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the tetrafluoroethylene polymer employed herein is the non - melt - fabricable class of tetrafluoroethylene polymer , as opposed to the lower melting , melt - fabricable class of tetrafluoroethylene polymer . the difference between these classes of tetrafluoroethylene polymers can be determined by melt viscosity . non - melt - fabricable polymers have high melt viscosities , e . g ., 1 × 10 9 poise or more at 380 ° c . ; while melt - fabricable polymers have much lower melt viscosities , e . g . on the order of 1 × 10 4 to 1 × 10 6 . melt viscosity of the polymer depends in large part upon the amount , if any , of comonomer present . generally , the more conomomer present , the lower the melt viscosity . melt viscosity also depends on the molecular weight of the comonomer . thus non - melt - fabricable tetrafluoroethylene polymers employed herein include polytetrafluoroethylene and copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene and different perfluorinated ethylenically unsaturated monomers present in an amount which does not cause the melt viscosity of the resultant copolymer to be below 1 × 10 9 poise at 380 ° c . one preferred class of ethylenically unsaturated monomers is perfluoro ( alkyl vinyl ethers ) of 3 - 7 carbon atoms . generally , the copolymer can contain up to between about 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 % by weight of these comonomers before the melt viscosity falls below 1 × 10 9 poise . the maximum amount depends upon the molecular weight of the comonomer . for perfluoro ( propyl vinyl ether ) the upper limit will be about 0 . 5 %; this limit will be lower as the molecular weight of the ether increases . another preferred class is perfluoro ( terminally unsaturated olefins ) of 3 - 7 carbon atoms . generally , the copolymer can contain up to between about 0 . 5 - 2 . 5 % by weight of these comonomers before the melt viscosity falls below 1 × 10 9 poise . again , the maximum amount depends on the molecular weight of the comonomer . for hexafluoropropylene the upper limit will be about 2 . 5 %. this limit will be lower as the molecular weight of the olefin increases . the tetrafluoroethylene polymers employed herein are prepared by the aqueous dispersion preparative method , rather than by the suspension polymerization method . in the aqueous dispersion method , a dispersion of the polymer is obtained by polymerization in an aqueous medium containing dispersing agent , such as from 0 . 2 to 0 . 8 % by weight ( based on water ) ammonium polyfluorocarboxylate containing 7 - 10 carbon atoms , to form a dispersion of tetrafluoroethylene polymer particles in water . these particles are substantially round and have an average diameter generally within the range of 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 micron ; polymer concentration is not critical , but generally ranges between 45 and 75 % by weight based on weight of dispersion ( polytetrafluoroethylene plus water plus non - ionic surfactant ). preferred tetrafluoroethylene polymer concentration in the dispersion is 55 to 65 % based on weight of dispersion . the ph of the dispersion may be adjusted , if desired , to at least 7 by the addition of a basic compound in order to minimize corrosive attack on metal surfaces . on coagulation , the resulting powder obtained is usually referred to in the art as &# 34 ; fine powder &# 34 ; ( on the other hand , the powder obtained from suspension polymerization is usually referred to as &# 34 ; granular &# 34 ; resin .). the nonionic surfactant component in the dispersion should be present in an amount of at least 3 % by weight of the polymer . the surfactant aids in maintaining the polymer particles suspended in the dispersion . if the nonionic surfactant content is increased to about 11 % or more , the sintered or fused product obtained from the dispersion will have a distinct brownish color . if it is desired to minimize discoloration , a concentration of surfactant as close to 5 % by wt . as possible may be used . as polymer solids concentration in the dispersion to be thickened is decreased from 60 % by weight , greater amounts of the nonionic surfactant are required to assist in thickening without coagulating the polymer . a preferred amount of surfactant is from 5 to 8 % by weight . the nonionic surfactant is any nonionic surfactant which is soluble in water at room temperature ( 20 °- 25 ° c .) at the concentration desired . the surfactant can be composed of a single nonionic surfactant or a mixture of nonionic surfactants . typically , the nonionic surfactants are prepared as reaction products of ethylene oxide , which imparts a hydrophilic moiety to the surfactant , with other compounds which impart hydrophobic moieties to the surfactant , such as propylene oxide , amines , saturated and unsaturated aliphatic alcohols and aliphatic acids , and alkyl phenols . for purposes of illustration , some of the foregoing mentioned nonionic surfactants are further illustrated hereinafter by the formulae : wherein ( a ) n is the group -- c 2 h 4 o -- n or a mixture of the groups -- c 2 h 4 o -- a and -- c 3 h 6 o -- b , wherein n in each instance is an integer of from 2 to 50 and preferably 2 to 18 , b is an integer of 0 to 30 , and a is an integer of at least 2 , a + b being equal to n ; x is an integer of 1 , 2 , or 3 ; and r &# 39 ; is an aliphatic hydrocarbon group which can be saturated or unsaturated , straight - chain , branched , or cyclic , and will generally contain from 8 to 24 carbon atoms , preferably from 8 to 18 carbon atoms ; examples of r groups include oleyl , stearyl , tridecyl , lauryl , decyl and the groups derived from aliphatic glycols and triols ; r 2 -- c 6 h 4 o ( b ) m h , wherein b is the group -- c 2 h 4 o -- c or a mixture of the groups -- c 2 h 4 o -- c and -- c 3 h 6 o -- d , wherein m in each instance is an integer of from 2 to 50 and preferably 8 to 20 , d is an integer of 0 to 30 , c is an integer of at least 2 , c + d being equal to m ; r 2 is a monovalent aliphatic and usually saturated hydrocarbon group containing 4 to 20 carbon atoms and preferably 8 to 12 carbon atoms ; ## str1 ## wherein p is an integer of 2 to 50 ; z is an integer of 1 or 2 ; r 4 is an alkyl group containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms ; r 3 is ( ch 2 ch 2 o ) p h , when z is 2 and an alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms when z is 1 ; with the proviso that at least 5 carbon atoms are provided by r 3 + r 4 ; the polyalkylene oxide block copolymers of the formula wherein f is an integer of from 15 to 65 and e and f are integers sufficiently large that e + g total 20 to 90 percent of the total weight of the polymer . for each of the surfactants of the foregoing described formulae , the hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties are proportioned such and the total molecular weight is such that the surfactant is water soluble . specific surfactants within these formulae include ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 4 ch 2 ( och 2 ch 2 ) 3 oh ; ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 6 ch 2 ( och 2 ch 2 ) 3 oh ; ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 10 ch 2 ( och 2 ch 2 ) 12 ( och ( ch 3 ) ch 2 ) 5 oh ; ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 8 ch 2 ( och 2 ch 2 ) 10 oh ; ch 3 ( ch 2 ) 8 ch 2 ( och 2 ch 2 ) 5 oh ; and ## str2 ## the sodium phosphates useful in this invention are commonly defined by the stoichiometric ratio of their oxides , i . e ., ratio of na 2 o to p 2 o 5 . in this invention , useful phosphates are ones in which the ratio of na 2 o to p 2 o 5 varies from 1 - to - 1 to 3 - to - 1 . preferably the ratio is between 1 . 05 - to - 1 and 1 . 2 - to - 1 . the sodium phosphates are described in phosphorus and its compounds , j . r . van wazer , interscience publishers , inc . n . y ., 1958 p . 775 et seq . the phosphate is present in the dispersion in an amount between 0 . 2 - 90 g / kg dispersion . if desired 0 . 2 - 14 g / kg dispersion can be used . the phosphate may be added either in solid ( powder or granule ) form or in aqueous solution . to prepare the dispersions of this invention the phosphate is simply added , usually by stirring it in , to an aqueous dispersion of the polymer and the surfactant . neither temperature nor pressure is critical in the preparation . during addition , the viscosity of the dispersion increases due to the presence of the phosphate . preferably , sufficient phosphate is added to result in a dispersion having a viscosity of at least 50 centipoise , and most preferably between about 50 and 500 centipose . the use of a phosphate defined herein is critical to this invention , for it is only when the phosphate is used to thicken the dispersion that the dispersion can be thinned merely by adding a selected inorganic electrolyte . ordinarily , the addition of inorganic electrolytes increases the viscosity of dispersions of tetrafluoroethylene polymers and the addition of more , but different inorganic electrolytes continues to raise the viscosity . however , when such dispersions are initially thickened with a sodium phosphate defined herein , addition of certain inorganic electrolytes surprisingly results in a decrease in viscosity . inorganic electrolyes which so lower the viscosity include the nitrates of group ii a ( of the periodic chart ) cations , fe , co , ni and al . other inorganic electrolytes which lower the viscosity include calcium acetate , barium acetate , strontium acetate and barium hydroxide . in most instances , these electrolytes decrease the viscosity only so long as their concentration in the dispersion is less than about 1 g per 454 g of dispersion . above that concentration , the electrolytes tend to increase viscosity . neither temperature nor pressure is critical during addition of these electrolytes . the electrolytes are simply stirred into the dispersion to lower the dispersion viscosity . the advantages of this invention are observed in the storage , shipment , and use of the dispersions . the increase in viscosity enhances the stability of the dispersion against settling out of the ingredients ; and when the dispersions are ready for their end application , usually as coating materials on fabrics and gaskets , they can be used directly or can be thinned by adding an inorganic electrolyte described further above . the enhancement of stability against settling of ingredients is particularly advantageous when an inert filler material is present in the dispersion . fillers employed with tetrafluoroethylene polymer dispersions are usually particulate solids that are insoluble in the dispersion . the fillers usually range from 10 to 70 microns in size ( median size based on weight as measured by a micromerograph instrument ). in contrast polymer particles in the dispersion are of colloidal size , usually about 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 microns in size . because of the large size of the fillers , the filler particles tend to settle out of the dispersion . thickening the dispersion retards this settling process . representative fillers include inorganic mineral fillers such as diatomaceous earth , limestone , talc , carbon , powdered metal , glass beads , and mineral fibers . fillers , when present , usually comprise 20 - 40 % by weight based on weight of dispersion . the dispersions of this invention , which have been thickened with the sodium phosphates , exhibit improved storage stability over art dispersions such as those thickened with ba ( no 3 ) 2 at comparable viscosities . at about six months , the ba ( no 3 ) 2 thickened dispersion had appreciably settled whereas after about nine months the sodium phosphate thickened dispersion had not appreciably settled . melt viscosities of the tetrafluoroethylene polymers are calculated by measuring the tensile creep of a sintered piece held at 380 ° c . specifically , 12 g . of molding powder is placed in a 7 . 6 cm . diameter mold between 0 . 152 cm . rubber cauls and paper spacers . the mold is then heated at 100 ° c . for 1 hour . pressure is then slowly applied on the mold until a value of 140 . 6 kg ./ cm . 2 is obtained . this pressure is held for 5 minutes and then released slowly . after the sample disc is removed from the mold and separated from the cauls and paper spacers , it is sintered at 380 ° c . for 30 minutes . the oven is then cooled to 290 ° c . at a rate of about 1 ° c . a minute and the sample is removed . a crack - free rectangular sliver with the following dimensions is cut : 0 . 152 to 0 . 165 cm . wide , 0 . 152 to 0 . 165 cm . thick , and at least 6 cm . long . the dimensions are measured accurately and the cross - sectional area is calculated . the sample sliver is attached at each end to quartz rods by wrapping with silver - coated copper wire . the distance between wrappings is 4 . 0 cm . this quartz rod - sample assembly is placed in a columnar oven where the 4 cm . test length is brought to a temperature of 380 °± 2 ° c . a weight is then attached to the bottom quartz rod to give a total weight suspended from the sample sliver of about 4 g . the elongation measurements vs . time are obtained , and the best average value for the creep rate in the interval between 30 and 60 minutes is measured . the specific melt viscosity , which may be better called apparent melt viscosity , is then calculated from the relationship l t = length of sample ( at 380 ° c .) cms . ( 4 . 32 cm ) ( dl t / dt )= rate of elongation of sample under load = slope of elongation vs . time plot , cm ./ sec . a t = cross - sectional area of sample ( at 380 ° c . ), cm 2 ( area increases 37 % at 380 ° c . over that at room temperature ). viscosities of aqueous dispersions described herein are measured using a brookfield viscometer ( model lvt ) operating at 60 r . p . m . at 25 ° c . using a # 2 spindle . the spindle is lowered into the dispersion , and the viscometer is turned on and allowed to equilibrate for one minute before a reading is taken . readings were taken in triplicate and averaged . the averaged value was multiplied by 5 to obtain the viscosity in centipoise ( cps ). thickening effect of sodium phosphate of na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 1 . 15 to 1 to 374 . 6 g of polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer dispersion ( polymer melt viscosity greater than 1 × 10 9 poise at 380 ° c .) containing 70 . 9 % solids and 4 . 0 % ( based on polymer ) &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 ( nonionic surfactant ) was added 75 . 5 g demineralized water ( used to adjust concentration without introducing impurities ). after this dispersion was warmed to about 35 ° c ., 3 . 41 g of &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 was added and the dispersion stirred 5 minutes to completely dissolve the surfactant . the dispersion was then cooled to room temperature ( 22 ° c .). the dispersion contained 58 . 5 % solids and 5 . 5 % &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 . its viscosity was determined . this dispersion was stirred using a propeller - type stirrer at a speed adequate to mix the ingredients without whipping air into the dispersion . to this stirred dispersion , 0 . 2 g of sodium phosphate having an na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 1 . 15 to 1 buffered by sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate was added and the stirring was continued for 5 minutes before the viscosity was measured . the mixture of sodium phosphate and buffer used was obtained commercially under the tradename &# 34 ; calgon &# 34 ;. the addition of 0 . 2 g of the mixture was repeated 9 times . after each addition , the viscosity was measured . then the addition was increased to 0 . 4 g and the procedure was repeated 4 times . viscosity was measured after each addition . the viscosity of the original dispersion and the viscosity measured after each addition of phosphate is shown as follows : ______________________________________amount of sodium phosphatepresent ( g ) viscosity ( cps ) ______________________________________0 120 . 2 100 . 4 120 . 6 120 . 8 221 . 0 451 . 2 731 . 4 1001 . 6 1251 . 8 1402 . 0 1602 . 4 1852 . 8 2053 . 2 2233 . 6 241______________________________________ to a polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer dispersion ( 454 g ) ( like that used in part a except that it contained 55 . 0 % solids and 5 . 16 % nonionic surfactant &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 ) was added 8 . 0 g of sodium phosphate having a na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 1 . 15 to 1 ( present in the form of &# 34 ; calgon &# 34 ;). the ingredients were agitated . the viscosity rose to 155 cps . two more additions of sodium phosphate ( na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio 1 . 15 ) ( 0 . 7 and 0 . 8 g , respectively ) resulted in viscosities of 177 cps and 205 cps respectively . addition of additional 20 g of sodium phosphate ( na 2 o : p 2 o 2 ratio 1 . 15 ) to the thickened dispersion resulted in a viscosity of 1600 cps . total amount of sodium phosphate added was about 65 g / kg of dispersion . thinning effect of ba ( no 3 ) 2 on a sodium phosphate / silicon dioxide filled thickened dispersion a polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer dispersion ( 454 g ) containing 61 % total solids of which 20 % of the 61 % is silicon dioxide ( in the form of &# 34 ; min - u - sil &# 34 ;- 5 , micron sized silica ), 6 . 25 % nonionic surfactant &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 , and enough sodium phosphate having an na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 1 . 15 to 1 ( present in the form of &# 34 ; calgon &# 34 ;) to provide a viscosity of 135 cps was placed in a container and mixed with a propeller - type stirring blade at a speed just enough to agitate the ingredients . to the dispersion , 0 . 2 g of ba ( no 3 ) 2 was added and the mixture was stirred 5 minutes before the viscosity was measured . this procedure was repeated until a total of 1 . 6 g of ba ( no 3 ) 2 had been added to the dispersion . the viscosity of the original sodium phosphate containing - dispersion and the viscosity measured after each addition of barium nitrate is shown as follows : ______________________________________amount of bariumnitrate present ( g ) viscosity ( cps ) ______________________________________0 1350 . 2 1180 . 4 1050 . 6 950 . 8 951 . 0 951 . 2 971 . 4 1001 . 6 112______________________________________ thickening effect of sodium phosphate of na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 3 : 1 and thinning effect of ba ( no 3 ) 2 the viscosity of a polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer dispersion containing 60 . 6 % solids and 5 . 5 % nonionic surfactant &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 was measured to be 32 . 5 cps . to 908 g of this dispersion was added 1 . 0 g 3na 2 o : p 2 o 5 and the dispersion was stirred 5 minutes to mix the ingredients . the viscosity was measured at 27 . 5 cps . the addition of 1 . 0 g 3na 2 o : p 2 o 5 was repeated 3 times to give respectively viscosities of 26 . 0 cps , 35 . 0 cps , 100 . 0 cps . to 454 g of the above 3na 2 o : p 2 o 5 thickened dispersion ( viscosity 100 . 0 cps ), 1 . 0 g of ba ( no 3 ) 2 was added and the dispersion stirred 5 minutes . the viscosity was determined to be 37 . 5 cps . the ineffectiveness of an alkali metal nitrate to thin the thickened dispersion is shown by the fact that when 1 . 0 g of kno 3 was added to 454 g of the above 3na 2 o : p 2 o 5 thickened dispersion ( viscosity 100 . 0 cps ) and the mixture stirred 5 minutes , the viscosity was 157 . 0 cps . thickening effect of sodium phosphate of na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 2 : 1 and thinning effect of ba ( no 3 ) 2 the procedure of example 3 was followed . the following table shows the viscosities obtained . ______________________________________total viscosity2na . sub . 2 o : p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 ofadded dispersion______________________________________0 . 0 g 31 . 0 cps1 . 0 g 25 . 0 cps2 . 0 g 22 . 5 cps3 . 0 g 60 . 0 cps4 . 0 g 155 . 0 cps______________________________________ 454 g of the 155 . 0 cps dispersion were mixed with 1 . 0 g ba ( no 3 ) 2 . the viscosity of the ba ( no 3 ) 2 thinned dispersion was 87 . 5 cps . to another 454 g of the 155 . 0 cps dispersion , was added 1 . 0 g kno 3 . the viscosity after addition of kno 3 increased to 185 . 5 . thickening effect of sodium phosphate of na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 5 : 3 and thinning effect of ba ( no 3 ) 2 the procedure of example 3 was followed . the following table shows the viscosities obtained . ______________________________________total5na . sub . 2 o : 3p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5added viscosity______________________________________0 . 0 g 30 . 0 cps2 . 0 g 28 . 5 cps3 . 0 g 35 . 5 cps4 . 0 g 200 . 0 cps5 . 0 g 382 . 5 cps______________________________________ b 454 g of the 382 . 5 cps dispersion were mixed with 1 . 0 g ba ( no 3 ) 2 . the viscosity of the thinned dispersion was 350 . 0 cps . to another 454 g of the 382 . 5 cps dispersion was added 1 . 0 g kno 3 . the viscosity after addition of kno 3 increased to 423 . 0 cps . thickening effect on a glass bead filler - containing dispersion and thinning effect of ba ( no 3 ) 2 a dispersion of polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer containing 71 . 6 % solids and 2 . 96 % &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 was prepared . to 2283 g of this dispersion was added 441 g demineralized water and 54 . 6 g &# 34 ; triton &# 34 ; x - 100 . after addition of 2 . 5 g sodium phosphate ( in the form of &# 34 ; calgon &# 34 ;) having an na 2 o : p 2 o 5 ratio of 1 . 15 : 1 , and 390 g glass beads having an average bead size by weight of about 29 - 30 microns , the viscosity was measured at 180 cps . to 227 g of the thickened dispersion , 0 . 2 g of ba ( no 3 ) 2 was added . the dispersion was stirred for 5 minutes to dissolve the salt and the viscosity measured . the ba ( no 3 ) 2 was added 4 times in increments 1 . 0 g each time . the viscosity after each addition is shown by the following table : ______________________________________ total ba ( no . sub . 3 ). sub . 2 added viscosity______________________________________ 0 . 0 g 180 cps 0 . 2 g 145 cps 0 . 4 g 145 cps 0 . 6 g 185 cps 0 . 8 g 210 cps 1 . 0 g 230 cps______________________________________ thinning results similar to that using ba ( no 3 ) 2 are obtained with the other inorganic electrolytes mentioned herein as thinning additives .	2
apparatuses and methods which represent various embodiments and an example application of an embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig1 - 9 . variations to the apparatuses and methods which represent still other embodiments will also be described . for purposes of illustration , some embodiments will be described in the context of a mobile communication device and / or mobile phones . the invention ( s ) disclosed herein are not limited by the context in which the apparatuses and methods are used , and that the apparatuses and methods may be used in other environments . additionally , the specific implementations described herein are set forth in order to illustrate , and not to limit , the invention ( s ) disclosed herein . the scope of the invention ( s ) is defined only by the appended claims . these and other features will now be described with reference to the drawings summarized above . the drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention ( s ) and not to limit the scope of the invention . throughout the drawings , reference numbers may be re - used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements . the apparatuses and methods disclosed herein pertain to shielding active signal traces on a flexible support member . in one set of embodiments , a shielded flexible circuit is constructed using a base flexible material that comprises a flexible non - conductive substrate on a top side and a copper layer on a bottom side . in these embodiments , alternate traces are grounded to the copper layer and used to shield the traces between them . for ease of reference , embodiments of this type will hereinafter be referred to as a “ single - copper layer shielding with alternate grounded traces ” embodiment . in another set of embodiments , a shielded flexible circuit is constructed using a base material that comprises a flexible substrate on a top side and a copper layer on a bottom side . in these embodiments , substantially every trace may be used as an active signal trace . for ease of reference , embodiments of this type will hereinafter be referred to as a “ single copper layer with all traces shielded ” embodiment . in yet another set of embodiments , a shielded flexible circuit is constructed using a base material that comprises a flexible substrate with a copper layer on a top side and a copper layer on a bottom side of the flexible substrate . for ease of reference , embodiments of this type will hereinafter be referred to as a “ two copper layer ” embodiment . in a further set of embodiments , a shielded flexible circuit is constructed using a base material that comprises a flexible substrate with a copper layer on a top side and a copper layer on a bottom side of the flexible substrate . in these embodiments , copper may be used to shield the copper traces on all sides . for ease of reference , embodiments of this type will hereinafter be referred to as a “ three copper layer ” embodiment . additionally , terms such as “ above ,” “ below ,” “ top ,” and “ bottom ” are used throughout the specification . these terms should not be construed as limiting . rather , these terms are used relative to the orientations of the applicable figures . moreover , the “ process diagrams ” are each illustrative of one embodiment of the invention ( s ) only . the invention ( s ) disclosed herein should not be limited to the steps of the process diagrams in the order that they appear . it is recognized that the steps may be performed in any order that is recognized as suitable by one with ordinary skill in the art . fig1 h illustrates one embodiment of a single copper layer shielding with alternate grounded traces . fig2 illustrates a process diagram , including steps 501 - 508 , for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit , and fig1 a - h illustrate the structure of the shielded flexible circuit as each step of the method is practiced . as described herein , the figures associated with the structure of the circuit at each step of the method will be expressly referenced . in contrast , each step of the method of fig2 will be referred to using the reference numbers of fig2 only . in this embodiment , the method for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit begins with the flexible support member 100 illustrated in fig1 a . the flexible support member 100 is comprised of two layers , a flexible substrate 102 and a base conductive layer 101 . it is known to one with ordinary skill in the art that the flexible support member 100 is commercially manufactured and readily available for purchase . in other embodiments , the method may begin by applying the base conductive layer 101 to the flexible substrate 102 using plating , lamination , vapor deposition or other known techniques . in one preferred embodiment , the flexible substrate 102 is made of a polyimide material . in other embodiments , the flexible substrate 102 may be any of the commonly used “ flex ” or printed circuit board (“ pcb ”) materials such as fr4 , pet / pen , teflon / high speed materials , and so forth . in one preferred embodiment , the base conductive layer 101 is a copper layer . in other embodiments , the base conductive layer 101 may be any electrically conductive material such as gold or silver . though it is contemplated that other materials may be used , the base conductive layer 101 will be referred to herein as a copper base conductive layer 101 . traditional pcb manufacturing methods may be used to create tooling holes or vias in the flexible support member 100 . fig1 b illustrates the copper traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 formed after completion of step 501 . in one embodiment , the copper traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 are printed and etched using photolithography techniques well known to those skilled in the art . one photolithography technique requires laminating a dry film etch resist to the base conductive layer 101 using a hot roll laminator or a vacuum lamination process . many dry film etch resist layers are commercially available and are produced by companies such as dupont ®. in some embodiments , the thickness of the dry film etch resist layer is between 0 . 0007 ″ to 0 . 0020 ″. a circuit image is then transferred to the etch resist layer using ultraviolet (“ uv ”) energy and an appropriate tool such as a photo tool , a mylar ® film , or a mylar ® glass . the areas of etch resist which were not exposed to uv energy are then chemically washed off of the panel . for example , a solution containing potassium carbonate may be used to wash off the undeveloped ( that is , not exposed to uv energy ) etch resist . next , the copper which is exposed through the developed etch resist is chemically removed . for example , an aqueous wash of cupric chloride etchant may be used to remove the copper . alternatively , other types of copper etchants may be used , such as alkaline - based etchants and ferric chloride - based etchants . fig1 c illustrates the insulative or dielectric layer 121 applied to the top side of the flexible circuit 100 with the traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 . this layer is formed by step 502 to insulate the etched traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 from the grounded shielding that is created later in the method so as to prevent an electrical short and to protect the traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 from contamination . any number of dielectric or non - conductive insulative materials may be used . for example , in one embodiment the dielectric layer 121 is comprised of a polyimide film with a thermal set adhesive on one side of the film . in this example , the polyimide film may range in thickness from 0 . 0005 ″ to 0 . 0010 ″, and the thermal set adhesive may range in thickness from 0 . 0005 ″ to 0 . 0015 ″. the film 121 is placed on top of the etched traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 with the adhesive layer contacting the etched traces 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 . then , using an autoclave or a vacuum press , the film is laminated to the flexible circuit 100 . for example , lamination parameters such as 210 psi at 385 degrees fahrenheit for 60 minutes may be used . it is recognized that other known techniques may be used to adhere the dielectric layer 121 to the flexible circuit 100 . fig1 d illustrates the channels 131 , 133 in the dielectric layer 121 created by step 503 . the channels 131 , 133 are created in locations corresponding to alternate traces 111 , 113 and form discontinuities that will later form the shielding for the trace ( s ) 112 between them . the channels 131 , 133 expose the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 along the length of each trace by removing the dielectric layer 121 above them . in one embodiment , the channels are created using laser ablation techniques . in other embodiments , other processing techniques , such as plasma etching and chemical milling , may be used . it is recognized that in other embodiments , that channels may be created in locations corresponding to more or less than every other trace . in these embodiments , the traces between the created channels are shielded . next , in some embodiments , the exposed alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 are metalized to protect the traces 111 , 113 from oxidation . for example , a nickel and gold compound may be used to metalize the traces 111 , 113 . fig1 e and 1f illustrate a conductive shielding layer 141 and a dielectric layer 171 formed on the top side of the flexible circuit 100 by steps 504 and 505 . the conductive layer 141 is applied to the flexible circuit 100 such that it is in electrical communication with the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 . the conductive layer 141 may be comprised of any conductive material capable of adhering to the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 and the dielectric layer 121 . suitable conductive layer 141 materials include , but are not limited to , a silver based film and silver ink . the conductive layer 141 may be applied to the flexible circuit 100 using techniques similar to those used for adhering the dielectric layer 121 to the flexible circuit 100 ( for example , lamination ). next , a dielectric layer 171 is applied to the flexible circuit 100 such that it is on top of the conductive layer 141 . techniques such as lamination may be used to adhere the dielectric layer 171 to the conductive layer 141 . a suitable dielectric layer 171 material includes , but is not limited to , the material used for dielectric layer 121 . it is contemplated that the conductive layer 141 and the dielectric layer 171 may be adhered to the flexible circuit 100 separately , as described above , or concurrently ( that is , steps 504 and 505 may be performed as one step ). in one embodiment , concurrent application of the conductive layer 141 and the dielectric layer 171 may be performed using a pre - made material comprising a conductive layer and a dielectric layer . examples of such materials can be found in tatsuta &# 39 ; s ® pc series of materials . these materials comprise a conductive layer of silver foil , sandwiched between a conductive adhesive layer and a dielectric layer . the material is placed on the flexible circuit 100 such that the conductive adhesive is in contact with the dielectric layer 121 . then , the material may be laminated or otherwise adhered to the flexible circuit 100 . fig1 f illustrates channels 151 , 152 formed by step 506 in the flexible substrate 102 , on the bottom side of the flexible circuit 100 , below the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 . the channels 151 , 152 may be created using techniques similar to those employed in step 503 ( for example , laser ablation ). in one embodiment , the channels are created in the flexible substrate 102 such that the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 are exposed along the length of the trace . next , in some embodiments , the exposed copper traces 111 , 113 are metalized using a nickel / gold compound in order to prevent oxidation . fig1 g illustrates the conductive shielding layer 161 applied by step 507 to the side of the flexible circuit 100 below the flexible substrate 102 . this conductive shielding layer 161 is applied such that it is in electrical communication with the alternate grounded traces 111 , 113 . as stated above with respect to step 508 , the conductive shielding layer 161 may be laminated to the flexible circuit 100 and further , may be comprised of any conductive material such as copper or silver . fig1 h illustrates a dielectric layer 172 applied by step 508 to the conductive shielding layer 161 . this dielectric layer 172 shields the exposed conductive shielding layer from electrical interference and contamination . the dielectric layer 172 may be adhered to the flexible circuit 100 using techniques such as lamination and may be comprised of materials similar to those used in step 502 ( for example , a polyimide film ). as stated with respect to steps 504 and 505 , it is similarly contemplated that the conductive shielding layer 161 and the dielectric layer 172 may be applied to the flexible circuit 100 in one step using materials such as those included in the tatsuta ® pc series . as shown in fig1 h , the center copper trace 112 is shielded on all sides . it is first shielded by non - conductive dielectric materials and then the non - conductive materials are surrounded by conductive materials . in particular , the trace 112 is electrically insulated from the ground plane 111 , 113 , 141 on the top and sides by dielectric layer 121 and electrically insulated from the ground plane 161 on the bottom by the flexible substrate 102 . in this illustration , the conductive shielding comprises the conductive layer 141 on the top side of the trace 112 , the conductive layer 161 on the bottom side of the trace 112 , and the alternate grounded traces 111 and 113 on the sides of the trace 112 . additionally , it is recognized that dielectric layers 171 and 172 are not required to shield the circuit from emi . in some embodiments , neither or only one of the layers 171 , 172 may be employed . fig3 illustrates one embodiment of a single copper layer with all traces shielded . fig4 illustrates a process diagram , including steps 601 - 608 , for one method of manufacturing the shielded flexible circuit 900 shown in fig3 . as described herein , the steps of the method of fig4 will be referred to using the reference numbers provided in fig4 . the apparatus and method for manufacturing the apparatus of fig3 and 4 share characteristics with the embodiment depicted in fig1 a - h and fig2 . that is , many of the possible materials and techniques suggested and / or employed with respect the single copper layer shielding with alternate grounded traces embodiments may be used in connection with the single copper layer with all traces shielded embodiments . however , differences between the two sets of embodiments are noted below . moreover , the title given to the set of embodiments described in this section should not be construed as limiting . it is recognized that every trace 111 , 112 need not be shielded . rather , with these embodiments , it may be possible to shield every trace 111 , 112 . in one embodiment , the method for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit 900 begins with a flexible support member such as the member 100 depicted in fig1 a . referring to fig3 and 4 , active signal traces 111 , 112 are formed from the base conductive layer 101 using print and etch techniques 601 . a dielectric layer 121 is then applied to the top of the traces 111 , 112 so as to electrically insulate the traces 111 , 112 from the conductive portion of the shielding 141 that is applied in step 604 . next , in step 603 , channels 182 , 183 , 184 are created between the active signal traces 111 , 112 . the channels 182 , 183 , 184 , may be created using laser ablation techniques to remove portions of the dielectric layer 121 located between the traces 111 , 112 . in the embodiment depicted in fig3 , the traces 111 , 112 are not exposed to the channels . subsequently , a conductive shielded layer 141 is placed on top of the dielectric layer 121 and in the channels 182 , 183 , 184 in step 604 . the conductive shielding layer 141 is adhered 604 to the top side of the flexible circuit 900 such that it is in contact with the flexible substrate 102 . next , an insulative layer 171 is adhered 605 to the top of the conductive shielding layer . it is recognized that in addition to performing steps 604 and 605 sequentially steps 604 and 605 may be performed as one step using a tatsuta ® pc series material . a second set of channels 185 , 186 , 187 are created 606 on the bottom side of the flexible