grafting can be increased , and treatment duration can be curtailed . fig1 is optical microscope photographs of acellular dermal matrix freeze - dried with a cryoprotectant using each concentration of sucrose after rehydration and h & amp ; e staining with 100 × magnification . ( a : 5 % sucrose , b : 10 % sucrose , c : 15 % sucrose , d : 20 % sucrose , e : 25 % sucrose , f : 30 % sucrose ) fig2 is scanning electron microscope photographs of acellular dermal matrix freeze - dried with a cryoprotectant using each concentration of sucrose with 150 × and 1 , 000 × magnifications . ( a : 0 % sucrose , 150 ×; b : 0 % sucrose , 1 , 000 ×; c : 10 % sucrose , 150 ×; d : 10 % sucrose , 1 , 000 ×; e : 30 % sucrose , 150 ×; f : 30 % sucrose , 1 , 000 ×) fig3 is optical microscope photographs of acellular dermal matrixes of example and comparative examples 1 and 2 with 100 × magnification . ( a : example ; b : comparative example 1 ; c : comparative example 2 ) fig4 is a graph representing results of degradability measured by the treatment of acellular dermal matrix which is processed with cryoprotectants comprising sucrose in the final concentration of 30 % by weight , and acellular dermal matrixes of comparative examples 1 and 2 with collagenase . ( positive control : treatment of collagen powder with collagenase ; negative control : no treatment of collagenase ) the present invention is explained in more detail with the following examples . however , it must be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the example . because human skin tissue harvested from a donor ( cadaver ) is prohibited from being used in an experiment , pig skin — which is the closest to human skin — is used for preparing ten ( 10 ) of samples according to the following methods of example and comparative examples . an acellular dermal matrix was prepared with pig skin according to the following steps . ( 2 ) the pig skin was cut at the size of 5 × 10 cm 2 . ( 3 ) the pig skin was immersed in 1m nacl ( sigma , usa ) solution . ( 5 ) the reaction of the pig skin immersed in 1m nacl ( sigma , usa ) solution was carried out in the 38 ° c . incubator with stirring for about 6 to 24 hours . ( 7 ) the dermis from which the epidermis has been removed was washed with phosphate - buffered saline ( ph 7 . 2 , gibco , usa ). ( 8 ) the washed dermis was immersed in 0 . 5 % sds and reacted with stirring at room temperature for 1 hour to remove cells from the dermis . ( 9 ) the dermis from which cells have been removed was washed with phosphate - buffered saline . ( 10 ) glycerol ( sigma , usa ), propylene glycol ( sigma , usa ) and phosphate - buffered saline ( gibco , usa ) were mixed in the weight ratio of 1 : 1 : 8 . ( 11 ) sucrose ( sigma , usa ) was added to the solution of step ( 10 ) as the final concentration of 30 % by weight and dissolved to obtain a cryoprotectant . ( 12 ) a low - temperature bath ( p - 039 , coretech , korea ) was set at 4 ° c . ( 13 ) the pig skin of step ( 9 ) was put in the 4 ° c . low - temperature bath , and then the cryoprotectant was penetrated into the pig skin for 12 hours . ( 14 ) the penetration - completed pig skin was put in a tyvek bag ( korea c & amp ; s co ., ltd ., korea ). ( 16 ) the tyvek bag of step ( 14 ) was put in the freezing dryer and frozen to − 70 ° c . at the rate of − 1 ° c . per minute , and then dried under the vacuum of 5 torr for 24 hours to obtain a freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix . ( 17 ) after freeze - drying , the freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix was sterilized in an e . o . gas sterilizer ( hs - 4313eo , hanshin medical co ., ltd ., korea ). ( 18 ) the sterilized , freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix was sealed in an aluminum bag and stored at room temperature until analysis experiments . an acellular dermal matrix was prepared with pig skin by using hbss containing 7 . 5 % dextran ( mwt 70 , 000 ), 6 % sucrose , 7 . 5 % polyvinylpyrrolidone ( mwt 40 , 000 ), 1 . 25 % raffinose and 1 mm disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid according to the same method disclosed in example 1 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 336 , 616 . a freeze - dried skin was prepared with pig skin according to the following steps . ( 2 ) the pig skin was cut at the size of 5 × 10 cm 2 . ( 3 ) the pig skin was immersed in 1m nacl ( sigma , usa ) solution . ( 5 ) the reaction of the pig skin immersed in 1m nacl ( sigma , usa ) solution was carried out in the 38 ° c . incubator with stirring for about 6 to 24 hours . ( 7 ) the dermis from which the epidermis has been removed was washed with phosphate - buffered saline ( ph 7 . 2 , gibco , usa ). ( 8 ) the washed dermis was immersed in 0 . 1 % sds and reacted with stirring at room temperature for 1 hour to remove cells from the dermis . ( 9 ) the dermis from which cells have been removed was washed with phosphate - buffered saline . ( 10 ) glycerol ( sigma , usa ) and phosphate - buffered saline were mixed in the weight ratio of 1 : 9 to obtain a cryoprotectant . ( 11 ) a low - temperature bath ( p - 039 , coretech , korea ) was set at 4 ° c . ( 12 ) the pig skin of step ( 9 ) was put in the 4 ° c . low - temperature bath , and then the cryoprotectant was penetrated into the pig skin for 12 hours . ( 13 ) the penetration - completed pig skin and 50 ml of the cryoprotectant were put in a tyvek bag ( korea c & amp ; s co ., ltd ., korea ). ( 15 ) the tyvek bag of step ( 13 ) was put in the freezing dryer and frozen to − 70 ° c . at the rate of − 1 ° c . per minute , and then dried under the vacuum of 5 torr for 24 hours to obtain a freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix . ( 16 ) after freeze - drying , the freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix was sterilized in an e . o . gas sterilizer ( hs - 4313eo , hanshin medical co ., ltd ., korea ). ( 17 ) the sterilized , freeze - dried acellular dermal matrix was sealed in an aluminum bag and stored at room temperature until analysis experiments . ( 1 ) a paraffin block was cut with 4 μm thickness and dried to obtain a paraffin section . ( 2 ) for deparaffinization , after conducting xylene treatment of 5 minutes three times , 100 % ethanol treatment of 2 minutes three times , 90 % ethanol treatment of 1 minute one time , 80 % ethanol treatment of 1 minute one time and 70 % ethanol treatment of 1 minute one time , the section was rinsed in running water for 10 minutes . ( 3 ) after staining with hematoxylin for 10 minutes , the section was rinsed in running water for 3 minutes . then , after staining with eosin for 10 minutes , the section was rinsed in running water until no eosin was detected in the rinse water . after conducting 70 % ethanol treatment of 1 second ten times , 80 % ethanol treatment of 1 second ten times , 90 % ethanol treatment of 1 second ten times , 100 % ethanol treatment of 1 minute two times and xylene treatment of 3 minutes three times , the section was mounted with a mounting solution . ( 1 ) a specimen was pre - fixed with 2 . 5 % glutaraldehyde solution ( fixative solution ) for 2 hours , washed with 0 . 1m phosphate - buffered saline and post - fixed with 1 % oso 4 solution . ( 2 ) the fixed specimen was hydrated and substituted through a series of increased ethanol concentration , and the specimen was then frozen and fractured in − 190 ° c . liquid nitrogen to expose the cross section , and completely dried by using a critical point dryer ( hcp - 2 ). ( 3 ) the specimen was fixed at an aluminum stub ( specimen mount ) with the fractured surface upward , and metal coated with pt — pd at about 10 mm thickness by using a metal ion coating system ( e - 1030 ion sputter ). ( 4 ) the specimen was observed and photographed with a scanning electron microscope ( hitachi s - 4700 , japan ). the freeze - dried acellular dermal matrixes were prepared according to the method of example by using a cryoprotectant comprising sucrose in the final concentration of 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, 25 % and 30 % by weight . the prepared acellular dermal matrixes were rehydrated , and were then stained with h & amp ; e and photographed with an optical microscope ( olympus bx51 ). the results are represented in fig1 . when the concentration of sucrose is less than 20 % by weight , the matrix of tissue is destroyed in proportion to the concentration after freeze - drying . however , in the case that sucrose concentration is 20 %, 25 % and 30 % by weight , the matrix of tissue is not destroyed in proportion to the concentration of sucrose and maintains morphology close to the original structure . in addition , the acellular dermal matrix prepared by using a cryoprotectant not containing sucrose and the acellular dermal matrixes prepared as above by treating with a cryoprotectant containing 10 % and 30 % by weight of sucrose were photographed with a scanning electron microscope according to the above method . the results are represented in fig2 . in the groups treated with a cryoprotectant not containing sucrose and containing 10 % by weight of sucrose , the acellular dermal matrixes are destroyed after freeze - drying . contrary to this , the acellular dermal matrix treated with a cryoprotectant containing 30 % by weight of sucrose shows that its morphology is well maintained after freeze - drying without destroying matrix of tissue . from the above results , it can be known that in the acellular dermal matrix treated with a cryoprotectant containing 20 % by weight or more of sucrose the destruction of tissue that occurred in the course of freeze - drying is remarkably reduced . the acellular dermal matrixes of example and comparative examples 1 and 2 were stained with h & amp ; e and then photographed with an optical microscope ( olympus bx51 ) according to the above method . the results are represented in fig3 . by means of the excellence of the cryoprotectant , the acellular dermal matrix of example shows much better stability of tissue by preventing tissue from destruction in the course of freeze - drying as compared with the acellular dermal matrixes of comparative examples 1 and 2 . to evaluate the stability of acellular dermal matrixes of example and comparative examples 1 and 2 , the degradability by collagenase was measured as follows : ( 1 ) 25 mg of sample was added to 5 mm tes buffer containing 0 . 36 mm calcium chloride and mixed well . ( 2 ) 0 . 1 ml of collagenase ( 0 . 1 mg / ml ) was added to the sample of step ( 1 ) and incubated at 37 ° c . for one day with stirring . ( 3 ) 4 . 0 mm l - leucine standard solution was serially diluted and treated with ninhydrin color reagent . a standard curve was prepared by measuring absorbance at 570 nm ( versa max , molecular device , usa ). ( 4 ) the sample of step ( 2 ) was treated with ninhydrin color reagent and absorbance at 570 nm was then measured . ( 5 ) the amount of released l - leucine from each sample was calculated by using the l - leucine standard curve of step ( 3 ). the above calculated l - leucine release amount is represented in fig4 . as can be seen from fig4 , the acellular dermal matrix of example shows higher stability of tissue as compared with the acellular dermal matrixes of comparative examples 1 and 2 so that degradation rate by collagenase is remarkably reduced . from histological analysis via microscope photograph or measurement of degradability by collagenase , it can be known that the processing method according to the present invention provides high stability of tissue compared with conventional methods . as a result , an acellular dermal matrix according to the present method can increase the success rate of grafting and curtail the treatment duration since its extracellular matrix and basement membrane are well maintained without impairment , and the change of biological properties is minimized .	0
fig1 is a schematic illustration of an annotation system 100 and associated inputs as contemplated in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment of the present invention . input may typically include any or all of : media objects from a digital media repository 105 , an optional list 106 specifying a subset of the media objects in the repository which should be annotated , and a base lexicon 107 ; these inputs feed into a central annotation controller 104 . this “ hub ” component preferably is configured to provide input to any of several other controllers , whose use and functionality will be appreciated more fully from the discussion herebelow : an arbitrary region section controller 102 , a frame non - linearizer subsystem 101 and a cache lexicon controller 103 . output from the central annotation controller 104 is indicated at 108 in the form of media object annotations in a representation such as mpeg7 xml . fig2 is a schematic illustration of the novel components of a user interface 200 which supports interaction with the system shown in 100 ; the functionality of the proposed additional features of a cache lexicon display 201 and media object non - linearizer controls 202 will be made clearer below . fig1 and their components are referred to further throughout the discussion herebelow . in connection with technique ( a ), as outlined above , it is to be noted that the annotation of digital media has traditionally been performed in temporal collection order ( e . g . entire videos , entire conversations ). for example , for digital video keyframe annotation , annotation is performed on the level of frames whether keyframes or the full sequence of video frames . in known interfaces for supporting annotation of digital media ( ibm mpeg7 annotation tool , ibm multimodal annotation tool ), this sequence is presented in temporal order . no attempt is made there to present digital objects to be annotated in an order which will assist in the speed of annotation . in contrast , there is broadly contemplated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention the presentation of examples in a potentially non - linear ( i . e . non - temporally ordered ) fashion , with optional user reordering and detail - on - demand control during annotation . preferably , there is provided ( as part of a general interface 200 for supporting user interaction with an annotation system such as 100 ) an additional set of controls supporting user interaction with the system in fig1 to enable the non - linear reordering of arbitrary digital objects . the controls for realization of technique ( a ) are similar for different classes of digital objects , though examples are presented below for the examples of digital video frame annotation and audio annotation . interface component 201 ( a ) allows the user to specify that frames should be non - linearly reordered automatically ; this might preferably be a checkbox . this reordering is performed in component 101 ( a ) of fig1 . e . g . for digital video frame annotation , one may first preferably use an automatic scheme to cluster frames into subsets using a similarity metric prior to presentation . this would occur within the media object non - linearizer subsystem in 101 ( a ). taking any subset as “ starting point cluster 1 ”, one may rank all other subsets according to their similarity to this “ starting point cluster 1 ”. frames to be annotated are then presented to the user in decreasing rank order : should the user for some reason prefer to non - linearly reorder the frames themselves , they may instead use interface component 201 ( b ) to manually reorder frames as required , supported by component 101 ( b ) of fig . ( 1 ). this might preferably be realized as a pop - up window allowing a reordering of objects . a further interface control 201 ( c ) allows the user to vary the number of items n to be annotated to vary between 1 through to the maximum possible number of objects ; the algorithm in 101 ( c ) supporting this component will preferably select the reduced set of n items to be distinct in visual feature space ( such as rgb histogram space ) but may be as simplistic as a random selection . this reduction or increase in detail has some similarities with the detail - on - demand approach of girgensohn , supra . the user proceeds with object annotation by stepping through the non - linear ordering resulting from any user interaction with component 201 , or the default ordering if the user did not use component 201 . to illustrate for the audio conversation transcription of a large collection of recordings , one may assume the presented examples comprise a set of conversations between n speakers falling into m broad accent groups ( n being larger than m ). the conversations are preferably segmented into sentences and then reordered into m subsets to be annotated by transcribers familiar with those accent groups . the reordering support in component 101 enables improved speed and accuracy of annotation ( e . g . by supporting faster cut - and - paste or automatic propagation of labels between similar frames now located sequentially , or by using transcribers very familiar with the accent types ), and to give users control over the number of examples they are willing to annotate without requiring them to step sequentially through all objects specified in the optional list 106 or the full set of objects as derived from the digital media . an equally important result of supporting reordering of frames is to enhance the gains via technique ( b ) ( the use of a cached annotation lexicon ). preferably , a cached annotation lexicon will display labels used in recently annotated examples ; this will improve speed if objects with similar labels are presented for annotation sequentially . it would complement a full lexicon listing all labels available . to expand on this , typically , such a full lexicon is normally unmanageably large , wherein considerable time is needed for locating the labels to be associated with the full object or a subregion of the object as selected using component 102 . for any given example , in accordance with one possible embodiment of a cached annotation lexicon , an additional cache lexicon display 203 may preferably be provided in the annotation interface of fig2 displaying the labels used to annotate the previous media object or the set ( or subset of ) most common labels used in some number of recently annotated digital objects . the cache contents are controlled by the cache lexicon controller 103 ; the cache lexicon display 203 might preferably be a fixed or pop - up window in the interface but other realizations are also acceptable . the advantage of technique ( b ) is primarily related to its use in conjunction with technique ( a ) and specifically component 101 ( a ) of fig1 , since when examples are automatically non - linearly ordered due to ( e . g .) example similarity , a useful cache can straightforwardly be maintained in an automatic fashion , since labels will change little across similar frames . consistency of annotation of similar frames will therefore be improved . it is to be understood that the present invention , in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment , includes an arrangement for accepting digital media input and an arrangement for annotating frames , which together may be implemented on at least one general - purpose computer running suitable software programs . these may also be implemented on at least one integrated circuit or part of at least one integrated circuit . thus , it is to be understood that the invention may be implemented in hardware , software , or a combination of both . if not otherwise stated herein , it is to be assumed that all patents , patent applications , patent publications and other publications ( including web - based publications ) mentioned and cited herein are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein as if set forth in their entirety herein . although illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention .	6
in embodiments , the present invention provides systems and methods for creating and exchanging customized applications in a multi - tenant database system . customers may wish to add their own custom objects and applications to their database system in addition to the standard objects and standard applications already provided . in a traditional client / server application , where the customer has its own physical database , adding custom objects is typically done via ddl ( data definition language ) against that database to create new physical schema — tables and columns . in an online multi - tenant database system , this approach may be untenable for various reasons . for example , for a database system with a large population of tenants ( e . g ., on the order of 1 , 000 or 10 , 000 or more tenants ), the union of all desired schema would overwhelm the underlying data dictionary catalog ( e . g ., oracle dictionary ). additionally , the maintenance of all of these schema objects would be a nearly impossible burden for dbas ( database administrators ). further , current relational databases do not support online ddl ( in a highly concurrent transactional system ) well enough for organizations to remain logically independent . specifically , the creation of schema by one organization could lock an application for all other customers causing unacceptable delays . many application platforms have the concept of different applications that one can install . windows , for example , has applications that can be installed as does linux and other operating systems . several websites allow one to browse and select applications for download and installation . for example , cnet has the download . com site that allows one to download pc based applications . other enterprise software toolkits have the ability to specify a package of metadata and export it from one environment and import it into another . for example , peoplesoft has the ability to do this using either importing / exporting over an odbc connection or via a flat file . with flat file and odbc based approaches , there exists the risk of not being able to import packages that were defined or exported using a previous version . microsoft has an office directory that allows one to download useful spreadsheet or word document templates from their central web site . however , these systems do not allow users to easily and efficiently import and export applications in a multi - tenant environment . these systems also do not preserve the uniqueness of an imported application ; one cannot navigate to it as a separate item . other systems also do not allow one to disable changes to the imported objects in the imported application and uninstall the application in the future . fig1 illustrates an environment wherein a multi - tenant database system might be used . as illustrated in fig1 any user systems 12 might interact via a network 14 with a multi - tenant database system ( mts ) 16 . the users of those user systems 12 might be users in differing capacities and the capacity of a particular user system 12 might be entirely determined by permissions ( permission levels ) for the current user . for example , where a salesperson is using a particular user system 12 to interact with mts 16 , that user system has the capacities allotted to that salesperson . however , while an administrator is using that user system to interact with mts 16 , that user system has the capacities allotted to that administrator . thus , different users will have different capabilities with regard to accessing and modifying application and database information , including tab and tab set definition and profile information , depending on a user &# 39 ; s permission level . network 14 can be a lan ( local area network ), wan ( wide area network ), wireless network , point - to - point network , star network , token ring network , hub network , or other configuration . as the most common type of network in current use is a tcp / ip ( transfer control protocol and internet protocol ) network such as the global internetwork of networks often referred to as the “ internet ” with a capital “ i ,” that will be used in many of the examples herein . however , it should be understood that the networks that the present invention might use are not so limited , although tcp / ip is the currently preferred protocol . user systems 12 might communicate with mts 16 using tcp / ip and , at a higher network level , use other common internet protocols to communicate , such as http , ftp , afs , wap , etc . as an example , where http is used , user system 12 might include an http client commonly referred to as a “ browser ” for sending and receiving http messages from an http server at mts 16 . such http server might be implemented as the sole network interface between mts 16 and network 14 , but other techniques might be used as well or instead . in some implementations , the interface between mts 16 and network 14 includes load sharing functionality , such as round - robin http request distributors to balance loads and distribute incoming http requests evenly over a plurality of servers . each of the plurality of servers has access to the mts &# 39 ; s data , at least as for the users that are accessing that server . in one aspect , the system shown in fig1 implements a web - based customer relationship management ( crm ) system . for example , in one aspect , mts 16 can include application servers configured to implement and execute crm software applications as well as provide related data , code , forms , web pages and other information to and from user systems 12 and to store to , and retrieve from , a database system related data , objects and web page content . with a multi - tenant system , tenant data is preferably arranged so that data of one tenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that one tenant does not have access to another &# 39 ; s data , unless such data is expressly shared . in aspects , system 16 implements applications other than , or in addition to , a crm application . for example , system 16 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted ( standard and custom ) applications , including a crm application . one arrangement for elements of mts 16 is shown in fig1 , including a network interface 20 , storage 22 for tenant data , storage 24 for system data accessible to mts 16 and possibly multiple tenants , program code 26 for implementing various functions of mts 16 , and a process space 28 for executing mts system processes and tenant - specific processes , such as running applications as part of an application hosting service . several elements in the system shown in fig1 include conventional , well - known elements that need not be explained in detail here . for example , each user system 12 could include a desktop personal computer , workstation , laptop , pda , cell phone , or any wap - enabled device or any other computing device capable of interfacing directly or indirectly to the internet or other network connection . user system 12 typically runs an http client , e . g ., a browsing program , such as microsoft &# 39 ; s internet explorer browser , netscape &# 39 ; s navigator browser , opera &# 39 ; s browser , or a wap - enabled browser in the case of a cell phone , pda or other wireless device , or the like , allowing a user ( e . g ., subscriber of the multi - tenant database system ) of user system 12 to access , process and view information , pages and applications available to it from mts 16 over network 14 . each user system 12 also typically includes one or more user interface devices , such as a keyboard , a mouse , touch screen , pen or the like , for interacting with a graphical user interface ( gui ) provided by the browser on a display ( e . g ., monitor screen , lcd display , etc .) in conjunction with pages , forms , applications and other information provided by mts 16 or other systems or servers . for example , the user interface device can be used to select tabs and tab sets , create and modify applications , and otherwise allow a user to interact with the various gui pages , for example , as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 075 , 546 , which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein . as discussed above , the present invention is suitable for use with the internet , which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks . however , it should be understood that other networks can be used instead of the internet , such as an intranet , an extranet , a virtual private network ( vpn ), a non - tcp / ip based network , any lan or wan or the like . according to one embodiment , each user system 12 and all of its components are operator configurable using applications , such as a browser , including computer code run using a central processing unit such as an intel pentium processor or the like . similarly , mts 16 ( and additional instances of mts &# 39 ; s , where more than one is present ) and all of their components might be operator configurable using application ( s ) including computer code run using a central processing unit such as an intel ® pentium processor or the like , or multiple processor units . computer code for operating and configuring mts 16 to intercommunicate and to process web pages , applications and other data and media content as described herein is preferably downloaded and stored on a hard disk , but the entire program code , or portions thereof , may also be stored in any other volatile or non - volatile memory medium or device as is well known , such as a rom or ram , or provided on any other information storage media capable of storing program code , such as a compact disk ( cd ) medium , digital versatile disk ( dvd ) medium , a floppy disk , and the like . additionally , the entire program code , or portions thereof , may be transmitted and downloaded from a software source , e . g ., over the internet , or from another server , as is well known , or transmitted over any other conventional network connection as is well known ( e . g ., extranet , vpn , lan , etc .) using any communication medium and protocols ( e . g ., tcp / ip , http , https , ethernet , etc .) as are well known . it will also be appreciated that computer code for implementing aspects of the present invention can be implemented in any programming language that can be executed on a server or server system such as , for example , in c , c ++, html , any other markup language , java ™, javascript , any other scripting language such as vbscript , and many other programming languages as are well known . ( java ™ is a trademark of sun microsystems , inc .) according to one embodiment , each mts 16 is configured to provide web pages , forms , applications , data and media content to user systems 12 to support the access by user systems 12 as tenants of mts 16 . as such , mts 16 provides security mechanisms to keep each tenant &# 39 ; s data separate unless the data is shared . if more than one mts is used , they may be located in close proximity to one another ( e . g ., in a server farm located in a single building or campus ), or they may be distributed at locations remote from one another ( e . g ., one or more servers located in city a and one or more servers located in city b ). as used herein , each mts could include one or more logically and / or physically connected servers distributed locally or across one or more geographic locations . additionally , the term “ server ” is meant to include a computer system , including processing hardware and process space ( s ), and an associated storage system and database application ( e . g ., oodbms or rdbms ) as is well known in the art . it should also be understood that “ server system ” and “ server ” are often used interchangeably herein . similarly , the databases described herein can be implemented as single databases , a distributed database , a collection of distributed databases , a database with redundant online or offline backups or other redundancies , etc ., and might include a distributed database or storage network and associated processing intelligence . fig2 illustrates elements of mts 16 and various interconnections between these elements in an embodiment . in this example , the network interface is implemented as one or more http application servers 100 . also shown is system process space 102 including individual tenant process spaces 104 , a system database 106 , tenant database ( s ) 108 and a tenant management process space 110 . tenant database 108 might be divided into individual tenant storage areas 112 , which can be either a physical arrangement or a logical arrangement . within each tenant storage area 112 , user storage 114 might similarly be allocated for each user . it should also be understood that each application server 100 may be communicably coupled to database systems , e . g ., system database 106 and tenant database ( s ) 108 , via a different network connection . for example , one server 100 1 might be coupled via the internet 14 , another server 100 n - 1 might be coupled via a direct network link , and another server 100 n might be coupled by yet a different network connection . transfer control protocol and internet protocol ( tcp / ip ) are preferred protocols for communicating between servers 100 and the database system , however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may be used to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used . in aspects , each application server 100 is configured to handle requests for any user / organization . because it is desirable to be able to add and remove application servers from the server pool at any time for any reason , there is preferably no server affinity for a user and / or organization to a specific application server 100 . in one embodiment , therefore , an interface system ( not shown ) implementing a load balancing function ( e . g ., an f5 big - ip load balancer ) is communicably coupled between the servers 100 and the user systems 12 to distribute requests to the servers 100 . in one aspect , the load balancer uses a least connections algorithm to route user requests to the servers 100 . other examples of load balancing algorithms , such as round robin and observed response time , also can be used . for example , in certain aspects , three consecutive requests from the same user could hit three different servers , and three requests from different users could hit the same server . in this manner , mts 16 is multi - tenant , wherein mts 16 handles storage of , and access to , different objects , data and applications across disparate users and organizations . as an example of storage , one tenant might be a company that employs a sales force where each salesperson uses mts 16 to manage their sales process . thus , a user might maintain contact data , leads data , customer follow - up data , performance data , goals and progress data , etc ., all applicable to that user &# 39 ; s personal sales process ( e . g ., in tenant database 108 ). in the preferred mts arrangement , since all of this data and the applications to access , view , modify , report , transmit , calculate , etc ., can be maintained and accessed by a user system having nothing more than network access , the user can manage his or her sales efforts and cycles from any of many different user systems . for example , if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has internet access in their lobby , the salesperson can obtain critical updates as to that customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby . while each user &# 39 ; s data might be separate from other users &# 39 ; data regardless of the employers of each user , some data might be organization - wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users or all of the users for a given organization that is a tenant . thus , there might be some data structures managed by mts 16 that are allocated at the tenant level while other data structures might be managed at the user level . because an mts might support multiple tenants including possible competitors , the mts should have security protocols that keep data , applications and application use separate . also , because many tenants will opt for access to an mts rather than maintain their own system , redundancy , up - time and backup are additional critical functions and need to be implemented in the mts . in addition to user - specific data and tenant - specific data , mts 16 might also maintain system level data usable by multiple tenants or other data . such system level data might include industry reports , news , postings , and the like that are sharable among tenants . in certain aspects , client systems 12 communicate with application servers 100 to request and update system - level and tenant - level data from mts 16 that may require one or more queries to database system 106 and / or database system 108 . for example , in one aspect mts 16 ( e . g ., an application server 100 in mts 16 ) generates automatically a sql query including one or more sql statements designed to access the desired information . each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects , such as a set of logical tables , containing data placed into predefined categories . a “ table ” is one representation of a data object , and is used herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and custom objects according to the present invention . it should be understood that “ table ” and “ object ” may be used interchangeably herein . each table generally contains one or more data categories logically arranged , e . g ., as columns or fields in a viewable schema . each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for each category defined by the fields . for example , a crm database may include a table that describes a customer with fields for basic contact information such as name , address , phone number , fax number , etc . another table might describe a purchase order , including fields for information such as customer , product , sale price , date , etc . in some multi - tenant database systems , standard entity tables might be provided for use by all tenants . for crm database applications , such standard entities might include tables for account , contact , lead and opportunity data , each containing pre - defined fields . according to one aspect , a user can design their own custom applications including custom objects , custom tabs , custom fields , and custom page layouts . u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 817 , 161 , entitled “ custom entities and fields in a multi - tenant database system ” filed on apr . 2 , 2004 , which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , discloses systems and methods for creating and customizing objects such as entities and fields . the systems and methods presented therein offer a flexible approach to storing variable schema data in a fixed physical schema . tabs and tab sets can also be created and customized to define relationships between custom objects and fields , standard objects and fields , and applications and to track related data . u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 075 , 546 , entitled “ systems and methods for implementing multi - application tabs and tab sets ” filed on mar . 8 , 2005 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety , discloses systems and methods for creating and customizing tabs and tab sets in a multi - tenant environment . a brief summary of tabs and tab set creation and functionality as described therein follows . in embodiments , a tab represents a user interface into an element of an application or into a database object . selection of a tab provides a user access to the object or element of the application represented by the tab . a tab set is a group of related tabs that work as a unit to provide application functionality . new tabs and tab sets may be defined and tab set views may be customized so that an end user can easily and conveniently switch between the various objects and application elements represented by the defined tabs and tab sets . in one aspect , for example , tabs and tab sets may be used as a means to switch between applications in a multiple application environment , such as an on - demand web - based hosted application environment . a tab set typically includes a name , a logo , and an ordered list of tabs . a tab set is typically viewed in a graphical user interface ( gui ) environment , e . g ., using a browser application running on a user &# 39 ; s computer system . a standard tab set definition may be provided by a host system , e . g ., mts 16 . standard tab sets are pre - defined sets of tabs , e . g ., imported from a source that provides a capability ( e . g ., templating capability ) that determines which tabs , tab sets and data a tenant or user is initially provisioned with . one example of standard tab sets are provided by the salesforce . com website through its subscription crm service . using these standard tab sets , users are provided access to standard tables or entities such as account , contact , lead and opportunity entities . as another example , in the salesforce . com service , a user can create custom entities as well as custom fields for standard entities , and a user can create a tab set including tabs representing custom entities and fields . a user may create custom tab sets and custom tabs . preferably only administrator level users are provided with tab set creation functionality based on their stored permissions . additionally , users may customize their view of tab sets , including the order of displayed tabs and which tabs in a tab set are displayed . to allow users to conveniently organize their tabs , each tab may appear in any and all tab sets if desired . preferably , any user can edit tab combination and order , but cannot rename or replace a logo ; tab set naming and logo selection are preferably only administrator level functions . for example , administrators may create new tab sets and customize existing tab sets . for all tab sets , an administrator can specify which tabs are included , and the order that the tabs should be displayed . for organization - specific tab sets , an administrator can also specify the name and provide an optional logo . for standard tab sets provided by the host system , e . g ., tab sets provided by salesforce . com , such as salesforce and supportforce tab sets , an administrator is barred from changing the name or logo , nor can the administrator delete the standard tab set . preferably , any user can fully customize their view of all the tab sets they have permission to view . the tabs a user can view ( and use ) are based on the user &# 39 ; s permission level . a profile for each tab set allows an administrator level user to set the profile level viewability of tabs and tab sets , e . g ., so that groups of users at certain permission levels may be restricted from viewing ( and using ) certain tabs or tab sets , and therefore also may be restricted from accessing or viewing certain objects and applications referenced by the restricted tabs or tab sets . thus , in one aspect , a tab set can be thought of as a filter that is overlaid on top of an existing profile - level tab visibility definition . an administrator sets the default tabs that are included in each tab set filter , but each user can override as they like — the only thing they preferably cannot change is the tab set name and logo . the net result is that tab sets are quite lightweight and flexible . a particular meaning to a tab set is not enforced ; each user can generally use tab sets as they wish . in one embodiment , users have the ability to create , post and exchange applications . as used herein , in one aspect , an application is a group or package of multi - tenant database setup data ( e . g ., metadata ) that defines its data model , user interface and business logic . for example , the user may define a tab set , which logically defines the group of metadata that makes up an application . as used herein , a “ package ” is a metadata object that references the set of metadata objects used in an application in an organization . as used herein , an “ organization ” can mean a single tenant in a multi - tenant system and / or a set of metadata ( both application data and metadata ) for a single tenant in a multi - tenant system . in one embodiment , the present invention refines the concept of a tab set by allowing a user to precisely define a metadata “ package ” which includes all setup data ( e . g ., custom object definitions , page layout definitions , workflow rules , etc .) that make up an application . a package may include 0 , 1 or more tab sets . the user can then export this package from one “ source ” organization to a “ container ” organization that is not associated with any tenant in the database system . an exported package is registered with or listed in an application directory . a user that creates and / or exports a package will be referred to herein as a source user or exporting user . the source user can choose to have the package name and application listed in a public portion of the application directory . another user can import the package into a separate “ target ” organization allowing this organization to use the application independently of the creating organization . a user that views and / or imports a package will be referred to herein as a viewing user or importing user . upon selecting a package for import , code on the server system takes the metadata from the container organization , selects the appropriate recipient organization , reads the metadata from the container organization , and writes that metadata into the recipient organization . any conflicting metadata ( e . g ., object or field names ) can be resolved by the importing user , e . g ., by aborting or by renaming recipient organization objects , fields , etc . it should be noted that the import process preferably does not overwrite any existing recipient organization fields . also , an import user can uninstall the imported application . embodiments of the package creation process and the export and import processes will now be described . in the source organization , a source user creates a package definition by selecting the appropriate setup data ( metadata ). this defines the group of setup data that makes up the application . for example , the source user may select a high level tab set ( group of tabs ). the system then automatically determines object dependencies for the metadata included in the package . for example , in one aspect , the system automatically executes a dependency finder process ( e . g ., a process that “ spiders ” through the object schema and searches for object dependencies ) to determine all related objects that are required to use functionality provided by the tab set . in one aspect , this is done in two passes — first top down , then bottom up to determine all inverse relationships between objects in the system and those identified by the tab set . additionally or alternatively , the source user may explicitly specify the collection of setup data to include in the package . in one aspect , one or more of the following items ( pieces of metadata ) can be included in a package : 1 . tab set ( this would copy everything referenced by the tab set definition ) 2 . custom object a . custom fields b . relationships ( master - detail and lookup ) c . picklist values , d . page layouts , e . search layouts , f . related list layouts , g . public list views , h . custom links i . any other items associated with the custom object 3 . custom tab definition 4 . s - control , which in one aspect is a javascript program that performs custom user interface and business logic processing . a package creator may specify the s - control that runs on a tab or section of a page so that when a user navigates to the tab or page , an application server downloads the javascript for execution on a browser . an api is used to save data back to the service when necessary . 5 . custom report ( one report folder will be created for each new app .) 6 . dashboard 7 . email template 8 . document 9 . profile packages ( including fls for custom objects ) ( bundles of permission data associated with profiles , to be defined later ) 10 . dependent picklists 11 . workflow rules 12 . record types 1 . custom fields for standard objects 2 . mail merge templates 3 . business processes 4 . assignment rules ( a form of workflow ) 5 . auto - response rules ( a form of workflow ) 6 . escalation rules ( a form of workflow ) 7 . big deal alerts / opportunity reminders 8 . self service portal settings 9 . vlo features , which in one aspect includes definitions of different “ divisions ” within a company or organization . vlo features allow an application to partition data by divisions and thus limit the scope of reports and list views . 10 . delegated administration settings 11 . home page components fig6 shows an example of a gui screen that allows a user to create a package , e . g ., by selecting “ new ” with a pointing device , as well as delete and edit existing packages , view a history of installed packages and access a directory from which to install a package . fig7 shows an example of a gui screenshot showing information , including included items , for a created package . a user is able to edit , delete and publish a package using such a screen . a user may select to edit a package , e . g ., by deleting items or adding items . for example , if a user selects to delete a custom object ( or other metadata that is included in a package ), the system detects this and alerts the user . if the user wishes to proceed , the metadata is then removed from the package . the next time the user views the package items , the deleted items will be gone . if the package has been exported , the metadata in the exported package is not affected . this feature provides a backup to metadata , but does not provide backup to any records which might have been created , although these records can be saved using a data loader or an excel plug - in . if a user decides to add new items to a package , a picklist of items available for inclusion may be provided . any item may be included in more than one package . when adding an application ( e . g ., a tab set and / or other metadata items ) to a package , the system should add all custom items which are related to this application . this includes the custom tabs , the objects behind the tabs , and any custom objects which are related to these . ideally , the dependency finder process ( e . g ., spider process ) will also detect any custom objects which are related to any standard tabs which make up the added application as well . even though these standard objects may not be included in the package , the junction objects and other related objects are part of the functionality embodied in the application . certain object dependencies should always be included . for example , in certain aspects , all the custom fields on a custom object are included with a custom object , and all page layouts are included with a custom object . in certain aspects , custom object related list layouts ( that appear on standard objects ) are automatically included as well . once the user has finished defining the package , the package is validated . this can be done automatically by the system , e . g ., when a user indicates that the package is complete , or it may be done responsive to a user request to validate , e . g ., the user selecting a “ validate ” or similar button on a gui . this invokes the spidering process that makes sure all required setup data is included in the package definition . this is useful in case a user has changed metadata in the package ( e . g ., added a relationship , another tab or object , etc .) since metadata items were first added to the package . in one embodiment , a package is stored in the database as a set of primary keys of the objects included in the package . fig8 shows an example of a project data model definition and a project member data model definition according to one embodiment . after defining the package , the source user can choose to export the package . exporting the package makes it available for other organizations to import . in one aspect , when exporting a package , the source user is able to specify whether to allow customizations of the application after it has been imported into other organizations . for example , in certain aspects , a flag is set ( by the source user ) in the package definition to indicate whether customizations to an exported package are subject to upgrade . in certain aspects , a flag is set ( by the source user ) to indicate whether a particular component / object in the package can be altered at all . exporting is implemented , in one aspect , by the system automatically creating a new organization definition , e . g ., with an organization of type “ container ”, that includes a copy of all items ( metadata ) in the package including dependent object metadata not explicitly included by the export user in the package definition . in one aspect , this container organization shares the same physical database ( e . g ., oracle database ) schema as all other organizations . however , the container organization could reside in a different , separate database . further , this type of organization ( org ) is preferably ignored by standard expiration and billing processes where applicable . in certain aspects , where multiple database instances are present in a database system environment , an exported package is stored to one of the database instances as a container organization . the container organization is replicated to one or more or all of the remaining database instances . the multiple database instances may , for example , be associated with different geographical regions . for example , one database instance might be associated with europe ( ep ) and one might be associated with north america ( na ). in this manner , staggered and independent upgrading of database instances is facilitated . for example , installs of packages may continue as new releases / upgrades to the database system are implemented in different instances . for example , where the ep instance is upgraded before ( e . g ., one or two weeks ) the na instance , installs of package x for na would happen from the na instance , and installs of package x for ep would happen from the ep instance replicated copy of package x . this ensures installs from like versions would occur . when the export process completes , the source user receives a url that includes a unique key of the container organization . anyone who knows the url is able to access and import the package in the identified “ container ” organization into their own organization , e . g ., the metadata associated with that package is copied or instantiated into the schema associated with that organization . the source user may send the url to another user at another company , or the source user may post the url to a directory as will be described in more detail below . once a package is exported , the package remains open in the source organization , and the source user can continue to change it . however , the copy of the package in the container organization is preferably locked from further changes . a source user can export the same package multiple times , creating multiple container organizations . this allows a source user to create a version history of how the package changes over time . after the source user creates and exports the package to a container organization , they can optionally create a second new organization object with organization type “ demonstration ”. the demonstration organization has its own user id ( s ) and password ( s ). any user who knows the id and password can log into the demonstration organization and view the exported package . once logged in , the viewing user can manually validate that the required objects are present and the application works as expected . if the exporting user specified that sample data be included in the export package , a viewing user can see the sample data when logging into the demonstration organization or they can add their own sample data directly into the demonstration organization . in one aspect , the source user must create a demonstration organization for their package before they publish it to the public directory . this assures that users browsing the directory have a place to “ try out ” the application before they choose to download or import the package . for example , a package may include a web integration link ( wil )— it is very useful to examine wils in the demonstration organization to ensure that the services being used by wils are trusted . once a demonstration organization has been created for a package , the source user can “ publish ” the package to a centralized public directory . upon publishing , the system notifies the central directory to include the package by sending a message to the directory service . this message , in certain aspects , contains a url that allows users to navigate from the public directory back to the container organization and import it . the message , in certain aspects , also includes a url of the demonstration organization . this allows users browsing the public directory to “ try it now ”— they can log into the demonstration organization and thoroughly inspect the functionality . in certain aspects , the message includes descriptive data about the package ( e . g ., name , description , etc ) and a list of objects included in the package . the directory uses this information to provide detailed information for users browsing the directory looking for packages to import . additional details about the public directory are described below . to import and install a package into an organization , an import user navigates to the url that was generated by the package export process , either through the directory , or via a message from the source user . this url contains a unique key that identifies a particular exported application and package . the import user may have found this url by browsing the public directory , or the exporting user may have simply emailed the url to that user . when the import user clicks on the url they are able to access , view and import the package . in one aspect , installation is a multi - step process with one or more steps performed in the installation wizard . for example , in one aspect , the steps include providing a display of the package contents for the user to examine and confirm they want to install , configuring the security for the existing profiles in the installer &# 39 ; s organization , importing the package contents , and deploying the application to the intended users . an import user may also choose to customize any items in the install package . in certain aspects , some or all of the following steps may need to be performed or may occur during the package import and install process : log into the recipient organization by entering a userid and password . this is a user id for the recipient organization into which the package is to be imported . optionally , the exporter may have password protected the package . if this is the case , the import user has to enter the package password before they can import it ( this is a different password than the user password required to log into the recipient organization ). if object names in the package conflict with setup data in the recipient organization , the import process may fail . the import user may change the object names on conflicting objects within the recipient organization and restart the import process . during the import process , the recipient organization is locked to prevent inconsistent metadata updates . the import process checks to make sure the importing user has appropriate organization permissions to import a package . the import user is asked to define mappings from source organization specific references in the package to values appropriate for the recipient organization . for example , the import user may be prompted to specify a user id , profile or role . the setup data is copied into the recipient organization in a “ development ” mode . this allows the import user to verify that the application functions correctly before deploying it to users within the recipient organization . the import process scans the package for malicious functionality . for example , it can check for any web integration links ( wils ) that may post data to third party websites . if specified in the package definition , the import user is unable to change any of the setup data in the package after it is imported . for example , the import user cannot add or remove fields from a custom object after it is imported if specified in the package definition . this is implemented by the custom object edit screen functionality checking the package definition tables before allowing any edits to an object in the recipient organization . the import user can optionally “ uninstall ” a package . this can be implemented because the system keeps track of which metadata objects belong to the package ( e . g ., through the package database schema ). in certain aspects , packages may be upgraded . for example , if a publisher / export user changes the source package , the import user can choose to pull into their organization the change ( s ) made by the publisher while preserving any data rows the subscriber had creating since first importing the package . according to certain aspect , one or more flags may be set in the package definition to determine whether and to what extent customizations to a package may be made and upgraded . in one aspect , a “ manageable ” field is provided to identify whether customizations to a particular object are subject to upgrade . for example , if the package or an object in the package is marked as managed , the user is allowed to customize the package or the object , and these customizations will not be altered upon upgrading of the package . in another aspect , a “ control ” field is provided to identify whether an object may be modified by the publisher and / or the subscriber . in another aspect , an “ immutable ” field is provided to identify whether an object can or cannot be altered by anyone . for example , the source user can set the immutable flag so that nobody is able to modify the packages after it has been published . an upgrade process that executes checks each of these fields , where present , to determine the extent that customizations are maintained upon upgrading . the present invention also provides a central directory of applications ; source users can register packages in a central directory . in one aspect , the central directory includes a public portion that includes published packages intended for use by anyone , and a private portion that includes packages not intended for general use ( e . g ., packages intended for use by import users as selected by the source user ). the directory allows other users to browse published applications and choose which ones they want to install into their organization . in one aspect , the central directory is organized by a category hierarchy that allows users to search and browse by category for the types of application they &# 39 ; re interested in . in one aspect , the directory allows users to “ try it now ”— they can look at the demonstration organization containing the package before they install it into their organization . in another aspect , the directory provides an automated approval process that assures submissions are acceptable before they appear in the public directory . in another aspect , the directory includes a ratings system that allows ( import ) users of an application to vote on an application &# 39 ; s usefulness and quality . this voting appears in the public directory for other users to see . in certain aspects , the directory is built using jsp pages , jstl , a jsp tag library , jsp tags , and java classes . in one aspect , data used by the directory is stored in an organization object managed by one or more directory administrators . source users of applications may use the directory to input and maintain descriptive information held in a directoryentry object for each application . directory entries have an associated status field and only applications having a status of “ published ” or “ public ” are rendered for a visitor . a status of “ preview ” allows source users and directory administrators to see results as they will appear on the web before they become public . in one aspect , a display of applications according to solution categories is dynamically rendered based on a category picklist of values . an applications is tagged with the categories to which it belongs using a multiple - select picklist . a new value may be added at any time to the picklist and category label to create a new category . except for visitors browsing the site , almost all other uses of the directory site should require the user to either login or have a valid session id . these users may play different roles and may have different permissions to perform actions according to these roles . for example , three basic roles might include developer , publisher , and importer . developers should be able to hand responsibility for publishing the application over to another trusted person through creation of a publisher role and editing permissions . a publisher ( which defaults to the developer himself ) may be granted permission to create the original directory entry describing the application , modify it at a later date , add other publishers to assist , or even remove the entry from the directory . as used herein a source user can be either or both of a developer and a publisher . the user id of the person logging into the directory is used to determine the roles and rights the user has in regards to each application . users should have no real access to the organization in which the directory is kept . user id &# 39 ; s are , however , used to uniquely identify users and to retrieve information from their own organizations when necessary . a developer is an original creator of the application and its package through a setup wizard . one ( optional ) step in the wizard is to submit the application for publication in the directory . there , the developer , may either enter information himself or designate others to serve as the publisher and maintainer of the directory entry . a publisher of a given directory entry is a user who is responsible for entering and maintaining descriptive information about the application in the directory . each application &# 39 ; s directory entry has an assigned set of publishers along with permissions granted by the original submitter . these permissions give rights to edit fields , change status , remove the application from the directory or even add others as publishers ( e . g ., with the same or lesser permissions ). an importer is any import user , e . g ., system administrator of an organization or tenant , who has initiated the import process of an application for deployment in their own organization . during the import process , a record is created in the database system showing what organizations have which applications imported and by whom . this may be used to show how popular an application is and if it is desirable , to restrict comments and ratings to only those users of organizations that have the application installed . individuals may participate in multiple roles at different times ; i . e ., a user may be a developer of one application and an import user for another . publishers create an application &# 39 ; s directory entry , input associated information such as a description , thumbnail , screenshots , and other information . prior to becoming public , a publisher may preview this information at any time . when the information is ready to be made publicly available for viewing , the publisher changes the state to “ submitted ”. in one aspect , this initiates a review of the application by a directory administrator , who may request further information , etc . once the application has completed review , the directory administrator changes its state to “ public ”. this makes the application available for public viewing within the directory . depending upon the business process , the public state may also lock out any further changes by publishers . in this case , should the publisher need to update the directory entry after being made public , a request could be filed with the directory administrator to remove the entry from public view , e . g ., by changing the state back to new . if it is desirable to allow publishers to modify entries without requesting permission to change and another round of review , a modified flag in the directory entry can be used to simply indicate that a public entry has been changed . in one aspect , to give visitors an idea of what others think about each application , viewing users may assign a rating to the application and provide personal reviews in the form of comments . in one aspect , only users of organizations that have actually installed the application may provide comments and / or ratings . this entitlement could be deduced , for example , by looking at the import records created by system administrators who initiated the application installation . to keep ratings an honest reflection of how the community rates the application , however , it may be necessary to provide some protection from users gaming the system by making multiple postings . in any case , users may want to change their rating of an application from what they initially rated . in one aspect , this is accomplished by treating the ratings system as one would voting ; each user casts a vote for one of five possible star ratings associated with the application and each application keeps a tally of the votes for each of the possible ratings . it then becomes trivial to determine the average rating for each application and also yield a more informative histogram of the votes . users may change their vote at any time , but no matter how many times they make a rating , they only get to vote once per application . a record is kept for each user of their current rating for applications that they have rated or commented on . fig3 shows a data model for a directory of applications according to one embodiment . as shown , the directory data model according to this embodiment includes five main objects : directoryentry , categorypage , publisher , import and userreview . it should be appreciated that fewer or more objects may be used . the directoryentry object holds information pertaining to each individual application submitted for publication . information is written to this table by the web site during application submission or modification and may be reviewed and modified by the appropriate internal directory support personnel . fig4 shows a definition of a directoryentry object and other objects according to one embodiment . associated with each entry in the directoryentry object is a status field indicating the status of the directory record . the values allow coupling the external input and editing functions with an internal process of review and preview . status values might include : new : first created with only minimal information submitted : entry ready for internal review before publishing preview : allows internal site provider personnel to preview information in the context of the site public : publishable , ready for public viewing inactive : no longer visible in the directory ( deleted ) when the state is changed to public , the developer and other publishers for the application are notified , e . g ., by e - mail , and a publish date field or variable is set . according to one aspect , each entry is associated with a multi - select picklist field representing the solution categories under which the application will be listed . the directory dynamically adapts to categories so they may be added at any time . for readability , in one aspect , the picklist values encode the category and / or subcategory into each name . the total user votes for a rating , e . g ., 1 - 5 stars , are stored in fields from which the average can be computed . also , the system can determine and display the ratings for each application , e . g ., count how many applications were rated 1 - star , 2 - star , etc . the categorypage object is used to form the category hierarchy driving the directory &# 39 ; s dynamic generation of category pages . this object also holds a title for the page along and a list of several applications to display as featured selections on the page . the publisher object holds the user id of a user ( e . g ., source user ) responsible for creating and maintaining the application &# 39 ; s directory entry along with their editing permissions . examples of permission levels include : edit : grants someone the right to edit the modifiable fields in the directoryentry delete : grants the user the right to delete the directoryentry adduser : grants the user the right to add additional users with the same or more restrictive rights . in one aspect , permission ordering from most - to - least is delete , adduser , edit . the import object acts as a record of what imports have been initiated of an application into any particular organization . this object holds ids of the directoryentry ( or package id ), the system administrator importing the application , the organization affiliation of the system administrator , and the date of import . this object allows ranking of applications based on the number of imports and can be used , if desirable , to limit users to commenting and rating only on those applications that have been imported in their own organizations . the userreview object holds comments and ratings made by a specified user of a particular application entry . restrictions may be imposed on who can add comments and rate applications such as only allowing authenticated users or even restricting only to those users in organizations that have imported the application . an implementation need not have any such restriction . a useful user requirement on the directory is to be able to see a list of applications by solution category . any application may appear in any number of categories and categories are preferably nested . additionally , to allow other views of the data , such as by business size or market segment , it is desirable to be list applications accord to different categorization schemes . according to one aspect , categories are assigned as the application of tags ( out of a multi - select picklist ) to each application entry . a user working on preparing the directory entry for an application is presented with the current categorization scheme in the form of a set of check boxes to indicate which categories apply to the application . the system will assign the necessary picklist values to the application &# 39 ; s directory entry . to make it easy for a directory administrator to manually make entries and run reports showing which applications are in which categories , in one aspect , each application entry contains a category field containing a multi - select picklist of available categories . for readability , picklist values representing a subcategory should show the path to subcategory , i . e ., “ consumer + games ” value would imply the application exists in the subcategory games under the consumer category . multiple values place the application into multiple categories . because categories and their hierarchies are created for the purpose of generating category pages , the hierarchical representation of a particular category hierarchy uses a set of categorypage objects . in one aspect , a categorypage object exists for each category and / or subcategory available . categorypage objects are linked together to form a tree through fields specifying the node &# 39 ; s own category and the category of its parent node . root nodes , are indicated by categorypages which have no parent . ( see , e . g ., fig5 ). tree traversal is accomplished by query . for example , to find the labels of top level categories of a particular hierarchy , called all - solutions , a query might look like : in one aspect , display nodes also carry additional information used by jsp pages rendering the list of applications falling into the specified category . this additional information includes a field for maintaining a count of associated applications , page title label , page body text , and applications to feature on the page . view application list filtered and sorted by business area ( category ), author , date submitted , rating , or other criteria view full application description ( detail page ) view full application specification / profile ( such as # of objects , object names , web integration links ( wils ), etc .) view aggregated user ratings of applications view “ highlighted ” applications according to business area or overall view top ranked applications view most popular applications submit / change their rating of individual applications ( optional restriction ) post comments associated with individual applications ( optional restriction ) try out application in app - specific demonstration organization import application to their own organization view application packages that the developer developed submit application for publication along with associated descriptive information . remove applications from the directory edit / update application descriptions receive email notification when application has been approved by provider review delegate responsibility over the management and publication of the application to other users upload images , pdfs , and other documents associated with the application as attachments to the directoryentry in one alternate embodiment , rather than using a new type of organization ( e . g ., container organization ) in the database schema to store an exported package , exported packages are implemented as binary large objects in the database ( e . g ., oracle db ) or as text or binary data stored in a flat file format . however , upgrade scripts may not work well against flat files . therefore , in one embodiment , a package is implemented as a separate “ hidden ” organization within the database system ( e . g ., salesforce . com service ). this advantageously allows release upgrade scripts to upgrade these exported organizations . in one aspect , storing a foreign key to the unique package id on all setup data included in the package is performed instead of storing a package table including the primary keys of all objects in the package . however , the package table approach is preferred as it makes it more efficient to quickly determine which objects were included in the package at runtime . it may be desirable to determine which objects were included in the package at runtime to differentiate between installed packages from the base system or from each other . for example , in the custom object edit screens , custom objects that were imported as read only cannot be modified while all other custom objects ( not imported ) can be modified . while the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the specific embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . to the contrary , it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements .	6