circuit 900 . the channels 185 , 186 , 187 are located between the traces 111 , 112 and positioned such that they expose the conductive shielding layer 141 located between the first set of channels 182 , 183 , 184 . the second set of channels 185 , 186 , 187 may be created by employing laser ablation techniques to remove portions of the flexible substrate 102 in these locations . a conductive shielded layer 161 is then adhered in step 607 to the bottom side of the flexible circuit 900 using , for example , lamination techniques . this conductive shielding layer 161 is applied in the channels 185 , 186 , 187 and is in electrical communication with conductive shielding layer 141 . next , a dielectric layer 199 may be adhered in step 608 to the conductive shielding layer 161 also using lamination techniques . as stated with respect to steps 604 and 605 , it is recognized that steps 607 and 608 may be performed sequentially or as one step . additionally , in some embodiments , it is recognized that one or both dielectric layers 171 and 199 will not be employed to insulate conductive layers 141 and 161 . the absence of the dielectric layers 171 , 199 may not be required to shield the traces 111 , 112 from emi . moreover , it is recognized that in some embodiments , step 606 of the method , laser ablating channels 185 , 186 , 187 on the bottom side of the flexible circuit 900 may be omitted . omitting step 606 requires that in step 603 , laser ablation of channels 182 , 183 , 184 on the top side of the flexible support member , both the portions of the dielectric layer 121 and the polyimide layer 102 located between the traces 111 , 112 be removed . as shown in fig3 , the traces 111 , 112 are each shielded in 360 degrees , first by a dielectric shielding and next by a conductive shielding . each trace 111 , 112 is insulated in all directions from the conductive shielding material and the other traces 111 , 112 . dielectric layer 121 electrically insulates the top and sides of the traces 111 , 112 from the ground plane 182 , and the flexible substrate 102 electrically insulates the bottom of the traces 111 , 112 from the ground plane 161 . accordingly , each trace 111 , 112 is surrounded by grounded , conductive shielding materials . conductive layer 141 provides conductive shielding on the top and sides of the traces 111 , 112 and the bottom conductive layer 161 provides conductive shielding on the bottom of the traces 111 , 112 , 113 . fig5 f illustrates one embodiment of a two copper layer shielded flexible circuit . fig6 illustrates a process diagram , including steps 701 - 706 , for manufacturing the shielded flexible circuit of fig5 f , and fig5 a - f illustrate the structure of the shielded flexible circuit as each step of the method is practiced . as described herein , the figures associated with the structure of the circuit at each step of the method will be expressly referenced . in contrast , each step of the process diagram of fig6 will be referred to using the reference numbers of fig6 . in embodiment depicted , the method for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit begins with the flexible support member 200 illustrated in fig5 a . the flexible support member 200 is comprised of three layers , a flexible substrate 202 sandwiched between a top conductive layer 203 and a bottom conductive layer 201 . it is known to one with ordinary skill in the art that flexible support member 200 is commercially manufactured and readily available for purchase . in other embodiments , the method may begin by applying the top and bottom base conductive layers 201 , 203 to the flexible substrate 202 using plating , lamination , vapor deposition or other known techniques . though the embodiments described herein are not limited to a top and bottom conductive layer 201 , 203 comprised of copper , the embodiment depicted utilizes copper top and bottom conductive layers 201 , 203 . additionally , many alternate materials and techniques suggested with respect the single copper layer shielding with alternate grounded traces embodiments may be used in connection with the two copper layer embodiments . however , differences between the two sets of embodiments are noted below . fig5 b illustrates the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 after they have been printed and etched in step 701 from the top copper layer 203 . as shown , traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 are not in electrical communication with one another because the design requirements of the illustrated embodiment requires that the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 be electrically isolated from one another . fig5 c illustrates an insulative or dielectric layer 221 applied in step 702 to the top side of the flexible circuit 200 . using , for example , lamination techniques , the dielectric layer 221 is adhered to the flexible substrate 202 and the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 . fig5 d illustrates channels 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 formed in step 703 between the active signal traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 . the channels 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 are created by employing laser ablation or other known techniques to remove portions of the dielectric layer 221 and the flexible substrate 202 located between the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 . as shown , the channels 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 expose the top portion of the bottom copper layer 201 but do not expose the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 ( that is , the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 remain insulated ). fig5 e illustrates a conductive shielded layer 241 applied in step 704 to the top side of the flexible circuit 200 . the conductive shielding layer 241 is applied to the flexible circuit 240 such that it is in the channels 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 and is in electrical communication with the bottom conductive layer 201 . in one embodiment , the conductive shielding layer 241 is a silver filled ink . dupont &# 39 ; s ® cb208 product is a silver ink that is commercially available and known to those skilled in the art . typically , the silver ink is screen printed onto the surface of the dielectric layer 221 that was previously laser processed to expose the bottom conductive layer 201 . in other embodiments , other conductive materials with the requisite flow characteristics may be used . fig5 f illustrates insulative or dielectric layers 251 , 252 applied in steps 705 and 706 to the top and bottom sides of the flexible circuit 200 . in some embodiments , a dielectric film 251 , 252 is laminated to the flexible circuit 200 . the dielectric layers 251 , 252 may serve to protect the flexible circuit 250 from external shorting . in other embodiments , step 704 is carried out by laminating or otherwise adhering a conductive film to the dielectric layer and the channels 231 , 232 , 233 , 234 . in these embodiments , an insulative layer 252 may be then adhered to the top of the conductive shielding layer 251 in order to prevent external shorting . alternatively , the conductive shielding layer 241 and the dielectric layer 252 are applied concurrently to the flexible circuit 250 by adhering materials such as those in the tatsuta ® pc series . as shown in fig5 f , the traces 211 , 212 , 213 are shielded in 360 degrees . each trace 211 , 212 , 213 is insulated in all directions from the conductive shielding material and the other traces 211 , 212 , 213 . dielectric layer 221 electrically insulates the top and sides of the traces 211 from the grounded plane 241 , 212 , 213 , and the flexible substrate 202 electrically insulates the bottom of the traces 211 , 212 , 213 from the grounded plane 201 . accordingly , each trace 211 , 212 , 213 is surrounded by grounded shielding materials . conductive layer 241 provides conductive shielding on the top and sides of the traces 211 , 212 , 213 , and the bottom conductive layer 201 provides conductive shielding on the bottom of the traces 211 , 212 , 213 . fig7 g illustrates one embodiment of a three copper layer shielded flexible circuit . fig8 illustrates a process diagram , including steps 801 - 808 , for one embodiment of a method for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit , and fig7 a - g illustrate the structure of the shielded flexible circuit as each step of the method is practiced . as described herein , the figures associated with the structure of the circuit at each step of the method will be expressly referenced . in contrast , each step of the process diagram of fig8 will be referred to using the reference numbers of fig8 only . in this embodiment , the method for manufacturing a shielded flexible circuit begins with the flexible support member 300 illustrated in fig7 a . the flexible support member 300 is comprised of three layers , a flexible substrate 302 sandwiched between a top conductive layer 303 and a bottom conductive layer 301 . it is known to one with ordinary skill in the art that flexible support member 300 is commercially manufactured and readily available for purchase . in other embodiments , the method may begin by applying the top and bottom base conductive layer to the flexible substrate using plating , lamination , vapor deposition or other known techniques . in yet other embodiments , the top and bottom conductive layers may comprise any conductive material such as copper , silver , or gold . fig7 b depicts the traces 311 , 312 , 313 , 314 used to carry electrical signals after they have been printed and etched in step 801 . the traces 311 , 312 , 313 , 314 are etched from the top conductive layer 303 . fig7 c depicts the flexible circuit 300 after steps 802 and 803 are complete . step 802 requires applying a dielectric material 321 to the top side of the flexible circuit 300 . the dielectric layer 322 may be comprised of any of the electrically insulative materials disclosed above and may be adhered to the flexible circuit using any of the techniques described above ( for example , lamination ). step 803 requires applying a conductive shielding layer 322 on top of the dielectric layer 321 . in one embodiment , the conductive shielding layer 322 is a copper foil . the copper foil is adhered to the flexible circuit 300 using lamination techniques or other techniques known in the art . in other embodiments , steps 802 and 803 can be carried out simultaneously by using a material comprised of a conductive layer and a dielectric layer . the material is adhered to the flexible circuit 300 with the dielectric layer in physical contact with the traces 311 , 312 , 313 , 314 . in other embodiments , steps 802 and 803 can be carried out simultaneously by using a conductive material which adheres to the flexible circuit 300 via a dielectric adhesive . in these embodiments , where the conductive material is a copper foil , dielectric foil bonding adhesives such as adh / pi / adh may be used . fig7 d illustrates channels 331 , 332 , 333 , 334 formed between the traces 311 , 312 , 313 , 314 by step 804 . the channels 331 , 332 , 333 , 334 are created by removing portions of the flexible substrate 302 , the dielectric layer 321 , and the conductive layer 322 located between the traces 311 , 312 , 313 , 314 . the channels 331 , 332 , 333 , 334 are sufficiently deep so as to expose the bottom conductive layer 301 . as stated above , techniques such as laser ablation may be employed to create the channels 331 , 332 , 333 , 334 . fig7 e illustrates the copper plating 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 applied to the channels 331 , 332 , 333 , 334 in step 805 . the copper plating provides an electrical connection between the conductive shielding layer 322 and the bottom conductive layer 301 . to copper plate the channels 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 , conventional processes such as the shadow ® process may be used . shadow ® is a graphite based direct metallization process that facilitates the copper plating process . in some embodiments , techniques and materials other than those used in copper plating are used to electrically connect the conductive shielding layer 322 and the bottom conductive layer 301 . such techniques and materials may include applying silver ink using screening techniques . after an electrical connection between the conductive shielding layer 322 and the bottom conductive layer 301 has been formed , unwanted copper is removed from the flexible circuit 300 using commonly known techniques such as photolithography in step 806 . for example , copper that was inadvertently plated on the top of conductive shielding layer 322 is removed in step 806 . fig7 f illustrates a dielectric layer 351 applied to the top of the conductive shielding layer 322 and the plated channels 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 in step 807 . fig7 g illustrates a dielectric layer 352 applied to the bottom of the bottom conductive layer 301 in step 808 . the dielectric layers 351 , 352 may protect the flexible circuit 350 from external shorting . however , as noted above , some embodiments employ only one or no dielectric layers 351 , 352 . as shown in fig7 g , the traces 311 , 312 , 313 are shielded in 360 degrees . each trace 311 , 312 , 313 is insulated in all directions from the conductive shielding material and the other traces 311 , 312 , 313 . dielectric layer 321 electrically insulates the top and sides of the traces 311 , 312 , 313 from the grounded plane 322 , 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 , and the flexible substrate 302 electrically insulates the bottom of the traces 311 , 312 , 313 from the grounded plane set . accordingly , each trace 311 , 312 , 313 is surrounded by grounded shielding materials . conductive layer 322 is the top grounded shielding material , and the bottom conductive layer 301 is the bottom shielding material . the plated channels 341 , 342 , 343 , 344 shield the sides of the traces 311 , 312 , 313 and electrically connect conductive layer 322 and the bottom conductive layer 301 . the apparatuses and methods for manufacturing the shielded flexible circuit disclosed herein may be employed , in one instance , in a flip phone . fig9 a depicts one type of flip phone 400 . a typical flip phone 400 comprises a body 420 , a screen 430 , and an antenna 410 . the body 420 is mechanically connected to the screen 430 via a hinge 450 . the body 420 comprises circuitry which processes data transmitted and received by the antenna 410 . accordingly , images corresponding to the transmitted and received data are displayed on the screen 430 . fig9 b depicts the flip phone 400 after the body 420 has been physically separated from the screen 430 . as shown , a shielded flexible circuit 440 according to the apparatuses and methods for manufacturing disclosed herein provides an electrical connection between the body 420 and the screen 430 . the shielded flexible circuit 440 must be mechanically flexible along the hinge &# 39 ; s 450 axis of rotation . such flexibility is required in order for the flip phone 400 to open and close . moreover , due to high data rate transfers required for applications such as streaming video , the traces on the shielded flexible circuit 440 must be capable of shielding each trace from emi created by external sources and the other traces on the flexible circuit 440 . therefore , the shielded flexibly circuit 440 advantageously provides an electrical connection between the body 420 and the screen 430 in flip phone 400 applications . by way of example only , one embodiment of the shielded flexible circuit 440 can accommodate data transmission rates between 2 to 4 ghz without substantial signal loss or distortion due to emi . furthermore , in this embodiment , the distance between the centers of proximate traces may be as small as 20 thousandths of an inch . the above presents a description of the best mode contemplated for the apparatuses and methods of manufacturing said shielded flexible circuit in such full , clear , and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to produce these components and practice these methods . these apparatuses and methods are , however , susceptible to modifications that are fully equivalent to the embodiment discussed above . consequently , these apparatuses and methods are not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed . on the contrary , these apparatuses and methods cover all modifications coming within the spirit and scope of the present invention .	8
preferred embodiments of the present invention are described hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 to 10 , a wearable robot system for rehabilitation training of the upper limbs according to the present invention includes : station unit 200 disposed on a base 100 , which is fixed to the ground , and having an elevation bed 210 that can reciprocate up / down and a movable bed 220 that is disposed over the elevation bed 210 ; a robot unit 300 that is connected with the movable bed 220 of the station unit 200 , attachable / detachable to / from the upper limbs of a human body p by an attaching means , and has a plurality of shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 and an elbow joint driving unit 350 for extension / flexion of the elbow joint and the shoulder joint and abduction / adduction of the shoulder joint of the human body ; a sensing unit that is disposed in the robot unit 300 , detects motion of the upper limbs of the human body using sensors , and outputs the detected signals into an electric signal ; and a control unit 550 that controls the operation of the shoulder joint driving unit and the elbow joint driving unit 350 in response to the signal output from the sensing unit . in detail , in the robot unit 300 , connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 , 362 , 364 are disposed between the shoulder joint driving unit and the elbow joint driving unit 350 and rotatably connected with each other , such that each of the driving units are rotatably connected through the connecting links . further , the shoulder joint driving unit of the robot unit 300 is composed of first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 that can each rotate by the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 such that it has four degrees of freedom using redundant . that is , the shoulder joint driving unit is additionally provided with a redundant operation driving portion , in addition to a three - degree of freedom operation of extension / flexion , abduction / adduction , and internal / external rotation , such that smooth motion of three degrees of freedom is possible by four driving units having four degrees of freedom . the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 and the elbow joint driving unit 350 respectively include known motors 312 , 322 , 332 , 323 , 352 each having a motor shaft that operates in response to an electrical signal applied from the outside and provided to supply rotational force to the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 , and a power transmitting unit that transmits the driving force of the motors to the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 . the motor is a flat motor , which is known in the art . further , each of the shoulder joint driving units are disposed at different angles such that the human body does not interfere with the robot unit 300 through the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 , which is for preventing interference between the shoulder joint driving units that are in operation and the human body . an upper link arm that is divided to adjust the length in the up - down direction by a connecting means is disposed between the fourth shoulder joint driving unit 340 and the elbow joint driving unit 350 to correspond to the upper arm a 1 of the human body , while a lower link arm that is divided into first and second lower link arms 372 , 374 is disposed at the end of the elbow joint driving unit 350 to rotatably correspond to the lower arm a 2 . the upper link arm is divided into first and second upper link arms 362 , 364 and the connecting means is composed of a connecting bolt ( not shown ) and a connecting nut ( not shown ) which each have a connection hole at the end where the first and second upper link arms 362 , 364 overlap each other and fixes the first and second upper link arm 362 , 364 using fastening force . in more detail , the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 are designed to surround the shoulder of the human body and arranged such that the centers of the motor shafts cross the center axis c of the shoulder joint of the human body . this configuration is designed such that the motor shafts of the shoulder joint driving units cross the central axis c of the human body and make appropriate motions , on the assumption that the shoulder joint of the human body moves like a ball - socket joint . the power transmitting unit operates to transmit the rotation of the motor shafts of the motors to the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 , in which a known harmonic drive 305 and a plurality of bearings 304 for preventing eccentricity is disposed in a plurality of divided cases 302 , which is a well - known structure in the related art and detailed description is not provided . the control unit 550 may be a controller equipped in a well - known computer in the related art and needs an operating unit that outputs signals for controlling the operation of the driving units of the robot unit 300 and the operation of the station unit 200 . the operating unit may be operated by a remote control switch that a user directly operates or a keyboard that a manager operates . it is preferable to further provide a selecting means for selecting a voluntary motion mode or a continuous passive motion mode for the operation of the robot unit 300 , depending on the selection of the user . the selecting means allows the control unit 550 to control each of the shoulder joint driving unit and the elbow joint driving unit 350 , in response to a signal transmitted from a selection switch 530 for selecting the voluntary motion mode or the continuous passive motion ( cpm ) mode . the voluntary motion mode is a motion mode that is assisted by the robot unit 300 according to the motion intent when a user voluntarily applies force to the elbow or shoulder joint , while the continuous passive motion mode is a motion mode that forcibly moves the user &# 39 ; s upper arm along a predetermined path set by programming . the station unit 200 is disposed on the base 100 and includes the elevation bed 210 that is expanded / contracted up / down by a well - known linear actuator and a movable bed 220 that is disposed over the elevation bed 210 and moves the robot unit 300 to the left and right such that rotational center of the shoulder meets the rotational center of the robot to maximize wearing comfort when the first shoulder joint driving unit 310 of the robot unit 300 is put on the human body by the linear actuator . the movable bed 220 can move left / right along a rail provided at the upper portion and has a movable frame 230 where the first shoulder joint driving unit is integrally fixed . the sensing unit includes a first load cell 510 that is a sensor detecting the movement of the elbow joint and a second load cell 520 that is a sensor detecting the movement of the shoulder joint . the first and second load cells 510 , 520 that detect the movement of the elbow joint or the shoulder joint in motion intent signals are spaced apart from each other to correspond to the upper arm and the lower arm of the human body . the first load cell 510 is disposed where the first and second lower link arms 372 , 374 are connected , and detects movement of a muscle for extension / flexion , which is transmitted to the first and second lower link arms 372 , 374 , in one - axial movement of extension / flexion , converts the detected result into a motion intent signal and then outputs the signal to the control unit 550 . the second load cell 520 is disposed where the first and second upper link arms 362 , 364 are connected , and detects a two - axial movement according to the movement of a muscle of the upper arm a 1 for moving the shoulder joint , in a three - directional movement of x , y , z , and then outputs a motion intent signal to the control unit 550 . in the shoulder joint herein , the force x is force that is input in internal / external rotation and the force z is force that is input in extension / flexion . since the maximum rotational angle of the shoulder joint is 145 °, it is preferable to set a limit angle to 120 ° or less for a safe operation . further , because the allowable range of the shoulder joint of the human body is 0 to 180 ° for flexion , 0 to 50 ° for extension , 0 to 180 ° for abduction , 180 to 0 ° for adduction , 0 to 90 ° for internal rotation , and 90 to 0 ° for external rotation , it is preferable to limit the angle of the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 within the ranges . the attaching means are disposed apart from each other at a side of the robot unit 300 in a plurality of string shapes and composed of binding bands 400 of which both ends are attachable / detachable by hook and loop fastener ( e . g ., velcro ®) tapes . the operation having the above configuration of the present invention is described hereafter . the wearable robot system for rehabilitation training of the upper limbs according to the present invention moves up / down the elevation bed 210 of the station unit 200 such that the robot unit 300 is correspondingly positioned to the user &# 39 ; s shoulder , depending on the body conditions of the user . then , the first shoulder joint driving unit 310 fixed to the movable frame 230 is moved left / right to a desired position by moving left / right the movable frame 230 disposed on the rail of the movable bed 220 . thereafter , the user or the manager selects a desired mode from the voluntary motion mode or the continuous passive motion mode . when the user selects the voluntary motion mode , the first and second load cells 510 , 520 disposed to correspond to the user &# 39 ; s upper arm and lower arm detect minute movement of muscles of the user and output a motion intent signal to the control unit 550 , and the control unit 550 rotates the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 by driving the motors 312 , 322 , 332 , 342 of the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 in response to the motion intent signal transmitted from the first and second load cell 510 , 520 to help motion of the user &# 39 ; s limbs . the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 are each rotated within the limit angle of the shoulder joint , as can be seen from the graph shown in fig9 , and perform an operation of four degrees of freedom with movement of the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 , 362 , 364 . accordingly , since the operation of four degrees of freedom is made for a three - axial movement , a spare angle is provided for a rotational angle between the driving units . further , the first and second load cells 510 , 520 dispose where the lower / upper link arms divided up / down and detects one - directional movement of the muscle by detecting separation of the divided lower / upper links which is generated by movement of the muscle . the second load cell 520 detects a two - directional movement that is generated by abduction / adduction and then creates motion intent signals dx and dz by multiplying a coefficient k by force in the detected first and second directions . the motion intent signals dx and dz implement small change of each axis where an end - effector , which is created by analyzing the elements of magnitude and direction of the force signals detected by the first and second load cells 510 , 520 , intends to move . the end - effector is always positioned at a distance r from the rotational point x 0 , y 0 , z 0 of the shoulder joint , such that dy can be obtained from the small changes of the two axis and the following equation . r =√{ square root over ( x 2 + y 2 + z 2 )} y =√{ square root over ( r 2 −=( x 2 + z 2 ))} the final goal - position of the end - effector can be induced by adding up the small changes per hour dx , dy , dz in each axis that are obtained by the input force and coefficient k to the initial position of the end - effector before the robot is actuated . the coefficient k is variably set by the user &# 39 ; s muscular force , which is not described in detail herein . further , the coordinates of the goal - position of the end - effector induced as described above is used to estimate the motional angle of the robot unit by inverse kinematics , which is referred to as a 3d - joint motion animation , and the robot unit 300 performs an operation in an f - direction . as the angles of movements are calculated for the motion intent signals , the control unit 550 adjusts rotational force by outputting control signals to the motors of the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units and the elbow joint driving unit 350 . therefore , the movements of the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 perform an operation of four degrees of freedom while complementing each other , which can be seen from the graph shown in fig9 that is , the elbow joint driving unit 350 makes extension / flexion motion of the lower arm of the human body and the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 make movement of the shoulder joint ( extension / flexion , abduction / adduction , internal / external rotation , and redundant operation ) by rotating the connecting links 315 , 325 , 335 . further , when the user selects the continuous passive motion mode , the first , second , third , and fourth shoulder joint driving units 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 are operated along the programmed path , regardless of the user &# 39 ; s motion intent signal and the elbow joint driving unit 350 is operated , such that the user &# 39 ; s limbs are moved .	0
as a preliminary matter , it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art (“ ordinary artisan ”) that the present invention has broad utility and application . furthermore , any embodiment discussed and identified as being “ preferred ” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention . other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention . moreover , many embodiments , such as adaptations , variations , modifications , and equivalent arrangements , will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention is described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments , it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present invention , and is made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention . the detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended , nor is to be construed , to limit the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention , which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof . it is not intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself . thus , for example , any sequence ( s ) and / or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive . accordingly , it should be understood that , although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order , the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order , absent an indication otherwise . indeed , the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , it is intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention is to be defined by the appended claims rather than the description set forth herein . additionally , it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which the ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein . to the extent that the meaning of a term used herein — as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term — differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term , it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail . furthermore , it is important to note that , as used herein , “ a ” and “ an ” each generally denotes “ at least one ,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise . thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having an apple ” describes “ a picnic basket having at least one apple ” as well as “ a picnic basket having apples .” in contrast , reference to “ a picnic basket having a single apple ” describes “ a picnic basket having only one apple .” when used herein to join a list of items , “ or ” denotes “ at least one of the items ,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list . thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having cheese or crackers ” describes “ a picnic basket having cheese without crackers ”, “ a picnic basket having crackers without cheese ”, and “ a picnic basket having both cheese and crackers .” finally , when used herein to join a list of items , “ and ” denotes “ all of the items of the list .” thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having cheese and crackers ” describes “ a picnic basket having cheese , wherein the picnic basket further has crackers ,” as well as describes “ a picnic basket having crackers , wherein the picnic basket further has cheese .” referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals represent like components throughout the several views , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are next described . the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . fig2 and 3 are a side view and a side cross - sectional view of a hypodermic syringe 10 in accordance with one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention . it will be appreciated that , for the sake of clarity , the syringe 10 of fig2 is shown as being at least partially transparent , wherein broken lines are used to indicate interior surfaces . with reference to both fig2 and 3 , the syringe 10 may be constructed generally conventionally , with a barrel 20 , a plunger assembly 30 and a hollow needle 18 . the barrel 20 defines an interior cylinder 22 within which the plunger assembly 30 is fitted . the plunger assembly 30 includes a piston 32 , a rubber gasket 34 and a handle 36 extending from one end of the barrel 20 . the hollow needle 18 is coupled , preferably removably such as via a hand - tightened threaded fitting such as a luer lock , to the opposite end of the barrel 20 , and the interior of the needle 18 is in fluid communication with the interior of the barrel 20 . as a safety precaution , the needle 18 is typically covered with a removable cap ( not shown ) when not in use . notably , the barrel 20 of the syringe 10 of fig2 and 3 is marked in increments of dosage units rather than in hundredths of ml , as in the conventional syringe of fig1 . in particular , as shown in fig2 , the barrel 20 has increments totaling 50 units . if the syringe 10 is a 1 ml syringe ( i . e ., of the same volume as the syringe of fig1 ), then the syringe 10 shown in fig2 is to be understood to have , and should preferably only be used with , a dosage concentration of 50 units (“ u ”)/ 1 ml . fig4 , on the other hand , is a side view of a hypodermic syringe 110 that is generally similar to that of fig2 but is marked in different dosage unit increments . in particular , the barrel 120 has increments totaling 40 units . if the syringe 110 is a 1 ml syringe ( i . e ., of the same volume as the syringe of fig1 and as the syringe 10 of fig2 ), then the syringe 110 shown in fig4 is to be understood to have , and should preferably only be used with , a dosage concentration of 40 units (“ u ”)/ 1 ml . the barrel 20 may also be marked to indicate the concentration level of the solution in the syringe 10 , i . e , the amount of diluent that is used to reconstitute the drug . the capacity may be marked by printing a number 42 , a code 44 ( such as a number of rings ), or the like , representative of the concentration ( in u / ml ) of the syringe 10 , on the barrel 20 thereof . for example , the number 42 , code 44 , or the like may directly indicate the amount of diluent used to reconstitute 100 units of the drug . in one such implementation , a “# 1 ” syringe ( marked “ 1 ” and / or having one ring around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 1 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “# 2 ” syringe ( marked “ 2 ” and / or having two rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 2 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “# 3 ” syringe ( marked “ 3 ” and / or having three rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 3 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “# 4 ” syringe ( marked “ 4 ” and / or having four rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 4 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , and a “# 5 ” syringe ( marked “ 5 ” and / or having five rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 5 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug . in this example , it will be appreciated that a # 1 1 ml syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 100 units of the drug , a # 2 1 ml syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 50 units of the drug , a # 3 1 ml syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 33 units of the drug , a # 4 1 ml syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 25 units of the drug , and a # 5 1 ml syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 20 units of the drug . two such syringes are illustrated in fig5 a and 5b , wherein the syringe 210 in fig5 a has a “ 4 ” printed near one end of the barrel 220 and 4 rings printed near the opposite end of the barrel 220 and thus contains a concentration of 4 ml of diluent per 100 units of the drug , while the syringe 310 in fig5 b has a “ 2 ” printed near one end of the barrel 320 and 2 rings printed near the opposite end of the barrel 320 and thus contains a concentration of 2 ml of diluent per 100 units of the drug . in another such implementation , an “ a ” syringe ( marked “ a ” and / or having one ring around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 1 . 0 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “ b ” syringe ( marked “ b ” and / or having two rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 2 . 0 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “ c ” syringe ( marked “ c ” and / or having three rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 2 . 5 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , a “ d ” syringe ( marked “ d ” and / or having four rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 4 . 0 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug , and an “ e ” syringe ( marked “ e ” and / or having five rings around the barrel ) may indicate that the drug in the syringe has been reconstituted or diluted at a concentration of 8 . 0 ml of saline for every 100 units of the drug . in this example , it will be appreciated that a 1 ml “ a ” syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 100 units of the drug , a 1 ml “ b ” syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 50 units of the drug , a 1 ml “ c ” syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 40 units of the drug , a 1 ml “ d ” syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 25 units of the drug , and a 1 ml “ e ” syringe , if fully drawn up , would thus contain 12 . 5 units of the drug . alternatively , the markings ( number 42 , rings 44 , or the like ) may be used to more directly indicate the number of units contained in the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 . color - coding may also be utilized on one or more parts of the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 to make it easier to distinguish , both for those reconstituting the drug and for those drawing up the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 , the number of units that are or should be contained therein . for example , all or portions of the barrel 20 , 120 , 220 , 320 , the plunger handle 36 , and / or the cap over the needle 18 may be made of colored material or otherwise colored in some way based on the capacity of the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 , the number of units contained therein , or the like . the colors may likewise be coordinated with printed material included on charts , instructions , packaging , or the like in order to established a uniform , easily - followed guide for reconstitution and use of the drug and the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 . in one such implementation , a “# 1 ” syringe includes a red plunger handle and needle cap , a “# 2 ” syringe includes an orange plunger handle and needle cap , a “# 3 ” syringe includes a yellow plunger handle and needle cap , a “# 4 ” syringe includes a green plunger handle and needle cap , a “# 5 ” syringe includes a blue plunger handle and needle cap , and accompanying packaging and printed instructions include color - coordination information and indicia to help the user utilize each syringe properly such that the concentrations described previously for # 1 , # 2 , # 3 , # 4 and # 5 syringes are drawn up in each one . information about the chosen color coding system may also be disseminated to patients so that they may readily recognize , understand and use the proper concentration , and thus the proper number of units of the drug . in at least one embodiment , the barrel 20 , 120 , 220 , 320 , the plunger handle 36 , and the cap are marked with the generic name and / or the brand name of the drug in order to assure that the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 is assembled properly and used with the proper drug . the dimensions of the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 are chosen so that a sufficient volume of injectable fluid may be drawn up within the interior cylinder 22 for administration to a patient . the barrel 20 , 120 , 220 , 320 of the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 may be constructed of any conventional syringe material , including glass , polyethylene , polycarbonate , or polyvinyl or other synthetic polymer or various other plastics , and is preferably transparent or translucent such that the fluid or plunger assembly 30 may be viewed within . the plunger assembly 30 is likewise constructed from any suitable inert material including , but not limited to , plastic , vinyl , polyethylene , rubber , platinum - cured silicon or teflon ®. in at least one embodiment , the interior volume of the syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 is slightly more than 1 ml such that an amount of substantially exactly 1 ml of injectable fluid may be contained therein . however , it will be appreciated that other volumes may likewise be utilized . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a method of use 600 in accordance with one or more preferred embodiments of the present invention . the method 600 begins at step 605 with the receipt , by a medical practitioner , facility , organization of the like of an injectable drug , medicine or the like in dry , reconstitutable form . such injectable drugs or medicines are often provided in vacuum - dried form , and include , without limitation , botulinum toxin type a ( sold or planning to be sold under the trade names botox ®, dysport ®, reloxin ™ and puretox ™) and botulinum toxin type b ( sold under the trade name myobloc ®), both frequently administered for the treatment of facial wrinkles botox , for example , is typically supplied in vials containing 100 units of botox in dry form . such dry - form drugs may often be reconstituted in a variety of concentrations , often depending on practitioner preference . for example , botox is commonly reconstituted in concentrations of 1 . 0 ml of diluent ( typically nonpreserved normal saline , or 0 . 9 % sodium chloride injection ) per 100 units of botox for a dosage concentration of 10 . 0 u of botox per 0 . 1 ml ( 100 u / 1 ml ), 2 . 0 ml of diluent per 100 units of botox for a dosage concentration of 5 . 0 u of botox per 0 . 1 ml ( 50 u / 1 . 0 ml ), 2 . 5 ml of diluent per 100 units of botox for a dosage concentration of 4 . 0 u of botox per 0 . 1 ml ( 40 u / 1 ml ), 4 . 0 ml of diluent per 100 units of botox for a dosage concentration of 2 . 5 u of botox per 0 . 1 ml ( 25 u / 1 ml ), or 8 . 0 ml of diluent per 100 units of botox for a dosage concentration of 1 . 25 u of botox per 0 . 1 ml ( 12 . 5 u / 1 ml ). at step 510 , a desired reconstitution concentration is selected . preferably , the concentration is selected according to a particular policy , e . g ., a particular medical facility may have a policy of providing all dosages in a concentration of 50 u / 1 ml , or according to a particular prescription , e . g ., a practitioner may prescribe use of a concentration of 40 u / 1 ml . at step 615 , a desired number of units may be reconstituted according to the desired dosage concentration . perhaps most conveniently , an entire vial of the vacuum - dried drug may be reconstituted at once , but portions of vials may in some cases be reconstituted , or multiple vials are reconstituted at once . reconstitution may be carried out according to conventional procedures , and care should be taken to ensure that the proper concentration is achieved and properly labeled or otherwise tracked before being drawn up into individual syringes . based on the dosage concentration present in the injectable fluid , one or more corresponding syringe is selected at step 620 for use therewith . more particularly , a syringe , such as the hypodermic syringe 10 of fig2 , having unit markings corresponding with the dosage concentration is selected for use with the dosage concentration . care should be taken to ensure that only a properly - marked syringe is utilized for each particular dosage concentration . the syringe 10 in fig2 , for example , is labeled for use with a dosage concentration of 50 u / 1 ml , and thus should only be used for an injectable fluid having a dosage concentration of 50 u / 1 ml . on the other hand , the syringe 110 in fig4 is labeled for use with a dosage concentration of 40 u / 1 ml , and thus should only be used for an injectable fluid having a dosage concentration of 40 u / 1 ml . it is also recognized that different drugs are provided by different manufacturers in different standard units . for example , although botox and dysport are very similar , botox is commonly provided by the manufacturer in 100 - unit packages or increments , while dysport is commonly provided by the manufacturer in 300 - unit packages or increments , and the relative units are not necessarily equivalent . thus , to help ensure that reconstituted units of a drug are drawn up or otherwise utilized with a syringe that is properly calibrated for that drug , each syringe may be marked with an indication of the drug manufacturer with which the syringe is to be used , with an indication of the standard number of units in which the drug is to be used , or both . for example , fig7 is a side view of a hypodermic syringe 410 similar to that of fig2 but marked with a manufacturing source identifier 446 and an indication 448 of the unit measure . in particular , the manufacturing source identifier 446 on the syringe 410 in fig7 indicates that the syringe 410 is to be used with botox ®, which is manufactured by ( or possibly under license from ) allergan , inc . of irvine , calif ., and the unit measure indication 448 on the syringe 410 in fig7 indicates that the syringe 410 is to be used with a drug , such as botox ®, that is supplied in 100 - unit increments ( rather than , for example , a drug , such as dysport ®, that is supplied in 300 - unit increments . selection of a syringe based on manufacturing source identifier 446 , unit measure indication 448 , or both may be incorporated into step 620 . using the proper syringe 10 , 110 , 210 , 310 , 410 an amount of the injectable fluid corresponding to a desired number of units of the drug may be drawn up at step 625 . for example , fig8 is a side view of the hypodermic syringe 10 of fig2 , shown with a full 50 units drawn up therein . finally , a desired number of units ( which may be some or all of the units that have been drawn up ) are administered at each injection site at step 630 . advantageously , assuming the proper concentration is prepared , the syringes and methods of use of the present invention help to ensure that each syringe is drawn up with the proper concentration of drug . also advantageously , assuming the proper concentration is prepared and properly drawn into the syringe , the syringes and methods of use of the present invention help to ensure that the proper dosage of the drug is injected . also advantageously , assuming the proper concentration is prepared and properly drawn into the syringe , the syringes and methods of use of the present invention help to ensure that the patient receives the proper number of units of the drug . overall , although the present invention cannot prevent an individual from intentionally preparing the wrong concentration or utilizing the wrong syringe for the reconstituted drug , the syringes and methods of use of the present invention advantageously help to avoid accidental errors of these types . based on the foregoing information , it is readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application . many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those specifically described herein , as well as many variations , modifications , and equivalent arrangements , will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing descriptions thereof , without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention . the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise exclude any such other embodiments , adaptations , variations , modifications or equivalent arrangements ; the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation .	0
referring to fig1 of the drawings , a generally symmetrical combustion chamber 2 is disposed with the longitudinal axis vertical and has extending through its top an axial burner 4 . the burner 4 has a first inlet 6 for sulphate waste material from a process for forming titanium dioxide pigment by the sulphate route , a second inlet 8 for commercially pure oxygen and a third inlet 10 for gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon fuel . in operation , a flame zone 14 is created which extends generally vertically downwards within the chamber 2 and ends above a lower conical portion 16 of the chamber 2 . at the bottom of the conical portion 16 , the chamber 2 has a first outlet 18 . a rotary valve 20 is disposed in outlet 18 . the chamber 2 has a second outlet 22 near its top . the outlet 22 communicates with a cyclonic solids separator 24 having at its top an outlet communicating with a pipeline 26 that leads to a plenum chamber 28 of a fluidised bed reactor 30 having a grid 32 forming the top of the chamber 28 and supporting a bed 34 of particulate materials . the separator 24 has a bottom outlet with a rotary valve 36 disposed therein , the outlet communicating with a conduit 38 which at one of its ends terminates in the outlet 18 from the chamber 2 and at its upper and terminates in the bed 34 . by this means , in operation , a residue of solid particles of oxide and sulphate may be fed into the bed 34 and be fluidised by gas passing from the outlet 22 of the chamber 2 via the separator 24 and conduit 2 . the hot gas will also serve to crack thermally the residue sulphate . the apparatus preferably includes an auxiliary combustion chamber 40 having a fuel burner 42 disposed therein . the chamber 40 has an outlet communicating with a conduit 48 for combustion gases which terminates in the conduit 26 . if desired , the temperature in the chamber 40 may be controlled by the addition of cooling medium such as colled gas from a downstream location in the process ( in which example a recycle fan is issued ) or water or steam . the coolant may be introduced through a conduit 44 having a flow control valve 46 disposed therein or directly through the burner 42 . the reactor 30 has an outlet 50 at its top communicating with a cyclonic separator 52 adapted to separate elutriating solids from the gas mixture . the separator 52 has an outlet 54 for gas at its top and an outlet 56 at its bottom for discharging separated solids . in operation , hydrocarbon fuel such as methane or propane or fuel oil is burnt with a slight stoichiometric excess of oxygen in the burner 4 and is employed to crack the sulphate waste comprising sulphuric acid and iron sulphate . the rate of feeding the sulphate waste into the flame zone 14 from the inlet 6 is chosen such that the gases leaving the chamber 2 through the outlet 22 have a temperature not less than 1 , 000 ° c . and preferably in the range 1 , 000 ° to 1 , 300 ° c . in the flame zone 14 the temperature generated by the combustion of the fuel firstly evaporates the sulphate waste material , secondly drives off water of crystallisation from the solid particles of sulphate that result from the vaporisation , and thirdly cracks the sulphate and sulphuric acid to form sulphur dioxide . the gas mixture leaving the outlet 22 thus comprises water vapour sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide . it may also contain small traces of sulphur trioxide and typically from 1 % to 5 % by volume of oxygen . typically , the gas mixture contains up to 14 % by volume of sulphur dioxide if the water vapour is excluded . the cracking of the solid sulphate can in some examples be completed in the zone 14 but is typically not completed in the zone 14 . a solid residue comprising particles of oxide and sulphate thus falls under gravity to the bottom of the chamber 2 being collected in the conical portion 16 . operation of the rotary valve 20 is effective to feed these particles into the bed 34 of the fluidised bed reactor 30 . if desired , iron sulphate heptahydrate crystals that have been separated from the reacting liquid in the process for forming titanium dioxide by the sulphate route may be fed into the bed 34 through a conduit 39 . in addition , the separator 24 , when in operation , feeds a small quantity of solids into the conduit 38 . after passage through the separator 24 the gas mixture leaving the outlet 22 of the chamber 2 passes into the conduit 26 and then enters the plenum chamber 28 of the fluidised bed reactor 30 . the gas flow is effective to fluidise the particles of oxides and sulphates that are established as the bed materials . in view of the temperature of the gas mixture entering the chamber 28 , further thermal cracking of the sulphate takes place . typically , the gas mixture now incorporating an enhanced volume of sulphur dioxide and oxygen leaves the top of the bed 34 at a temperature of about 1 , 000 ° c . it passes out of the outlet 50 into the separator 52 . solids are separated from the gas in the separator 52 and returned to the bed 34 while the resultant gas mixture comprising sulphur dioxide , water vapour , carbon dioxide , oxygen and traces of sulphur trioxide typically passes to the precipitators , heat recovery unit and driers of a plant ( not shown ) for producing sulphuric acid from its sulphur dioxide content by the contact process . in order to control the quantity of material in the bed 34 , a portion of the solids leaving the separator 52 through the outlet 56 is typically discharged from the plant through an outlet 58 and , if desired , may be used in metallurgical processes . in the event that there is not sufficient heat in the gases leaving the separator 24 to maintain an exit temperature of 1 , 000 ° c . above the fluidised bed 34 a temperture in excess of 1 , 000 ° c . is created at the outlet of the chamber 40 thereby enabling the temperature of the gas leaving the bed 34 to be maintained at or above 1 , 000 ° c . referring now to fig2 of the accompanying drawings , a stream of sulphate waste material from a process for manufacturing titanium dioxide from ilmenite by the sulphate route , typically comprising 70 % by weight of water , 15 % by weight of sulphuric acid and 15 % by weight of inorganic sulphates , at least most of said inorganic sulphates comprising iron sulphate , is subjected to treatment in accordance with the invention . the stream is first passed through an evaporator 62 in which the water content of the stream is typically reduced to about 30 % to 70 % by weight of the stream . the evaporator 62 typically operates at a temperature in the order of 100 ° c . such that substantially no thermal cracking of the sulphate or evaporation of the acid takes place . energy from the evaporator 62 may be recycled from a downstream part of the process so as to reduce the overall fuel requirements . the concentrated stream exiting the evaporator 62 is passed to a first inlet 66 of a burner 64 . the burner extends into a combustion chamber 61 which is disposed with its longitudinal axis vertical and has the burner 64 extending axially through its top . the burner 64 has a second inlet 68 for commercially pure oxygen and a third inlet 70 for gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon fuel . in operation , a flame zone 74 is created by the burner . the flame zone 74 extends generally vertically downwards within the chamber 61 and ends above the lower cylindrical portion 76 of the chamber 2 in which in operation a residue of solid particles collects , the solid particles comprising inorganic oxide and sulphate issuing from the flame zone 74 . the temperature generated in the flame zone 74 is sufficient to crack thermally most of the sulphate in the waste material . the resulting gaseous combustion products including sulphur dioxide , carbon dioxide and water vapour leave the chamber 61 through an outlet 84 . at the very bottom of the chamber 61 there is a plenum chamber 78 whose top is defined by a grid 80 . the solid residue collects on the grid 80 . the chamber 61 has a first outlet 82 into which oxides substantially free of sulphate flow from the bed 78 . the outlet 84 communicates with a cyclonic solid separator 86 having at its bottom an outlet 88 communicating with a pipeline 90 which also communicates with the outlet 82 . in operation , waste solids are withdrawn from the plant through the pipeline 90 . the apparatus shown in fig2 also includes an auxiliary combustion chamber 92 having a burner 94 disposed therein . the burner 94 has a first inlet 96 for fuel and a second inlet 98 for oxygen - enriched air . in operation , the combustion products from the burner 94 , comprising carbon dioxide , nitrogen and water vapour ( and sulphur dioxide if the fuel comprises sulphur ) pass through an outlet 100 of the chamber 92 at a temperature in range of 1000 ° to 1300 ° c . which is controlled in a manner analogous to that described with reference to fig1 and flow along a pipeline 104 into the plenum chamber 78 . the velocity of the combustion products entering the plenum chamber 78 is typically selected so as to be able to fluidise or render turbulent the solid residue from the flame zone 74 of the burner 64 . the temperature of the combustion products is in any case sufficient to complete the thermal cracking of the sulphate in the residue and the resulting gas mixture with the gaseous combustion products from the flame zone 74 . the separator 86 has an outlet for solids - free gas which communicates with the pipeline 110 leading to a plant not shown for purifying the gas mixture prior to the conversion of its sulphur dioxide content to sulphur trioxide and the subsequent absorption of the sulphur trioxide in relatively dilute sulphuric acid to form a more concentrated sulphuric acid product . in operation of the apparatus shown in fig2 the gas mixture leaving the outlet 84 of the chamber 61 typically has a temperature of about 1000 ° c . and typically contains up to about 25 % by volume of sulphur dioxide .	2
hereinbelow , the present invention is described in detail based on embodiments thereof . fig1 to 3 are fabricating process diagrams of a semiconductor memory according to a first embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 to 3 , reference numeral 1 denotes a silicon substrate , 2 denotes locos oxide , 3 denotes gate oxide , 4 denotes a gate electrode , 5 denotes source and drain regions , 6 denotes a first interlayer insulator , 7 denotes a polysilicon plug , 8 denotes a tasin film as a barrier metal layer , 9 denotes an iridium film as a lower electrode of a capacitor , 10 denotes an sbt film as a ferroelectric film , 11 denotes a platinum film as an upper electrode of the capacitor , 12 denotes titanium oxide as an oxidation barrier layer , 13 denotes a second interlayer insulator , 14 denotes a platinum film as a drive line , 15 denotes a third interlayer insulator , and 16 denotes an aluminum interconnection . the substrate used for the semiconductor memory having a ferroelectric capacitor in the present invention , although not particularly limited only if usable as a substrate for ordinary semiconductor memories or integrated circuits or the like , yet is preferably a silicon substrate . process for fabricating a semiconductor memory having a ferroelectric capacitor of a first embodiment of the present invention is explained below with reference to fig1 to 3 . first , the locos oxide 2 for device isolation is formed to 6000 å in thickness on the p - type silicon substrate 1 . then , the gate oxide 3 is formed by oxidizing the surface of the silicon substrate 1 ( fig1 a ), and on top of the gate oxide 3 , the gate electrode 4 made of polysilicon with impurities injected therein is formed , and the source and drain regions 5 are further formed by ion injection ( fig1 b ). next , over the whole surface of the silicon substrate 1 , silicon oxide is formed as the first interlayer insulator 6 by cvd process . then , a contact hole is opened in the drain region of the underlayer transistor , and the polysilicon plug 7 with impurities diffused therein is buried into the contact hole . subsequently , surfaces of the interlayer insulator 6 and the polysilicon plug 7 are flattened by known cmp ( chemical mechanical polishing ) process , by which the polysilicon plug 7 is formed in the contact hole ( fig1 c ). the tasin film 8 is formed to 1000 å in thickness as a barrier metal layer on the polysilicon plug 7 by dc magnetron sputtering process , and then the iridium film 9 is formed to 1500 å in thickness as a lower electrode also by the dc magnetron sputtering process . after that , the sbt film 10 is formed as a ferroelectric film . the sbt film 10 is formed by mod ( metal organic decomposition ) process , i . e ., a process for obtaining the sbt film 10 by iterating a sequence of steps of applying , drying , and crystallization heat - treating an organic metal solution containing strontium , bismuth and tantalum up to a desired thickness of the sbt film 10 . in this embodiment , an mod solution having a composition ratio of sr : bi : ta = 8 : 24 : 20 is applied so that one layer may become about 500 å in thickness , followed by drying at 250 ° c . for 5 minutes , and then a crystallization heat treatment at 675 ° c . for 60 minutes is carried out in a normal - pressure oxygen - containing atmosphere . the sequence of steps from the application to the heat treatment in the normal - pressure oxygen - containing atmosphere is iterated for each application , and by executing four times of application , the sbt film 10 with a film thickness of about 2000 å is formed . further , the platinum film 11 is formed as an upper electrode to 1000 å in thickness by the dc magnetron sputtering process ( fig2 a ). next , the platinum film 11 serving as an upper electrode is processed by using known photolithography process and dry etching process . an ecr ( electron cyclotron resonance ) etcher is used for the dry etching , and the electrode size is made 1 . 3 μm square ( fig2 b ). next , heat treatment at 675 ° c . for 60 minutes in a normal - pressure oxygen - containing atmosphere is carried out with a view to the stabilization of ferroelectric characteristics by the suppression of leak current and the replenishment of oxygen loss . after that , the sbt layer and the lower - electrode and barrier - metal layer are processed also by using the known photolithography process and the dry etching process . the ecr etcher is also used for the dry etching as with the upper - electrode platinum , and the layer sizes are made 2 . 0 μm square and 2 . 5 μm square , respectively . next , the titanium oxide 12 with a film thickness of 250 - 500 å ( preferably , 250 å ) is formed as an oxidation barrier layer ( fig2 c ). the titanium oxide 12 is formed by reactive sputtering process , where the sputtering conditions are an argon flow rate of 15 sccm , an oxygen flow rate of 15 sccm and a sputtering power of 1 . 2 kw . film thicknesses thinner than 250 å would cause oxygen to be diffused into the titanium oxide during the subsequent heat treatment in an oxygen - containing atmosphere , posing a problem that the lower electrode or the barrier metal may be oxidized . film thicknesses thicker than 500 å may result in too thick a whole film thickness , unfavorably . after that , annealing for recovery of process damage is carried out in an oxygen - containing atmosphere . the condition for this heat treatment , although depending on the degree of damage that the capacitor has suffered , may be a temperature of about 500 - 700 ° c . the heat treatment this time is carried out at 700 ° c . for 30 minutes . subsequently , the second interlayer insulator 13 is formed ( fig3 a ). this second interlayer insulator 13 is made of known ozone teos - nsg . after the formation of this nsg , a 0 . 8 μm contact hole is opened on the platinum film serving as an upper electrode by the known photolithography process and the dry etching process . next , the platinum film 14 is deposited as a drive line , and processed into a specified shape also by the photolithography process and the dry etching process ( fig3 b ). after that , the third interlayer insulator 15 is further formed by an ozone teos - nsg film as with the second interlayer insulator 13 . further , a contact hole leading to the platinum film 14 serving as a drive line and the source region of the transistor is opened by the photolithography process and the dry etching process as in the foregoing , and then the aluminum interconnection 16 is implemented ( fig3 c ). ferroelectric characteristics of a ferroelectric memory device fabricated in this way are shown in fig4 . with an applied voltage of ± 3 v , characteristic values of 2pr = 8 . 35 μc / cm 2 and ec = 42 . 3 kv / cm were obtained . next , leak current density of the ferroelectric capacitor was measured . the leak current density at + 3 v showed a value of 1 . 30 × 10 − 7 a / cm 2 . in contrast to these results , when heat treatment was carried out in nitrogen after the processing of the lower electrode and the barrier metal , electrical characteristics were not recovered enough and , in particular , the leak current was recovered only to the order of 10 − 5 a / cm 2 . in this embodiment , titanium oxide is used as the oxidation barrier layer . however , without being limited to this , the present invention allows the use of oxides comprising one or more kinds of elements out of titanium and tantalum , such as tantalum oxide , or silicon nitride , only if the material has a property of blocking rapid oxidation ( oxygen diffusion ) of the lower electrode and the barrier metal as well as a property of preventing the diffusion of elements constituting the ferroelectric capacitor outward of the capacitor . also , the above description has been made with the use of a nitride of a tantalum - silicon alloy ( tasin ) as the barrier metal layer . however , the present invention not being limited to this , generally similar effects can be expected also by using any one of tantalum nitride ( tan ), tungsten nitride ( wn ), a nitride of a titanium - silicon alloy ( tisin ) and a nitride of a tungsten - silicon alloy ( wsin ). this embodiment shows a case where titanium nitride is used as the barrier metal layer and silicon nitride is used as the oxidation barrier layer . after the processes of up to the formation of a polysilicon plug by using known techniques as in the first embodiment , titanium nitride is formed to 2000 å in thickness as a barrier metal layer by the dc magnetron sputtering process . after that , iridium is formed to 1500 å in thickness as a lower electrode also by the dc magnetron sputtering process . subsequently , an sbt film is formed as a ferroelectric layer . the sbt film is formed by the mod process . further , platinum is formed to 1000 å in thickness as an upper electrode by the dc magnetron sputtering process . after that , an upper electrode is processed by using the known photolithography process and the dry etching process , and then heat treatment is carried out in a normal - pressure oxygen - containing atmosphere . subsequently , the sbt film , the lower - electrode iridium and the barrier metal layer are processed sequentially . next , silicon nitride with a film thickness of 250 - 500 å is formed as an oxidation barrier layer . the silicon nitride is formed by the reactive sputtering process , where the sputtering conditions are an argon flow rate of 20 sccm , a nitrogen flow rate of 20 sccm and a sputtering power of 1 . 0 kw so that the film thickness is made 250 - 500 å ( preferably , 300 å ). subsequently , heat treatment with a view to the recovery of process damage is carried out under the conditions of 675 ° c . and 60 minutes . after this on , processes up to the aluminum interconnection are carried out in the same way as in the first embodiment . ferroelectric characteristics of a ferroelectric memory device fabricated in this way are shown in fig5 . with an applied voltage of ± 3 v , characteristic values of 2pr = 7 . 96 μc / cm 2 and ec = 43 . 5 kv / cm were obtained . next , leak current density of the ferroelectric capacitor was measured . the leak current density at + 3 v was 4 . 7 × 10 − 7 a / cm 2 . as described in detail hereinabove , use of the present invention makes it possible to carry out the heat treatment process in a high - temperature oxygen - containing atmosphere without oxidizing the lower electrode and the barrier metal layer . thus , it becomes possible to produce a semiconductor memory equipped with a ferroelectric as a capacitor having good electrical characteristics and high reliability by recovering any damage that the ferroelectric film has suffered during the semiconductor process . also , by using an oxide composed of at least one or more kinds of elements out of titanium and tantalum , or silicon nitride , as the oxidation barrier layer , it becomes possible to carry out the heat treatment for recovery of process damage without causing oxidation of the lower electrode and the barrier metal layer . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not be regarded as a departure from the sprit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	7
with further reference to the drawings , the bird nesting habitat of the present invention , indicated generally at 10 , includes an outer foliage vessel or container 11 and an inner nesting chamber 12 . the outer vessel or container can be of any suitable configuration but should be at least ten or twelve inches across . plastic hanging baskets having a diameter in this range have been found to be suitable for this purpose . if a hanging basket is used , then a plurality of hanger supports 13 are attached to the outer vessel with a hanger hook 14 being provided at the apex thereof so that the entire habitat can be hung from any suitable hook , bar , or other suitable means ( not shown ). between the outer vessel or container 11 and the inner nesting chamber 12 is a foliage support material 15 . this material can be potting soil or other suitable material when the foliage 16 is live or can be one or more pieces of florist oasis which is precut for the purpose when either dried , artificial or cut foliage is used . in the case of the latter , water , of course , would be applied to the oasis material to keep the cut foliage alive longer or in some cases even to root the same . whether either live , cut , dried or artificial foliage or a combination thereof is used , the same should be relatively thick and certainly not spriggy . this foliage should be disposed on all sides of the nesting chamber 12 and should even form a foliage canopy thereover . in other words adequate foliage should be used to give the birds a sense of security and yet not so thick as to prevent ready ingress and regress therethrough to the nesting chamber . as the nesting habitat is being formed , it quickly becomes obvious to the person preparing the same when the correct density of foliage has been achieved . the nesting chamber 12 can be formed from any suitable material . if other than dried oasis with dried or artificial foliage is used , the chamber should be waterproof to prevent moisture from penetrating into the central nesting area 17 . various types of plastic and similar materials are , of course , suitable for this purpose . since carolina wrens are relatively small birds , a nesting chamber of two and a half to four inches in diameter is preferable . the chamber may be open at the top , or , in a situation where exposed to wind - blown rain , a small box , or a gourd with a side - opening entrance would be preferred . since carolina wrens in the mid - atlantic states begin looking for nesting areas in late february or early march , evergreens or other cold resistant foliage should be used when preparing the habitat with live foliage . since carolina wrens usually raise more than one brood per year , as the weather warms additional habitats can be put out with warm weather foliage being included therein . it has been found that a mixture of different types of live foliage is acceptable in the habitat as well as a mixture of artificial and / or dried foliage . all of the same type of foliage , of course , also works well . from the above it can be seen that the present invention has the advantage of providing a relatively inexpensive , attractive nesting habitat for the small , interesting - to - watch , pleasant sounding carolina wren . these habitats are highly efficient in attracting wrens and can be disposed under any suitable overhang . the present invention can , of course , be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention . the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein .	0
reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the invention . examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . while the invention will be described in conjunction with these embodiments , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to any embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments . however , the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details . in other instances , well known process operations have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention . one embodiment of the invention will be described in terms of a network structure in the form of a ring where various switches are coupled by optical fiber trunk lines as depicted in fig3 . this embodiment will be described by way of example , not limitation , as a network for connecting dsl ( digital subscriber line ) subscribers to a network . in fig3 a layer 3 device 10 and group of layer 2 access switches 12 have their ring ports coupled by fiber links 14 to form a ring topology . the fiber links 14 form trunk links between the ring ports and are 1 ge ( gigabit ethernet ) links coupling the rings port of the switches . an uplink port of each dsl access multiplexer ( dslam ) 16 is coupled to a trunk port of the layer 2 access switch and each subscriber port of the dslam is connected to a host 18 through a dsl modem ( not shown ). in this example the subscribers are host computers and other devices coupled to the dsl modem . in this embodiment , each subscriber port on the dslam is assigned to a different vlan . since a host on one vlan cannot communicate with a host on another vlan without a layer 3 device , this vlan assignment achieves the desired isolation between hosts . each trunk port on the layer 2 access switch is configured as a vlan trunk because it is coupled through the dslam to multiple vlans . as a vlan trunk port , the different vlans coupled to the port will be assigned vlan ids to distinguish between them . a provider supplies services and content over the network . as compression techniques improve video streams such as movies and television shows will be provided over the network to selected subscribers using dsl modems . video streams are notorious bandwidth hogs and the preferred technique of delivering these streams is to utilize ip multicast which enables a source of the video stream to transmit a single copy which is received by a selected group of hosts included in a multicast group . a more detailed description of the operation of the embodiment will now be provided with reference to fig3 and 4 . in the following it is assumed that that a subscriber is using host ( a ) on vlan 101 , coupled to subscriber port ( a ) on a dslam ( a ), which is coupled to vlan trunk port ( a ) of layer 2 access switch ( a ). the subscriber selects a first video stream that having a first multicast mac address in the configured range of multicast addresses . in this example , the muticast vlan is tagged with vlan id 2000 . when a subscriber selects a multicast video , the host ( a ), coupled to vlan 101 , multicasts a join igmp report to the layer 2 access switch ( a ) in order to become a receiver of the multicast group . if these igmp reports are destined for one of the multicast - configured mac addresses , the layer 2 access switch cpu is the only destination for these reports . the forwarding engine does not forward the igmp control packets . fig4 shows a high - level system block diagram of forwarding and control subsystem of the layer 2 access switch that may be used to execute software of an embodiment of the invention . the sub - system 40 includes an asic forwarding engine 42 , a cpu 44 , a forwarding table 46 , and memory 48 which can be utilized to store and retrieve software programs incorporating computer code that implements aspects of the invention , data for use with the invention , and the like . exemplary computer readable storage media include cd - rom , floppy disk , tape , flash memory , system memory , and hard drive . additionally , a data signal embodied in a carrier wave may be the computer readable storage medium . the cpu 44 tags the join from host ( a ) with vlan id 2000 so that it appear as if the join came from the ring port which is part of the multicast vlan so that only one copy of data stream is transmitted over the ring . then , the cpu adds trunk port 1 , vlan 101 to its address table in content addressable memory ( cam ) as a destination for multicast packets of video stream 1 . the cpu 44 then programs the forwarding engine to tag each received multicast packet on the multicast vlan in video stream 1 with vlan id 101 and the packet is switched from the ring port to first vlan trunk port . as described above , in this embodiment the trunk port 1 is configured as a vlan trunk port so that the received first video stream packet will be forwarded with the vlan id 101 to dslam ( a ). dlsam ( a ) will then respond to the vlan id 101 to forward the multicast video packet to vlan 101 where it will be received by host ( a ). when the subscriber closes video stream 1 , host ( a ) will send a leave message which is received at the cpu 44 of layer 2 access switch ( a ). if no other hosts on vlan 101 are in the multicast group for video stream 1 the layer 2 switch will delete trunk port 1 , vlan 101 as a destination address for the first video stream and send a leave message , tagged with vlan id 2000 , to the layer 3 device indicating it no longer needs to receive video stream 1 packets . the invention has now been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . alternatives and substitutions will now be apparent to persons of skill in the art . for example , an embodiment has been described in the context of a dsl network . however , the trunk ports of the layer 2 access switches could be connected to subscriber premises having a number of vlans configured to optimize use of resources . further , although multicasting video streams has been described , persons of skill in the art are aware that the techniques described are applicable to any type of data which is multicast . accordingly , it is not intended to limit the invention except as provided by the appended claims .	7