the pressure reducing process shown in fig1 takes place in two stages from a point a corresponding to atmospheric pressure . the first stage runs substantially linearly from the starting point at a to a point b during about 12 seconds , and during which about 60 % of the total pressure drop employed is traversed , i . e . from about 760 to about 373 mm hg . this linear pressure drop can adequately be provided for by means of pressure equilization through a conduit having a cross - sectional restriction , for instance a nozzle of about 5 mm diameter . this device will be described in more detail below . whereas during the first pressure reduction stage between the points a and b it is of great importance that the rate of pressure reduction does not exceed a certain value , depending among other things to a certain degree upon the type of bakery products being treated , the remaining portion of the pressure drop can be effected without such limitation . this appears from the curve of fig1 which from the point b falls off with substantially greater inclination than during the first portion of the pressure reduction . as usual in such pressure equilization processes the curve will eventually flatten out , and the treatment according to the invention is terminated at a point c after a total treatment time of about 20 seconds , somewhat more than 80 % of the original pressure having then been removed . the terminating pressure will correspond to the vapour pressure at the desired temperature after the vacuum treatment . the values shown in the diagram of fig1 relate to a temperature reduction to about 54 ° c . corresponding to a vapour pressure of about 0 . 15 kg / cm 2 or 85 % vacuum . this corresponds to 115 mm hg in a normal atmosphere . when treating seven loaves of bread simultaneously ( as indicated by way of example in fig2 ), the following figures can serve to illustrate the method of invention . after baking , the weight of seven loaves is about 6 . 25 kg , of which about 37 % is water . at full balance between the vapour pressure of the water content and the ambient atmosphere the evaporated water will correspond to the cooling of the loaves from 95 ° c . to 54 ° c . half or preferably 60 % of the pressure drop is linear in order that the vapour developed in the loaf of bread will be able to escape through the natural pores of the crust at a pressure difference which does not break the crust . the pressure reducing velocity is lower than 60 mm hg per second , which in the pressure reducing process example of fig1 corresponds to performing the linear portion of the pressure reduction , i . e . from 760 to 373 mm hg , during not less than approximately 6 . 5 seconds . it should be noted that line a - b in the example of fig1 illustrates a linear pressure drop of approximately 32 mm hg / second , i . e . at a rate less than the maximum rate . the terminating pressure and the linear portion of the process are variable . in the example shown in fig1 the total pressure is reduced from normal atmospheric pressure , i . e . 760 mm hg , to 115 mm hg . this corresponds to an approximately 85 % vacuum reduction . in this specific example the temperature is reduced to approximately 54 ° c . it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention includes reductions to pressures corresponding to other temperatures . for example , it may be desirable in the bakery product cooling operation to reduce the temperature down to 35 ° c ., which temperature would correspond to a pressure reduction to approximately 42 mm hg . further , it may be sufficient in other circumstances to reduce the temperature of the bakery products to approximately 60 ° c ., such temperature corresponding to a pressure reduction to approximately 150 mm hg . accordingly , it will be understood that the overall temperature reduction is chosen for a particular bakery product or environment , and then the parameters of the two pressure reduction operations are designed . it is important in accordance with the present invention that the pressure drop during the first pressure reduction operation correspond to at least half of the total pressure reduction of the first and second pressure reduction operations . it is further important in accordance with the present invention that the maximum rate of pressure reduction in the first linear pressure reduction operation to be lower than 60 mm hg per second . the minimum velocity of pressure rate reduction is not particularly critical . it is of course desired that the pressure reduction , and therefore the cooling , be achieved as rapidly as possible . the actual linear pressure reduction rate of the first pressure reduction operation employed will depend upon certain practical considerations , such as for example cooling equipment capacity . it has however been found that a minimum pressure reduction rate for the first or linear pressure reduction operation 10 mm hg per second is satisfactory . this minimum rate is of course substantially slower than the maximum allowed rate , but is intended to be within the scope of the present invention , as long as the other parameters and requirements of the present invention are followed . a further possible minimum rate of pressure reduction to be employed during the first or linear pressure reduction operation may be 30 mm hg per second . however , as discussed above , the critical feature of the present invention is that the maximum rate of pressure reduction during the first or linear pressure reduction operation not exceed 60 mm hg per second . a schematic and simplified example of an apparatus according to the invention is shown in fig2 . this apparatus is based on cooperation with an oven from which the loaves of bread are pushed out in groups or rows of seven to eight loaves in a direction parallel or transverse to the longitudinal direction of the oven at an angle of 90 ° by means of a conveyor or an ejector associated with the oven . the loaves 2 are conveyed in their longitudinal direction into a cylindrical vacuum chamber 1 , formed for example of an electrical and heat conductive material , which can be closed with a cover 3 to which there is connected a vacuum conduit 4 with associated valves and connections . more specifically , in this specific embodiment , the vacuum system includes a branch piece 10 , a short vacuum conduit 9 and a servo - valve 6 which through an additional vacuum conduit 5 serves to connect the vacuum chamber 1 to a vacuum pump or another source of vacuum 14 which is shown only schematically in the drawings . parallel to the servo - valve 6 there is provided a by - pass conduit 8 which has calibrated or adjustable cross - section which is restricted in relation to the open flow cross - section of servo - valve 6 , so as to give the slower , near to linear pressure reduction at the beginning of the vacuum treatment . for adjustment or control of the linear pressure reduction rate there is inserted a variable throttle or control valve 7 in the by - pass conduit 8 . for terminating the vacuum treatment a magnet valve 12 is connected to the branch piece 10 through a conduit 11 for allowing atmospheric pressure to enter the chamber 1 . for this purpose the magnet valve 12 is connected to the ambient atmosphere through a conduit 13 . the present invention is intended to encompass other means than those specifically described above with reference to fig2 for controlling the first linear pressure reduction rate and the second increased pressure reduction rate within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . fig3 and 5 illustrate some additional possible means of controlling the pressure within the interior vacuum chamber 1 to achieve the above discussed first linear and second non - linear and increased pressure reductions . specifically , in fig3 a single variable throttle valve 15 may be positioned in conduit 10 between single vacuum source 14 and the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . thus , throttle or control valve 15 may be selectively regulated between a fully opened position such as shown in fig3 to various selected more restricted positions . when throttle valve 15 is in a more restricted position , then it will be possible to achieve the above discussed first linear pressure reduction . thereafter , by moving throttle valve 15 to the fully opened position shown in fig3 it will be possible to achieve the above discussed more rapid non - linear pressure reduction . it is of course to be understood that various types of known control or throttle valves may be employed in this embodiment of the invention . with reference now to fig4 of the drawings , a modification of the embodiment of fig3 will be described . specifically , throttle valve 15 of fig3 is replaced by a valve 16 , for example a slide valve which is reciprocal as indicated by arrow y , and which has extending therethrough two orifices of different diameters . specifically , when the slide valve 16 is moved to align relatively restricted orifice 18 with conduit 10 , then it is possible to achieve the above discussed first linear pressure reduction at a rate which is dependent upon the capacity of vacuum source 14 and the size of orifice 18 . thereafter , the slide valve 16 may be moved to the position shown in fig4 whereat larger orifice 17 is aligned with conduit 10 , whereby it is possible to achieve the increased non - linear pressure reduction . it will of course be understood that various known types of valves , having plural orifices therethrough , for example rotary valves , may be employed in place of the slide valve 16 which is schematically shown in fig4 . with reference now to fig5 of the drawings , a further embodiment of the present invention will be described . specifically , in this embodiment , there are provided two separate vacuum sources , for example high capacity vacuum pump 19 and low capacity vacuum pump 20 . the two pumps 19 and 20 may be selectively alternatively connected to conduit 10 and thereby to the interior of vacuum chamber 1 by means of a suitable distributing valve such as the schematically shown two - way rotary valve 21 . valve 21 may be selectively rotated to align orifice 22 therein with either high capacity vacuum pump 19 or low capacity vacuum pump 20 , thereby controlling the pressure reduction in conduit 10 and the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . more particularly , when orifice 22 is in the position shown in fig5 and aligned with low capacity vacuum pump 20 , then it is possible to achieve the above discussed linear pressure reduction within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . thereafter , valve 21 may be rotated to align orifice 22 with high capacity vacuum pump 19 , and thereby the above discussed increased non - linear pressure reduction will be achieved within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . if is of course to be understood that various known two - way valves may be employed as valve 21 . especially during starting up of the process the vapour from the bakery products may condense in the cylindrical chamber . in practice it may therefore be an advantage to provide means for preventing condensed water from reaching the crust on the products being treated . for hygienic reasons , however , it may be desirable to avoid inlays , inserts or the like in the chamber for this purpose . condensation is prevented by heating the chamber . this can be done by suitable means , for instance by radiant heat . with reference again to fig2 of the drawings , one specific means for preventing the above discussed condensation from reaching the crust of the bakery products will be described . specifically , in this embodiment of the invention , an electrical circuit is established through the length of the vacuum chamber by attaching in electrical contact with opposite ends of the walls of vacuum chamber 1 electrical leads or contacts 23 which are connected to the secondary winding of a transformer 24 to the primary winding of which is supplied an ac current . by this arrangement , the walls of the vacuum chamber itself are formed into an electric resistance heating element . the heat generated by such resistance heating element prevents the collection of condensed water within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 . since condensed water is prevented from collecting then there of course will be no water which might evaporate during the vacuum treatment , this makes it possible to obtain a lower pressure than would have otherwise been possible within the interior of the vacuum chamber . this makes it possible to obtain a lower final temperature of the bakery products , all other parameters being equal . it is of course to be understood that the formation of the electric resistance heating element illustrated in fig2 may be employed with any of the vacuum control arrangements shown in fig3 through 5 of the drawings . a further arrangement for preventing the evaporation of water which might condense within the interior of the vacuum chamber 1 during the above discussed vacuum treatment , will now be described with reference to fig6 of the drawings . in this embodiment , rather than heating the chamber as is the case in the embodiment of fig2 the walls of the vacuum chamber 1 are cooled . this will of course allow the formation of condensation within the interior of the vacuum chamber . however , by cooling the vacuum chamber , such condensation will be prevented from evaporating . therefore , in this embodiment also it is possible to provide a lower pressure and thus a lower final temperature of the bakery products during vacuum treatment , all other parameters being equal . in the arrangement illustrated in fig6 the cooling system 25 includes a cooling jacket 26 surrounding the outer walls of the vacuum chamber 1 . a suitable coolant is introduced into the interior of jacket 26 by inlet 27 and circulates the length of vacuum chamber 1 via a circulating coil 28 , and is then discharged through outlet 29 . it is of course to be understood that many other known and conventional cooling systems may be employed for cooling the walls of vacuum chamber 1 . by this arrangement , as mentioned above , the walls of vacuum chamber 1 are cooled . this will allow the condensation of water within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 during the pressure reduction operation . however , by cooling the walls of the vacuum chamber 1 such condensed water will be prevented from evaporating . it will of course be apparent that in this embodiment of the invention means such as inlays , inserts or supports for the bakery products must be provided to maintain the bakery products out of contact with the water which will condense within the interior of vacuum chamber 1 , for hygienic and quality reasons . it is further to be understood that it is intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention that the heating system shown in fig2 or the cooling system shown in fig6 may be designed to heat or cool , respectively , other portions of the system , for example the various connecting conduits and valves . it is believed that one of ordinary skill in the art , would understand how to extend the necessary heating or cooling system to encompass such additional portions of the apparatus of the present invention . it is further to be understood that the cooling system shown in fig6 may be used with any of the vacuum control embodiments of the present invention illustrated in fig3 through 5 . in connection with the drawings there is no detailed illustration of mechanisms for opening and closing the cover 3 on the chamber 1 in the drawings , but the necessary structure for obtaining these functions will be readily understood by persons skilled in the art . various modifications may be made to the above described specific structural and operational features without departing from the scope of the invention .	0
referring now to fig1 and 1a for the schematic circuit diagram of the present invention , power for the unit is supplied from the telephone paystation chassis ( shown in fig2 ) being connected to integrated circuit ic1 , ( via p3 and j3 ) which is a low power regulator . power is normally supplied when the telephone is in both the on - hook or off - hook conditions . in the on - hook condition , power is limited to only a few microamps , so that the present circuitry operates in a very low power mode , while the phone is in the on - hook condition . integrated circuit ic1 , the low power regulator , takes the voltage from the paystation at a voltage vdd and then regulates this voltage to 3 . 3 volts at vcc . resistors r20 and r21 across the output from ic1 determine the regulator output voltage . integrated circuit ic6 is a voltage detector that monitors the input voltage ( vbat ) to the voltage regulator . when the vdd voltage drops below 3 . 3 volts , the output of the voltage detector provides a low output level signal to reset microprocessor ic4 . it should be noted that microprocessor ic4 does not have its internal circuitry shown in detail inasmuch as it does not form a portion of the present invention , it only being required that the microprocessor ic4 operate to provide the functions as described hereinafter . when the input voltage to regulator ic6 exceeds the 3 . 3 volt threshold , the output of the voltage detector , which is an open drain output , will go to a high impedance state allowing resistor r12 to pull the mclr reset input high permitting the microprocessor to execute the code . leads 5 ¢, 10 ¢ and 25 ¢ and the associated vbat connection interface to the paystation chassis ( via p1 and j1 ) of fig2 . the chassis coin trigger switch input is referenced to the negative side and requires an input level equal to vdd , i . e ., the positive side . transistors q1 through q6 and resistors r4 , r6 , and r10 provide level conversion required to interface 3 . 3 volt logic from the microprocessor ic4 to the paystation chassis ( fig2 ). the input to integrated circuit iv5 ( j4 ) is connected to the paystation hookswitch circuitry ( at p4 ) and monitors that circuitry to determine when the phone is in its off - hook condition with available power from the central office ( via leads tip and ring ) being connected to the telephone . in this condition , current flows through resistor r14 and integrated circuit ic5 which effectively is an opto - coupler which monitors current flowing through its circuitry . microprocessor ic4 monitors the output of opto - coupler ic5 to determine when to look for coins passing through the trigger switch assembly . if current is not present at pins 1 and 2 of integrated circuit ic5 , i . e ., the microprocessor will operate in its low power or standby mode . integrated circuits ic2 and ic3 are trigger switch drivers , which monitor the voltage across the coin relay cr ( coin relay trigger switch inputs cr1 , cr2 , and cr3 , connected via j2 and p2 ) included in the paystation telephone . when the voltage across coin relay trigger switch input leads cr1 and cr2 reach a value sufficient enough to operate the coin relay , either opto - coupler driver ic2 or ic3 will operate depending upon the polarity of the coin relay voltage . should a collect signal be applied to the coin relay , lead cr1 will be positive with respect to lead cr2 . this polarity will cause the transistor of opto - coupler ic3 to turn on . in turn , this signal is connected to pin 12 of the microprocessor to signal when coins are collected . should a refund signal be applied to the coin relay , lead cr1 will be negative with respect to lead cr2 . this polarity will then cause the transistor of opto - coupler ic2 to turn on with the resultant signal being applied to pin 13 of the microprocessor ic4 , indicating to the microprocessor that coins have been refunded . relay contacts k1c associated with relay coil k1a are connected to coin relay trigger switch input leads cr3 and cr2 are in parallel with the coin contacts on the coin relay mounted on the associated paystation chassis ( fig2 ). pin 9 of the microprocessor ic4 is used to operate relay k1 . relay k1 is a latching relay . when transistor q10 is operated , capacitor c12 will be charged through the coil k1a of relay k1 . this charging current through the relay coil operates the relay so that at contacts k1c , previously noted , pins 2 and 3 will be closed . capacitor c12 is then discharged through relay k1 when transistor q10 turns off and transistor q11 turns on . this discharge circuit passing through relay coil k1a effectively operates the relay so that the pin that contacts pins 2 and 3 goes to an open condition . vault switch s1 is mounted on the telephone paystation in such a manner that the switch contacts are normally open . when the coin box is removed from the paystation , the vault switch contacts will close providing a ground on pin 11 of microprocessor ic4 . two infrared light emitting diodes led1 and led2 are pulsed on by the microprocessor ic4 at pin 17 effectively operating transistor q12 . when current is flowing through light emitting diode led1 , a light beam is then extended through the coin chute assembly to phototransistor q7 . this light beam will turn on phototransistor q7 which is connected to pin 8 of the microprocessor . when current is flowing through light emitting diode led2 , a light beam will be passed through the coin chute assembly to phototransistor q8 . this light beam will turn on phototransistor q8 which is connected to pin 7 of the microprocessor . the microprocessor turns on current to light emitting diode led1 and led2 once every five milliseconds by turning on transistor q12 . when transistor q12 is on , the microprocessor will read the inputs from phototransistors q7 and q8 . should a nickel be in the coin chute when light emitting diodes led1 and led2 are on , phototransistor q7 will not turn on . if a dime is in the coin chute then phototransitor q8 will not turn on , however , if a quarter is in the coin chute neither transistor q7 or q8 will turn on . separate and distinct outputs from phototransistors q7 and q8 are provided at pins 7 and 8 of the microprocessor , for determining which type of coin has passed through the coin chute and broken the light paths extending therethrough . a more thorough understanding of the present invention will be had by taking the following description of operation of the circuitry which has been previously described above . the present circuitry is initialized when the unit is installed in a telephone paystation , particularly a paystation like the type 120b as manufactured by quadrum telecommunications , inc . when the circuitry is initialized , power is applied through the leads extending from the paystation chassis ( via p3 and j3 ) to integrated circuit ic1 . the power - on reset circuit of integrated circuit ic6 will then insure that power is stable before the mclr input is released which allows the microprocessor to start executing instructions from its internal program memory . installation of the coin box will operate the vault switch s1 which is also connected to the microprocessor at pin 11 . initially , the coin box count of the microprocessor internally is initialized to zero when the coin box is installed . the present circuitry will now go into its operating mode when it detects that a phone is in the off - hook condition by virtue of the leads ( via p4 and j4 ) extending to integrated circuit ic5 by detecting a low condition at the output of opto - coupler ic5 . in the operate mode , the microprocessor monitors the coin chute status every five milliseconds , by pulsing the infrared light emitting diodes led1 and led2 and reading the inputs rb1 and rb2 which extend from transistors q8 and q7 . coins being deposited into the telephone paystation pass through the coin chute ( not shown ) and are held in the coin relay ( cr ) hopper ( not shown ) until they are either collected or refunded . should a refund signal be applied to the paystation telephone ( from the telephone central office ), a refund signal will be detected by opto - coupler ic2 and the microprocessor ic4 will clear the hopper coin count . however , if a collect signal is applied to the pay phone , a collect signal will be detected by opto - coupler ic3 and the microprocessor will add the hopper count to the coin box total count and clear the hopper coin count . when a predefined volume of coins are present in the coin box , based on the volumetric count previously outlined , the microprocessor will operate relay contacts k1c . when the collect signal is detected and the coin box total exceeds the full box threshold , the k1c relay contacts will be closed . two and one - half seconds after the collect / refund operation is detected , relay k1c contacts will be open for 21 / 2 seconds . after the 21 / 2 second open condition is complete , k1 contacts will be closed again and will remain closed until another collect or refund operation is detected , or until the full coin box is removed . this initial 21 / 2 second period when the k1c contacts are closed will provide adequate time for the telephone central office equipment to operate the coin relay more than one time . this condition signals a stuck coin condition to the telephone central office and a maintenance report will be generated indicating this condition . further testing on the line then can be performed to see if the condition still exists . should the condition still exist , it can be assumed that a stuck coin is present requiring maintenance or that the coin box has reached a predetermined level ( approximation full ) and that the present circuitry has placed a ground condition on the line to simulate a full coin box . a second 21 / 2 second period when the k1c contacts are open is intended to indicate a condition where no ground is present . this latter or open condition signals to the central office that the coin relay ground condition is cleared and to quit providing a collect or refund signal . at this point , coin relay ground condition is reapplied after the second 21 / 2 second period . this then provides a ground path that can be detected with additional tests as conducted by the telephone central office . when service personnel arrive and the full coin box is removed , the vault switch will again indicate this condition to the microprocessor ic4 . the microprocessor will then zero the coin box count and remove the ground caused by the k1c contacts and the cycle can be repeated . while but a single embodiment of the present invention has been shown , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention , which shall be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto .	7
laboratory scale and suitable industrial scale methods of selectively reducing the amount of certain constituents in tobacco are described along with test data detailing the effectiveness of such methods . notably , these methods are performed on tobacco itself . in addition , the tobacco can be from any source , including dried , cured , or processed , and can further be in the form of finished products , e . g ., cigarettes , snuff ( moist or dry ), and cigars . these methods can reduce the amount of one or more constituents without substantially removing tobacco attributes . as shown in fig1 , an industrial type system utilizing , e . g ., liquid carbon dioxide under subcritical conditions , can be used to reduce the amount of one or more constituents in tobacco . although only one vessel 6 is shown in fig1 , it is understood that a plurality of such vessels can be utilized , in series , in a large - scale system . as further shown in fig1 , tobacco 5 is charged to vessel 6 , which is then sealed so as to be able to operate under elevated pressure conditions , e . g ., necessary to maintain a subcritical fluid as a liquid therein . subcritical fluid 2 , e . g ., carbon dioxide , initially stored as shown in supply vessel 1 , is directed through and is pumped to a desired pressure by inlet pump 3 . after pressurized subcritical fluid 2 passes through inlet pump 3 , the liquid proceeds , via circulation pump 4 into vessel 6 and through the charge of tobacco 5 . as the liquid subcritical fluid 2 flows through tobacco 5 , the amount of constituents in tobacco 5 is reduced . after exiting vessel 6 , a subcritical fluid stream , which at this point may be gaseous , flows into and through separator vessel 7 . the separator vessel may contain a substance 8 , which traps basic constituents and , thereby , depletes the subcritical fluid of any dissolved or suspended constituents . the substance 8 can be drained from separator vessel 7 via drain valve 9 , particularly after the solution accumulates a significant amount of constituents . a suitable substance 8 is an aqueous citric acid solution . other possible substances effective for separating out constituents include , for example , solid magnesium silicate or any other such solution or solid capable of binding the desired constituents . the subcritical fluid , once depleted of any dissolved or suspended constituents may be recirculated to the vessel 6 , as shown , via line r . circulation pump 4 may be designed such that subcritical fluid entering its inlet from line r may , once again , be pressurized so as to liquify before entering vessel 6 . those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that pump 4 may thus act to re - pressurize the subcritical fluid entering pump 4 from either supply vessel 1 or line r . following completion of the reduction process , the system may be depressurized and constituent - reduced tobacco 5 removed . the process time may vary depending on a variety of processing parameters . one of ordinary skill in the art will readily be able to determine suitable process times . ranges of appropriate process times are discussed below in connection with trial runs performed on a laboratory - scale system . the virtually continuous circulation of subcritical fluid and the inherent capability of reducing constituents from multiple charges of tobacco residing in a plurality of vessels are two clear advantages to be exploited . elimination of costly down time brought about by emptying and recharging of a single vessel 6 is achievable with use of several ( typically three or four ) valved vessels 6 operating in series . vessels may also be operated in parallel . as noted above , subcritical fluid is pumped in series through the several vessels 6 . when the charge of tobacco in one of the vessels has become constituent - reduced and is ready to be removed , the subcritical fluid can be diverted from that vessel to another vessel containing tobacco or a separation vessel . this subcritical fluid may still be effective for reducing constituents from other charges of tobacco in other vessels . the vessel from which tobacco is ready to be removed may be isolated from the system without interfering with on - going reductions in other vessels . new tobacco may then be placed into the vessel , and the process can continue without overall system interruption . preferably , treated tobacco substantially retains the taste and aroma of untreated tobacco . alternatively , any flavor or aroma compounds removed during treatment may be re - deposited in the tobacco , e . g ., after removal of any constituents from the subcritical fluid . the flavor and aroma content of tobacco can be determined by taste and smell tests . the following examples illustrate various embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to be limiting in any way . fig2 shows a schematic representation of a laboratory - scale system that can be used to produce reduced constituent content in tobacco . the representative data of table 1 were developed using such a system , which was operated in the following manner . a sample of tobacco 16 was placed in vessel 15 , and the vessel was sealed . gaseous subcritical fluid 12 was supplied from cylinder 11 and admitted to the system . when pressure ( as measured by gauges a and b ) reached cylinder pressure , compressor pump 13 was energized to liquify the fluid 12 . temperature was adjusted and controlled using preheater 14 and was measured with thermocouples c and d . flow of subcritical fluid 12 was then started using adjustable flow control valve 17 that was set so as to operate at a selected flow rate measured by flow meter 19 . the range of flow rate may be between about 5 grams / min to 150 grams / min ; for convenience 20 - 30 grams / min rate was chosen for the experimental runs . pressure was reduced across valve 17 , resulting in the gaseous subcritical fluid passing into filter flask 18 into which constituent - rich extract could be collected . alternatively , the subcritical fluid was vented to a waste vessel . the total flow of subcritical fluid 12 passed through the charge of tobacco 16 during the duration of a run was measured by dry test meter 20 . in this laboratory system , no separation vessel was used to facilitate recirculation of subcritical fluid 12 . vessel 15 was a stainless steel tube having a length of 10 inches , an outside diameter of 1 inch , and a volume of about 60 ml . after treatment , the tobacco 16 was analyzed for its constituent content and the percent reduction of constituent content . the run time necessary to produce such tobacco may be anywhere between about 2 and 14 hours , preferably in the range of about 4 - 8 hours . the carbon dioxide utilized according to the present invention should be a subcritical fluid ( critical point 31 ° c . and 1070 psi ), e . g ., a liquid . in practicing the process of the present invention , carbon dioxide temperature , pressure , or both can be adjusted to ensure that it is a subcritical fluid , for example , by an inlet heat exchanger ( not shown ). the run pressure was held essentially constant ( in the range of between about 1000 and 2200 psi ) for a given run . runs were performed at essentially constant temperatures ranging between about 0 ° c . and 24 ° c . although a range of mass of subcritical fluid : mass of tobacco ratios can be used , typically between 21 to 50 grams of carbon dioxide per gram of tobacco were used to reduce the maximum amount of constituent . table 1 shows data on the reduction of constituents in tobacco employing the laboratory - scale system described above . as shown in table 1 , the process is selective for the reduction of secondary alkaloids relative to primary alkaloids . additional experiments according to the method of example 1 were carried out using freon 22 ( chlorodifluoromethane ) ( critical point 96 ° c ., 716 psi ) instead of carbon dioxide . the data are shown in table 2 . exemplary conditions for use of freon 22 include 0 to 50 ° c ., 100 to 2000 psi , and a mass of freon 22 to mass of tobacco ratio of 20 to 100 . additional experiments according to the method of example 1 were carried out using propane ( critical point 96 . 7 ° c ., 617 psi ) instead of carbon dioxide . the data are shown in table 3 . in general , the conditions for use of propane are 0 to 50 ° c ., 100 to 2000 psi , and a mass of propane to a mass of tobacco ratio of 20 to 100 . the amount of constituents in tobacco may also be reduced using the methods of the invention by employing ethane ( critical point 32 . 2 ° c ., 708 psi ) or nitrous oxide ( critical point 36 . 5 ° c ., 1046 psi ). exemplary conditions for use of ethane include 0 to 30 ° c ., 500 to 2000 psi , and a mass of ethane to a mass of tobacco ratio of 20 to 100 . exemplary conditions for use of nitrous oxide include 0 to 35 ° c ., 500 to 2000 psi , and a nitrous oxide to tobacco ratio of 20 to 100 . the description of the specific embodiments of the methods and tobacco obtained therefrom is presented for the purposes of illustration . it is not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the scope of the invention to the specific forms described herein . although the invention has been described with reference to several embodiments , it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention , as set forth in the claims .	0
in describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention , reference will be made herein to fig1 - 4 of the drawings in which like numerals refer to like features of the invention . referring to fig1 the compression assembly tool of the present invention comprises a lever handle 10 connected to a link 12 driving a plunger 14 . the lever handle 10 is formed as a pair of side plates 10 a and 10 b with the link 12 pivoting partially therebetween . the lever handle 10 is pivotally attached to a body 16 via pivot 18 . a torsion spring 20 acts between the body 16 and a pin 22 extending between the side plates 10 a , 10 b to urge the lever handle away from the body 16 when it is not restrained . fig1 shows the handle being held close to the body with the plunger 14 in the extended position . it is retained in this position by means of a releasable handle lock formed by bail wire 24 . the bail wire 24 is mounted to the body via retainer 26 and screw 28 which allow it to rotate and unlatch the handle to pivot away from the body . the tool body 16 includes an o - frame portion generally indicated with reference no . 30 which defines a compression region 32 . as the handle 10 pivots around pivot 18 away from the body , link 12 pivots on pivots 34 and 36 and draws the plunger 14 to the retracted position ( toward the right in fig1 ). as the handle closes , link 12 drives the plunger 14 to the extended position ( toward the left in fig1 ) and compresses a connector located in the compression region . the o - frame portion 30 of the body 16 is substantially solid along the right side . a bore 38 extends through this solid portion , and plunger 14 slides within this bore . the bore 38 maintains the plunger in constant axial alignment as it moves between the extended and retracted positions . the body is also solid on the lower half of the o - frame in the vicinity of bail retaining member 26 and screw 28 . however , as can be seen in fig3 and 4 , the o - frame is divided into two opposed sidewalls 42 , 43 and is open along the entire left upper quadrant indicated with reference no . 40 . this allows the coaxial cable and connector to be inserted into the compression region 32 between the sidewalls 42 , 43 . with the lever handle 10 moved away from the body , and the plunger 14 in the retracted position , a cable and connector can be placed into the compression region 32 by inserting it between opposed sidewalls 42 , 43 . the tool is adapted to accept two different sizes of connectors . a smaller connector is attached to a smaller diameter cable by compressing the connector axially against a first split base formed by a pair of split base supports 44 , 45 . the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 surround the smaller diameter cable and support the back end of the smaller connector against the axial compression force . a larger connector can be attached to a larger diameter cable by compressing the connector axially against a second split base formed by a second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 located farther from the plunger 14 than the first split base . all of the split base supports pivot around pivot 48 between open and closed positions . fig3 shows both pairs of split base supports in the closed position . fig4 shows the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 in the closed position and the second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 in the open position . the first pair of split base supports 44 and 45 are identical to each other and need not be made in different right and left versions . the second split base supports 46 and 47 are also identical to each other . as can be seen in the pullout views of the first and second split base supports 45 and 47 in fig1 the first and second split base supports differ from each other only by the diameter of the annular bearing portions 51 and 53 . in order to compress the smaller connector , the smaller connector is first positioned on the end of the smaller cable . the smaller connector is then placed into the compression region 32 . both the first and second split bases swing open as the cable is pushed between the pairs of split base supports . the split base supports then close to encircle the smaller diameter cable . annular bearing portions 50 , 51 are located on the inner perimeter of the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 . annular bearing portions 52 , 53 are located on the inner perimeter of the second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 . the diameter d 1 of the opening formed by the bearing portions 50 , 51 when the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 are in the closed position is sufficiently large to accept the smaller diameter coaxial cable , but is smaller than the diameter of the back end of the smaller connector to be compressed . the diameter of the opening d2 formed by the bearing portions 52 , 53 when the second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 are in the closed position is sufficiently large to accept the larger diameter coaxial cable , but is smaller than the diameter of the back end of the larger connector to be compressed . when the larger diameter connector is to be compressed , the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 swing to the open position , and that position provides sufficient clearance for the larger connector to be placed into position in coaxial alignment with the plunger 14 . as the handle is squeezed toward the body , the plunger 14 moves axially towards the first and second split bases . when the smaller connector is in position it is supported at the back end by the first pair of split base supports and this axial motion of the plunger compresses the smaller connector . when the larger connector is in position it is supported at the back end by the second pair of split base supports and this axial motion of the plunger compresses the larger connector . the second split base plays no part when a smaller connector is being compressed and the first split base plays no part when a larger connector is being compressed . the split base supports 44 - 47 are supported by the o - frame and particularly by the sidewalls 42 , 43 . the thickness of the solid lower portion of the o - frame in the vicinity of element 26 , can be reduced as compared to prior art devices which do not include the o - frame design and which do not include the sidewalls 42 , 43 which stiffen the o - frame against any distortion during the compression cycle . this allows the weight of the tool to be reduced without compromising rigidity and also allows a reduction in material cost . to ensure that the distance between the plunger 14 and the plane defined by the split bases is correct , the plunger 14 is provided with an adjustable plunger tip 54 which is threadedly engaged via threads 56 into the end of plunger 14 . a locking screw 58 allows the plunger tip 54 to be locked into position . a locking pad formed of a resilient material , such as plastic , is positioned in the threaded bore between the tip of the locking screw and the threads 56 of plunger tip 54 . the locking pad allows locking screw 58 to exert sufficient force against threads 56 to prevent them from turning while also protecting them from damage . the locking screw 58 is preferably an allen screw adjustable by an allen wrench , and plunger tip 54 is preferably adjustable by inserting an allen wrench along its axis into the head of the plunger tip . the plunger tip can then be rotated to adjust its position relative to the plunger 14 . the hexagonal opening for the allen wrench also acts to receive the center conductor of a coaxial cable during the compression operation . the plunger tip 54 may be completely unthreaded and removed or replaced . fig2 shows the tool from above with the plunger tip removed . a gage block may be used to set the distance between the plunger tip 54 and the plane of the first split base . the distance between the plane of the first split base and the second split base is set by the design of the tool and need not be adjusted . accordingly , a single adjustment for wear automatically makes the necessary adjustment for all sizes of connectors to be compressed by the tool . the locking screw 58 is threaded into an enlarged end 76 in plunger 14 . this enlarged end provides material for the threads holding locking screw 58 , and also acts to prevent the plunger 14 from moving too far to the right in the retracted position . in some prior art devices lacking this feature , the handles can be inadvertently locked open when they are opened too far , causing the link between the handles and the plunger to move over center . such over center locking cannot occur in this design . the first split base supports 44 , 45 include corresponding push surfaces 80 , 81 . when the push surfaces are squeezed together towards the sidewalls of the body , a spring 67 ( see fig1 ), located between the split base supports is compressed and the first split base supports 44 , 45 pivot from the closed position to the open position . the second split base supports 46 , 47 include corresponding push surfaces 82 , 83 . these operate in the same way to compress spring 66 and open the second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 so that a cable can easily be inserted . the convenience of this system of split bases allows springs 66 and 67 to be relatively strong , which is advantageous in securely holding the cable and the attached connector in the correct aligned position . another feature provided by the split base supports is positive alignment of the axis of the opening formed by bearing surfaces 50 , 51 and 52 , 53 with the centerline of the plunger 14 . as can be seen best in fig2 the first pair of split base supports 44 , 45 include corresponding stop surfaces 84 , 85 at their upper ends . the stop surfaces 84 , 85 are wider than the slot 88 within which the split base supports pivot . the second pair of split base supports 46 , 47 also have stop surfaces 86 , 87 at their upper ends that are wider than the slot 88 within which the second pair of split base supports pivot . in the preferred design , the stop surfaces 84 - 87 prevent the split base supports from pivoting into slots 88 , 89 . springs 66 , 67 can be relatively strong and the dimensions of the split base supports are such that stop surfaces 84 - 87 are flush with the outer sides of the o - frame ( as shown in fig2 and 3 ) just as the split base supports reach the closed position . this design allows the split base supports to exactly self - enter the cable and connector and accurately position the back end of the connector to be compressed . push surfaces 80 - 83 provide a simple press - to - open design that may be operated with a single hand . the push surfaces 81 , 83 are close enough that the thumb may be used to simultaneously press down on both push surfaces . the opposing finger can simultaneously operate push surfaces 80 , 82 to fully open both the first and second split bases . the preferred design shows two pairs of split bases that define support planes at two different distances from the plunger . however , three or even more pairs of split bases may be installed in other embodiments of the invention to accommodate a series of progressively longer connectors . while the present invention has been particularly described , in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives , modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention .	7
with reference to fig1 an exemplary embodiment of the push - pull slipsheet handler of the present invention , indicated generally as 10 , is shown mounted on a vertically - movable lift truck carriage 12 on a mast 14 of a lift truck 16 . the carriage 12 has a pair of transverse mounting members 18 and 20 thereon to which are mounted a pair of forwardly - extending , transversely - spaced load - lifting forks 22a and 22b respectively , each having upwardly - facing load - supporting surfaces 24 thereon . each fork 22a , 22b has an upstanding rear portion having a downwardly - opening hook such as 26 interlocked with an upwardly - protruding lip 18a on the upper transverse mounting member 18 , together with an upwardly - opening hook 28 ( fig2 and 4 ) interlocked with a downwardly - protruding lip 20a on the lower transverse mounting member 20 . the upwardly and downwardly - protruding lips 18a and 20a of the respective transverse mounting members may extend either continuously or discontinuously across the respective mounting member . the push - pull slipsheet handler 10 includes a push - pull assembly composed of a rear frame 30 , a forwardly - extensible and retractable push plate 32 and a conventional scissors linkage 34 powered by a transversely - spaced pair of selectively - extensible and retractable double - acting hydraulic cylinders 36 . the push plate has a selectively openable and closable transverse jaw along the lower edge thereof including a fixed jaw member 38 and a cooperating vertically - extensible and retractable jaw member 40 under the control of a pair of vertically - oriented hydraulic cylinders 108 ( fig5 ) conventionally mounted on the push plate 32 . in operation , the push plate 32 is extended as shown in fig1 adjacent to a load lying on a slipsheet such that the fixed jaw 38 lies beneath a protruding tab of the slipsheet , and the movable jaw 40 is then extended to grasp the slipsheet tab between the jaws 38 and 40 . thereafter , by retraction of the cylinders 36 , the scissors linkage 34 retracts the push plate 32 thereby pulling the slipsheet and its load onto a platen composed of twin platen sections 42 and 44 ( fig2 ), respectively , to be described more fully hereafter . to deposit the load , the cylinders 36 are extended , thereby extending the scissors linkage 34 and push plate 32 to push the load off of the platen . the platen sections 42 and 44 also form a portion of the push - pull slipsheet handler 10 . as best seen in fig2 they are of much greater surface area than that of the standard load - lifting forks 22a and 22b , respectively , to give adequate underlying support to the load since the slipsheet is made of a relatively thin , flexible material . if it were desired that the lift truck 16 handle a load supported by a conventional rigid wooden pallet such as 46 as shown in phantom in fig4 the large surface area of the platen sections 42 and 44 would be unnecessary because of the inherent rigidity of the pallet 46 . in fact , although the platen sections 42 and 44 are narrow enough to be insertable into the end of a pallet 46 as shown in fig4 their large size is a detriment for pallet handling purposes because the extreme width of the platen sections forces the lift truck operator to approach the end of the pallet substantially parallel to its longitudinal dimension , with little tolerance for any angular deviation in the approach . accordingly , for handling rigid pallets such as 46 , it is much more desirable from an operating point of view that the platen sections 42 and 44 be removed such that the relatively narrow load - lifting forks 22a and 22b can engage the pallet 46 . the use of the forks 22a and 22b also enables the truck to engage a pallet such as 46 not only at its end but also , if desired , at one of its longitudinal sides through narrow fork pockets which are conventionally provided in such pallets , this latter maneuver being impossible with wide platen sections such as 42 and 44 . moreover , when handling rigid pallets such as 46 , the presence of the push - pull assembly may be a detriment even though the push plate 32 is completely retracted with respect to the rear frame 30 . this is because the presence of the push plate and rear frame tends to limit the rearward extent to which a palletized load may be positioned on the forks , thereby limiting the extent to which the center of gravity of the load may be positioned in proximity to the front axle of the lift truck 16 . this limitation in turn limits the load - carrying capacity of the truck 16 if it is of the counterbalanced type . it is therefore highly desirable for the lift truck 16 to be rapidly convertible between slipsheet - handling capability and rigid pallet - handling capability . the slipsheet handler 10 of the present invention accomplishes this primarily by being mountable on the lift truck compatibly with the standard forks 22a and 22b so that the forks are always present and do not have to be mounted and demounted , and by vertically supporting both the push - pull assembly and the platen sections primarily on the upwardly - facing load - supporting surfaces 24 of the forks 22a and 22b . turning now to the specific structure of the slipsheet handler 10 , the rear frame 30 of the push - pull assembly has welded to its bottom edge a forwardly - protruding tongue 48 of substantial thickness and rigidity , but of less thickness than that of one of the forks 22a or 22b . with reference to fig2 and 3 , the tongue has a pair of transversely - spaced rear interlocking members 50 and a pair of forward interlocking members 52 for detachably supportably connecting the tongue to each of the platen sections 42 and 44 respectively and suspending it therefrom . as can be seen in fig3 the rear interlocking member 50 overlies the rear edge of the platen section 42 , while the forward interlocking member 52 is inserted into a hanger 54 bolted to the underside of the platen section 42 . a similar interlocking arrangement exists with respect to platen section 44 . thus , with the platen sections 42 and 44 overlying the forks 22a and 22b respectively and supported vertically by the upwardly - facing load - supporting surfaces 24 of the forks , the tongue 48 and thus the rear frame 30 of the push - pull assembly are likewise vertically - supported by the upwardly - facing load - supporting surfaces 24 of the forks . since vertical support for the entire slipsheet handler 10 is thus provided by the forks , there is need for very little connecting structure between the slipsheet handler 10 and the lift truck carriage 12 . the only connection to the carriage 12 which is really necessary is a connection between the bottom of the frame 30 of the push - pull assembly and the lower transverse mounting member 20 of the lift truck carriage 12 in order to restrain the frame 30 against forward movement while the scissors linkage 34 is being retracted to pull a load onto the platen . this restraint is provided by a pair of transversely - spaced upwardly - opening hooks 56 ( only one of which is shown ) pivotally mounted to the frame 30 for rotation about a respective pivot bolt 58 . when pivoted upwardly , as shown in fig3 the hooks 56 detachably matingly engage the downwardly - protruding lip 20a of the carriage lower transverse mounting member 20 to prevent forward movement of the frame 30 relative to the lift truck carriage 12 . the hooks 56 are retained in their upwardly - pivoted positions by insertion of a spring - biased locking pin 60 into a matching aperture 62 of the hook 56 . detachment of the hooks 56 from the carriage 12 to permit removal of the slipsheet handler 10 as an integral unit from the forks 22a and 22b is accomplished by retracting the locking pin 60 by twisting a cammed retractor member 64 and permitting the respective hooks 56 to pivot downwardly about the pivot bolt 58 as shown in phantom in fig3 . a second aperture 66 is also provided in the hook 56 for insertion of the locking pin 60 to lock the hook in its downwardly - pivoted position , such position extending below the bottom of each fork as seen in fig3 . this enables each hook 56 , by contact with the floor , to support the slipsheet handler 10 at a sufficiently elevated position to provide clearance for withdrawal of the forks by backing the lift truck away from the slipsheet handler when it is desired to demount the slipsheet handler as an integral unit . the same clearance facilitates insertion of the forks for remounting . because the slipsheet handler 10 is easily and rapidly mountable and demountable with respect to the lift truck 16 as an integral unit including the push - pull assembly and platen sections , it would be acceptable , and within the scope of the present invention , for the platen sections 42 and 44 to be permanently connected to the frame 30 by means of the tongue 48 . however , to add a degree of flexibility to the process by which the lift truck 16 may be converted from slipsheet - handling to pallet - handling capability , and vice versa , the platen sections 42 and 44 are preferably detachable with respect to the tongue 48 and frame 30 by means of a quick - disconnect interlocking structure . as seen in fig2 and 3 , the forward interlocking member 52 of the tongue 48 , and the mating hanger 54 on the underside of the platen 42 , are interconnected by a quick - disconnect pin 68 . when inserted as shown in fig3 the pin 68 is prevented from withdrawal from aperture 70 of hanger 54 by a small locking stud 72 protruding therefrom . however the pin 68 may be withdrawn by lifting the bail 74 through an aperture 75 in the platen and rotating the pin 68 so that the stud 72 is aligned with a pair of slots 76 formed at the top of the aperture 70 . the slots 76 provide clearance for the stud 72 such that the pin 68 may be withdrawn . upon withdrawal of the pin 68 , the respective platen section 42 may be detached from the tongue 48 by forward movement of the platen section until it clears the rear interlocking member 50 and front interlocking member 52 of the tongue 48 . the other platen section 44 is removable in the same manner . with platen sections 42 and 44 thus removed , rigid wooden pallets such as 46 ( fig4 ) can be easily handled in most applications . although the tongue 48 remains in position , it protrudes forwardly only a relatively short distance and therefore does not interfere with the insertion of the forks into the pallet spaces , even during an angular approach to a pallet . the fact that the tongue 48 is bifurcated as shown in fig2 with an elongate , centrally - located slot formed therethrough which is open and somewhat rounded at its forward extremity 48a , permits the full insertion of the forks into the end of a rigid pallet to the point where the pallet contacts the push - plate 32 , the slot in the tongue 48 being wide enough to accept insertion of the pallet &# 39 ; s central stringer . although the push - plate 32 limits somewhat the rearward positioning of a palletized load on the forks , it should be noted that the placement of the unusually narrow frame 30 of the push - pull assembly between the forks 22a and 22b , so that the frame 30 overlaps the upstanding rear portions of the forks in a rearward direction as best seen in fig2 rather than being positioned in front of the forks , minimizes the protrusion of the retracted push - plate 32 and thus maximizes the load carrying capacity of a counterbalanced truck with the push - pull assembly in place . moreover , for relatively light palletized loads ( relative to the capacity of the lift truck 16 ) pallets may even be engaged by the forks along their longitudinal sides by insertion of the forks up to the forward extremity of the tongue 48 . because the platen sections 42 and 44 normally furnish vertical support for the tongue 48 and the attached frame 30 of the push - pull assembly , there should be some substitute means of vertical support if the platen sections are to be removed from the lift truck independently of the push - pull assembly and tongue 48 . this substitute vertical support may be provided either by lugs such as 78 connected to the frame 30 and extending transversely therefrom so as to overlie the forks as best seen in fig2 or , alternatively , by upper carriage hooks such as 80 ( shown in phantom in fig3 ) on the frame 30 for engaging the lip 18a of the upper carriage mounting member 18 . neither of these substitute support structures need be substantial because they are not relied upon for vertical support of the platen sections 42 and 44 nor , under operating circumstances , even for vertical support of the push - pull assembly . another feature providing added flexibility to the slipsheet handler is the provision of a transversely - adjustable connection between the platen sections 42 and 44 and the tongue 48 . as seen in fig2 the tongue 48 has multiple transversely - spaced apertures 82 extending through its forward interlocking member 52 for accepting insertion of the pin 68 at different transverse positions of the platen section 42 relative to the tongue 48 . the transversely elongate nature of interlocking member 52 and hanger 54 permits transverse adjustment of the platen section relative to the tongue to provide alignment of the pin 68 with any of the apertures 82 . likewise , the rear interlocking member 50 of the tongue has a plurality of transversely - spaced positioning members 84 which mate with a plurality of transversely - spaced recesses 86 formed in the rear edge of the platen section 42 . thus by withdrawing the pin 68 and sliding the platen section forwardly with respect to the tongue , the platen section 42 may be transversely slidably adjusted on the forks relative to the tongue 48 , primarily for the purpose of supporting wider loads on slipsheets . similar transverse adjustment structure exists with respect to the other platen section 44 . in view of the fact that the platen sections are detachable from the tongue 48 , it is convenient also to provide them in different interchangeable widths for accommodating different - sized loads . fig5 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic circuit of the slipsheet handler 10 . a pump 88 draws fluid from a reservoir 90 and feeds it to an operator - controlled selector valve 92 . these components , together with a standard relief valve 94 , are mounted on the lift truck 16 and are connected by a pair of quick - disconnect line couplers 100 and 102 to hydraulic lines 104 and 106 respectively of the slipsheet handler . the couplers 100 and 102 , respectively , are disconnected whenever the slipsheet handler 10 is removed as an integral unit , i . e ., including both platen and push - pull assembly . the hydraulic actuating system of the slipsheet handler 10 is conventional except with respect to the manner in which the hydraulic cylinders 108 which selectively extend and retract the jaw member 40 are sequenced with respect to the cylinders 36 . such sequencing is necessary to ensure that the jaw member 40 is extended into engagement with the fixed jaw member 38 prior to any retraction of the cylinders 36 to retract the scissors linkage 34 . without such sequencing , it is possible that a slipsheet will not be grasped by the jaw 40 prior to the retraction of the scissors linkage to draw the load onto the platen . since the fluid line , such as 106 in fig5 which extends the jaw - actuating cylinders 108 and retracts the scissors - actuating cylinders 36 is usually connected to these two sets of cylinders in parallel as shown in fig5 it has often been necessary that some type of valve be interposed in the retraction line 110 of cylinders 36 to delay their retraction until the cylinders 108 have been fully extended . in the past , such valve has taken two different forms . one form of the valve has been a simple relief valve which remains closed until line pressure reaches a predetermined level indicating full extension of the cylinders 108 , at which time the valve opens and permits pressurized fluid to be fed to cylinders 36 to retract them . a second form of the valve has been a time delay type , i . e ., where the valve opens to permit retracting pressure to cylinders 36 only in response to line pressure sensed through a restricted pilot line . both of these prior forms of valves , however , have had serious drawbacks . the pressure - relief form of valve can be triggered prematurely under cold ambient conditions by high line pressures resulting from high hydraulic fluid viscosity or , alternatively , by high pressures due to the operator &# 39 ; s rapid actuation of the selector valve 92 . on the other hand , the time delay form of valve can cause too long a delay when operating under cold conditions with high fluid viscosity . these same two types of valves have in the past also been used to control an opposite sequencing between the cylinders 108 and cylinders 36 respectively . in this second type of sequencing , the objective is to ensure that the cylinders 108 have retracted the jaw 40 prior to extension of the cylinders 36 to extend the scissors linkage . this ensures that the jaw 40 is open in preparation for an approach to a slipsheet - supported load and is particularly important if , in the process of pulling a load onto a platen , the slipsheet slips from the grasp of the jaw 40 and the scissors linkage has to be extended to regain contact with the slipsheet . in the present invention , the two above - mentioned forms of valves previously used to accomplish the described sequencing operations are replaced by check valves mechanically responsive to the actual position of the jaw 40 . for example , when selector valve 92 is actuated to introduce pressurized fluid to line 106 to extend the cylinders 108 and jaw 40 and retract the cylinders 36 and the scissors linkage 34 , the jaw 40 is extended first while the cylinders 36 are prevented by check valve 112 from receiving retracting fluid through line 110 until jaw 40 has been extended into contact with jaw 38 , at which time a contact member 40a engages a valve - unseating member 112a which opens the valve and permits retracting fluid to pass through line 110 . conversely , if the selector valve 92 is actuated to deliver pressurized fluid through line 104 to retract the cylinders 108 and jaw 40 and extend the cylinders 36 and the scissors linkage 34 , an opposite check valve 114 prevents any exhaust of fluid from cylinders 36 while cylinders 108 are retracting the jaw 40 , until such time as the jaw 40 is fully retracted at which time contact member 40b engages a valve - unseating member 114a which opens the valve to permit the exhaust of fluid from cylinders 36 through line 110 , thereby permitting extension of the cylinders 36 and thus extension of the scissors linkage 34 . it will be appreciated that this form of sequencing valve arrangement will not permit premature extension or retraction of the cylinders 36 under conditions which cause excessive line pressure , nor will it cause excessively retarded actuation of the cylinders 36 under cold , high - viscosity conditions . it should also be noted that it is within the scope of the invention for valves 112 and 114 , rather than being interposed in line 110 , alternatively to be interposed in the opposite line leading to cylinders 36 such that valve 112 prevents the exhaust of fluid from cylinders 36 during extension of cylinders 108 until engaged by contact member 40a . in such case valve 114 would prevent the supply of fluid to cylinders 36 during retraction of cylinders 108 until engaged by contact member 40b . the terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention , in the use of such terms and expressions , of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow .	1