the present invention is directed to protecting contact detectors that have exposed portions , such as the portion of a finger sensor used to capture finger images . these portions are exposed in that they are contacted to capture image data or other data and thus contain or overlie electronics used to process the image or other data . because these portions come into contact with fingers and materials that can carry electrostatic charges , these portions are necessarily vulnerable to latch - up , which can result in the generation of excessive current that can damage the integrated circuits that form the contact detector . the portions are also susceptible to mechanical and other damage . while much of the discussion that follows focuses on finger image sensors , it will be appreciated that other contact detectors and other types of integrated circuits are able to benefit from the present invention . fig1 shows a finger 110 being swiped along a finger swipe sensor 100 in accordance with the present invention , with the arrow indicating a swipe direction . the finger swipe sensor 100 contains an exposed surface 105 , under which lies electronics that are susceptible to damage from over current and other conditions generated from , for example , electrostatic discharge ( esd ) events . the exposed portion 105 is shown much larger in its relation to the finger 110 merely to make the drawing easier to read ; the drawings are not to scale . generally , these electronics that underlie the exposed surface 105 include analog components and digital components . if the finger swipe sensor 100 is a capacitive swipe sensor , which uses capacitors to sense an image of a finger , the analog components can include an array of sense capacitors . if the finger swipe sensor is an optical swipe sensor , which uses charge coupled devices to sense an image of a finger , the analog components can include photodiodes . in either case , the digital components can include processing elements for converting the analog image data into digital data for further processing . esd , its generation , and its effect on finger sensors are explained in more detail in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 070 , 154 , titled “ electrostatic discharge protection for a fingerprint sensor ,” and filed mar . 1 , 2005 , which is incorporated by reference . the surface of the exposed portion 105 and the underlying components function by capturing finger images and are thus necessarily exposed to esd events . also , because it functions by being contacted by a finger , it is also referred to as a “ contact surface ,” a “ contact detector ,” and the like . still referring to fig1 , the finger swipe sensor 100 also includes an insulating surface 120 that protects electronics contained below it from esd events , abrasion , shock , and other damage . electronics below the insulating surface 120 are thus less susceptible to , for example , latch up and the resulting over currents . suitable materials for the insulating surface 120 include , but are not limited to , non - conductive polymeric materials such as plastics . the electronics underlying the insulating layer include both analog and digital components for processing finger image data . fig2 is a schematic of a section of a contact device 200 in accordance with the present invention . the contact device 200 comprises an exposed area 201 having a surface that overlies a block 210 of analog components and a block 220 of digital components ( also referred to as uncovered or exposed blocks ). as one example , the contact device 200 is a capacitive finger sensor , and the block 210 contains a capacitive sense array . it will be appreciated that the capacitive sense array itself is generally protected from minor abrasions by , for example , a passivation layer , a thin - film , or both . the contact device 200 also comprises an unexposed area that contains an insulating surface ( not shown ) that overlies a power switch ( also referred to as a current switch ) 211 for controlling power to the block 210 and a power switch 221 for controlling power to the block 220 ( also referred to as covered or un - exposed blocks ). the contact device 200 also comprises a block 230 of covered analog components , a block 240 of covered digital components , a covered input output ( i / o ) block 250 , a power switch 231 for controlling power to the block 230 , a power switch 241 for controlling power to the block 240 , and a power switch 251 for controlling power to the i / o block 250 . all of the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 are protected from esd events and other damage by the insulating layer that shields them from esd , such as discharged from a finger or other charged object contacting the exposed area 201 . as one example , in operation , if latch up in the block 210 generates an over current , the power switch 211 detects the over current and raises a signal ( on the line latch_b , discussed below ) indicating the over current . the block 240 receives the signal and generates a signal to the power switches 211 and 221 to remove power from the blocks 210 and 220 , respectively , to terminate the latch up condition . after a predetermined time , sufficient to allow the latch up condition to terminate , the power switches 211 and 221 reconnect the blocks 210 and 220 to power . during this process , the switches 231 , 241 , and 251 do not remove power from the blocks 230 , 240 , and 250 , respectively . in other words , the blocks 230 , 240 , and 250 are not reset when the blocks 211 and 221 are . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the block 240 controls the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 to place them in an operating mode , a standby mode , and a disconnect mode , all described in more detail below . the block 240 contains a state machine for performing these functions . in other embodiments a host processor external to the contact device 200 performs these functions . still referring to fig2 , voltage ( power supply ) lines from the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 are coupled to the blocks 210 , 220 , 230 , 240 , and 250 , respectively , and are controllably routed to the blocks 210 , 220 , 230 , 240 , and 250 in accordance with the present invention . all of the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 and the block 240 are coupled to one another at a power down ( pd ) input line for each . a signal on the pd input of one of the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 is used to control the power switch to route full power or to route standby power to the blocks 210 , 220 , 230 , 240 , and 250 , respectively . the power switches 211 and 221 have interconnected input / output ( i / o ) lines labeled latch_b , which are also coupled to the block 240 . similarly , the power switches 231 , 241 , and 251 have interconnected i / o lines labeled latch_b . as described below , a signal on a latch_b line is used to indicate an over current . the disconnect ( dis ) input for the power switches 211 and 221 is output from block 240 . a signal on a dis line is used to instruct a power switch to permanently disconnect power to the block . this occurs when the block 240 determines that a block is unusable , such as when it raises a signal on its latch_b line several consecutive times , indicating , for example , that it cannot recover from latch - up . dis inputs for the blocks 231 , 241 , and 251 are not used and are accordingly grounded . as explained below , when power switches have interconnected latch_b inputs , if any of the power switches indicates an over current condition , all the power switches will to cut off power to all the blocks they control power to . the power switches are thus in a wired or configuration . vss ( ground ) lines from the i / o block 250 are coupled to vss inputs to the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , and 241 . an analog ana_vdd ( voltage source ) line from the i / o block 250 is coupled to vdd inputs of the power switches 211 and 231 . an i / o vdd line from the i / o block 250 is coupled to the vdd input of the power switch 251 , and the dis input and the ground input of the power switch 251 are coupled to the ground i / o_vss output of the i / o block 250 . the power line for digital components dig_vdd from the i / o block 250 couples the power inputs vdd of the power switches 221 and 241 . finally , the i / o lines for all of the blocks 210 , 220 , 230 , 240 , and 250 ( shown as thick lines ) are coupled together . the i / o block 250 is used to ( 1 ) route power and provide ground over the lines ava_vdd / ana_vss to the power switches 211 and 231 , which then controllably route power to the ( analog ) blocks 210 and 230 , ( 2 ) route power and provide ground over the lines dig_vdd / dig_vss to the power switches 221 and 241 , which then controllably route power to the ( digital ) blocks 220 and 240 , ( 3 ) receive power and ground for itself over the lines i / o_vdd / i / o_vss , and ( 4 ) route analog i / o signals between the block 230 and components external to the contact detector 200 and ( 5 ) route digital i / o signals between the block 240 and components external to the contact detector 200 . the blocks 210 , 220 , 230 , and 240 are all coupled to one another along their i / o lines . in operation , as explained briefly above , when a signal on a latch_b line indicates over current , power to all the analog and digital blocks that are controlled by power switches coupled to the latch_b line is disconnected . at the same time this signal is used by the block 240 to set the reset flag or , if the over - current condition does not disappear , to generate a disable flag . this flag puts the entire contact detector 200 in power down mode ( all the power supply switches have common power down signal pd ) and generates signal dis ( disconnect ) for the exposed blocks of the integrated circuit . all the signals are static . for this reason , the power switches 211 , 221 , 231 , 241 , and 251 and the blocks 230 , 240 , and 250 can be in the power down mode of operation . the blocks 230 , 240 , and 250 are not considered prone to a physical damage and do not need a disconnect option . in order to disconnect the blocks 210 and 220 , the covered blocks 230 , 240 , and 250 should be functional . fig3 shows a state diagram 300 for implementing a state machine , such as one executing on the block 240 of fig2 , in accordance with the present invention . as explained above , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , when an over current is detected anywhere in the finger sensor , control logic on the finger sensor , implemented in the state machine , controls power switches to enter ( 1 ) an operating mode 305 , in which power is routed from the power switch to a block , ( 2 ) a standby mode 310 , in which the finger sensor is not being used and only limited power is routed from a power switch to a block so that the block can be quickly placed in the operating mode , ( 3 ) a reset check mode 315 , entered after an over current is detected , during which each power switch that controls power to electronics in an exposed area disconnects power to the block it controls , giving the block time to allow the latch - up condition to terminate , and ( 4 ) a disconnect mode 320 , in which power is permanently disconnected from a block . preferably , the reset check mode 315 is consolidated in the operating mode 305 . fig3 shows the operating mode 305 and the reset check mode 315 as distinct merely to simplify the explanation . referring to the state diagram 300 , from the operating mode 305 , raising a signal on a standby line ( raised , for example , when the exposed area of the finger sensor has not been contacted by a finger or patterned object for a predetermined time ) places the finger sensor in the standby mode 310 . in the standby mode , the electrical components of the finger sensor draw less current , thereby conserving power and ensures that the finger sensor does not heat up unnecessarily . while the finger sensor is in the standby mode 310 , when a finger or other object contacts a surface of the finger sensor , the finger sensor goes into the operating mode 305 , powering on the electronics . in the operating mode 305 , if an over current is detected , the finger sensor enters the reset check mode 315 , where it temporarily disconnects power from one or more of the blocks , allowing any latch - up condition that occurred as a result of the over current to be removed . the finger sensor then returns to the operating mode 305 . if , however , an over current is again detected , the finger sensor again returns to the reset check mode 315 . if the finger sensor returns to the reset check mode 315 a predetermined number of consecutive times , indicating that a block is permanently damaged , the finger sensor enters the disconnect mode 320 , in which the block is flagged as damaged , and accordingly is no longer used . a processor on the finger sensor ( e . g ., block 240 in fig2 ) uses the flag to determine that the damaged block is not longer used to store , receive , or process data . the finger sensor then returns to the operating mode 305 , for the remainder of the ( i . e ., the functioning , undamaged ) blocks . it will be appreciated that while fig2 shows an exposed area 201 containing both an analog block 210 and a digital block 220 , in other embodiments the exposed area 201 contains one or more analog blocks , one or more digital blocks , but not both . in accordance with other embodiments of the invention , an exposed area is divided into multiple blocks containing electronic components , such that power to each block is controlled by a dedicated power element . dividing the multiple blocks in this way allows smaller blocks to be isolated and later disabled , if necessary . fig4 shows a portion of a contact sensor 400 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . the contact sensor 400 comprises a first block of electronic components 420 containing a digital block 420 a controlled by a dedicated power switch 426 and an analog block 420 b controlled by a dedicated power switch 425 ; a second block of electronic components 430 containing a digital block 430 a controlled by a dedicated power switch 435 and an analog block 430 b controlled by a dedicated power switch 436 ; a third block of electronic components 440 containing a digital block 440 a controlled by a dedicated power switch 446 and an analog block 440 b controlled by a dedicated power switch 445 ; and a fourth block of electronic components 450 containing a digital block 450 a controlled by a dedicated power switch 455 and an analog block 450 b controlled by a dedicated power switch 456 . the blocks 420 , 430 , 440 , and 450 are all contained in an uncovered or exposed area 460 , and the power switches 425 , 426 , 435 , 436 , 445 , 446 , 455 , and 456 are all contained in a covered or un - exposed area 465 . if it is later determined that the block 420 b is irreparably damaged , such as by an over current condition , then the power switch 425 is able to permanently disconnect power from the block 420 b , removing one - eighth of the electronics ( e . g ., sensing elements ) of the finger sensor from operation , leaving seven - eighths for use . if a single power switch were used to control power to the entire block 420 and the entire block 420 must permanently disconnected because the block 420 b is damaged , a larger portion of the sensing array would be lost to use . it will thus be recognized that by increasing the number of blocks ( e . g ., 420 , 430 , 440 , and 450 ), each having a dedicated power switch , when a portion of the finger sensor is disconnected due to damage , the damage is better isolated and a larger portion of the finger sensor remains available for use . fig5 is a schematic diagram for a current switch 500 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . those skilled in the art will recognize from the schematic diagram that the current switch contains pmos and nmos transistors . the pmos and nmos transistors can be replaced with other types of transistors . the output lines labeled vdd , vss , out , latch_b refer to signal lines with the same function as similarly labeled lines in fig2 . the current switch 500 includes an over - current detector amplifier ( transistors n 1 - n 3 , p 1 - p 4 , resistor r_nplus , and a capacitor connected transistor u 7 ), a schmitt trigger ( transistors pin 1 , pin 2 , pin 4 , nin 1 , nin 2 , nin 4 ), mode control logic ( pin 2 b , pin 2 c , pin 3 , pin 3 a , pin 5 , nin 2 a , nin 2 b , nin 2 c , nin 3 , nin 3 a , nin 5 , n 4 , n 5 ), and switch transistors psw , pbp , pbpa . the current switch 500 has two input lines pd ( power down ), dis ( disconnect ), one output line out , one input / output line latch_b , a power supply vdd line , and a local ground vss . the vdd line is coupled to the source and bulk ( substrate ) of the transistors pbpa , pin 5 , pin 1 , pin 2 , pin 2 b , pin 3 , pin 3 a , p 1 , p 3 , p 4 , to the bulks of p 1 a , p 2 , pbp and psw , and to a first end of the resistor r_nplus . the vss line is coupled to the bulk , the drain and source of the transistor u 7 , to the bulk and source of the transistors n 1 , n 1 a , n 2 , n 3 , nin 1 , nin 2 , nin 2 a , nin 2 b , nin 3 a , nin 4 , nin 2 c , n 5 , nin 5 , and to the bulk of the transistors n 4 and nin 3 . the gate of the transistor p 4 is coupled to the gate of the transistor pbp , to the gate of the transistor n 5 , to the drain of the transistor pin 5 , and to the drain of the transistor nin 5 . the dis line is coupled to the gate of the transistor pbpa . the pd line is coupled to the gates of the transistors p 1 , p 1 a , pin 2 c , and pin 5 , and to the gates of the transistors n 3 , nin 2 b , and nin 5 . the latch_b line is coupled to the gate of the transistor nin 3 a , the drain of the transistor nin 2 c , and the gate of the transistor pin 3 a . a line 501 couples the drains of the transistors p 2 and psw to a second end of the resistor r_nplus . the integ line couples the drain of the transistor p 3 , the gate of the transistor u 7 , the drain of the transistor n 3 , the drain of the transistor n 2 , the gate of the transistor pin 1 , and the gate of the transistor nin 1 . the drain and gate of the transistor n 1 are both coupled to the drain of the transistor p 1 a , to the gate of the transistor n 1 a , and to the gate of the transistor n 2 . the gate and the drain of the transistor p 2 are both coupled to the drain of the transistor p 4 , to the gate of the transistor p 3 , and to the drain of the transistor nia . the v out line couples the drains of the transistors pbp and psw to the drain of the transistor n 4 . the source of the transistor n 4 is coupled to the drain of the transistor n 5 . the line 515 couples the gate of the transistor n 4 to the gate of the transistor psw , to the drain of the transistor pin 3 a , to the drain of the transistor pin 3 , and to the drain of the transistor nin 3 . the gate of the transistor nin 3 is coupled to the gate of the transistor pin 3 and to the drains of the transistors nin 2 a and nin 2 b , and to the drain of the transistor pin 2 c . the drain of the transistor pin 1 is coupled to the drain of the transistor nin 1 , to the gates of the transistors pin 2 and nin 2 , to the drain of the transistor pin 4 , and to the drain of the transistor nin 4 . the gates of the transistors nin 4 and nin 2 c are coupled together , to the gates of the transistors pin 4 , nin 2 a , and pin 2 b , to the drain of the transistor pin 2 , and to the drain of the transistor nin 2 . the bulk of the transistor pin 4 is coupled to its source . the drain of the transistor pbpa is coupled to the source of the transistor pbp . as explained above , the current switch 500 has three modes of operation : operating mode , standby mode , and disconnect mode . each of these modes is now explained in relation to the components in fig5 . first , in the operating mode both of the signals pd and dis are set low . this disables the current bypass transistor pbp and enables the over - current detector amplifier along with the mode control logic . the current switch 500 is now able to detect over currents . the signal latch_b , which is normally high in this mode ( using a pull up pmos outside of this block ), is coupled in wired or configuration with similar current switches , used to thereby disconnect the power supply ( vdd ), if either one or more of the current switches detects an over - current condition . the current switch 500 provides the power supply voltage from power line vdd to the output terminal out through the switch transistor psw , which is normally in an on state in this mode , and resistor r_nplus , which is used for the over - current detection . the voltage drop across the resistor r_nplus is the input signal for the over - current detector amplifier p 2 / p 3 / n 1 a / n 2 . the amplifier includes two skewed current mirrors 580 and 590 coupled to the summation node integ . the transistors of the over - current detector amplifier current mirrors are sized so that the current sink , normally provided by the transistor n 2 of the amplifier , is stronger than current source provided by the transistor p 3 . this current difference pulls the integ node to the ground potential . because there are an even number of inversions ( 4 ) between the integ node and the gate node of the switch transistor psw , its gate is the ground potential too and the switch transistor psw is in an on state . when the current supplied to the output node exceeds some threshold level , the voltage drop across the resistor r_nplus becomes sufficient to turn the current ratio of the amplifier current mirrors in opposite directions . this happens because the bias voltage of the current source transistor p 3 is the sum of the gate - source voltage of p 2 and the voltage drop across the resistor r_nplus . because the current source transistor p 3 now overrides the current sink , the voltage of the integ node starts to rise . the slew rate is established by the values of the current difference of the source and sink and the capacitor u 7 . thus , the higher the voltage drop across the resistor r_nplus , the faster the voltage at the integ node is increasing . the delay is used to prevent false triggering of the current switch 500 as the result of brief current spikes occurring during the normal operation of the current switches , coupled to the out node of the switch , and during the initial power supply ramp up . when the voltage at the integ node exceeds the upper threshold of the schmitt trigger , the gate voltage of the switch transistor psw goes high and turns this transistor off . at the same time , the transistor n 4 turns on and pulls the output terminal out to ground . simultaneously , the transistor nin 2 c turns on , pulling the latch_b line to ground . this induces similar off conditions to all the switch transistors of all the current switches connected in wired or configuration along their latch_b lines . although the voltage across the resistor r_nplus instantaneously drops to 0 and the current sink of the over - current detector amplifier becomes stronger than the current source , it takes some time to discharge the capacitor u 7 coupled to the integ node down to the lower threshold voltage of the schmitt trigger . during this time the out line stays grounded . the duration of this state should be sufficient for all latch - up conditions that caused the over - current to disappear . when the schmitt trigger flips , the current switch is returned to the normal operation state . in the standby mode , the signal on the line pd is set high and the signal on the dis line is low . the current bypass transistor pbp is enabled and the over - current detector amplifier along with the mode control logic and the current switch transistor psw are disabled . the signal on the latch_b line no longer affects the operation of the current switch 500 . the current switch 500 provides the power supply voltage from the power line vdd to the out terminal through two relatively weak bypass transistors pbp and pbpa in series . the sizes of the transistors pbp and pbpa are chosen such that the current they can provide is sufficient to maintain standby conditions of the respective blocks of the integrated circuit , but too small to sustain any latch - up condition anywhere in the integrated circuit . since the over - current protection amplifier is disabled , the current switch 500 does not consume any current in standby mode of operation . in the disconnect mode , both of the signals pd and dis are set high . the only difference between the disconnect and the standby mode is that in the disconnect mode the bypass current path is cut off and no current can be provided to the out terminal . this mode of operation is used to permanently disconnect damaged blocks from the power supply . in those embodiments that use metal oxide semiconductors ( mos ) to implement the contact detector , the pmos transistors are placed substantially far away from nmos transistors so that the current switch 500 itself is substantially immune to latch - up and any resulting permanent damage . those skilled in the art will recognize proper spacing for the pmos and nmos transistors , which is based on feedback gains and the sizes of transistor components . in a preferred embodiment , the power switches and other components of a contact detector circuit in accordance with the present invention are fabricated as part of a single integrated circuit . fig6 - 11 show steps for fabricating a detector circuit in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . identical elements are labeled with the same number . fig6 and 7 show , respectively , top and side cross - sectional views of a structure 600 containing semiconductor substrate 601 . fig8 and 9 show , respectively , top and side cross - sectional views of a structure 650 containing the semiconductor substrate 601 after a first set of electronics 655 , a channel 655 , and a protection element 660 are formed on it . the first set of electronics 655 are for capturing and processing image data . the channel 665 couples the first set of electronics 655 to a protection element 660 . fig1 and 11 show , respectively , top and side cross - sectional views of a structure 700 , which is the structure 650 after an insulating layer 710 has been formed over the protection element 660 ( shown in phantom , outlined by dashed lines ) and a passivation layer 720 has been formed over the electronics 655 to form an exposed portion . those skilled in the art will recognize other structures in accordance with the present invention . for example , fig1 shows a finger swipe sensor 800 having an exposed area 810 bordered on opposing ends by the unexposed areas 820 a and 820 b . because a finger 840 traveling along the finger swipe sensor 800 only travels between the lines 820 and 821 ( a swipe area defined by a swipe direction and does not include the areas 830 a and 830 b ), an insulating layer does not need to cover the areas 830 a and 830 b . it will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art that other modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	6
the present inventors diligently studied industrial methods of preparing the compound ( ia ), and found that use of diphenyl phosphorochloridate derivatives known as materials of a mixed acid anhydride for activating a carboxyl group in the case of a peptide synthesis [ chem . ber ., 94 , p . 2644 ( 1961 )] served to condense a compound represented by the formula ## str6 ## [ wherein r 1 stands for a lower alkyl group or an aralkyl group ] directly with a compound represented by the formula ## str7 ## [ wherein r 2 stands for a lower alkyl group , r 3 stands for an aralkyl group and r 4 stands for a lower alkyl group ], to produce a compound represented by the formula ## str8 ## [ wherein each of the symbols is of the same meaning as defined above ] in a high yield . further surprisingly , the present inventors found that the compound ( i ) was also obtained in a high yield even by mixing the compound ( xi ) and a diphenyl phosphorochloridate derivative and then adding the compound ( xii ) to the mixture . this fact shows that the condensation reaction employing a diphenyl phosphorochloridate derivative does not proceed through such a mixed acid anhydride of the compound ( vi ) as reported in chemishe berichte , 94 , p . 2644 ( 1961 ) nor through an acyl derivative of the compound ( vi ) as described in japanese unexamined patent publication no . 57 - 176941 . namely , the present inventors found that a diphenyl phosphorochloridate derivative was a new type of condensing agent and have completed the present invention . more specifically , the present invention provides a method for producing the compound represented by the formula ( i ), which is characterized by allowing a diphenyl phosphorochloridate derivative represented by the formula ## str9 ## [ wherein x and y independently stand for hydrogen , a lower alkyl group , a lower alkoxy group or halogen ] and the compound represented by the formula ( xii ) to react with the compound represented by the formula ( xi ), and a method for producing the compound represented by the formula ( ia ) or the salt thereof , which is characterized by subjecting the compound represented by the formula ( i ) which is obtained by the above - mentioned method to a hydrolysis , elimination of catalytic reduction reaction . referring to the above formulae , the lower alkyl groups shown by r 1 , r 2 , r 4 , x and y are exemplified by alkyl groups having about 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl and tert - butyl . as r 2 , a methyl group is preferable , and , as r 4 , an ethyl group is preferable . examples of the aralkyl group shown by r 1 include phenyl - lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alkyl groups and diphenyl - lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alkyl groups such as benzyl , phenethyl and diphenylmethyl . the phenyl moiety of the phenyl - lower alkyl group and diphenyl - lower alkyl group may optionally have 1 to 3 substituents such as a lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alkyl group ( e . g . methyl , ethyl , propyl ), a lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alkoxy group ( e . g . methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy ) and halogen ( e . g . fluorine , chlorine , bromine ). examples of the aralkyl group shown by r 3 include phenyl - lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alkyl groups such as benzyl , phenethyl and 3 - phenylpropyl , and , among them , phenethyl group is preferable . examples of the alkoxy group shown by x and y include alkoxy groups having 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy and butoxy . the halogen shown by x and y is exemplified by fluorine , chlorine and bromine . as r 1 , tert - butyl group or benzyl is preferable ( more preferably benzyl group ), and , as x and y , hydrogen is preferably , as the compound ( xii ), n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine is preferable . the above reaction of the compounds ( xi ), ( xii ) and ( xiii ) is usually conducted in a solvent in the presence of a base . as the base to be used , tertiary amines which are inert to the reaction ( e . g . triethylamine , n - methylpiperidine , dimethylaniline , pyridine , 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ) are preferable , and triethylamine is more preferable . as the solvent , any one which is inert to the reaction may be employed , but organic solvents having relatively low boiling points , such as methylene chloride , ethyl acetate , chloroform , tetrachloroethane and tetrahydrofuran are preferable . the above bases can also be used as solvents . the reaction temperature usually ranges from - 20 ° c . to + 50 ° c ., preferably from - 5 ° c . to + 30 ° c . amounts of the compound ( xi ), the compound ( xiii ) and the base to be employed are not specifically limited , but it is economically efficient to use , relative to the compound ( xii ), generally 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 equivalents of the compound ( xi ), 1 . 0 to 2 . 0 equivalents of the compound ( xiii ) and 1 to 4 equivalents of the base . the reaction time is not specifically limited , but , in the case of condensing the compound ( xi ) with the compound ( xii ) in the presence of the compound ( xiii ), it is preferably 0 . 5 to 5 hours . after the compounds ( xi ) and ( xiii ) are mixed in a solvent in the presence of a base , the compound ( xii ) may be added to the reaction mixture . the kinds and amounts of the bases and the solvents to be employed are the same as those mentioned above . the period for stirring the compounds ( xi ) and ( xiii ) in the solvent is not specifically limited , but a period ranging from 1 to 20 hours is generally preferable . isolation and purification of the compound ( i ) from the reaction mixture can be conducted by conventional means ( e . g . extraction , concentration , column chromatography ). the compound ( xi ) can be synthesized by , for example , the methods described in japanese unexamined patent publication no . 57 - 77651 ; japanese unexamined patent publication no . 57 - 179141 ; and chemical and pharmaceutical bulletin , 34 , p . 2852 ( 1986 ). the compound ( xii ) can be synthesized by , for example , the methods described in japanese unexamined patent publication no . 58 - 103364 ; japanese unexamined patent publication no . 67 - 178954 ; and chemical and pharmaceutical bulletin 34 , p . 2852 ( 1986 ). the compound ( xiii ) can be synthesized by , for example , the method described in japanese unexamined patent publication no . 47 - 14127 ; japanese unexamined patent publication no . 47 - 16422 ; and japanese unexamined patent publication no . 48 - 1001 . it is also possible that phosphorous oxychloride is allowed to react with a phenol derivative ## str10 ## in an amount of about two times as much as phosphorus oxychloride at a temperature ranging from - 5 ° c . to + 30 ° c . for 0 . 5 to 3 hours and then that the reaction mixture , without isolating and purifying the compound ( xiii ), is used , as it is , for the condensation reaction of the compounds ( xi ) and ( xii ). the compound ( i ) to be obtained by the present invention can be easily led to the compound ( ia ) by , for example , a hydrolysis , elimination or catalytic reduction reaction . the hydrolysis ( when r 1 is lower alkyl group or aralkyl group ) or the elimination reactio ( when r 1 is tert - butyl group ) is conducted in water or an organic solvent such as methanol , ethanol , ethyl acetate , chloroform , tetrahydrofuran , dioxane , pyridine , acetic acid , acetone or methylene chloride , or a mixture thereof , and these reactions can also be conducted by adding an acid ( e . g . hydrogen chloride , hydrogen bromide , hydrogen fluoride , hydrogen iodide , sulfuric acid , methanesulfonic acid , p - toluenesulfonic acid , trifluoroacetic acid ) or a base ( e . g . sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , potassium carbonate , sodium hydrogen carbonate , sodium carbonate , sodium acetate ). the above reaction is usually conducted at a temperature ranging from - 20 ° c . to + 150 ° c . the catalytic reduction ( when r 1 is benzyl group ) is conducted in water or an organic solvent such as methanol , ethanol , ethyl acetate , dioxane or tetrahydrofuran , or a mixture thereof in the presence of a suitable catalyst such as palladium - carbon . this reaction is conducted under a pressure ranging from atmospheric pressure to about 150 kg / cm 2 at a temperature ranging from - 20 ° c . to + 150 ° c . the above - mentioned catalytic reduction is desirably conducted by using , relative to the compound ( i ), 1 to 100 ( w / w ) % ( preferably 2 to 20 ( w / w ) % [ dry basis ] of palladium - carbon in a lower ( c 1 - 4 ) alcohol ( e . g . methanol , ethanol , propanol ) or a mixture of water and the above - mentioned lower alcohol , under a hydrogen pressure ranging from atmospheric pressure to 10 kg / cm 2 at a temperature ranging from 0 ° c . to + 40 ° c . the reaction period ranges from about 0 . 5 to about 5 hours , and it is preferable to add an acid ( e . g . hydrogen chloride ) to the solvent . the salt ( preferably pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt ) of the compound ( ia ) may be obtained by the reaction for producing the compound ( ia ), but can also produced by addition of an acid ( e . g . hydrogen chloride ) to the compound ( ia ). the following examples will illustrate the present invention , but they are not intended to limit the present invention . the purity of the products was calculated , using high performance liquid chromatography ( hplc ), by comparing with an authentic sample or by the peak area percentage method . for the analysis , the following conditions were employed . ______________________________________column nucleosil . sub . 10 c . sub . 18 ( 4 . 0 mmid × 300 mm ) mobile phase acetonitrile / 0 . 03m potassium dihydrogenphosphate solution = 65 / 35flow rate 1 ml / min . detection 254 nm______________________________________ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 5 . 0 g ( 18 mmol .)] and tert - butyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 5 . 5 g ( 22 mmol .)] were added to methylene chloride ( 200 ml ), and the mixture was cooled with ice . triethylamine [ 2 . 6 ml ( 19 mmol .)] was added to the mixture . while the reaction mixture was stirred under ice - cooling , diphenyl phosphorochloridate ( commerically available ) [ 7 . 