fig1 shows a differential amplifier arrangement comprising an input stage 1 and an output stage 2 . the input stage 1 comprises a differential amplifier which comprises two operational amplifiers . in each case , a first operational amplifier 3 and a second operational amplifier 4 are rail - to - rail amplifiers . the non - inverting inputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 form a symmetric signal input in +, in − of the amplifier arrangement . between the output and the inverting input of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 , a feedback branch 5 , 6 is provided in each case . each of the feedback branches 5 , 6 comprises a switchable resistor network 7 , 8 , with said feedback branches 5 , 6 in addition being interconnected by , way of a shunt resistor 9 . moreover , an offset compensation stage 10 is provided , which is connected to the inverting inputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 . the offset compensation stage 10 comprises several controllable current sources 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 which are connected , in a way that they can be switched on or off , to the bias inputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 , with , furthermore , each controllable current source 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 providing a current of a programmable extent . in this way , offsets can be set and corrected as desired . each of the resistor networks 7 , 8 comprises a series connection of a multitude of resistors 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 . resistors 9 , and 15 to 30 , are interconnected in a single resistor chain . the resistors 15 to 22 of the first resistor network 7 comprise tappings at their connection nodes , with said tappings leading to a multiplexer 31 which switchably connects one of the tappings to the bias input , i . e . to the inverting input of the operational amplifier 3 . the tapping between the resistors 21 , 22 of the resistor chain is firmly connected to the output of the operational amplifier 3 . the resistor network 8 is constructed analogous to this ; it comprises a multiplexer 32 which switchably connects one of the tappings of the resistor chain 23 to 30 to the inverting input of the operational amplifier 4 . the output of the operational amplifier 4 is connected to the tapping between the resistors 29 , 30 . the resistor 9 , which is a shunt resistor , interconnects one connection each of the resistors 15 , 23 of the resistor networks 7 , 8 . the output stage 2 comprises a differential amplifier 33 which has a differential input and a differential output . the differential output of the second differential amplifier 33 is coupled to a symmetric signal output out +, out − of the entire differential amplifier arrangement . furthermore , a coupling unit 34 , explained in detail with reference to fig3 , is provided which on the input side interconnects the outputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 of the input stage , and on the output side interconnects the inputs of the differential amplifier 33 as well as its outputs in a programmable , negative feedback . the resistor networks 7 , 8 as well as the coupling unit 34 are programmable . to this purpose , control inputs are provided which connect the multiplexers 31 , 32 as well as the coupling unit 34 to outputs of a decoder 35 . the decoder 35 converts a desired amplification signal which is present on the input side , and via a 3 - bit wide data bus controls the multiplexers 31 , 32 to provide a coarse amplification setting . fine setting of the amplification takes place by way of a further data bus , which is 10 bits wide , which links an output of the decoder 35 to the coupling unit 34 . a range of 1 to 200 can be set with the 3 - bit amplifier coarse setting . fine adjustment of the amplification is in a high - resolution settings range from 1 to 2047 . a further control bus 36 , which is 4 bits wide , is used for coarse adjustment of the input offset of the amplifier ; it can over a range of +/− 400 mv / v relative to the supply voltage . fine adjustment of the input offset of the amplifier is ensured with a further data bus 37 , 10 bits wide , which also connects an output of the decoder 35 with the offset compensation stage 10 . furthermore , a control bus 38 , 4 bits wide , is provided , which makes it possible to set the offset compensation function . the decoder 35 comprises a 10 - bit wide input for the supply of amplification and offset control signals . furthermore , a control input , not shown in fig1 , is provided for activating programming of the data bus . the decoder 35 comprises internal memory registers for storing the current programming of all the above - mentioned control buses and data buses . if coarse adjustment of the offset compensation is not required , it can be deactivated by means of another control line which is 1 bit wide . in this way , a significant reduction in the current uptake of the entire arrangement is possible . the described differential amplifier arrangement combines the advantages of a wide input range , wide modulation range , fine resolution , good linearity and precise offset correction . fig2 shows an embodiment of the input stage 1 ′ of a differential amplifier arrangement according to the proposed principle . in this arrangement , the offset compensation stage 10 ′, which is connected to the bias connections of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 , comprises a current bridge circuit . the bridge circuit comprises a total of four programmable current sources 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , each of which is arranged connected in series with a switch 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 between a first tapping node k 1 and supply potential or reference potential 47 , 48 , as well as being arranged between a second tapping node k 2 and supply potential or reference potential 47 , 48 . by means of switches 43 to 46 , the current sources 39 to 42 can be switched on and off individually and independently of each other . furthermore , the respective extent of the bias currents provided by the current sources 39 to 42 is programmable independently of the extent of other bias currents . each of the tapping nodes k 1 , k 2 of the current mirror bridge of the offset compensation stage 10 ′ is connected to inverting inputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 of the input stage 1 . the feedback paths 5 , 6 on the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 , including the programmable resistor networks 7 , 8 which in fig2 are only diagrammatically shown , as well as the shunt resistor 9 are of the same design and advantageous function as those shown in fig1 . they are therefore not described again here . programming of the extent of currents of the current sources 39 to 42 can for example take place by means of suitable digital / analogue converters , depending on the coarse and fine offset control signals supplied by the decoder 35 . fig3 shows an embodiment of the output stage 2 ′, which can for example be used instead of the output stage 2 shown in fig1 . a digital / analogue converter 49 , 50 each is connected to outputs of the operational amplifiers 3 , 4 of the input stage 1 , with each of said digital / analogue converters being driven by the control bus which is 10 bits wide and which controls fine adjustment of the amplification of the differential amplifier arrangement . the inverting input of a differential amplifier 51 of fully differential construction is connected to an output of the digital / analogue converter 49 , while the non - inverting input of said differential amplifier 51 is connected to an output of the digital / analog converter 50 . in a negative feedback , the differential output of the second differential amplifier 51 is connected to a further input of the digital / analogue converters 49 , 50 . a further differential amplifier 52 is connected to the output of the differential amplifier 51 , with the two differential amplifiers 51 , 52 being connected in a common - mode feedback loop . in this way , a common - mode signal is controllably set at the output of the differential amplifier arrangement . preferably , the common - mode modulation corresponds to half the supply voltage . fig4 shows an application example of an amplifier arrangement 53 according to the proposed principle , with reference to an exemplary functional block diagram . a total of four analogue signal inputs are provided , with , in each case , an amplifier arrangement 53 as shown in fig1 being connected to said signal inputs .	7
while the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms , as shown in the drawings , hereinafter will be described the presently preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention , and it is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated . with reference to the figures , the present invention is an interface connector 21 having particular usefulness in connecting homogeneous spacecraft cells 1 . as illustrated in fig1 - 3 a preferred homogenous spacecraft cell 1 has a top 3 a bottom 5 , and four sides 7 . the homogenous cell may include one more solar panels 9 and one or more momentum wheels 11 . in addition , the spacecraft cell 1 has a housing 13 forming a frame upon which the interface connectors 21 are mounted . the interface connector 21 includes a male valve assembly 23 and a female valve assembly 71 . as best illustrated in fig1 - 3 , the male valve assembly 23 has a tapered housing 25 . the housing &# 39 ; s tapered shape is considered ideal for in - space rendezvous and docking so as to self align when received by correspondingly shaped beveled recesses 15 formed upon another homogenous spacecraft cell . as illustrated in fig4 - 8 , the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s housing 25 may include a removable insert 26 for allowing the installation and removal of the remaining valve assembly components from within the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s housing . o - rings 57 may be provided between the housing &# 39 ; s insert 26 and exterior tapered portion of the housing so as to affix the insert 26 in place . as illustrated in fig4 - 8 , the male valve assembly 23 includes a central bore 27 . preferably , the cylindrical bore has a circular cross - section . as illustrated in the figures , the central bore has a smaller diameter towards its proximal end 29 and a larger diameter at its distal end 31 . furthermore , the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s central bore is connected to a fuel source such as by a fuel line 33 which radially projects through the valve assembly &# 39 ; s housing towards the central bore &# 39 ; s proximal end . the male valve assembly 23 also includes a piston 37 . as illustrated in the figures , a preferred piston is manufactured to include two components including a smaller diameter shaft 38 and a larger diameter piston head 39 . preferably , the piston head 39 has a diameter sufficiently large to form a substantially gaseous tight seal within the central bore 27 . furthermore , the piston may include an o - ring concentrically positioned around the piston head to form a gaseous tight seal between the piston head and the cylindrical surface of the central bore 27 . advantageously , the difference in diameter between the piston &# 39 ; s shaft 38 and piston head 39 provides the piston head with a circular collar region 47 . the smaller diameter shaft 38 slidably resides within the smaller proximal end 29 of the central bore 27 . meanwhile , the larger diameter piston head 39 slidably resides in the larger distal end 31 of the central bore 27 . the piston 37 includes a central conduit 40 which extends the entire length of the piston through the shaft 38 and piston head 39 . preferably , the piston head 39 includes a divergent nozzle 43 forming the distal end of the central conduit 40 . the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s piston 37 is capable of moving proximally and distally within the central bore 27 . movement of the piston can be actuated by various electrical or mechanical apparatus known to those skilled in the art . applicant &# 39 ; s preferred interface connector 21 includes a piston which is projected distally using pneumatic actuation , but moved proximally using an electromagnetic actuator . moreover , it is preferred that the piston be maintained in a neutral central position by a helical spring 35 when not actuated proximally or distally . to enable the piston 37 to be pneumatically extended , the piston shaft 38 has a first channel 51 which extends from the fuel line 33 into a chamber 49 formed behind the piston &# 39 ; s collar 47 when the piston is in a neutral “ soft dock ” position . as illustrated in fig4 , the release of propellant through the fuel line 33 , such as by opening a fuel valve ( not shown ), allows propellant to flow through the first channel 51 into chamber 49 so as to pneumatically force the piston distally . as illustrated in fig5 , the piston is forced distally until the first channel 51 is no longer in fluid communication with the fuel line 33 . preferably an o - ring 57 is provided to provide a fluid tight seal so as to prevent further propellant passing through the first channel 51 into chamber 49 . as illustrated in fig4 - 8 , preferably the piston shaft 38 further includes a second channel 53 which comes into fluid communication with the fuel line 33 when the piston has been extended to a distal position . as illustrated in fig5 , the second channel 53 connects the fuel line 33 with the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s central bore 27 at the central bore &# 39 ; s proximal end 29 so as to allow propellant to flow through the fuel line into the central bore 27 , and thereafter through the piston &# 39 ; s central conduit 40 , so as to be ejected from the piston &# 39 ; s distal end 43 . to move the piston 37 in the proximal direction , the male valve assembly 23 includes a magnetic actuator including an electrical magnetic field generator , such as a coil winding 59 concentrically positioned around the piston &# 39 ; s shaft 38 . as understood by those skilled in the art , incorporating magnetic properties into the shaft 38 in cooperation with a controllable electromagnetic field provided by the magnetic field actuator 59 will cause the piston 37 to move in the proximal direction such as illustrated in fig7 . as illustrated in each of the figures , the interface connector 21 also includes a female valve assembly 71 intended to connect with the male valve assembly 23 . the female valve assembly 71 includes a tapered housing 73 which is also sized to be received and aligned within beveled recesses 15 formed within a homogenous spacecraft cell &# 39 ; s housing 13 . preferably the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s housing also includes an insert 75 for allowing the valve assembly components to be easily installed and removed . as illustrated in fig4 and 5 , the female valve assembly includes a central bore 77 having a proximal end 79 and a distal end 81 . the distal end is closeable by a ball valve 83 . the ball valve includes a ball 87 , an o - ring 89 having an inner diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball , and a helical spring 85 for biasing the ball distally into the o - ring for creating a fluid tight seal . as understood by those skilled in the art , the helical spring 85 maintains the ball valve in a normally closed condition . however , movement of the ball 87 in the proximal direction , such as by engagement by a male valve assembly piston 37 , will cause the ball valve to open . the female valve assembly further includes a fuel line 91 so that the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s central bore 77 is connected to a fuel source ( not shown ). as illustrated in fig4 - 8 , a connector 21 of the present invention includes both a male valve assembly 23 connected to a female valve assembly 71 . in a preferred embodiment , the interface connector 21 includes two sets of male and female valve assemblies . as illustrated in fig1 - 3 , for this embodiment , the first and second male valve assemblies 23 are mounted , for example to a first spacecraft housing 13 , in an outwardly facing coaxially aligned relationship to one another . more specifically , each male valve assembly &# 39 ; s central bore 27 and piston 37 share the same axis and the male valve assemblies are mounted so that each piston extends outward from one another and each piston retracts toward each other . meanwhile , the female valve assemblies are mounted to a second spacecraft housing in a manner wherein the female valve assemblies central bores are also coaxially aligned . however , the female valve assemblies are positioned to be inwardly facing , and aligned and spaced so as to connect with two male valve assemblies . fig4 illustrates a soft dock connection between a male valve assembly 23 and a female valve assembly 71 . the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s piston is maintained in a neutral condition by the spring 35 . the male piston 37 projects partially into the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s receptacle 62 , but the piston is not extended so far as to engage the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s o - ring 89 so as to form a fluid tight seal . without introduction of a gas , such as a propellant , into the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s chamber 49 , the piston 37 can be displaced proximally relatively easily so as to allow engagement or disengagement of the male valve assembly to the female valve assembly . however , as illustrated in fig5 and 7 , the introduction of propellant from fuel line 33 through first channel 51 into the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s chamber 49 causes the piston 37 to move distally into the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s receptacle 62 so as to engage and form a fluid tight seal with the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s o - ring 89 . though not illustrated in the figures , the piston conduit &# 39 ; s distal end has a lateral slit across the divergent nozzle 43 so as to prevent a fluid tight seal between the piston &# 39 ; s conduit 40 and the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s ball 87 . thus , as illustrated in fig5 , when the male valve assembly piston has been moved to a distal “ hard dock ” position , gas is freely capable of flowing through the male and female valve assemblies , as controlled by a valve connected to the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s fuel line 33 . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , the opening of this valve causes propellant to flow from the high pressure region in either the first or second spacecraft , to the low pressure region in the first or second spacecraft . disconnection of the male valve to the female valve and a resulting undocking of spacecraft can be accomplished by energizing the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s magnetic coil winding 59 so as to retract the piston 37 . the interface connector 21 provides a structural - mechanical connection between two objects , such as affixing a spacecraft to a launch vehicle or connecting two homogenous spacecraft cells 1 . for example , as illustrated in fig2 , the interface connector 2 can connect a spacecraft comprised of plurality of homogenous cells 1 to a vehicle launch support structure 95 . meanwhile as illustrated in fig1 - 4 , preferably four sets of male and female valve assemblies are used to structurally connect two homogeneous spacecraft cells . two male valve assemblies 23 and two female valve assemblies 71 are mounted to the side of a first spacecraft . as illustrated , these respective valve assemblies are affixed to opening edges of one side of the spacecraft . meanwhile , the second homogenous spacecraft cell 1 also includes two male valve assemblies 23 and two female valve assemblies 71 mounted to opposing edges of a spacecraft side . the male valve assemblies are aligned to be outwardly facing and positioned between the female valve assemblies which are inwardly facing . the homogenous cells can be stacked as illustrated in fig2 or positioned side - by - side as illustrated in fig3 . moreover , preferably the homogeneous cells include a carrousel 11 which incorporates reaction wheel , momentum wheel , control moment gyroscope , and / or gimbal capabilities . preferably , the carousels 11 of adjoining cells can also be externally connected utilized four sets of male and female valve assemblies . in addition to providing a structural connection , the interface connector 21 of the present invention provides a fluid connector so as to allow propulsion fluids to flow from one spacecraft to another as illustrated in fig5 . finally , the interface connector is capable of transmitting power and data . for this embodiment , preferably the female valve assembly &# 39 ; s insert portion 75 of housing 73 , helical spring 85 , and ball 87 are electrically conductive . conversely , it is preferred that the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s insert portion 26 of housing 25 , piston 37 and helical spring 35 be electrically conductive . movement of the piston 37 to a distal position to engage ball 87 provides an electrical connection through the male and female valve assemblies so as to permit the transmission of power and data . as illustrated in fig6 , the male valve assembly 23 is capable of functioning as a propulsion thruster when not mated to a female valve assembly . by opening the valve restricting the flow of propellant through fuel line 33 causes the piston to move distally so as to allow the passage of propellant into second channel 53 to the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s central bore 27 . propellant is then ejected from the piston &# 39 ; s divergent nozzle 43 to provide station keeping or propulsion . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , the opening or closing of the valve supplying fuel to the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s fuel line 33 is preferably controlled by one or more control processors , referred to herein as a controller . the controller may be a general purpose computer or microprocessor including hardware and software as can be determined by those skilled in the art to provide automated or directed control of the fuel valve so as to open and close the valve to thereby control the flow of fuel through the male valve assembly and the female valve assembly when a connector is in a mated condition . similarly , the same controller , or a separate controller , is connected to the electromagnetic actuator 59 to control the retraction of a piston 37 . in addition the same controller , or a separate controller , controls the expulsion of the propellant from the male valve assembly &# 39 ; s nozzle 43 when the male valve assembly 23 is not connected to a female valve assembly 71 . furthermore , one or more controllers may control the transmission of power and data through the male and female valve assemblies from the one connected . while several particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described , it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it is not intended that the invention be limited except by the following claims .	5
referring to fig1 in which the general embodiment of the present invention is shown , the main shell 2 of the helmet is secured to the wearer &# 39 ; s head by a chin strap 4 . the main shell 2 has an interior surface 6 defining a helmet cavity for receiving the wearer &# 39 ; s head , and an exterior surface 8 . the helmet can be further defined by a top portion fitting over the top of the head of a wearer and with a front half 10 and a rear half 12 . removable pads 13 are attached to the interior surface 6 of main shell 2 for obtaining a proper fit for a particular wearer a flexible articulated member 14 has its proximal end 28 attached to the central top interior 6 of the top portion of the main shell 2 forward of the back of the neck of a wearer near the front of the shell rear half 10 and extends downward and inward , generally along the interior surface 6 of the rear half 12 and extending beyond the lower edge of the helmet to its distal end 16 . from the proximal end 28 to the distal end 16 the articulated member 14 is in the form of an arcuate arm . in the general embodiment , when the articulated member 14 is in a relaxed state when the helmet is not being worn , articulated member 14 curves inward more than shown in fig1 . as the helmet is placed on the wearer &# 39 ; s head , articulated member 14 flexes rearward in the direction of arrow a to accommodate the head , then returns partially forward underneath the occipital region of the head when the helmet is all the way on . the flexing portion of the articulated member 14 essentially forms a hinge that allows the wearer to flex the articulated member back to allow the helmet to fit over the wearer &# 39 ; s head . once the helmet is on , the articulated member 14 flexes forward again to contact the back of the head . because articulated member 14 is being displaced when worn , it exerts a forward pressure on the back of the head . the flexed portion of the displaced articulated arm 14 acts as a spring to exert the forward pressure on the back of the head . this forward pressure provides a snug yet comfortable fit which greatly increases the stability of the helmet . because the occipital region of the wearer &# 39 ; s head is cradled from below by the articulated member 14 , the helmet is restrained from rocking forward and back , and from bouncing around on the wearer &# 39 ; s head . fig2 shows the cross bar or t - shaped distal end 16 of articulated member 14 . the cross bar or distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 is also curved in a lateral direction . the curvature in this direction is designed to approximate the curvature of the corresponding portion of the wearer &# 39 ; s head , and if necessary , to flex in the lateral direction to accommodate the head . an elastic strap 18 is provided to increase , and preferably also to adjust , the forward pressure exerted by the flexed articulated member 14 against the back of the user &# 39 ; s head . in the general embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 , a one piece strap 18 is attached at both its ends to the interior 6 of the sides of the main shell 2 . the middle portion of strap 18 is guided across the back of the distal end 16 of articulated member 14 . when the helmet is worn , strap 18 stretches , thereby adding to the forward flexing force of the articulated member 14 . the location of the attachment points on the main shell 2 is such that the strap 18 biases the distal end 16 of articulated member 14 upward and inward against the inwardly curving portion of the occipital region of the wearer &# 39 ; s head . in the general embodiment , strap 18 is attached at both ends to the main shell 2 with hook and loop type fasteners . the preferred embodiment uses velcro ® hook and loop type fasteners . a small patch 20 of the hook portion of the fastener is bonded to each side of the main shell 2 on the interior surface 6 just above and forward of the wearer &# 39 ; s ears . the entire strap 18 is made from an elastic fabric with a nap suitable for releasably adhering to patches 20 inside the main shell 2 . the forward and upward tension that the strap 18 imparts to the wearer &# 39 ; s head through the articulated member 14 can be increased or decreased by moving one or both ends of the strap 18 forward or back , respectively , in relation to the patches 20 . this is done with the helmet off in the general embodiment . alternatively , one end of the strap 18 can be made adjustable , with the other end being fixed . in an alternative embodiment , shown in fig6 two straps 18 &# 39 ; can be used , with each strap 18 &# 39 ; spanning between one side of the distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 and the adjacent side of the main shell 2 . the straps 18 &# 39 ; can be attached with snaps 21 to the distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 . the opposite ends of straps 18 &# 39 ; are then adjustably attached to the main shell 2 in a similar manner to that previously described . in another variation of the two strap embodiment ( not shown ), one end of each strap is attached to the inside of the helmet , while the other end is adjustably attached to the distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 , allowing the strap tension to be adjusted while the helmet is being worn . in the general embodiment shown in fig2 inverted j - shaped hold downs 22 are provided on the upper outside ends of the t - shaped distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 . these hold downs 22 capture the upper edge of strap 18 and prevent it from sliding upwards and off the t - shaped distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 . similarly , outward bends 24 are provided near the lower edge of articulated member 14 to inhibit strap 18 from sliding off the bottom of articulated member 14 . in alternative embodiments , strap 18 can be captivated by clips or guide slots in the distal end 16 of the articulated member 14 , as shown in fig5 and 8 . as shown in fig1 and 2 , outward bends 24 also serve to comfortably guide the leading edge ( lower edge ) of the articulated member 14 over the head when the wearer puts the helmet on . recess 26 is provided at the lower edge of the articulated member 14 to accommodate the wearer &# 39 ; s neck ( or hair , such as when worn in a ponytail ) when the wearer is in a forward leaning , bicycle riding position . recess 26 and outward bends 24 allow articulated member 14 to comfortably exert a constant forward and upward pressure on the occipital region of the wearer &# 39 ; s head without binding or digging in , regardless of the front to back tilt of the wearer &# 39 ; s head . in the general embodiment , as shown in fig2 the proximal end 28 of the articulated member 14 is forked so that it can be securely mounted to the interior 6 of the main shell 2 without interfering with the air flow through the air vents 30 . both tines 32 of proximal end 28 of articulated member 14 are attached to the interior 6 of the main shell 2 with fasteners or adhesive . air vents 30 in the main shell 2 can be utilized to secure complementary tabs 33 on the articulated member 14 , as shown in fig3 . in an alternative embodiment shown in fig4 the proximal end 28 of articulated member 14 is attached to the main shell 2 with an adhesive tape 34 . adhesive tapes offer excellent bonding strength when in tension , but are susceptible to peeling off when force is concentrated on one corner or edge . reliefs 36 which are elongated cutouts in the articulated member 14 , are provided in the proximal end 28 of the articulated member 14 to more centrally locate the force which is applied to the adhesive tape 34 when the articulated member 14 is flexed . this arrangement more evenly distributes the forces that would tend to separate the articulated member 14 from the main shell 2 . without the reliefs 36 , articulated member 14 might be peeled off the main shell 2 by pushing the articulated member 14 forward , or from cycling back and forth due to prolonged use . the reliefs 36 , however , ensure that the articulated member 14 remains adhered to the main shell 2 because the adhesive tape 34 is exposed to mostly tensile stress and low peel stress . as shown in fig1 an alternative embodiment can include the ability to adjust articulated member 14 in the direction of arrow b . the articulated member 14 can be slidably mounted to main shell 2 to allow the position of the member to be adjusted to a particular wearer &# 39 ; s head . several concepts to allow sliding movement and releasably locking in position are illustrated in fig9 through 14 . fig9 a and 9b show one alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . proximal end 28 is slidably attached to the interior surface 6 with a suitable fastener 42 , such as a rivet , screw or split , plastic , flanged post . fastener 42 passes through longitudinal slot 44 in the proximal end 28 , thereby retaining the articulated member 14 on the main shell 2 while allowing it to slide in the longitudinal direction shown by arrow b . a pair of tabs 46 protrude from proximal end 28 and each tab 46 engages a notch 48 to prevent the proximal end 28 from sliding . two rows of notches 48 are provided , spaced laterally apart to accommodate the spacing of the two tabs . the notches 48 are spaced longitudinally , to provide alternative locking positions as the proximal end 28 is adjusted by sliding longitudinally . to allow the proximal end 28 to slide , the wearer is able to flex the proximal end 28 away from the main shell 2 in the direction of arrow c to momentarily disengage tabs 46 from notches 48 . once the proximal end 28 is slid in the direction of arrow b to a new position and released , the resilient force of the flexed proximal end 28 allows tabs 46 to engage with a new pair of notches 48 . projection 50 in the proximal end 28 and hollow 52 in the interior surface 6 facilitate the wearer &# 39 ; s ability to grasp the proximal end 28 for easy adjustment . the proximal end 28 can be located in a recess 54 in the interior surface 6 to provide greater comfort to the wearer and to longitudinally guide the proximal end 28 during adjustment . fig1 shows another alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . proximal end 28 is slidably attached to the interior surface 6 with a pair of suitable fasteners 42 , such as rivets , screw or split , plastic , flanged posts . fasteners 42 passes through longitudinal slots 44 in the proximal end 28 , thereby retaining the articulated member 14 on the main shell 2 while allowing it to slide in the longitudinal direction shown by arrow b . a cutout 56 is provided in the proximal end 28 with a rack of teeth 58 located along an edge of cutout 56 , having teeth spaced in a longitudinal direction . a pinion 60 is rotably mounted to the interior surface 6 within the cutout 56 such that it engages the rack of teeth 58 . pinion 60 can be rotated with a screwdriver , coin or the like to drive the proximal end 28 in a longitudinal direction . once adjusted , the proximal end 28 can be held in place by friction between the pinion 60 and interior surface 6 and / or friction between proximal end 28 and interior surface 6 . alternatively , the proximal end 28 can be locked down by tightening screw fasteners 42 after adjustment . fig1 shows yet another alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . proximal end 28 is slidably attached to the interior surface 6 with a suitable fastener 42 , such as a rivet , screw or split , plastic , flanged post . fastener 42 passes through longitudinal slot 44 in the proximal end 28 , thereby retaining the articulated member 14 on the main shell 2 while allowing it to slide in the longitudinal direction shown by arrow b . opposite sides of proximal end 28 are fitted with teeth 62 spaced in a longitudinal direction . each of the two sets of teeth 62 engages a complementary rack of teeth 64 attached to the interior surface 6 of the main shell 2 to releasably prevent the proximal end 28 from moving . a pair of finger holes 66 and a pair of flexures 68 are both incorporated into the opposite sides of proximal end 28 for allowing the wearer to flex the two sets of teeth 62 inwardly towards each , as shown by arrows d , and out of engagement with the racks of teeth 64 . in this manner , the wearer can slide the proximal end 28 longitudinally , as shown by arrow b . when inward pressure is released from the finger holes 66 , flexures 68 urge teeth 62 outwardly back into engagement with racks of teeth 64 , thereby locking the articulated member 14 into position after adjustment . fig1 a and 12b show yet another alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . proximal end 28 is slidably attached to the interior surface 6 with a suitable fastener 42 , such as a rivet , screw or split , plastic , flanged post . fastener 42 passes through longitudinal slot 44 in the proximal end 28 , thereby retaining the articulated member 14 on the main shell 2 while allowing it to slide in the longitudinal direction shown by arrow b . a cutout 70 is provided through proximal end 28 , having opposite sides formed by two racks of teeth 72 , the teeth being spaced in a longitudinal direction . a complementary shaped , raised portion 74 is provided on the interior surface 6 , partially filling cutout 70 . raised portion 74 is provided with teeth 76 on opposite sides for engagement with the two racks of teeth 72 . the raised portion has a longitudinal length that is shorter than that of cutout 70 , so that the proximal end 28 may be alternatively adjusted and locked into a plurality of positions with respect to the main shell 2 . to make such an adjustment , the wearer grasps the proximal end 28 at projection 50 and resiliently flexes the proximal end 28 away from interior surface 6 , as shown by arrow c in fig1 b . this disengages the two racks of teeth 72 from teeth 76 and allows the wearer to move the proximal end 28 longitudinally , as shown by arrow b . when the projection 50 on the proximal end 28 is released after adjustment , a different portion of the two racks of teeth 72 are resiliently urged into engagement with teeth 76 on raised portion 74 . the proximal end 28 can be located in a recess 54 in the interior surface 6 , as shown in fig1 b , to provide greater comfort to the wearer and to longitudinally guide the proximal end 28 during adjustment . also , raised portion 74 and fastener 42 can be formed on a single plate 78 which is recessed when mounted on interior surface 6 , as shown in fig1 a ( or further recessed if used in conjunction with recess 54 in fig1 b ). fig1 a and 13b show yet another alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . proximal end 28 is slidably attached to the interior surface 6 with a plate 80 and post 82 arrangement . post 82 depends from plate 80 and passes through longitudinal slot 44 in the proximal end 28 , and is received in slit 84 to attach the plate 80 to the interior surface 6 , thereby retaining the articulated member 14 on the main shell 2 while allowing it to slide in the longitudinal direction shown by arrow b . a plurality of ridges 86 are formed on plate 80 opposite post 82 . a complementary set of ridges 88 is formed in flap 90 , which is hingedly connected to proximal end 28 by a &# 34 ; living hinge &# 34 ; 92 . flap 90 may be folded back over onto proximal end 28 , as shown by arrow d , and snapped into place , thereby engaging ridges 86 with ridges 88 and preventing proximal end 28 from movement . adjustment is accomplished by unsnapping flap 90 to disengage ridges 88 from ridges 86 , longitudinally sliding proximal end 28 to a new position , and snapping flap 90 back into position so that ridges 88 re - engage ridges 86 . fig1 a shows yet another alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . two pairs of laterally spaced posts 94 are spaced longitudinally apart on interior surface 6 . a plurality of pairs of mating holes 96 are longitudinally spaced along the proximal end 28 and two pairs of holes 96 at one time receive the two pairs of posts 94 to prevent the proximal end from moving longitudinally . flap 98 is hingedly connected to interior surface 6 by living hinge 100 , and snaps over proximal end 28 to secure it on posts 94 , as shown by arrow e . adjustment is accomplished in a fashion similar to that described above for previous embodiments . fig1 b shows one more alternative embodiment for adjusting the position of the articulated member 14 . this embodiment is similar to that of fig1 a , but does not have a hingedly connected flap . proximal end 28 is retained by posts 94 &# 39 ;, which have larger diameters at their distal ends than at their bases or than the diameters of the holes 96 , thereby retaining proximal end 28 between the distal ends of posts 94 and the interior surface 6 . this allows proximal end 28 of articulated member 14 to be unsnapped from posts 94 &# 39 ;, adjusted longitudinally , and snapped back onto the posts 94 &# 39 ; with a different set of holes 96 . posts 94 &# 39 ; can be formed on a plate 98 , which is attached to main shell 2 . the general and alternate embodiments described above and shown in fig1 through 14 illustrate the general concept of the present invention . the preferred embodiment , as shown in fig1 through 17 , is the intended design as it is envisioned for production , and operates substantially in an identical manner . in the preferred embodiment , two straps 18 &# 39 ; are used to connect the articulated member 14 to the main shell 2 . each strap 18 &# 39 ; is connected to the articulated member 14 with a strap connector 102 . strap connectors 102 are plastic tabs that are ultra - sonically welded onto one end of elastic straps 18 &# 39 ;, and fit into and are retained by pockets 104 in the articulated member 14 . the opposite ends of straps 18 &# 39 ; are adjustably attached to patches 20 of velcro ® hook and loop type fasteners glued inside the main shell 2 . in the preferred embodiment , all of the force exerted by the articulated member 14 against the wearer &# 39 ; s head is generated by the stretching of straps 18 &# 39 ;. in the relaxed position when not being worn and with the straps 18 &# 39 ; removed , the articulated member 14 rests against the inside of the rear of the helmet . it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiments described above and illustrated herein , but encompasses any and all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims .	0
fig1 depicts a flat view of stent 10 cut from a cylindrical piece of cannula . the stent includes a plurality of flexible interconnection segments 11 and higher hoop or radial strength cell segments 12 , with end cell segment 13 preferably having high hoop strength . by way of example , the cannula can be comprised of series 303 or 304 stainless steel that has applications for balloon expandable stents . in another application , the cannula can be formed of a nickel titanium alloy such as nitinol which can be employed for self - expanding stents . these nickel titanium self - expanding stents normally employ the superelastic properties of nitinol . by way of example , the stent is cut from a piece of cannula when in its compressed condition and then is expanded to its larger diameter expanded state . in the larger diameter expanded state , the nitinol material is heat set so that the stent retains its expanded configuration . the stent is then collapsed and introduced into a guiding catheter for deployment at the placement site . as depicted , the flexible segments 11 are comprised of a serpentine configuration that loops back and forth upon itself with spacing between the struts 14 that varies from one longitudinal end of the segment to the other . struts 14 project in spaced apart pairs from respective bights 15 and then , in the unexpanded stent condition , converge at distal ends that each join to other bights 15 to connect with adjacent strut pairs , thus eventually forming a circumferential band . the hoop segments 12 also have a serpentine configuration and are comprised of a series of longitudinal struts 16 that are radially positioned with spacing therebetween that can vary circumferentially . each pair of adjacent struts 16 extends in parallel from a respective bight 17 and are closely spaced to define narrow gaps 18 , or in parallel from a respective bight 19 more generously spaced apart to define large gaps 20 . distal ends of the struts 16 of each pair join to other bights of adjacent strut pairs . axial tie bars 21 extend from certain bights 19 within large gaps 20 to the right to connect with bights 15 of the adjacent flexible segment 11 to the right leaving narrow gaps between the axial tie bar and the adjacent struts 16 that may be equal in width to narrow gaps 18 ; similarly , axial tie bars 22 extend from certain bights 19 within large gaps 20 to the left to connect with bights 15 of another adjacent flexible segment 11 disposed on the left of hoop segment 12 . fig2 depicts an enlarged view of segments 11 and 12 of stent 10 of fig1 . in particular , and by way of example , longitudinal struts 16 are approximately 0 . 142 mm in width ( w ), and narrow gaps 18 therebetween are approximately 0 . 026 mm wide ( g 1 ). large gap 20 between selected longitudinal struts 16 is approximately 0 . 194 mm wide ( g 2 ). the length and width of the struts can be varied depending on the diameter of the overall stent . by way of further example , the starting cannula diameter of a stent is approximately 1 . 93 mm and may have a metal wall thickness of 0 . 007 ″. in this configuration , the hoop cell segments are connected to the flexible segments by axial tie bars 21 , 22 . with a configuration as described and shown , the expanded state of the stent is shown in fig3 with non - uniform spacing between the struts of the hoop cell segment . in fig2 axial tie bars 21 are spaced circumferentially from each other approximately 1 . 512 mm ( c ). the axial tie bars 21 interconnecting hoop cell segment 12 with the adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 extending to the right , are alternated circumferentially with respect to the axial tie bars 22 interconnecting it with the adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 to the left . however , as shown , the distance a 1 between the midlines of axial tie bars 21 , 22 connecting right adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 with left adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 is 0 . 84 mm . this circumferential distance a 1 includes a large gap 20 . midline distance b 1 interconnecting adjacent flexible interconnection segments including substantially only narrow gaps 18 of minimal width , is 0 . 672 mm . as a result , distance a 1 is greater than distance b 1 with non - uniform spacing between circumferential segments . the total of distance a 1 and b 1 is approximately 1 . 512 mm . fig4 depicts a flat view of an alternative embodiment of stent 10 of fig1 cut from a cylindrical piece of cannula . the stent includes a plurality of flexible interconnection segments 11 and higher hoop or radial strength segments 12 . as depicted , flexible segments are comprised of a serpentine configuration that loops back and forth upon itself with spacing between the struts 14 that varies from one longitudinal end of the segment to the other . hoop cell segments 12 are comprised of a series of longitudinal struts 16 that are axially positioned with spacing therebetween that is uniform around the circumference thereof . best seen in fig5 hoop cell segment 12 has longitudinal struts 16 with medium gaps 23 , for example , of 0 . 047 mm ( g 3 ). the width of medium gap 23 is between the widths of narrow gap 18 and large gap 20 of the stent of fig1 . as a result , the tensile strains of the stent in fig4 is significantly lower than the tensile strains of the stent in fig1 . in fig5 uniformly spaced gaps 23 provide for uniform radial expansion of the stent . axial tie bars 21 , 22 are spaced circumferentially and uniformly from each other approximately 0 . 756 mm . the axial tie bars 21 , 22 interconnecting hoop cell segment 12 with adjacent flexible interconnection segments 11 are alternated circumferentially . however , as shown , the distance a 2 between the midline of axial tie bars 21 , 22 connecting right adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 with left adjacent flexible interconnection segment 11 is 0 . 756 mm . this circumferential distance a 2 includes medium gaps 23 of approximately 0 . 047 mm . midline distance b 2 interconnecting adjacent flexible interconnection segments including all uniform medium gaps 23 is again 0 . 756 mm . as a result , distance a 2 and b 2 is the same with uniform spacing between circumferential bars . the total of distance a 2 and b 2 is again approximately 1 . 512 mm . fig6 depicts an expanded side view of stent 10 of fig4 and 5 with the hoop cell segment 12 and flexible interconnection segment 11 interconnected by axial tie bars 21 , 22 . the widths of all struts and tie bars in both fig3 and 6 is sufficiently small , that were the stent to be positioned at a vessel location which is the site of a branch , that flow into or from the branch would not be obstructed to a substantial extend by the stent . in comparison with axial tie bars 21 , 22 of fig3 the axial tie bars 21 , 22 of fig6 all remain in a longitudinal orientation . the axial tie bars 21 , 22 of the stent of fig3 are twisted and are not all longitudinally oriented in the same direction and form various angles of inclination with respect to the longitudinal axis and cause a certain amount of twisting and flexing of the struts during expansion and contraction . this twisting of the axial tie bars provides for excessive fatigue and premature fracture . as previously pointed out , the non - uniform spacing between the longitudinal struts of hoop cell segment 12 of the stent of fig1 causes the twisting of axial tie bars 21 , 22 and the undesired fatigue therein were the stent of fig1 to be used in an arterial application wherein it would be continuously subjected to pulsatile activity . fig7 depicts the flat view of fig4 with eyelets 24 at the end cell 13 of stent 10 . by way of example , eyelets 24 are approximately 0 . 23 mm . these eyelets can be filled with various radiopaque materials such as gold sphere which are crushed into the aperture . with reference to fig8 and 9 , the stents of fig1 and 4 have each been expanded to a diameter of about 7 . 00 mm . table i below provides a summary of the maximum principle tensile strains , taken at points a , b , and c of high radial strength segment 12 , which are the sites of maximum strain . by way of example , the maximum value for the stent of fig1 and 8 is about mm / mm while the maximum value for the stent of fig4 and 9 is 0 . 0078 about mm / mm , which is approximately 33 % lower than that of the tensile strain of the stent of fig1 . thus the stent of fig4 and 9 is appropriate for applications in vessels having substantial pulsatile events whereby the stent is subject to continuous expansion and contraction cycling . in fig1 to fig7 it is seen that bights 15 of flexible segment 12 are semicircular , and that bights 17 of hoop segment 11 are also semicircular , but having a smaller radius . it may be seen in fig8 and 9 that bights 17 of hoop segment 12 are semicircular where not joined by an axial segment 21 , 22 .	0
fig1 shows a two - stage porous metallic membrane support structure according to an embodiment of the invention . the membrane of fig1 has a first region 104 having a first pore size and a second region 102 having a second pore size . the second pore size is larger than the first pore size , as shown on fig1 . although division of a membrane into two distinct regions each having a different pore sizes as shown on fig1 is a preferred embodiment , this particular structure is not required to practice the invention . a key point in structures of the invention is that the metallic porous membrane have opposing surfaces with different pore sizes at these surfaces . within the membrane , the pore size can change abruptly at an internal interface ( e . g ., as shown on fig1 ) and / or can change gradually . metallic membranes according to the invention are preferably micro - porous . more specifically , the first pore size is preferably about 20 nm to about 30 nm and the second pore size is preferably about 200 nm to about 300 nm . for many applications ( e . g ., fuel cell technology and gas separation ) it is desirable for porous membranes to have a very large diameter relative to pore size . accordingly , it is preferred for membranes of the invention to have a diameter or lateral extent greater than about 1 cm . fabrication of such membranes according to methods of the invention is discussed below in connection with fig3 a - g . although the invention can be practiced with any metallic material or composition , preferred compositions include nickel , platinum , palladium , gold , copper or alloys or mixtures thereof . membranes of the invention can include one or more different metallic compositions . regions 102 and 104 can have the same or different compositions . region 102 ( and / or region 104 ) can itself include one or more different metallic compositions . for example , region 102 can be mostly ni except for a thin layer of pt at the interface with region 104 . such multiple compositions can be used to reduce cost ( e . g ., if pt is needed in region 102 to make contact with first region 104 ). also , in some cases region 104 can act as a catalyst , while region 102 does not . thus differing functionality is another motivation for having differing compositions in the two regions . a major application of membranes of the invention is to fuel cell technology . more specifically , fuel cells often include an active membrane ( i . e ., a gas or ion species selective membrane ). such active membranes can be either single layer membranes or multiple layer membranes , and both possibilities are covered by the term “ membrane assembly ”. the membrane assembly of a fuel cell is where the electrochemical reactions of the cell take place . the active membrane assembly of a fuel cell is often mechanically supported by one or more support membranes . membranes of the present invention can be advantageously used as fuel cell support membranes . accordingly , fig2 shows a gas / ion selective membrane assembly according to an embodiment of the invention . a gas or ion species selective membrane assembly 202 is in contact with first region 104 ( i . e ., the small pore region ) of the metallic membrane of fig1 . there are several advantages of this arrangement . the metallic nature of the support membrane including regions 102 and 104 provides electrical conductivity in combination with desirable mechanical properties ( e . g ., ductility , resistance to breakage , etc .). the dual - stage pores advantageously increase the ability of chemical reactants to enter ( or leave ) membrane assembly 202 . membrane assembly 202 is frequently thin and mechanically fragile , and the small pores of region 104 are helpful for providing adequate mechanical support in such case . simultaneously , the large pores of region 102 provide greatly improved reactant flow compared to a support membrane of the same thickness but having the small pore size throughout . preferably region 104 is much thinner than region 102 . for example , in a preferred embodiment , region 104 has a thickness of about 70 nm and region 102 has a thickness of about 20 μm to about 40 μm . it is further preferred for region 104 to have a pore size of about 20 nm to about 40 nm on the surface adjacent to membrane assembly 202 and a pore size of about 70 nm to about 100 nm on the surface facing away from membrane assembly 202 . it is also preferred for region 102 to have a pore size of about 200 nm to about 300 nm throughout its thickness . this arrangement of pore sizes provides mechanical strength for the support membrane including regions 102 and 104 , and provides ease of reactant flow to membrane assembly 202 . preferably , membrane assembly 202 has a thickness of less than 1 μm . any gas or ion species selective membrane can be used in this embodiment of the invention . exemplary materials for membrane assembly 202 include yttrium - stabilized zirconia , gadolinium doped ceria , palladium , and barium zirconate . in some cases membrane assembly 202 includes a porous catalyst layer . such a catalyst layer preferably has a pore size of about 20 nm to about 40 nm , and preferably includes platinum , nickel , palladium , gold , or alloys or mixtures thereof . fig3 a - g show a method of making a two - stage porous metallic membrane according to an embodiment of the invention . fig3 a shows providing a porous non - metallic template membrane having a small pore region 304 and a large pore region 302 . although such division of the template membrane into two regions having different pore sizes is not required to practice this method of the invention , it is preferred . any material which is compatible with the following method steps can be employed for the template membrane . materials known to be suitable for the template membrane include alumina and silicon . fig3 b shows depositing a first metal layer 306 on a surface of the small pore region 304 such that pores on this surface are not blocked by the first metal layer . the resulting metal layer 306 can include two or more different metallic compositions , or can be of a single composition . the first layer of metal 306 can have two functions : 1 ) it can act as a seed layer for a subsequent electroplating process step as shown below and 2 ) it can act as a catalyst layer . since the first metal layer can directly touch the gas / ion selective membrane ( e . g ., as on fig3 g ), the catalysis function is particularly advantageous in electrochemical device applications . it is preferred for first metal layer 306 to be sufficiently thick to provide enough electrical conductivity to facilitate a later electroplating deposition step . we have found that rf sputtering of pt at conditions ( 100 w applied rf power , 1 pa pressure , ar ambient ) providing a deposition rate of about 1 nm / s provides good results . the resulting thickness of first layer 306 is estimated to be about 30 nm to about 40 nm of pt . for other embodiments of the invention , some routine experimentation may be needed to determine how thick first metal 306 should be to provide good subsequent electroplating results , and how best to deposit this layer . fig3 c shows providing a polymer negative of the template membrane . more specifically , spaces within the template membrane can be filled with a liquid polymer precursor 308 ′. polymer precursor 308 ′ can then be cured to provide a polymer negative 308 . suitable materials for polymer precursor 308 ′ include methyl - methacrylate ( mma ), and mixtures of poly - mma and mma . suitable curing methods for generating polymer negative 308 from polymer precursor 308 ′ include thermal curing and exposing precursor 308 ′ to ultraviolet radiation ( preferably in a nitrogen ambient ). these polymer precursor materials and curing methods are exemplary , and the invention can be practiced with any material for the polymer negative that is compatible with other processing steps . it is important that polymer negative 308 not extend past the pores in region 302 of the template membrane , since access to the template membrane is needed for further processing . allowing capillary flow of polymer precursor 308 ′ into the pores is a preferred method for providing the polymer precursor 308 ′ and polymer negative 308 . in this approach , the top surface of the structure shown on fig3 b is placed into contact with a bath of polymer precursor 308 ′. polymer precursor 308 ′ is then drawn into the pores by capillary action to provide the configuration shown in fig3 c . this aspect of the invention is one reason it is important for the first metal 306 to not block the pores . fig3 d shows removing the non - metallic template membrane to expose pore - filling parts of polymer negative 308 . for example , this operation can be performed by etching away the template membrane with an etchant . any etchant that preferentially dissolves the template membrane compared to the polymer negative 308 is suitable . for example , a basic solution is suitable for dissolving an alumina template membrane . fig3 e shows depositing a second metal ( 310 and 312 ) onto first metal 306 such that the second metal makes contact with ( e . g ., surrounds ) the pore - filling parts of the polymer negative 308 . the second metal is preferably deposited via electroplating , although any deposition technique compatible with the other method steps can also be employed . however , electroless plating of nickel has been found to provide unsatisfactory results , since nickel deposited in this manner tends to be porous and fragile . it is preferred for the deposition of the second metal to provide dense metal , so that the only pores in the resulting structure are determined by negative 308 . the second metal can be of a single composition , or can include two or more different metallic compositions . a key aspect of the invention is keeping the polymer negative 308 immersed in a liquid at all times between removal of the template membrane and deposition of the second metal . drying of polymer negative 308 after removal of the template membrane is thereby avoided in practicing the invention . such avoidance of drying is highly advantageous , since drying the polymer negative 308 can often degrade its porous structure . for example , parts of the polymer negative can be drawn to each other ( and may even bond ) by surface tension forces experienced during drying . polymer negatives for pores having a high aspect ratio and / or for multi - stage pores having different sizes in different regions are especially vulnerable to drying - induced degradation . for example , the negative for micro - pores having a high aspect ratio is a large number of long thin pillars , which can readily and undesirably “ clump ” together upon being dried out . similarly , a negative for a network of interconnected pores can partially or even completely collapse upon being dried out . thus , avoidance of drying according to the invention is especially advantageous for such structures . fig3 f shows removing of polymer negative 308 after depositing the second metal . such removing can be performed with any solvent that preferentially dissolves polymer negative 308 compared to the metal regions ( 306 , 310 and 312 ). suitable solvents include acetone , toluene , methyl ethyl ketone , formaldehyde , and mixtures thereof . comparison of fig3 f to fig3 a shows that the porous metal membrane obtained by this method is a replica of the template membrane of fig3 a . thus regions 312 and 310 are small pore and large pore regions , respectively , of a two - stage microporous metallic membrane . optionally , further processing steps can be performed . for example , fig3 g shows depositing a gas or ion species selective membrane 314 on the porous metallic membrane . suitable methods for depositing the selective membrane 314 include : atomic layer deposition ; pulsed laser deposition ; sputtering of a metal followed by oxidizing the sputtered metal ; rf sputtering of a metal oxide ; and sputtering of a metal . fig4 shows an sem photograph of a template membrane suitable for use with the method of fig3 a - g . this example shows a porous alumina membrane having a small pore region ( at the top ) with about 20 nm pores , and a large pore region ( at the bottom ) with about 200 nm pores . fig5 shows an sem photograph of a two - stage porous metallic membrane according to an embodiment of the invention . the example of fig5 was fabricated by application of the method of fig3 a - f to an alumina membrane similar to that of fig4 . the metal of this example is ni . here , the small pore region is at the bottom of fig5 , and the large pore region is at the top of fig5 . fig6 shows a photograph of a two - stage porous metallic membrane according to an embodiment of the invention . here it is apparent that large diameter two - stage porous metallic membranes are provided by the invention , since the membrane diameter of this example is 35 mm . the preceding description has been by way of example as opposed to limitation , and the invention can also be practiced according to many modifications of the provided examples . for example , fig1 - 3 g show individual pores , and fig4 - 6 show networks of interconnected pores . the invention can be practiced with any combination of individual pores and / or a network of interconnected pores , although a porous network is preferred because it is easier to provide a negative for a porous network than for individual pores . a noteworthy feature of a porous network is that the porosity ( defined as the pore area divided by the total area of a given surface ) can be comparable on two opposing surfaces of a membrane , even if the pore sizes are different on the two surfaces . for example , a metal membrane fabricated according to the invention having ˜ 20 nm pores on one surface and ˜ 200 nm pores on an opposite surface had a porosity of about 30 % to 35 % on the 20 nm side , and about 30 % to 40 % on the 200 nm side .	8
referring now to fig1 - 6 , there are shown illustrations of the adaptive feed forward learning method of the invention . although in the context of the invention , the adaptive feed forward learning method is illustrated in use for temperature control , it is appreciated that the method of the invention may be used to control other functions or parameters . the method is a method of temperature control for maintaining actual temperature at a set point ( sp ) comprising or consisting of setting a temperature controller 10 at the set point ( sp ); taking temperature readings of the actual temperature ( pv ) at discrete time periods over the course of a learning period ( lp ); determining the sum of the actual temperatures ( sum pv ) taken within each of the discrete time periods over the course of the learning period ( lp ), determining output ( o ) within each discrete time period over the course of the learning period ( lp ); determining the sum of the output ( sum o ) within each discrete time period over the course of the learning period ( lp ); determining a learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter , wherein the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is a quotient determined by a proportion of a first part , wherein the first part is the product of the set point ( sp ) and the sum of the output ( sum o ) over the course of the learning period ( lp ), and a second part , wherein the second part is the sum of the actual temperature values ( sum pv ) over the course of the learning period ( lp ); and applying the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter in order to maintain the actual temperature ( pv ) at the set point ( sp ). the invention teaches that the learning period ( lp ) is a period of time represented by one complete oscillation of the actual temperature ( pv ) about the set temperature ( sp ). a learning period ( lp ) comprises or consists of or includes two consecutive time periods , namely , a first time period 20 during which the process value ( pv ) is continuously above the set point ( sp ) and a second time period 22 during which the process value ( pv ) is continuously below the set point ( sp ). the invention further discloses a system for calculating a learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter to offset an error value in order to regulate temperature by maintaining an actual temperature ( pv ) at a set point ( sp ), the system comprising a temperature controller 10 , configured at a set point ( sp ); a temperature reader 12 configured to measure the actual temperature ( pv ) at fixed intervals ; a blower 16 configured to produce the output ( o ) at each of the fixed intervals , wherein the output ( o ) is blower duty cycle ; a central processing unit 18 configured to calculate the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter for regulating blower circuitry in order to control the output ( o ) for approximating the actual temperature ( pv ) to the set temperature ( sp ), wherein the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is the output ( o ) that the temperature controller 10 would produce if there were no error and no history of error , and wherein the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is a quotient determined by a proportion of a first part , wherein the first part is the product of the set point ( sp ) and the sum of the output ( sum o ) over the course of a learning period ( lp ), and a second part , wherein the second part is the sum of the actual temperature ( sum pv ) over the course of the learning period ( lp ); and a central processing unit 18 , and means for applying the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter to the output ( o ) in order to maintain the actual temperature ( pv ) substantially at the set point ( sp ), wherein the means for applying the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is the central processing unit 18 that utilizes the method of the invention to control the blower duty cycle of the blower 16 . in one embodiment , the central processing unit 18 comprises a non transitory computer readable media . it is understood in the art that output ( o ) is generally controlled by controlling the blower &# 39 ; s 16 power line ( not shown ). another embodiment of the invention discloses a temperature controller 10 for maintaining an actual temperature ( pv ) at a set point ( sp ) comprising a central processing unit 18 configured to calculate a learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter , wherein the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is a quotient determined by a proportion of a first part , wherein the first part is the product of the set point ( sp ) and the sum of the output ( sum o ) over the course of a learning period ( lp ), and a second part , wherein the second part is the sum of the actual temperature ( sum pv ) over the course of a learning period ( lp ). referring now to fig1 there is shown a flow chart illustrating the adaptive feed forward learning method of the invention to maintain actual temperature pv at a desired set temperature sp . it is noted that the steps within the method as illustrated by the flow chart are executed every second . initially the desired set temperature ( sp ) is selected . an actual temperature ( pv ) is recorded thereafter . when the actual temperature ( pv ) is found to be not substantially equal to the set temperature ( sp ) and the most recent prior actual temperature ( pv ) was substantially equal to the set temperature ( sp ), then the system is determined to be “ in oscillation ”. the system is in the “ dead zone ” if the actual temperature ( pv ) is equal to the set temperature ( sp ). a recording of the actual temperature ( pv ) is taken every second over the course of a learning period ( lp ). the sum of the actual temperature ( pv ) during the learning period ( sum pv ) is determined . a blower output or blower duty cycle ( o ) as determined by a controller 10 is recorded every second during the same learning period ( lp ). the sum of the output ( o ) during the learning period ( lp ) or ( sum o ) is determined . at the end of the learning period ( lp ) a learned feed forward parameter ( lff ) is determined using the product of the sum of the output during the learning period ( sum o ) and the set temperature ( sp ) divided by the sum of the actual temperature during the learning period ( sum pv ). the steps in the flow chart are executed every second over the course of the learning period ( lp ) and repeated thereafter for every subsequent learning period ( lp ) during the course of a cook . thus , a learned feed forward parameter ( lff ) as determined from the inventive adaptive learned method is utilized to control output ( o ) and to more accurately maintain the actual temperature value ( pv ) at the set temperature value ( sp ). it is preferable to dampen any changes to the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter so that no single oscillation can dramatically affect a feed forward ( ff ) value . in a preferred embodiment , the ( lff ) will be capped at a maximum of two hundred percent of the ( ff ) value , or 2 ( ff ) and ( lff ) will not be allowed to fall below a minimum of fifty percent of the ( ff ) value , or ½ ( ff ). for example if ( ff ) is 20 % and the ( lff ) is determined to be 50 %, it is preferable to dampen the ( lff ) so that it is at a max of 40 % or 2 ( 20 %) for that learning period in order to maintain a greater control and to avoid large temperature swings . similarly , if lff is determined to be 5 %, it is preferable to modify lff so that it is at a minimum of 10 % or ½ ( 20 %) for the learning period ( lp ) in order to avoid large temperature swings . thus , the feed forward parameter ( ff ) is modified to equal learned feed forward parameter ( lff ) at the end of each learning period ( lp ). referring now to fig2 , there is shown a time - temperature graph charting the temperature fluctuation over several learning periods ( lp ) when using the learning method of the invention . in this example , the set point ( sp ) is about 107 degrees celsius . as illustrated , the ( sp ) is constant throughout the cooking process . the process value ( pv ) fluctuates above and below the set point ( sp ). as shown , the ( pv ) more closely approximates ( sp ) as the process continues . a learning period ( lp ) in this illustration is shown to be about 31 seconds . that is , the ( pv ) oscillates about the ( sp ) for a period of 31 seconds . as show , during the first 31 seconds , the process value ( pv ) is below the set point ( sp ) and above the set point ( sp ) for one continuous segment each , namely 20 and 22 . a learning period ( lp ) comprises of , consists of , or includes a first time period 20 , in which ( pv ) is continuously below the ( sp ) and a second time period , 22 , in which ( pv ) is continuously above ( sp ), where the first time period , 20 and the second time period , 22 occur sequentially and are substantially consecutive . a series of learning periods ( lp ) may be used to determine the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter . the blower output ( o ), or blower duty cycle as determined by the controller 10 is recorded every second for each learning period ( lp ). as illustrated in fig2 , the initial learning period is 31 seconds . the sum of the output ( o ) during the total learning period ( tlp ) or ( sum o ) is determined . at the end of the total learning period ( tlp ) the learned feed forward parameter , lff is determined using the product of the sum of the output during the learning period ( sum o ) and the set temperature , sp , divided by the sum of the actual temperature during the learning period , ( sum pv ). fig3 is a time - temperature graph charting the temperature fluctuation over several learning periods ( lp ) without using the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter . as shown in this example , the blower output ( o ), or blower duty cycle as determined by the controller 10 is not subject to modification by the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter . a greater output ( o ) is required as shown in fig3 to maintain or approximate the process value ( pv ) to the set temperature ( sp ). fig2 shows the affect of the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter has on output ( o ). as the learned feed forward ( lff ) parameter is incorporated as shown in fig2 , less output ( o ) is required to maintain or approximate the process value ( pv ) to the set temperature ( sp ). fig4 is a time temperature graph charting meat temperature , pit temperature , set temperature over a seven to eight hour cooking period using the adaptive learned feed forward method of the invention . in this example , the inventive method allowed the temperature controller 10 to adapt or learn to apply a higher feed forward parameter over the course of numerous learning periods during the cooking period . in this example , there were approximately forty learning periods over the course of a six hour cook . thus , we find that from 5 : 00 to 6 : 00 pm the blower output or blower duty cycle is higher than between 11 : 00 am - 12 : 00 pm . as illustrated in this figure , the process value ( pv ) very closely approximates the set point ( sp ). fig5 is an illustration of a temperature controller 10 in use with a temperature reader 12 , thermocouple 14 , blower 16 , and central processing unit 18 . thus , the temperature controller 10 includes the central processing unit 18 configured to calculate the learned feed forward parameter ( lff ), wherein the learned feed forward parameter ( lff ) is a quotient determined by a proportion of a first part , wherein the first part is the product of the set point ( sp ) and the sum of the output ( sum o ) over the course of a learning period ( lp ), and a second part , wherein the second part is the sum of the actual temperature ( sum pv ) over the course of a learning period ( lp ). the temperature controller 10 maintains the actual temperature ( pv ) at the set point ( pv ) fig6 is a comparison of an on / off system versus a pid temperature controller . thus , the time temperature graphs illustrate the difference between using an on / off blower output to maintain temperature control versus blower output using a traditional pid temperature controller . as shown , the pv more closely approximates the sp using a pid temperature controller . in a traditional pid controller , ff is zero . thus , while there has been shown and described , fundamental novel features of the disclosure as applied to various specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the apparatus illustrated , and in their operation , may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the disclosure . for example , it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and / or method steps which perform substantially the same function , in substantially the same way , to achieve the same results , are within the scope of the invention . moreover , it should be recognized that structures and / or elements and / or method steps shown and / or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice . it is the intention , therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto .	6