2 g ( 27 mmol .)] was added thereto , and then a methylene chloride solution ( 30 ml ) of triethylamine [ 2 . 6 ml ( 19 mmol .)] was added dropwise to the resulting mixture . the reaction mixture was stirred at 10 ° c . or below for two hours , and then poured into a mixture of water ( 400 ml ) and methylene chloride ( 200 ml ). the organic layer was separated , washed with a 10 % aqueous solution of phosphoric acid ( 300 ml ), a 1n sodium hydroxide solution ( 300 ml ) and water ( 400 ml ), and then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain a yellow oily product ( 13 . 9 g ). quantitative determination of the desired product , tert - butyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate , in the oily product was carried out by comparing with an authentic sample by means of hplc to find that the purity was 65 . 6 % and the yield was 98 %. the above - mentioned oily product was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ). an aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate was added to the above solution , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . the ethyl acetate layer was separated and concentrated under reduced pressure to thereby raise the purity of the desired product up to 94 %. the authentic sample was prepared by the method described in chem . pharm . bull . 34 , p . 2852 ( 1986 ). tert - butyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 3 . 54 g ( 14 . 3 mmol .)] was dissolved in methylene chloride ( 90 ml ), and the solution was cooled to 5 ° c . or below . a methylene chloride solution ( 10 ml ) of diphenyl phosphorochloridate [ 4 . 81 g ( 17 . 9 mmol .)] and triethylamine [ 2 . 5 g ( 25 mmol .)] were added to the above solution under stirring at the same temperature . the mixture was stirred for further 2 hours , and then allowed to stand overnight at room temperature . n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 3 . 33 g ( 11 . 9 mmol .)] was added to the mixture , and the resulting reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for two hours . the reaction mixture was washed with water ( 100 ml ) and a 10 % phosphoric acid solution ( 60 ml ), and then the solvent was distilled off . the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 100 ml ). the solution was washed with a 10 % sodium carbonate solution ( 50 ml ) and water ( 60 ml ), and then ethyl acetate was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain a yellow oily product ( 7 . 61 g ). quantitative determination of tert - butyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate in the oily product was carried out to find that the purity was 80 % and the yield was 100 %. n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 10 . 0 g ( 35 . 8 mmol .)] and ethyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 9 . 42 g ( 43 . 0 mmol .)] were suspended in methylene chloride ( 250 ml ), and the suspension was cooled with ice . triethylamine [ 5 . 2 ml ( 37 mmol .)] was added to the suspension to make it clear . diphenyl phosphorochloridate [ 8 . 9 ml ( 43 mmol .)] was added to the mixture . then , a methylene chloride solution ( 25 ml ) of triethylamine [ 5 . 2 ml ( 37 mmol .)] was added dropwise to the mixture , and the resulting mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 10 ° c . or below . the reaction mixture was washed with water ( 300 ml ), a 10 % phosphoric acid solution ( 300 ml each portion ) twice and water ( 300 ml ), and then the organic layer was concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 300 ml ), and the solution was washed with a 10 % phosphoric acid solution ( 300 ml ), a 10 % sodium carbonate solution ( 300 ml ) and a dilute aqueous solution of sodium chloride ( 300 ml ), successively , and then dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to obtain an oil ( 17 . 12 g ) in which the principal component was ethyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate . hplc peak area percentage : 91 . 5 %; yield : 91 . 1 %. nmr spectrum ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 1 . 23 , 1 . 26 ( each 3h , t , ch 3 × 2 ), 1 . 32 ( 3h , d , ch 3 ), 4 . 12 , 4 . 15 ( each 2h , q , ch 2 ), 6 . 9 - 7 . 3 ( 9h , m , ph ). in the nmr data , s means singlet , d doublet , t triplet , q quartet , m multiplet , ph phenyl ( the same applies to the subsequent examples ). ir spectrum max neat cm - 1 : 3300 , 1740 , 1645 n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 8 . 00 g ( 28 . 6 mmol .)] and benzyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 9 . 67 g ( 34 . 4 mmol .)] were subjected to reaction and treatment in the same manner as those described in example 3 to yield an oil ( 17 . 04 g ) in which the principal component was benzyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate . hplc peak area percentage : 87 . 5 %; yield : 96 . 0 %. nmr spectrum ( cdcl 3 ) δ : ( 3h , t , ch 3 ), 1 . 33 ( 3h , d , ch 3 ), 4 . 16 ( 2h , q , ch 2 ), 5 . 07 ( 2h , s , ch 2 ), 7 . 0 - 7 . 4 ( 14h , m , ph ). ir spectrum max neat cm - 1 : 3300 , 1740 , 1645 ethyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 8 . 16 g ( 37 . 2 mmol . )], diphenyl phosphorochloridate [ 7 . 2 ml ( 34 mmol .)] and triethylamine [ 4 . 8 ml ( 34 mmol .)] were dissolved in methylene chloride ( 240 ml ). the solution was stirred for 7 hours at room temperature , and then allowed to stand overnight . n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 8 . 00 g ( 28 . 6 mmol .)] was added to the solution , and the mixture was cooled with ice . a methylene chloride solution ( 12 ml ) of triethylamine [ 4 . 2 ml ( 30 mmol .] was added dropwise to the above - mentioned mixture and the resulting mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 10 ° c . or below . the reaction mixture was treated in the same manner as that in example 3 to obtain an oil ( 13 . 46 g ) in which the principal component was ethyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate . hplc peak area percentage : 91 . 6 %; yield : 89 . 6 %. benzyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 9 . 67 g ( 34 . 4 mmol . )], diphenyl phosphorochloridate [ 7 . 2 ml ( 34 mmol .)] and triethylamine [ 4 . 8 ml ( 34 mmol .)] were dissolved in methylene chloride ( 200 ml ). the mixture was stirred for 6 hours at room temperature , and then allowed to stand overnight . n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 8 . 00 g ( 28 . 6 mmol .)] was added to the reaction mixture . after ice - cooling , a methylene chloride solution ( 20 ml ) of triethylamine [ 42 ml ( 30 mmol .)] was added dropwise to the reaction mixture . the resulting mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 10 ° c . or below and then treated in the same manner as that in example 3 to obtain an oil ( 16 . 94 g ) in which the principal component was benzyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate . hplc peak area percentage : 88 . 7 %; yield : 96 . 7 %. phenol [ 10 . 1 g ( 0 . 107 mol )] was dissolved in methylene chloride ( 100 ml ). the solution was cooled to 5 ° c . or below , and phosphorus oxychloride [ 8 . 23 g ( 54 mmol .)] was added to the solution . at the same temperature , a methylene chloride solution ( 30 ml ) of triethylamine [ 10 . 9 g ( 0 . 107 mol .)] was added dropwise to the mixture , and then the resulting mixture was stirred for one hour at 10 ° c . or below . on the other hand , a solution of methylene chloride ( 300 ml ), n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 10 . 0 g ( 35 . 8 mmol . )], tert - butyl n -( indan - 2 - yl )- glycinate [ 10 . 6 g ( 42 . 9 mmol .)] and triethylamine [ 3 . 78 g ( 37 . 3 mmol .)] was prepared . the above - mentioned diphenyl phosphorochloridate solution was added dropwise at 10 ° c . or below to that solution . the resulting mixture was stirred for two further hours at the same temperature . the reaction mixture was washed with water ( 400 ml ), a 10 % phophoric acid solution ( 300 ml ) twice and water ( 400 ml ), and then the solvent was distilled off . the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ). the solution was washed with a 10 % phosphoric acid solution ( 100 ml ), a 10 % sodium carbonate solution ( 150 ml ) and water ( 150 ml ), and then concentrated to obtain the residue ( 20 . 56 g ). the purity of tert - butyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate in the oily product was 82 . 7 % and the yield was 93 . 4 %. under the same conditions as those in example 7 , bis - substituted - phenyl phosphorochloridate was prepared from various phenols ( 3 equivalents each ) and phosphorus oxychloride ( 1 . 5 equivalent ), and then tert - butyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate was obtained . this product was quantitatively determined by hplc , and the yield was calculated . ______________________________________ yield purity yieldexample phenol ( g ) (%) (%) ______________________________________ 8 o - cresol 24 . 0 65 . 7 86 . 6 9 p - cresol 23 . 4 70 . 8 91 . 010 o - chlorophenol 25 . 2 67 . 9 94 . 011 p - chlorophenol 22 . 8 70 . 6 88 . 412 o - methoxyphenol 23 . 2 68 . 1 86 . 613 p - methoxyphenol 20 . 7 80 . 5 91 . 514 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 24 . 4 67 . 8 90 . 6 phenol15 m - cresol 21 . 5 72 . 4 85 . 4______________________________________ m - cresol [ 11 . 50 g ( 0 . 106 mol .)] was dissolved in methylene chloride ( 90 ml ). phosphorus oxychloride [ 7 . 41 g ( 48 . 3 mmol .)] was added to the solution under ice - cooling . a methylene chloride solution ( 10 ml ) of triethylamine [ 10 . 76 g ( 0 . 106 mol .)] was added dropwise to the above - mentioned solution , and the resulting mixture was stirred for one hour . then , tert - butyl n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 9 . 56 g ( 38 . 7 mmol .)] was added to the mixture at 10 ° c . or below , and then , triethylamine [ 3 . 78 g ( 37 . 3 mmol .)] was added thereto . the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 7 hours , and then allowed to stand overnight . on the other hand , a solution of methylene chloride ( 290 ml ), n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanine [ 9 . 0 g ( 32 . 2 mmol .)] and triethylamine [ 3 . 40 g ( 33 . 6 mmol .)] was prepared . the above - mentioned reaction mixture was added dropwise , under ice - cooling , to the solution . the resulting mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 10 ° c . or below , and then subjected to the same treatment and quantitative determination as in example 7 . yield : 21 . 9 g ; purity : 61 . 8 %, yield percentage : 82 . 7 %. benzyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 30 . 0 g ( purity 81 . 1 %)] obtained by the same manner as that in example 4 was dissolved in ethanol ( 250 ml ). 35 % hydrochloric acid ( 9 . 3 g ) and 5 % palladium - carbon ( 50 % wet , 5 . 0 g ) were added to the solution . hydrogen was introduced into the mixture at about 30 ° c . ( about one hour ). after completion of the reaction , the catalyst was filtered off , and washed with ethanol . the filtrate and the washing were then concentrated under reduced pressure . ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ) was added to the residue , and the mixture was again concentrated . ethyl acetate ( 250 ml ) was then added to the concentrate , and the mixture was cooled to 10 ° c . or below . the precipitating crystals were collected by filtration , washed with ethyl acetate , and then dried under reduced pressure to obtain n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycine hydrochloride [ 21 . 9 g ( purity 94 . 7 %)]. yield : 94 . 3 %. in the mother liquor , the desired product in an amount corresponding to 3 . 0 % was detected . tert - butyl n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycinate [ 19 . 4 g ( purity 83 . 6 %)] was dissolved in ethyl acetate ( 70 ml ). under cooling at 10 ° c . or below , hydrogen chloride gas ( 17 . 5 g ) was bubbled into the solution . the cooling bath was removed , and then the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure , and ethyl acetate ( 70 ml ) was added to the residue . the mixture was stirred for 1 hour under cooling at 10 ° c . or below . the preciptating crystals were collected by filtration , washed with ethyl acetate and dried under reduced pressure to obtain n -[ n -[( s )- 1 - ethoxycarbonyl - 3 - phenylpropyl ]- l - alanyl ]- n -( indan - 2 - yl ) glycine hydrochloride [ 14 . 7 g ( purity 96 . 0 %]. yield : 91 %. by the present invention , intermediates for producing indan derivatives having anti - hypertensive activities due to ace inhibitory activities can be obtained safely and in a good yield , and the obtained intermediates can be easily led to the indan derivatives having anti - hypertensive activities , thus the present invention being useful as a method of preparing the indan derivatives in an industrial scale .	2
referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and not for purposes of limiting same , fig1 shows the preferred embodiment of a bag mount assembly for a vacuum cleaner a . while the bag mount assembly is primarily designed for and will hereinafter be described in connection with a particular type of vacuum cleaner , namely a hard box upright vacuum cleaner , it should be appreciated that the overall inventive concept involved could be adapted for use in many other cleaning or filtration environments as well . more particularly , fig2 shows a vacuum cleaner housing 10 with an exterior wall 12 , and an indented section 14 having an inner surface 16 . extending through the indented wall section 14 is an air inlet or fill tube 20 which has a first or outer end 22 that is adapted to seat an end of a vacuum hose 24 . a central portion 26 of the air inlet 20 extends through and is secured to the indented wall section 14 by a securing structure 28 . an inner end 30 of the air inlet extends into the housing 10 and terminates in a chamber 32 defined in the housing 10 . with reference now to fig1 a mounting plate 40 is housed in the chamber 32 . the mounting plate preferably has a planar body 42 that can be approximately rectangular in form and which is defined by a pair of spaced parallel walls 43 and 44 which are secured at their outer periphery to each other to form u - shaped edges for the plate . extending through the first wall 43 is a through opening 45 which is substantially rectangular in form . defined in the second wall 44 is a u - shaped opening 46 which is larger than the through opening 45 . surrounding the opening 46 is a channel 48 which is defined by connected edges of the walls 43 and 44 . the channel is u - shaped in that it has two legs extending along two sides of the plate and a base extending along a lower end of the plate . the channel is also u - shaped in cross - section . as best shown in fig3 a hinge means 50 secures the mounting plate 40 to the housing 10 . the hinge means comprises a hinge pivot pin 52 which is formed along the one side edge of the plate 40 in spaced relation to the walls 43 and 44 well as the channel 48 . cooperating with the pivot pin is a hinge barrel 54 , which is secured to the housing inner wall . the hinge barrel 54 is preferably c - shaped to allow for a mounting plate flat section 56 adjacent the pivot pin 52 to connect the pin to the rest of the plate . it can be seen that the hinge barrel 54 is oriented substantially horizontally in order to allow the mounting plate 40 to pivot around the pivot pin 52 due to the force of gravity . with reference again to fig2 in order to secure the mounting plate 40 in one end position in relation to the air inlet 20 , a latch means 60 is provided . the latch means comprises a finger 62 which is defined on the mounting plate 40 and a tab or ear 64 which is secured to the housing inner surface . preferably , the finger 62 is formed integrally with the mounting plate which is preferably made of a suitable plastic material , such as polypropylene for this purpose . the finger can comprise a u - shaped resilient portion 66 , a latch face 68 which is located on a free end of resilient portion , and is adapted to contact an upper face of the ear 64 , and a digit portion 70 . the digit portion is adapted to be contacted by a finger of the user in order to remove the latch face 68 from contact with the ear 64 through the pivoting of the finger 62 around the u - shaped resilient body 66 . in order to limit the pivoting motion of the mounting plate 40 in relation to the housing 10 , an obstruction means can be provided . with reference again to fig3 preferably the obstruction means comprises the interaction of the mounting plate flat section 56 with a lower face 76 of the c - shaped hinge barrel 54 as shown in fig2 . the obstruction means prevents the pivoting of the mounting plate 40 downwardly away from the air inlet 20 past a certain point by an abutment of the flat section 56 against the lower face 76 of the hinge barrel 54 . preferably , the housing 10 is formed from a suitable plastic material so that the hinge barrel 54 and ear 64 can both be formed integrally with the housing . adapted to be mounted to the mounting plate 40 is a dust bag 80 having a first end 82 provided with a reinforced collar 84 . the collar 84 can be slipped into the channel 48 of the plate 40 . centrally located in the collar is an aperture 86 which preferably has a lip 88 of a suitable sealing material so that the bag 80 can cooperate with a sealing face 90 of the air inlet 20 . with the present invention , the bag 80 can be placed in sealed communication with the air inlet 20 in order to prevent dust particles from flying out of the air inlet 20 and into the housing 10 . when the bag 80 is full , however , it can be easily removed from the chamber 30 by undoing the latch means 60 thereby allowing the mounting plate 40 to pivot around the hinge means 50 due to the force of gravity as far as is permitted by the obstruction means 76 . thereafter , the dust bag reinforced collar 84 can be slid out of the mounting plate channel 48 and the dust bag can be suitably disposed of . when this has been done , a suitable new dust bag can be slid into place in the channel 46 and the mounting plate can again be pivoted upwardly around the hinge means 50 until the latch means 60 is engaged . at this point , the new dust bag is available for use in the vacuum cleaner . the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of this specification . it is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .	0
more particularly according to this invention , preferred stabilizers are the orthophosphoric acid esters or the polyphosphoric acid esters , or also any admixture of such esters . phosphoric or polyphosphoric acid esters are compounds per se known to the literature ; compare , for example , the treatise of houben - weyl , methoden der organischen chemie ( methods of organic chemistry ), volume xii / 2 ; organische phosphorverbindungen ( organic phosphorus compounds ) ( 1964 ). among the orthophosphoric acid esters which are useful herein , representative are those of the structural formula : ## str1 ## in which r represents a saturated hydrocarbon radical containing from 1 to 18 carbon atoms and r 1 represents a hydrogen atom or one of the radicals represented by r . the radicals r and r 1 can be identical or different . among the esters of the formula ( i ), those in which at least one of the radicals r or r 1 contains more than 3 carbon atoms are preferred . the symbol r can represent , for example , a linear or branched chain alkyl radical , such as a methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , butyl , t - butyl , heptyl , octyl , dodecyl or octadecyl radical , a cycloalkyl radical , such as a cyclohexyl , cyclooctyl , cyclododecyl or menthyl radical , an aryl radical , such as a phenyl or tolyl radical , or an aralkyl radical , such as a benzyl or phenylethyl radical . the orthophosphoric acid esters intended include , in particular , methyl n - butyl orthophosphate , ethyl octyl orthophosphate , monobutyl orthophosphate , dibutyl orthophosphate , diisobutyl orthophosphate , monoheptyl orthophosphate , diheptyl orthophosphate , mono -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) orthophosphate , di -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) orthophosphate , monodecyl orthophosphate , didodecyl orthophosphate , monooctadecyl orthophosphate , dioctadecyl orthophosphate , methyl cyclohexyl orthophosphate , monocyclohexyl orthophosphate , dicyclohexyl orthophosphate , monobenzyl orthophosphate , methyl benzyl orthophosphate , ethyl tolyl orthophosphate , monomenthyl orthophosphate and n - dodecyl cyclohexyl orthophosphate . in the phosphates of the formula ( i ), the precise nature of the radical r is not critical in terms of attaining the desirable result consistent herewith ; rather , the same is selected only to ensure the solubility of the phosphate in the hydrocarbon solvent . r is preferably a branched chain alkyl radical . among the polyphosphoric acid esters intended , the pyrophosphoric acid esters , tripolyphosphate esters , and the like , are representative . the pyrophosphoric acid esters are notably advantageous , the same being represented by the following structural formula : ## str2 ## wherein the various symbols r 1 and r are as above defined . by way of illustration , the following acid pyrophosphate esters are exemplary : dimethyl pyrophosphate , diethyl pyrophosphate , dibutyl pyrophosphate , diisobutyl pyrophosphate , dioctyl pyrophosphate , di -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) pyrophosphate , butyl benzyl pyrophosphate and the like . to carry out the process according to the invention , it is optional to use but a single such phosphoric acid ester , or any mixture of any two or more than two such phosphoric acid esters . the nature of the various esters is not critical ; as already mentioned , same must simply ensure the solubility of the phosphates in the hydrocarbon solvents . the mixture can be based on orthophosphates or pyrophosphates , or it can also include at least one orthophosphate and at least one pyrophosphate . depending on the nature of the solution of the organic chromium compound , it can be advantageous to use a mixture of esters consisting of one orthophosphate and one pyrophosphate . as a general rule , and in the case of solutions of tertiary alkyl chromates , a mixture of this type advantageously contains from 5 to 30 % by weight of the &# 34 ; pyro &# 34 ; derivative . these mixtures can be synthetic , or formulated mixtures , or same can be directly obtained , for example , by reacting alkanols with p 2 o 5 or with a mixture of orthophosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acid . the mixtures of phosphoric acid esters contain free acid groups and can consist of esters which contain , relative to the phosphorus atom , an identical or different number of free acid groups . this formulation is desirable in that it is thus possible to readily determine and select that proportion of free acid groups which results in the best stability and the best solubility . in this context , mixtures containing from 50 to 90 % of a dialkyl orthophosphate are well suited for purposes of this invention , with the remainder consisting , for example , of a dialkyl pyrophosphate or a monoalkyl orthophosphate . it has also been determined that a mixture of the immediately aforesaid type is particularly well adapted for stabilizing solutions of tertiary alkyl chromates in hydrocarbon solvents . the nature of the hexavalent chromium compounds which are dissolved in the hydrocarbon solvents and which are stabilized by the phosphoric acid partial esters consistent with the invention can widely vary . in general , such compounds are obtained from chromium trioxide , cro 3 , and their chemical constitution corresponds more particularly to that of the anions [ cr n o 3n + 1 ] 2 - , n being an integer equal to 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 . these compounds are per se described , for example , in : gmelin handbuch der anorganischen chemie ( gmelin &# 39 ; s handbook of inorganic chemistry ), chrom ( chromium ), part c ( 1965 ), and pascal , traite de chimie minerale ( treatise of inorganic chemistry ), volume xiv . the process according to the invention is especially adopted for the stabilization of chromates of aliphatic and cycloaliphatic tertiary alcohols containing from 4 to 20 carbon atoms , such as tert .- butyl alcohol , t - amyl alcohol , 2 - methylpentan - 3 - ol , 2 - methylhexan - 2 - ol , dimethylpentadecylcarbinol , 2 - methylcyclohexanol and 1 - ethylcyclohexanol . these compounds are obtained by reacting chromium trioxide with tertiary alcohols in accordance with the techniques described , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 287 , 082 , and in the journal of the american chemical society , 78 , 1 , 694 - 8 ( 1955 ). particular examples which may be mentioned of chromates of tertiary alcohols are t - butyl chromate , t - amyl chromate , dimethylpentadecylcarbinol chromate and 1 - methylcyclohexyl chromate . exemplary of the hydrocarbon solvents in which solutions of chromium derivatives can be stabilized by the addition of soluble acid phosphates thereto are linear or branched chain alkanes containing from 5 to 20 carbon atoms , such as n - pentane , n - hexane , 2 - methylpentane , 3 - methylpentane , 2 , 3 - dimethylbutane , n - heptane and n - pentadecane , cycloalkanes containing from 5 to 9 carbon atoms and optionally containing from 1 to 3 alkyl substituents having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as cyclopentane , cyclohexane , cycloheptane , cyclooctane and methylcyclohexane , and aromatic hydrocarbons , such as benzene , toluene , xylenes and ethylbenzene . the process according to the invention is very particularly applicable to the stabilization of solutions of chromium ( vi ) compounds in cycloalkanes . the concentration in the hydrocarbon solvents of the soluble chromium compounds is not critical and can vary over wide limits , for example , such values can range from 0 . 1 g / liter of compound to the solubility limits of the chromium compound in the solvent in question , at a temperature of 20 ° c . the amount of soluble acid phosphate added to the solution of chromium compound can also vary over wide limits , depending on the chromium compound in question and the phosphate used . in general , an amount of phosphate which introduces between 0 . 001 and 2 . 5 gram atoms of phosphorus per gram atom of chromium is suitable , although these limits can be exceeded without disadvantage . preferably , it suffices to employ amounts of phosphate which introduce from 0 . 01 to 1 gram atom of phosphorus per gram atom of chromium . to carry out the process of the invention , it suffices to simply add the acid phosphate or the mixture of acid phosphate partial esters to the solution of the chromium compound , the said solution being maintained at ambient temperature or being heated to a higher temperature in order to facilitate dissolution of the stabilizer . it is also possible to add the chromium compound to the organic solution of the stabilizer , or simultaneously to dissolve the chromium compound and the acid phosphate in the particular solvent . in order to further illustrate the present invention and the advantages thereof , the following specific examples are given , it being understood that same are intended only as illustrative and in no wise limitative . a solution of t - butyl chromate in cyclohexane was prepared by reacting 190 g of an aqueous solution of cro 3 , containing 30 . 2 % of chromium metal , with 440 cm 3 of t - butanol in 1 , 540 cm 3 of cyclohexane , in the presence of 130 cm 3 of water . the reaction was carried out at 20 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred for 1 hour and the aqueous layer was then removed by decantation . a solution of t - butyl chromate in cyclohexane , containing 2 . 95 % by weight of chromium metal , was thus obtained . upon maintaining this solution at ambient temperature , the appearance of a red - brown precipitate was observed after storage for 2 hours . on the other hand , when 1 g of monooctyl orthophosphate was added to 150 g of the cyclohexane solution ( ratio of the number of g . atoms of phosphorus to the number of g . atoms of cr = 0 . 056 ), no formation of precipitate was observed after storage for 240 hours . 1 g of monoisobutyl orthophosphate was added to 150 g of the cyclohexane solution of example 1 : ratio p / cr = 0 . 076 . no deposit or precipitate was observed after storage for 240 hours . a 10 % strength solution of tert .- butyl chromate in cyclohexane was prepared in accordance with the procedure of example 1 . 150 g of the solution of tert .- butyl chromate in cyclohexane and 0 . 5 g of a phosphoric acid ester or of a mixture of phosphoric acid esters were introduced into a series of flat - bottomed tubes . after brief stirring , the tubes were maintained at 25 ° for 300 hours . it was then determined that the control tube , without any stabilizer , contained 1 . 3 g of precipitate , whereas the amounts of precipitate were far less in the various tubes to which the stabilizers according to the invention had been added . table______________________________________phosphoric acid stabilizer % by weight stabilization orthophosphoric resultsorthophos - pyrophos - acid ester ( mass of pre - phoric acid phoric acid total phosphoric cipitate afterester ester acid ester 300 hours ) ______________________________________experi - mentno . 1 isobutyl isobutyl 97 0 . 6 gramexperi - mentno . 2 isobutyl isobutyl 92 0 . 05 gramexperi - mentno . 3 isobutyl isobutyl 83 0experi - mentno . 4 isobutyl isobutyl 70 0 . 1 gramexperi - mentno . 5 2 - ethyl - 2 - ethyl - 92 0 . 12 gram hexyl hexyl______________________________________ while the invention has been described in terms of various preferred embodiments , the skilled artisan will appreciate that various modifications , substitutions , omissions , and changes may be made without departing from the spirit thereof . accordingly , it is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited solely by the scope of the following claims .	2
fig1 is a very simplified block circuit diagram of an internal combustion engine which is operated with an excess of air and has an exhaust gas post - treatment system assigned to it . here , only those parts which are necessary for comprehension of the invention are illustrated . in particular , the fuel circuit has not been represented . in this exemplary embodiment , a diesel internal combustion engine is shown as the internal combustion engine and an aqueous solution of urea is used as the reducing agent for post - treatment of the exhaust gas . the internal combustion engine 1 is supplied with the air necessary for combustion via an intake line 2 . an injection system which can be embodied , for example , as a high - pressure storage injection system ( common rail ) with injection valves which inject fuel kst directly into the cylinders of the internal combustion engine 1 is designated by reference symbol 3 . the exhaust gas of the internal combustion engine 1 flows via an exhaust gas line 4 to an exhaust gas post - treatment system 5 and from there into the open air via a sound damper ( not illustrated ). in order to control and regulate the internal combustion engine 1 , an engine control unit 6 ( known per se ) is connected to the internal combustion engine 1 via data and control line 7 ( illustrated here only schematically . signals from sensors ( for example temperature sensors for intake air , charge air , coolant , load sensor , speed sensor ) and signals for actuators , for example injection valves , final controlling elements ) are transmitted between the internal combustion engine 1 and the engine control unit 6 via this data and control line 7 . the exhaust gas post - treatment system 5 has a reduction catalytic converter 8 which contains a plurality of catalytic converter units which are connected in series and are not designated in more detail . downstream and / or upstream of the reduction catalytic converter 8 it is additionally possible to arrange in each case an oxidation catalytic converter ( not illustrated ). in addition , a metering control unit 9 is provided which is assigned to a reducing agent reservoir container 10 with an electrically actuable reducing agent pump 11 for feeding the reducing agent . in this exemplary embodiment , aqueous urea solution is used as a reducing agent and is stored in the reducing agent reservoir container 10 . the latter has an electrical heating device 12 and sensors 13 , 14 which sense the temperature of the urea solution or the filling level in the reducing agent reservoir container 10 . in addition , the signals of a temperature sensor which is arranged upstream of the reduction catalytic converter 8 , and of an exhaust gas measuring sensor , for example a nox sensor ( not illustrated ), which is arranged downstream of the reduction catalytic converter 8 are sent to the metering control unit 9 . the metering control unit 9 controls an electromagnetic metering valve 15 to which urea solution is supplied according to need via a feed line 16 from the reducing agent reservoir container 10 using the reducing agent pump 11 . a pressure sensor 18 which senses the pressure in the metering system and outputs a corresponding signal to the metering control unit 9 is inserted into the feed line 16 . the urea solution is injected into the exhaust gas line 4 upstream of the reduction catalytic converter 8 by way of the metering valve 15 . while the internal combustion engine 1 is operating , the exhaust gas flows through the exhaust gas line 4 in the direction of the arrow indicated . the metering control unit 9 is connected to the engine control unit 6 via an electrical bus system 17 for the mutual transfer of data . the operating parameters , for example engine speed , air mass flow rate , fuel mass flow rate , regulating travel of an injection pump , exhaust gas mass flow rate , operating temperature , charge air temperature , start of injection etc . which are relevant for calculating the quantity of urea solution to be metered or fed to the metering control unit 9 via the bus system 17 . on the basis of these parameters and the measured values for the exhaust gas temperature and the nox content , the metering control unit 9 calculates the quantity of urea solution to be injected and outputs a corresponding electrical signal to the metering valve 15 via an electrical connecting line ( not designated in more detail ). the urea is hydrolyzed and mixed by the injection into the exhaust gas line 4 . the catalytic reduction of the nox in the exhaust gas to n2 and h2o takes place in the catalytic converter units . the metering valve 15 for introducing the urea solution into the exhaust gas line 4 corresponds largely to a customary low - pressure petrol injection valve which is detachably attached , for example , to a valve holding device which is permanently connected to a wall of the exhaust gas line 4 . fig2 a illustrates a typical ceramic pressure sensor diaphragm 181 with a circular cross section of the pressure sensor 18 from the side facing away from the pressurized medium ( reducing agent ). fig2 b shows this ceramic pressure sensor diaphragm 181 in section . owing to the chemical resistance properties , sensor elements made of al2o3 ceramic are particularly suitable for pressure measurements in aqueous urea solution . these sensor elements are composed of a pot - shaped ceramic part with integrated sensor diaphragm 181 . a resistor network 182 made of thick - film technology is applied to the sensor diaphragm 181 , said resistor network 182 containing the sensor resistors and standardization resistors . the measuring principle is based on the effect of a change in resistance with mechanical stressing of the sensor diaphragm ( piezoresistivity ). additional temperature - dependent resistors may be provided to compensate temperature - dependent resistors . in order to heat the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 , additional electrical resistors 183 are applied with the same technology . sufficient free spaces are available on the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 to apply these electrical heating resistors 183 with a suitable geometry and power . in applications requiring little heating power ( less than 1 watt ), it is also possible to heat directly on the sensor resistor by applying the vehicle &# 39 ; s on - board electrical system voltage ( approximately 14 volts ) instead of the reference voltage of usually 5 volts . the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 provides ideal conditions for this type of electrical heating as al2o3 ceramic is a good conductor of heat and in addition and due to the principle the sensor diaphragm 181 is very thin . the sensor diaphragm 181 thus constitutes the optimum electrical insulation of the electrical heater from the heated aqueous solution of urea . the electrical heating resistors 183 and the sensor resistor network 182 are connected via connecting pins and connecting lines 184 to an evaluation electronic system or heating actuation system which is preferably integrated in the metering control unit 9 . the sensor element can also be connected to the metering control unit 9 by way of bonding wires or by direct soldering . a first exemplary embodiment of a pressure sensor 18 according to the invention is shown in fig3 the pressure sensor element 180 being installed in a two - piece holding part 185 , 186 and the latter being inserted in the feed line 16 which is embodied as an elastic hose . the holding part is embodied here as a t - element for the feed line 16 , connecting elements ( not designated in more detail ) for the feed line 16 being integrally formed in a lower part 185 of the holding part . the lower part 185 also has a cylindrical cutout 187 in whose center a core 188 , which is also cylindrical , is formed . the diameters of the cutout 187 and of the core 188 are matched to the geometry of the pot - shaped pressure sensor element 180 so that the latter can be inserted into the cutout 187 . the cutout 187 is shaped in such a way that the pressure sensor element 180 is seated , as far as its shape permits , on the feed line 16 which is embodied as an elastic reducing agent hose . the core 188 has a central duct 189 with a significantly smaller cross section than the diameter of the feed line 16 . such an arrangement ensures that the dead volume of reducing agent solution upstream of the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 is as small as possible . in the simplest case , the duct 189 can be implemented by way of a drilled hole . the core 188 has a radial groove 190 for holding a radial sealing element 191 . an o - ring is preferably used as a radial sealing element 191 . the radial sealing element 191 seals the pressure sensor element 180 to the core 188 so that reducing agent solution can act only on the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 . in order to protect the pressure sensor element 180 , in particular the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 , against mechanical or hydraulic overloading , the pressure sensor element 180 is not rigidly installed in the holding part 185 , 186 but rather pressed against a support 193 by way of at least one spring element 192 . the spring prestress is selected in such a way that in the entire acceptable working pressure range the pressure sensor element 180 is held in the position defined by the support 193 . however , if , when the reducing agent solution freezes , the force on the pressure sensor diaphragm 180 exceeds the maximum value predefined by way of the prestress of the spring element , the pressure sensor element 180 can move out counter to the spring force and the pressure is limited by the resulting increase in volume in the space upstream of the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 . as a result of the shaping of the holding part 185 , 186 which is shown in the exemplary embodiment , the dead volume which as small as possible is achieved directly upstream of the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 , and a sufficient increase in volume can thus be ensured by way of a small deflection of the pressure sensor element 180 . the sealing of the pressure sensor element 180 by way of the radial sealing element 191 ensures that this deflection does not cause any leaks . during slow freezing , pressure equalization can take place in the direction of the feed line 16 until the reducing agent solution in the duct 189 begins to freeze . if the pressure sensor element 180 is stored in a rigid fashion in the holding part 185 , 186 , the pressure at the pressure sensor element 180 would , at the latest , exceed the burst pressure at the phase transition from liquid to solid owing to the increase in volume of the reducing agent , and thus destroy the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 . using the spring element 192 ensures that , despite the increase in volume of the reducing agent solution no unacceptable increase in pressure occurs in the dead volume , that is to say in the duct 189 and in the gap , between the core and pressure sensor diaphragm . a disk spring can preferably be used as spring element 192 , as shown in fig3 . however , other spring elements , for example arched or corrugated spring washers , helical springs , either with a circular cross section or rectangular cross section , conical springs , cushion springs , spiral springs , tubular springs , if appropriate with suitable adapters , can also be used . moreover , it is also possible to use a plurality of spring elements . all that it is necessary to ensure is that the electrical contacts between the pressure sensor diaphragm 181 and an evaluation circuit of the pressure signal is not adversely affected by such a spring element arrangement . the evaluation circuit is preferably arranged in a cutout in the upper part 186 of the holding part ( not shown ). the prestressing force of the spring element 192 is selected in such a way that the pressure sensor element 180 lifts off , counter to the spring force , from the supporting face 194 formed by the base of the cutout 187 in the lower part 185 of the holding part , before the burst pressure of the pressure sensor element 180 is reached . as a result , the increase in volume is achieved and the pressure is limited to a value which is determined by the ratio of spring force / area of pressure diaphragm . the arrangement of a radial sealing element 191 ensures that , despite the movement of the pressure sensor element 180 in the holding part 185 , 186 , the seal is maintained and the enclosed volume of reducing agent solution can be minimized . instead of the radial sealing element 191 , a seal which is integrally formed onto the pressure sensor element 181 itself or to the outside of the core 188 can be used to seal the pressure sensor element 181 , or , as only a small deflection of the pressure sensor element 180 occurs ( typically several { fraction ( 1 / 10 )} mm ), it can be sealed by way of elastic bonding . instead of a specific spring element 192 as an additional component of the pressure sensor 18 , it is also possible to bring about the deflection of the pressure sensor element 180 by constructing housing walls of the holding part , in particular of the upper part 186 , with a certain degree of flexibility . fig4 shows a further exemplary embodiment of providing movable support for the pressure sensor element 180 within a holding part , identical parts , or at least parts with an identical function , are provided with identical reference symbols . in contrast to the embodiment described with reference to fig3 the pressure sensor element 180 is pressed here against a rigid support face 195 on the holding part 186 by way of the spring element 192 . the seal is provided in a way analogous to that already described by way of a radial sealing element 191 on the core 188 or by way of bonding . the lower part 185 of the holding part to which the feed line 16 is connected serves as a pressure feeder and is pressed against the pressure sensor element 180 by the spring element 192 . given overpressure owing to freezing of the reducing agent solution in the duct 189 , in this embodiment it is not the pressure sensor element 180 which is deflected but rather the pressure feed , i . e . the lower part 185 of the holding part . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	6
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a fig1 . the polygon 10 represented by a number of points p1 through p8 . in order to render polygon 10 using a move - draw language , a process such as the following might be written : in any particular language , the wording of the commands might vary , but , in general terms , these are the commands given . in the first step of the process , the position of the cursor , pen , or other output device is moved to the coordinates of point p1 from whatever its position may be . in the second step , a straight line is rendered from the initial point p1 to the coordinates of the point p2 . in the third and each succeeding step , a straight line is rendered from point at which the output device lies at the end of the preceding step to the coordinates of next point p3 through p8 and back to point p1 . in this manner , the complete polygon illustrated in fig1 is described at the output . it will be recognized by those skilled the art , that each step of the path process described requires that the particular command to be utilized be recovered from memory and that the command be interpreted and executed to the particular point described . moreover , even though a command may be repeated a number of times in succession ( the draw command , for example ), the command must be retreived from memory each time it is executed . running the process requires some given particular time to execute all of its steps when run on any particular computer system . as pointed out above , certain processors , for example , graphics co - processors and graphics accelerators are designed to implement particular drawing algorithms more rapidly than they are able to traverse through the normal step - by - step rendering of a path process written in a move - draw language . for example , certain graphics accelerators implement exceptionally fast algorithms which are designed to produce vectors , triangles , and quadrilaterals when furnished only the coordinates of the particular figure and a definition of the figure being rendered . such graphics accelerators may also provide a means for rapidly rendering a group of figures of the same kind or for rendering a number of line segments at a time if they have prior knowledge of how many connected line segments follow . unfortunately , when presented a process written in a move - draw language format as has been described , these co - processors and graphics accelerators simply treat the process as a list of individual instructions and slowly traverse through the process to render the output . this occurs because these move - draw languages neither explain the figure to be rendered nor the number of times a figure of this type is to be rendered so that the graphics devices may make use of their fast algorithms . fig2 illustrates the data structure of a particular path process for drawing four triangles which are illustrated in fig3 . the data structure or listing shown in fig2 includes a command and a pair of coordinates for each particular point of the triangles ; this listing is simply a more formal arrangement of the particular process defined above for a move - draw language . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the particular elements of each step of the process must be carried out in order so that the particular triangles illustrated in fig3 may be rendered . a review of the pseudocode representation of the process listed in fig2 illustrates that no indication is contained in the path of shapes which are to be rendered or of the number of times each such shape is to be rendered . consequently , a process defined as in fig2 cannot utilize the fast drawing algorithms implemented in various graphics accelerators and other pieces of hardware utilized in providing graphic output images . it will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the particular representations of each of the elements of each step of the process shown in fig2 are pseudocode representations of the actual code which might be used for the particular steps . in fact , the structure for each of the commands is such that thirty - two bits of storage are used for each of the lines of code in a preferred embodiment of the invention . this data structure is used because most graphics accelerators and other systems operate more rapidly if they are able to handle information which is divided on integer boundaries . in a particular preferred embodiment of the invention , the actual division takes place on boundaries which include four bytes . for this reason , thirty - two bits of storage are used for each individual line of code . it has been determined that the actual memory space required for each of the commands is much less than the thirty - two bits that are provided by the data structure in order to allow the smallest elements to be on integer boundaries . however , the increase in speed attained by arranging the data structure to divide on integer boundaries is sufficiently great that the waste of memory involved has been found a reasonable trade - off . the present invention makes use of the excess space provided in the command field of the data structure to further increase the speed of operation in running such a move - draw process , up to three times that of the graphics accelerator described in the co - pending patent application referred to above , while allowing the process to run without modification on devices which do not include the fast algorithm facility . the present invention accomplishes the foregoing by designating in the otherwise unused space of the command field , a description of space the particular figure which the lines of code are rendering and the number of times the figure is to be rendered . fig4 illustrates a path modified in accordance with the invention to render the four triangles shown in fig3 . again the representations are pseudocode representations in order to better convey the meaning of each element of the process . at each of the lines of instruction in the path process in which the command field is given , the shape to be drawn is also included and a count is given . for example , in fig4 the first instruction at line 0 of the path process includes a four to indicate that four shapes of the same type are to be rendered . the &# 34 ; tri &# 34 ; indicates that four shape to be rendered is a triangle . the next two lines of code ( lines 4 and 8 ) indicate the x and y coordinates of the initial point p1 of the first triangle . the line numbered 12 provides the next command field . it should be noted that since this type designation includes only the &# 34 ; line &# 34 ; command ( the command for drawing a straight line ) since it is not necessary within a shape to indicate again the count or the shape being rendered . the line of code numbered 36 begins the second triangle ; and , again , the count ( which is now three ) and the shape are included . it should be noted that the decreasing count for each triangle allows the process to switch out to some other process and yet return without having to go back to the original point of the process . it should also be noted that in the particular move - draw code illustrated , it is not necessary for the last side of the triangle to be designated by an individual command ; the shape merely closes upon itself . fig5 illustrates in more detail , using command language from the preferred embodiment of the invention , the path for rendering a pair of triangles which are illustrated in fig6 . in the path shown in fig5 the coded language has the following meaning : other coded entries use the usual pseudocode representations for a move - draw language . thus the first line of code illustrated in fig5 indicates that a single figure is to be drawn and the shape of the figure is a triangle . lf2d signifies that the coordinates are coded as floating point numbers , that the particular command is to draw the triangle , and that the shape is two dimensional so that only two coordinates are expected for each point . the move command is the normal pseudocode representation of the command given in a move - draw language to accomplish a move . the remaining lines defining the first triangle are self explanatory . the tenth line of code 36 begins the second triangle which for the purpose of explanation of this invention has its coordinates defined in the fract number format . because a number format is used which is different than the format used for the first triangle , a one is placed in the count position to designate to the graphics accelerator hardware that this is the only one of these shapes to be defined . again , the code defines the shape as a triangle , and lb2d explains that a draw command is being executed for a two dimensional triangular shape with fract coordinates . the code illustrated in fig5 is used as follows when run on the graphics accelerator referred to in the co - pending patent application . the hardware looks to the first line of the geometric designation , determines that one triangle is to be drawn in the floating point format , then ignores all but the three additional sets of coordinates necessary to provide the three vertices of the triangle . if the count had been higher , the program would have continued through all of the triangles until all of the triangles had been rendered without the need to obtain any of the move - draw commands from memory . thus , the hardware need not call down the commands for mvoe and draw , it merely looks for the expected coordinates and draws the shape using its exceptionally fast algorithm for the described figure . this invention offers a substantial number of advantages . it accomplishes its purposes without requiring more storage than that required to implement the process in the normal move - draw path structure . it allows a process to run much faster on graphics devices having algorithms for accelerating the rendering of particular shapes . it is entirely compatible with other versions of the process coded using the normal path form . it is able to be used for rendering both polygons and vectors . although the invention has been described in a preferred embodiment , it will be clear to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made to the invention described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it will , therefore , be appreciated that the invention should be considered to be particularly defined by the claims which follow .	6
the present invention relates to wind turbines and more specifically compact turbines with forced velocity increase . referring to fig2 a there are depicted unshrouded ( open ) wind turbines according to the prior art including a hawt structures 210 and 220 , giromill 230 , darrieus turbine 240 and a savonius turbine 250 . the giromill 230 , darrieus turbine 240 and savonius turbine 250 being vawt devices . all of these wind turbines operate at the air velocity of the natural environment , i . e . the wind blowing , as there is no shroud around the turbine allowing the air speed to be artificially increased through the venturi effect . now referring to fig2 b there are shrouded ( ducted ) wind turbines according to the prior art . first venturi turbine 260 employs a shroud to funnel the air thereby increasing air speed through the venturi effect as taught by reidy et al in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 484 , 363 entitled “ wind energy harnessing apparatuses , systems , methods and improvements .” second venturi turbine 270 according to the prior art of payne in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 508 , 973 entitled “ wind turbine electric generator ” addresses the issue over wind direction by providing an omnidirectional structure wherein each segment around the structure narrows as it impinges the central single impeller . third venturi turbine 280 , actually intended for use in water but applicable to air as another fluid medium , provides increased reduction of the central channel from the input throat to the turbine blades . third venturi turbine 280 being taught by susman in us patent application 2005 / 0 , 001 , 432 entitled “ power generator and turbine unit .” fourth venturi turbine 290 according to finney in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 464 , 320 entitled “ superventuri power source ” teaches to an initial venturi fed turbine coupled to a secondary turbine wherein the venturi effect is not present and accordingly a larger second turbine blade is employed . accordingly it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the increased air velocity in the prior art solutions is derived solely from venturi effect in relatively moderate reduction ratio , i . e . ratio of starting shroud diameter to diameter of turbine . as noted supra the power of a wind turbine increases as the cube of the air velocity such that if additional velocity increase can be provided further increases in power output can be achieved . referring to fig3 there is depicted a wind turbine 300 according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown there is an outer shroud 390 to the wind turbine 300 wherein a venturi effect is provided at the input through a reduction in the inner diameter of the outer shroud 390 therein increasing the air speed at the throat of the wind turbine 300 where the air initially impacts stator 310 that directs the air flow onto rotor 320 therein inducing rotation of the shaft 380 within the air turbine 300 . the air flowing past stator 310 and rotor 320 then impacts in sequence first compression blade 330 , first static blade 340 , second compression blade 350 , and second static blade 360 that act to increase the air flow through the compression of the air therein creating a draw effect from the throat of the wind turbine 300 . the high speed compressed air now exiting the second static blade 360 impacts generator blade 370 causing it to rotate and generate electricity through the known dynamo / generator effect of a coil and magnet rotating relative to one another . the generator not shown for clarity . referring to fig4 a there is depicted a wind turbine 400 according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown the outer shroud is comprised of a first section 480 a and second section 480 b for the wind turbine 400 wherein a venturi effect is provided at the input through a reduction in the inner diameter of the first section 480 a therein increasing the air speed at the throat of the wind turbine 400 where the air 490 a initially impacts stator 410 that directs the air flow onto rotor 420 therein inducing rotation of the shaft 425 within the air turbine 400 . the air flowing past stator 410 and rotor 420 then impacts in sequence first compression blade 430 , first static blade 440 , second compression blade 450 , and second static blade 460 that act to increase the air flow through the compression of the air therein creating a draw effect from the throat of the wind turbine 400 . the high speed compressed air now exiting the second static blade 460 impacts generator blade 470 causing it to rotate and generate electricity through the known dynamo / generator effect of a coil and magnet rotating relative to one another . the generator not shown for clarity . however , unlike wind turbine 300 with a single continuous shroud 300 the wind turbine 400 has first and second sections 480 a and 480 b . the resulting channel within the outer shroud between rotor 420 and first compression blade 430 with increased air flow from the preceding venturi effect results in a reduced pressure in between the rotor 420 and first compression blade 430 thereby causing secondary air flow 490 b to be drawn into the wind turbine 400 increasing the overall air in the second stage of compression and generation as it combines with primary air flow 490 a . now referring to fig4 b there is depicted a wind turbine 4000 according to an embodiment of the invention wherein the single generator blade 470 of fig4 a is now replaced by first to third turbines 4110 , 4120 and 4130 respectively providing increased production from the wind turbine 4000 . referring to fig5 a there is depicted a wind turbine 500 according to an embodiment of the invention . as shown the outer shroud is comprised of a first section 580 a and second section 580 b for the wind turbine 500 wherein a venturi effect is provided at the input through a reduction in the inner diameter of the first section 580 a therein increasing the air speed at the throat of the wind turbine 500 where the air 590 a initially impacts stator 510 that directs the air flow onto rotor 520 therein inducing rotation of the shaft 525 within the air turbine 500 . the air flowing past stator 510 and rotor 520 then impacts in sequence first compression blade 530 , first static blade 540 , second compression blade 550 , and second static blade 560 that act to increase the air flow through the compression of the air therein creating a draw effect from the throat of the wind turbine 500 . the high speed compressed air now exiting the second static blade 560 impacts generator blade 570 causing it to rotate and generate electricity through the known dynamo / generator effect of a coil and magnet rotating relative to one another . the generator not shown for clarity . however , unlike wind turbine 300 with a single continuous shroud 300 the wind turbine 500 has first and second sections 580 a and 580 b . the resulting channel within the outer shroud between rotor 520 and first compression blade 530 with increased air flow from the preceding venturi effect results in a reduced pressure in between the rotor 520 and first compression blade 530 thereby causing secondary air flow 590 b to be drawn into the wind turbine 500 increasing the overall air in the second stage of compression and generation . further second section 580 b undergoes a reduction in diameter between the second static blade 560 and generator blade 570 thereby increasing the compressed air speed even further . now referring to fig5 b there is depicted a wind turbine 5000 according to an embodiment of the invention with forced entrapment now provided at two stages . accordingly the second section 580 b of the shroud for wind turbine 500 is now replaced by third and fourth sections 580 c and 580 d respectively that provide a route for tertiary air flow 590 c between them as air is pulled through the entrapment effect of the moving air within the wind turbine 5000 . it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that wind turbines 500 and 5000 may be augmented in similar manner to that of wind turbine 4000 in fig4 b supra in that multiple turbines may be employed rather than the single generator blade 570 depicted . now referring to fig6 a there is depicted a wind turbine 600 according to an embodiment of the invention with forced entrapment . accordingly a first stator — rotor assembly 610 receives air flow 690 a and pressurizes the flow before channeling it into duct 620 of the wind turbine 600 . duct 620 feeds an annular orifice 630 in the wind turbine 600 that feeds air flow 690 c into the wind turbine 600 thereby entrapping air flow 690 b at higher velocity thereby creating a pressure reduction at the front of the wind turbine . the combined air flows 690 b and 690 c are then directed to a first tapering bore 650 a , coupled to first turbine 660 a , second tapering bore 650 b and second turbine 660 b in series . accordingly the combined air flows 690 b and 690 c increase velocity at each stage overcoming reduction in velocity arising from the initial mixing and subsequent impacting of first turbine 660 a . it would be evident to one skilled in the art that the number of turbines in the wind turbine may be increased further and that these may be used in combination with varying central bore diameter or fixed bore diameter . it would also be evident that turbines may be placed within the tapering section of a wind turbine which may or may not require design modifications to the turbine blades . now referring to fig6 b there is depicted a wind turbine 6000 according to an embodiment with forced entrapment . accordingly , as with wind turbine 600 in fig6 a a first stator — rotor assembly 610 receives air flow 690 a and pressurizes the flow before channeling it into duct of the wind turbine 6009 and therein feeding the annular orifice 630 in the wind turbine 6000 that feeds air flow 690 c into the wind turbine 6000 thereby entrapping air flow 690 b at higher velocity thereby creating a pressure reduction at the front of the wind turbine . the combined air flows 690 b and 690 c are then directed to a first tapering bore 6070 wherein they are coupled to compressor 6050 , into second tapering bore 6080 and thence to turbine 6060 . it would be evident that multiple turbines may be provided within the wind turbine 6000 with or without additional tapering of the wind turbine bore as presented supra in respect of fig4 a and 4b . within the descriptions for wind turbines supra in respect of fig3 to 6b the generator associated with each turbine or generator blade has not been explicitly defined . it would be evident to one skilled in the art that these may be deployed in many embodiments as presented within the prior art including but not limited to susman in us patent application 2005 / 0 , 001 , 432 ; corcoran et al in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 116 , 005 ; uzzell in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 883 , 750 and finney in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 464 , 320 ; wikipedia ( http :// en . wikipedia . org / wiki / electricalgenerator ); and danish wind industry association ( http :// guidedtour . windpower . orglen / tour / wtrblelectric . htm ). referring to fig7 there is depicted a wind turbine array according to an embodiment of the invention wherein a basic turbine unit 710 x is repeated but provides dual functionality . accordingly as depicted a first sub - array of turbine units 710 a , 710 b and 710 c of a design such as wind turbine 400 of fig4 a are disposed receiving incoming air , providing shaft rotation through an initial stator - rotor assembly before the air flow is compressed and impacts the turbine blade . each first sub - array of turbine units 710 a , 710 b and 710 c also receiving through the annular opening entrapped airflow . the output from each of the first sub - array of turbine units 710 a , 710 b and 710 c is then directed to two turbine units of a second sub - array of which only turbine units 710 d and 710 e are depicted . accordingly , the output of turbine unit 710 b is coupled to first turbine unit 710 d and second turbine unit 710 e of the second sub - array by first flow director 720 a . likewise part of the airflow from turbine unit 710 a is directed to first turbine unit 710 d by second flow director 720 b ( partially shown ) and part of the airflow from turbine unit 710 c is directed to first turbine unit 710 e by third flow director 720 c ( partially shown ). whilst fig7 depicts a one - dimensional array of turbine units , either horizontal or vertical , it would be evident to one skilled in the art that a two - dimensional array may be deployed either by simple stacking the one - dimensional arrays as discrete uncoupled elements or by linking them through a variant of the flow directors that couple in both directions such that each turbine in the second sub - array is coupled to three or more turbines in the first sub - array such that removal of one turbine in that first sub - array for maintenance , bird strike etc does not reduce the overall array performance as significantly . in order to reduce the mechanical complexity of the wind turbines wherein the generator is mounted axially within the wind turbine and alternative embodiments of the invention is depicted in fig8 for the generator wherein a shaft 840 has mounted upon it blade vanes 830 that have permanent magnet tips 820 . as such when the blade vane 830 rotates the permanent magnet tip 820 moves relative to a coil 810 embedded into the casing 850 . as shown the permanent magnet tips 820 and blade vane 830 are profiled to match the tapering inner geometry of the casing 850 providing the increased air velocity through the venturi effect . it would be evident that the permanent magnet tips 820 and blade vane 830 may be engineered for constant inner geometry of the casing 850 as well . accordingly , it would also be evident to one skilled in the art that the multiple turbines / generator blades described supra in respect of different embodiments of the invention may exploit such blade / turbine designs . further where multiple turbine / generator blades are depicted supra in respect of fig3 to 7 within constant diameter bore structures of the wind turbine it would be apparent that a tapering bore design may also be deployed without departing from the scope of the invention . within the descriptions presented supra in respect of fig4 a through fig7 there has been presented the concept of air entrapment wherein air from outside the turbine is pulled into the turbine through access channels in the shroud . it may be evident to one skilled in the art that such access channels may be simple slots with rounded corners , blunt corners , sharp corners etc according to the design implemented . however , these access channels may also be designed to ensure that the mixing of two air flows , e . g . primary and secondary air flows 490 a and 490 b respectively in fig4 a , of reduced turbulence . accordingly first cowl design 900 depicts such a modified linear access slot has been modified through computer aided design to include an array of ports 910 in addition to the gap between first section 480 a and second section 480 b . second cowl design 950 depicts a design compatible with wind turbine 5000 in fig5 b wherein the shroud is composed of three sections 580 a , 580 c , and 580 d . accordingly the annular ring is between first section 580 a and second section 580 c is modified by the inclusion of first flow channels 920 into the outer surface of first section 580 a as it enters second section 580 c . similarly the annular ring is between second section 580 c and third section 580 d is modified by the inclusion of second flow channels 930 into the outer surface of second section 580 c as it enters third section 580 d . such mixer designs for example being taught by presz in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 761 , 900 entitled “ two - stage mixer ejector suppressor ”, hauser in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 012 , 281 entitled “ noise suppressing fluid mixing system for a turbine engine ” and presz et al in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 233 , 920 entitled “ contoured thrust reverser and lobed nozzle noise suppressor for gas turbine engines .” such mixers being taught as reducing the noise from jet engine exhausts through the improved mixing and flow resulting from their profiled geometry . within the embodiments described above in respect of fig3 though 7 the shaft connecting the rotor at the front of the turbine to the compressor section in the central portion of the turbine has been shown as a single element . it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that alternative designs may exist include linked designs allowing the front rotor / stator assembly to tilt into the wind without moving the entire turbine or that a gearbox may be employed between the shaft of the rotor and the compressor unit . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only . alterations , modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto .	5
in the following description of the specific embodiments , reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration the specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized as changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in one embodiment the present invention provides a commercial refrigerator incubator module - modified ( crim - m ) for utilization in early flights of the space shuttle orbitor . in one embodiment the present invention provides a commercial refrigerator incubator module - modified ( crim - m ) for utilization in early flights of the space shuttle orbitor providing an internal storage compartment having a width of about 10 inches , a height of about 7 inches and a depth of about 17 inches for storing a stacked protein crystal growth tray configuration according to the present invention . in another embodiment the present invention provides a next generation thermal carrier ( ngtc ), to be utilized when mid - deck modifications to the space shuttle orbitor are completed . the high density protein crystal growth system ( hdpcg ) and video command and monitoring system ( vcms ) of this embodiment are designed to complement each other . the experiment configurations for the hdpcg / vcms will be compatible with the planned express rack available accommodations . finally , the hdpcg growth samples will be easily accessible to crew members for harvesting , frozen storage , or other accommodations . in yet another embodiment , the present invention provides a new generation of pcg hardware in order to freely utilize the limited space , power requirements , down - link flight telemetry data , and other early iss limitations . growth chambers , in this embodiment will include additional design considerations such as : ( 1 ) fit inside the next generation thermal carrier ; ( 2 ) hold a large quantity of samples ; ( 3 ) allow vapor diffusion , batch , & amp ; liquid to liquid ( l / l ) crystal growth methods together in one incubator ; ( 4 ) make it easy to harvest crystals while in orbit ; ( 5 ) provide video images of samples ; ( 6 ) be automated from earth based stations ; ( 7 ) utilize conventional materials ; ( 8 ) hold 10 - 50 micro - liter samples minimum ; and ( 9 ) be accessible enough to cryogenically preserve the crystals while in orbit . other embodiments include easy transfer to a x - ray crystallography facility ( xcf ) crystal preparation prime item ( cppi ) and sample volumes consistent with previous vapor diffusion apparatus ( vda ) type experiments . although crystal adhesion to the sides of a well defined by an interior portion of a protein cell insert may present problems , one solution is to possibly coat the walls defining the well with an oil such as an immersion oil , for example , that may be used to reduce the chance of crystal adhesion to the side walls of the protein well if necessary . the following is a list of some of the distinct aspects of the present invention , whereby : 1 . crystals may be viewed through an optically clear access cap without having to open the sealed container and exposing the fragile crystals to the ambient environment ; 2 . up to 1008 cells may be accessed individually without risking harm to other cells in the immediate area ; 3 . each individual cell is isolated from the environment by double “ o - ring ” containment to ensure sealing during in - orbit operations ; 4 . individual protein inserts used in the cell barrel of the protein crystal growth assembly are designed to hold volumes consistent with ground based experiments ; 5 . the protein inserts may be made of molded lexan and can be modified individually to hold volumes ranging from 10 micro - liters ( μl ) to 40 micro - liters ( μl ); 6 . the protein inserts are designed to facilitate easy harvesting by having a high surface finish wall and a 6 degree taper ; 7 . the protein inserts have a sharp pinning angle at the top to keep the protein solution from “ creeping ” up the sides in a micro - gravity environment ; 8 . the cell barrel used in the protein crystal growth assembly is designed to rotate in up to four different orientations . there are two launch configuration positions ( depending on whether the incubator is located in the space shuttle ): a loading / harvesting position , and a growth position ; 9 . the cell barrel can be rotated in an orientation whereby the space shuttle launch “ g - force ” keeps the protein solution in the protein insert and will not let it “ creep ” out during the ascent ; 10 . the cell barrel can be rotated in an orientation that will be conducive to accomodating space shuttle landing loads , thus assuring that during the occasional “ hard landing ” the protein crystals and solution will stay intact ; 11 . the ppt reservoir used in the protein crystal growth assembly is designed to use a chromex barrier , which keeps the ½ milliliter reservoir solution from “ creeping out ” during space shuttle launch and while in a micro - gravity environment ; 12 . growth cell blocks can be activated in smaller groups , e . g . groups of 21 , instead of all at once . this is helpful if proteins have different growing cycles during a given mission ; 13 . the individual growth cell blocks can be removed from the sample tray very easily without disturbing the others . this is beneficial prior to the space shuttle launch when a “ launch scrub ” requires only certain proteins to be reloaded ; 14 . the experimental apparatus can operate properly under one g - force ; and 15 . the experimental apparatus can operate during international space station operations , space shuttle operations , and other micro - gravity operations . the hdpcg system is the first phase of a 3 phase program for commercial protein crystal growth ( cpcg ). this system will utilize the apparatus for the protein crystal growth mechanism for the program . the second phase comprises the hdpcg and the vcms system . this system will be used to help evaluate protein crystal size , location and potential for x - ray data collection . the third phase of the program will be an x - ray crystallography facility ( xcf ). this xcf system will collect x - ray data sets on the protein samples grown in the hdpcg apparatus , which will be assessed and selected utilizing the vcms system . the hdpcg experiment assembly includes , for example , 1008 individual growth cells stored within sample trays . this apparatus is then placed into a thermal control facility in order to maintain the temperatures required by the experiment . the first generation hdpcg experiment assembly will utilize vapor diffusion as the process for protein crystal growth , with other methods of crystal growth to follow . turning now to fig1 one embodiment of a protein crystal growth cell assembly 10 comprises a cell body 12 , cell barrel 14 , protein inserts 16 , ppt reservoirs 18 , chromex barriers 20 , hex head access caps 22 , o - rings 24 and a spur gear 26 . the cell body 12 and cell barrel 14 are machined from clear polysulfone p1700 . a molded lexan version could be used to reduce cost and allow the experimenter the ability to keep the hardware after each mission . the cell barrel 14 is designed to rotate within the cell body 12 in order to activate / deactivate the experiment and to seal the protein within the assembly when in launch configuration 28 . as shown in fig2 a , this may accomplished by using the spur gear 26 , that may be manufactured from a synthetic resin such as delrin , for example . during launch , the growth cell assembly 10 may experience a g - force as indicated by g - force vector 30 . the spur gear 26 is located on one end of the growth cell assembly 10 and it is designed to interface with a 26 gear 48 ( fig3 a , for example a tooth pitch gear ) on a sample tray assembly 43 ( fig3 a ), so that the samples can be activated , or deactivated simultaneously . located within the cell barrel 14 are six protein inserts 16 where premixed proteins are loaded . as illustrated in fig2 b the protein insert 16 has a tapered well 32 and a 90 ° pinning angle 34 to restrict the protein drops from wicking out of the well while in a micro - gravity environment . different size options can be provided to the experimenter , for example a 40 μl and a 20 μl version . illustrated in fig2 c is one embodiment of a hex head access cap 38 that is used to seal the protein environment from the outside . the hex head access caps 38 can be designed for cooperation with the xcf crystal preparation prime item ( cppi ) robotics for remote access . also included are double o - ring containment 36 to prevent leakage of the protein solution during the experiment . the protein inserts 16 and hex head access caps 38 can be made of optical grade lexan . this allows a level of clarity as needed for the vcms during the second phase of the commercial protein crystal growth ( cpcg ) hdpcg program . fig2 d illustrates embodiments of six ppt reservoirs 18 located on the cell body 12 . the ppt reservoirs 18 can be made from molded clear polysulfone p1700 . each ppt reservoir 18 houses a chromex barrier 20 in order to contain the protein precipitant and is designed to provide easy access . once the premixed proteins are loaded and secured , the cell barrel 14 is turned 90 ° for launch configuration 28 . fig3 a illustrates one embodiment of a hdpcg sample tray assembly 43 with a hinged lid 244 in the open position . a hdpcg experiment assembly is capable of housing several , for example up to four , sample tray assemblies 43 at a time . the sample tray assemblies 43 are designed to secure the growth cell assemblies 10 during an experiment . each sample tray assembly 43 may have a hinged lid 244 , which is used to lock the growth cell assemblies 10 into place and thus allows for the ease of loading and unloading samples . each sample tray assembly 43 is capable of securing 42 , growth cell assemblies 10 ( 21 on each side ). all 21 growth cell assemblies 10 on each side are activated / deactivated together by the push / pull movement of the geared rack 46 and 26 gear 48 that engages each individual spur gear 26 of the growth cell assemblies 10 . the growth cell assemblies 10 rest in tray 41 . this allows the total number of samples to be as much as 252 per tray 43 ( for a total of 1008 on four trays ) for the apparatus where previous university of alabama at birmingham ( uab ) crystal growth experiments were limited to approximately 128 . pivot assembly 47 activates 21 growth cell assemblies per side . there are two pivot assemblies 47 per sample tray 43 . fig3 b and 4a illustrate one embodiment of a hdpcg sample tray assembly 43 with a lid assembly 244 in a closed position . the sample tray assembly 43 further includes captive screws 52 to secure the trays . there are 42 growth cell assemblies 10 per tray 41 at a weight of about 3 . 