referring to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a presently preferred method of manufacturing pocketed coil springs into strings which may be assembled into cores for use in mattresses or the like according to the principles of the present invention . as illustrated , there is a first supply roll 10 about which a flexible , pocketing material 12 is disposed and a second supply roll 14 about which a preferably flexible , adhesive material 16 is disposed . the process is carried out as described above with respect to the prior art , but a layer of flexible , adhesive fabric material 16 is laid upon the outer surface 18 of one of the folds 20 , 22 of the pocketing material 12 . the resulting string 24 of encased coil springs 26 , as shown in fig2 and 3 , has on a first side 28 a layer of pocketing material 12 , and on a second opposing side 30 a layer of , adhesive fabric material 16 over a layer of pocketing material 12 . to form the mattress core , the encased coil springs 26 are cut by a cutter 27 into strings 24 having a desired number of encased coil springs 26 , the strings 24 of pocketed coil springs 26 are aligned in columns with the coils 25 side by side , as shown in fig1 and 3 , or in a honeycomb alignment ( not shown ), with the second side 30 of one string 24 contacting the first side 28 of the adjacent string 24 . thus , between the rows of coil springs 25 there are two layers of pocketing material 12 and an intervening layer of flexible , fabric material 16 . heat or other activating means 40 is then applied to the assembly to activate the adhesive component of the adhesive material 16 . an adhesive bond is thereby created between the first and second sides 28 , 30 of adjacent strings 24 . the adhesive fabric material 16 may be any material with a preprinted pattern of an adhesive , such as glue , or may be a material saturated with an adhesive , or may be a material with an adhesive powder that impregnates the fabric . by way of example , the adhesive fabric material 16 may be a web of nonwoven fabric material reinforced with a heat sensitive mesh netting . one nonwoven material with the reinforced netting is sold under the registered trademark laminet ® by conwed plastics of minneapolis , minn . this product includes both the nonwoven material and the heat - actuated adhesive netting , albeit the reinforced heat - actuated netting itself is also sold by this company under the registered trademark thermanet ®. the heat sensitive reinforced mesh or netting is a polypropylene plastic with the adhesive integral with the netting itself so as to form both a bonding agent and a reinforcement for the nonwoven . furthermore , the web of adhesive may be in a mesh configuration or another known configuration within the scope of this invention . the activating means 40 for the adhesive component may be an oven operated at temperatures high enough to melt the adhesive component , but low enough to prevent the material and pocketing material 12 from melting or burning . for example , the adhesive web on the laminet ® product has a tack temperature of approximately 180 ° f . to 212 ° f . and a melt temperature between 200 ° f . and 284 ° f . thus , the oven may be operated at a temperature of about 225 ° f . to effectively activate the adhesive component for bonding to the adjacent string of pocketed spring coils . alternatively , the activating means 40 may be a heat lamp or a radiation emitting device . referring to fig5 and 6 , an alternative preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in which the layer of material 16 is taut and interposed between the adjacent strings 24 and the strings are joined together . the layer 16 is taut and does not conform to the contour of the side surfaces 28 , 30 of the pocketed coil springs 26 as compared to fig3 . preferably , the layer 16 is applied to the string 24 after the springs 25 are inserted into the respective pockets , turned and expanded , as needed ( fig6 ). as such , the layer 16 is pulled taut from the supply roll 14 and maintained in a taut configuration . a tensioning device ( not shown ) may be positioned between the supply roll 14 and the point of application to the string 24 and utilized to maintain the layer 16 taut as would be readily understood by one skilled in this art . the layer 16 is preferably taut , but is not required to be entirely without wrinkles or precisely planar within the scope of this invention . further , although the layer 16 is shown taut across the entire length of the string 24 , it may be desirable to introduce a buckle between selected pocketed springs 25 or slack in the layer 16 at appropriate locations to afford expansion and / or contraction properties in a controlled manner at such locations . moreover , the buckle or the like in the layer 16 may be aligned from string 24 to string 24 , not included in some or all strings 24 or be offset from string 24 to string 24 as desired . preferably , the layer 16 is a fabric material which includes an adhesive component or is an adhesive netting . the fabric may be woven , nonwoven , knitted or of another construction . the adhesive may be incorporated into the fabric material in the form of netting or another embodiment . examples layers 16 which can be used with this embodiment are products which include both the nonwoven material and the heat - actuated adhesive netting such as laminet ®; alternatively , the reinforced heat - actuated adhesive netting itself is also sold under the registered trademark thermanet ®. preferably , the layer 16 has low stretching properties so that the expansion and / or contraction of the layer 16 and strings 24 attached thereto is minimized to maintain the desired dimensional configurations of the string 24 and spring assembly . the layer 16 is preferably adhesively bonded to the adjacent strings 24 and thereby adhesively joins the adjacent strings 24 together . if the layer 16 does not include an adhesive component , the adhesive may be applied to the layer 16 before , during or after application to the string 24 or the adhesive may be applied to the string 24 prior to attaching the taut layer 16 . if the layer 16 includes an adhesive component , then the adhesive must be activated such as by processing through the activating means 40 which could be an oven operated at temperatures high enough to melt the adhesive component , but low enough to prevent the material and pocketing material 12 from melting or burning as previously described for the laminet ®. alternatively , the activating means 40 may be a heat lamp , a radiation emitting device or other appropriate mechanism . the spring assembly is formed by juxtaposing the strings 24 to one another until the desired number of strings are assembled ( fig5 ). the spring assembly with the taut layer 16 between adjacent strings 24 minimizes , reduces and / or eliminates the expansion and / or contraction to result in a more precisely sized pocketed spring assembly . accordingly , the present invention provides a simple process that overcomes all of the aforesaid problems encountered in the prior art , and does so with reduced costs . the strings are adhered to one another in one embodiment by the adhesive component of the fabric material without the difficulties of the prior art methods , and expansion and contraction of the strings and resulting spring assembly is reduced or eliminated by the taut layer of fabric material between the adjacent strings . numerous alterations of the structure and process herein disclosed will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art . for example and without limitation , the fabric material may be any taut material which is adhered to the strings to limit their expansion and / or contraction . however , it is to be understood that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiments of the invention which are for purposes of illustration only and not to be construed as a limitation of the invention . all such modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims .	1
fig1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a gaussian mixture model creation apparatus according to an embodiment , to which the present invention is applied . a gaussian mixture model creation apparatus 1 shown in fig1 is configured to , for two classes of input data samples , by performing adjustment so as to obtain an optimal number of mixture components ( an optimal number of models ), create a function representing a gaussian mixture model . the function representing a gaussian mixture model is configured by linearly combining gaussian functions , which are set individually for each of models corresponding to respective mixture components , the number of the gaussian functions being equal to the number of the models . therefore , hereinafter , a gaussian mixture model function will be termed just a gaussian mixture model , and a gaussian function representing each model , i . e ., each mixture component , will be also termed just a model . therefore , creating a gaussian mixture model is equivalent to fixing a gaussian mixture model function by setting parameters for specifying the gaussian mixture model function . further , the parameters for specifying the gaussian mixture model function are , for example , a covariance matrix , an average vector , an eigenvalue and an eigenvector , and these parameters will be hereinafter termed gaussian parameters . the gaussian mixture model creation apparatus 1 is configured to include an input data sample acquisition unit 11 , an initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 , a gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 , a goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 , a gaussian mixture model update unit 15 and an output unit 16 . the input data sample acquisition unit 11 acquires a first group of data samples , which is to be a group of input data for a desired mixture model , and a second group of data samples , which is to be a group of data desired to be categorized into a class different from a class including the first group of data samples , and supplies the first and second groups of data samples to the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 . with respect to the first and second groups of data samples , for example , a group of data samples including object images ( foreground images ) and a group of data samples including background images can be provided , respectively . in addition , hereinafter , processes performed in the case where , as the first and second groups of data samples , a group of data samples including object images and a group of data samples including background images are used , respectively , will be described , but obviously , groups of data samples other than such groups of data samples can be used . the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 is configured to include an average vector calculation unit 21 and a covariance matrix generation unit 22 . the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 performs control so as to cause the average vector calculation unit 21 to calculate an average vector by handling the first group of data samples , which is supplied from the input data sample acquisition unit 11 , as a first cluster . further , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 performs control so as to cause the covariance matrix generation unit 22 to calculate a covariance matrix by handling the first group of data samples , which is supplied from the input data sample acquisition unit 11 , as a first cluster . further , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 is configured to , on the basis of the calculated average vector and covariance matrix , generate an initial gaussian mixture model p ( x ) for the first group of data samples . further , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 supplies the generated gaussian mixture model p ( x ), the first and second groups of data samples , and information relating to a group of clusters to the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 . in addition , hereinafter , this gaussian mixture model function p ( x ) will be termed just a gaussian mixture model p ( x ). the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 calculates a goodness of fit for the gaussian mixture model supplied from the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 or the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 , and supplies the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 with the calculated goodness of fit for the gaussian mixture model together with the first and second groups of data samples . at this time , the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 also supplies the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 with information relating to a group of clusters together therewith . the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 stores therein the goodness of fit supplied from the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 as a current goodness of fit e t , and determines whether the current gaussian mixture model is necessary to be further updated , or not , by comparing a difference absolute value with a threshold value , which is calculated from the current goodness of fit e t and a goodness of fit e ( t − 1 ) for a gaussian mixture model immediately prior to update of the current gaussian mixture model . further , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 is configured to , in the case where there is no change between the current goodness of fit e t and the immediately previous goodness of fit e ( t − 1 ) , output the current gaussian mixture model p ( x ) to the output unit 16 . in contrast , in the case where there is any change between the current goodness of fit e t and the immediately previous goodness of fit e ( t − 1 ) , so that the gaussian mixture model p ( x ) is necessary to be further updated , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 supplies the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 with the current gaussian mixture models p ( x ), and further , directs the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 to update the current gaussian mixture model p ( x ). at this time , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 also supplies the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 with the first and second groups of data samples and information relating a group of clusters together with the gaussian mixture models p ( x ). the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 selects a gaussian function and a cluster , which correspond to one specific model , from among the gaussian mixture model p ( x ) and the group of clusters supplied from the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 , respectively . further , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 updates the gaussian mixture model by splitting the selected gaussian function and the selected cluster into two gaussian functions and two clusters , and replacing the selected gaussian function and the selected cluster by the two split gaussian functions and the two split clusters , respectively . further , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 supplies the gaussian mixture model and the group of clusters having been updated to the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 . more circumstantially , firstly , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 is configured to , from among gaussian functions each forming a model , select one gaussian function n m ( x ) in accordance with a predetermined condition , and split a cluster corresponding to the selected gaussian function n m ( x ) into two clusters . here , m denotes an index to identify the selected model . further , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 newly obtains gaussian functions n m1 ( x ) and n m2 ( x ) corresponding to respective two clusters having been split , and updates the gaussian mixture model p ( t ) ( x ) into p ( t + 1 ) ( x ) by replacing the selected gaussian function n m ( x ) by the two gaussian functions n m1 ( x ) and n m2 ( x ). further , at the same time , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 also updates the cluster corresponding to the selected gaussian function n m ( x ) into the two split clusters . here , m 1 and m 2 denote indexes to identify respective two clusters resulting from splitting a cluster represented by the model m . next , an example of a configuration of the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 will be described below with reference to fig2 . the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 is configured to include an eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 , a split cluster selection unit 32 , a cluster split unit 33 and a gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 . the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 is configured to include a covariance matrix generation unit 41 , an eigenvalue generation unit 42 , an eigenvector generation unit 43 and an average vector generation unit 44 . the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the covariance matrix generation unit 41 to generate a covariance matrix for each of clusters supplied from the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 . the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the eigenvalue generation unit 42 and the eigenvector generation unit 43 to generate an eigenvalue and an eigenvector from the covariance matrix having been generated for each cluster . further , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the average vector generation unit 44 to , with respect to the first group of data samples , generate an average vector for each cluster . the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 calculates a covariance matrix , an average vector , an eigenvalue and an eigenvector for each cluster , and supplies these to the split cluster selection unit 32 . at this time , in the case of multi - dimensions , i . e ., d dimensions , eigenvalues whose number is d are obtained for each cluster , and thus , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 selects a maximum eigenvalue from among the obtained eigenvalues for each cluster as an eigenvalue for the cluster . the split cluster selection unit 32 selects an eigenvalue having a maximum value from among the eigenvalues for respective clusters , which have been supplied from the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 , selects a cluster corresponding to the selected eigenvalue , and supplies the cluster split unit 33 with the selected cluster , and an eigenvector and an average vector corresponding to the selected cluster . the cluster split unit 33 is configured to include a data inner product arithmetic operation unit 51 , an average inner product calculation unit 52 and an inner product comparison unit 53 . the cluster split unit 33 is configured to , on the basis of the cluster , the average vector and the eigenvector having been supplied from the split cluster selection unit 32 , split sample data forming the cluster into two clusters of sample data , and outputs the two clusters to the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 . the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 calculates a gaussian parameter ( μ , σ ) and a weight g for each of the two clusters having been supplied from the cluster split unit 33 , and outputs the gaussian mixture model and the group of clusters having been updated . here , μ and σ denote an average vector and a covariance matrix , respectively . the weight g for each cluster is obtained , for example , by calculating a ratio of the number of data samples for the cluster relative to the total number of data samples . the output unit 16 outputs the gaussian mixture model as a result of processing , which has been supplied from the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 . next , gaussian model creation processing will be described below with respect to a flowchart shown in fig3 . in step s 1 , the input data sample acquisition unit 11 acquires sample data for images of an object as a first group of data samples , and sample data for images of targets other than the object , that is , sample data for background images , as a second group of data samples . further , the input data sample acquisition unit 11 supplies the acquired sample data for images of an object and the acquired sample data for background images to the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 . in step s 2 , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 performs control so as to cause the average vector calculation unit 21 to calculate an average vector by handling the first group of data samples having been supplied from the input data sample acquisition unit 11 as a first cluster . further , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 performs control so as to cause the covariance matrix generation unit 22 to calculate a covariance matrix by handling the first group of data samples having been supplied from the input data sample acquisition unit 11 as a first cluster . further , the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 generates a gaussian mixture model p ( x ) for the first group of data samples on the basis of the average vector and the covariance matrix having been calculated in the above - described processing . here , as represented by the following formula ( 1 ), when data x of d dimensions is given , the gaussian mixture model function p ( x ) is a function representing a likelihood relating to the data x . more specifically , the gaussian mixture model function p ( x ) is a summation of functions whose number is k , each resulting from multiplying a gaussian function n ( x \| μ k , σ k ) of d dimensions by a weight g k ( k is an index , and k = 1 , 2 , . . . k ). here , as represented by the following formula ( 2 ), when data x of d dimensions , which is categorized in accordance with the index k , is given , the gaussian function n ( x ) is a function representing a likelihood of a gaussian model relating to the data x of d dimensions , which is categorized in accordance with the index k , by using an average vector μ k , the inverse matrix σ k − 1 of a covariance matrix σ k and the matrix formula \| σ k \| of the covariance matrix σ k . in step s 3 , the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 initializes a goodness - of - fitness repetition counter t , which is omitted from illustration . in step s 4 , the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 calculates a goodness of fit e t from a likelihood , which is obtained in the case where the first group of data samples is given to the gaussian mixture model p ( x ), and a likelihood , which is obtained in the case where the second group of data samples is given to the gaussian mixture model p ( x ), the gaussian mixture model p ( x ) having been supplied from the initial gaussian mixture model generation unit 12 or the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 , and supplies the calculated goodness - of - fitness e t to the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 . more circumstantially , the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 obtains the goodness of fit e t by using the following formula ( 3 ). that is , the goodness of fit e t is an index indicating a ratio of the sum of a second likelihood resulting from applying a gaussian mixture model to a second data sample y j relative to the sum of a first likelihood resulting from applying the gaussian mixture model to a first data sample x i . therefore , this goodness of fit e t is an index indicating the degree of accuracy for categorization of data samples . here , the counter t is an index indicating the number of repetition of processing for updating the gaussian mixture model p ( x ). in step s 5 , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 calculates a difference absolute value between a current goodness of fit and an immediately previous goodness of fit , and in step s 6 , by comparing the calculated difference absolute value with a threshold value , determines whether the goodness of fit has converged so sufficiently that it is unnecessary to further update the gaussian mixture model p ( x ), or not . more circumstantially , as represented by the following formula ( 4 ), by determining whether a variation amount (\| e t − e ( t − 1 ) \|, which is a difference absolute value between the goodness of fit e t for the current gaussian mixture model p t ( x ) and the goodness of fit e ( t − 1 ) for the immediately previous gaussian mixture model p ( t − 1 ) ( x ), is smaller than a predetermined threshold value , or not , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 determines whether the goodness of fit has converged sufficiently , or not . in addition , in initial processing , since the immediately previous goodness of fit does not exist , for convenience of calculation , for example , a minimum value of the goodness of fit is set as the immediately previous goodness of fit . in step s 6 , if the variation amount is not smaller than the predetermined value , the process flow proceeds to step s 7 . in step s 7 , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 causes the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 to update the gaussian mixture model p t ( x ) into the gaussian mixture model p ( t + 1 ) ( x ). at this time , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 stores the gaussian mixture model p t ( x ) therein . in response thereto , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 executes gaussian mixture model update processing , and thereby , updates a current , that is , a t - th gaussian mixture model p t ( x ) corresponding to a value t of the counter t into the gaussian mixture model p ( t + 1 ) ( x ). here , gaussian mixture model update processing will be described below with reference to a flowchart shown in fig4 . in step s 21 , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the covariance matrix generation unit 41 to generate covariance matrixes for all of clusters . in step s 22 , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the eigenvalue generation unit 42 to generate an eigenvalue from the covariance matrix for each of the clusters . moreover , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the eigenvector generation unit 43 generate an eigenvector for each of the clusters on the basis of the generated eigenvalue . in step s 23 , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 performs control so as to cause the average vector generation unit 44 to generate an average vector for the covariance matrix for each of the clusters . in step s 24 , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 supplies groups of the covariance matrix , the eigenvalue , the eigenvector and the average vector , which have been generated for respective clusters , to the split cluster selection unit 32 . the split cluster selection unit 32 selects a group of the covariance matrix , the eigenvalue , the eigenvector and the average vector corresponding to a cluster , the group corresponding to the cluster including the largest eigenvalue among the groups of the covariance matrix , the eigenvalue , the eigenvector and the average vector , which have been generated for respective clusters . further , the eigenvalue / eigenvector generation unit 31 extracts the selected group of the covariance matrix , the eigenvalue , the eigenvector and the average vector , the group including the largest eigenvalue among the groups having been generated for respective clusters , and supplies the extracted group of the covariance matrix , the eigenvalue , the eigenvector and the average vector to the split cluster selection unit 32 together with sample data included in the selected cluster . in step s 25 , the cluster split unit 33 performs control so as to cause the average inner product calculation unit 52 to calculate an average inner product eig · μ , which is an inner product of an average vector μ and an eigenvector eig . the average vector μ , the eigenvector eig and the average inner product eig · μ have mutual relationships , such as shown in an upper - left portion of fig5 . that is , the average inner product eig · μ represents a multiple number of a component of the average vector μ , the component extending in the dot - line direction which is shifted in parallel with the eigenvector eig , relative to the eigenvector , the average vector μ existing within a cluster , which is represented by a dot - line ellipse and has been selected as a cluster , which corresponds to a group of a covariance matrix , an eigenvalue , an eigenvector and an average vector , the group including the largest eigenvalue among the groups having been generated for respective clusters . in step s 26 , the cluster split unit 33 sets unprocessed sample data , which is selected from among sample data included in the cluster having been supplied from the split cluster selection unit 32 , as data x i targeted for processing . in step s 27 , the cluster split unit 33 performs control so as to cause the data inner product calculation unit 51 to calculate a data inner product eig · x i , which is an inner product of data x i and an eigenvector eig . the data x i , the eigenvector eig and the data inner product eig · x i have mutual relationships , such as shown in an upper - left portion of fig5 . that is , the average inner product eig · x i represents a multiple number of a component of the data x i , the component extending in the dot - line direction which is shifted in parallel with the eigenvector eig , relative to the eigenvector , the data x i existing within a cluster which is represented by a dot - line ellipse and has been selected as a cluster corresponding to a group of a covariance matrix , an eigenvalue , an eigenvector and an average vector , the group including the largest eigenvalue among the groups having been generated for respective clusters . in step s 28 , the cluster split unit 33 performs control so as to cause the inner product comparison unit 53 to compare a magnitude relation between the data inner product and the average inner product by performing an arithmetic operation using the following formula ( 5 ). in step s 29 , the cluster split unit 33 determines whether the magnitude of the data inner product is larger than that of the average inner product , or not , on the basis of the result of comparison performed by the inner product comparison unit 53 , and for example , if the magnitude of the data inner product is larger than that of the average inner product , in step s 30 , the cluster split unit 33 categorizes the data x i into the first cluster , and then , causes the process flow to proceed to step s 32 . in contrast , in step s 29 , if the magnitude of the data inner product is not larger than that of the average inner product , in step s 31 , the cluster split unit 33 categorizes the data x i into the second cluster . in step s 32 , the cluster split unit 33 determines whether unprocessed data exists , or not , and if it is determined that the unprocessed data exists , the cluster split unit 33 causes the process flow to return to step s 26 . that is , the processes from step s 26 to the step s 32 are repeated until it is determined that no unprocessed data exists . further , if it is determined in step s 32 that no unprocessed data exists , the process flow proceeds to step s 33 . the concept of this processing is such that , as shown in the upper - left portion of fig5 , among sample data forming a cluster , sample data , which is located in an area stretching in a direction towards an original point from a straight line l , which passes through the end position of the average vector μ and extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the eigenvector eig , has a data inner product smaller than an average inner product , and thus , the sample data is categorized into the second cluster . in contrast , sample data , which is located in an area stretching in a direction opposite the original point from the straight line l , has a data inner product larger than an average inner product , and thus , the sample data is categorized into the first cluster . as a result of such processing as described above , as shown in the lower - right portion of fig5 , the selected cluster is split into two clusters by the straight line l , one being the first cluster , into which sample data located in an area stretching in a direction opposite the original point is categorized , the other one being the second cluster , into which sample data located in a remaining area stretching in a direction towards the original point is categorized . in step s 33 , the cluster split unit 33 supplies the obtained first and second clusters to the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 . in step s 34 , on the basis of sample data included in the first cluster and the second cluster , the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 generates gaussian functions , and calculates gaussian parameters therefor . in step s 35 , the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 updates the gaussian mixture model by using the calculated gaussian parameters for the two clusters . that is , the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 updates the gaussian mixture model by replacing a gaussian model corresponding to the cluster having been selected as a cluster including a maximum eigenvalue by two gaussian models corresponding to the respective two clusters resulting from splitting the cluster , and mixing the two gaussian models corresponding to the respective two clusters . in step s 36 , the gaussian parameter calculation unit 34 supplies the updated gaussian mixture model to the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 . that is , in the gaussian mixture model update processing , eigenvalues are calculated for respective clusters , a cluster of sample data including a maximum eigenvalue is split into two clusters of sample data , and further , the gaussian mixture model is updated by using gaussian models , which correspond to the two split clusters , respectively . the eigenvalue and the eigenvector for each of the two clusters indicate an amount of variation and a direction of variation for data included therein , respectively . therefore , it is possible to optimize gaussian models , which are components forming a gaussian mixture model , by newly setting two clusters resulting from splitting a cluster having a maximum eigenvalue in a direction perpendicular to the direction of an eigenvector , calculating gaussian models corresponding to the respective two clusters , and replacing a gaussian model corresponding the cluster having a maximum eigenvalue by the gaussian models corresponding to the respective two clusters . here , the description is retuned to the flowchart shown in fig3 . subsequent to completion of the gaussian mixture model update processes performed in step 7 , the gaussian model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 increments the repetition counter t by one in step 8 , which is omitted from illustration , and causes the process flow to return to step s 4 . in step s 4 , by using the above - described formula ( 3 ), the gaussian mixture model goodness - of - fit calculation unit 13 calculates a goodness of fit e ( t + 1 ) from a likelihood resulting from applying the first group of data samples to the updated gaussian mixture model p ( t + 1 ) ( x ) and a likelihood resulting from applying the second group of data samples to the updated gaussian mixture model p ( t + 1 ) ( x ), and supplies the resultant goodness of fit e ( t + 1 ) to the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 . in step s 5 , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 calculates a difference absolute value between the current goodness of fit e ( t + 1 ) and the immediately previous goodness of fit e t , and by comparing the calculated difference absolute value with a threshold value , determines whether the goodness of fit has converged so sufficiently that it is unnecessary to further update the gaussian mixture model p ( t + 1 ) ( x ), or not . if the difference absolute value between the current goodness of fit e ( t + 1 ) and the immediately previous goodness of fit e t is not smaller than the threshold value , the processes from step s 4 to step s 8 are repeatedly executed until the difference absolute value is smaller than the threshold value . every time the processes from step s 4 to s 8 are executed , that is , every time the update processing is executed , one cluster is increased , and as a result , a goodness of fit is obtained every time one cluster is increased . further , in step s 6 , if a difference absolute value between a current goodness of fit and an immediately previous goodness of fit is smaller than the threshold value , so that it is unnecessary to make the number of components be more than a current number of components , that is , it is unnecessary to update a current gaussian mixture model into a gaussian mixture model having more clusters than the current gaussian mixture model , the process flow proceeds to step s 9 . in step s 9 , the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 outputs a function forming a gaussian mixture model as of then to the output unit 16 . the output unit 16 outputs the function forming the gaussian mixture model as of then . performing the above - described processing enables setting a gaussian mixture model including gaussian functions whose number is sequentially increased along with splitting a cluster having a large eigenvalue , and thus , enables preventing occurrence of fitting errors . further , the above - described processing is performed so that a goodness of fit for a gaussian mixture model is set on the basis of likelihoods for the first group of data samples , and the second group of data samples other than data samples included in the first group , and every time a gaussian function is increased , it is determined from a difference absolute value between a current goodness of fit and an immediately previous goodness of fit whether a variation of the goodness of fit is sufficiently small , or not , and if it is determined that the variation of the goodness of fit is sufficiently small , addition of a gaussian function is halted . as a result , it is possible to increase the number of mixture components without increasing the number of gaussian functions excessively , that is , along with maintaining generalization performance to some extent . in any case , as a result , it is possible to perform high - speed setting of a optimal gaussian mixture model . in addition , in the above - described embodiment , it is determined whether a goodness of fit has converged , or not , by comparing a current goodness of fit with an immediately previous goodness , but , since it is desired that the goodness of fit comes to a value having some degree of certainty , it may be determined whether the current goodness of fit itself is smaller than a threshold value , or not . moreover , since it is also desired to limit the number of gaussian model components , i . e ., the number of clusters , besides the determination which is made on the basis of the goodness of fit , by providing an upper limit and a lower limit of the number of the gaussian model components , it may be determined whether a gaussian mixture model is to be further updated , or not , on the basis of the upper and lower limits of the number of the gaussian model components . further , the explanation has been made so far by using an example in which two classes of data samples are provided , but this embodiment can be also applied to a case in which multi - classes , i . e ., three or more classes of data samples are provided . that is , upon receipt of input multi - classes of data samples , the input data sample acquisition unit 11 may perform processing in the same procedure as described above by handling the input multi - classes of data samples as a first group of data samples , and a second group of data samples including data samples other than those included in the first group . further , in this embodiment , a method , in which a gaussian model is created from two classes of data samples , is provided , but two gaussian models may be created at a time . that is , the two gaussian models can be obtained in the same procedure as described above merely by interchanging the first group of data samples and the second group of data samples each other . further , by causing the goodness - of - fit determination unit 14 to buffer a pair of two goodness - of - fits having been calculated from two gaussian models in advance , it may be determined whether a gaussian mixture model is to be further updated , or not . in this case , processing may be performed so that a gaussian model having a larger value of the goodness of fit , which is represented by the formula ( 3 ), is selected , and only the selected gaussian model is updated . further , it is not separately determined from respective goodness of fits whether the two gaussian models are to be updated , or not , but it may be determined at a time from a result of comparing the total amount of the two goodness of fits with a threshold value whether the two gaussian models are to be updated , or not . further , in this embodiment , the gaussian mixture model update unit 15 updates the gaussian mixture model by using a so - called binary tree quantization algorithm , but may update the gaussian mixture model by using a method based on the above - described em method . that is , in this case , it takes a relatively large amount of time for the gaussian mixture model to be converged sufficiently , but it is possible to set a higher - accuracy gaussian mixture model by sequentially calculating the gaussian mixture model along with increasing the number of components included therein . further , in the above - described method , processing has been performed so that a cluster including a maximum is selected as a cluster to be split , but the cluster to be split may be selected in accordance with a goodness of fit for each of gaussian functions which are components included in the gaussian mixture model . that is , by obtaining goodness of fits for respective gaussian functions included in a gaussian mixture model in advance , and further , splitting and updating gaussian functions each having a relatively lower goodness of fit among the gaussian functions with a high priority , it is possible to increase the accuracy of the gaussian mixture model . this method enables improvement of separation performance to a greater degree even if this method allows a gaussian mixture model to be slightly unmatched with the distribution of input data samples . further , the input data sample acquisition unit 11 may calculate gaussian models by subsampling the received two classes of data samples . that is , subsampling of the data samples reduces an amount of data to be processed , and thus , enables realization of increasing a processing speed and reducing the size of used memory . further , not by using the goodness - of - fit calculating method represented by the formula ( 3 ), but by using methods well known to those skilled in the art , such as a method using the minimum description length ( mdl ) principle ( refer to the above - described non - patent document 3 ) and a method using alaraike &# 39 ; s information criteria ( aic ) ( refer to alalai , hitotugue ( 1974 ). “ a new look at the statistical model identification ”, ieee transactions on automatic control 19 ( 6 ): 716 ? 723 . doi : 10 . 1109 / tac . 1974 . 1100705 . mr0423716 ), the goodness of fit may be calculated , and thereby , it is possible to increase the accuracy of determination to a greater degree . by the way , a series of processes having been described so far can be executed by using hardware , but by using software . in the case where the series of processes is executed by using software , individual programs included in the software are installed from a recording medium into two types of computers , one being a computer , which is incorporated in dedicated hardware , the other one being a computer , which is capable of executing various kinds of functions by installing various kinds of programs thereinto , such as a general - purpose personal computer . fig6 illustrates an example of a configuration of a general - purpose personal computer . this personal computer incorporates a central processing unit ( cpu ) 1001 . to the cpu 1001 , an input / output interface 1005 is connected via a bus 1004 . to the bus 1004 , a read only memory ( rom ) 1002 and a random access memory ( ram ) 1003 are connected . to the input / output interface 1005 , an input unit 1006 configured to include input devices for inputting operation commands entered by users , such as a keyboard and a mouse device , an output unit 1007 configured to output processing and operation display screens and images resulting from performing processes to display devices , a storage unit 1008 configured to include devices for storing programs and various pieces of data therein , such as a hard disk drive , a communication unit 1009 configured to include a local area network ( lan ) adapter and the like , and execute communication processing via networks as typified by the internet . further , to the input / output interface 1005 , a drive 1010 , which is configured to read and write data from / to a removable medium 1011 , such as a magnetic disk ( including a flexible disk ), an optical disk ( including a compact disc - read only memory ( cd - rom )), a digital versatile disc ( dvd ), or a semiconductor memory , is connected . the cpu 1001 executes various kinds of processes in accordance with programs , which are stored in the rom 1002 , or in accordance with programs , which are read out from the removable medium 1011 , such as a semiconductor memory , further , are installed into the storage unit 1008 , and are loaded into the ram 1003 from the storage unit 1008 . in the ram 1003 , further , pieces of data and the like necessary for the cpu 1001 to executes the various processes are appropriately stored . in addition , in this specification document , steps for describing processing procedures are configured to , as a matter of course , include processes which are executed in time series in accordance with a described sequence order , and further , include processes which are not necessarily executed in time series but are executed in parallel or individually . the present application contains subject matter related to that disclosed in japanese priority patent application jp 2009 - 177580 filed in the japan patent office on jul . 30 , 2009 , the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference . it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications , combinations , sub - combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .	6
a system and method for management of common decentralized applications data and logic will now be described . in the following exemplary description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention . it will be apparent , however , to an artisan of ordinary skill that the present invention may be practiced without incorporating all aspects of the specific details described herein . in other instances , specific features , quantities , or measurements well known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention . readers should note that although examples of the invention are set forth herein , the claims , and the full scope of any equivalents , are what define the metes and bounds of the invention . enterprise network ( 100 ) that contains computers , e . g ., mainframes ( 101 ), servers ( 102 ), desktops ( 103 ), laptops ( 104 ), and other file - containing computers ( 105 ), with various files of interest including spreadsheets and desktop / departmental databases , wherein the computers record basic file information such as date - time last modified , size , et cetera in the file - system repository ( 121 ). “ crawler ” ( 110 ) utility periodically searches network directories and files for new , changed , or deleted / erased files of interest including , but not limited to , spreadsheets and desktop / departmental database files . crawler ( 110 ) passes new , changed , or erased spreadsheets to spreadsheet analyzer ( 112 ) utility , which reads spreadsheet semantic details ( such as worksheets , cell definitions , macros , et cetera ), and stores changes into spreadsheet meta - model ( 122 ) database ( part of comprehensive repository ( 120 ) relational database ). if the spreadsheet file is new , crawler 110 sends e - mail ( 116 ) to the best - guess file owner asking for more information about the new spreadsheet / file &# 39 ; s purpose , history , et cetera . the crawler ( 110 ) utility passes new , changed , or erased desktop / departmental databases and optionally their database data to database analyzer ( 114 ) utility , which reads desktop / departmental database semantic details ( such as tables , queries , forms , reports , et cetera ), stores changes into database meta - model ( 123 ) database ( which also is part of comprehensive repository ( 120 ) relational database ), and if the desktop / departmental database file is new , sends e - mail ( 116 ) to the best - guess file owner asking for more information about the new database / file &# 39 ; s purpose , history , et cetera . a repository application ( 130 ) is used by the cio and other authorized it staff to manage the run frequency and network reach of the crawler ( 110 ) utility ; to read , analyze , report on , and add value to (“ annotate ”) information in the file - system repository ( 121 ), spreadsheet meta - model ( 122 ) the database meta - model ( 123 ), the enterprise / reference model ( 124 ), and the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database . when an end - user opens an e - mail ( 116 ) generated by either the spreadsheet analyzer utility ( 112 ) or the database analyzer utility ( 114 ), the end - user clicks a link in the e - mail &# 39 ; s body to add purpose and other “ annotation ” information , forward the request to another person who is the file &# 39 ; s owner , or claim the file is private . in each case , clicking the link automatically invokes the repository application ( 130 ) for a purpose - specific on - line transaction to do the action requested . an enterprise database upload ( 150 ) utility periodically searches the enterprise development database ( 172 ) structure ( part of the centrally managed enterprise architecture ( 170 )) for created , modified , or dropped tables and other relational - database objects , and stores changes into a simplified enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database , which also is part of the comprehensive repository ( 120 ) relational database . a spreadsheet synthesis ( 140 ) utility reads the spreadsheet meta - model ( 122 ) database , determines ( helped by repository - application ( 130 ) “ annotations ” as necessary ) each spreadsheet &# 39 ; s equivalent applications semantic ( or meaning ), and saves or updates that meaning ( as an enhanced spreadsheet “ applications ” definition ) in the simplified enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database . where appropriate , the enhanced spreadsheet “ application ” definition reflects if it maintains its own data or , also , already existing enterprise data ( i . e ., that which has been analyzed and stored by the enterprise database upload ( 150 ) utility ). a database synthesis ( 142 ) utility reads the database meta - model ( 123 ) database , determines ( helped by repository - application ( 130 ) “ annotations ” as necessary ) each desktop / departmental database &# 39 ; s equivalent applications semantic ( or meaning ), and saves or updates that meaning ( as an enhanced desktop / departmental database “ applications ” definition ) in the simplified enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database . where appropriate , the enhanced desktop / departmental database “ application ” definition reflects if it maintains its own data or , also , already existing enterprise data ( i . e ., that which has been analyzed and stored by the enterprise database upload ( 150 ) utility ). an enterprise applications generator ( 160 ) utility reads the simplified enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database ( including “ annotations ” where applicable ) and generates rdbms ( relational database management system ) ddl ( data - definition language , used to create , alter , and drop tables , et cetera ) and dml ( data - manipulation language , used to insert , modify , and erase applications data ), in the enterprise &# 39 ; s preferred rdbms environment ( such as oracle or sql server ) to extend the enterprise database ( 172 ). the enterprise applications generator ( 160 ) utility also generates well - documented applications logic (“ code ”), compiles that code , and deploys appropriate applications modules into the enterprise &# 39 ; s applications logic files ( 174 ) and development applications tools ( 176 ) ( both part of the centrally managed enterprise architecture ( 170 )) in the enterprise &# 39 ; s preferred applications technology ( such as . net and j2ee ). the repository application ( 130 ) also is used by the cio , file owners , line - of - business managers , and other authorized staff to read , analyze , report on , and add value to (“ annotate ”) information in the simplified enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) database , and on demand to run the spreadsheet synthesis ( 140 ) utility , the database synthesis ( 142 ) utility , the enterprise database upload ( 150 ) utility , and the enterprise applications generator ( 160 ) utility . crawler 110 , spreadsheet analyzer 112 , database analyzer 114 , spreadsheet synthesis utility 140 , database synthesis utility 142 , enterprise database upload utility 150 , enterprise application generator 160 , repository application 130 , development application tools 176 can run on any computer 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 and / or 105 in enterprise network 100 , or in any other computer that can couple with enterprise network 100 as long as the computer is configured with enough memory and with sufficient processing power and network bandwidth to run these computational entities . in one or more embodiments of the invention , these computational entities may run on a plurality of computers selected from enterprise network 100 , or from a plurality of computers that may be coupled with enterprise network 100 , or any combination thereof . in addition , all of the databases or data storage elements shown in fig1 including the file system repository 121 , enterprise data model 124 , spreadsheet meta model 122 , database meta model 123 , simplified enterprise application meta - model 125 , enterprise development database 172 , and enterprise application files 174 may be implemented with any memory element capable of storing and retrieving information , including but not limited to a file system or database or any other element so configured . one skilled in the art will recognize that memory storage elements that host these elements may be coupled with any computer in enterprise network 100 , or coupled with any computer that may itself be coupled with enterprise network 100 for example . an enterprise network ( 100 ) contains computers with various files of interesting including spreadsheets and desktop / departmental databases , also see fig1 for more detail . the crawler utility initiation module ( 200 ) reads from the file - system repository ( 121 ) the list of file extensions ( such as . xls , . xlsx , et cetera ) to find databases and spreadsheets of interest associated with these file extensions . the crawler utility scope module ( 202 ) reads from the file - system repository ( 121 ) the list of domains , servers , disks , and directories ( and their current known owners ) to search and the list of already known files of interest with their previously found last - modify dates and times , sizes , checksums ( crcs ), et cetera . the crawler utility initial - match module ( 204 ) verifies continued existence of each to - be - searched domain , server , and disk ( 100 ), and flags in the file - system repository ( 121 ) any it cannot find or search . the crawler utility directory - search module ( 206 ) finds all directories and sub - directories in in - scope domains , servers , and disks ( 100 ); compares it to previously found directories and sub - directories ; adds new directory and subdirectory records to the file - system repository ( 121 ) ( inheriting owner from parent directories , disks , et cetera ); and marks in the file - system repository ( 121 ), as no longer there , any missing ( but expected ) directories and sub - directories . the crawler utility file - search module ( 208 ) finds all files of interest in found directories and sub - directories ( 100 ); compares each to previously found directories files ( including last - modify date and time , size , crc , et cetera ); adds new file records to the file - system repository ( 121 ) ( inheriting owner from parent directory , disk , et cetera ); updates the file - system repository ( 121 ) where last - modify date and time , size , or crc do not match , and marks in the file - system repository ( 121 ), as no longer there , any missing ( but expected ) files of interest . if a file of interest is new or changed and is either a spreadsheet or desktop / departmental database , the file - search module ( 208 ) reads its content into memory for passing to the next step ( 210 ). if a new or changed file is a spreadsheet , the crawler utility spreadsheet - file match module ( 210 ) passes it to the spreadsheet analyzer ( 112 ) utility ( see fig3 for details ). if a new or changed file is a desktop / departmental database , the crawler utility database - file match module ( 214 ) passes it to the database analyzer ( 114 ) utility ( see fig3 for details ). the crawler utility completion module ( 218 ) updates the file - system repository ( 121 ) with a record of its successful completion . fig3 illustrates the logic flow of the spreadsheet analyzer utility : an enterprise network ( 100 ) contains computers with various files of interest including spreadsheets . the “ crawler ” ( 110 ) utility periodically searches network directories and files for new , changed , or erased files of interest ( in this case spreadsheets ), and for new or changed spreadsheets ( see fig2 ) calls the spreadsheet analyzer analysis module ( 310 ). the spreadsheet analyzer analysis module ( 310 ) calls standard , open spreadsheet apis ( for example , microsoft excel apis ) ( 320 ) to determine spreadsheet details for the spreadsheet &# 39 ; s workbook , worksheets , rows , columns , cells , charts , et cetera ; the analysis module ( 310 ) then adds spreadsheet meta - data detail to the spreadsheet meta - model database ( 122 ) ( first erasing prior data for the spreadsheet if the spreadsheet is changed rather than new ). when done , the analysis module ( 310 ) calls the spreadsheet analyzer notification module ( 330 ). the spreadsheet analyzer notification module ( 330 ) generates an e - mail ( 116 ) to the most - likely spreadsheet owner ( see fig7 ); the e - mail offers the most - likely file owner ( determined via the directory or sub - directory and history of other files found in that directory or sub - directory ) the choice of clicking a link to provide more information about the spreadsheet ( such as its purpose ), suggest another person as the owner , or declare the spreadsheet “ private .” if the e - mail ( 116 ) recipient clicks a link , doing so automatically starts the repository application ( 130 ) with the appropriate on - line transaction ( see fig6 ) to add details , reassign ownership , or declare the spreadsheet private . fig4 illustrates the logic flow of the database analyzer utility : an enterprise network ( 100 ) contains computers with various files of interesting including desktop / departmental databases . the “ crawler ” ( 110 ) utility periodically searches network directories and files for new , changed , or erased files of interest ( in this case desktop / departmental databases ), and for new or changed desktop / departmental databases calls the database analyzer analysis module ( 410 ). the database analyzer analysis module ( 410 ) calls standard , open desktop / departmental database apis ( such as microsoft access apis ) ( 420 ) to determine desktop / departmental database details for that database &# 39 ; s tables , columns , queries , update transactions , reports , et cetera ; the analysis module ( 410 ) then adds database meta - data detail to the database meta - model database ( 123 ) ( first erasing prior data for the desktop / departmental database if the desktop / departmental database is changed rather than new ). when done , the analysis module ( 410 ) calls the database analyzer notification module ( 430 ). the database analyzer notification module ( 430 ) generates an e - mail ( 116 ) to the most - likely desktop / departmental database owner ( see fig7 ); the e - mail offers the most - likely file owner ( determined via the directory or sub - directory and history of other files found in that directory or sub - directory ) the choice of clicking a link to provide more information about the desktop / departmental database ( such as its purpose ), suggest another person as the owner , or declare the spreadsheet “ private .” if the e - mail ( 116 ) recipient clicks a link , doing so automatically starts the repository application ( 130 ) with the appropriate on - line transaction to add details , reassign ownership , or declare the desktop / departmental database private . fig5 a - 5g list and define comprehensive repository ( see fig1 ( 120 )) tables and key - table columns , and includes its own summary and narrative details . fig5 a — table groups ( lists of groups of related tables in the comprehensive repository database ( see fig1 ( 120 )), and filesystem - group tables ( tables that describe an enterprise network ( see fig1 ( 100 )). fig5 b — fileobject table shows column - level details of this key filesystem - group table &# 39 ; s design , ( see fig5 a ). this table describes a file of interest in an enterprise network ( see fig1 ( 100 )). fig5 c — spreadsheet meta - model - group tables ( tables that describe a spreadsheet ( such as an excel spreadsheet ) found in an enterprise network ( see fig1 ( 100 )). fig5 d — database meta - model - group tables ( tables that describe a desktop / departmental application ( such as an access database ) found in an enterprise network ( see fig1 ( 100 )). fig5 f — simplified enterprise applications meta - meta - model - group tables ( tables that describe : enterprise development database ( see fig1 ( 172 )) tables and other database objects . simple applications synthesized by the spreadsheet synthesizer ( see fig1 ( 140 )) from spreadsheets such as excel spreadsheets . simple applications synthesized by the database synthesizer ( see fig1 ( 142 )) from desktop / departmental databases such as access databases . fig5 g — enterprise definition model ( see fig1 ( 124 )) table , describes the structure of one or more organizations , including for example relationships between organizations and staff members and responsibilities held by staff members . fig6 is a sample screen - shot of a repository application transaction , annotatefile : the repository application ( 130 ) includes transactions and reports to view and maintain contents of the comprehensive repository ( 120 ). once such transaction is the annotatefile on - line transaction ( 610 ). the annotatefile on - line transaction ( 610 ) lets a file owner ( in this example , the author of a new spreadsheet ) add details , reassign ownership , or declare a file private ( i . e ., for the use only of the owner ). annotatefile ( 610 ) shows ( and allows changes to ) the file &# 39 ; s name ( 620 ), directory or sub - directory tree ( 630 ), primary purpose ( 640 ), whether it &# 39 ; s private ( 650 ), and who is the file &# 39 ; s owner ( 660 ). in addition , the file &# 39 ; s owner can list general - purpose notes ( 670 ) and add miscellaneous details ( 680 ). fig7 is a sample e - mail generated by the spreadsheet analyzer utility : the spreadsheet analyzer utility ( 112 ) ( see fig1 ) generates e - mails ( 116 ) notifying the most - likely owner of the spreadsheet that it analyzed . the database analyzer utility ( 114 ) ( also see fig1 ) generates e - mails ( 116 ) notifying the most - likely owner of the desktop / departmental database that it analyzed . the e - mail &# 39 ; s body text specifies the most - likely owner &# 39 ; s first name ( 710 ), file name in question ( 720 ), and disk and directory / sub - directory tree ( 730 ). the e - mail includes a link ( 740 ) asking for details about this new spreadsheet ; this link &# 39 ; s html automatically invokes the repository application annotatefile transaction ( see fig6 ) letting the owner add purpose , et cetera for the spreadsheet . the e - mail includes a link ( 750 ) asking for the recipient &# 39 ; s best guess at to the correct owner of this new spreadsheet ( i . e ., the e - mail recipient turns out not to be the owner but knows who is ); this link &# 39 ; s html automatically invokes the repository application reassignowners transaction letting the recipient specify who is likely the spreadsheet &# 39 ; s owner . the e - mail includes a link ( 760 ) asking for verification that this new spreadsheet is owned by the e - mail &# 39 ; s recipient but is private ; this link &# 39 ; s html automatically invokes the repository application annotatefile transaction letting the owner explicitly state that the spreadsheet is private and add details if desired . fig8 illustrates the logic flow of the database synthesis utility : an it specialist uses the repository application ( 130 ) to find a desktop / departmental database in the database meta - model database ( 123 ) and request running of the database synthesis utility ( 142 ). the database synthesis utility upload module ( 810 ) reads details , including owner - provided annotations and complete desktop / departmental database details ( tables , columns , queries , reports , update transactions , et cetera ), from the database meta - model database ( 123 ), and reads existing applications database details ( schemas , tables , columns , et cetera ) from the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the database synthesis utility synthesis module ( 820 ) uses the data gathered by the upload module ( 810 ) to determine the most - likely combination of rdbms tables ( already existing and new ), new on - line transactions , new reports , et cetera that would replace the original desktop / departmental database . except for desktop / departmental database - versus -“ production ”- database transformations , most desktop / departmental database reports become “ production ” reports and most desktop / departmental database queries , update transactions , et cetera , become “ production ” on - line transactions capable of updates , queries , et cetera . the database synthesis utility database - design module ( 830 ) adds designs for new rdbms tables , columns , et cetera to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the database synthesis utility transaction - design module ( 840 ) adds designs for new transactions ( screens , regions , fields , buttons , logic , et cetera ) to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the database synthesis utility report - design module ( 850 ) adds designs for new reports ( titles , headers , footers , regions , fields , buttons , calculations , et cetera ) to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). an it specialist uses the repository application ( 130 ) to review , fine - tune , or erase the desktop / departmental database &# 39 ; s newly created “ production ” components in the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). fig9 illustrates the logic flow of the enterprise database upload utility : the enterprise database upload utility ( 150 ) initiates and runs the enterprise database upload startup module ( 910 ), which reads the list of supported and applicable development database instances and schemas from the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the enterprise database upload analysis module ( 920 ) reads the list of known development database objects ( such as tables and columns ) from the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ); reads the active dictionary in the enterprise development database ( 172 ) for actual enterprise - database tables , columns , et cetera ; and creates a list of differences such as new tables and columns and changed column definitions . the enterprise database upload differences module ( 930 ) reads domain information matching new and changed tables and columns from simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ), determines best - guess new meta - meta - model content , updates ( adds or modifies ) corresponding content in the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ), and where needed generates informative e - mails ( 152 ) to responsible it staff asking for additional information . when responsible it staff open generated e - mails ( 152 ) and click their links , the repository application ( 130 ) automatically starts and displays the relevant content - update transaction ( for example , tabledetails or columndetails transactions ) so that the it staff member can add specialized information such as suggested column “ help text ” to display on generated transactions . fig1 illustrates the logic flow of the spreadsheet synthesis utility ( 140 ): an it specialist uses the repository application ( 130 ) to find a spreadsheet in the spreadsheet meta - model database ( 122 ) and request running of the spreadsheet synthesis utility ( 140 ). the spreadsheet synthesis utility upload module ( 1010 ) reads details , including owner - provided annotations and complete spreadsheet details ( workbook , worksheets , rows , columns , cells , charts , et cetera ), from the spreadsheet meta - model database ( 122 ), and reads existing applications database details ( schemas , tables , columns , et cetera ) from the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the spreadsheet synthesis utility synthesis module ( 1020 ) uses the data gathered by the upload module ( 1010 ) to determine the most - likely combination of rdbms tables ( already existing and new ), new on - line transactions , and new reports that would perform the same business function as the original spreadsheet ( see fig1 ). the spreadsheet synthesis utility database - design module ( 1030 ) adds designs for new rdbms tables , columns , et cetera to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the spreadsheet synthesis utility transaction - design module ( 1040 ) adds designs for new transactions ( screens , regions , fields , buttons , logic , et cetera ) to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). the spreadsheet synthesis utility report - design module ( 1050 ) adds designs for new reports ( titles , headers , footers , regions , fields , buttons , calculations , et cetera ) to the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). an it specialist uses the repository application ( 130 ) to review , fine - tune , or erase the spreadsheet &# 39 ; s newly created “ production ” components in the simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ). fig1 shows a sample spreadsheet and illustrates how the spreadsheet synthesis utility “ synthesizes ” the spreadsheet &# 39 ; s content into a meta - meta - model of applications database content , on - line transactions , and reports : a spreadsheet ( 1100 ) is analyzed by the spreadsheet analyzer utility and placed into the spreadsheet meta - model 122 ( see fig3 ). the spreadsheet ( 1100 ) has a table listing trades ( 1102 ); in this table in particular there is a buy / sell column ( 1104 ) with values of b for buy and s for sell , and a market price column ( 1106 ) whose value is derived ( copied ) from the corresponding market price value in the equity table ( 1108 ). the spreadsheet ( 1100 ) has a table ( 1108 ) listing equities and their ( current ) market prices . the spreadsheet ( 1100 ) has a chart ( 1110 ) summarizing profit or loss by calendar month . the spreadsheet synthesizer ( 140 ) reviews complete analyzed spreadsheet content and already existing tables ( including , in this case , an already - existing equities table with columns equityid and equitycode ) in the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( 125 ) ( see fig1 ). the spreadsheet synthesizer ( 140 ) defines in the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( see fig1 ) two new tables ( marketprices ( 1120 ) with a foreign key to the already existing equities table and trades ( 1122 ) with foreign keys both to equities and marketprices . the spreadsheet synthesizer ( 140 ) defines in the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( see fig1 ) two new on - line transactions ( maintainmarketprices ( 1130 ) with fields equity and market price , and entertrades ( 1140 ) with fields date , equity , buy / sell , shares , price , and commission ). the spreadsheet synthesizer ( 140 ) defines in the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model database ( see fig1 ) a charting report ( 1150 ) summarizing profit and loss by calendar month . in one or more embodiments , defining the above objects for example adds rows to the following tables ( see fig5 f ): dataobject , dataobjectrelationship , enterpriseapplication , enterpriseapplicationobject , enterpriseapplicationobjectevent , enterpriseapplicationobjectmiscellaneousdetail , enterpriseapplicationobjectnote , enterprisedomain , functionobject , functionobjectinvocation , functionobjectinvocationparameter , functionobjectparameter , interfaceobject , interfaceobjectrelationship , menuobject , and menuobjectdetail . although these field names in the table are provided in an exemplary manner , one skilled in the art will recognize that variations of these names or fields are in keeping with the spirit of the invention so long as the spreadsheet synthesizer ( 140 ) can describe the information that it is supplied with in a manner that allows for the description of objects in the enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model database . the same holds true with any synthesizer component implemented with embodiments of the invention including the database synthesizer for example . fig1 shows sample enterprise simplified enterprise application meta - model ( part of the comprehensive repository ) content after running the enterprise database upload utility : the enterprise development database ( 172 ) shows a schema with three preexisting tables ( 1202 , 1204 , and 1206 ). in one table ( 1206 ), a database administrator or developer has modified one column ( 1208 ) and added another column ( 1210 ). a database administrator or developer has added a new table ( 1212 ) with four columns . when the enterprise database upload utility ( 150 ) next runs , it compares enterprise development database ( 172 ) tables and columns with details in the simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) dataobject table ( 1220 ). since two development tables ( 1202 and 1204 ) are unchanged , the enterprise database upload utility ( 150 ) leaves their corresponding data ( 1222 and 1224 ) in the dataobject table ( 1220 ) unchanged . since one development table ( 1206 ) has a changed column ( 1208 ) and a new column ( 1210 ), the enterprise database upload utility ( 150 ) updates the corresponding detail row ( 1228 ) in the dataobject table ( 1220 ) for the changed column ( 1208 ) and adds a new column - definition row ( 1230 ) for the new column ( 1210 ). since one development table ( 1212 ) has been added with four columns , the enterprise database upload utility ( 150 ) adds one new table - definition row ( 1234 ) and four new column - definition rows ( 1236 ) to corresponding data 1232 that corresponds to table 1212 . fig1 illustrates the logic flow of the enterprise applications generator utility : an it specialist uses the repository application ( 130 ) to find an “ application ” ( originating as either a spreadsheet or desktop / departmental database ) in the simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) and run the enterprise applications generator utility ( 160 ). the enterprise applications generator content module ( 1300 ) reads the simplified enterprise application meta - model ( 125 ) for new and changed applications content ( tables , columns , transactions , reports , et cetera ). the enterprise applications generator database module ( 1310 ) generates and runs ddl ( sql data - definition language ) and dml ( sql data - manipulation language ) to add new tables , add new columns to existing tables , and convert tables with changed columns as necessary , then runs that ddl and dml in the development database ( 172 ) in the enterprise development run - time environment ( 170 ). one skilled in the art will recognize that any type of database language or commands associated with a given database language can be utilized so long as the desired tables and columns are created , modified or deleted as desired . the enterprise applications generator transaction module ( 1320 ) generates ( depending on site standards ) enterprise business objects such as j2ee ejb &# 39 ; s , . net objects , et cetera programmatic / source code for all new transactions implied by the underlying spreadsheet or desktop / departmental database , and adds them into various source files ( 1330 ) in the development file system ( 174 ) within the enterprise development run - time environment ( 170 ). the enterprise applications generator report module ( 1340 ) generates ( depending on site standards ) crystal , excel , et cetera programmatic / source code for all new reports implied by the underlying spreadsheet or desktop / departmental database , and adds them into various other source files ( 1350 ) in the development file system ( 174 ) within the enterprise development run - time environment ( 170 ). the enterprise applications generator invocation module ( 1360 ) compiles transaction and report programmatic / source code for all new reports and transactions , creates run - time or executable files ( 1370 ), adds them into various files in the development file system ( 174 ) within the enterprise development run - time environment ( 170 ), then invokes or executes those run - time or executable files ( 1370 ) to run the resulting application ( 1380 ). while the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof , numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims .	6
referring to fig1 , a rental return system 100 includes a client 105 , a server 108 having a rental return module 110 , and a rental source ( or store ) 115 . a customer , also referred to below as a renter , of the rental store 115 travels to the rental store 115 to rent an item ( i . e ., a rental ) 120 . the movement of the rental 120 to the renter is shown with a renter directional arrow 123 . the renter uses the rental 120 , such as by watching or playing the rental 120 . the renter ( i . e ., the client 105 ) then , at some later time , communicates with the rental return module 110 executing on the server 108 to facilitate the return of the rental without requiring the renter to travel back to the rental store 115 . the movement of the rental 120 back to the rental store 115 is shown with rental store directional arrow 124 . examples of the rental 120 include a movie ( e . g ., stored on a video home system ( vhs ) tape or a digital video disk ( dvd )), music ( e . g ., stored on a compact disk ( cd )), a video game ( e . g ., a sony ® playstation ® game or an xbox ® game ), a video game system ( e . g ., a sony ® playstation ® system or an xbox ® system ), a sound system , electronic equipment , a computer , computer - related equipment ( e . g ., a printer ), a telephone , or any other item that a user can rent from a rental store 115 . the rental store 115 is a video store , such as blockbuster inc .®. although described above and below as a video store , the rental store 115 can be any physical location that a customer has to travel to return a rental 120 . the client 105 is typically a personal computer that can download information from the server 108 over a network 125 . the client 105 can be any personal computer ( e . g ., based on a microprocessor from the 680x0 family , powerpc , pa - risc , mips families , an intel microprocessor , an advanced micro devices microprocessor ), smart or dumb terminal , network computer , wireless device , information appliance , workstation , minicomputer , mainframe computer , cellular phone , personal digital assistant , mobile computing device ( e . g ., a blackberry ® device developed by research in motion limited of waterloo , ontario or a treo ® manufactured by palmone , inc . of milpitas , calif . ), or any other device that can communicate with the server 108 . although the renter is described above and below as the individual who rented the rental 120 from the rental store 115 , the renter may alternatively be another individual who is operating the client 105 and requests a return of the rental 120 . for example , the renter may be the rental store customer &# 39 ; s friend who makes a request for the return of the rental 120 after the customer and friend watch or play the rental 120 . the client 105 is in communication with the server 108 ( and , therefore , the rental return module 110 ) over a client - server communication channel 130 . in one embodiment , the communication channel 130 is established over the network 125 . the network 125 can be a local - area network ( lan ), a wide area network ( wan ), or a network of networks such as the internet or the world wide web ( i . e ., web ). in one embodiment , the client 105 includes a web browser 135 , such as internet explorer ® developed by microsoft corporation in redmond , wash ., to connect to the web . in one embodiment , the client 105 uses the web browser 135 to communicate with the server 108 ( i . e ., the rental return module 115 ). in a further embodiment , the web browser 135 uses the existing secure socket layer ( ssl ) support for communications to the server 108 . ssl is a secure protocol developed by netscape communication corporation of mountain view , calif ., and is now a standard promulgated by the internet engineering task force ( ietf ). further , the server 108 can be any device described above for the client 105 . to facilitate the return of the rental 120 , the renter communicates with the rental return module 110 . the rental return module 110 can then determine the location of the rental store 115 . in one embodiment , an individual ( i . e ., someone other than the renter and somehow associated with the rental return module 110 ) picks up the rental 120 from the renter and delivers the rental 120 back to the rental store 115 . the rental return module 110 can be a software module that enables the renter to , using the client 105 , request the return of the rental 120 . in one embodiment , the rental return module 110 is or provides a web page that the renter accesses to request the return of the rental 120 . the rental return module 110 can be written in any computer language , such as c ++, perl , java , html , and the like . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the steps performed to return a rental 120 to the rental store 115 . the rental return module 110 receives login information that the renter communicates over the network 135 ( step 205 ). the login information can be any information that identifies a renter . examples of the login information can include one or more of a renter &# 39 ; s user name , password , telephone number , address , social security number , and / or email address . another example includes biometric information , such as a renter &# 39 ; s voice pattern , a renter &# 39 ; s retina ( e . g ., obtained via a retinal scan ), and a renter &# 39 ; s fingerprints . in one embodiment , the renter receives a username and password from the rental return module 110 and then provides information about himself , such as the renter &# 39 ; s address and telephone number . at subsequent login attempts , the renter logs in using the username and password . moreover , in one embodiment , the renter does not have to provide information about himself . further , the renter can change any information about himself ( e . g ., the renter &# 39 ; s address ) at any time . for example , if the renter is someone who has previously communicated with the rental return module 110 , the renter already has login information that the renter can enter . if , however , the renter has not previously communicated with the rental return module 110 , the rental return module 110 assigns new login information ( e . g ., a new user name and a new password ) to the renter . after receiving the login information from the renter , the rental return module 110 then receives communication from the renter about the rental 120 ( step 210 ). as further described below with respect to fig4 , the communication about the rental 110 can include the rental &# 39 ; s title , the rental store 115 , and / or the location at which the renter is leaving the rental 120 for pickup , such as in the renter &# 39 ; s mailbox . in one embodiment , all communications between the client 105 and the rental return module 110 are secure . in one embodiment , the rental return module 110 determines the rental source 115 of the rental 120 ( step 215 ). for example , if this is the first time that the renter communicates with the rental return module 110 , the renter inputs the rental store 115 that the renter rented from . if the renter has communicated with the rental return module 110 in the past , the rental return module 110 can determine that the rental store 115 for this rental 120 is the same rental store 115 as the store 115 from the previous rental 120 ( i . e ., a default rental store 115 for the particular renter ). in further embodiments , the renter can change this default rental store at any time . in one embodiment , the rental return module 110 locates information about the rental store 115 for the particular renter from a database . the rental 120 is then obtained from the renter ( step 220 ). as described in more detail below , in one embodiment a driver associated with the rental return module 110 ( e . g ., in communication with the rental return module 110 ) drives to the address of the renter ( e . g ., the address provided by the renter as part of the login information ) and picks up the rental 120 . the driver can be an individual driving a vehicle , such as a car , bus , taxi , truck , tractor , motorcycle , bicycle , boat , skateboard , airplane , rollerblades , skates , moped , or skis . the driver can also be walking , jogging , running , rollerblading , etc . in yet another embodiment , the driver can be an automated or controlled machine , such as a robot or radio controlled vehicle . once the driver obtains the rental 120 , the driver then delivers the rental 120 to the rental store 115 ( step 225 ). referring to fig3 , the rental return module 110 can include a client communications module 305 , a source determining module 310 , a database 315 , and a returning device communications module 320 . the client communications module 305 receives and transmits communications from and to the client 105 over the network 125 . for example , the client communications module 305 receives the renter &# 39 ; s login information and the information about the rental 120 over the network 125 . in one embodiment , the client communications module 305 is in communication with the database 315 . the client communications module 305 can , for instance , receive the renter &# 39 ; s login information and retrieve specific account information for the renter from the database 315 , such as if the renter has an outstanding balance or any credits not yet used ( as described in more detail below with respect to fig4 ). the client communications module 305 can then communicate the specific account information back to the renter , such as by displaying information specific to the renter on the web page being viewed by the client 105 . in one embodiment , the client communications module 305 communicates with the source determining module 310 in order to determine the rental source 115 for the rental 120 . for example , the source determining module 310 communicates with the client communications module 305 to determine which renter &# 39 ; s account to access and then retrieves information about the previous rental store 115 that the renter rented from . the rental store information can include the rental store &# 39 ; s address , phone number , directions to the rental store 115 , and the like . in another embodiment , the source determining module 310 enables the renter to input the rental store 115 for returning the rental 120 as a communication from the client 105 . in one embodiment , the returning device communications module 320 communicates with a returning device after receiving the communication ( s ) from the client 105 to facilitate the return of the rental 120 . for example , upon a request from the client 105 to return a particular rental 120 and upon the determination of the rental source 115 , the rental return module 110 communicates information about the rental 120 to a returning device . the returning device is any device that can help facilitate the returning of the rental 120 to the rental store 115 , such as any of the devices described above for the client 105 . thus , a driver , as described above , carrying the returning device can receive a communication ( e . g ., email , page , call ) on the returning device from the rental return module 110 . the driver can use the communication ( s ) from the rental return module 110 to locate and return the rental 120 to the correct rental store 115 . in one embodiment , the returning device is part of the vehicle driven by the driver . the information sent by the rental return module 110 to the returning device can include the rental source &# 39 ; s phone number , address , time of request ( i . e ., communication ) received from the client 105 , time until the rental store 115 closes for the day , location of the rental 120 ( e . g ., where the renter is going to leave the rental 120 for pickup , such as in the renter &# 39 ; s mailbox ), and the like . in one embodiment , these modules 305 , 310 , 315 , 320 are independent modules operating on the rental return module 110 . alternatively , one or more of the modules 305 , 310 , 315 , 320 are combined into a single module . moreover , although illustrated as part of the rental return module 110 , the modules 305 , 310 , 315 , 320 can be executing on another computer and be in communication with the rental return module 110 . fig4 illustrates an embodiment of a screen shot 400 of the rental return module 110 . the screen shot 400 is an example of a user interface after the renter logs into the rental return module 110 . in one embodiment , the screen shot 400 includes a clock 405 and a “ latest return time for same day return ” box 410 . the clock 405 displays the current time of day . the “ latest return time for same day return ” box 410 displays a predetermined time at which a renter can request returning the rental 120 and the return occurs on the same day that the request is made . the predetermined time may be , for instance , a particular time before the closing of the rental store 115 . thus , the predetermined time may vary depending on the rental store 115 ( e . g ., if different rental stores 115 have different store hours ). the screen shot 400 also includes a credit ( s ) box 415 . the credit ( s ) box 415 displays the amount of credit that a renter has towards future charges . a renter can receive a credit when , for instance , the renter requests a return before the time displayed in the “ latest return time for same day return ” box 410 and the rental 120 is not returned on the same day . in one embodiment , the renter incurs a late fee because the rental 120 had not been returned on its due date ( if its due date was the day the request was made or one or more days after the request was made ). the amount of the late fee can be credited to the renter &# 39 ; s account so that the renter can obtain a discount to a return or a free return in the future . the screen shot 400 can also include a rental input box 420 . the rental input box 420 enables the renter to enter the rental 120 that the renter requests to have returned . in one embodiment , the rental input box 420 has a list of rental titles that the renter can choose from . in another embodiment , the renter types in the title of the rental 120 in the rental input box 420 . moreover , after a renter enters in the title of a rental 120 for return , the rental return module 110 can then list the title , such as below the rental input box 420 . this way , the renter can enter multiple titles into the rental input box 420 and see which titles the renter had previously entered . in some embodiments , the renter does not submit input for the rental input box 420 , such as if the renter is only requesting the return of a single rental 120 . the screen shot 400 can also include a “ total amount due ” box 425 that displays the total amount due for the returns of the rental ( s ) 120 . the “ total amount due ” box 425 can also take into account the credit ( s ). in alternative embodiments , the screen shot 400 has one display box illustrating the total amount due before any credits are applied and another display box illustrating the total amount due after the credits are applied . in one embodiment , the screen shot 400 also includes a rental store input box 430 . the rental store input box 430 enables a renter to enter the rental store 115 at which the rental 120 has to be returned . the rental store input box 430 can also have a default entry for each renter . for example , if a renter usually rents from a particular rental store 115 , the rental store input box 430 can display this rental store 115 as a default . moreover , the rental store input box 430 can have a selection list listing all of the rental stores 115 in the renter &# 39 ; s area . this list may include the name of the rental store as well as the address and phone number . in further embodiments , the renter can notify the rental return module 110 when information associated with the rental store 115 has changed . in some embodiments , the rental return module 110 can communicate with the rental stores 115 themselves ( e . g ., computers at the stores 115 ) to update the information that the rental return module 110 stores and / or displays . thus , the rental store 115 can communicate with the rental return module 110 if its information has changed , such as if the store 115 has moved or has obtained a new telephone number . the screen shot 400 can also include a “ location you are placing rental ” input box 435 . this input box 435 enables a renter to designate a location that the renter will leave the rental 120 for return to the rental store 115 . for example , the renter may enter that the renter is going to leave the rental 120 in the renter &# 39 ; s mailbox for pickup . thus , when a driver associated with the rental return module 110 wants to obtain the rental 120 for return , the driver knows where to find the rental 120 . moreover , this input box 435 ( and the other input boxes mentioned above ) may have a default setting , such as if the renter has always left previous return rentals 120 in the default setting ( e . g ., the renter &# 39 ; s mailbox ). this input box 435 may also have a drop down list containing common locations that renters leave the rental 120 , such as a renter &# 39 ; s mailbox , outside of the renter &# 39 ; s door , outside of the renter &# 39 ; s building &# 39 ; s door , and the like . having described certain embodiments of the invention , it will now become apparent to one of skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concepts of the invention may be used . therefore , the invention should not be limited to certain embodiments , but rather should be limited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims .	6
in the detailed discussion that follows , the following terms shall have the indicated meanings . the term “ synthetic fiber ” shall mean a man - made fiber , including , but not limited to , polyester , nylon , rayon , and acetate . the term “ fiber loop ” is intended to mean a segment of an individual fiber that is spaced apart from , but remains attached at both ends to , its associated yarn . the term “ fiber tangle ” is intended to mean a disordered arrangement of individual fiber loops , positioned above the surface of the fabric , that are associated with and connected to , but that are spaced apart from , a fiber bundle . a fiber tangle implies an arrangement in which the fiber loops are non - aligned and irregularly configured , but not necessarily entwined , interlocked or loosely knotted . a fiber tangle is primarily comprised of fiber loops , but may include free ends of fiber . the term “ tangle cover ” is intended to mean the extent to which the fiber tangle associated with a given surface yarn obscures from view the underlying fabric surface . the terms “ napped ” or “ napping ” as applied to fabric shall mean the raising of fibers from one or more surface yarns to form a plurality of fiber tangles that extend above the surface of the fabric and provide tangle cover . the term “ surface yarn ” is intended to mean that segment of a yarn comprising a fabric that forms a portion of the observed surface of the fabric , as viewed from a substantially normal ( i . e ., perpendicular to the plane of the fabric surface ) perspective . the term “ subsurface yarn ” is intended to mean that segment of a yarn that is not a surface yarn ( i . e ., a subsurface yarn is hidden from view unless the fabric is reversed or seen in cross section ). using these definitions , a given warp or fill yarn in a woven fabric is considered to be comprised of a contiguous alternation of surface yarn segments and ( where the yarn drops within or below the observed surface of the fabric ) subsurface yarn segments . the term “ observed surface fibers ” is intended to mean those fibers comprising a surface yarn that are readily observable when viewed from a substantially normal ( i . e ., perpendicular to the plane of the fabric ) perspective . the fabric side that faces the array of fluid streams shall be termed the array side of the fabric ; the side that is nearest to the supporting surface shall be termed the support side of the fabric . turning now to the drawings , fig1 shows generally an apparatus that can be used to produce the fabric of this invention wherein a moving web of fabric is treated on a single side only . source of the desired working fluid , which shall hereinafter be assumed to be water , but which may be another suitable fluid as may be required or desired under the circumstances , is connected to high pressure pump 16 by means of conduit 12 . use of a suitable filtering device 14 to remove particles and other undesirable matter from the water is recommended . from pump 16 , the pressurized water is directed , via conduit 12 , into stationary manifold assembly 50 , to be described in more detail below , in which the water is formed into a plurality of discrete parallel streams that are directed onto the surface of the moving web of fabric 30 to be treated . fabric web 30 moves along a path that takes it into the region immediately adjacent to the stream - generating side of manifold assembly 50 and into contact with a suitable support member , such as smooth steel roll 22 , via roll 20 . this region between the manifold and the support member through which the parallel streams of water are directed shall be referred to as the treatment zone . within the treatment zone , but immediately prior to being contacted by water streams from manifold assembly 50 , fabric web 30 is directed away from roll 22 , thereby providing a slight separation between the surface of support roll 22 and fabric web 30 as fabric web 30 is impacted by the streams from manifold assembly 50 . specifically , the path of fabric web 30 elevates it off the surface of steel roll 22 just prior to treatment by the individual water streams . in the preferred embodiment depicted in fig1 and 2 , the “ thread up ” path of fabric web 30 describes a substantially straight line from a point of tangency , where fabric web 30 contacts support roll 22 , at a location immediately upstream of the point of stream impingement , to the location downstream of the point of stream impingement where fabric web 30 is directed in front of manifold assembly 50 , although some deflection may occur during operation at the point of stream impingement . the significance of this separation between fabric web 30 and steel support roll 22 is in the role it plays in assisting in the efficient removal of water from the region within the treatment zone between fabric web 30 and the surface of support roll 22 , which shall be referred to as the roll impact zone . support roll 22 preferably is made to turn in the same direction that the fabric web is traveling within the treatment zone , and the entire manifold / roll assembly preferably is oriented so as to allow gravity to assist in the removal of water from the roll impact zone . this zone serves two important functions : it provides a means by which water buildup can be relieved , yet also provides a robust means of support for the fabric web 30 at the location of impact by the individual water streams . by providing these two seemingly contradictory functions , a high degree of uniformity in fabric web treatment can be achieved . it should be understood that while use of a steel roll as a support member has been described , a smooth solid plate or other means could be used , as desired . it also frequently has been found advantageous to direct the individual streams of water at an angle that is slightly non - perpendicular , i . e ., between about 10 and about 100 to the support roll surface , and in a generally downward direction ( i . e ., in the direction in which the spacing between the support roll and the moving fabric web is growing larger ). in other words , as seen in fig1 , the plane containing the array of side - by - side individual streams emanating from manifold assembly 50 preferably does not contain the rotational axis of support roll 22 . it is believed that this slight downward tilt to the water streams further minimizes the degree of water buildup between the fabric web and the roll , and further facilitates the removal of spent water from the roll impact zone . if left to accumulate within the treatment zone , such water buildup tends to interfere with the proper interaction between the impinging streams and the fabric surface . where a single treatment zone and relatively high stream pressures are used , angles between about 20 and about 80 are preferred , and angles between about 40 and about 60 are particularly preferred . if a second treatment zone is used , as is discussed in detail below , the water streams in the first treatment zone need not be inclined to the same extent — angles between about 10 and about 50 may be used — because the lower water pressure associated with the second treatment zone results in reduced water flow , and therefore less water buildup . fig2 shows the apparatus of fig1 that has been adapted to treat both sides of a moving web of fabric web in a single pass . in fig2 , items corresponding to items in fig1 carry similar identification or call - out numbers , with the letters “ a ” and “ b ” used merely to differentiate between that part of the apparatus used to treat one side of the fabric web ( side “ a ”), and the corresponding part used to treat the reverse side of the web ( side “ b ”). water sources 10 a and 10 b supply water to separate high pressure pumps 16 a , 16 b via suitable filtering means 14 a , 14 b . fabric web 30 moves into operative position in front of high pressure water jet manifolds 50 a , 50 b by means of various conventional roll means , as shown . support members 22 a , 22 b are preferably rolls of steel or other suitable material having a smooth , solid surface . as discussed above , the point of water impingement coincides with that portion of the fabric web path during which the fabric web is in tangential relation to the surface of the support roll , i . e ., the support roll is no longer contacting the fabric web , but rather is acting as a point from which fabric web 30 is held in moderate tension as web 30 is directed past water jet manifolds 50 a , 50 b and through the water jet streams . fig3 is a cutaway view of manifold assembly 50 , which is used in the configurations of fig1 and 2 , and shows the means by which an array of high pressure water streams may be formed and directed onto the moving web of fabric . high pressure water from the interior of manifold supply conduit 52 is directed through a plurality of passages 60 to reservoir gallery 66 , formed from juxtaposed reservoir chambers 64 and 65 machined into chamber assembly 58 and gallery assembly 56 , respectively ( see fig4 ). cut into one of the mating surfaces of slotted chamber assembly 58 is a series of parallel slots or grooves 68 that , when chamber assembly 58 is mated to supply gallery assembly 56 by means of pressure bolts 70 , form an array of parallel orifices 69 , each having a substantially rectangular cross - section , from which an array of parallel streams of high pressure water can be directed on the moving web of fabric 30 . fig4 shows reservoir gallery 66 and related structures and their relation to moving fabric web 30 . as indicated by the arrows , the working fluid passes through passages 60 in gallery assembly 56 into reservoir gallery 66 ( fig3 ) formed by reservoir chambers 64 and 65 , which serves as a local distribution manifold for the orifices 69 . as can be seen , fabric web 30 is guided , under tension , from support roll 22 ( fig1 and 2 ) onto the lower forward portion of supply gallery assembly 56 to position web 30 tangential to and slightly separated from the surface of roll 22 . this allows the water to pass through the fabric web without significant water buildup in the roll impact zone , and is believed to enhance the formation of a napped surface on the support side of the fabric web ( i . e ., the side facing the roll ). to treat a single side of fabric web , pump 16 delivers the water to manifold 50 at a pressure sufficient to generate a large number ( perhaps several hundred or more ) of discrete streams of water arranged in an array , each stream having a rectangular cross section ranging from about 0 . 010 in .× 0 . 015 in . to about 0 . 020 in .× 0 . 025 in ., with adjacent stream - to - stream spacing within the range of about 0 . 025 in . to about 0 . 050 in . the manifold exit pressures depend upon the fabric web being treated and the desired effect . pressures ranging from about 200 p . s . i . g . to about 3000 p . s . i . g . are contemplated , with pressures between about 500 p . s . i . g . and about 2000 p . s . i . g . most commonly employed , and pressures between about 1000 p . s . i . g . and about 1600 p . s . i . g . being favored for a wide variety of fabric web styles of the kind disclosed herein . the distance between the roll surface and the manifold may range from about 0 . 030in . to about 0 . 250 in ., depending upon the nature of the fabric and the effect desired . generally , roll - to - manifold distances of about 0 . 100 in . to about 0 . 200 in . are preferred . the fabric web is moved past manifold assembly 50 at a rate between about 10 yards per minute and about 80 yards per minute , and preferably between about 25 yards per minute and about 40 yards per minute , although speeds outside these ranges may be preferred with specific fabric webs and desired effects . where treatment on both sides of the fabric web is desired — a technique that has been found to generate a remarkably uniform layer of fiber tangles , in roughly equal amounts , on both sides of the fabric web — the web should pass through a second treatment zone wherein pressurized water streams are directed at the opposite side of the fabric web , substantially as described above . the manifold exit pressures associated with the second treatment zone , however , are preferably lower than the pressures associated with the first treatment zone . specifically , second treatment zone manifold pressures of about 0 . 2 to about 0 . 8 times the pressures associated with the first treatment zone have been found effective , with values between about 0 . 3 and about 0 . 7 being preferred , and values between about 0 . 4 and about 0 . 6 being most preferred . although these ratios may be modified somewhat if the water pressures in the first treatment zone are extreme , it has been found that where second treatment zone manifold pressures fall outside these ratios , the side - over - side ( i . e ., array side vs . support side ) uniformity of the napped surface is significantly degraded . it is theorized that fiber tangles that are generated within the first treatment zone are partially redistributed through the fabric web within the second treatment zone , and relatively few additional fiber tangles are generated within the second treatment zone . accordingly , second treatment zone pressures that are too low appear to distribute insufficient fibers to the reverse side , and second treatment zone pressures that are too high appear to distribute too many fibers to the reverse side . the various photomicrographs of fig5 through 9 show the surface of various fabric webs and graphically demonstrate the effects and advantages of the instant invention . as summarized in table 1 , fig5 a , 5b show an untreated portion of the subject fabric of the invention . this fabric is subsequently treated and washed as described in example 1 and the accompanying fig6 a , 6b . fig7 a , 7b and 8 a , 8 b show first and second fabrics , respectively , that are representative of currently available competitive napery fabrics , following one wash cycle as described in examples 2 and 3 . fig6 y , 6z ; fig7 y , 7z and fig8 y , 8z show , respectively , these same fabrics following 75 wash cycles , as described in the respective examples 5 through 7 below . fig9 a through 9d show the results of processing a blended fabric in accordance with the teachings herein . the following example describes how a superior napery fabric is created using a combination of fabric construction techniques and high - pressure water treatment . this particular fabric is 100 % polyester and is made of spun warp yarns and filament fill yarns . the fabric is constructed as a plain weave and has 55 ends per inch and 44 picks per inch in the greige state . the warp yarn is an open end spun 12 / 1 ( i . e . a 12 singles cotton count yarn ) with a twist multiple of 3 . 6 , and the filament filling yarn is a 2 / 150 / 34 ( i . e . 2 plies of 150 denier yarn , each ply containing 34 filaments ) and is an inherently low - shrinkage filling yarn . the greige fabric without size weighs about 5 . 65 ounces per square yard . prior to hydraulic processing , the fabric is shown in fig5 a and 5b . the above fabric is subjected to the following processing . one side of the fabric is subjected to high - pressure water at about 1400 p . s . i . g . ( manifold exit pressure ) the water originates from a linear series of nozzles which are rectangular ( 0 . 015 inches wide ( filling direction )× 0 . 010 inches high ( warp direction )) in shape and are equally spaced along the treatment zone . there are 40 nozzles per inch along the width of the manifold . the fabric travels over a smooth stainless steel roll that is positioned 0 . 110 inches from the nozzles . the nozzles are directed downward about five degrees from perpendicular , and the water streams intersect the fabric path as the fabric is moving away from the surface of the roll . the tension in the fabric within the first treatment zone is set at about 35 pounds . in the second treatment zone , the opposite side of the fabric is treated with high - pressure water that originates from a similar series of nozzles as described above . in this zone the water pressure is about 700 p . s . i . g ., the gap between the nozzles and the treatment roll is 0 . 160 inches , and the nozzles are directed downward about three degrees from perpendicular . as before , the water streams intersect the fabric path as the fabric is moving away from the surface of the roll . the fabric tension between the treatment zones is set at about 60 pounds , and the fabric exit tension is set at about 60 pounds . maintenance of these specific tension levels is preferred , but is not necessarily critical to achieve an acceptable result . the fabric is dried and then subjected to a variety of finishing chemicals . it is pulled to the desired width in a tenter frame , and the finished weight is about 6 . 25 ounces per square yard . fabrics having finished weights between about 5 ounces per square yard and about 9 ounces per square yard , and preferably between about 6 ounces per square yard and about 8 ounces per square yard , and most preferably between about 6 ounces per square yard and about 7 ounces per square yard , have been found to be particularly suitable in napery uses . the fabric is then subjected to a single standard industrial wash , in accordance with the following procedure : the fabric was loaded into an industrial washer ( extractor model 30015 ) manufactured by pellorin mimer corp ., of kenner , la . the equipment was verified to be free of burrs and sharp edges , to have properly functioning water level , temperature controls , and chemical delivery systems . the extraction time should be sufficient to permit the fabric to be ironed without tumble drying . the fabric was removed from the laundering unit and pressed ( using a model ae air edge press , manufactured by new york pressing machinery co . of new york , n . y .) for a total press cycle time of 20 seconds , consisting of 5 seconds of steam , 10 seconds of bake ( at 380 ° f .) and 5 seconds of vacuum . the following wash chemicals were supplied by u . n . x . incorporated of greenville , n . c . the results are as shown in fig6 a and 6b and as described in table 1 . ( only one side of the fabric is shown ; both sides of the fabric are substantially identical in terms of fiber entanglement , etc .) the fabric surface shows a plurality of fiber tangles , each comprised of fibers that are essentially intact and undamaged , i . e ., the individual fibers show no nicks , dents , fibrillations , or other surface irregularities or deformities . the tangle cover is , in some cases , sufficiently dense so as to obscure from view the underlying fiber bundle to a significant degree . a first competitive fabric is 100 % polyester and has a spun warp and a spun filling . the fabric is constructed as a plain weave and has 63 ends per inch and 47 picks per inch in the finished state . the warp yarn is an air spun 15 / 1 made of type t 510 polyester fiber ( 1 . 2 denier per filament × 1 . 5 inches in length ), and the filling yarn is an air spun 15 / 1 made of type t 510 polyester ( 1 . 2 denier per filament × 1 . 5 inches in length ). the finished fabric weighs 5 . 8 ounces per square yard . the fabric is subjected to a single standard industrial wash , in accordance with the wash procedure of example 1 . the result is as shown in fig7 a and 7b and described in table 1 . a second competitive fabric is 100 % polyester and has a spun warp and a spun filling . the fabric is constructed as a plain weave and has 67 ends per inch and 44 picks per inch in the finished state . the warp yarn is an air spun 11 / 1 made of type t 510 polyester fiber ( 1 . 2 denier per filament × 1 . 5 inches in length ), and the filling yarn is an air spun 12 / 1 made of type t510 polyester ( 1 . 2 denier per filament × 1 . 5 inches in length ). the finished fabric weighs 7 . 2 ounces per square yard . the fabric is subjected to a single standard industrial wash , in accordance with the wash procedure of example 1 . the result is as shown in fig8 a and 8b and described in table 1 . although the examples above have discussed only fabrics comprised exclusively of synthetic fibers , it is contemplated that treated fabrics comprised of blends of synthetic and natural fibers should be included as part of the instant invention . the following specific , non - limiting example involves the use of a polyester and cotton blend in the warp of a blended woven fabric , with either a blended or wholly synthetic fill yarn . a blended fabric is comprised of a 65 / 35 blend of polyester and cotton made with a spun warp and a spun filling . the fabric is constructed as a plain weave and has 102 ends per inch and 53 picks per inch in the finished state . the warp yarn is an open end spun 26 / 1 , 65 / 35 poly / cotton blend 5 with a twist multiple of 3 . 69 . the filling yarn is a ring spun 25 / 1 , 65 / 35 poly / cotton blend with a twist multiple of 3 . 80 . the finished fabric weighs 4 . 25 ounces per square yard . fig9 a and 9b show the fabric surface prior to a hydraulic napping step as described below . the fabric is hydraulically napped as set forth in example 1 , above , except that the water pressure within the first treatment zone is 1200 p . s . i . g ., the spacing between the manifold and the support roll in the first treatment zone is 0 . 120 inches , the speed of the fabric web is 30 yards per minute , and the relative angle of the water jets is 0 °. the result is as shown in fig9 c and 9d and described in table 1 . as can be seen , a profusion of fiber tangles has been created above the surface yarns that appear to be well distributed laterally , and the observed fiber tangles are not readily associated with warp yarns or fill yarns . it is believed that the hydraulic napping action as described herein is most effective , but not exclusively so , when the target fabric contains yarns with staple fibers in significant quantities . the napping action is also most effective when those yarns are held within the target fabric structure in a way that allows the energy in the individual water streams to displace , without damage or complete removal , segments of the staple fibers , thereby forming a plurality of fiber tangles comprised of disordered , but undamaged , staple fiber segments that remain attached at both ends to their respective yarns or fiber bundles . generally , this has been found to occur most reliably in woven fabrics where the staple fibers are contained in the warp yarns , or contained in both the warp and fill yarns . an important characteristic and advantage of this invention is the relative durability , following repeated washings , of the napped surface that is formed . this is believed to be due to the number of fiber tangles that are generated initially , as well as the extent to which the fibers are disordered within the fiber tangles , and the effects that mechanical washing actions have on the fabric . this combination of characteristics is believed to form a robust nap structure that not only successfully resists the rigors of repeated launderings , but that tends to improve with such launderings — the degree of distributional uniformity ( i . e . lateral cover ) and degree of disorder of the observed fiber tangles both appear to increase dramatically as a result of repeated laundering , as compared with the nap surface immediately following the hydraulic napping operation . as a means to gauge the extent of this characteristic and assess the magnitude of this advantage , the subject fabric of this invention as seen in fig6 a , 6b and the commercially available competing napery fabrics of fig7 a , 7b and 8 a , 8 b were each subjected to 75 standard launderings and then examined by photomicrography . the details and results of this comparison are the subject of examples 5 through 7 , below . the fabric of example 1 and shown in fig6 a and 6b is washed ( as described in example 1 ) 75 times in succession . the surface of the fabric is as seen in fig6 y and 6z , and as described in table 1 . the fabric of example 2 and shown in fig7 a and 7b is washed ( as described in example 1 ) 75 times in succession . the surface of the fabric is as seen in fig7 y and 7z , and as described in table 1 . the fabric of example 3 and shown in fig8 a and 8b is washed ( as described in example 1 ) 75 25 times in succession . the surface of the fabric is as seen in fig8 y and 8z , and as described in table 1 . it should be noted that attempts to subject fabrics having a high cotton content typically do not survive 75 washes , due to degradation of the cotton fibers . the following table summarizes some principal observations and comments based upon the above referenced photomicrographs . in an effort to quantify some of the distinctions and advantages of the instant invention , a statistical technique generally referred to as “ co - occurrence ” analysis was performed , using the scanning electron microscope images of fig5 a , 6a , 6 y , 7 a , 7 y , 8 a , and 8 y . these statistics are derived from a “ co - occurrence matrix .” the matrix is sometimes called a concurrence matrix or second order histogram ( jain 1989 ). the advantage of using this approach is the objective quantification of texture or degree of nap with a single number . there is good correlation between the statistic referred to as “ energy ” in the references ( see below ) and the degree of nap . “ energy ” is a general statistic for analyzing texture , and its value changes when the regularity of a texture changes . it is an unweighted average of the squares of fundamental co - occurrence matrix values , and is therefore not biased for any particular application . for convenience , this statistic shall be referred to as the “ nap index ” in fig1 a through 10c . the nap formed by the fiber tangles discussed herein covers up the regular weave structure of the fabric , thereby essentially randomizing the image . this leads to an decrease in the statistic , reflecting an increase in the degree of nap . the sign of the statistic was changed for convenience , so that an increase in the degree of nap results in an increase in the value of the napindex . the statistic was calculated for each sample from four sem images , formed by dividing the respective fig5 a , 6a , 7 a , and 8 a each into quadrants , and treating each as a separate image . these repeat calculations provide a measure of statistical variation . this variation is used as an estimate of statistical confidence . a 90 % confidence level ( two standard deviations ) was used for the range of variation of the four measurements for each sample . the two competitor samples did not include control samples ( untreated fabric ), and although all samples were plain weaves , the weave structures did not match exactly the control sample of the subject fabric . therefore , it is not possible to make statistically meaningful comparisons among the various products . the results of the measurements are graphically depicted in fig1 a through 10c . these results are fully consistent with subjective assessments made from visual examination of the photomicrographs , and are believed to support several conclusions . the subject fabric shows significant nap following one wash . the degree of nap is substantially increased after 75 washes , with a high degree of statistical confidence . this effect is totally absent from the results involving the first and second competitive fabric . the first competitive fabric shows , with a high degree of statistical confidence , a dramatic reduction in the degree of nap following 75 washes . the second competitive fabric shows , at best , no statistically significant increase in the degree of nap following 75 washes . for a more thorough discussion of this technique , see one or more of the following references : ( 1 ) robert m . haralick , k . shanmugam , its &# 39 ; hak dinstein , “ textural features for image classification ,” ieee trans . syst ., man , cybernn ., vol . smc - 3 , no . 6 ( 1973 ), 610 - 621 ; ( 2 ) robert m . haralick , “ statistical and structural approaches to texture ,” proc . ieee , vol . 67 , no . 5 ( 1979 ), 786 - 804 ; ( 3 ) steven w . zucker , demetri terzopoulos , “ finding structure in co - occurrence ”; ( 4 ) “ matrices for texture analysis ,” comput . graph . image processing , vol . 12 ( 1980 ), 286 - 308 ; ( 5 ) anil k . jain , “ fundamentals of 15 digital image processing ,” prentice hall ( 1989 ), 394 - 400 . in an effort to quantify further some of the aesthetic advantages of the instant invention , selected measurements were made using the kawabata evaluation system (“ kawabata system ”). the kawabata system was developed by dr . sueo kawabata , professor of polymer chemistry at kyoto university in japan , as a scientific means to measure , in an objective and reproducible way , the “ hand ” of textile fabrics . this is achieved by measuring basic mechanical properties that have been correlated with aesthetic properties relating to hand ( e . g ., smoothness , fullness , stiffness , softness , flexibility , and crispness ), using a set of four highly specialized measuring devices that were developed specifically for use with the kawabata system . these devices are as follows : kawabata tensile and shear tester ( kes fb1 ) kawabata pure bending tester ( kes fb2 ) kawabata compression tester ( kes fb3 ) kawabata surface tester ( kes fb4 ) kes fb 1 through 3 are manufactured by the kato iron works co ., ltd ., div . of instrumentation , kyoto , japan . kes fb 4 ( kawabata surface tester ) is manufactured by the kato tekko co ., ltd ., div . of instrumentation , kyoto , japan . the results reported herein required only the use of kes fb 2 through 4 . the mechanical properties that have been associated with these aesthetic properties can be grouped into five basic categories for purposes of kawabata analysis : bending properties , surface properties ( friction and roughness ), compression properties , shearing properties , and tensile properties . each of these categories , in turn , is comprised of a group of related properties that can be separately measured . for the testing described herein , only parameters relating to the properties of surface , compression , and bending were used , as indicated in table 2 , below . the complete kawabata evaluation system is installed and is available for fabric evaluations at several locations throughout the world , including the following institutions in the u . s . a . : north carolina state university college of textiles dep &# 39 ; t . of textile engineering chemistry and science centennial campus raleigh , n . c . georgia institute of technology school of textile and fiber engineering atlanta , ga . the philadelphia college of textile and science school of textile and materials science schoolhouse lane and henry avenue philadelphia , pa . 19144 additional sites worldwide include the textile technology center ( sainte - hyacinthe , qc , canada ); the swedish institute for fiber and polymer research ( mölndal , sweden ); and the university of manchester institute of science and technology ( manchester , england ). the kawabata evaluation system installed at the textile testing laboratory at the milliken research corporation , spartanburg , s . c . was used as a means to quantify some of the characteristics of the invention disclosed herein , and compare those characteristics with those of the first and second competing fabrics , as well as a cotton fabric representative of fabrics commonly used in napery applications . in each case , kawabata testing was done following one industrial wash . the following fabrics were tested : first and second competitive fabrics : as described in examples 2 and 3 , respectively . 100 % cotton fabric : a commercially available napery fabric having 74 ends and 58 picks and a weight of 5 . 5 ounces per square yard subject fabrics 1 - 3 : 100 % polyester spun warp napery fabrics having weights between 6 . 0 and 7 . 0 ounces and various constructions , following hydraulic napping in accordance with the teachings herein . subject fabrics 4 and 5 : two examples of the fabrics of example 1 , following hydraulic napping in accordance with the teachings herein . an 8 inch × 8 inch sample was cut from the web of fabric to be tested . care was taken to avoid folding , wrinkling , stressing , or otherwise handling the sample in a way that would deform the sample . the die used to cut the sample was aligned with the yarns in the fabric to improve the accuracy of the measurements . multiple samples of each type of fabric were tested to improve the accuracy of the data . the testing equipment was set - up according to the instructions in the kawabata manual . the kawabata compression tester ( kes fb3 ) was allowed to warm - up for at least 15 minutes before use . the gap interval was set according to the instructions in the manual . each sample was placed in the compression tester , and the plunger was lowered . the data was automatically recorded on an xy plotter . the values of lc , den50 , and comp were extracted and averaged . the results are as indicated in table 3 . an 8 - inch × 8 - inch sample was cut from the web of fabric to be tested . care was taken to avoid folding , wrinkling , stressing , or otherwise handling the sample in a way that would deform the sample . the die used to cut the sample was aligned with the yarns in the fabric to improve the accuracy of the measurements . multiple samples of each type of fabric were tested to improve the accuracy of the data . the testing equipment was set - up according to the instructions in the kawabata manual . the kawabata surface tester ( kes fb4 ) was allowed to warm - up for at least 15 minutes before use . the proper weight was selected for testing the samples . the samples were placed in the tester and locked in place . each sample was tested for friction , and the data was printed as well as plotted on an xy recorder . the values of miu were determined from the printed data and averaged . the results are as indicated in table 3 . an 8 inch × 8 inch sample was cut from the web of fabric to be tested . care was taken to avoid 5 folding , wrinkling , stressing , or otherwise handling the sample in a way that would deform the sample . the die used to cut the sample was aligned with the yarns in the fabric to improve the accuracy of the measurements . multiple samples of each type of fabric were tested to improve the accuracy of the data . the testing equipment was set - up according to the instructions in the kawabata manual . the machine was allowed to warm - up for at least 15 minutes before samples were tested . the amplifier sensitivity was calibrated and zeroed as indicated in the manual . the sample was mounted in the kawabata pure bending tester ( kes fb2 ) so that the cloth showed some resistance but was not too tight . the fabric was tested in both the warp and fill directions , and the data was automatically recorded on an xy plotter . the value of 2hb for each sample was extracted from the chart and averaged . the results are as indicated in table 3 . a table summarizing selected results of the kawabata testing is given below : as may be seen from the results of table 3 , the five subject fabrics of the instant invention , and particularly those indicated as “ sample 4 ” and “ sample 5 , ” are indicated as being quantitatively superior in several aesthetically important ways to the other listed fabrics . specifically , it has been determined that the uniqueness of the fabrics of this invention may be characterized in accordance with the following individual kawabata parameter values as follows : lc values greater than 0 . 31 , preferably greater than 0 . 375 , more preferably greater than 0 . 390 , and most preferably greater than 0 . 410 ; den 50 values less than 0 . 400 , and preferably less than 0 . 390 , and most preferably less than 0 . 380 ; miu values greater than 0 . 195 , and preferably greater than 0 . 200 , and most preferably greater than 0 . 215 ; comp values greater than 42 . 5 , and preferably greater than 44 . 0 , and most preferably greater than 45 . 0 ; and , lastly , 2hb values that are less than 0 . 200 , and preferably less than 0 . 140 , more preferably less than 0 . 130 , and most preferably less than 0 . 120 . it should be understood that , because of the tendency for some properties of the fabrics of this invention to be mutually exclusive , the fabrics of this invention are not always characterized by values of any single kawabata measurement , but rather by the combination of values of two or more kawabata measurements . having described the principles of my invention in the form of the foregoing exemplary embodiments and non - limiting examples , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles , and that all such modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims are intended to be protected hereunder .	3
a ) a particulate component that is difficult to dissolve in water , and , b ) at least one liquid or gel component that is soluble in water , so that a paste - like mixture is formed . the hydrogel component that dissolves more easily acts as an intrinsic pore former in the bone defect . the intermediate spaces between the particles of the preparation , the size of which is a function of the particle size and the particle size distribution , promote the ingrowth of veins and tissue . the hydrogel matrix that dissolves more easily also expands the agglomeration of the particles and simultaneously promotes cohesion in order to assure injectability . as fig1 depicts , the hydrogel matrix ( 1 ) is located between the particles ( 2 ). when the inventive preparation is inserted into the defect , blood ( 3 ) coagulates , calcium - indicated , on the surface of the agglomeration of the particles , which is depicted schematically in fig2 . the hydrogel component that dissolves more easily is resorbed within a short period of time so that the particle agglomeration stabilized by fibrous tissue remains . this agglomeration made of resorbable bioceramic having large interparticulate intermediate spaces now satisfies all requirements for a bone replacement material in terms of porosity , freedom from phase shift , and resorbability . the following is understood for the term not easily soluble . the not easily soluble substance dissolves in water at room temperature in a maximum concentration of 100 mg / l . in accordance with the invention , the particles in the preparation have a size in the range from 0 . 1 to 150 μm , pores having a diameter of 0 . 01 - 50 μm , and can comprise β - tricalcium phosphate , α - tricalcium phosphate , whitlockite , octacalcium phosphate , hydroxyapatite , type a carbonate apatite , type b carbonate apatite , calcium - deficient hydroxyapatite , amorphous calcium phosphate , and / or resorbable glass ceramics . the calcium phosphate particles can have both a round shape and a polygonally broken shape that is rounded by wear and thermal sintering . the aforesaid particles in the size range of 0 . 1 to 150 μm have pore diameters of 0 . 01 to 50 μm . the inventive , plastically deformable preparation can be paste - like or can have a very viscous , more kneadable to wax - like form . the paste - like form of the preparation is designed such that it can be applied to a bone defect in a minimally invasive manner by means of an injection syringe having a straight or angled cannula . the diameters of the particles are optimized for the cannula diameter of an injection cannula . particle diameters are optimized such that the paste - like material can also be applied using an cannula that is angled up to 60 °, measured with respect to the longitudinal axis of the injection syringe . it is essential for the invention that it is constructed from a mixture of 60 - 90 % by mass calcium phosphate particles and 1 - 30 % by mass of an aqueous or alcoholic solution of dextran and / or carboxymethyl dextran and / or hyaluronic acid and / or dermatan sulfate , carboxymethyl cellulose and / or oxidized cellulose and / or gelatins and / or mixtures thereof . the use of polysaccharide derivatives , such as for instance carboxymethyl dextran , carboxymethyl hyaluronic acid , and sulfated hyaluronic acid , is also within the sense of the invention . it is likewise inventive that it is preferably constructed from a mixture of 80 - 98 % by mass calcium phosphate particles , 1 - 20 % by mass anhydrous polyethylene glycol 400 , and 1 - 20 % by mass anhydrous polyethylene glycol 600 . polyethylene glycol 400 and polyethylene glycol 600 can also contain oxidation stabilizers , in addition . fig3 provides detailed images of the x - ray powder diffractograms of ( 1 ) the initial batch of a β - tcp ceramic ( 2 ) β - tcp in hyaluronic acid solution ( 3 ) β - tcp in dextran solution ( 4 ) β - tcp in methylcellulose solution after 12 weeks &# 39 ; storage in water . as can be seen from this documentation , in the inventive formulation there is no conversion to a different phase of the calcium phosphate family . fig4 provides detailed images of the x - ray powder diffractograms of ( 1 ) the initial batch of a β - tcp ceramic ( 2 ) the same ceramic after 12 weeks &# 39 ; storage in water as can be seen from this documentation , in the aqueous suspension there was partial conversion / recrystallization of β - tcp to hydroxyapatite . the inventive preparation can be sterilized with dry heat or using gamma rays at a dosage of 8 to 30 kgy (= kilograys ). the hyaluronic acid used for the inventive preparation or the hyaluronic acid salts can be bioengineered , the hyaluronic acid having a molecular weight of 1 , 500 , 000 to 4 , 500 , 000 daltons and sterilization reducing this to 700 , 000 to 2 , 500 , 000 daltons . the invention shall be explained using examples in the following , but the invention shall not be limited to these examples . components a through k can be used for producing the plastically deformable implant material . 99 % β - tricalcium phosphate , free of phase shift , polygonally broken , the broken edges rounded by abrasion and subsequent burning , having a porosity of 20 ± 5 % and particle size distribution of 0 . 1 - 50 μm , bulk density of 1 . 1 ± 0 . 1 g / cm 3 , and grain size of & lt ; 63 μm ( d 50 = 15 ± 5 μm ) 0 . 3 g component a are added to 20 . 05 g component c . after a 4 - hour swelling time , the gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 50 g component b , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous mixture with a paste - like consistency that is easily extruded through a cannula , conforms to a defect due to plastic flow , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . after heat sterilization the material has a molecular weight of 1 . 7 ± 0 . 5 mda . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . an extruded paste adheres well to surrounding tissue . an extruded and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). 0 . 2 g component a are added to 20 . 0 g component c . after a 4 - hour swelling time , the swollen gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 63 . 4 g component b while stirring , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a closed container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous mixture that has a plastic consistency and is kneadable , that because of its kneadability is easily applied to a bone defect , that adheres well to the surrounding tissue , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . after sterilization the material has a molecular weight of 1 . 7 ± 0 . 5 mda . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . a hand - formed and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). 225 mg component d are added to 38 mg component a , and then 9 . 7 g component c is added while stirring . after a 1 - hour swelling time , the swollen gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 22 g component b while stirring , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a closed container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous mixture with a paste - like consistency that is easily extruded through a cannula , conforms to a defect due to plastic flow , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . a large quantity of the material does not result in an aqueous solution settling on the surface , even after standing for a number of weeks . an extruded paste adheres well to surrounding tissue . an extruded and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). 200 mg component e are mixed with 100 mg component a , and then 19 g component c are added while stirring . after a 1 - hour swelling time , the swollen gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 58 g component b while stirring , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a closed container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous mixture that has a plastic consistency and is kneadable , that because of its kneadability is easily applied to a bone defect , that adheres well to the surrounding tissue , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . a large quantity of the material does not result in an aqueous solution settling on the surface , even after standing for a number of weeks . a hand - formed and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). 500 mg component f are mixed with component c to make 10 . 0 g . after a 4 - hour swelling time , the swollen gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 27 g component b while stirring , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a closed container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous , plastic mass that is kneadable , that because of its kneadability is easily applied to a bone defect , that adheres well to the surrounding tissue , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . a hand - formed and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). 500 mg component g are mixed with component c to make 10 . 0 g . after a 4 - hour swelling time , the swollen gel is sterile - filtered , slowly added to a total of 22 g component b while stirring , and mixed intimately . the mixture is sterilized in a closed container at 121 ° c . using dry heat . the result is a homogenous , paste - like mixture that is easily extruded through a cannula , conforms to a defect due to plastic flow , and that air easily hardens superficially , it being possible to accelerate this process using a gentle airflow from a compressed air pistol . even after 4 hours of centrifuging , no solid or liquid settles out . an extruded paste adheres well to surrounding tissue . an extruded and superficially dried body retains its shape in the simulated body environment ( moist chamber under physiological conditions ). sterile filtration is performed in 1 . 9 g component h . then 5 g component b are added slowly while stirring . the result is a paste that can flow plastically and that is easily extruded through a syringe . the material can easily flow plastically into the intermediate spaces of a defect . even after multiple hours of centrifuging , the tcp particles remain in suspension . the material is very suitable for a bone construction material , especially for complicated defects . 2 . 0 g component i are mixed with component c to make 10 . 0 g and after homogenization are sterile filtered . after 25 g component b are added the material is mixed intensively . the result is a paste that has good plastic flow and that is easily extruded through a syringe . the material has plastic flow and therefore is ideal for filling intermediate spaces in a defect and adheres to the surrounding tissue . even after multiple hours of centrifuging the tcp particles remain in suspension . the material is very suitable for bone construction material , especially for complex defects . 0 . 2 g component i are mixed with component h to make 10 . 0 g and after homogenization are sterile filtered . after 25 g component b are added the material is mixed intensively . the result is a non - extrudable , kneadable paste that is slightly elastic and is shapeable like wax . because of its shapability , the material can be matched well to different defects and remains in the defect temporarily as a placeholder . even after multiple hours of centrifuging the tcp particles remain in suspension . the material is very suitable for bone construction material , especially for complex defects . 3 . 0 g component k are mixed with component c to make 10 . 0 g . once component k has dissolved , the material is sterile filtered and added to 26 . 3 g component b . the result is a paste that extrudes well through a syringe and that is shapeable and does not drip from the cannula . because of its shapability , the material can be matched well to different defects and remains temporarily in the defect as a placeholder . even after multiple hours of centrifuging the tcp particles remain in suspension . the material is very suitable for bone construction material , especially for minimally - invasive applications . 300 g component d are mixed with component c to make 10 . 0 g . after a 1 - hour swelling time , 25 g component b having the mean grain sizes according to the table below are added and mixed intimately . the result is a paste - like mass , the extrudability of which is tested using different cannula diameters . extrudability is documented in the table below and indicates the suitability of various particle diameters for producing an extrudable paste . + = good to moderate ( satisfactory extrudability , slight resistance can be detected from canting of individual particles ) − = moderate ( adequate extrudability , significant resistance due to canting of particles ) the advantage of the inventive composition is that a phase and sedimentation - stable , plastically deformable implant material with intrinsic pore formation is provided that can be created such that it does not migrate much and is inserted into a bone defect by injection or alternatively can be applied to / fitted in a bone defect as a kneadable mass . in the inventive composition , the liquid or paste components that are soluble in water stabilize the biologically active polygonally broken rounded particles that are difficult to dissolve in water and that are in the size range of 0 . 1 - 150 μm having pores in the size range of 0 . 01 - 50 μm such that they do not convert to other phases or substances due to a dissolution / recrystallization process . moreover , with the inventive application of the paste - like implant material / the inventive composition , the water - soluble organic binder substance with the particulate biologically active substance forms a porous structural accumulation that is dimensionally stable when applied , the easily soluble components being exchanged for fibrous tissue in the defect environment so that the porous particle packing remains dimensionally stable and is slowly integrated , vascularized , and resorbed . all of the features described in the following claims and in the drawings can be essential to the invention , both individually and in any combination with one another .	0