7 lbs . per tray with the weight of the tray 41 being about 1 . 8 lbs . the lid assembly 244 weighs about 0 . 57 lbs . fig3 c illustrates another embodiment of a hdpcg sample tray assembly 42 with a hinged lid 44 in the open position . the hdpcg experiment assembly is capable of housing several , for example up to four , sample tray assemblies 42 at a time . the sample tray assemblies 42 are designed to secure the growth cell assemblies 10 during an experiment . each sample tray assembly 42 has a hinged lid 44 , which is used to lock the growth cell assemblies 10 into place and thus allows for the ease of loading and unloading samples . fig4 a is another view of one embodiment of a sample tray assembly 43 with its hinged lid 244 in a closed position . as illustrated in fig4 b one embodiment of a sample tray assembly 43 may be arranged in a stacked tray assembly configuration 250 designed to slide in and out of a protein crystal growth incubator assembly such as a commercial refrigeration incubator module - modified 63 ( crim - m ) ( fig5 ). for easy access slides ( for example of delrin ) are provided on either side of the inside portion of the crim - m , thus permitting removal of the sample tray assemblies 43 individually , for example for future transfer to the vcms . the stacked tray configuration 250 further includes a hot side wall 254 , a rear stop 256 , an internal structure assembly 258 and cold side wall 260 . in one specific example , there are four tray assemblies 43 in each crim - m 63 ( fig5 ) at 6 . 00 lbs . each for a total weight of 24 . 00 lbs . the internal structure assembly 258 weighs about 3 . 90 lbs . the total experiment weight is about 27 . 90 lbs . fig4 c is yet another view of one embodiment of a sample tray assembly 42 with its hinged lid 44 in a closed position . as illustrated in fig4 d one embodiment of a sample tray assembly 42 may be arranged in a stacked tray assembly configuration 50 designed to slide in and out of a commercial refrigeration incubator module - modified 63 ( crim - m ) ( fig5 ). the stacked tray configuration 50 further includes a hot side wall 54 , a rear stop 56 , an internal structure assembly 58 and cold side wall 60 . illustrated in fig5 a is one embodiment of a hdpcg stacked tray assembly configuration 250 installed inside of a commercial refrigeration incubator module - modified 63 ( crim - m ). the crim - m 63 is a single locker thermal control facility , similar to that used in early iss development . this apparatus fits into the crim - m 63 in a similar manner as previous crystal growth experiments , for example vapor diffusion apparatus 2 ( vda - 2 ), commercial vapor diffusion apparatus ( cvda ) and protein crystallization facility ( pcf ). the crim - m 63 provides a crew interface 264 required for setting the temperature profiles and monitoring the state of the system for the experiment . in addition , the crim - m 63 provides an internal storage compartment 65 , a retainer door assembly 266 , foam insulation 67 and door 70 . illustrated in fig5 b is another embodiment of a hdpcg stacked tray assembly configuration 50 installed in a commercial refrigeration incubator module 62 ( c - rim ) 62 . the crim 62 provides a crew interface 64 required for setting the temperature profiles and monitoring the state of the system for the experiment . in addition , the crim 62 provides a retainer door assembly 66 . as illustrated in fig6 a , one embodiment of a hdpcg experiment is easily activated , or deactivated by the use of the commercial protein crystal growth ( cpcg ) actuator handle 71 . the actuator handle 71 is retrieved from the crim - m internal storage compartment 65 where it is collapsed for storage . in order to activate / deactivate the experiment the crim - m door 70 ( not shown ) must be opened and the foam insulation 67 ( not shown ) temporarily removed . this allows the retainer door 266 to be visible . there are eight slots 272 that are located on the retainer door 266 . each slot 272 is labeled and contains a pivot 47 that extends through the slot so that the actuator handle 71 can be used to activate / deactivate the sample tray assembly 43 . this allows for the ease and flexibility of activating / deactivating the sample tray assemblies 43 individually . for clarity only one growth cell assembly 10 is shown . the actuator handle 71 is extended for leverage by loosening the locking ring 73 . once the actuator handle 71 is extended , the locking ring 73 is tightened . the actuator handle 71 is ready to engage and secure the pivot 47 by snapping the actuator &# 39 ; s clevis around the pivot hole 272 . once the pivot 47 is secured by the actuator handle 71 , it is then pushed to the left or right depending on the flight configuration . the actuator handle 71 is then removed by pulling the actuator handle 71 from the pivot 47 . this has activated / deactivated one side of the sample tray assembly 43 . the opposite side of the sample tray 43 is activated / deactivated in the same manner and this sequence is repeated for the remaining three trays . also shown is a latch assembly 69 . once all of the sample tray assemblies 43 have been activated / deactivated , the locking ring 73 on the actuator handle 71 is loosened and pushed into the original position . the locking ring 73 is tightened to secure the handle 71 . the actuator handle 71 then is placed back into the crim - m internal storage compartment 65 . the experiment is activated / deactivated once all four trays have been activated / deactivated . for reference , in one specific example , 50 ° of rotation on the pivot assembly 47 will correspond to 0 . 851 ″ of rack 46 linear translation and 180 ° of rotation on the cell barrel 14 inside the growth cell assembly 10 . the cpcg - hdpcg experiment assembly includes the crim - m 63 and the installed stacked hdpcg tray assembly configuration 250 . the space shuttle orbiter middeck can be used as the payload carrier for this apparatus . a payload mounting panel ( pmp ) will be used to mount the experiment locker into the payload carrier location . this locker configuration may be designed to be a cabin air breather . payloads that are located in the orbitor middeck may be in the following areas : ( a ) aft surface of wire trays of avionics bays 1 and 2 , or ( b ) forward surface of wire trays of avionics bay 3 a . of course , the availability of specific locations for payload use may be subject to the amount of ducted and non - ducted air cooling , power required by the individual middeck payloads , mission profile and its length , the size of the orbitor crew , and amount of crew equipment to be stowed in standard stowage lockers at these locations . fig6 b illustrates the actuator handle 71 at various positions while in the process of activating / deactivating an experiment . as the actuator handle 71 is rotated , the pivot assembly 47 rotates to activate / deactivate the experiment . as illustrated in fig6 a the hdpcg experiment is easily activated , or deactivated by the use of a activation / deactivation handle 68 . the handle 68 can be retrieved from possible stowage within the c - rim 62 with installed hdpcg apparatus , as shown in fig6 b . in order to activate / deactivate the experiment the c - rim door 70 must be opened . this allows the retainer door 66 to be visible . there are 12 slots 72 that are accessible on the retainer door 66 . each slot corresponds to a tray 42 located within the hdpcg apparatus . this allows for the ease and flexibility of activating / deactivating a tray 42 individually . fig6 c illustrates another embodiment of an activation / deactivation handle 68 . in order to activate the tray 42 the handle 68 is inserted through one of the slots 72 . the handle 68 is then used to engage a pin ( not shown ) on the rack with a slot 74 . the handle 68 has a pivot 76 and pivots on the retainer door 66 where it can be rotated 60 ° clockwise ( cw ) to activate the sample tray 42 . the handle 68 will activate both sides of the sample tray 42 , one side at a time . the opposite side of the sample tray 42 is then activated by removing the handle 68 and rotating it 180 °. once again the handle 68 is inserted through two of the slots 72 in order to activate the opposite side of the sample tray 42 . once the pin 78 is engaged the handle is rotated 60 ° counterclockwise ( ccw ). this completes the activation sequence for the sample tray 42 . fig6 d illustrates the handle 68 in operation . the handle 68 is first retrieved from stowage , then the c - rim door 70 is opened and the retainer door 66 becomes visible . the handle 68 is inserted through the slots 72 on the retainer door 66 corresponding to the sample tray 42 that is to be deactivated . once the pin ( not shown ) on the rack is engaged , the handle 68 is rotated 120 ° ccw to deactivate . the opposite side of the sample tray 42 is then deactivated by removing the handle 68 and rotating it 180 °. once the pin 78 on the rack is engaged , the handle is rotated 120 ° cw to deactivate the opposite side of the sample tray 42 . this completes the deactivation sequence for the sample tray 42 . fig7 illustrates another view of one embodiment of a high density protein crystal growth growth cell assembly 10 . fig8 illustrates one embodiment of a ppt reservoir 18 of the growth cell assembly 10 , made from molded clear polysulfone p1700 and , for example having a fluid capacity of ½ milliliters . the ppt reservoir 40 houses a chromex barrier to contain the reservoir solution . chromex is one example of a ultra high molecular weight polyethylene material . fig9 illustrates another view of one embodiment of a growth cell assembly 10 illustrating the hd access cap 38 which is designed in conjunction with the xcf cppi for remote access by means of the hex head cap . access to the protein insert is obtained by rotating the access cap 38 45 degrees . the o - rings reside in the containment 36 . the protein insert 16 can be removed from the back without having to disassemble the entire block . both the access cap 38 and protein insert 16 can be molded from optical grade lexan for clarity . fig1 a illustrates a sectional view of one embodiment of a growth cell assembly 10 in its fill / removal position . note the position of the protein insert 16 . fig1 b illustrates a sectional view of one embodiment of a single growth cell assembly 210 in its fill / removal position . note the position of the protein insert 216 . the single growth cell assembly 210 comprises the cell body 212 , the cell barrel 214 , protein insert 216 , ppt reservoir 218 , chromex barrier 220 , hex head access caps 222 , o - ring 224 and a spur gear 226 . fig1 a illustrates a sectional view of one embodiment of a growth cell assembly 10 in its growth position . note that the position of the protein insert 16 is opposite to that shown in fig1 a . fig1 b illustrates a sectional view of one embodiment of a single growth cell assembly 210 in its growth position . note that the position of the protein insert 216 is opposite to that shown in fig1 a . fig1 a - c illustrate various embodiments of a protein insert 16 produced by lightwave products . the protein insert 16 holds up to 50 micro - liters , is made for example of optical grade lexan and includes a tapered well 32 as determined by the kc - 135 zero gravity test plane and is available in an optional molded version . the modified protein inserts 16 ′ have a volume capacity of 20 microliters or less . pinning edge 34 will restrict drops from wicking up the walls while in micro - gravity . fig1 illustrates one embodiment of a growth cell assembly 10 in its launch configuration and corresponding launch g - force vector 30 . as part of the overall system , the present invention provides a video command and monitoring system ( vcms ) that is part of the second phase of a three phase program for commercial protein crystal growth ( cpcg ). the vcms system will be used to evaluate protein crystal quality , size , location within hdpcg ( cpcg - h ) tray , and the potential for x - ray data collection . fig1 a illustrates one embodiment of a cpcg payload complement comprising three components : a hdpcg stacked tray assembly 43 ( cpcg - h ), a vcms — video & amp ; translation chassis 61 ( cpcg - v ) and a vcms — controller 107 ( cpcg - c ). the hdpcg tray assembly 43 and vcms 61 payloads will reside in thermal carriers . fig1 b illustrates another embodiment of a the vcms chassis 106 that houses the video camera assembly 118 and the hdpcg tray assembly 42 during experiments . the chassis 106 further includes an x - y stage with the mounted video camera assembly 108 , the x - y stage including an x - stage stepper motor 112 and a y - stage stepper motor 114 . the x - y stage assembly 108 indexes a translating camera assembly 118 utilizing a y stage stepper motor 114 and an x stage stepper motor 112 . the x and y stage stepper motors 112 , 114 , respectively , are interfaced with the vcms controller 84 via controller connectors 116 . the system further provides flexible cable routing that interfaces with a flex cable zero insertion force ( zif ) connector 110 . fig1 a - f illustrate embodiments of the translating camera assembly 118 . digitized images are down - linked to ground support equipment ( gse ) for the scientists to observe . the video camera assembly 118 comprises a lens assembly 132 , light ring 134 , video camera electronics 126 , mounting assembly 124 , a charge coupled device ( ccd ) head 128 and connectors for printed circuit board ( pcb ) 130 . one embodiment of how a camera is assembled is shown in fig1 b . the lens assembly 132 provides the camera with a fixed focus image of the growth cell 10 . the light ring 134 including 8 light emitting diodes 133 ( leds ) is attached to the base of the lens assembly 132 to the lens body 131 to provide adequate illumination during video frame acquisition . as illustrated in fig1 a - b the translating video camera assembly 118 comprises a mounting assembly 124 for mounting the camera assembly 118 to the vcms chassis 61 x - y stage . the camera assembly 118 further includes a charge coupled device ( ccd ) head 128 and connectors for printed circuit board ( pcb ) 130 . the camera utilized in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is a sony ccb - gc7yc color card camera detachable head with ⅓ ″ ccd 768 × 494 ccd elements integral dc / dc converter , y / c and composite outputs , 470 tv lines and 5 lux sensitivity at f1 . 2 . the camera assembly 118 is mounted to the stage provided by the vcms chassis 61 where it can translate in the x and y directions , via mounting assembly 124 . this translation allows for flexibility in viewing individual hdpcg growth cells 10 within the designated cell coverage area 137 ( fig1 ). in one embodiment , a video camera growth cell 10 coverage area 137 is about 68 % of the top side hdpcg tray 43 . the video camera provides a high - resolution , color , y / c signal to the controller &# 39 ; s 107 electronic video capture hardware . fig1 c illustrates the cell illumination light ring 134 attached to base of the lens . the light ring 134 including the eight sleeve mounted concentric white led &# 39 ; s 133 are manufactured by sylvania lighting international model number cmd1224wc . as illustrated in fig1 d the lens assembly 132 provides the camera with a fixed focus image of the growth cell . on the base of the lens there is a light ring that provides illumination during the video process . the assembly 132 is mounted to the x - y stage provided by the chassis 61 where it is capable of translating in the x and y directions . this adds the flexibility of viewing individual hdpcg growth cells within the designated cell coverage area ( fig1 ). an example of a lens assembly 132 is one custom fabricated by optem international and includes a cs mount assembly 134 , edmund scientific a45 , 207 lens 139 that is achromatic coated with a ¼ wave mgf 2 @ 550 nm , a 5 mm diameter and 15 mm focal length , and a rolyn a32 , 623 precision iris diaphragm including a 8 . 0 - 0 . 7 mm aperture and 8 blade blued spring steel . flexible circuits 120 and 122 illustrated in fig1 e and 16f , respectively , reduce the overall size , weight and assembly costs of the design . further , the flexible circuits 120 , 122 increase the system reliability , ease design ( packaging in 3 - dimensions ), are mechanically robust and provide excellent electrical properties , for example , low strip resistance and small channel - channel capacitance . as illustrated in fig1 , the vcms system is capable of translating the video camera assembly 118 and taking periodic “ snap shots ” of indicated growth cells within an area of camera coverage 137 bounded by perimeter 141 . as illustrated in fig1 , one embodiment of a vcms chassis 61 is the structure designed to house the video camera assembly 118 and the hdpcg tray assembly 43 during an experiment . the chassis 61 includes the x - y stage with the mounted camera assembly 118 , x - stage motor / encoder 112 , y - stage motor / encoder 114 , controller connector 116 , flex cable connectors 110 linking the moving stages to the chassis , and installed hdpcg tray assembly 43 . a sensor detects the presence of sample trays . this interlock is then used in the system software routines . each end of the camera stage axes also has limit switches used in the software control routines . as illustrated in fig1 , one embodiment of a controller 107 is suitable for residing in an international sub - rack interface standard drawer ( isis ) 147 . the vcms 61 payload will include one middeck locker equivalent ( mles ) containing hardware for protein crystal growth experiment monitoring ( cpcg - v ) and one experiment isis drawer 147 ( cpcg - c ) containing control electronics 143 . the vcms is used in conjunction with the hdpcg flight assembly . the vcms will occupy one hdpcg tray at a given time , but the vcms has the versatility of interchanging hdpcg trays whenever scheduled or requested . in one embodiment , a vcms controller 107 contains the system electronics 143 . the controller has five primary functions that include : translation , video capture , disk storage , health and status , and communications . the controller 107 may be located in a four - panel unit ( 4pu ) express rack isis drawer 147 . the components are mounted to the modified baseplate of the drawer 147 . the controller 107 will utilize the express rack internal air volume to reject heat from the vcms controller 107 . the isis drawer 146 is outfitted with a fan and appropriate air intake ventilation holes 149 to accomplish this heat rejection through the air exhaust vent 145 . the vcms controller 107 is monitored by both the software and hardware components . the cpcg - c system temperature ( s ) and system current ( s ) are monitored to determine the state of the electronics . likewise , the hardware monitors vital system indicators to determine and control the state of the system . the following hardware sub - assemblies make up the vcms controller . an intel 80486 - based single board computer ( sbc ) is the central processing unit . attached to the sbc &# 39 ; s pc / 104 bus are a stepper motor controller card , an encoder feedback card , a video capture card , an analog to digital input output card , a personal computer memory card international association ( pcmcia ) solid state memory card , hard disk drive , and two dc / dc converter cards . the vcms controller 107 performs external communications through an ethernet interface in the rear of the isis drawer 147 . vcms health and status ( h & amp ; s ) and all the down - link data passes through this interface . the controller 107 is linked to the vcms chassis 61 through a front panel cable . secondary electrical supply voltages , control signals , and high - resolution y / c video signals are routed through this cable . the vcms payload software will provide control of all phases of the experiment and requires limited crew involvement . the crew involvement will be required during initial experiment setup and activation , periodic status monitoring , experiment deactivation , and off - nominal activities . the vcms payload software contains an applicable program interface to initiate , control , and monitor data acquisition from the experiment . additionally , the vcms payload software will manage data flow between the vcms payload and the external interfaces . the major functions of the vcms payload control software may include the following : 1 . provides for video data capture and storage of the payload ; 5 . implements the periodic scan profiles for the hdpcg growth cells based upon the mask file ; fig2 a - b illustrate one embodiment of an express rack hdpcg / vcms configuration . the hdpcg 250 , vcms chassis 61 and vcms controller 107 experiment assemblies will utilize an express rack 150 ( fig2 ) in one configuration . the thermal carriers for hdpcg and vcms will utilize + 28v power and rs422 communications on the rack front view ( fig2 a ). the cable from the vcms controller 107 to the vcms chassis 61 is illustrated in the front view of fig2 a . there are several connections located within the back of the express rack 150 . the isis drawer + 28v power and ethernet connections from the express rack 150 are routed as illustrated in the back view of fig2 b . fig1 illustrates one embodiment of a block diagram of the vcms controller 107 which contains the electronics for the system . the controller 107 may include five primary functions such as translation , illumination , video capture , disk storage and communications . it is located in an express rack isis drawer 147 where it is mounted to a modified base - plate . it utilizes the express isis avionics air cooling loop to reject heat from the vcms controller 107 . the hdpcg 43 and vcms 61 experiment assemblies can utilize the express rack 150 . the hdpcg 43 and vcms 61 experiment assemblies utilize a host power supply 82 and the rs422 connections on the front of the rack . there is also a chassis connection to the vcms 61 from the isis drawer and several connections that are located on the back of the rack . these are illustrated in fig2 a - b . the isis drawer 147 utilizes a + 28 v power source , ethernet and analog ( to sspcm ) connections from the express rack . the vcms controller 107 is a self contained electronics box mounted in a 4 panel unit ( pu ) express isis drawer 147 . heat is rejected via express isis avionics air loop portion of the internal cooling loop 88 . vcms controller 84 further includes a small computer systems interface ( scsi ) 86 drive for local electronic mass data storage and a stackable pc / 104 expansion bus 90 . the vcms controller 107 communicates with peripheral devices via ethernet communications on ethernet bus 104 with the express rack interface controller 96 ( ric ) and the express rack crew interface port ( cip ) 102 . the controller 107 interfaces with an rs422 communications interface 100 with thermal carrier . rs232 communications 94 is provided between the controller 84 and the gse or shuttle pgsc 92 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the communications system may communicate digitized video images from a space station to a ground based station and form one ground based station to another ground based station . the pc / 104 bus 90 may be utilized for all computer boards such as microprocessor ( ampro computers , inc . ), video capture ( ajeco oy , inc . ), stepper motor controller ( technology 80 , inc . ), encoder controller ( technology 80 , inc . ), stepper motor driver ( uab in - house design ), dc - dc converter ( tri - m systems , inc .) and mass storage ( seagate technology , inc .). the microprocessor module ( ampro littleboard 468i ) includes an intel 80486dx4 100 mhz cpu and 32 mb dynamic random access memory ( dram ). the microprocessor module is highly integrated and further includes four buffered serial ports , an ethernet lan interface and an scsi - ii bus interface . the microprocessor module also includes embedded features such as : bootable solid state disk support , watchdog timer and powerfail non - maskable interrupt ( nmi ), extended temperature operation , advanced power management functions and locking i / o connectors . the video capture unit , ajeco andi - fg , includes a motorola 27 mhz dsp56001a digital signal processor , three 75 ω software selectable video inputs , 640 × 525 digital resolution in ntsc , y / c and composite video , eight bit a / d converter , 29 . 5 mhz sampling , jpeg format image upload and programming libraries in “ c .” the stepper motor controller may be a tech 80 model 5936 , which includes three axes of intelligent control , directional velocity profiling , home , positive limit , and general purpose switch inputs and software - accessible functions that further include number of steps , low speed rate , high speed rate , acceleration / deceleration rate and amp - down point . the encoder controller , a tech 80 model 5612 , includes four incremental quadrature encoder inputs , three stage digital filter , software selectable filter clock 165 . 25 khz to 10 mhz , 24 - bit counter for each encoder and maskable pc / 104 bus interrupt generation . the voltage mode stepper motor driver is pc / 104 bus compatible and amplifies ttl level signals from the stepper controller 12vdc output , motor direction and motor speed . the driver further controls the camera illumination led on / off switching by led fusing and led current limiting . the dc - dc converter , a tri - m systems he104 - 512 - tac , includes up to 50 w filtered power for vcms electrical systems , pc / 104 compatible design with active bus signal termination , load dump and transient noise suppression on input , logic level remote shutdown , + 5vdc @ 10 a output , + 12vdc @ 2 a output , 6 - 40vdc input , & lt ; 20 mvpp ripple , & lt ; 60 mv load regulation , & lt ; 40 mv line regulation and up to 95 % efficiency . the mass storage unit , a seagate barracuda 9 . 1 giga byte model series that has been utilized in several nasa flights , includes 10 disks , 20 magneto resistive heads , 20 mb / sec maximum transfer rate , 512 kb multisegmented cache , 8 . 0 / 9 . 5 msec average seek , r / w , 4 . 17 msec average latency , 7 , 200 rpm spindle speed , 8 - bit ultrascsi interface , embedded servo control and has a 1 , 000 , 000 mean time between failure ( mtbf ). one embodiment of a stepper motor 114 as illustrated in fig2 a is a micromo stepping gearmotor am1524 that includes 24 steps per revolution & gt ; 15 degree step angle , voltage mode motor , 12vdc operation , 6 mnn ( 0 . 85 oz - in .) holding torque , 3 . 71 : 1 reduction gear ( x - axis ). one embodiment of an encoder 135 as illustrated in fig2 b is a micromo series he that includes a magnetic mechanism , square wave output , ttl / cmos output , 2 channels and 90 degree phase shift . nominal and reduced system power required by the system are illustrated in table 1 , as follows : the vcms controller 107 functions can be grouped into five distinct categories including translation , illumination , video capture , disk storage and communication . each category enables varying levels of power management though software and hardware functions . fig2 illustrates one embodiment of a vcms ios csc diagram . fig2 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a vcms controller . fig2 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a vcms controller . fig2 and 27 illustrate a flow diagram of one embodiment of a hdpcg / vcms operational scenario . a database where protein candidates can be entered by the scientist . this database may include : protein name , co - investigator , number of samples , specifics such as volume size , growth rates and mission sequence and timeline . the final flight configuration . when a growth cell block is completely full and ready to be placed into the tray , a bar code label is placed on the block . the bar code should reference a database which is generated above , but in addition includes : location of sample , actual percent concentrations and volumes loaded , time of loading , protein code written on cap of cell , and comment lines . the vcms will perform the following operations while on iss : automatically scan all the viewable cells on a given tray twice daily and take a “ snap shot ”; store the digitized “ snap shot ” until it can be downlinked ; place the images into a name specific file that can be interpreted on the ground as being a specific protein , and store the image with the file generated with task i ; move to a particular position and take a “ snap shot ” when given a command from the ground or by a crew member ; capture the image and compress it using the best compression algorithms available possible with the given hardware ; transfer health and status data from the ngtc to the express rack and eventually attach temperature data with the images for the database ; and encryption of images before placing into the packet of data to be down - linked . the ground based system will have to do the following : receive the data packet , for example from the marshall space flight center ( nsfc ) and direct the images to their particular file ; manage the large amount of data that will be received and place it on some type of media for transfer back to the co - investigators ; and send requests to the msfc ( off nominal operations ). the post flight database will include information taken from the previous tasks and include : temperature data of the entire mission ; digitized post flight analysis images , flight duration time ; and comments during analysis . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed . many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not with this description , but rather by the claims appended hereto .	2
the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings hereinafter . fig1 is a block diagram of an illustrative example of the structure of a 600 mb / s fsk ( frequency shift keying ) optical heterodyne receiver . a signal light 2 transmitted through an optical fiber 1 is combined with a local oscillation light 5 emitted from a laser 4 by a light coupler 3 , and is detected by photo - detectors 6 . the operational temperature of local oscillation laser 4 is controlled at 25 ° c . constantly by a temperature stabilizing mechanism ( not shown ). the photo - detectors 6 output an if electrical signal which is amplified in an if amplifier 7 and is provided to a demodulator ( dem ) 8 and a frequency discriminator ( disc ) 9 . frequency discriminator 9 has a discrimination characteristic which a right - falling zero - crossing point at 2 . 5 ghz as shown in fig2 . in fig3 there are two stable afc operation points &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; each in the real and image bands , respectively . a demodulator 8 extracts the 600 mb / s baseband signal from the if signal by dual filter detection and is adjusted to normally operate at point &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; in fig3 . frequency discriminator 9 outputs a voltage signal through an analog - digital converter ( a / d ) 10 to a controller ( cont ) 11 which controls the injection current to local oscillation laser 4 through a digital - analog converter ( d / a ) 12 and a current driver ( drv ) 13 which contributes to setting the frequency of local oscillation light 5 . additionally referring to fig4 the operation of controller 11 will be set forth . controller 11 consists , for example , of a microcomputer , and operates as shown in the flow chart of fig4 . once receiver 100 is turned on , or switching to any channel to be used is caused , controller 11 supplies the corresponding initial current value i o ( λ ) stored therein to the channel to current driver 13 which feeds an injection current to the local oscillation laser , and thereby causes receiver 100 to make the afc operation ( step s1 ). as well - known , this afc operation will be performed as follows . now assume that as a local oscillation laser oscillator is used such that it has a characteristic of having higher frequency ( or the shorter wavelength ) with increasing injection current . during this afc operation in step s1 , controller 11 , when the output - voltage dc component of frequency discriminator 9 of which the characteristic is plotted in fig3 is positive , reduces the injection current value to lower the oscillation frequency ( f lo ) of local oscillation laser 4 , and when negative , increases the injection current to increase the oscillation frequency ( f lo ). when the output voltage of frequency discriminator 9 becomes about zero under the above - mentioned afc operation , controller 11 stores the injection current value i o fed to the local oscillation laser at this time , and receiver 100 stays at stable afc operation point either &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; in fig3 . in step s2 , controller 11 adds a predetermined current value δi , which is enough to increase the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation laser by the predetermined value , to current value i o , the resultant injection current i = i o + δi being fed to local oscillation laser 4 . in the next step s3 , controller 11 measures the increased output voltage δv of the frequency discriminator due to the added injection current value δi . in step s4 , controller 11 checks whether or not the output voltage change \| δv \| of the frequency discriminator is larger than the predetermined voltage value th . if \| δv \|& gt ; th , the operation of the controller 11 transfers to step s5 , and if not so , to step s6 . decision of \| δv \|& gt ; th in step s4 means that under the afc operation in step s1 receiver 100 stays at stable afc point &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; shown in fig3 while decision of δv ≦ th , if the same except for this , means it stays at the other stable afc point b . in the example of fig3 th = 1 . 0 v , and the oscillation frequency increase of the local oscillation laser due to injection current increase δi is set to 1 . 0 ghz . in step s5 , injection current &# 34 ; i &# 34 ; to local oscillation laser 4 is returned to i o . the operation of controller 11 transfers to the next step s7 , and the afc operation restarts and rapidly converges because it starts at near stable point a . when pulled , in step s1 , into the real band by the operations of steps s1 through s5 and s7 , receiver 100 continues to operate in the real band . in step s6 , controller 11 adds a current value (- δi ) enough to shift the local oscillation frequency f lo from stable point &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; to stable point &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to i o , and causes current driver 13 to feed the resultant injection current ( i o - δi ) to the local oscillation laser 4 , resulting in the shift of the if frequency to near stable point a . the afc operation resumes in step s7 . according to the first embodiment described above , the time required from turn - on to when the afc operation has converged in step s7 was measured in 20 runs to get an average value of 9 . 2 msec while according to the process described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 046 , 140 , it took 122 msec for the pull - in at the stable point in the real band . the first embodiment was described by the example of setting afc operation center at the zero - crossing point &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; in the right - rising part of the characteristic of ( f lo - f in ) vs . output voltage . according to the present invention , also a frequency discriminator which has such characteristic of ( f lo - f in ) vs . output voltage as shown in fig5 can be used . an alternative ( the second ) embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a frequency discriminator having the characteristic of fig5 will be described below with reference to fig5 and 6 . the example of fig5 will be set forth assuming setting the afc operation center to point &# 34 ; a &# 39 ;&# 34 ;. in this case there are afc operation points &# 34 ; b &# 39 ; 38 and &# 34 ; c &# 39 ;&# 34 ; in the image band . in this embodiment of fig5 because of setting at the zero - crossing point in the right - falling part of the ( f lo - f in ) vs . output voltage characteristic , the afc operation of controller 11 is made as follows : when the output of the frequency discriminator is positive , the injection current increases and thereby the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation laser increases and when negative , vice versa . referring to fig6 the operation of controller 11 in the second embodiment of the present invention will be described . first , in step s21 , controller 11 causes current driver 13 to feed initial current value i o ( λ ) stored therein corresponding to a desired channel to the local oscillation laser , and in response to this , receiver 100 performs the afc operation . once the output of the frequency discriminator reaches approximately zero v , controller 11 stores the injection current value i o to the local oscillation laser 4 . in the next step s22 , controller 11 adds a certain current value δi enough to increase the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation laser 4 by the predetermined value to current value i o , and causes current driver 13 to feed the added injection current i = i o + δi to local oscillation laser 4 . then controller 11 measures , and stores , the output voltage change δv 1 of the frequency discriminator 9 due to the injection - current increase δi . in step s23 , the injection current value to the local oscillation laser is caused to change from i o to i o - δi , and the thereby - changed δv 2 of output voltage of the frequency discriminator due to the injection current decrease (- δi ) is measured and stored . in step s24 , \| δv 1 \| is compared with the predetermined voltage th . if \| δv 1 \|& gt ; th , the operation of controller 11 transfers to step s25 , and if \| δv 1 \|≦ th , the operation to step s28 . in the example of fig5 the increase of local oscillation frequency associated with injection current - increase δi is set to 0 . 5 ghz , and th to 1 . 0 v . as apparent from fig5 even if oscillation frequency f lo is increased by 0 . 5 ghz , \| δv 1 \| can not be smaller than th (= 1 . 0 v ) except in the case where the receiver 100 stays at stable point c &# 39 ;. shift of the afc operation center from this stable point c &# 39 ; to stable point a &# 39 ; is allowed by 4 . 0 ghz decrease of f lo . in step s28 therefore controller 11 adds a current value (- δi 2 ) enough to reduce the oscillation frequency by 4 ghz to current value i o , the resultant current value ( i o - δi 2 ) being fed as the afc initial - value current to the local oscillation laser , and in the next step s29 the afc operation restarts . in step s25 , controller 11 compares \| δv 2 \| with th . if \| δv 2 \|& gt ; th , the operation transfers to step s26 , and if not so , to step s27 . in step s26 , the injection current value is set again to i o and fed as the afc initial current to local oscillation laser 4 , and then controller 11 accomplishes the afc operation in step s29 . the transfer of operation of controller 11 to step s26 means \| δv 1 \|& gt ; th and \| δv 2 \|& gt ; th . as appears from fig5 these two conditions can not be met except in the case where the receiver 100 stays at stable point a &# 39 ; in step s21 . in step s26 therefore the injection current to the local oscillation laser is returned to i o . transfer of the operation of controller 11 to step s27 is made in the case where receiver 100 stays at stable point b &# 39 ; in step s21 . in this case , 2 ghz - decrease in local oscillation frequency f lo results in the shift of the afc operation center to point a &# 39 ;. for this reason , in step s27 , controller 11 adds a current value (- δi 1 ) enough to reduce the local oscillation frequency f lo by 2 ghz to current value i o , the resultant current value ( i o - δi 1 ) being fed as the afc operation initial - value current to the local oscillation laser . in this way , in the second embodiment the operation of the receiver stays at a desired stable afc operation point a &# 39 ;. as described above , the present invention permits , even if the frequency discriminator used for the afc operation has a plurality of stable points each in the real or image bands , respectively , the rapid , exact pull - in of the intermediate frequency into a stable point in the real band without needing a sweep of the local oscillation frequency over the whole band including the real or image bands as in the conventional method .	7