it is preferred that a is formula ii , q is chr , r , r 1 and r 2 are hydrogen , and n = 0 or 2 . in an alternative embodiment , it is preferred that a is sulphonyl or phosphonyl group , preferably phosphonyl , and y is sodium . examples of the preferred compounds are : 10 - o -( 2 - aminoacetyl )- 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine hydrochloride , 10 - o -( 4 - aminobutyroyl )- 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine hydrochloride , 10 - o - phosphonyl - 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine disodium salt , and 10 - o - sulphonyl - 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine disodium salt . the compounds of the present invention possess chiral centers . a further embodiment of the invention relates to the substantially pure enantiomers of these compounds . the enantiomers may be isolated by methods known to those skilled in the art . without wishing to be limited by any suggested mechanism of action , the compounds of the present invention are believed to act as water - soluble prodrugs of 10 - hydroxy - 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine , the active metabolite of ocbz . by administering to a patient an effective amount of the compounds of the invention , the following illnesses and disorders may be effectively treated : the compounds of the invention are administered in pharmaceutical compositions which comprise the compound and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . as used herein , the term &# 34 ; pharmaceutically acceptable carrier &# 34 ; encompasses any of the standard pharmaceutically accepted carriers , such as a phosphate - buffered saline solution , water , an oil / water or a triglyceride emulsion , wetting agents , tablets , coated tablets , and capsules . an example of an acceptable triglyceride emulsion useful in the intravenous and intraperitoneal administration of the compounds is the triglyceride emulsion commercially known as intralipid ® ( a trademark of kabivitrum ( uk ). generally , the amount of the carrier is from 5 to 95 wt . % of the total formulation . typically , such carriers contain excipients such as starch , milk , sugar , certain types of clay , gelatin , stearic acid , talc , vegetable fats or oils , gums , and glycols . such carriers may also include flavor and color additives or other ingredients . the optimum amounts of such materials may be readily determined by those skilled in the art . in the practice of the invention , the pharmaceutical composition may be administered by any of the well - known methods , including , but not limited to , oral , intravenous , intraperitoneal , intramuscular or subcutaneous or topical administration . topical administration can be effected by any method commonly known to those skilled in the art and include , but are not limited to , incorporation of the pharmaceutical composition into creams , ointments , or transdermal patches . the amount of the compound incorporated in the pharmaceutical composition may vary widely . factors considered when determining the precise amount are well known to those skilled in the art . these include the characteristics of the subject being treated , the specific pharmaceutical carrier , the route of administration , and the frequency with which the composition is to be administered . a pharmaceutical composition in unit dose form for treatment of the disorders listed hereinabove contains from 10 to 500 mg of the active ingredient . preferably the pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is an aqueous liquid and the composition is a solution . such compositions are suitable for administration via intravenous and oral liquid routes , these being of particular benefit in the treatment of children . turning to the processes of the invention , the compounds of formula i wherein a is of formula ii are amino acid esters of dhohcbz and may be prepared by esterification , for example , by reacting an activated form of the amino acids with dhohcbz in the presence or absence of acylation catalysts such as 4 - n , n - dimethylaminopyridine ( dmap ), pyridine , cobalt ( ii ) chloride , and acids and bases , particularly lewis acids and bases . examples of activated or functionalized forms of the amino acids are : ## str4 ## thus , for example , dhohcbz is reacted with an amino acid anhydride having a protected amino terminus , e . g ., with a t - butoxycarbonyl ( boc ) radical , in the presence of , for example dmap , in an aprotic organic solvent , e . g ., tetrahydrofuran ( thf ), 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane ( dme ), dichloromethane and dioxane , at a temperature of from 0 ° to 50 ° c ., preferably from 25 ° to 40 ° c ., for a period of from 1 to 24 hours , preferably 5 hours . in this reaction , each mole of dhohcbz is preferably reacted with 1 to 1 . 5 moles of the activated amino acid . from 20 to 100 ml of solvent are used for each gram of the dhohcbz . alternatively , dhohcbz may be reacted with a n - succinimide ester of an amino acid having the amino terminus protected , e . g ., by a boc radical , in an aprotic organic solvent at a temperature of from 0 ° to 70 ° c ., preferably from 25 ° to 50 ° c ., for a period of from 12 to 48 hours , preferably from 24 to 36 hours . the ratio of the dhohcbz to amino acid and the amount of solvent used are as described above . the esterified product may be purified by column chromatography , by which excess boc - glycine - succinimide may be removed after having been converted to the corresponding methyl ester by treating the crude product with methanol . removal of the protecting group may be accomplished by any means known to those skilled in the art , as for example by subjecting the protected acyl dhohcbz to acidic conditions , e . g ., trifluoroacetic acid or solutions of hydrochloric acid in an organic solvent , e . g ., dioxane . the dhohcbz derivatives are then obtained as the acid salts and are readily soluble in water . the compounds of formula i , wherein a is a phosphonyl group of formula iii , are phosphate esters of dhohcbz and may be prepared by subjecting the latter to one of the following procedures : reacting dhohcbz with ( a ) phosphorus oxychloride in a polar aprotic solvent in the presence of an acid acceptor , followed by sodium hydrogen carbonate ; or ( b ) 2 - cyanoethyl - n , n - diisopropyl - chlorophosphoramidite , followed by tetrazole and 2 - cyanoethanol , by t - butylhydroperoxide and finally by ammonia . suitable polar aprotic solvents include acetonitrile and acid acceptors , e . g ., n , n - diisopropylethylamine . the reaction temperature may be from ambient to 80 ° c . for a period of from 5 to 100 hours . the dhohcbz derivative is then obtained as the corresponding metal salt and is readily soluble in water . the compounds of formula i , wherein a is a sulphonyl group of formula iii , are sulfate esters of dhohcbz and may be prepared by reacting dhohcbz with sulphotrioxide - triethylamine or sulphotrioxide - trimethylamine in a polar protic or aprotic solvent , e . g ., water , dimethylformamide and pyridine at temperature of from ambient to 100 ° c ., preferably to 80 ° c ., and purification by column chromatography . the sulphonic acid may be converted to an alkali salt by treatment with an ion exchange resin such as dowex 50 . the following experimental details are set forth to aid in an understanding of the invention , and are not intended , and should not be construed , to limit in any way the invention set forth in the claims which follow thereafter . a solution of gaba anhydride ( 1 . 84 g , 4 . 7 mmol , prepared from boc gaba and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in ch 2 cl 2 ) in thf ( 27 ml ) was added to a solution of dhohcbz ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 94 mmol ) in thf ( 50 ml ), followed by the addition of 4 - n , n - dimethyl - aminopyridine ( 480 mg , 3 . 93 mmol ). the clear solution was stirred at ambient temperature for 6 hours and evaporated to dryness . the residue was dissolved in etoac ( 40 ml ), washed with saturated nahco 3 ( 3 × 15 ml ) and water ( 3 × 15 ml ), dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure to give 1 . 7 g ( 3 . 87 mmol , 82 %) of the title compound , m . p . 148 - 150 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 50 - 7 . 20 ( m , 8h , ph ), 6 . 42 ( br s , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 5 . 20 , 4 . 62 ( br s , 1h , nh ), 4 . 82 ( br d , 2h , conh 2 ), 3 . 60 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 22 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 16 ( m , 2h , gaba - cγh ), 2 . 38 ( t , 2h , gaba - cαh ), 1 . 80 ( m , 2h , gaba - cαh ), 1 . 44 ( s , 9h , boc ) ppm . ms : 440 ( mh + , 42 ), 340 ( mh + - bocnh , 59 ), 237 ( mh + - bocgaba , 100 ). 10 - o -( 2 - n - boc aminobutyroyl )- 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine ( 1 . 25 g , 2 . 84 mmol ) was dissolved in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 80 ml ), and 1 . 7n hcl in dioxane ( 9 . 2 ml ) was added . the solution was stirred at ambient temperature for 3 hours , evaporated to dryness and the residue was treated with a mixture of ch 2 cl 2 ( 60 ml ) and water ( 80 ml ). the aqueous phase was separated , filtered through millipore and lyophilized , to give 900 mg ( 2 . 4 mmol , 84 %) title compound . 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ): 7 . 60 - 7 . 20 ( m , 8h , ph ), 6 . 36 , 5 . 70 ( br s , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 3 . 53 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 15 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h &# 39 ;), 2 . 98 ( m , 2h , gaba - cγh ), 2 . 50 ( m , 2h , gaba - cαh ), 1 . 93 ( m , 2h , gaba - cβh ) ppm . ms : 340 ( mh + , 12 ), 237 ( mh + - gaba , 100 ), 194 ( 58 ). a solution of dhohcbz ( 940 mg , 3 . 7 mmol ) and boc - glycine - n - hydroxysuccinimide ester ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 7 mmol ) in anhydrous 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane ( 40 ml ) was stirred for 36 hours at ambient temperature . the residue obtained after the removal of solvent was treated with methanol ( 20 ml , rt , 10 min ). the solution was evaporated to dryness and the residue was dissolved in etoac ( 10 ml ) and washed with nahco 3 ( 10 ml ) and water . the organic phase was dried over mgso 4 and evaporated to dryness . the crude product was purified by column chromatography ( sio 2 , toluene : acetone 70 / 30 ) to afford 890 mg ( 2 . 17 mmol , 59 %) of title compound , m . p . 79 - 80 ° c . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 5 - 7 . 20 ( m , 8h , ph ), 4 . 85 ( br d , 2h , conh 2 ), 1 . 45 ( s , 9h , boc ) . major conformer : 6 . 05 ( br s , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 5 . 04 ( br s , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 60 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 23 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h &# 39 ;) . minor conformer : 6 . 47 ( br s , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 5 . 22 ( br s , 1h , nh ), 3 . 67 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 10 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h &# 39 ;) ppm . ms : 412 ( mh + , 82 ), 356 ( mh + - c 4 h 8 , 88 ), 237 ( mh + - boc gly , 100 ). 10 - o -( 2 - n - boc - aminoacetyl )- 10 , 11 - dihydrocarbamazepine ( 830 mg , 2 . 67 mmol ) was dissolved in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 60 ml ), and 1 . 7n hcl in dioxan ( 7 ml ) was added . the clear solution was stirred at ambient temperature for 3 hours , evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure . the residue was dissolved in water ( 50 ml ), extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml ), filtered through millipore and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure , to give 600 mg ( 1 . 73 mmol , 65 %) of the title compound . 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ): 7 . 50 - 7 . 20 ( m , 8h , ph ) , 3 . 88 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ) . major conformer : 6 . 12 ( m , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 3 . 56 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 24 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h &# 39 ;). minor conformer : 6 . 51 ( br s , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 3 . 62 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 16 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h &# 39 ;) ppm . ms : 312 ( mh + , 53 ), 237 ( mh + - gly , 89 ) 194 ( 237 - nhco , 100 ). a solution of dhohcbz ( 254 mg , 1 mmole ) and so 3 me 3 n ( 417 mg , 3 mmole ) in dry thf ( 4 ml ) was heated to 50 ° c . and stirred at this temperature for 3 hours . it was then evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure and the oily residue was purified by column chromatography ( silica , ch 2 cl 2 : meoh 85 : 15 ). treatment of the crude product with etoac ( 3 ml , 15 min , rt ) gave 270 mg ( 81 %) of a yellowish crystalline solid . the latter was converted to the corresponding sodium salt by passing through a dowex 50 ( sodium form ) column . the following data relate to the free acid . 1 h nmr ( dmso ): 7 . 75 - 7 . 20 ( m , 8h , ph ), 5 . 93 , 5 . 61 ( m , 1h , c 10 -- h ), 3 . 70 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ), 3 . 25 ( m , 1h , c 11 -- h ) ppm all compounds provided herein were screened for their ability to protect against chemically and electrically induced convulsions , in at least two different models of epilepsy . the first model , the subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol ( scmet ) seizure threshold test , is a standard screening procedure to show efficacy for agents against absence seizures . the second model , the maximal electroshock ( mes ) test , is used to show efficacy for antiepileptic agents against generalized seizures . in these studies , convulsions were inhibited or prevented in mice after intraperitoneal ( i . p .) administration and / or in rats after oral ( p . o .) administration of the compounds . for detailed procedures of the above test models , see e . a . swinyard et al ., in antiepileptic drugs , supra , at pp . 85 - 102 ( 1989 ). the results of these experiments are shown in table 1 below . in table 1 , compound no . refers to the relevant example number . results given for the mes and scmet tests are given as the number of animals protected / total number in test group . toxicity data are given as the number dead / total number . the figure given under each result is the dosage in mg / kg . table 1______________________________________ mice ( ip ) rats ( po ) compound mes scmet toxicity mes toxicity______________________________________ohcbz 3 / 3 0 / 1 3 / 8 -- --( mg / kg ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ex . 4 3 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 8 4 / 4 0 / 4 ( mg / kg ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ( 50 ) ( 50 ) ex . 2 0 / 3 0 / 1 7 / 8 1 / 4 0 / 4 ( mg / kg ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ( 100 ) ( 50 ) ( 50 ) ______________________________________	2
by the term &# 34 ; gasoline fraction &# 34 ; as used herein is meant petroleum fractions distilling at temperatures of about 35 ° to 200 ° c ., specific examples of which are gasolines for automobile engines stipulated by the japanese industrial standards ( jis ) k2202 . the present invention contemplates the use of gasoline fractions having an aromatics content of greater than 35 volume percent , preferably 35 to 60 volume percent , and a 50 percent distillation temperature of 85 ° to 125 ° c . the aromatics contents are those measured in accordance with jis k2536 for the testing method for hydrocarbon types in petroleum products by fluorecent indicator adsorption . the 50 percent distillation temperatures are those measured in accordance with jis k2254 for the testing method for distillation of petroleum products . suitable alkali earth metals include for example magnesium , calcium , barium and the like . alkali earth metal salts eligible for the purpose of the invention are alkali earth metal sulfonates , alkali earth metal phenates and alkali earth metal salicylates . eligible alkali earth metal sulfonates are alkali earth metal salts of aromatic alkylsulfonic acids having a molecular weight of about 100 to 700 . the alkylsulfonic acids include petroleum sulfonic acids and synthetic sulfonic acids . examples of the petroleum sulfonic acids are those obtained by sulfonating alkyl aromatics contained in lubricant fractions of mineral oils . examples of the synthetic sulfonic acids are those resulting from the sulfonation of alkylbenzenes containing straight or branched alkyl groups , which alkylbenzenes are obtainable for example as side products from detergents manufacturing plants , or from the alkylation of polyolefins into benzene , or from the sulfonation of alkylnaphthalenes such as dinonylnaphthalene . eligible alkali earth metal phenates are alkali earth metal salts of alkylphenols of the formulae ## str1 ## where r is an alkyl group of 4 to 40 carbon atoms , x is an integer of from 1 to 2 and me is an alkali earth metal . the alkylphenols are those resulting from the alkylation into benzene of olefins and alcohols ( produced as by oligomerization of propylene ) and waxes in the presence of friedel - crafts catalysts . a typical method of preparing such alkali earth metal phenates involves reacting alkylphenols , sulfur and alkali earth metal hydroxides in a solvent such as methanol , butanol or ethylene glycol at from room temperature to 200 ° c . eligible alkali earth metal salicylates are alkali earth metal salts of alkylsalicylic acids containing at least one , preferably one to two , alkyl group of more than 3 carbon atoms , preferably 8 to 40 carbon atoms . the method of preparation of alkylsalicylic acids is optional . one such method involves forming an alkylphenol by alkylating a phenol or cresol with an olefin , followed by conversion to corresponding alkylphenol with alcoholic sodium hydroxide , treating the resulting alkylphenate with carbon dioxide gas at elevated temperature and pressure to form an alkylsalicylic acid sodium salt , and subsequently reacting this salt with an acid . another method is to alkylate salicylic acid with an olefin using a catalyst such as boron fluoride . the alkali earth metal salts contemplated by the invention may be used in the form of basic and ultrabasic salts , let alone neutral salts ( normal salts ). the alkali earth metal sulfonates include basic sulfonates obtainable by heating sulfonates and excess alkali earth metals in the presence of water , and ultrabasic sulfonates resulting from reacting sulfonates with alkali earth metal oxides or hydroxides in the presence of carbon dioxide gas . the alkali earth metal phenates include basic phenates obtainable by heating phenates and excess alkali earth metals in the presence of water , and ultrabasic salts resulting from reacting phenates with alkali earth metal oxides or hydroxides in the presence of carbon dioxide gas . the alkali earth metal salicylates include not only neutral salts obtained by reacting sodium salts of alkylsalicylic acids with equimolar alkali earth metal halides , but also basic salts obtained by reacting alkylsalicylic acids with alkali earth metal hydroxides , and ultrabasic salts resulting from reacting alkylsalicylic acids with excess alkali earth metal hydroxides in the presence of carbon dioxide gas . the methods of preparing the aforesaid basic and utlrabasic salts are optional , and bear no limitation upon the scope of the invention . the amount of each of the above described alkali earth metal salts to be added is in the range of 0 . 01 to 1 . 0 weight percent , preferably 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 weight percent based on the gasoline fraction . smaller amounts would fail to provide sufficient protection of spark plugs against fouling , while larger amounts would produce no better results but would only add to increased accumulation of deposits in the combustion chamber . the gasoline composition of the invention which contains either of the alkali earth metal salts can be charged as it is into the fuel tank . alternatively , it is possible to charge a predetermined amount of a given alkali earth metal salt into the fuel tank which has already been filled with the gasoline . there may be used other additives such as antioxidants , metal deactivators , surfactants , fuel aids , antistatic agents , dyes and the like . to provide improved octane number , there may also be used ethers such as methyl - t - butylether and isopropyl - t - butylether , and alcohols such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol . the amounts of these ethers and alcohols to be added are optional , generally in the range of 1 to 60 weight parts , normally in the range of 1 to 25 weight parts per 100 weight parts of the gasoline composition . the invention will be further described by way of the following examples , in which the gasoline compositions of the invention and the conventional gasoline fuels were subjected to the performance test described below . a test vehicle equipped with new spark plugs of the manufacturer &# 39 ; s specification was started on a chassis dynamometer at a room temperature of 0 ° c . and accelerated and decelerated alternately every two minutes . this mode of operation was repeated three times , whereupon the car was stopped for a period of 54 minutes . this constitutes a cycle of test run . the car was brought to a stop upon completion of 12 cycles for visual inspection of each set of spark plugs associated with each of the tested gasoline compositions . the car was in other instances stopped immediately after it failed to accelerate , the number of test run cycles being counted , and the spark plugs were likewise inspected . the results of these performance tests are shown in tables 1 to 3 . to a lead - free gasoline fraction having an aromatics content of 50 vol .% and a 50 % distillation temperature of 106 ° c . was added 0 . 3 wt . % of ultrabasic calcium sulfonate ( an ultrabasic calcium salt of a petroleum sulfonic acid ) thereby to produce a gasoline composition according to the invention . the resulting composition was supplied as a test fuel to a test car of 1 , 300 cc displacement equipped with a carburetor type fuel supplying system and a manual transmission . the gasoline composition of the invention and that of a conventional type devoid of ultrabasic calcium sulfonate were both tested with the results shown in table 1 . the details as regards the gasoline compositions of the invention and those of controls are as shown in table 1 together with test results . to a lead - free gasoline fraction having an aromatics content of 47 vol . % and a 50 % distillation temperature of 103 ° c . was added 0 . 15 wt . % of ultrabasic calcium phenate ( an ultrabasic calcium salt of nonylphenol sulfide ) to produce a gasoline composition of the invention . the resulting composition was supplied as a test fuel to a test car of 1 , 800 cc displacement equipped with an injection type fuel supplying system and an automatic transmission . the gasoline composition of the invention and that of a conventional type devoid of ultrabasic calcium phenate were both tested with the results shown in table 2 . the details as regards the gasoline compositions of the invention and those of controls are shown in table 2 together with test results . to a lead - free gasoline fraction having an aromatics content of 51 vol . % and a 50 % distillation temperature of 105 ° c . was added 0 . 15 wt . % of ultrabasic calcium salicylate ( an ultrabasic calcium salt of a straight alkylsalicylic acid of 14 to 18 carbon atoms ) to produce a gasoline composition of the invention . the resulting composition was supplied as a test fuel to a test car of 1 , 500 cc displacement equipped with a carburetor type fuel supplying system and a manual transmission . the gasoline composition of the invention and that of a conventional type devoid of ultrabasic calcium salicylate were both tested with the results shown in table 3 . the details as regards the gasoline compositions of the invention and those of controls are as shown in table 3 together with test results . it is to be noted as appears in tables 1 to 3 that examples 1 to 9 representing the invention are all satisfactory in respect of plug fouling inhibiting ability as evidenced by continued operation of the test car beyond 12 cycles of test run . controls in comparison examples 1 to 9 encountered acceleration failure prior to 12 cycles of test run , resulting in fouled spark plugs . table 1__________________________________________________________________________ comparison comparison comparison example 1 example 1 example 2 example 2 example example__________________________________________________________________________ 3test proper - aromatics 50 same as 40 same as 45 same asgasoline ties content * in in in ( vol . %) example 1 example 2 example 3 50 % distil - 106 95 101 lation tempera - ture (° c .) alkali type compound -- compound -- compound -- earth a a b metal amount 0 . 3 0 . 1 0 . 2 compound ( wt . %) performance test car carburetor / carburetor same as carburetor same as injector same astest injector in in in transmis - manual example 1 manual example 2 automatic example 3 sion displacement 1 , 300 1 , 600 2 , 000 ( cc ) number of test cycles & gt ; 12 3 & gt ; 12 8 & gt ; 12 6 at which acceleration failed appearance of normal fouling normal fouling normal fouling spark plugs * __________________________________________________________________________ * determined in accordance with jis k2536 determined in accordance with jis k2254 * normal : insulator legs remained light brown or greyish white fouling : insulator legs and electrodes covered with deposits compound a : ultrabasic calcium sulfonate ( ultrabasic calcium salt of petroleum sulfonic acid ) compound b : magnesium sulfonate ( neutral magnesium salt of synthetic sulfonic acid ) table 2__________________________________________________________________________ comparison comparison comparison example 4 example 4 example 5 example 5 example example__________________________________________________________________________ 6test proper - aromatics 47 same as 52 same as 41 same asgasoline ties content * in in in ( vol . %) example 4 example 5 example 6 50 % distil - 103 110 98 lation tempera - ture (° c .) alkali type compound -- compound -- compound -- earth c c d metal amount 0 . 15 0 . 40 0 . 25 compound ( wt . %) performance test car carburetor / injector same as carburetor same as carburetor same astest injector in in in transmis - automatic example 4 manual example 5 manual example 6 sion displacement 1 , 800 1 , 500 1 , 300 ( cc ) number of test cycles & gt ; 12 7 & gt ; 12 2 & gt ; 12 6 at which acceleration failed appearance of normal fouling normal fouling normal fouling spark plugs * __________________________________________________________________________ * determined in accordance with jis k2536 determined in accordance with jis k2254 * normal : insulator legs remained light brown or greyish white fouling : insulator legs and electrodes covered with deposits compound c : ultrabasic calcium phenate ( ultrabasic calcium salt of nonylphenol sulfide ) compound d : magnesium phenate ( neutral calcium salt of alkylphenate havin c . sub . 5 - c . sub . 8 alkyl ) table 3__________________________________________________________________________ comparison comparison comparison example 7 example 7 example 8 example 8 example example__________________________________________________________________________ 9test proper - aromatics 51 same as 39 same as 46 same asgasoline ties content * in in in ( vol . %) example 7 example 8 example 9 50 % distil - 105 94 99 lation tempera - ture (° c .) alkali type compound -- compound -- compound -- earth e e f metal amount 0 . 15 0 . 15 0 . 2 compound ( wt . %) performance test car carburetor / carburetor same as injector same as injector same astest injector in in in transmis - manual example 7 automatic example 8 automatic example 9 sion displacement 1 , 500 1 , 800 2 , 000 ( cc ) number of test cycles & gt ; 12 2 & gt ; 12 8 & gt ; 12 5 at which acceleration failed appearance of normal fouling normal fouling normal fouling spark plugs * __________________________________________________________________________ * determined in accordance with jis k2536 determined in accordance with jis k2254 * normal : insulator legs remained light brown or greyish white fouling : insulator legs and electrodes covered with deposits compound e : ultrabasic calcium salicylate ( ultrabasic calcium salt of alkylsalicylic acid having straight c . sub . 14 - c . sub . 18 alkyl ) compound f : magnesium salicylate ( neutral magnesium salt of alkylsalicyli acid having c . sub . 16 - c . sub . 17 straight alkyl )	2
fig1 is a block diagram of an electronic apparatus with a peripheral access management system ( hereinafter “ the apparatus ”) in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the apparatus includes a host 11 and a plurality of peripherals 12 . the peripherals 12 include , but are not limited to , a keyboard , a display , and a sound box . the host 11 includes a data storage 111 , a processing unit 112 , and a plurality of peripheral interfaces 113 . the peripherals 12 connect to the host 11 via the corresponding peripheral interfaces 113 . the data storage 111 includes a peripheral registry table 1111 , a host access control list ( acl ) 1112 , and a peripheral acl 1113 . the peripheral registry table 1111 is configured for recording hardware ids ( identifiers ) of the peripherals 12 . the peripheral registry table 1111 includes a peripheral column and a hardware id column . each entry under the peripheral column records the name of the peripheral 12 that is recorded in the peripheral registry table 1111 . each entry under the hardware id column records corresponding hardware id of each recorded peripheral 12 . the hardware id is configured for identifying the peripheral 12 . the host acl 1112 is configured for determining access authorization to the host 11 for registered users . the host acl includes an account column and a password column . each entry under the account column records the access accounts of each authorized user . each entry under the password column records a corresponding password of each access account . the peripheral acl 1113 is configured for recording access passwords of the peripherals 12 . the peripheral acl includes an account column , a hardware id column , and a password column . each entry under the account column records the access account to the host 11 of each user and is the same as that in host acl 1112 . each entry under the hardware id column records the hardware id of each peripheral 12 of the apparatus . each entry under the password column records a corresponding password of each peripheral 12 . the users set the password of each peripheral 12 according to the access account . the processing unit 112 includes a peripheral connection detecting module 1121 , an authorized peripheral determining module 1122 , a peripheral registering module 1123 , an access authorization determining module 1124 , and an access authorization management module 1125 . reference can be made to fig2 for functions implemented by these modules of the processing unit 112 . fig2 is a flowchart of a method for managing access authorization of the peripherals 12 . in step s 201 , the peripheral connection detecting module 1121 detects whether there is an unidentified peripheral x connected to a peripheral interface 113 . if there is a peripheral x connected to a peripheral interface 113 , in step s 202 , the authorized peripheral determining module 1122 reads the hardware id of the peripheral x . in step s 203 , the authorized peripheral determining module 1122 searches for a match to the hardware id of the peripheral x in the peripheral registry table 1111 to determine whether the hardware id exists in the peripheral registry table 1111 . if the hardware id of the peripheral does not exist in the peripheral registry table 1111 , in step s 204 , the peripheral registering module 1123 generates a dialog box to prompt the user to input their access account name and corresponding password . in step s 205 , the peripheral registering module 1123 determines whether the input access account exists in the host acl 1112 . if the input access account exists in the host acl 1112 , the peripheral registering module 1123 further determines whether the input password matches the password corresponding to that access account in the host acl 1112 . if the input access account does not exist in the host acl 1112 or the input password of the user does not match the corresponding password of the access account in the host acl 1112 , in step s 206 , the peripheral registering module 1123 informs the user that the account does not exist or the password is incorrect and the access authorization management module 1125 prohibits access to or of the peripheral x . the way of prohibiting access to or of peripherals may differ according to the type of peripheral . for example , if the peripheral x is a display , the access authorization management module 1125 controls the display to display in a black screen form and a dialog box prompting the user to input a password . if the peripheral x is a keyboard , the access authorization management module 1125 only accepts a correct password input through the keyboard and nothing else . if the peripheral x is a mouse or sound box , the access authorization management module 1125 prohibits the corresponding peripheral interface 113 to transmit data . however , it should be noted that the way of prohibiting access of or to a peripheral x is not limited to the description described above . if the input access account exists in the host acl 1112 and the input password of the user matches the corresponding password of the access account in the host acl 1112 , in step s 207 , the peripheral registering module 1123 prompts the user to register the hardware id of the peripheral x . if the user does not choose to register the hardware id of the peripheral x , the procedure goes to step s 206 . if the user chooses to register the hardware id of the peripheral x , in step s 208 , the peripheral registering module 1123 registers the hardware id of the peripheral x in the peripheral register table 1111 and sets an access password for the peripheral x , which becomes an identified peripheral 12 , corresponding to the access account in the peripheral acl 1113 . in step s 209 , the access authorization management module 1125 activates access to or of the peripheral 12 . if the authorized peripheral determining module 1122 determines that the hardware id of the peripheral exists in the peripheral registry table 1111 by step s 203 , in step s 210 , the access authorization determining module 1124 generates a dialog box to prompt the user input the access account and access password of the now identified peripheral 12 . in step s 211 , the access authorization determining module 1124 determines whether the input access account and password of the user matches the access account and password corresponding to the hardware id in the peripheral acl 1113 . if the input access account and password of the user matches the access account and password corresponding to the hardware id in the peripheral acl 1113 , the procedure goes to step s 209 . if the input access account and password of the user does not match the access account and password corresponding to the hardware id in the peripheral acl 1113 , in step s 212 , the access authorization determining module 1124 informs the user that the input password is wrong , and the access authorization management module 1125 prohibits access to or of the peripheral 12 . although the present invention has been specifically described on the basis of preferred embodiments , the invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto . various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention .	6
people do not have to know how to multiply in order to write the multiplication tables if they use my invention . traditionally , one must know the multiplication tables to write them , or after writing the result of a particular table times 1 ( 7 × 1 for example ), add the number of that table to the previous answer . that is 7 + 7 = 14 which is 7 × 2 , 14 + 7 = 21 which is 7 × 3 , etc . with my invention , one can write the tables using columns and the 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 pattern or the 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 pattern formed by the answers . people can write multiplication tables without knowing how to multiply . the answers for the multipliers 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , and 8 form patterns which have not been taken advantage of , but can be quickly written almost as easily as they have been for the multiplication tables for 1 , 2 , and 10 by using my invention for writing the tables . fig1 first column of 8 × tables . the first column to appear ( do not count the primary multiplier “ 8 ×”) starts at the bottom with “ 1 ” and goes up increasing by one until it reaches “ 10 .” there will eventually be three columns of numbers . the first column of numbers may be the color of black , and / or a different font from the next two columns of numbers . fig2 last column of 8 × tables . the second column to appear starts at the top with “ 0 ” and travels down increasing by two until it reaches “ 8 ” ( after which numbers 0 to 8 repeat again ). the second column of numbers may be a different color and / or different font from the first column which appears . though it is the second column written , it is placed in a manner that will allow another column of numbers to be written in front of it . fig3 middle column of 8 × tables . the third column which appears starts at the bottom with “ 0 ” and goes up increasing by one ( except where there are two “ 4 &# 39 ; s ”) until it reaches “ 8 ,” and is written in between the other two columns of numbers . the third , and final column of numbers may be a different font and / or color than the previous columns . fig4 first column of 6 × tables . the first column to appear ( do not count the primary multiplier “ 6 ×”) starts at the top with “ 2 ” and goes down increasing by two until it reaches “ 8 .” there will eventually be three columns of numbers . the first column of numbers may be the color of black , and / or a different font from the next two columns of numbers . fig5 last column of 6 × tables . the second column to appear starts at the top with “ 2 ” and as one looks down , sees the numbers increasing by two until the column reaches “ 8 .” the second column of numbers may be a different color and / or a different font from the first column which appears . though it is the second column written , it is placed in a manner that will allow another column of numbers to be written in front of it . fig6 middle column of 6 × tables . the third column to appear ( seen below in bold ) starts at the top with “ 1 ” and goes down increasing by one until it reaches “ 4 .” the third , and final column of numbers may be a different color and / or a different font from the previous two columns , and it is written in between the first two columns of numbers . fig7 first column of 4 × tables . the first column to appear ( do not count the primary multiplier “ 4 ×”) starts at the bottom with “ 2 ” and goes up increasing by two until it reaches “ 8 .” there will eventually be three columns of numbers . the first column of numbers may be the color of black , and / or a different font from the next two columns of numbers . fig8 last column of 4 × tables . the second column to appear starts at the top with “ 2 ” and as one looks down , sees the numbers increasing by two until the column reaches “ 8 .” the second column of numbers may be a different color and / or a different font from the first column which appears . though it is the second column written , it is placed in a manner that will allow another column of numbers to be written in front of it . fig9 middle column of 4 × tables . the third column to appear starts at the bottom with “ 0 ” and goes up increasing by 1 . the third , and final column of numbers may be a different color and / or a different font from the previous two columns , and it is written in between the first two columns of numbers . fig1 the first set of 3 by 3 matrices are the 3 × tables multipliers . fig1 these are the second digits of the first column of answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig1 for 3 × tables , these are the second digits of the second column of final answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig1 for 3 × tables , these are the second digits of the third column of answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig1 for 3 × tables , these are the first digits of the middle row of the final answers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig1 for 3 × tables , these are the first digits of the top row of the final answers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig1 these are the 3 × tables completed without multiplying . fig1 the first set of 3 by 3 matrices are the 7 × tables multipliers . fig1 for 7 × tables , these are the second digits of the first row of final answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig1 for 7 × tables , these are the second digits of the second row of answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig2 for 7 × tables , these are the second digits of the third row of answers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig2 for 7 × tables , these are the first digits of the first column of final answers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig2 for 7 × tables , these are the first digits of the second column of final answers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig2 for 7 × tables , these are the first digits of the third column of final answers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig2 these are the 7 × tables completed without multiplying . fig2 the next column is even 5 × tables multipliers . fig2 these are the second digits of the answers for odd 5 × multipliers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig2 these are the second digits of the answers for even 5 × multipliers , and may be written in a different color and / or a different font from the first columns which appear . fig2 these are the first digits of the final answers for odd 5 × multipliers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig3 these are the first digits of the final answers for even 5 × multipliers , and may be a different color and / or a different font from its multiplier and second - digit of answer . fig3 these are the 5 × tables completed without multiplying . fig3 these are the 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , and 8 times multiplication tables written with the noble &# 39 ; s columns invention using different fonts to highlight the counting - by - one pattern , or the counting - by - two pattern created by the invention .	6
as seen in fig1 - 3 , the present invention is intended to begin with a continuous piece of standard blue or black denim fabric 10 , then stonewash the fabric 10 to obtain first areas 12 of white color and second areas 14 of lighter blue or black color , and treat the fabric 10 to produce a first set of light colored areas 12 &# 39 ; of color a and a second set of darker colored areas 14 &# 39 ; of color b in which the first and second sets of areas are derived from the same color x and are different shades thereof . thus , the first set of areas 12 &# 39 ; of color a are darker in color than white but lighter in color than the combination of the desired color x and blue or black , and the second set of areas 14 &# 39 ; of color b is a combination of color x and blue or black , where color x is not white . moreover , the color contrast between the first set of areas of color a and the second set of areas of color b is greater than the color contrast would be had the denim fabric , either white , or blue or black , been stonewashed and then dyed with color x , or dyed with color x and then stonewashed . this desired denim fabric is produced by contacting the blue or black denim fabric with an aqueous composition of cellulase enzyme , a detergent , a salt , a buffer , and dyestuff , the dyestuff providing the desired color x , and by either stonewashing the fabric before or during contact with the aqueous composition . the term &# 34 ; stonewash &# 34 ; used herein means that the fabric is contacted by stones , any other suitable abrasive materials , cellulase enzyme , or a combination of stones , suitable abrasive materials , and cellulase enzyme . advantageously , the composition of the present invention comprises , by weight per kilogram , about 5 % to about 50 % and preferably about 30 % of cellulase enzyme , about 0 % to about 30 % and preferably about 10 % of the detergent , about 0 % to about 60 % and preferably about 9 % of the salt , about 10 % to about 50 % and preferably about 35 % of the buffer , about 0 . 5 % to about 25 % and preferably about 15 % of the dyestuff , and about 0 % to about 1 % and preferably about 1 % of water . the dyestuff can vary , based on the desired color , and can be formed by the combination of various dyestuff colors . the desired color x can be any color other than white , such as yellow , blue , red , purple , green , violet , grey , or any mixture of these colors , such as color x &# 39 ; plus color x &# 34 ;. regarding the treatment activities of the aqueous composition , the cellulase enzyme lightens the fabric and removes parts of the dye from the blue or black denim . advantageously , cellulase enzyme made and sold by novo nordisk of copenhagen , denmark , can be used , as can the cellulase enzymes disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 832 , 864 and 4 , 912 , 056 to olson and u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 006 , 126 and 5 , 122 , 159 to olson et al . the cellulase enzymes are preferably neutral or acidic . the detergent is preferably nonionic and is used to keep the blue or black dye that is removed from the denim fabric in suspension and out of the fabric . instead of detergents , surfactants can be used . it also adds contrast between the first and second areas of colors a and b , as well as makes the new dyestuff more fluorescent . typical detergents are : nonylphenol ethoxylates or alcohol ethoxylate , generally called nonionic detergents . the salt or electrolyte is anionic or cationic and is used to exhaust the new color of dyestuff in the product onto the blue or black dye in the denim . advantageously , it can be sodium chloride or sodium sulphate . the buffer is used to keep the constituents of the bath from interacting and to maintain the desired ph of the aqueous bath , and advantageously can be sodium citrate and citric , or monosodium phosphates . advantageous ph is about 6 . 5 to about 8 . the dyestuff is used to impart the new color x to the denim fabric , and advantageously can be any conventional dyestuff used to color denim fabric , which is compatible with cellulase enzyme and exhausts its color at relatively low temperatures , e . g ., below boiling . the dyestuff can be direct dyes , pigment or reactive dyes manufactured by ceiba - geigy , sandoz , basf or ici for example . direct dyes usually require a ph of about 6 - 8 when using citrate and citric or phosphate to buffer the solution ; reactive dyes usually require a ph of about 8 - 9 when using sodium carbonate as a buffer ; and pigment dyes usually require a ph of about 6 - 7 when using citrate and citric or phosphate as a buffer . in general , the method of the present invention for treating the blue or black denim fabric comprises stonewashing the denim fabric in a washing machine bath and treating the fabric with the aqueous composition including the cellulase enzyme , detergent , salt , buffer , and dyestuff of color x . generally , first the fabric , in plain fabric form or in garment form , is prepared to remove excess size to make the fabric more susceptible to the present invention . advantageously , the fabric can be de - sized with alpha amylase enzyme . the aqueous composition , in accordance with the present invention , preferably comprises a neutral cellulase enzyme , a nonionic detergent , an anionic salt , a buffer , and dyestuffs . this composition can be applied to the fabric mixed together or individually . the fabric can be treated with the composition in either of two ways . first , the fabric can be treated while it is also treated to a stonewash . second , the fabric can be treated to a stonewash procedure , and then to the composition . the precise percentage of the composition used will depend on three things . first , it will depend on the customer requirements regarding how dark or light the fabric should be and the shades of colors . second , it will depend on the type of machinery used for the process , and third , it will depend on the fabric . various percentages that are believed to be advantageous are about 0 . 25 % up to about 8 % based on the weight of the fabrics to be treated . for example , for 100 garments that weigh about 11 / 2 pounds each , about 2 - 8 and preferably 4 pounds of composition will be used . however , this depends on the look that is requested and the strength of the enzymes and dyestuffs used . for example , the dyestuffs can be in the 200 % and 250 % range . when more enzyme is used , there is more abrasion of the fabric , and therefore , more highlights and contrast . as another example , 70 pounds of dry fabric can be used with 70 gallons of water and 2 . 75 pounds of composition in a 275 pound - classified washer extractor . the cycle times used can be between about 12 - 80 minutes , and advantageously between about 25 - 45 minutes . preferably , the machinery used to provide mechanical action is an industrial laundry machine . during the process , it may be necessary to add additional salts to assist with better exhaustion of the dyes . examples of these salts are as follows : sodium chloride , sodium sulphate , and ammonium sulphate . also , optional brighteners can be added to the bath to create a more fluorescent appearance . examples of such optical brighteners are products derived from diamino stilbene disulphonic acid or distyryl benzene . these brighteners can be added in the same bath or in a new bath . advantageously , the temperature of the bath should be between about 120 °- 155 ° f ., and most advantageously 140 ° f . in various stages , pretreat and binders can be applied to improve the washfastness of the fabric . the binders tend to bind the dye to the fabric , and examples are as follows : quaternised polyethylene imines , and polyacrylamides as salts or quaternised . preferably , these binders are acrylic and cationic . following on from the bath , the fabric is cleaned by using detergents such as temple wbu and nonionic or anionic surfactants and blends with soap phosphates or silicates , and plain water rinses to remove any loose color that is on the fabric . this procedure improves the washfastness of the fabric and also increases color contrast . the process can be run with or without the addition of pumice stones or any other abrasive materials . softeners can be added to these procedures , such as dialkyl dimethyl quaternary compounds , imidazolines , and alkyl amido salts and silicone softeners . as an overall example of treating the blue or black denim fabric , the fabric is first placed in a water bath in an industrial washing machine with enzymes and stones to perform the standard stonewash of the fabric . once the cycle is finished , the water is removed , the stones are left in , and the fabric can also be subjected to a rinse cycle . then , the composition in accordance with the present invention is added , plus water , and the fabric is washed and mechanically agitated by the machine for between 12 - 80 minutes . then , the fabric is rinsed with water and the stones are advantageously removed . the fabric can then be cleaned , exposed to a brightener , subjected to a final water rinse , and then dried in a dryer . while advantageous embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . for example , the claims utilize the word &# 34 ; fabric &# 34 ; which is meant to be generic to denim fabric in plain fabric form and in garment form .	8
the present invention will be further described in detail by fig1 . this figure is solely intends to illustrate one preferred embodiment of a system for transferring live video data through narrow band - width lines according to the present invention , and in no manner intends to limit the scope of the invention . a video camera ( 1 ) is transferring a video signal of a picture through a variable low - pass filter ( 2 ) to the input of an analog - to - digital ( hereinafter called “ a - d ”) converter unit ( 3 ). during the operation of the system , frequent changes in the video - picture resolution are needed for adapting the volume of transferred data to the capability of the communication line in use and to the preferences of the system user . the changes in the picture resolution are achieved by changing the sampling - rate of the video signal in the input of the a - d converter unit ( 3 ). in order to prevent interference between the sampling - rate and the punctuation of a regular video - signal , the microprocessor unit ( 4 ) ( hereinafter called also digital signal processor - dsp ) controls the low - pass filter ( 2 ) for smoothing the punctuation in the incoming video signal . thus , digital values appear successively in the output of the a - d converter unit ( 3 ) wherein each digital value represents the color of a single pixel of the picture . in order to define data - blocks associated to respective predetermined picture regions , the said digital values are being loaded to a video memory ( 5 ) in a unique way by means of a programmable address - manager counter of the logical unit ( 7 ). the programmable address - manager counter programmed by a configurator unit ( 6 ), can work either ; ( a ) in the input of the memory for storing the digital video data in blocks according to picture regions ; or ( b ) ( according to another system variation ) in the output of the memory , for reading data loaded to successive memory addresses in blocks according to picture regions . the aim of this programmable address - manager counter is to distribute the video digital values to storage addresses in the video memory ( or , according to said system variation , to read the said values ) not according to their series arrival from the video camera but according to their picture region belonging . according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention each data - block ( and its respective picture region ) holds a data of 64 pixels arranged in an 8 × 8 pattern . thus , the address - manager counter first counts from 1 to 8 for referring and storing to the first 8 addresses of the video - memory the eight visual - information values of the first eight - pixel line of the first 8 × 8 pixel picture - region , then skips counting from 9 to 64 leaving the addresses 9 to 64 free ( for receiving later the rest seven lines of eight pixels each , of the first picture region ) and proceed counting from 65 to 72 for storing the first eight - pixel line of the second picture region in the 65 to 72 addresses , skips and leaves the addresses 73 to 128 free ( for receiving later the other seven lines of eight pixels each , of the second picture region ) and proceeds counting from 129 to 136 for the first line of the third picture region , and so on , until the first video line received from the camera is stored . then , the digital values of the second video line received from the camera are distributed eight by eight , to the addresses 9 to 16 , 73 to 80 , 137 to 144 , and so on , until the whole 8 × 8 picture - regions are stored each in successive 64 storage addresses ( i . e . data - block ) of the video memory . the counter is a programmable counter ( i . e . programmed by means of a field programmable gate array ( fpga ) technology ), adapted by the microprocessor unit to the current picture resolution . for example , in case the resolution is such that each video line received from the camera is sampled 354 times in the input of the a - d converter , 43 8 × 8 picture - regions are crossed during each line scanning , and thus the counter is adapted to return and start distributing the data of a second video line ( etc .) after 42 skips ; in case the resolution is decreased and each camera video line is sampled 224 times , the counter is adapted to return and start distributing the data of a second video line after 28 skips . the first picture of a video on - line transformation ( in the context of the present invention : “ initial picture ”) is saved in the video memory as a reference for the following video pictures , and is usually being refreshed after relatively long time intervals ( i . e . a few minutes ) predetermined by the manufacturer or by the system user . it is also may be refreshed according to a manually operated user command . after the initial picture is stored in the memory ( and simultaneously transferred through the communication line to a display system , as will be further described ), the following pictures are stored in a similar manner in another area of the video memory ( in this memory area every successive picture replaces the previous one ). now , each of the data - blocks of the initial picture is recalled sequentially from the memory and compared with a respective data - block of each of the successive pictures , for receiving 64 differential values , one value for each pixel . the 64 differential values are being summed into one value ( in the context of the present invention called “ significance - weight ”), and this value is compared with a threshold value . those data - blocks having a significance - weight value greater than the threshold value , and those data - blocks neighboring to the first ones ( and , according to one system variation , greater than a secondary threshold value ), are being compressed by the microprocessor unit , stored in a compressed video memory , and transferred to the remote video - display system through the modem unit and the communication line . the remote video - display system receives the initial picture and displays it , then receives the compressed data - blocks of selected picture - regions ( having significance - weight greater than the threshold , or neighboring to such a data - block ) of the successive pictures accompanied by their addresses , de - compresses the received data and refreshes the relevant picture regions display .	7
briefly , the present description is directed toward methods and systems for enhancing security for client devices and data stored or accessible via these client devices when the client devices are used to access a digital communications network such as the internet . to provide this added network security ( or internet security improvement ), a network traffic shut - down mechanism in the form of a software application ( or set of executable code or instructions ) is loaded onto a client device such as a desktop , laptop , notebook , tablet or other computing device , a smartphone , an audiobook - type device , and the like . the network traffic shut - down mechanism acts to provide a single point of control for terminating a network connection or halting internet traffic both from the client device to the internet and also from the internet to the client device . one significant difference between the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker tool / app and other internet security software products is that these products do not shut down the internet to the computer / client device . these other software products merely limit the user &# 39 ; s access to the internet , but this outward - going access control retains internet connectivity that allows internet hackers into the computer / client device and , potentially , into all of the data files on the computer / client device ( or accessible via the computer / client device ). in contrast , the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker taught herein completely shuts down the network connection ( e . g ., network traffic in both directions ), which shuts down a hacker &# 39 ; s ability to access the computer / client device running the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker through a network ( e . g ., internet ) connection whether the connection is wireless or wired ( e . g ., a lan cable or other wired connection ). fig1 illustrates a functional block or schematic view of a computer system 100 with a client device 110 selectively connecting with a digital communications network ( such as the internet , a lan , or the like ) 150 and with the client device 110 including a netwhacker software program / application ( or “ app ”) or shut - off mechanism 122 of the present description . the client device 110 may take the form of any electronic device configured to run or execute software or code to provide the functionality of the network traffic shut - down mechanism 120 and to communicate in a wired or wireless manner over the network 150 . for example , the client device 110 may take the form of a desktop or portable computer that an operator or user may use solely for work , solely for private use , or for both work and outside the office setting ( as is common for many laptop , notebook , and tablet computing devices ) while in other cases the client device 110 may be a smart or cell phone , a device adapted for audiobooks , video streaming , and browsing the internet , or any other computing device . as shown , the client device 110 includes a processor ( s ) 112 that manages operations of input / output devices 114 such as a keyboard , a touchscreen , a mouse , voice recognition software , and the like . further , the i / o devices 114 includes a network connection 116 , which may take the form of hardware ( e . g ., a lan cable connector , a wifi transceiver , and the like ) and / or software ( e . g ., software that may be separate or part of the operating system ( os ) that can be triggered to establish and break / terminate a connection with the network 150 ). to this end , the network connection 116 is shown to be switchable between a first operating state (“ on ”) and a second operating state (“ off ”) at 118 . for example , the network connection 116 in the first switched state 118 ( or “ on ”) at a first time may allow two way data traffic or network communications between the network 150 and the client device 110 as shown at 152 while in the second switched state 118 ( or “ off ”) at second time may allow no network traffic as shown at 156 ( i . e ., no traffic either from the client device 110 to the network 150 or from the network 150 to the client device 110 ). hence , in this second operating or off state 118 as shown at 156 , a third party device 160 that may be operated by a hacker or other user cannot gain unauthorized access to the client device 110 ( and its data ) as may be the case as shown at 166 and 152 during the first operating or on state 118 of the network connection 116 . the processor 112 also executes software ( e . g ., code downloaded to memory 130 of the device 110 ) to provide the network traffic shut - down mechanism 120 . the shut - down mechanism 120 includes a graphical user interface ( gui ) generator 122 for provide user interfaces , as discussed with reference to fig3 - 5 , to allow an operator or user of the client device 110 to view and enter / modify network access schedules that are monitored and enforced by the shut - down mechanism 120 to selectively provide the two - way network traffic 152 at certain times and to terminated the network connection at other times to provide no traffic as shown at 156 between the client device 110 and the network 150 . to this end , the shut - down mechanism 120 may also include a scheduler 126 that acts to process inputs from the user in guis generated ( such as by operation of a monitor / screen of the i / o devices 114 by the gui generator 122 ) to create network access schedules . examples of such schedules or network settings are shown to be stored in memory 130 by the shut - down mechanism 120 . these may be default settings or settings supplied by a user / operator of the client device 110 . as shown , the scheduler 126 may store a set of start and stop settings for network access ( when the connection 116 should be or is on as shown at 152 and , by inference , when the connection 116 should be or is off as shown at 156 ), and these may be set differently for each day of the week ( or for any subset thereof ) or for weekdays and weekends as shown at 134 and 138 ( which is particularly suited for internet security in the business setting of a typical 5 - day work week ). the client device 110 further includes a clock 140 that determines a present time and , optionally , day of the week ( as the schedule may be identical for all days in some cases ). the network traffic shut - down mechanism 120 functions to use the time and day from the clock 140 along with the schedule settings 134 , 138 ( network access schedules ) to determine the control over the network connection 116 . without the shut - down mechanism 120 , the network connection 116 typically would only be manually switched between the connectivity states 118 by the user ( e . g ., place the wifi setting of the device 110 as “ on ” for many smartphone and portable client device users ). briefly , at times falling within access start and stop times 134 , 138 , the shut - down mechanism 120 will function ( e . g ., via the processor 112 ) to allow a connection with two - way network traffic to be established and maintained as shown at 152 between the client device 110 and the network 150 . at times falling outside such start and stop times 134 , 138 , the shut - down mechanism 120 will function to terminate and not allow a new connection as shown at 156 between the client device 110 and the network 150 ( e . g ., not even traffic from the network 150 to the device 110 as was allowed with prior internet access control software products ). fig2 is a flow diagram or algorithm 200 of operations of or method performed by a shut - off mechanism such as the shut - off mechanism 120 of the client device 110 of fig1 . the method 200 starts at 210 with the shut - off mechanism retrieving the network access schedule , which may be stored in local ( or remote ) memory such as in an extensible markup language ( xml ) data file or the like . then , the method 200 continues at 220 with the shut - off mechanism causing the network connection to be turned off or ended ( if needed or not already off ). the main loop 230 of the network traffic control method 200 is then initiated . at step 234 , the method 200 involves computing a next entry , and this step 234 involves the shut - off mechanism determining or deciding which schedule entry should be executed next . at 240 , the method 200 begins the network off ( or network - to - client device connection broken or prevented ) loop . at 242 , the shut - down mechanism acts to determine whether the present time ( for the present day ) is greater ( or later ) than the schedule entry time . in other words , the shut - off mechanism acts to answer the question of whether the current time is later than the entry &# 39 ; s start time . if not , a time until the network is to be turned on according to the schedule retrieved at step 210 is determined and , optionally , displayed in a shut - down mechanism gui ( see screen shot 310 of fig3 ) that may be open or minimized on a screen of the client device . the method 200 then involves repeating the loop 240 , step 242 , and step 244 until the determination at 242 is positive ( i . e ., the present time is later than the network access start time in the present entry of the network access schedule ). upon this determination , the method 200 continues at 248 with the shut - off mechanism acting to turn the network on or initiate or allow data traffic to flow ( in both directions ) between the client device and internet or other network . then , at 250 , the method continues with the network connection on loop . at step 252 , the shut - down mechanism acts to determine whether the present time ( as provided by a device clock ) is greater or later than the present network access schedule entry &# 39 ; s stop time . in other words , the shut - down mechanism compares the present time to determine whether the current time is later than the entry &# 39 ; s stop time . if not , the method 200 continues with determining and , optionally , displaying the time until the network is turned off ( time when the network - to - client device connection or communication link is terminated or broken ). the method 200 then continues with repeating steps 250 , 252 , and 254 until the determination at step 252 is positive ( i . e ., the time is later than the entry &# 39 ; s stop time ). then , the method 200 continues with the shut - down mechanism turning the network off or terminating the network connection ( or ending the link between the client device and the internet or other network ). the method 200 may then continue at 230 and step 234 with obtaining a next schedule entry ( e . g ., determining when the network connection will again be turned or allowed to be turned on ). fig3 illustrates a screen shot of a user interface 310 displayed on a monitor or screen of a client device running a network traffic shut - down mechanism when network traffic is halted ( or the network connection is terminated or “ off ”). in the user interface 310 , the shut - off mechanism is operating in the “ down ” or “ off ” mode as can be seen by text display area 312 of the user interface 310 . in this off mode , the shut - down mechanism functions to cause the client device to operate so that there is no network activity ( no communications in either the outgoing or incoming direction ), and the computer / client device cannot be accessed or attached by an outside force ( e . g ., another computer linked to a communications network such as the internet ). while it may not be clear in the figure , the user interface 310 includes a down button 314 that has been selected by a user ( e . g ., by pressing a touchscreen or moving a cursor with a mouse and clicking the button 314 ), and selection of the down button 314 causes the shut - down mechanism accessed via user interface 310 to terminate a network connection ( or to verify such a connection is broken and remains so ). an up button 316 is also provided in the user interface 310 , which can be selected to cause the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker app to bring the network back up for the client device upon which it is running ( e . g ., to initiate and retain a link with a digital communications network such as the internet ). another display area 318 is used to show a clock that provides a countdown ( e . g ., is an active display area ) until the network comes back “ up ” or the length of time until a network connection is allowed and will be automatically enacted by the shut - down mechanism . the user interface 310 also includes a time button 320 that can be selected to start or stop the countdown ( e . g ., hides the information shown in display area 318 ). the user interface 310 also includes a schedule button 324 that can be selected to cause the user interface generator to display a schedule screen ( e . g ., shown in the interface 510 of fig5 ) to allow the user to view and , optionally , change or set the network connectivity schedule for this client device . fig4 illustrates a screen shot of the user interface 410 of fig3 in a second or different operating state than in fig3 such as when network traffic is occurring in both directions ( to and from the client device ) or the network connection is active or “ on ,” which is indicated by the text display area 412 . the user interface 410 indicates that the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker app is in an “ up ” or “ on ” mode . in this mode , the down button 314 is not active / selected but , instead , the user has selected the up button 316 ( which may not be readily apparent with the figure but should be understood by those skilled in the gui arts ). when the shut - down mechanism or netwhacker app is in the “ on ” mode , it acts to ensure that network activity is allowed and is not hindered ( e . g ., initiates or retains and / or does not halt the network connection of the client device to a particular network such as the internet ). the client device / computer may be accessed from outside sources ( other computers / client devices ) via the network link . the clock display 318 now is used by the shut - down mechanism to show a countdown ( or length of time ) until the network goes “ down ” or “ off ” ( e . g ., answers the question of how long will the client device remain connected to the network ). fig5 illustrates a screen shot of another user interface 510 to or provided by the network traffic shut - down mechanism allowing an operator of the client device to view and set and / or modify a network connection schedule monitored and controlled ( as shown in fig2 , for example ) by the network traffic shut - down mechanism . a display window or area 520 is used to display a schedule generated by the shut - down mechanism using default settings ( e . g ., connectivity provided from 8 am to 5 pm local time on each weekday and the like ) and / or using input from the operator via the user interface 510 . user may create additional schedule entries that make sense to them or work better for their use of the client device to provide desired internet security , and input can be provided by operating various interface buttons such as an add button , 526 , an edit button 527 , a delete button 528 , an ok ( or accept or save ) button 534 , and a cancel button 536 . the user interface 510 may be adapted to provide access to one , two , or more network access schedules implemented by a shut - down mechanism . as shown in fig5 , the shut - down mechanism is configured to use two different schedules that may be accessed in the display window 520 by selecting either the home schedule button 522 or the business schedule button 530 . in the present example , it may be assumed that the home schedule button 522 is selected to provide / display the home schedule at 524 . a business schedule may differ such as creating entries that are on from 6 am to 6 pm ( or other work period for an operator of the client device ) every weekday ( or other days worked by the operator of the client device ). through use of the interface 510 , an operator can access the two ( or more ) connection schedules to modify these schedules and their entries to suit their needs ( or the needs / rules of the company / entity that has provided the client device upon which the netwhacker app runs ). although the invention has been described and illustrated with a certain degree of particularity , it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example , and that numerous changes in the combination and arrangement of parts can be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , as hereinafter claimed . embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products , i . e ., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer - readable medium for execution by , or to control the operation of , data processing apparatus . for example , the modules / software used to provide the network traffic shut - down mechanism and its engines , programs , modules , and the like ( and similar modules / software ) may be provided in such computer - readable medium and executed by processor ( s ) on one or more client or user devices ( e . g ., computing devices operated by users / operators to periodically communicate with or over a communications network such as the internet ). the computer - readable medium can be a machine - readable storage device , a machine - readable storage substrate , a memory device , a composition of matter affecting a machine - readable propagated signal , or a combination of one or more of these types of media . the terms “ client device ” and “ network traffic shut - down mechanism ” encompass all apparatus , devices , and machines for processing data including , e . g ., a programmable processor , a computer , or multiple processors or computers . the system ( such as devices and servers in system 100 of fig1 ) can include , in addition to hardware , code that creates an execution environment for the computer program , e . g ., code that constitutes processor firmware , a protocol stack , a database management system , an operating system , or a combination of one or more of these items . a computer program ( also known as a program , software , software application , script , or code ) can be written in any form of programming language , including compiled or interpreted languages , and it can be deployed in any form , including as a stand - alone program or as a module , component , subroutine , or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment . a computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system . a program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data ( e . g ., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document ), in a single file dedicated to the program in question , or in multiple coordinated files ( e . g ., files that store one or more modules , sub - programs , or portions of code ). a computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network . the processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output . the processes and logic flows can also be performed by , and apparatus can also be implemented as , special purpose logic circuitry . processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include , e . g ., both general and special purpose microprocessors , and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer . generally , a processor receives instructions and data from a read - only memory or a random access memory or both . generally , the elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data . the techniques described herein may be implemented by a computer system configured to provide the functionality described . for example , fig1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a computer system configured to implement the methods described herein such as with reference to the other included figures . in different embodiments , the computer system 100 with its client device may be any of various types of devices including , but not limited to , a personal computer system , desktop computer , laptop computer , notebook computer , netbook computer , mainframe computer system , handheld computer , workstation , network computer , application server , storage device , a consumer electronics device ( e . g ., camera , camcorder , set top box , mobile device , video game console , handheld video game device , etc . ), a peripheral device ( e . g ., switch , modem , router , etc . ), or , in general , any type of computing or electronic device . typically , a computer will also include , or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to , or both , one or more mass storage devices for storing data , e . g ., magnetic , magneto - optical disks , or optical disks . however , a computer need not have such devices . moreover , a computer can be embedded in another device , e . g ., a mobile telephone , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a mobile audio player , a global positioning system ( gps ) receiver , a digital camera , etc . computer - readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non - volatile memory , media and memory devices , including , e . g ., semiconductor memory devices ( e . g ., eprom , eeprom , and flash memory devices ), magnetic disks ( e . g ., internal hard disks or removable disks ), magneto - optical disks , and cd - rom and dvd - rom disks . the processor and the memory can be supplemented by , or incorporated in , special purpose logic circuitry . to provide for interaction with a user ( with an i / o portion of a client device or server device ), embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented on a computer having a display device , e . g ., lcd ( liquid crystal display ) or led ( light emitting diode ) monitor , for the computer to display information to the user ; and a keyboard and a pointing device , e . g ., a mouse or a trackball , for the user to provide input to the computer . other types of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user as well , e . g ., feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback , e . g ., visual feedback , auditory feedback , or tactile feedback ; and input from the user can be received in any form , including acoustic , speech , or tactile input such as may be useful for providing telephony communications with telephony i / o or similar forms . similarly , while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order , this depiction should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order , or that all illustrated operations be performed , to achieve desirable results . in certain circumstances , multitasking and / or parallel processing may be advantageous . moreover , the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments , and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software and / or hardware product or packaged into multiple software and / or hardware products .	7
the following discussion provides many example embodiments of the inventive subject matter . although each embodiment represents a single combination of inventive elements , the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements . thus if one embodiment comprises elements a , b , and c , and a second embodiment comprises elements b and d , then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of a , b , c , or d , even if not explicitly disclosed . one should appreciate that the disclosed techniques provide many advantageous technical effects including improved methods and devices for mounting components to walls . fig1 shows a perspective view of a wall mounting assembly 100 . assembly 100 includes a panel 110 and a plurality of brackets 120 , 130 , and 140 . brackets 120 , 130 , and 140 removably and repositionably engage slots on panel 110 . assembly 100 is useful for storing items on a wall . fig2 shows a perspective view of a bracket 200 . bracket 200 has a first frame member 210 and a second frame member 220 that are rotatably coupled via hinge 230 . first frame member 210 has an l - shaped hook 240 for engaging a recess or slot . bracket 200 also has an elongated member 260 extending therefrom , for hanging an item . fig3 shows a side view of the bracket 200 . this view reveals an l - shaped hook 250 on second frame member 220 . fig3 shows bracket 200 in a first position , also referred to as an engaging position . in the engaging position , hooks 240 and 250 are downward and upward facing , respectively , and can be used to grab two recesses ( e . g ., slots ) on a wall or panel . fig4 shows a side view of bracket 200 . fig4 is similar to fig3 except that second frame member 220 has been rotated with respect to first frame member 210 , about hinge 230 . fig4 shows bracket 200 in a second position , also referred to as a disengaging position . in the disengaging position , hook 250 is angled outward so that a recess can be disengaged . second frame member 220 has an angled handle portion 221 that allows a user to grip and rotate second frame member 220 . fig5 shows a perspective view of the back side of bracket 200 in the disengaging position . first frame member 210 has an opening 211 through which hook 250 is disposed . fig6 shows a perspective view of a plurality of disengaged panels 600 for a wall mounting assembly . panel 610 and panel 620 engage one another to form a wall mountable panel for attaching brackets . trim panels 630 , 640 , 650 , and 660 provide a border around panels 610 and 620 . fig7 a shows a side view of a plurality of panels 700 for a wall mounting assembly . panels 700 include a first panel 710 engaged with a second panel 720 . panel 710 and panel 720 are substantially identical . trim panels 740 and 760 engage panels 720 and 710 at their lower and upper edges , respectively . first panel 710 has first major surface ( i . e ., a front surface ) and a second major surface ( i . e ., a back surface ). on the first major surface is a first t - shaped slot 711 and a second t - shaped slot 712 running parallel to one another along the length of panel 710 . slots 711 and 712 are separated by distance 713 . panel 710 has a height 714 . the height of panel 710 is extended by a distance 715 when trim panel 760 is engaged with panel 710 . trim panel 760 has a height of 716 . the first and second major surfaces of panel 710 are joined by a first edge ( i . e ., a top edge ) and a second edge ( i . e ., a bottom edge ), each having an acute angle ( e . g ., acute angle 719 ). the first major surface of first panel 710 has a first angled slot 717 near the second edge of panel 710 . second major surface of panel 710 has a second angled slot 718 near the first edge of panel 710 . the top edge of panel 710 is sized and dimensioned to engage the lower angled slot on an adjacent panel , whereas the bottom edge is sized and dimensioned to engage the upper angled slot on an adjacent panel . fig7 b shows a close - up side view of the engagement of the lower edge of first panel 710 with the upper edge of second panel 720 . when the two edges are engaged , there is a hollow channel 721 disposed therebetween due to the angle of angled edge 719 and the shape of first angled slot 717 . fig7 c shows a close - up side view of first panel 710 disengaged with trim panel 760 . engagement is achieved by overlaping the edge of panel 710 with the edge of panel 760 , and pushing panel 710 forward and downward . panel 710 can remain substantially parallel with panel 760 during the engagement . the angled configurations of the slots and edges on the panels eliminates the need to tilt the panels to achieve an engagement . fig8 is a perspective view of a wall mounting assembly 800 being used to store items , such as container 810 . assembly 800 includes a plurality of panels and brackets ( e . g ., bracket 820 and panels 830 ). fig9 shows a perspective view of a bracket 900 and two bracket covers 910 and 920 . covers 910 and 920 can be sized , dimensioned , colored , and otherwise configured to resemble the back of a smart phone or some other consumer product . fig1 shows an exploded view of bracket 900 . covers 910 and 920 removably couple with bracket 900 by slidably engaging the edges of bracket 900 . bracket 900 has two holes 930 for removably receiving elongated member 940 . holes 930 can have threads , snap - fitting protrusions , or some other means for removably securing elongated member 940 in place . in this manner , bracket 900 can be exchangeably used with different configurations of elongated members , hangers , shelving , and the like . fig1 shows a perspective view of a bracket 1100 that has a rotatable hook 1110 . hook 1110 can rotate outward as shown by arrow 1120 . as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow , the meaning of “ a ,” “ an ,” and “ the ” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . also , as used in the description herein , the meaning of “ in ” includes “ in ” and “ on ” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . the recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range . unless otherwise indicated herein , each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . unless the context dictates the contrary , all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints , and open - ended ranges should be interpreted to include commercially practical values . similarly , all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g . “ such as ”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element essential to the practice of the invention . groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations . each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein . one or more members of a group can be included in , or deleted from , a group for reasons of convenience and / or patentability . when any such inclusion or deletion occurs , the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all markush groups used in the appended claims . as used herein , and unless the context dictates otherwise , the term “ coupled to ” is intended to include both direct coupling ( in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other ) and indirect coupling ( in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements ). therefore , the terms “ coupled to ” and “ coupled with ” are used synonymously . it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the inventive subject matter , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the scope of the appended claims . moreover , in interpreting both the specification and the claims , all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context . in particular , the terms “ comprises ” and “ comprising ” should be interpreted as referring to elements , components , or steps in a non - exclusive manner , indicating that the referenced elements , components , or steps may be present , or utilized , or combined with other elements , components , or steps that are not expressly referenced . where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of a , b , c . . . and n , the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group , not a plus n , or b plus n , etc .	0
referring now to fig1 a , there is shown a block diagram of an analog image processing system ( aips ) 113 including an automatic gain control ( agc ) controller circuit 119 for controlling a correlated double / sample variable gain amplifier ( cds / vga ) circuit 114 and digital gain circuit 117 . digital gain circuit 117 is connected at its input to analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 116 and at its output to formatter 118 . aips 113 additionally includes an analog clock generator circuit 120 , a timing generator circuit 121 , a phase lock loop ( pll ) circuit 122 , and an i 2 c bus interface circuit 123 . agc controller circuit 119 controls digital gain circuit 117 and cdsvga circuit 114 and the timing for ofd pulses ( shutter gain ). pll circuit 122 contributes to control of analog clock generator circuit 120 . timing generator circuit 121 provides timing signals to formatter circuit 118 . referring now to fig1 b , there is shown a circuit diagram of a cds / vga circuit ( cc ) 114 according to the present invention . in particular , cc 114 includes first and second series connected amplifiers respectively 129 and 130 , first through fourth capacitors respectively 131 - 134 and c 1 - c 4 , and first and second switches respectively 135 and 136 which open and close according to clock signals respectively φ 1 and φ 2 in order to obtain a correlated sample of an input waveform vin which is shown in more detail in fig1 c . more particularly , according to one embodiment of the present invention , capacitor c 1 is connected to the input of amplifier 129 which in turn is connected at its output to capacitor 133 which in turn is connected to the input of amplifier 130 . amplifier 129 is connected in parallel with capacitor 132 and switch 135 . similarly , amplifier 130 is connected in parallel with capacitor 134 and switch 136 . according to another embodiment of the present invention , capacitors 132 and 133 are variably settable with an analog ( vga ) gain signal from agc controller 119 . according to one embodiment of the present invention , a binary thermometer decoder ( not shown ) receives the analog ( vga ) gain signal from agc controller and produces signals to increase the capacitance of capacitor 132 as the capacitance of capacitor 133 is decreased , and to decrease the capacitance of capacitor 132 as the capacitance of capacitor 133 is increased . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the capacitances of capacitors 132 and 133 are decremented and incremented respectively , or incremented and decremented respectively , by equal amounts . referring now to fig1 c , there is shown a graph of a typical waveform of vin as a function of time which can be received from a ccd camera . in particular , the typical form of vin includes first through third levels respectively l 1 - l 3 . correlated double sampling permits sampling of a difference between levels l 2 and l 3 to eliminate the noise which is shared at the two levels . referring now to fig2 there is shown a block diagram of a digital gain circuit 117 according to one embodiment of the present invention . digital gain circuit 117 according to one embodiment includes a read - only - memory ( rom ) 171 , a multiplier 172 , and a clipper circuit 173 . rom 171 stores selected gain values for use as a multiplicand by multiplier 172 . rom 171 is connected to multiplier 172 which in turn is connected to clipper circuit 173 . the digital gain is used in conjunction with the analog gain provided through cds / vga 114 to supply a substantial controllable range of automatic gain adjustment . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the digital gain portion of the agc is engaged only after the analog gain has been employed and an additional level of gain is desired . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the digital gain is engaged after the entire analog gain has been deployed . digital gain provides an additional 0 to 18 db of gain at 0 . 074 db gain steps . referring now to fig3 there is shown a block diagram of a camera system 180 connected to an analog image processing system ( aips ) 113 which is configured according to the present invention . the imager signal is subject to external gain applied through the shutter speed setting of the camera system 180 , through an analog internal chip gain provided by cds / vga 114 , and through digital gain circuit 117 . a selected image is input to camera system 180 , where a 60 db gain adjustment potential can be exercised by changing the shutter speed of camera system 180 . this 60 db range is applied when there is too much light . the gain brings the video level to a good operating range . the input signal from ccd system 180 goes to a correlated double sample / variable gain amplifier ( cds / vga ) circuit 114 where low frequency noise is removed and a selected analog gain level is applied . the signal is then subject to a chip gain in a range up to approximately 38 db in the cds / vga circuit 114 and digital gain circuit 117 . this gain is used to boost dark images to a proper signal level . after a received signal is digitized by adc 176 , it is applied through an agc control circuit 119 to set a selected level of gain according to the present invention , in analog and / or digital gain portions . the total digital gain range applicable by digital gain circuit 117 is about 18 db according to one embodiment . the total gain range of the chip and shutter is approximately 90 db , which is enough to cover a substantial range of lighting conditions indoors and outdoors , as well as physical and hardware variations . formatter circuit 118 according to the present invention takes the adc output , clips received data to a range from binary “ 0000 0001 00 ” to binary “ 111 1110 11 ” and adds special end - of - video ( eav ) and start - of - video ( sav ) codes to each video line according to the present invention . the output of formatter circuit 118 is available at the pins dout & lt ; 9 : 0 & gt ;, causing transitions to be made at the falling edges of the pixel rate clock clko . timing block circuit 181 causes ccd system 180 to shift data out during successive horizontal line periods . the data provided is shifted from the horizontal shift register of ccd system 180 at the imager output pin , one pixel at a time . timing circuit 181 creates the required driving signals to control the timing operations of ccd system 180 . the timing signals particularly enable shifting data out of ccd system 180 are h 1 , h 2 [= not ( h 1 )], and fr . referring now to fig4 there is shown a diagram of gain control versus light intensity for shutter gain and chip gain according to the present invention . in particular , a graph of an automatic gain control method according to the present invention shows a predetermined level of gain is applied by agc control circuit 119 acting selectively through timing block circuit 181 upon ccd system 180 , cdsvga circuit 114 , and digital gain circuit 117 , to establish selected gain levels at a given light intensity . gain is applied in the following order for light intensity varying from low to high : first with shutter gain to the extent possible , in incremental steps , for example , and then with chip gain applied through cds / vga circuit 114 and digital gain 117 . according to the present invention , gain is applied by first and second gain steps by using up the gain in the block closest to the input first ( shutter gain ) and then proceeding to a next gain block ( the chip gain ) once the complete shutter gain has already been applied . this improves the signal to noise ratio ( snr ) according to the present invention . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the gain is split between both blocks seamlessly to ensure that the end of one gain region coincides with the beginning of the next gain region , and according to one embodiment each gain block has approximately equal gain steps . referring now to fig5 a , there is shown a block diagram of an automatic gain control ( agc ) circuit 119 according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , agc circuit 119 includes a multiplexer ( mux ) 191 configured to receive input mosaic pixel values and luminance pixel values subject to control line settings of a signal line mosaic , permitting selection of whether mosaic pixel values or luminance pixel values are to be provided to histogram circuit 192 . agc circuit 119 further includes a histogram circuit 192 subject to control signals target and agc_win , an error circuit 193 connected to histogram circuit 192 , a summation element 194 connected to error circuit 193 , a clip circuit 195 connected to summation element 194 , a unit delay element 196 connected to the clip circuit 195 , and a splitter circuit 197 connected to the unit delay element 196 effective for producing a shutter gain signal and a chip gain signal to control relative gain settings according to the present invention . the output of unit delay element 196 provides a selected gain subject to a gain input provided from clip circuit 195 subject to explicitly written override values agc_gain_wr . agc circuit 119 receives pixel values of either mosaic or luminance style and generates a histogram of the received data for successive full frames according to the present invention . based on the contents of the histogram , image brightness levels to be selected are determined , causing an agc value to be incremented , decremented , or left unchanged for each frame . histogram circuit 192 stores frame data into histogram bins as discussed further below . error circuit 193 takes the histogram information and generates an error code that either increments or decrements or does not change the output agc gain value . summing element 194 accumulates the agc value in view of an error signal from error circuit 193 , and clip circuit 195 clips the result to insure that it is within a predetermined gain range . splitter circuit 197 takes received gain values and distributes them to an appropriate gain block including shutter and chip gain circuits . referring now to fig5 b , there is shown a block diagram of first and second splitters according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , first splitter 197 divides input received gain values and produces shutter gain values and chip gain values . the chip gain value is provided in code form to second splitter 198 to produce a digital gain code value and an analog ( vga ) gain code value for each received chip gain value produced by first splitter . referring now to fig5 c , there is shown a diagram of agc gain according to one embodiment of the present invention , showing a first gain division between chip and shutter gain . the agc circuit 119 sends a gain code to the first splitter 197 , which is between the maximum and minimum chip values . first splitter 197 operates by determining whether the agc gain is above or below a gain division 1 . if the agc gain is below gain division 1 , than the shutter gain is set to a gain value between maximum shutter gain and minimum shutter gain that corresponds to the agc gain code . the chip gain for the case in which the agc gain is below division 1 is set to minimum chip gain . when the agc gain is above gain division 1 , the chip gain is set to a gain value between minimum chip gain and maximum chip gain that corresponds to the agc gain . the shutter gain , for the case in which agc gain is above the gain division 1 , is set to maximum shutter gain . incremental changes in agc gain below gain division 1 cause shutter gain to change at a certain rate of shutter gain to agc gain code , while the chip gain is held constant . incremental changes in the gain of the agc above gain division 1 cause the chip gain to change at a predetermined rate of chip gain to agc gain code , while the shutter gain is held constant . in one case according to the present invention , maximum shutter gain , minimum chip gain , and maximum chip gain are all programmable or user settable values . changing these values will alter the operational characteristic between the transition point at which the shutter gain changes its slope from some gain rate to zero , and where the chip gain changes from a slope of zero to some positive gain rate always occurs at gain division 1 . the rate of change in the shutter gain and the rate of change in the chip gain are approximately equal according to one embodiment of the present invention . this causes the crossing over of gain division 1 to be seamless , continuous , and unnoticed by the user . referring now to fig5 d there is shown a diagram of chip gain according to one embodiment of the present invention , showing a second gain division , i . e ., the division between analog ( vga ) gain and digital gain . the first splitter 197 sends a second gain code ( i . e ., a chip gain code ) to the second splitter 198 which is between maximum and minimum chip gain values . second splitter 198 operates by determining whether the chip gain is above or below a second gain division 2 . if the gain is below gain division 2 , then the vga gain is set to a value between minimum vga gain and maximum vga gain that corresponds to the chip gain code . the digital gain , for the case in which the gain is below gain division 2 , is set to minimum digital gain . when the vga gain is above gain division 2 , the digital gain is set to a gain value between minimum digital gain and maximum digital gain that corresponds to the chip gain . the vga gain , for the case in which the chip gain is above gain division 2 , is set to maximum vga gain . incremental changes in chip gain below gain division 2 cause the vga gain to change at a certain rate of vga gain to chip gain code , while the digital gain is held constant . incremental changes in the chip gain above gain division 2 cause the digital gain to change at a predetermined rate of digital gain to chip gain code , while the agc gain is held constant . in one case according to one embodiment of the present invention , maximum vga gain , minimum vga gain , maximum digital gain , and minimum digital gain are each programmable or user settable values . changing these values will alter the operational characteristic between the transition point where the vga gain changes its slope from some gain rate to zero , and where the digital gain changes from a slope of zero to some positive gain rate always at gain division 2 . the rate of change in the vga gain and rate of change in the digital gain are approximately equal according to one embodiment of the present invention . this causes the crossing over of gain division 2 to be seamless , continuous , and unnoticed by the user . note that maximum vga gain + maximum digital gain = maximum chip gain , and minimum vga gain + minimum digital gain = minimum chip gain . referring now to fig6 there is shown a diagram of a histogram according to one embodiment of the present invention . data from each frame captured by the camera system is categorized into particular bins of the histogram according to brightness level . six explicit bins and one implicit bin are included . the applicable fixed value needed to increment each bin is shown below the chart . the target level a bin needs to exceed for a particular output of the histogram block is programmable through a target level register . the output of histogram circuit 192 is a 7 bit word , where only one bit is high , indicating the highest level bin that exceeds a target level . according to one example , a count of 0000100 indicates bin 1 is the highest level bin above the threshold . table 5 below is a diagram showing error signal generation by error circuit 193 according to the present invention . a 7 bit code is produced from histogram circuit 192 , corresponding to one of the seven bins provided according to one embodiment of the present invention . from this , an appropriate error code is chosen and multiplied by a speed factor . the value of slew and speed are programmable . the slew value establishes the recovery speed from a very bright picture that saturated the output of the adc . one of three agc windows can be selected through associated register according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , a full agc window , a ¼ full agc window , and a { fraction ( 1 / 16 )} full agc window can be selected . changing the area upon which agc adjustments are applied permits better scene selection according to the present invention . maximum gain , minimum chip gain , and maximum shutter gain are programmable according to the present invention . the user selects maximum gain to cause a scene to go dark at a certain low light level rather than gaining up to a noisy image . a minimum chip gain level prevents the output of the camera system from becoming saturated by the time the shutter gain is supposed to be active . if the output of the imager saturates , the shutter gain will never be engaged and particular bright scenes will be lost . referring now to fig7 there is shown an image representation of multiple gain control windows according to the present invention . more particularly , fig7 is a picture of multiple automatic gain control windows which are settable according to the present invention . one of three agc windows can be selected through an associated register according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , a full agc window , a ¼ full agc window , and a { fraction ( 1 / 16 )} full agc window can be selected . changing the area upon which agc adjustments are applied permits better scene selection according to the present invention . referring now to fig8 a and 8b , there are shown respective diagrams of ccd output level as a function of gain under saturation conditions , in accordance with the present invention . in particular , fig8 a is a diagram of operable gain operation according to the present invention , where minimum gain is set to prevent ccd camera system saturation . fig8 b is a diagram of an erroneous gain setting for minimum chip gain which causes the ccd camera system to saturate . on the other hand , fig8 a is a diagram of ccd output voltage level versus light intensity in operation according to the present invention , in which a level of minimum gain is set so that the ccd does not saturate . referring now to fig9 a - 9d , there are shown a plurality of diagrams of gain in db as a function of gain codes for minimum chip gain and maximum shutter gain conditions according to the present invention . in particular , fig9 a - 9d show how clipper circuit 95 limits the range of accumulator code according to the present invention , and how splitter circuit 97 distributes gain to applicable gain blocks according to the present invention . specifically , fig9 a shows the result of minimum gain and maximum shutter gain set to 0 . without gain restrictions , there are 765 or 784 codes of shutter gain , depending upon whether the camera follows a ntsc or a pal standard . the dark vertical lines indicate selected clipping values used by clipper circuit 95 . there are two minimum clip values , depending upon whether an ntsc or a pal camera is used . a maximum clip value is set according to one embodiment of the present invention by setting a maximum gain value with register 2 ch , and this is 484 for the maximum gain range setting . in fig9 b , there is shown a restriction on the minimum gain ( min_gain ), but there is no restriction on the maximum shutter gain . the maximum chip value is still set by max gain as before . a seamless division of gain occurs with the transition between shutter gain and analog gain occurring at min_gain . according to fig9 c , there is no minimum gain restriction , and the maximum shutter gain is set to max_shutt . as a result , the minimum clip value has been increased by max_shutt , and the shutter gain range has been decreased . in fig9 d , restrictions have been placed on minimum gain ( min_gain ) and maximum shutter gain ( max_shutt ). the plot shows characteristics of both case 2 and case 3 . the minimum clip value has now moved to the right by min_gain + max_shutt , and the transition between shutter gain and analog gain occurs at min_gain . the value max gain still sets the maximum clip value . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a diagram of gain with a flickerless setting having hysteresis in accordance with operation according to the present invention . in particular , fig1 is a diagram of gain as a function of gain code with a flickerless setting established which includes a hysteresis loop . flickerless modes are included according to the present invention to enable indoor operation with fluorescent lights . if the fluorescent lighting flickers at twice the frequency of the power supply frequency , it is averaged upon receipt by the camera system over an integer number of cycles to avoid flicker in the resulting video to be displayed . there are two possible flickerless settings for particular exposure times . one setting averages one cycle of the fluorescent lights and another averages two cycles of the fluorescent light . a hysteresis loop is used according to the present invention to prevent variations in gain from causing the shutter speed to jump back and forth between the one and two cycle settings . such flickering would produce undesirable effects , since analog gain is difficult to set to match a 2 × gain step exactly . flickerless modes are possible for combinations of camera type ( pal or ntsc ) and operation environments ( pal or ntsc ). fig1 shows a graphical representation of flickerless agc operation according to the present invention . the agc control loop is selectively disabled according to the present invention and written to manually to circuit 96 along write input agc_gain_wr . writing to associated registers causes accumulator updating with a written value at the end of each frame . if the agc loop is disabled by setting the associated register , the accumulator value changes will not occur until the loop is enabled or the accumulator is manually written to through associated registers . once a new gain value is set , it is passed to splitter circuit 97 where appropriate gain values are established for shutter and chip gain according to the settings for minimum gain , maximum shutter gain , flickerless mode , pal , and pal environment . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a block diagram of an agc control loop line decoder ( aclld ) 890 according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , aclld 890 includes a shutter gain adjustment circuit ( sgac ) 901 , a loop controller 902 , read - only - memory ( rom ) 903 , and a 20 - bit shift register ( sr ) 904 . sgac 901 receives input values of shutter gain , and makes a pal or ntsc adjustment to produce an adjusted shutter gain ( asg ) which is also referred to as a shutter gain adjusted value . in particular , sgac 901 adds the amount of 55 to each input value received according to the pal standard , or adds 74 to each input shutter gain value received according to the ntsc standard . input shutter gain values range from zero ( 0 ) to 765 according to the ntsc standard . input shutter gain values range from zero ( 0 ) to 784 according to the pal standard . the value of zero ( 0 ) in terms of input shutter gain values represents full exposure . accordingly , by adding 55 or 74 , depending upon the standard selected , an adjusted shutter gain level conforming either to pal or ntsc is achieved . sgac 901 is connected to loop controller 902 to provide an adjusted shutter gain level which is then converted into a form which specifies a number of lines and a fraction of a line . loop controller 902 defines predetermined loop variables including a shift index value ( siv ) “ i ” and a decremented asg value ( dasg ) which has been reduced by 77 a number of “ i ” times , i . e ., “ x .” the variable “ i ” is initially set to zero , while the value of “ x ” is decremented by loop controller 902 by a number of times the decrementation factor 77 is exceeded by the initial asg value . the decremented value of “ x ”, i . e ., dasg , is provided by loop controller 902 to rom 903 as an entry to produce a corresponding 12 - bit output code , which is provided to shift register 904 . the 12 - bit code is shifted “ i ” times , based upon the final value of “ i ” which is produced after decrementation of “ x ” has been completed . accordingly , sr 904 produces a 9 - bit output defining a number of lines and an 11 - bit output defining a fraction of a line , for each input 12 - bit address . the rom codes in rom 903 establish predetermined exposure settings , so that predetermined flickerless modes can be accessed with applicable shutter gain values . aclld 890 implements according to one embodiment of the present invention a predetermined gain step size of 0 . 087 db , which equals 6 db / 77 . since the number of lines of exposure is a factor of 2 smaller each 77 gain steps , a 77 code rom 903 coupled to shift register 904 suffices to represent all desired gain values . fig1 is a flow diagram of the loop controller logic used by aclld according to one embodiment of the present invention . in particular , flow diagram 919 includes initially setting 930 a shift index value “ i ” equal to zero for a particular adjusted shutter gain ( asg ) “ x ” ( i . e ., “ shutter gain adjusted ”). next , a determination is made 931 ( i . e ., test 931 ) according to one embodiment of the present invention as to whether the value of the asg is greater than or equal to a particular predetermined value , such as for example 77 in this case . if yes , the asg is decremented 932 by the predetermined resolution value and test 931 is repeated . in addition to decrementing the asg , the index value i is incremented by one integer value , permitting the number of times the asg exceeds 77 to be tracked as an index of the amount of shift that should be applied by shift register 904 upon receipt of the resultant decremented asg value , which will be an integer from zero to 76 .	7
now , various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings . as shown in fig1 a fully automatic electric probing - test machine ( or wafer prober ) 10 for testing semiconductor wafers is installed via a vibration - proof member on the floor . the machine 10 mainly comprises a body 11 , a loader 17 for taking out a semiconductor wafer from one or more wafer cassettes 15 and transporting the taken - out semiconductor wafer , main chuck 16 for holding the transported semiconductor wafer set thereon , an alignment mechanism 18 for displacing the main chuck 16 in x -, y -, z - and 0 - directions for alignment and probe card 18a facing a chuck top 16a of the main chuck 16 and having a number of probes 18b . each probe 18b is connected through a measuring line ( not shown ) to a tester ( not shown ). when carrying out a wafer test using the machine 10 , probes 18b are electrically connected to bonding pads ( electrodes ) of each chip ( device pattern ) formed in a wafer , and test signals are supplied from the tester to the chip , and response signals are supplied from the chip to the tester , thereby determining the electric characteristics of the chip . the machine 10 is entirely enclosed by a cover 26 . the cover 26 is box - like and manufactured from transparent members such as plastic sheets of a transparent acrile resin or the like . it has a removable structure and can be fitted on and removed from the machine 10 downwardly and upwardly . it is secured to the body 11 via a plurality of spacers ( not shown ) provided at suitable positions . a space 13 is defined between the cover 26 and the top and sides of the machine 10 . the cover 26 has an opening 26a formed in its top wall . a microscope 14 for manual inspection can be introduced through the opening 26a into the inside of the cover 26 . the microscope 14 is adapted to be hermetically sealed with the cover 26 at the opening 26a to prevent external air from entering the test space . a dehumidifier 29 is disposed outside the machine 10 . the dehumidifier 29 is provided with air supply and exhaust ductlines 34 and 31 having respective air supply and exhaust ports 27a and 27b introduced into the space 13 through openings formed in the cover 26 . fig1 shows a modification of the embodiment of fig1 . in this instance , a fan 31a is provided near the main chuck 16 for drawing air from one side of the chuck 16 , and also for causing forced flow of dry air supplied from the air supply port 27a to the fan 31a . now , the dehumidifier 29 will be described in detail with reference to fig2 . the dehumidifier 29 has a pair of cylindrical desiccant vessels 30a and 30b filled with a desiccant . the desiccant may be synthetic zeolite or silica . moisture - containing air withdrawn through the ductline 31 is led through a first shuttle valve 32 and a ductline 35a to enter the first desiccant vessel 30a . dry air in the first desiccant vessel 30a is led through ductlines 37a and 38a , a second shuttle valve 33 and the ductline 34 to enter the space 13 . the dry air is partly led through an orifice 39b and a ductline 37b to enter the second desiccant vessel 30b for regenerative drying of the desiccant in the vessel 30b . air that has been used for the regenerative drying is led through a ductline 35b and a safety valve ( sv1 ) 36 to be discharged into atmosphere . the first shuttle valve 32 and the second shuttle valve 33 can be switched over to each other by a timing motor provided in a control box ( not shown ). when the two shuttle valves 32 , 33 are switched , the sense of air flow is inverted to interchange the air drying and regenerative drying of the first 30a and the second desiccant vessel 30b . a heat exchange control system for the chuck top 16a , on which a wafer is set , will now be described with reference to fig3 . the system comprises a test section 2 and a coolant supply section 3 . the main chuck 16 mainly includes the chuck top 16a and a copper - made heat exchanging jacket 40 . the chuck top 16a is connected via a heat exchanging element 50 to the jacket 40 . the main chuck 16 has temperature sensor 42b connected to an input unit of first controller 41b and temperature sensor 42a connected to an input unit of second controller 41c . outputs of the second controller 41c are connected to peltier elements 50 . outputs of the first controller 41b are connected to first and second pumps 45a and 45b . a sucking port of the first pump 45a is communicated with the inside of a coolant tank 43 through a piping 46a while a discharging port thereof is communicated with a passage 40a in the heat exchange jacket 40 through a piping 46b . a sucking port of the second pump 45b is communicated with the passage 40a in the heat exchange jacket 40 through a piping 47a , while a discharge port thereof with the coolant tank 43 through a piping 47b . the pipings 46b and 47a are flexible pipes which can follow the main chuck 16 movable in the directions x , y , z and 0 . these flexible pipes 46b and 47a are detachably connected to rigid pipes of the pumps 45a and 45b through flanges 46c and 47c . when the flanges ( or couplings ) 46c and 47c are disconnected together with electric wiring connectors ( not shown ), the cooling section 3 can be separated from the test section 2 . a coolant ( or non - freezing liquid ) 44 in the tank 43 is re - circulated by the first and second pumps 45a and 45b , passing through the piping 46b , flow path 40a and piping 47a and then back to the tank 43 . as shown in fig6 instead of providing the labyrinth flow path 40a , it is possible to partition the inside of the heat exchanging jacket 40 into a number of spaces with frames 40b , 40c and a number of ribs 40d , 40e , 40f made of aluminum plate or the like , as shown in fig6 . by the use of the rib - partitioned structure , the meandering or lattice - patterned flow paths 40a are formed in the heat exchanging jacket 40 . thus , the coolant can be circulated at rapid flow rate and the heat exchange efficiency can thereby be improved . the adoption of a metal with high heat conductivity , e . g ., aluminum or copper for the ribs will improve the heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchange jacket 40 . an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol may be used as the coolant 44 . in addition , a cooling system using liquefied nitrogen or freon ( trade name ) may be adopted . preferably , a dual cooling system using a combination of freon and a non - freezing liquid should be adopted . a heating section 48a of a heater 48 and a cooling section 49a of a refrigerator 49 are immersed in the coolant 44 in the tank 43 for heating and cooling the coolant 44 respectively . in this case , a thermistor is suitably used as the temperature sensor 42 for controlling the temperature of the coolant 44 . the first controller 41b thus compares the thermistor output temperature to a preset temperature and controls the currents through the heater 48 and refrigerator 49 to make difference between the two temperature values zero . with the heat exchange control system as described above , it is possible to suitably control the temperature of the top surface of the chuck top 16a at a desirable level in the temperature range from - 55 ° c . to + 150 ° c . a probe card 18a , as shown in fig4 is disposed such that it can face the wafer 5 set on the chuck top 16a . it has probes 18b corresponding in number to the number of pads of each chip ( device pattern ) 5a . the probes 18b are connected an external tester ( not shown ) for supplying signals to the tester . the structural arrangement of the main chuck 16 will be described referring to fig5 through 11 . the chuck top 16a is provided with a top portion of the main chuck 16 . a plurality of grooves 81 are formed in the chuck top 16a to attract the wafer 5 thereon . these grooves 81 are made open at the top surface of the chuck top 16a and communicated with one another in the chuck top 16a . they are also communicated with the sucking port of the vacuum pump ( not shown ) through passages 80 . a thermocouple 42a is embedded in the chuck top 16a to detect temperature at a certain position of the chuck top 16a . this thermocouple 42a is connected to the input unit of the second controller 41c . a copper plate 90 is closely attached to the underside of the chuck top 16a . this copper plate 90 has a diameter of 140 mm and a thickness of 7 mm , for example . the heat exchange jacket 40 , peltier elements 50 and a heater 94 are housed in a recess of a ring cup 93 . plural bolts 96 are arranged on the underside of the ring cup 93 and when these bolts 96 are fastened , a cover 95 is forced against the ring cup 93 so that they can be fixed to each other . the copper plate 90 , ring cup 93 and chuck top 16a are fixed to one another by means of a screw 51 . as shown in fig7 eight peltier elements 50 are bonded to the top of the heat exchange jacket 40 . the topface of each of these elements 50 is closely attached to the underface of the copper plate 90 . the resistance thermometer 42b is bonded to the topface of the heat exchange jacket 40 and connected to the input unit of the first controller 41b . the heater 94 is closely contacted with the underface of the heat exchange jacket 40 . an output unit of the first controller 41b is connected to a power supply for the heater 94 . a socket 70 is attached to an outer wall 40b of the heat exchange jacket 40 and a pair of passages 70a extending from the socket 70 are communicated with internal passages 40a in the jacket 40 . a pin 57 is accommodated in a hole 56 such that it can project upwardly from the top surface of the chuck top 16a . the role of the pin 57 is to kick up the wafer 5 away from the top surface of the chuck top 16a after completion of a test . the outer circumference of the main chuck 16 is covered by an insulation 97 . as shown in fig8 to 11 , it is possible to replace the peripheral portion of copper plate 90 with each of a peripheral portion 91b to 91e of a plate 90b to 90e . as shown in fig8 and 9 , when diameters of the copper plates 90b and 90c are made larger than those of chuck tops 16b and 16c and the peripheral portions 91b and 91c are projected outside from rims of the chuck tops 16b and 16c , the surface temperature of each of the chuck tops 16b and 16c can be made more uniform . as shown in fig1 and 11 , when peripheral portions 91d and 91e of the copper plates 90d and 90e are made thicker than the other portions thereof , peripheral portions of the chuck tops 16d and 16e can be more highly cooled to make the surface temperature of each of the chuck tops 16d and 16e more uniform . now , the description will be made in connection with a case where a semiconductor wafer is tested under a low temperature condition using the first embodiment of the electric probing - test machine with reference to fig1 through 14 . the power supply for the wafer prober 10 is switched on . keys on a keyboard ( not shown ) at the operation panel of the wafer prober 10 are pushed to previously set a temperature at which the wafer 5 is tested or to test the wafer 5 at a temperature of - 10 ° c ., for example . this set temperature or target temperature of - 10 ° c . and data detected by the temperature sensor are input into the cpu 41a according to the program previously stored therein . the cpu 41a calculates an amount of the coolant allowed to flow into the heat exchange jacket 40 or an amount of 200 ml / min , for example , from the data input according to the program previously stored in the cpu 41a . a motor ( not shown ) is made operative to rotate the first pump 45a in such a way that this amount of the coolant can be sent into the heat exchange jacket 40 . the temperature of the jacket 40 is fed back to the cpu 41a after the amount of the coolant is sent to the jacket 40 . an amount of the coolant supplied is calculated from the fed - back data of the top surface temperature of the jacket 40 according to the pid control system . the first pump 45a is rotated so as to supply the calculated amount of the coolant into the jacket 40 . on the other hand , the second pump 45b is made operative to forcedly discharge the coolant in the jacket 40 . when the motors for the first and second pumps 45a and 45b are intermittently switched on and off as described above , the coolant 44 which has been cooled to the certain temperature can be supplied to the jacket 40 and chuck top 16a , while changing the amount of the coolant supplied to 300 cc , 200 cc or 100 cc , for example , thereby enabling the chuck top 16a to be kept at the target temperature . air in the spaces 13 and 13a is withdrawn into the dehumidifier 29 to be dried by removal of moisture content . the dry air thus obtained is supplied back to the spaces 13 and 13a to be blown directly against the chuck top 16a . it is supplied continuously at a rate of 100 milliliters per second , for instance , to sufficiently fill the spaces 13 and 13a with dry air . air supplied to the space 13a is made dry such that its absolute humidity is below 2 . 23 g / m 3 . after the test space 13a is made dry , the chuck top 16a is cooled to - 10 ° c . when cooling the chuck top 16a , elements 50 are energized with its negative ( n ) and positive ( p ) sides made to be positive ( p ) and negative ( n ) respectively as shown in fig1 , so that heat is generated on the side of the jacket 40 and absorbed on the side of the chuck top 16a by the peltier effect . at this time , the liquid 44 is cooled by operating freezer 49 to be supplied to the flow path 40a of the jacket 40 for cooling the heat - generating section of the elements 50 . through the flow path 40a of the jacket 40 is circulated the coolant at a temperature slightly lower than a preset temperature of the chuck top 16a . then , the chuck top 16a which has been slightly overcooled is heated for fine temperature control . then , the elements 50 are energized with its negative ( n ) and positive ( p ) sides made to be negative and positive , respectively , as shown in fig1 , so that heat is generated on the side of the jacket 40 and absorbed on the side of the chuck top 16a by the peltier effect . the heat exchange jacket 40 is further heated by the heater 94 . at this time , the liquid 44 is heated by operating the heater 48 to be supplied to the flow path 40a of the jacket 40 by heating the heat - absorbing section of the elements 50 . in the above way , the temperature is controlled such that the top surface of the chuck top 16a is accurately at - 10 ° c . table 1 shows the saturation steam content ( at relative humidity of 100 %) at various temperatures . assuming a room temperature of 20 ° c . and a test temperature of - 10 ° c ., if the absolute humidity of the supplied air is below 2 . 24 g / m 3 ( saturated humidity at - 10 ° c . ), no frost is formed on the chuck top 16a even at a temperature of - 10 ° c ., as is obvious from table 1 . thus , if dry air with an absolute humidity less than 2 . 25 g / m 3 is blown against the chuck top 16a in the spaces 13 and 13a at all time , no frost is formed on the chuck top 16a even at a temperature of - 10 ° c . by way of reference , the maximum value of the absolute humidity θ of dry air , with which no frost is formed on the chuck top 16a at the test temperature of - 10 ° c . is table 1______________________________________testtemperature serial no . (° c .) 0 1 2 3 4______________________________________90 420 . 1 433 . 6 448 . 5 454 . 3 480 . 880 290 . 8 301 . 7 313 . 3 325 . 3 337 . 270 197 . 0 2 . 4 . 9 213 . 4 222 . 1 231 . 160 129 . 8 135 . 6 141 . 5 147 . 6 153 . 850 82 . 9 86 . 9 90 . 9 95 . 2 99 . 640 51 . 0 53 . 6 56 . 4 59 . 2 62 . 230 30 . 3 32 . 0 33 . 8 35 . 6 37 . 520 17 . 3 18 . 3 19 . 4 20 . 6 21 . 810 9 . 40 5 . 19 5 . 56 5 . 95 6 . 35 - 0 4 . 85 5 . 19 5 . 56 5 . 95 6 . 35 - 10 2 . 25 2 . 18 2 . 02 1 . 87 1 . 73______________________________________ the effect of prevention of frost formation on the chuck top 16a is promoted by providing fan 31a facing dry air supply port 27a , as shown in fig1 and forcibly exhausting air in the neighborhood of the chuck using fan 31a . when sufficiently dry atmosphere is attained in the test space 13a , the power source switch for the prober 10 is turned on , and a program card is inserted into an input section of the body 11 . as a result , one wafer 5 is taken out from the cassette 15 by the actuator of the fully automatic wafer transporter and is vacuum - attracted by a vacuum attraction mechanism of the chuck top 16a . when the wafer 5 is set on the chuck top 16a , it is adjusted by the auto - alignment mechanism 18 . then an xyz - stage is operated for positioning of the wafer 5 in x -, y - and z - directions . subsequently , the individual probes 18b of the probe card 18a are brought into contact with the corresponding pads 5b of the chip 5 . prior to the probe - pad contacting , each probe 18b and each pad 5b are positioned with respect to each other on the first wafer which is to be tested . this probe - pad contacting is performed by moving the main chuck 16 , while the contact of each probe 18b and each pad 5b are being as certained under a microscope or the like in such a manner that all chips formed on the wafer can be inspected . the data representing the positions of the probes 18b and pads 5b is stored into a memory . the probe - pad contacting is automatically carried out in accordance with the data stored in the memory . after the probes 18b have contacted the pads of the chip 5a , the test - start signal is supplied from the prober to the tester . then , the measuring program of the tester is executed . as a result , test signals are supplied from the tester to the device via the measuring lines connected to the probe card 18a , whereby the device is tested . after the wafer alignment has been completed , a short distance test is carried out by generation of a high frequency from a test head ( not shown ). when one pattern test is completed , a test completion signal is supplied from the tester ( not shown ) to the prober 10 . according to this signal , the xyz stage is operated for setting the probes with respect to the next pattern . if a defective pattern is detected as a result of test , a fail signal is supplied from the tester to the prober 10 . according to this signal , the defective pattern is marked by an inker ( not shown ). the operations described above are performed entirely automatically at the time of the maintenance and inspection of the machine or at the time of positioning the probes with respect to the first wafer , replacement of the probe card 18a . the above embodiment has concerned with a case of dehumidifying and dryinq air while air is circulated between the dehumidifier 29 and the test space 13a . however , this is by no means limitative ; for instance it is to provide dry air supply means and air exhaust means separately to replace high humidity air in the test space with dry air . in the first embodiment described above , the body 11 of the prober can be enclosed entirely by the cover 26 , so that it is possible to trap all dust from the body 11 in the dehumidifier 29 and maintain the clean room inside highly clean . fig1 is a graph in which percentages of the supplied coolant are plotted on the horizontal axis while plotting temperatures of the chuck top on the vertical axis . fig1 is a graph showing how temperatures of the chuck top and coolant change as time goes by when times or minutes are plotted on the horizontal axis of the graph while plotting temperatures on the vertical axis thereof . fig1 is a graph showing results obtained from the conventional chuck top or showing how temperatures of the conventional chuck top and coolant change as time goes by when times or minutes are plotted on the horizontal axis of the graph while plotting temperatures on the vertical axis thereof . as apparent from fig1 and 17 , the temperature of the chuck top can be made more stable in the case of the machine according to the present invention . the chuck top of the conventional machine is influenced by the changing temperature of the coolant so that its temperature can be changed in a range of ± 2 °˜ 3 ° c . in the case of the machine of the present invention , however , the flow of heat energy can be distributed by the copper plate 90 to more uniformly cool the chuck top . no temperature difference is thus caused at any point or part of the chuck top 16a . inventors of the present invention has recognized that temperature in the central portion of the chuck top made of ceramics is different from that at the peripheral portion thereof , and they have pursued the cause . as a result , a mica ring 7b was arranged along the peripheral portion of the chuck top 16a and fixed to a mica disk 7c , which had a diameter similar to that of the chuck top 16a , by means of screws as shown in fig2 . when temperature was measured at the top surface the chuck top 16a , it changed from 144 ° c . to 150 ° c . as it came from the peripheral portion of the chuck top 16a to the center portion thereof . as shown in fig2 , in order to examine the cause of this temperature distribution , heat conductivity was analyzed according to the two - dimensional finite element heat transfer analysis . as a result , it has been found that heat vector becomes larger as it comes nearer to the outer circumference 16g of the chuck top 16a and that it becomes larger particularly at those portions of the mica ring 7b and mica disk 7c . as shown in fig1 , therefore , the copper plate 90 was arranged between the chuck top 16a and the jacket 40 to make temperature uniform on the top surface 16h of the chuck top 16a . temperature distribution on the top surface 16h of the chuck top 16a was measured using a temperature sensor 86 embedded in the chuck top 16a at a depth of - 5 mm from the top surface 16h thereof and assuming that simulation temperature is 150 ° c . as a result , the temperature measured in the central portion of the top surface 16h was 150 ° c . and peripheral portion thereof was 149 ° c . as shown in fig1 , the flow of heat energy in the chuck top 16a shown in fig1 was analyzed according to the two - dimensional finite element heat transfer analysis . as a result , the amount of heat vector in the central portion of the chuck top 16a was not different from that at the peripheral portion thereof . fig2 is a view showing a second embodiment of the electric probing - test machine . portion of the second embodiment like the preceding firs embodiment will not be described . in this second embodiment of the machine 260 , the body 11 is not covered and only test and loading sections 262 and 263 on the machine top are covered by a transparent cover 261 . further , a lightshield 281 is provided to close an opening of the cover 261 . it serves to prevent external air from entering the inside through the opening when a microscope 280 for manual inspection is used . with the second embodiment the dry air supply space is reduced , so that it is possible to reduce the rate of supply of dry air and dehumidifying time . thus , the cost of cleaning can be reduced , that is , a highly economical wafer prober ca be provided . with reference to fig2 , a third embodiment of the invention will now be described . those parts of the third embodiment which are identical with those in the first and second embodiments will not be described . in a wafer - probing machine 270 according to the third embodiment , a transparent cover 271 has formed therein three openings 272 , 273 and 274 for air suction and discharge . the first and second openings 272 and 273 are located near the chuck top 16a of a test section 262 . the first opening 272 communicates with a supply duct 291 of a dehumidifier 290 and the second opening 273 communicates with a return duct 294 of the dehumidifier 290 . the third opening 274 is located at an upper location of the wafer cassette 15 of a loading section 263 . the third opening 274 communicates through an exhaust duct 296 with an exhaust blower ( not shown ) and part of dry air is discharged through the opening 27 to the outside of the machine 270 . a three - way valve 292 is connected in the supply duct 291 of the dehumidifier 290 . the horizontal path of the three - way valve 292 communicates with a suction duct 293 and draws in the atmospheric air through an air filter ( not shown ) into the system . an air filter 295 is installed at the connection between the return duct 294 and the dehumidifier 290 . as shown in fig2 the return duct 294 communicates with the first shuttle valve 32 of the dehumidifier 290 . the supply duct 291 , on the other hand , communicates with the second shuttle valve 33 in the dehumidifier 290 . description will now be made of a case in which the above - described wafer - probing machine according to the third embodiment to test semiconductor wafers 5 at low temperature condition of - 55 ° c . the semiconductor wafer 5 is picked out from the cassette 15 and , after pre - aligned , loaded on the main chuck 16 . the chuck top 16a is cooled gradually by the heat exchange control system and the air in the cover 271 is dehumidified by putting the dehumidifier 290 and the exhaust blower ( not shown ) into operation . the dry air , supplied through the first opening 272 , is made to blow directly against the semiconductor wafer 5 on the chuck top 16a at all times while the chuck top 16a is cooled . the greater part of the dry air , supplied through the first opening 272 into the cover 271 , is returned through the second opening 273 to the dehumidifier 290 , but part of the dry air is discharged through the third opening 274 to the outside of the cover 271 . in this case , the supply rate of dry air through the first opening 272 is set at 500 to 1500 l / min , for example . the air returning to the dehumidifier 290 is dehumidified by a mixture of active silica gel and synthetic zeolite in the first desiccant vessel 30a . then , the air is mixed by the three - way valve 292 with air newly drawn in and fed again through the first opening 272 into the cover 271 . in this case , the air returned to the dehumidifier 290 is supplied at about 4 / 5 of the supply rate of dry air , namely , 400 to 1200 l / min . therefore , exhaust air forced out into the atmosphere is discharged at about 1 / 5 of the supply rate of dry air , namely , 100 to 300 l / min . hence , newly - supplied air is fed through the three - way valve 292 into the cover 271 at a flow rate of 100 to 300 l / min . when the chuck top 16a reaches - 55 ° c ., the probes 18b are made to contact the bonding pads of a chip of the semiconductor wafer 5 and a test is started . a cooling device to cool the dry air to a temperature lower than room temperature may be added to the dehumidifier 290 mentioned above . by this means , the temperature of the chuck top and the semiconductor wafer is prevented from rising when they are exposed to dry air blowing thereto . further , an ionizer may be connected to the dehumidifier 290 to mix ionized oxygen gas in the dry air . ionized oxygen gas eliminates the static electricity on the chuck top 16a and the semiconductor wafer 5 . it is possible to provide the first opening 272 described above with a diffusion plate to diffuse dry air , e . g ., a plate having a multitude of small holes to cause the dry air to blow through the small holes against the chuck top 16a . according to the third embodiment of the invention , dry air is kept blowing against the chuck all times during cooling and humid external air can be prevented from entering through a narrow gap present at the opening for entry of the probe card 18a . particularly in the space of the test section 262 , there arises an air exhausting effect , that is , the tendency for dry air to move from the inside to the outside of the cover 271 and as a result , external air is prevented from entering . therefore , dew does not form on the chuck top 16a and semiconductor wafer 5 , thus precluding chances of accidents , such as damage to the semiconductor wafers by freezing and improving the yield of the semiconductor wafers . further , since third opening 274 for air exhaust is provided near the wafer cassette 15 , the wafers 5 in the cassette 15 are dried and dry wafers 5 can be submitted for testing . as has been described in the foregoing , with the wafer prober having a dehumidifying function according to the invention , no air near the chuck top is condensed by radiational cooling , and frost formation on the chuck top can be effectively prevented . in addition , the wafer on the chuck can be accurately positioned with respect to the probe card . further , since the wafer is never frozen to the chuck top , the wafer is never damaged when it is removed after the test . thus , it is possible to improve the yield of wafers with high additional value device patterns , thus permitting cost reduction . further , air in the test space can be dehumidified without pressure reduction but under the atmospheric pressure , so that it is possible to effect test preparations and wafer removal in a reduced period of time compared to the prior art wafer prober . further , since the probes are never adversely affected by the difference between the pressures inside and outside the probe card , the probes can be accurately and speedily brought into contact with the chip pads and the test program can be speedily executed . further , while part of dry air in the chuck section is discharged by the exhaust means , the remainder of dry air is dried again by the re - drying means and supplied to the chuck section . hence , there arises an air - exhausting effect , that is , the tendency for dry air to move from the inside to the outside of the chuck section , thus preventing humid external air from entering the chuck section . a third embodiment of the cooling system according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig2 . description on same parts as those in the first example will be omitted . a bypass 416 is arranged between a coolant supply pump 415 and the coupling 46c in the coolant supply section 3 . a flow rate adjuster 417 is located on the line of the bypass 416 to adjust the flow rate of the coolant 44 passing through the bypass 416 . a part of the coolant 44 supplied from a pump 415 to the jacket 40 is returned to the tank 43 through the bypass 416 . fig2 is a graph showing results obtained from the system which had the bypass 416 and from the other system having no bypass 416 . pump suction volumetric efficiencies are plotted on the horizontal axis of the graph while pump discharge forces on the vertical axis thereof . as apparent from fig2 , the suction volumetric efficiency is 0 . 5 l / min relative to a discharge force of 0 . 78 kg / cm 2 g in the case of the coolant supply system which has no bypath . in the case of the system which is provided with the bypass 416 , however , the suction volumetric efficiency rises to 2 l / min when the discharge force is 0 . 7 kg / cm 2 g . as a result , the pump suction volumetric efficiency rises four times higher than in the case of the conventional system . the coolant 44 in the tank 43 shall be sufficiently stirred by that coolant 44 which is returning to the tank 43 through the return pipe 425 and the bypass 416 . this stir prevents the coolant 44 from freezing in the tank 43 . the density of the coolant 44 can be thus controlled to be in a certain range . the cooling capacity of the jacket 40 can be thus kept substantially certain . the flow rate of the coolant 44 flowing through the pump 415 is 2 l / min and a part of this coolant 44 is returned to the tank 43 through the bypath 416 . the flow rate is usually proportional to the square root of a pressure difference caused by liquid resistances . when the flow rates of the coolant 44 flowing through the coupling 46c are compared , therefore , √ 0 . 7 / 0 . 78 × 0 . 5 = 0 . 47 l / min in a case where the conventional flow rate is 0 . 5 l / min . this teaches us that external load or reduction of the flow rate of the coolant 44 supplied to the jacket 40 is quite negligible . more specifically , the flow rate of the coolant 44 supplied to the jacket 40 is 0 . 47 l / min and the flow rate of the coolant 44 which is returned to the tank 43 through the return pipe 416 is expressed by 2 . 0 - 0 . 47 = 1 . 53 l / min . however , the non - freezing liquid passing through the tank 43 is increased four times . the coolant 44 can be thus prevented from freezing in the tank 43 to thereby make sufficient heat exchange available . in addition , the density of the nonfreezing liquid or ethylene glycol can be reduced . when the density of ethylene glycol which was conventionally 40 % ( at a freezing temperature of about - 25 ° c .) is reduced to 30 % ( at a freezing temperature of about - 15 °), the specific heat which was conventionally 0 . 75 kcal / kg ° c . can be raised to 0 . 85 kcal / kg ° c . when the specific heat is raised like this , heat exchange or cooling efficiency in the jacket 40 is increased to thereby enable a more highly reliable and stable cooling control to be attained . the embodiments described above are machines for testing semiconductor wafers . nevertheless , the present invention can be applied to the testing of other devices whose electrical characteristics are to be determined , such as liquid crystal devices and printed circuit boards . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details , and representative devices , shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents .	5
referring now to fig1 , an embodiment of a solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 is shown that has a collapsible shade 20 and a support unit 30 having a bottom portion 32 , a top portion 34 and a connecting device 36 which connects the bottom portion 32 and the top portion 34 . the connecting device 36 in the illustrated embodiment is comprised of two connecting rods 37 fabricated from tension wire and having hooked bottom ends 38 which are inserted into apertures in the bottom portion 32 of the support unit 30 . however the connecting rods 37 can also be fabricated from other materials such as aluminum and rigid , weather - resistant plastics such as polycarbonate , polypropylene , or polyvinylchloride . the top ends of the connecting rods 37 are inserted into cavities in the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 . the top portion of the support unit 30 includes an upper section 31 secured to a lower section 33 . the top portion 34 of the support unit also includes a space for an optional light sensor and appendages 35 for connecting a hanging device 70 . the bottom portion 32 of the support unit 30 is positioned within or proximate to an opening 22 located at the bottom of the collapsible shade 20 while the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 is positioned within an opening in the top portion of the collapsible shade 20 . in the illustrated embodiment , the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 is used to house a lighting element assembly , a solar cell 50 and a battery unit ; a lighting element cover 62 for the lighting element assembly is shown . the lighting element cover 62 can serve various functions . for example , the lighting element cover 62 can be used as a lens to focus light in a particular direction , such as downward to illuminate a sidewalk , or as a filter to selectively allow light through in order to produce a light pattern . the lighting element cover 62 can also be used as a light diffuser , in which case it typically serves to scatter light from the lighting element . one or both of the interior and exterior surfaces of the lighting element cover 62 may be colored , textured , or treated to enhance its focusing , filtering or diffusing properties . in one embodiment , the lighting element cover 62 is formed of cracked glass so as to act as a diffuser . cracked glass provides the advantage of concentrating light from the lighting element at many fine cracks formed in the glass , creating a stunning visual effect while maximizing visibility . the solar cell 50 can use one or more solar panels , with the number used being selected based on the power requirements of the system . in the illustrated embodiment , a hanging device 70 having hooked ends 72 for connecting to the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 is shown . the hanging device 70 can be a rounded metal handle or a wire or any other device suitable for hanging the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus . however , it should be understood that for certain applications , such as placement on a table , a hanging device 70 is not required . the collapsible shade 20 is typically comprised of a collapsible material which allows the partial or complete transmission of light through it and a collapsible frame which imparts a predetermined shape to the collapsible material . however , it should be understood that in some applications , the collapsible material itself can form the desired predetermined shape when deployed so that a collapsible frame is not required . the collapsible shade 20 can be made in various sizes . typical collapsible materials include various types of paper , nylon , fabric or plastic and the like . for outdoor applications , it is desirable that the collapsible material be waterproof or water - resistant . the collapsible frame can be fabricated from materials such as plastic or metal . although the collapsible shade 20 shown in the illustrated embodiment is a globe , such as in an asian lantern , the collapsible shade 20 can be different three - dimensional shapes , for example , a box , a star or a shape similar to that of a hot air balloon . if desired , the collapsible material can be colored , textured , printed or embossed with a graphic design or otherwise treated to achieve a particular lighting effect . the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus can optionally include a light sensor and a switch electrically interposed between the battery unit and the lighting element assembly . the switch is electrically coupled to the light sensor and is selectively opened and closed by the light sensor depending on the ambient lighting conditions . referring now to fig2 , an embodiment of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus is shown in cross - sectional view . as set forth above , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 includes : the collapsible shade 20 having the bottom opening 22 and the top opening ; the support unit 30 having the bottom portion ( not shown except for the apertures 39 ), the top portion 34 which has the upper section 31 , the lower section 33 , a space 29 for an optional light sensor and the appendages 35 , and the connecting device 36 which has two connecting rods 37 with hooked bottom ends 38 ; and the hanging device 70 having hooked bottom ends 72 . the top ends of the connecting rods 37 are inserted into cavities 40 in the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 . in the illustrated embodiment , the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 is used to house a lighting element assembly 60 , a solar cell 50 and a battery unit 80 . the battery unit 80 is electrically coupled to the solar cell 50 and the lighting element assembly 60 . the solar cell 50 as shown contains eight solar panels 52 . the lighting element assembly as shown contains a lighting element cover 62 , a lighting element 64 and a circuit board 66 for mounting the lighting element ( e . g ., an led circuit board ) and regulating the voltage passing to and from the battery unit 80 and to the lighting element assembly 60 . optionally , the circuit board 66 can also receive the output of a light sensor and turn on the lighting element assembly 60 when the output indicates low light levels and turn it off when the output indicates high light levels . the lighting element assembly 60 can utilize different lighting elements 64 , for example , light emitting diodes ( led &# 39 ; s ) or low voltage incandescent light bulbs . the lighting element 64 can be various colors and , in the case of led &# 39 ; s , can be the color of any available led &# 39 ; s . in some embodiments , a phosphorescent coating over the led results in light having wavelengths other than those output by the led . the battery unit 80 can use one or more rechargeable batteries , with the number used being selected based on the power requirements of the system . referring now to fig3 , an embodiment of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus is shown in an exploded , cross - sectional view . as set forth above , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 includes : the collapsible shade 20 having the bottom opening 22 and the top opening 24 ; the support unit 30 having the bottom portion 32 which has the apertures 39 , the top portion ( only upper section 31 shown ) which has the space 29 , the appendages 35 and the solar cell 50 having the solar panels 52 and the connecting device 36 which has the two connecting rods 37 with hooked bottom ends 38 ; and the hanging device 70 having hooked bottom ends 72 . in general and as illustrated , the bottom opening 22 should be larger than the top opening 24 of the collapsible shade 20 in order to provide for proper positioning and alignment of the bottom portion 32 and the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 . the sizes of the bottom opening 22 and top opening 24 of the collapsible shade 20 are selected based on the size of the solar cell 50 , the lighting element assembly and the battery unit to be incorporated into the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 . it should be understood that , for ease of shipment , transport and storage , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 can be packaged unassembled and assembled when needed . in one embodiment of an assembly method , the collapsible shade 20 , the support unit 30 and the hanging device 70 are provided unassembled . the collapsible shade 20 is allowed to expand to its deployed state . the support unit 30 is assembled by connecting the bottom portion 32 with the top portion 34 ( which houses the solar cell , the battery unit and the lighting element assembly ) using the connecting device 36 . the assembled support unit 30 is then positioned within the deployed collapsible shade 20 such that the top portion 34 is positioned within or proximate to the top opening of the collapsible shade 20 and the bottom portion 32 is positioned within or proximate to the bottom opening 24 of the collapsible shade . the hanging device 70 is then attached to the top portion 34 of the support unit 30 . referring now to fig4 , an embodiment of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 in the collapsed state is shown in cross - sectional view . in this fig4 , only the collapsible shade 20 and the top portion 34 of the support unit of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 are shown . as set forth above , the collapsible shade 20 includes the bottom opening 22 and the top opening and the top portion 34 of the support unit includes the cavities 40 and the appendages 35 and is used to house the lighting element assembly 60 , the solar cell 50 and the battery unit 80 . the top portion 34 of the support unit includes the upper section 31 secured to the lower section 33 using a screw 42 . the lighting element assembly 60 includes the lighting element cover 62 , the lighting element 64 and the circuit board 66 . in the collapsed state , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 is easily shipped , transported and stored . for maximum benefit , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 should be as thin as possible when in the collapsed state . in general , it is desirable that the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 have a thickness no greater than about one inch when in the collapsed state . referring now to fig5 , the upper sector of an embodiment of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 is shown in cross - sectional view . in this fig5 , only the collapsible shade 20 , the upper portion of the connecting device 36 which has two connecting rods 37 , the lower portion of the hanging device 70 and the top portion 34 of the support unit of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 are shown . as set forth above , the collapsible shade 20 includes the top opening , the hanging device 70 includes the hooked bottom ends 72 and the top portion 34 of the support unit includes the upper section 31 , the lower section 33 , the space 29 , the cavities 40 , the screw 42 and the appendages 35 and is used to house the lighting element assembly 60 , the solar cell 50 having the solar panels 52 and the battery unit 80 . the lighting element assembly 60 includes the lighting element cover 62 , the lighting element 64 and the circuit board 66 . referring now to fig6 , an alternate embodiment of the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus is shown in which the lighting element 64 is in a separate location from the solar cell 50 . as set forth above , the solar - powered collapsible lighting apparatus 10 includes : the collapsible shade 20 having the bottom opening 22 and the top opening ; the support unit 30 having the bottom portion 32 , the top portion 34 which has the upper section 31 , the lower section 33 and the appendages 35 , and the connecting device 36 which has two connecting rods 37 with hooked bottom ends 38 ; and the hanging device 70 having hooked bottom ends 72 . in the illustrated embodiment , the lighting element 64 is not in the top section along with the solar cell 50 . rather , the lighting element 64 is suspended from a wire 68 which electrically couples the lighting element 64 to the solar cell 50 . it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein as such embodiments may vary somewhat . it is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting in scope and that limitations are only provided by the appended claims and equivalents thereof .	5
l1 is linker selected from unsaturated carbon bond ; preferably carbon - carbon triple bond or carbon - carbon double bond ; ring a includes , but are not limited to substituted 5 or 6 membered aryl or heteroaryl ring . non limiting examples of compound of formula ( i ) includes but are not limited to having the following structures : the present invention provides a process for the preparation of compounds of formula ( i ) by palladium catalyzed sonogashira coupling of 6 - substituted naphthyridin - 2 - ones ( ii ) with iodobenzamides ( iii ). the schematic representation is as follows : several illustrative overall synthetic approaches to the preparation of two key intermediates ii and iii , based on known transformations , are illustrated in schemes 2 to 5 . compound of formula ( i ) can be prepared as per above schemes . compound of formula ( i ) can be converted into an n - oxides , or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts . for example , suitable inorganic acids are , halogen acids , such as hydrochloric acid , sulfuric acid , or phosphoric acid . suitable organic acids are , for example , carboxylic , phosphonic , sulfonic or sulfamic acids , for example acetic acid , propionic acid , octanoic acid , decanoic acid , dodecanoic acid , glycolic acid , lactic acid , fumaric acid , succinic acid , adipic acid , pimelic acid , suberic acid , azelaic acid , malic acid , tartaric acid , citric acid , oxalic acid , amino acids , such as arginine or lysine , maleic acid , hydroxymaleic acid , methylmaleic acid , cyclohexanecarboxylic acid , adamantanecarboxylic acid , benzoic acid , - phenoxy benzoic acid , 2 - acetoxy benzoic acid , salicylic acid , 4 - aminosalicylic acid , phthalic acid , phenylacetic acid , mandelic acid , cinnamic acid , methane - or ethane - sulfonic acid , 2 - hydroxyethanesulfonic acid , ethane - 1 , 2 - disulfonic acid , benzenesulfonic acid , 2 - naphthalenesulfonic acid , 1 , 5 - naphthalene - disulfonic acid , 2 -, 3 - or 4 - methylbenzenesulfonic acid , methylsulfuric acid , ethylsulfuric acid , dodecylsulfuric acid , n - cyclohexylsulfamic acid , n - methyl -, n - ethyl - or n - propyl - sulfamic acid , or other organic protonic acids , such as ascorbic acid . for isolation or purification purposes it is also possible to use pharmaceutically unacceptable salts , for example picrates or perchlorates . for therapeutic use , only pharmaceutically acceptable salts or free compounds are employed ( where applicable in the form of pharmaceutical preparations ), and these are therefore preferred . the compounds of the formula ( i ) or n - oxide or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof inhibit to varying degrees the receptor and non - receptor tyrosine kinases of all , which play a role in growth regulation and transformation in mammalian cells , including human cells . the receptor tyrosine kinases may be kinases of the egf family , e . g . erbb2 kinase ( her - 2 ), erbb3 kinase , erbb4 kinase ; insulin - like growth factor receptor kinase ( igf - 1 kinase ), especially members of the pdgf - receptor tyrosine kinase family , such as pdgf - α and pdgf - β receptor kinase , jak - 2 , csf - 1 - receptor kinase , phosphatidylinositol 3 - kinases ( pi - 3 - kinases or pi3ks ), akt , cdk , mtor , kit - receptor kinase , flt - 3 , flt - 4 , fgfr - 1 , fgfr - 3 , fgfr - 4 , c - met , ron , c - ret , alk and vegf - receptor kinase . the non - receptor tyrosine kinases may be kinases such as abl / bcr - abl kinase , arg , kinases from the src family , c - src kinase , c - yes . lck , lyn and fyn . the compounds of the present invention have been found to inhibit especially abl / bcr - abl kinase , including mutant forms ; lyn and lck kinases . the compounds of the formula ( i ) or n - oxide or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof inhibit to varying degrees the mutant forms of abl / bcr - abl kinase which include the mutants of the p - loop of the kinase i . e ., l284v , g250e , q225h , y253f & amp ; e255k ; the c - helix mutants of the kinase i . e ., d276g and e279h ; the atp binding region mutants of the kinase i . e ., v299l , t315i and f317l ; sh2 - contact mutant of the kinase i . e ., m351t ; substrate binding region mutant of the kinase i . e ., f359v ; the a - loop mutants of the kinase i . e ., l384m , h395p , h396r and g398r ; and the c - terminal lobe mutant kinase i . e ., f486s . the compounds of the present invention have been found to inhibit especially the important mutants of abl / bcr - abl kinases i . e ., q252h , y253f , m351t , h396p and more particularly the compounds of formula ( i ) inhibit the highly resistant form of the mutated kinase i . e ., the t315i mutant . the compounds of the present invention relates furthermore to a method for the treatment of a neoplastic disease or disorders dependent on tyrosine kinases especially chronic myelogenous leukemia ( cml ), chronic lymphocytic leukemia ( cll ), acute lymphoblastic leukemia ( all ), acute myeloid leukemia ( aml ), myelodysplastic syndrome , melanoma , germ cell tumours , gastrointestinal stromal tumour ( gist ), non - small cell lung cancer ( nsclc ), mastocytosis , neuroblastoma , glioblastoma , astrocytoma , hepatocellular carcinoma , renal cell cancer , breast cancer , cutaneous systemic sclerosis , prostate and colorectal cancer and other solid tumours , diabetes remissions . the present invention relates furthermore to a method for the treatment of a neoplastic disease which responds to an inhibition of a protein kinase activity , which comprises administering a compound of formula ( i ) or a n - oxide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , in a quantity effective against said disease , to a warm - blooded animal requiring such treatment . in particular the present invention relates to a method of treatment of proliferative disorders especially leukemia , irrespective of etiology of the disorder , which respond to inhibition of the aforementioned tyrosine kinases , particularly the abl / bcr - abl tyrosine kinase and one or more of its severe mutated forms . the treatment comprises administering a compound of formula ( i ) or an n - oxide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , in a quantity effective against said disease , to a warm - blooded animal requiring such treatment . the biological efficacy of the compounds of the present invention has been established by in vitro efficacy evaluation on bcr - abl positive cell line k562 and mutant cell lines baf3 / t315i , m351t , e255k and wt ; matrigel invasion assay ; determination of mtd of nrc21t ; establishment of antagonism of nrc21t in t315i induced tumour in nude mice ; establishment of survival time of nrc21t in scid mice . on the basis of these studies , the compounds of formula ( i ) according to the present invention shows therapeutic efficacy especially against disorders dependent on tk , especially in proliferative diseases . the present invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising an affective amount of compound of formula ( i ) or a n - oxide or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt especially an amount effective in the prevention or therapy of one of the above mentioned diseases , of the active ingredient together with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers that are suitable for topical , enteral , for example oral or rectal , or parental administration , and may be inorganic or organic , solid or liquid . in addition to the active ingredient ( s ), the pharmaceutical compositions of the present invention may contain one or more excipients or adjuvants . selection of excipients and the amounts to use may be readily determined by the formulation scientist based upon experience and consideration of standard procedures and reference works in the field . diluents increase the bulk of a solid pharmaceutical composition , and may make a pharmaceutical dosage form containing the composition easier for the patient and care giver to handle . diluents for solid compositions include , for example , microcrystalline cellulose ( e . g . avicel ®), microfine cellulose , lactose , starch , pregelatinized starch , calcium carbonate , calcium sulfate , sugar , dextrates , dextrin , dextrose , dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate , tribasic calcium phosphate , kaolin , magnesium carbonate , magnesium oxide , maltodextrin , mannitol , polymethacrylates ( e . g . eudragit ®), potassium chloride , powdered cellulose , sodium chloride , sorbitol and talc . solid pharmaceutical compositions that are compacted into a dosage form , such as capsules may include excipients whose functions include helping to bind the active ingredient and other excipients together after compression . binders for solid pharmaceutical compositions include acacia , alginic acid , carbomer ( e . g . carbopol ), carboxymethylcellulose sodium , dextrin , ethyl cellulose , gelatin , guar gum , hydrogenated vegetable oil , hydroxyethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose ( e . g . klucel ®), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ( e . g . methocel ®), liquid glucose , magnesium aluminum silicate , maltodextrin , methylcellulose , polymethacrylates , povidone ( e . g . kollidon ®, plasdone ®), pregelatinized starch , sodium alginate and starch . the dissolution rate of a compacted solid pharmaceutical composition in the patient &# 39 ; s stomach may be increased by the addition of a disintegrant to the composition . disintegrants include alginic acid , carboxymethylcellulose calcium , carboxymethylcellulose sodium ( e . g ., primellose ®), colloidal silicon dioxide , croscarmellose sodium , crospovidone ( e . g . kollidon ®, polyplasdone ®), guar gum , magnesium aluminum silicate , methyl cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , polacrilin potassium , powdered cellulose , pregelatinized starch , sodium alginate , sodium starch glycolate ( e . g . explotab ®) and starch . glidants can be added to improve the flowability of a non - compacted solid composition and to improve the accuracy of dosing . excipients that may function as glidants include colloidal silicon dioxide , magnesium trisilicate , powdered cellulose , starch , talc and tribasic calcium phosphate . when a dosage form such as a capsule is made by the compaction of a powdered composition , the composition is subjected to pressure from a punch and dye . some excipients and active ingredients have a tendency to adhere to the surfaces of the punch and dye , which can cause the product to have pitting and other surface irregularities . a lubricant can be added to the composition to reduce adhesion and ease the release of the product from the dye . lubricants include magnesium stearate , calcium stearate , glyceryl monostearate , glyceryl palmitostearate , hydrogenated castor oil , hydrogenated vegetable oil , mineral oil , polyethylene glycol , sodium benzoate , sodium lauryl sulfate , sodium stearyl fumarate , stearic acid , talc and zinc stearate . flavouring agents and flavour enhancers make the dosage form more palatable to the patient . common flavouring agents and flavour enhancers for pharmaceutical products that may be included in the composition of the present invention include maltol , vanillin , ethyl vanillin , menthol , citric acid , fumaric acid , ethyl maltol , and tartaric acid . solid compositions may also be dyed using any pharmaceutically acceptable colorant to improve their appearance and / or facilitate patient identification . the details of the present invention are provided in the examples given below which are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way . to a solution of 2 - amino - 5 - bromo pyridine in dmf , trifluoro acetic acid ( 1 . 1 equiv ) was added at room temperature , followed by addition of n - iodo succinimide ( 1 . 1 equiv ) and the reaction mixture was heated at 50 ° c . for 180 min . after completion of the reaction , reaction mass was cooled to room temperature and the product was precipitated by adding the reaction mixture to water . after neutralization with sodium thiosulfate and 1n naoh the title compound was collected by filtration as a brown solid with 90 % yield . to a 2 - amino - 5 - bromo - 3 - iodo pyridine ( 1 equiv ), tert - butyl acrylate ( 2 equiv ), and isopropanol ( 2 equivalents ), ethyl nitrite ( 3 equiv ) was added propionitrile ( 10 equiv ) and then dmf ( 10 equiv ). the solution was de - oxygenated with nitrogen gas for 15 minutes . the mixture was treated with pd ( oac ) 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ) and p ( o - tol ) 3 ( 0 . 2 equiv ) then heated to 90 ° c . for 16 h then filtered through a pad of silica gel . the filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water , extracted with ethyl acetate and the organic layer was concentrated under vacuum below 60 ° c . the compound was collected by filtration using hexane as solvent ( 70 % yield ). esi ms m / z 299 ( 100 %). to a solution of ( e )- tert - butyl 3 -( 2 - amino - 5 - bromopyridin - 3 - yl ) acrylate ( 1 equiv ) in anhydrous methanol was treated with sodium methoxide ( 4 . 9m , 5 equiv ) under nitrogen gas atmosphere . the solution was heated at reflux temperature for 3 h then cooled to room temperature . the mixture was cooled in an ice water bath and treated with water under rapid stirring to give a precipitate . the solid was filtered and washed with water . dried under reduced pressure to give an off - white solid ( 80 % yield ). esi ms m / z 225 ( 100 %). a mixture of 6 - bromo - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv ), pd ( pph 3 ) 2 cl2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ) in propionitrile was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 15 minutes . then trimethyl silyl acetylene ( 2 equiv ) was added and heated to 90 ° c . for 10 h . after reaction mass was filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated and the compound was collected by filtration using propionitrile solvent at 0 - 5 ° c . ( 60 % yield ). to a solution of 6 -( 2 - trimethylsilylethynyl )- 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv ) in thf ( 10times ) was slowly added 1m tbaf solution in thf ( 1 . 1 equiv ) at room temperature under nitrogen gas atmosphere for 15 minutes and stirred for 15 minutes . product formation was observed by quenching the reaction mass in to the water . product was collected by filtration at 0 - 5 ° c . for further purification , recrystallization was done in acetone solvent ( 80 % yield ). under nitrogen gas atmosphere , a mechanically stirred mixture of 2 - trifluoromethyl benzoic acid ( 1 equiv ) and conc . h 2 so 4 ( 22 equiv ) was cooled in an ice bath to 0 - 5 ° c . then fuming nitric acid ( 9 . 8 equiv ) was added drop wise at 0 - 5 ° c . for 60 min . the ice bath was removed and stirring continued for 120 min at room temperature . after completion of reaction the reaction mixture was poured into ice water , stirred for 60 min at room temperature . filtered the suspension , washed with chilled water and obtained the crude title compound . to remove the regio isomer the crude product was crystallized from water ( 45 % yield ). m . p : 137 - 142 ° c . to an ice - cooled solution of 4 - nitro - 2 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoic acid ( 1 equiv ), ch 2 cl 2 ( 15times ) and dmf ( 0 . 5 equiv ) under nitrogen atmosphere , oxalylchloride ( 2 equiv ) was added drop wise . after 4 hrs , the resulting solution was concentrated in vacuum . the residue was dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 and added drop wise to an ice cooled solution of n - methyl piperazine ( 2 . 1 equiv ) in ch 2 cl 2 . after stirring for 3 h , the mixture was diluted with ch 2 cl 2 and washed with water , 3 portions of 10 % solution of na 2 co 3 , water and brine . the organic phase was concentrated to get the title compound as an oil ( 96 % yield ). to a solution of ( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl )-[ 4 - nitro - 2 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] methanone ( 1 equiv ) in methanol ( 3 times ) was added 10 % pd / c under nitrogen atmosphere . then slowly added 66 % aq . ammonium formate solution ( 5 equiv ) at room temperature ( exothermic ). after stirring for 120 min , filtered through a pad of silica gel . the filtrate was concentrated and diluted with water , extracted with ch 2 cl 2 and washed with water . after ch 2 cl 2 concentration compound was collected by filtration using hexane solvent ( 90 % yield ). to a solution of vitride ( 3 equiv ) in toluene ( 6times ) under nitrogen atmosphere was slowly added lot wise [ 4 - amino - 2 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]-( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methanone ( 1 equiv ) at room temperature during 2 h ( exothermic ). after stirring for 4 h at 65 ° c ., slowly added 8 % aq . naoh solution ( 12 equiv ) during 1 h at room temperature . resulting solution was stirred for 30 minutes , extracted with toluene , combined toluene layers were dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated . crystallization form boiling hexane afforded the title compound ( 50 % yield ). to a solution of 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf ( 4times ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature for 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 2 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature for 120 min , the reaction mixture was quenched with water , extracted with ethyl acetate . after drying over na 2 so 4 , concentrated the ethyl acetate layer to provide the crude product . acetone was added to this crude product and was converted to hcl salt using ipa - hcl ( 85 % yield ). a mixture of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - n -[ 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 1 , sc5 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf under nitrogen atmosphere was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . reaction mass was heated to 80 ° c . for 5 h . filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature and filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water and methanol ( 1 : 2 mixture ). the compound was collected by filtration and dried . the xrd is depicted in fig1 . the compound was subjected to salt formation with conc . hcl in methanol medium to yield titled compound as hydrated dihydrochloride salt ( 70 % yield ). the xrd is depicted in fig2 . 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 430 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 678 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 742 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 397 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 288 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 156 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 958 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 893 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 537 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 645 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 946 ( bs , 2h ), 3 . 169 - 3 . 474 ( bs , 8h ), 2 . 794 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 586 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z − 560 . 3 ( m + h ) + . a mixture of 6 - bromo - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , which was prepared as per prepared as per - 1 . 3 ), pd ( pph 3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ) in dmf ( 15 times ) was deoxygenated with nitrogen for 15 minutes . then vinyl trimethyl silane ( 2 equiv ) was added and heated to 125 ° c . for 10 h . the reaction was monitored by thin layer chromatography . filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated and the residue was purified by silica gel chromatography ( eluted with 20 to 30 % ethyl acetate / hexane ) to provide the title compound as a solid ( 30 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 245 . 22 ( m + h ) + . a mixture of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - n -[ 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] benzamide ( 1 equiv , prepared as per example sc5 ), 6 -[ 2 - trimethylsilylvinyl ]- 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv ,), pd ( oac ) 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), p ( o - tol ) 3 ( 0 . 2 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . then heated to 90 ° c . for 7 h . filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature , filtrate was concentrated , and the residue was purified by silica gel chromatography ( eluted with 10 % methanol / methylene chloride ) to provide the title compound as a solid . the compound was subjected to hydrochloride salt formation using methanol and ipa - hcl . 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 283 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 772 - 10 . 802 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 822 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 521 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 367 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 233 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 042 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 950 - 7 . 974 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 835 - 7 . 854 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 577 - 7 . 618 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 409 - 7 . 465 ( d , 2h ), 6 . 611 - 6 . 634 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 155 ( bs , 2h ), 3 . 075 - 3 . 550 ( bs , 8h ), 2 . 806 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 529 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z − 562 . 2 ( m + h ) + . to a mixture of 4 - methyl - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoic acid ( 1 equiv ), k 2 co 3 ( 1 . 5 equiv ) in acetone ( 15 times ) was added mei ( 1 . 5 equiv ) at room temperature . stirring was continued for 24 h . reaction was monitored by thin layer chromatography . the salts were filtered and resulting filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water , extracted with ethyl acetate . concentration of organic layer afforded the pale yellow oil ( 95 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 219 ( m + h ′ 1 ) + . to a solution of methyl - 4 - methyl - 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoate ( 1 equiv ) in chloroform was added n - bromosuccinimide ( 1 . 1 equiv ) and benzoyl peroxide ( 0 . 01 equiv ). the reaction mixture was heated at reflux overnight ( 18 h ). it was then cooled to room temperature , washed with water , dried over na 2 so 4 and concentrated . it was purified by silica gel chromatography ( eluted with 1 % ethyl acetate / hexane ) to provide the title compound ( 65 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 297 . to a solution of methyl 4 -( bromomethyl )- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoate ( 1 equiv ) in chloroform ( 6times ) was added to n - methylpiperazine ( 3 equiv ) at room temperature . the resulting solution was stirred for 3 hrs , the reaction mass was washed with water and concentrated with chloroform to get the product . ( 95 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 317 ( m + h ) + . to a solution of methyl 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoate ( 1 equiv ) in ethanol ( 10times ) was added 2n naoh solution ( 2 equiv ) at room temperature . the resulting solution was stirred for 3 h . the reaction mixture was concentrated and acidified with aqueous 2n hcl until a white solid formed . the compound was collected by filtration at 0 - 5 ° c . ( 85 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 303 . 3 ( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf ( 10times ) under nitrogen gas atmosphere was added 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf ( 4times ) at room temperature for 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature for 120 min , the reaction mixture was quenched with water and extracted with ethyl acetate . the ethyl acetate layer was concentrated to provide the crude product . acetone was added to this crude product and isolated as hcl salt by employing ipa - hcl ( 40 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 518 ( m + h ) + . a mixture of n -( 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - phenyl )- 4 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 -( trifluoro methyl ) benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 3 . 5 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf ( 20times ) was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 80 ° c . for 5 h and filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water and stirred for 1 h . the compound was collected by filtration . methanol was added to the above wet compound and the product was isolated as the hcl salt by employing ipa - hcl ( 40 % yield ). 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 403 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 626 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 716 - 8 . 721 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 384 - 8 . 390 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 338 - 8 . 348 ( d , 2h ), 8 . 143 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 063 - 8 . 069 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 945 - 7 . 969 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 706 - 7 . 732 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 342 - 7 . 364 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 636 - 6 . 659 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 114 ( bs , 2h ), 2 . 894 - 3 . 502 ( bs , 8h ), 2 . 790 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 482 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z − 560 . 28 ( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 -( 4 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl )- 5 -( trifluoromethyl ) aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv , prepared according to literature known methods ) in thf under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature during 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 2 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature over 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched with water . the resulting mixture was stirred at 0 - 5 ° c . for 60 min . compound was collected by filtration . this compound was further purified by silica gel chromatography ( eluted with 2 % methanol / chloroform ) to provide the title compound ( 85 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 486 . 2 ( m + h ) + . a mixture of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - n -[ 3 -( 4 - methylimidazol - 1 - yl )- 5 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 4 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf ( 20 times ) was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 80 ° c . for 5 h , filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water , stirred for 1 h and filtered . acetone was added to above wet compound and the product was isolated as the hcl salt employing ipa - hcl ( 20 % yield ). 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 440 ( s , 1h ), 11 . 034 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 668 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 736 - 8 . 741 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 634 ( s , 11 - 1 ), 8 . 392 - 8 . 397 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 320 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 252 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 950 - 8 . 051 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 557 - 7 . 577 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 647 - 6 . 671 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 591 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 377 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z − 528 . 27 ( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 5 -( trifluoromethyl ) aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv , prepared according to literature methods ) in thf under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature during 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 2 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature over 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched with water . the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate and formed product was isolated as hcl salt in acetone . esi ms m / z −( m + 1 ) + . a mixture of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - n -[ 3 -[( 4 - methylpiperazin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 5 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 5 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf ( 20 times ) was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 80 ° c . for 5 h , filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water , stirred for 1 h and filtered . methanol was added and the product was isolated as the hcl salt employing ipa - hcl ( 25 % yield ). 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 432 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 796 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 741 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 399 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 322 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 222 ( s , 2h ), 7 . 964 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 814 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 542 -( d , 1h ), 6 . 647 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 363 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 394 ( bs , 8h ), 2 . 818 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 589 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z −( m + 1 ) + . to a solution of 3 , 5 - bis trifluoro methyl aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf ( 6times ) under nitrogen gas atmosphere was added 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature during 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 2 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature over 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched with water . the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate and concentrated . acetone was added to the resulting residue and formed hcl salt using ipa - hcl ( 85 % yield ). esi ms m / z − 474 ( m + h ) + . a mixture of n -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ]- 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 6 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 80 ° c . for 9 h , filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was concentrated , diluted with water , stirred for 1 h and filtered . methanol was added and the compound was filtered as hcl salt by treatment with ipa - hcl ( 60 % yield ). 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 429 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 874 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 746 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 545 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 402 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 223 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 956 - 7 . 979 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 839 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 563 - 7 . 582 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 646 - 6 . 668 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 594 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z − 516 . 13 ( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf ( 6times ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 , 5 - bis trifluoromethylbenzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 , 5 - bis trifluoromethylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature for 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature for 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched with water . the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate , concentrated and the compound was collected by adding hexane and filtration ( 44 % yield ). a mixture of n -( 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - phenyl )- 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 7 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per example 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 65 ° c . for 3 h and filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature . the filtrate was diluted with water and extracted with ethyl acetate . ethyl acetate layer was concentrated and formed hcl salt in acetone solvent . 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmso d 6 ) δ12 . 403 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 743 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 716 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 636 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 382 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 039 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 942 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 701 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 365 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 635 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 490 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z −( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 - trifluoromethyl aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - iodo - 4 - methylbenzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature during 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 2 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring to ambient temperature over 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched in to water . the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate and concentrated . the compound was collected by filtration using hexane solvent ( 49 . 2 % yield ). esi ms m / z −( m + 1 ) + . a mixture of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - n -[ 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 8 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf ( 20 times ) was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 65 ° c . for 3 h , filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature and filtrate was diluted with water . the compound was collected by filtration and hcl salt formation . 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 426 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 595 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 742 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 395 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 260 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 192 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 079 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 935 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 596 ( t , 1h ), 7 . 533 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 459 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 644 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 587 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z −( m + h ) + . to a solution of 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl aniline ( 0 . 7 equiv ) in thf under nitrogen atmosphere was added 3 - trifluoro methyl benzoyl chloride ( 1 equiv , prepared from the reaction of 3 - trifluoromethyl benzoic acid and socl 2 ) in thf at room temperature during 30 minutes followed by drop wise addition of ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ) and 4 - dmap ( 0 . 2 equiv ). after stirring at ambient temperature for 3 h , the reaction mixture was quenched with water . the resulting mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate , concentrated and the compound was isolated by adding n - hexane . a mixture of n -( 3 - iodo - 4 - methyl - phenyl )- 3 -( trifluoromethyl ) benzamide ( 0 . 8 equiv , prepared as per 9 . 1 ), 6 - ethynyl - 1h - 1 , 8 - naphthyridin - 2 - one ( 1 equiv , prepared as per 1 . 5 ), pd ( pph3 ) 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 1 equiv ), cui ( 0 . 15 equiv ), ( i - pr ) 2 etn ( 4 equiv ), in dmf was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas for 30 minutes . heated to 65 ° c . for 3 h , filtered through a pad of silica gel at room temperature and the filtrate was diluted with water . the resulting mixture was stirred for 1 h and the compound was collected by filtration and hcl salt using ipa - hcl . 1 hnmr ( 400 mhz , dmsod 6 ) δ12 . 400 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 523 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 718 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 381 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 317 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 272 ( d , 1h ), 8 . 055 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 940 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 786 ( t , 1h ), 7 . 704 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 343 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 635 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 484 ( s , 3h ). esi ms m / z −( m + h ) + . all the experimental compounds were evaluated for in vitro efficacy employing standard cell lines used for the screening of anti - cancer compounds . ponatinib was used as reference drug candidate for a comparative efficacy and safety evaluation . a laboratory sample of the drug substance ponatinib was synthesized in house employing the procedure disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 8 , 114 , 874 . in vitro studies of nrc - 21t on bcr - abl positive cell line k562 and mutant cell lines baf3 / t315i , m351t , e255k and wt . the experimental compounds and the standard reference drug ( ponatinib ) were dissolved in cell culture medium and dmso at a concentration of 10 mm for in vitro studies . the stock solution was further diluted with the same cell culture medium and used in concentrations of 0 . 1 nm to 10 μm . cell proliferation by mtt assay was done as follows . 1000 to 10 , 000 cells were seeded per well in 96 - well plate and different concentrations of pon - 21t ranging from 10 μm to 0 . 1 nm were added in triplicates . after incubating the cells with nrc - 21t for the required time period 24 - 72 hrs , 15 μl of 5 mg / ml mtt was added and incubated for additional 4 hours at 37 ° c . and 5 % co 2 . after 4 hrs , formazan crystals were dissolved in solubilizing buffer overnight at 37 ° c . absorbance was measured on elisa reader at dual wavelength of 570 - 630 - nm . by mtt assay the ic 50 values of the nrc21t were computed . ic 50 values obtained by mtt assay were tabulated in table - 1a & amp ; table - 1b and cells of control , ponatinib and nrc21t was photo graphed under inverted microscope and presented . ( fig3 ) the in - vitro invasiveness of baf3 / t315i mutant leukemia cancer cells in the presence of specified concentration of nrc21t were assessed . t315i cells ( 3 × 10 5 ) were suspended in 300 μl of serum - free medium and placed in the upper compartment of transwell chambers pre - coated with the matrigel ( millipore , catalog no . ecm550 , usa ). the lower compartment of the chamber was filled with 500 μl serum - medium ( 10 % fbs ) and the cells were allowed to migrate for 72 hrs . after incubation , the cells were fixed and stained with the dye provided along with the kit and quantified using elisa plate reader at 560 nm . in vitro matrigel assay of t315i cells in the presence of specified concentration of nrc - 21t were represented in table 2 and fig4 . the study was carried out using 5 ( 2 male + 3 female ) swiss albino mice weighing 18 - 30 grams . all the animals were fasted for 3 hours prior to the oral administration of the drug . the sample was administered immediately to all the animals according to their body weight . after administration of the experimental drug all the animals were observed for ½ hr , 1 hr , 2 hr , 4 hours and mortality was observed for 14 days . at the end of 14 days , all the surviving animals were autopsied and stomach was cut opened and observed for absorption of the drug through the git . nrc21t : mtd & gt ; 2000 mg · kg , p . o ( single dose 14 days observation ) ponatinib : mtd = 50 mg / kg , p . o ( single dose 14 days observation ) since the mtd of nrc21t is more than 2000 mg / kg , p . o according to ich guidelines it is inferred that nrc21t is a safer experimental drug than ponatinib . also nrc21t has comparable ic 50 values with respect to ponatinib . thus , the experimental drug of this invention , nrc21t is established as superior candidate in terms of safety and efficacy . example - 12 establishment of antagonism of nrc21t in t315i induced tumour in nude mice : [ clackson etal . 2009 , cancer cells november 6 ; 16 ( 5 ): 401 - 412 ] the study was carried out with 18 nude mice ( 9 male + 9 female ). weighing of nude mice was taken initially before inoculation of cell line and made into groups as follows : group - i : positive control ( 3 male + 3 female ) group - ii : nrc21t ( 3 male + 3 female ) group - iii : ponatinib ( 3 male + 3 female ) the cell line was inoculated into nude mice subcutaneously to the right hind limb flank at a strength of 1 × 10 6 cells / 0 . 2 ml . animals were observed daily for the appearance of tumour . the tumour volume was measured using the formula ½ l × w 2 ( l = length of tumour & amp ; w = width of tumour ). when the mean tumour volume was recorded above 400 mm 3 , the treatment with the above drugs was started . the above drugs were administered orally daily for 30 days . weights of nude mice were taken daily before dosing and tumour measurements were done on alternative days using digital vernier caliper . surviving animals were sacrificed after the dosing was complete for 30 days and the organs ( tumour with skin and spleen ) were collected . the study was depicted in fig5 , fig5 a and fig5 b . establishment of survival time of nrc21t in scid mice [ clackson etal . 2009 , cancer cells november 6 ; 16 ( 5 ): 401 - 412 ] the study was carried out using 30 scid mice ( 15 male + 15 female ). all the scid mice were injected with t315i cell line intravenously to the tail vein at a strength of 1 × 10 6 cells / 0 . 1 ml . grouping as follows : group - i : positive control ( 5 male + 5 female ) ( vehicle treated ) group - ii : nrc21t ( 5 male + 5 female ) ( 200 mg / kg , p . o ) group - iii : ponatinib ( 5 male + 5 female ) ( 10 mg / kg , p . o ) after 72 hours of injection administration of drugs to the respective groups were started . all the animals in the groups were administered with the respective drugs for 30 days . in case of mortality during the study spleen and liver were collected and sent for histopathology . animals in the moribund state were sacrificed and spleen and liver were collected and sent for histology . the study results depicted in fig6 a and fig6 b .	2
referring now to the drawing , a preferred distillation system 1 according to the present invention is shown to generally comprise evaporation apparatus 2 and condensation apparatus 3 . during operation , distillation system 1 takes raw liquid from a raw liquid container 4 for distillation in a boiling chamber 5 under reduced pressure . the vapor or gas that is produced in boiling chamber 5 is directed to condensation apparatus 3 for cooling and condensation . a final distillate product is delivered to a distillate collection vessel 9 . as used in this application , the phrase &# 34 ; raw liquid &# 34 ; refers to that fluid mixture from which a pure distillate is desired . &# 34 ; spent liquid ,&# 34 ; on the other hand , refers to that fluid mixture residue in boiling chamber 5 that has been heated yet remains within boiling chamber 5 . evaporation apparatus 2 includes boiling chamber 5 , means 48 for supplying raw and circulated liquid to boiling chamber 5 , means 49 for maintaining a liquid level in boiling chamber 5 at a predetermined level 20 and a connecting conduit 21 for directing vapors from boiling chamber 5 to condensation apparatus 3 . preferably , boiling chamber 5 is a vertical tube with an upwardly extending sidearm 38 located generally above liquid level 20 for receiving raw and circulated liquid . liquid supply means 48 communicates with sidearm 38 of boiling chamber 5 by way of a liquid supply conduit 29 having an inlet 39 in flow communication with a raw liquid supply source 4 . a flow control valve 15 governs the flow of raw liquid to boiling chamber 5 . the operation of supply valve 15 is described more fully hereinafter . liquid supply means 48 can also include additional means 53 for circulating and heating raw and spent liquid from the lower portion of boiling chamber 5 and returning the liquid and any resulting vapor or gas back to boiling chamber 5 , and a valved liquid outlet means 54 downstream of circulating and heating means 53 for discharging raw and spent liquid from boiling chamber 5 . circulating and heating means 53 preferably includes a pump 10 with an entrance port 35 in flow communication with the lower portion of boiling chamber 5 , a circulating raw liquid conduit 55 connected to pump 10 , at one end 56 , and , at another end 47 , connected to sidearm 38 of boiling chamber 5 . a heat exchanger 32 operatively coupled to conduit 55 is further provided for heating raw liquid that is pumped from boiling chamber 5 through conduit 55 . heat exchanger 32 may be coupled to heat exchanger 33 , discussed hereinafter , by a heat pump ( not shown ). alternatively , heat exchanger 32 may be heated by any source of low grade heat such as a flat plate solar collector , or from an industrial process . the heated raw liquid , and any resulting vapor or gas , is returned to boiling chamber 5 . to prevent an air blockage at pump 10 , entrance port 35 to pump 10 is completely flooded with liquid to prevent air or other noncondensed gas from entering pump 10 . in addition , no control valves or other restrictions are used in the line except for the internal surface friction of the line itself . because the pressure at entrance port 35 is generally the same as the pressure at the pump &# 39 ; s exit port , pump 10 does not operate against a large pressure differential . a centrifugal pump is well suited for these conditions . valved liquid outlet means 54 includes a positive displacement pump 12 ( preferably a gear pump ) in flow communication between the lower portion of boiling chamber 5 , on the one hand , and check valve 18 and drain conduit 30 , on the other . pump 12 slowly pumps spent liquid from boiling chamber 5 through drain conduit 30 to a drain . valve 18 , located near the exit port of pump 12 , prevents drained liquid from backing up into boiling chamber 5 when the distillation apparatus is not in operation . for the sake of simplicity , the structure of drain conduit 30 is not depicted in fig1 . drain conduit 30 , however , optimally leads upward to liquid level 20 and then turns downward and into the drain . a t - vent in drain conduit 30 , located generally above liquid level 20 , prevents the liquid in boiling chamber 5 from draining when distillation apparatus 1 is not in operation . the above described valved liquid outlet means 54 pumps liquid from boiling chamber 5 to prevent a buildup of salts and other contaminants in boiling chamber 5 . if pump 12 pumps liquid from boiling chamber 5 at a rate equal to the rate at which distillation enters into vessel 9 , the salt concentration leaving boiling chamber 5 will be twice that of the raw liquid entering boiling chamber 5 from source 4 . as indicated above , evaporation apparatus 2 further includes means 49 for maintaining the liquid level in boiling chamber 5 at a predetermined level 20 . specifically , liquid level maintaining means 49 includes a liquid level leg 40 having an upper conduit 57 , open to sidearm 38 , and a lower conduit 58 , open to a lower portion of boiling chamber 5 so that the liquid level in liquid level leg 40 is the same as that in boiling chamber 5 . float switches 16 , 17 within liquid level leg 40 detect the liquid level and send control signals to flow control valve 15 when the liquid level in boiling chamber 5 rises or falls to the level of a float switch . consequently , valve 15 opens when the liquid level in boiling chamber 5 is below predetermined level 20 and closes when the liquid level in boiling chamber 5 is above predetermined level 20 . when control valve 15 is opened , raw liquid is drawn into inlet 39 and through supply conduit 29 by the pressure difference between the atmosphere and the reduced pressure within distillation apparatus 1 . control valve 15 may be a solenoid valve or may be a variable position valve , positioned by an electric or pneumatic motor . turning now to condensation apparatus 3 , vapor or gas from boiling chamber 5 is directed through connecting conduit 21 to a closed condensation chamber 6 located generally higher than boiling chamber 5 . in chamber 6 , the vapor or gas is received , cooled and condensed to a distillate . connecting conduit 21 sealingly engages condensation chamber 6 such that condensation chamber 6 and boiling chamber 5 are vacuum tight . at least one bubble tube 22 is sealingly connected to the lower portion of condensation chamber 6 for carrying distillate and noncondensed gas or vapor out of condensation chamber 6 . the number of desired bubble tubes depends upon the amount of distillate to be produced . for stills producing less than a gallon of distillate per hour , there may be a dozen or less bubble tubes in parallel . under certain conditions , it is possible that only one tube will suffice . however , for stills producing hundreds of gallons of distillate per day , there may be hundreds of bubbles tubes in parallel . bubble tubes 22 carry vapor or gas , in the form of bubbles , and distillate from condensation chamber 6 to a closed collection chamber 7 . closed collection chamber 7 is also vacuum tight . the bubbles should span the entire inside diameter of bubble tubes 22 , especially at the upper ends of the bubble tubes 22 so that the distillate in bubble tubes 22 will not slide past the trapped bubbles . in this way , bubbles are carried downward along with the distillate into collection chamber 7 . to achieve this object , bubble tubes 22 should have an internal diameter generally equal to or less than the equilibrium diameter of the bubbles traveling within bubble tubes 22 . typically , the internal diameter of the bubble tubes 22 is approximately one inch , although the internal diameter of the bubble tubes 22 is at least 0 . 25 inches when the tubes are about 4 feet long . bubble tubes 22 sealingly engage and extend downward into collection chamber 7 to a level indicated as 28 . under normal operating conditions the liquid level within collection chamber 7 is indicated at 19 . level 28 is approximately 12 to 15 mm beneath level 19 . leading from closed collection chamber 7 are first transfer means 50 , a tube 51 , and second transfer means 52 . tube 51 serves an air bleed function . tube 51 , at one end , extends into collection chamber 7 with a bottom end thereof disposed at level 26 , approximately 1 to 2 mm below liquid level 19 . at its other end , tube 51 is connected to the upper portion of condensation chamber 6 . the internal diameter of tube 51 should exceed the equilibrium diameter of any vapor or gas bubbles that may be carried upward in tube 51 . in this way , only air , vapor or gas , and no distillate , will be carried through tube 51 to condensation chamber 6 . during the normal operating mode for distillation apparatus 1 , the liquid level in collection chamber 7 is at level 19 . when the liquid - gas interface is at this level , the liquid will seal the lower end of tube 51 to substantially prevent tube 51 from acting as an air bleed . tube 51 , therefore , functions as a major bleed mechanism only during the start - up of the distillation system , as will be explained more fully hereinafter . small quantities , however , of vapor or gas may work their way through tube 51 when the apparatus is in operation . first transfer means 50 conveys a mixture of vapor or gas and distillate from collection chamber 7 to an open container 8 via positive displacement pump 13 and conduit 59 . when the mixture reaches open container 8 , the noncondensed vapor or gas is released directly into the atmosphere . open container 8 is preferably located at a height slightly below that of condensation chamber 6 . distillate in container 8 will either be channeled to second transfer means 52 or will overflow through exit port 44 into a final distillate collection vessel 9 . pump 13 is preferably a gear pump , or another type of positive displacement pump . pump 13 pumps the distillate - vapor mixture from collection chamber 7 through conduit 59 into open container 8 . pump 13 has an entrance port 37 within collection chamber 7 . port 37 is positioned at level 27 approximately 7 to 8 mm beneath liquid level 19 and above the level of bottom ends of bubble tubes 22 . second transfer means 52 communicates with the lower portion of collection chamber 7 and the upper portion of condensation chamber 6 . distillate from container 8 can be introduced into conduit 31 of means 52 through a branch conduit 25 . this return system 52 supplies cooled distillate to condensation chamber 6 for condensing gas or vapor from boiling chamber 5 . transfer means 52 includes a centrifugal pump 11 with an entrance port 36 connected to the lower portion of collection chamber 7 . pump 11 pumps distillate from collection chamber 7 to a conduit 31 . conduit 31 is connected , at one end , to pump 11 and , at the other end , to the upper portion of condensation chamber 6 . heat exchanger 33 can be operatively coupled to conduit 31 for cooling the recycled distillate . heat exchanger 33 may be coupled to heat exchanger 32 as previously described . alternatively , heat exchanger 32 may be cooled by water from an open pond , for example . entrance port 36 to pump 11 is completely flooded by distillate , because the gas or vapor rises to the upper portion of collection chamber 7 , leaving only distillate in the lower portion of chamber 7 . therefore , no air or other noncondensed gas will enter pump 11 to cause an air blockage . as is true with pump 10 , there are no control valves or other restrictions in the line except for the surface friction of the line itself . because the pressure at entrance port 36 is approximately equal to the pressure at the pump &# 39 ; s exit port , pump 11 does not pump against a large pressure differential . under these conditions , a centrifugal pump is again optimum . conduit 25 includes a flow control valve 14 to govern the flow of distillate from open container 8 . its setting will determine the height of the liquid level in tube 51 . the level in tube 51 is also the net liquid height in bubble tubes 22 . the setting for valve 14 can be automatically controlled with a liquid sensing mechanism within tube 51 or it can be manually set . preferably , means 52 further includes a branched distillate distributor 23 connected to conduit 31 and located within condensation chamber 6 . distributor 23 causes the chilled distillate to flow down the inside walls of condensation chamber 6 providing a large surface area for the condensation of vapor or gas from boiling chamber 5 . not shown in the drawing is a normally open air - bleed solenoid which can , in the preferred embodiment , be employed in boiling chamber 5 . when energized , this solenoid closes to prevent air from entering the system . when the system is not in operation , the solenoid opens to let air enter the system . otherwise , the vacuum in the system would suck liquid from open container 8 and source 4 , mixing raw liquid from source 4 with distillate in container 8 . prior to distillation apparatus 1 being initially operated , liquid must be manually added to the system . pure distilled liquid is poured in container 8 until container 8 is filled . the liquid will run backward through pumps 11 and 13 and up into bubble tubes 22 to a level which is generally the same as the liquid level in open container 8 . this will provide sufficient fluid for starting . boiling chamber 5 can be initially filled to liquid level 20 by turning inlet 39 upward and manually adding raw liquid . inlet 39 is then returned to source 4 . once this initial filling operation has been accomplished there should be sufficient liquid in the distillation apparatus after every shutdown for any subsequent start - up . when distillation apparatus 1 is activated , pumps 10 , 11 , 12 and 13 will start circulating liquid . vapor or gas generated by heating and circulating means 53 , in combination with boiling chamber 5 , is directed from boiling chamber 5 through connecting conduit 21 to condensation chamber 6 . in condensation chamber 6 , the vapor or gas condenses on the cooled distillate that is travelling along the walls of condensation chamber 6 . any vapor or gas that is trapped in the distillate is carried through bubble tubes 22 to collection chamber 7 . in collection chamber 7 , air , gas or vapor rises to the upper portion of collection chamber 7 forming an air - liquid boundary at level 19 . gear pump 13 removes this air along with a mixture of liquid by a slurping action at vortex 24 . the position of inlet 37 beneath level 19 induces vortex 24 . as mentioned previously , pump 11 pumps against a very small pressure differential from start - up to normal operating conditions . therefore , the flow from distributor 23 through bubble tubes 22 is high both at start - up and during normal operating conditions . under these conditions , centrifugal pump 11 circulates liquid at a rate which can be more than 10 times as fast as a gear pump , having a motor with the same horsepower rating , in the same location would . this high flow rate is desirable for two reasons . first , a high flow rate through heat exchanger 33 makes the heat exchanger , and the heat pump , more efficient . second , a high flow rate through bubble tubes 22 improves the rate at which air and other noncondensed gases are pumped out of condensation chamber 6 . this becomes especially important when the ultimate vacuum within the system is approached . as the ultimate vacuum is reached , the number of molecules of air in each bubble travelling through bubble tubes 22 decreases . with a decreased number of molecules , it is desirable to increase the number of bubbles in tubes 22 to compensate for the reduced number of molecules . the higher liquid flow rate caused by pump 11 insures that there will be a large number of bubbles traveling through bubble tubes 22 . if one selects a centrifugal pump of the proper size to obtain adequate flow through bubble tubes 22 , this size will possibly pump air down the bubble tubes too fast during start - up and overwhelm gear pump 13 . the abnormally large surge of air at start - up causes the liquid - gas interface at liquid level 19 to move downward because the air is filling the upper portion of collection chamber 7 faster than pump 13 can remove it . if means were not provided to preclude an unacceptable lowering of liquid level 19 , level 19 would move downward past level 27 and completely expose entrance port 37 of gear pump 13 to air . because the gears of pump 13 must be wetted to maintain a seal and be lubricated for operation , gear pump 13 will fail when no liquid is available . when gear pump 13 fails to remove air , the system cannot be evacuated and the entire distillation apparatus will fail . the present invention eliminates this concern by employment , in the preferred embodiment , of tube 51 . as explained above , the abnormal surge of air moving into the upper portion of collection chamber 7 during start - up pushes liquid level 19 downward . however , this liquid level will only move downward until it reaches level 26 at which point the end of tube 51 becomes exposed . with the end of tube 51 exposed , a path becomes available into which air from the upper portion of collection chamber 7 can escape back into condensation chamber 6 , rather than pushing the fluid - air interface beneath level 27 . during start - up , vortex 24 remains present , although shortened , and entrance port 37 remains beneath the liquid - gas interface . hence , liquid , along with air , can still enter the gear pump in a slurping fashion through vortex 24 , wetting the gears of pump 13 . as gas or vapor is removed from boiling chamber 5 , condensation chamber 6 and collection chamber 7 , the density of the remaining vapor or gas decreases , and smaller quantities of vapor or gas travel through bubble tubes 22 per unit of time . in turn , the pumping efficiency of bubble tubes 22 decreases until the net amount of gas no longer overwhelms the ability of gear pump 13 to remove the gas . when this condition is reached , the level of the liquid - gas interface rises until it reaches liquid level 19 sealing tube 51 . the bubble tube and gear pump system will now operate in a mode for which it was designed to obtain the ultimate vacuum . fig2 illustrates an alternate method of ensuring that the gears of gear pump 13 are wetted during start up . this method includes the insertion of a tee 60 in port 37 in front of pump 13 . the side arm 61 of the tee 60 is connected by a conduit 62 to the bottom of open container 8 . there is a flow control valve 63 in the line comprising side arm 61 and conduit 62 . during start up , this flow control valve 63 is opened slightly to allow fluid to enter pump 13 through the tee 60 and port 37 and thereby keeping the gears of the gear pump 13 wetted , even though the initial large flow of gas down the bubble tubes 22 has pushed the liquid - gas interface in collection chamber 7 down below the level 27 at port 37 . after start up and after normal operating levels in chamber 7 are obtained , this flow control valve 63 can be closed . numerous characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description . it will be understood , however , that this disclosure is , in many respects , only illustrative . changes may be made in details , particularly in matters of shape , size and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the invention . the inventor &# 39 ; s scope is , of course , defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed .	8

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