fig1 schematically illustrates a molecular beams epitaxy apparatus to be suitably used for the purpose of the present invention . referring to fig1 it comprises a deposition chamber 1 which is an airtight pressure container having a container main body 1a and a lid 1b , both of which is provided on the inner wall surface with liquid nitrogen shrouds 2 . in fig1 a substrate holder 3 is rotatably arranged at the center of the deposition chamber 1 and provided with a transmission system 4 for the rotation of the holder , which transmission system 4 is linked to a manipulator 5 running through the wall of the container main body 1a . the substrate holder 3 is equipped with an electric heater ( not shown ) that can be remotely controlled from the manipulator side 5 . the deposition chamber 1 is provided on the side of the lid 1b thereof with a plurality of molecular beam source cells 6a through 6d running from the outside of the wall of the lid 1b into the inside of the deposition chamber 1 and directed toward the substrate holder 3 . the molecular beam source cells 6a through 6d are provided at the front ends thereof with respective shutters 7a through 7d for individually blocking the beams emitted from the cells , while a main shutter 8 is arranged between the shutters 7a through 7d and the substrate holder 3 in order to collectively block the beams coming from the cells . the container main body 1a of the deposition chamber 1 is provided with a gate valve 9 linked to a substrate preparatory chamber ( not shown ), which is by turn linked to a substrate feed chamber ( not shown ). referring further to fig1 the container main body 1a is provided with a reflection high energy electron diffractor ( rheed ) 10 and a fluorescent screen 11 to be used with the rheed , said diffractor and said screen being oppositely arranged on the wall of the container main body 1a with their front ends located at respective corresponding positions relative to the substrate holder 3 within the deposition chamber 1 . the container main body 1a is also provided on the wall thereof with a quadruple pole type mass analyzing device ( qms ), whose front end is also located in the container main body 1a of the deposition chamber 1 . in fig1 reference numerals 14 and 14 denote an eyehole and a substrate secured by the substrate holder 3 , respectively . the method of the present invention using a molecular beams epitaxy apparatus as shown in fig1 will now be described by way of an example where inalas crystal is made to grow on an inp substrate . beam source materials for generating in -, al - and as molecular beams are stored in respective ones of the molecular beam source cells 6a through 6d and heated to the respective sublimation or evaporation temperatures of molecular beams . assume here that the in -, al - and as source materials are stored respectively in the molecular beam source cells 6a , 6b and 6c . the inp substrate 15 is fed from the substrate feed chamber into the substrate preparatory chamber , where it is heated to remove any moisture thereof . then , it is fed from the substrate preparatory chamber into the deposition chamber 1 and secured by the substrate holder 3 . the inside of the deposition chamber 1 containing the inp substrate 15 is held in a supervacuum condition where no impurities are found . in the step of cleaning the inp substrate 15 , as molecular beams are used to clean the substrate because they can effectively prevent p atoms from leaving the inp substrate 15 . the pressure of as molecular beams emitted from the molecular beams source cell 6c is controlled by regulating the temperature of the molecular beams source cell 6c and mechanically controlling the shutter 7c located at the front end of the molecular beams source cell 6c . if the iii or v stabilized surfaces are present on the substrate surface in the cleaning step is determined by electron diffraction analysis using the reflection high energy electron diffractor 10 and the fluorescent screen 11 . the surface of the substrate 15 being cleaned is observed through a scan type electron microscope . fig2 is a graph shows the relationship between the pressure of as molecular beams evaporated onto the surface of an inp substrate 15 and the temperature of the substrate in the step of cleaning the substrate obtained as a result of an experiment ( ordinate : as molecular beam pressure , abcissa : v - iii transition temperature of substrate ). in fig2 each cross indicates the v - iii transition temperature observed for a given pressure of as molecular beams . the observed temperatures are then plotted to produce a solid curve . as may be understood from fig2 the surface of an inp substrate 15 shows the group v stabilized surfaces at temperature below the solid line ( in lower temperature zone ) of fig2 whereas it produces iii stabilized plane at temperature above the solid line ( in higher temperature zone ) of fig2 . when the pressure of as molecular beams is found between 1 × 10 - 5 to 1 × 10 - 7 torr , the v - iii transition temperature falls substantially linearly with the decrease in the pressure of as molecular beams . the substrate surface obtained after the cleaning step does not show any coarseness nor the electric characteristics of the crystal obtained after the crystal growth step reveal any degradation , if it is treated within the above defined pressure range . while the surface of the inp substrate rapidly becomes to show inas having a lattice constant remarkably differentiated from that of inp , if the pressure of as molecular beams is high , such a phenomenon is advantageously suppressed as long as the pressure of as molecular beams is found within the range of 1 × 10 - 6 to 1 × 10 - 7 torr . if the pressure of as molecular beams is lower than 1 × 10 - 7 torr , the v - iii transition temperature is shifted from the straight line toward the higher temperature side . this is because p atoms vigorously leave the inp substrate 15 when the pressure of as molecular beams is lower than 1 × 10 - 7 torr to modify the transition requirements of the substrate surface . if such is the case , the substrate surface shows substantially coarseness after the cleaning step . if , on the other hand , the pressure of as molecular beams exceeds 1 × 10 - 5 , a buffer is apt to be formed in the interface of the substrate and the crystal grown on it to degrade the electric characteristics of the crystal , because p atoms in the substrate are encouraged to move away and replaced by as atoms . this is the reason why the pressure p 1 of as molecular beams is held between 1 × 10 - 5 and 1 × 10 - 7 torr and preferably between 1 × 10 - 6 and 1 × 10 - 7 torr in the step of substrate cleaning . the iii stabilized surfaces need to be formed on the substrate surface in order to completely remove impurities from the substrate surface . this can be achieved under the condition where the surface temperature of the inp substrate 15 is equal to or higher than 500 ° c ., if the pressure of as molecular beams is 1 × 10 - 5 and equal to or higher than 350 ° c ., if the pressure of as molecular beams is 1 × 10 - 7 torr . however , t 1 should be held under the critical temperature ( v - iii transition temperature t 2 + 500 ° c . ), because , as described above , p atoms can easily leave the substrate to degrade the smoothness of the substrate surface , if the surface temperature t 1 exceeds the critical temperature . thus , the surface temperature t 1 needs to meet the requirement of t 2 ≦ t 1 ≦( t 2 + 50 ° c .) in order to effectively remove impurities from the substrate surface without degrading its smoothness . now , the present invention will be described by way of examples . an inalas crystal was made to grow on an inp substrate . in the substrate cleaning step for cleaning the substrate surface by evaporating molecular beams while heating the substrate in a supervacuum condition , the pressure p 1 of as molecular beams emitted from the molecular beam source cell was made equal to 1 × 10 - 5 torr and the substrate was heated to raise its temperature at a rate of 30 ° c ./ min . while evaporating the substrate surface with as molecular beams . it was then observed that the group iii stabilized surfaces appeared on the substrate surface when the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate got to 420 ° c . thereafter , the substrate was heated continuously at the above described rate until the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate reached 440 ° c ., when the heating was terminated and the substrate was held to that temperature for two ( 2 ) minutes . after the end of the heating and the elapse of two ( 2 ) minutes , the substrate surface was observed by means of an electron diffractor and an electron microscope to find that the surface of the inp substrate was very smooth without any coarseness that can be produced by p atoms leaving the substrate surface . in the subsequent crystal growth step following the substrate cleaning step , the pressure of as molecular beams emitted from the molecular beam source cell was raised to 2 × 10 - 5 torr and the remaining two molecular beam source cells were opened to allow inp and al molecular beams to irradiate the substrate surface along with as molecular beams by opening the shutter as soon as the above pressure of as molecular beams was obtained in order to deposit and grow inalas crystal on the inp substrate . the obtained inalas crystal was then observed by means of a sims ( secondary ion mass spectroscope ) and an x - ray diffractor . as a result of the observation through a sims , it was found that practically no impurities existed in the inalas crystal . in other words , the impurity content level of the inalas crystal of example 1 was lower than a 200th of that of any inalas crystal that can be produced by conventional mbe . additionally , as a result of the observation through an x - ray diffractor , it was found that the compound substrate obtained in example 1 carried no buffer layer between the inp substrate and the crystal and had an excellent potential barrier . in this example , an inalas crystal was also made to grow on an inp substrate . in the substrate cleaning step for cleaning the substrate surface by evaporating molecular beams while heating the substrate in a supervacuum condition , the pressure p 1 of as molecular beams emitted from the molecular beam source cell was made equal to 1 × 10 - 7 torr and the substrate was heated to raise its temperature at a rate of 35 ° c ./ min . while evaporating the substrate surface with as molecular beams . it was then observed that the group iii stabilized surfaces appeared on the substrate surface when the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate got to 350 ° c . thereafter , the substrate was heated continuously at the above described rate until the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate reached 400 ° c ., when the heating was terminated and the substrate was held to that temperature for five ( 5 ) minutes . after the end of the heating and the elapse of five ( 5 ) minutes , the substrate surface was observed by means of an electron diffractor and an electron microscope to find that the surface of the inp substrate was very smooth without any coarseness that can be produced by p atoms leaving the substrate surface . in the subsequent crystal growth step following the substrate cleaning step , inalas crystal was made to be deposited and grow on the inp substrate as in the case of example 1 above . when the inalas crystal obtained in example 2 was observed as in the case of example 1 , it was found that impurities had been almost completely removed from the crystal , which carried an excellent potential barrier as that of example 1 . in this example , an inalas crystal was also made to grow on an inp substrate . in the substrate cleaning step for cleaning the substrate surface by evaporating molecular beams while heating the substrate in a supervacuum condition , the pressure p 1 of as molecular beams emitted from the molecular beam source cell was made equal to 5 × 10 - 7 torr by operating the shutter and the substrate was heated to raise its temperature at a rate of 30 ° c ./ min . while evaporating the substrate surface with as molecular beams . it was then observed that the group iii stabilized surfaces appeared on the substrate surface when the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate got to 300 ° c . thereafter , the substrate was heated continuously at the above described rate until the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate reached 360 ° c . when molecular beams of in 3 which is an element of the iii group , were evaporated onto the substrate surface for two ( 2 ) seconds to find that the oxide film abruptly broke away from the substrate surface to produce the iii stabilized surfaces on the substrate surface when observed through a quadruple pole type mass analyzer ( qms ) and a reflection high - energy electron diffractor ( rheed ). on the other hand , it was found that the group iii stabilized surfaces appeared on the substrate surface , when the surface temperature t 1 of the inp substrate reached 395 ° c ., if the irradiation of in molecular beams onto the substrate surface . the operation of heating the substrate was terminated when the iii stabilized surfaces appeared on the substrate surface and the substrate surface was observed by means of an electron diffractor and an electron microscope to find that the surface of the inp substrate was very smooth without any coarseness that can be produced by p atoms leaving the substrate surface . in the subsequent crystal growth step following the substrate cleaning step , inalas crystal was made to be deposited and grow on the inp substrate as in the case of example 1 above . when the inalas crystal obtained in example 3 was observed as in the case of example 1 , it was found that impurities had been almost completely removed from the crystal , which carried an excellent potential barrier as that of example 1 . the method of manufacturing a compound according to the invention can be used in a same or similar manner when a compound semiconductor other than the one described above by way of embodiment and examples is deposited and made to grow on a iii - v substrate other than the one described above by way of embodiment and examples . such a compound semiconductor may be selected from ingaalas and ingaalsb while such a substrate may be made of a material selected from inas , insb , gap , gaas , gasb , alas , alsb and ingaas . as described above in detail , a method of manufacturing a compound semiconductor by means of molecular beams epitaxy ( mbe ) according to the invention can produce a clean and very smooth substrate surface and eliminate any impurities between the substrate and the crystal formed thereon . additionally , it effective prevents a buffer layer from forming in the initial stages of crystal growth . thus , it can manufacture high quality compund semiconductors on a reliable basis .	2
in a first embodiment of the sleeve according to the invention appearing on fig1 , the sleeve has a largely tubular body 1 from which diverse flanges , lips and beads are projecting . the sleeve 1 is provided with an annular external lip 3 at its first end 5 . the lip 3 has largely constant cross - section so as to be very flexible and projects away from the end 5 and obliquely up along the outer side of the body 1 of the sleeve and towards the second end 7 of the sleeve . the first embodiment of the sleeve further includes an internal reduction of the diameter at the first end , configured as a tapering lip 9 which extends inwards and towards the first end 5 . the internal reduction or lip 9 both serves as a sealing means towards an inserted branch pipe and as a compression means towards the edge or wall of a surrounding hole of a main pipe or a wall . the internal reduction of the diameter at the first end 5 does not need to be shaped as a lip in cross - section but may just be a solid inwards projection in another , not shown , embodiment . at the first end 7 of the sleeve , which always will appear outside the wall or the main pipe in which the sleeve is mounted , there is an annular outwards projecting flange 11 . the flange 11 extends perpendicularly from the body 1 of the sleeve on the side 13 facing the first end 5 . the purpose of the flange 11 is to provide abutment for the underlying part being the external side of a pipe or for the side of a strapping band as described below . spaced apart from the flange 11 , there is provided an annular bead 15 which may have a pointed cross - section as shown on fig . i or may be round in other not shown embodiments . the bead 15 is spaced about 15 millimetres from the side 13 in order to accommodate for a standard width strapping band between the flange 11 and the bead 15 . the spacing between side 13 and bead 15 may be greater or lesser , e . g . between 12 and 18 mm . the bead 15 will assist the user visually when mounting the sleeve as described below . in order to provide sufficient sealing at the second end 7 , the sleeve is generally provided with an internal tapering flange 17 pointing inwards and towards the first end of the sleeve , a feature which is prior art . furthermore , the sleeve may be provided with further lips or beads 19 internally for enhancing the sealing effect ; these lips or beads 19 may be provided in any number or configurations . fig2 shows a main pipe 21 of double - walled construction with a smooth inner pipe 23 and a corrugated outer pipe 25 . this kind of main pipe is typically used for a sewer conduit . the sleeve is put through a drilled hole inside the pipe 21 and mounted as shown on fig2 . the lip 3 at the first end will then fold down slightly so as to contact the inner side of the inner pipe 23 . in this way , the user can be assured that the sleeve is correctly mounted when feels the resistance from the lip 3 while pulling the sleeve back through the hole . provided correct dimensioning of the sleeve to the thickness of the double wall 23 , 25 , the flange 11 at the second end will rest partly upon the outside corrugation 25 . the branch pipe 27 may then be mounted in the sleeve . fig3 also shows a first embodiment of the sleeve ; here , though , the sleeve is relatively higher , or longer , in order to illustrate the application of a strapping band 31 . here , the sleeve is mounted so that the lip 3 engages the inner side of the inner pipe 23 while the bead 15 appears on top of the corrugation of the outer pipe 25 . after fitting the branch pipe 27 in the sleeve as shown , the strapping band 31 is mounted between the flange 11 and the bead 15 . in addition to good sealing effected by the strapping band 31 close to the second end of the sleeve , the strapping band 31 may also ensure that the branch pipe 27 cannot slide further into the main pipe 21 . thus , it is ensured that the leading end of branch pipe 27 will not project into the bore of the main pipe 21 and cause obstruction and accumulation of solid matter conducted in the pipe . the second embodiment of the sleeve shown on fig4 is applicable to large and deep holes in thick walls . the embodiment shown on fig5 of the sleeve shows a design with larger internal lips 29 which is suited for branch pipes of more coarse construction . in a fourth embodiment of the sleeve according to the invention , the bead 15 may be omitted . this embodiment of the sleeve is shown on fig6 and used in a thick concrete wall where the dimension of the wall 33 is greater than the length of the sleeve . when mounting the sleeve , the lip 3 will be bent up along the inside of the hole in the wall 33 and thus form a further compression means when subsequently mounting the branch pipe ( not shown ). the flange 11 will then rest on the outer surface of the wall 33 and thus form a stop means for the sleeve . it is , however , to be mentioned that the first , second and third embodiments of the sleeve according to the invention may also be used in connection with such thick concrete walls 33 if the bead 15 does not prevent correct mounting and seeking of the branch pipe . the use of the sleeve according to the invention may be combined in other ways . for example , the use of a strapping band 31 may be combined with mounting a branch pipe in a thick concrete wall as shown on fig6 , and in that case the second end 7 of the sleeve will project out from the outer side of the wall while the lips 3 are folded up along the inner side of the hole in that wall 33 . the sleeve is made of a modified rubber material , for example sbr - rubber , epdm - rubber , npr - rubber or other rubber or elastomer - types . in fig7 , the accessory in the shape of a collar 34 is illustrated . the collar has the shape of a truncated cone where a number of steps 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 are shaped . in this embodiment , four different steps are provided , but the collar 34 may be provided with any number of steps . each step is separated by a cutting zone 39 which cutting zone is limited in both sides by a specially reinforced section 40 , 41 . the particular collar is suitable for being fitted into a sleeve or a piece of pipe 27 fitted inside a sleeve according to the invention having an outer diameter of “ a ”. the branch pipe may have any of the diameters “ b ”, “ c ” or “ d ”. by cutting the collar 34 in the appropriate cutting zone 39 such that the appropriate step is the step corresponding to the appropriate diameter of the branch pipe , the collar 34 is adaptable to , in this case , three different sizes of branch pipes , namely branch pipes having an outer diameter of “ b ”, “ c ” or “ d ”. the width of each step 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 may advantageously be chosen to correspond to a strapping band such that after the collar has been cut in order to suit the appropriate branch pipe , a spanning strap may be arranged in the step such that the zones 40 , 41 limit and thereby keep the strapping band in place on the appropriate step . in fig8 , a perspective view of a collar 34 according to the invention is illustrated , depicted such that the steps of the collar may be seen from the inside . the steps are indicated by the reference numbers of fig7 added with an apostrophe .	5
the present invention provides devices and methods for treatment of a patient &# 39 ; s body cavity . for example , devices and methods having features of the invention are used to deliver radiation or other treatment into a biopsy site or into a cavity left after removal of cancerous tissue from the patient &# 39 ; s body . fig1 - 5 illustrate a catheter device 10 which has an elongated shaft 11 , a cavity filling member or balloon 12 on the distal portion of the shaft which for the most part defines the treatment location , and an adapter 13 on the proximal end of shaft 11 . a plurality of tubes 14 - 18 extend into the adapter 13 and are in fluid communication with lumens 20 - 24 respectively within the shaft 11 which are configured to receive one or more radiation sources 25 . the device 10 also has an inflation tube 26 which is in fluid communication with inflation lumen 27 that extends to and is in fluid communication with the interior of the balloon 12 to facilitate delivery of inflation fluid thereto . the inflation fluid may be radiopaque to facilitate imaging of the balloon and shaft within the patient . the lumen 27 is shown filled with radiopaque fluid in fig1 . the adapter 13 also has a vacuum tube 28 that is in fluid communication with lumens 30 and 31 . lumen 30 is in fluid communication with proximal vacuum port 32 and lumen 31 is in fluid communication with tubular member 33 which extends across the interior of balloon 12 and which in turn is in fluid communication with distal vacuum port 34 . radiation delivery tubes 35 - 39 extend through the interior of balloon 12 and are in fluid communication with lumens 20 - 24 within shaft 11 . the radiation delivery tubes 35 , 36 , 38 and 39 extend radially away from a center line axis 40 within the interior of balloon 12 in order to position a radiation source 25 closer to a first tissue portion surrounding a body cavity than a second tissue portion . while tubes 35 , 36 , 38 and 39 are shown as being slightly radially extended within the interior of balloon 12 , less than all of them may radially extend within the balloon 12 depending upon the need for a particular treatment . moreover , tubes 35 , 36 , 38 and 39 may be in a contracted state within recesses of support member 41 , and one or more of the tubes may be radially extended out of the recesses after the balloon 12 is deployed within a cavity at the target body site . the support element 41 , which extends between the proximal and distal ends of the balloon 12 , has four compartments 42 - 4 which are designed to receive tubular radiation delivery members 35 , 36 , 38 and 39 respectively . the radiation delivery tubes will not usually be radially extended to the extent that they contact the interior surface of the balloon 12 in an inflated condition . the balloon 12 is provided with two separate layers 50 and 51 as shown in fig3 . the expansion of the balloon 12 is illustrated in fig2 with the balloon in an as formed , non - turgid condition shown in phantom . the arrow 52 illustrates the expansion of the balloon from the formed condition to the turgid condition . the volumetric expansion is less than 200 % of the initial formed volume ( diameter shown as arrow 53 ), preferably less than 175 % and is typically about 75 to about 125 % of the initial balloon volume . while the inflated , turgid balloon 12 is shown as being spherical in shape , other shapes may be suitable , such as an ovoid shape . depending upon the material and the conditions at the body site , the wall of the turgid balloon may relax somewhat after reaching the turgid condition . the thicknesses of the balloon wall layers can vary depending upon the material characteristics and the number of layers . typically , the thickness of individual balloon wall layers range from about 0 . 0003 to about 0 . 006 inch , preferably about 0 . 001 to about 0 . 002 inch . the total thickness of the balloon wall is about 0 . 0006 to about 0 . 012 inch , preferably about 0 . 002 to about 0 . 004 inch . the radiation delivery tubes 14 - 18 , which extend into the adapter 13 , may extend through the lumens 20 - 24 in shaft 11 and may form tubes 35 - 39 which are received by the support member 40 and extend into the interior of balloon 12 . all of the radiation delivery tubes which extend through the interior of the balloon 12 would not necessarily be used in a particular irradiation procedure , but they would be available for use by the physician if needed , e . g . when the balloon 12 of the radiation catheter 10 is not in a desired position and rotation of the catheter is not appropriate or desirable . the shaft 11 is shown as a solid shaft having a plurality of passageways . however , the shaft 11 may be made more flexible by utilizing a plurality of elongated tubes 14 - 18 which are bundled together to form the shaft . multiple bands may encircle the tubular members along their length to hold the tubular members together . the radiation source 25 for the brachytherapy device 10 is shown as a radiation seed on the distal end of rod 41 . however , the radiation source 25 may be a solid or liquid radiation source . suitable liquid radiation sources include , for example , a liquid containing a radioactive iodine isotope ( e . g ., i 125 or i 131 ), a slurry of a solid isotope , for example , 198 au or 169 yb , or a gel containing a radioactive isotope . liquid radiation sources are commercially available ( e . g ., iotrex ®, proxima therapeutics , inc ., alpharetta , ga .). the radiation source 25 preferably includes brachytherapy seeds or other solid radiation sources used in radiation therapy . a catheter with a micro - miniature x - ray source may also be utilized . the radiation source 25 may be either preloaded into the device 10 at the time of manufacture or may be loaded into the device 10 before or after placement into a body cavity or other site of a patient . solid radionuclides suitable for use with a device 10 embodying features of the present invention are currently generally available as brachytherapy radiation sources ( e . g ., i - plant .™ med - tec , orange city , iowa .). radiation may also be delivered by a micro - miniature x - ray device such as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 319 , 188 . the x - ray tubes are small , flexible and are believed to be maneuverable enough to reach the desired location within a patient &# 39 ; s body . the radiation source 18 of the device 10 can include a radiation source which is solid or liquid or both , e . g . a slurry . suitable liquid radiation sources include , for example , a liquid containing a radioactive iodine isotope ( e . g ., i 125 or i 131 ), a slurry of a solid isotope , for example , 198 au or 169 yb , or a gel containing a radioactive isotope . liquid radiation sources are commercially available ( e . g ., iotrex ®, proxima therapeutics , inc ., alpharetta , ga .). the radiation source 18 preferably is one or more brachytherapy seeds , for example , a radioactive microsphere available from 3m company of st . paul , minn . other suitable brachytherapy radiation sources include i - plant ™, ( med - tec , orange city , iowa .). radiation may also be delivered by a microminiature x - ray tube catheter such as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 319 , 188 . x - ray tube catheters are small , flexible and are believed to be maneuverable enough to reach the desired location within a patient &# 39 ; s body . the device 10 can be provided , at least in part , with a lubricious coating , such as a hydrophilic material . the lubricious coating preferably is applied to the elongate shaft 11 or to the balloon 12 or both , to reduce sticking and friction during insertion and withdrawal of the device 10 . hydrophilic coatings such as those provided by ast , surmodics , tua systems , hydromer , or sts biopolymers are suitable . the surfaces of the device 10 may also include an antimicrobial coating that covers all or a portion of the device 10 to minimize the risk of introducing of an infection during extended treatments . the antimicrobial coating preferably is comprised of silver ions impregnated into a hydrophilic carrier . alternatively the silver ions are implanted onto the surface of the device 10 by ion beam deposition . the antimicrobial coating may also be an antiseptic or disinfectant such as chlorhexadiene , benzyl chloride or other suitable biocompatible antimicrobial materials impregnated into hydrophilic coatings . antimicrobial coatings such as those provided by spire , ast , algon , surfacine , ion fusion , or bacterin international would be suitable . alternatively a cuff member covered with the antimicrobial coating may be provided on the elongated shaft of the delivery device 10 at the point where the device 10 enters the patient &# 39 ; s skin . the balloon 11 may also be provided with radiopaque material to facilitate detection during ct , x - ray or fluoroscopic imaging . such imaging allows the physician or other staff to detect the size and shape of the balloon and whether the balloon is properly located at the desired location . preferably , the exterior surface of an inner layer of the balloon is coated at least in part with radiopaque material . one suitable method for coating the surface of the layer is to mix a polymer , preferably essentially the same polymer of the layer , with a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran and a radiopaque agent such as a powdered metallic material , e . g . titanium , gold , platinum and the like , or other suitable radiopaque materials . the mixture is applied to the exterior surface of an inner balloon layer and the solvent is allowed to evaporate , leaving the radiopaque material and the polymer bonded to the balloon layer . the multiple layers of the balloon are then secured to the catheter shaft . the device 10 may be used to treat a body cavity of a patient , e . g . a biopsy or lumpectomy site within a patient &# 39 ; s breast , in the manner described in the previously referred to co - pending applications . usually the adapter 13 on the proximal end of the catheter device extends out of the patient during the procedure when the balloon is inflated . the catheter shaft 11 is preferably flexible enough along a length thereof , so that once the balloon is inflated to its turgid condition , the catheter shaft can be folded or coiled and placed under the patient &# 39 ; s skin before the exterior opening of the treatment passageway to the treatment site is closed . at the end of the treatment time , e . g . 5 - 10 days , the exterior opening can be reopened and the catheter removed from the patient . see for example the discussion thereof in previously discussed co - pending application ser . no . 11 / 357 , 274 . radiation balloon catheters for breast implantation generally are about 6 to about 12 inches ( 15 . 2 - 30 . 5 cm ) in length , typically about 10 . 6 inch ( 27 cm ). the shaft diameter is about 0 . 1 to about 0 . 5 inch ( 2 . 5 - 12 . 7 mm ), preferably about 0 . 2 to about 0 . 4 inch ( 5 . 1 - 10 . 2 mm ), typically 0 . 32 inch ( 8 mm ). the individual radiation lumens are about 0 . 02 to about 0 . 15 inch ( 0 . 5 - 3 . 8 mm ), preferably about 0 . 04 to about 0 . 1 inch ( 1 - 1 . 5 mm ). the balloons are designed for inflated configurations about 0 . 5 to about 4 inches ( 1 . 3 - 10 . 2 cm ), typically about 1 to about 3 inches ( 2 . 5 - 7 . 5 cm ) in transverse dimensions , e . g . diameters . while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described herein , it will be apparent that various modifications and improvements can be made to the invention . to the extent not previously described , the various elements of the catheter device may be made from conventional materials used in similar devices . moreover , individual features of embodiments of the invention may be shown in some drawings and not in others , but those skilled in the art will recognize that individual features of one embodiment of the invention can be combined with any or all the features of another embodiment . accordingly , it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated . it is therefore intended that this invention be defined by the scope of the appended claims as broadly as the prior art will permit . terms such as “ element ”, “ member ”, “ component ”, “ device ”, “ means ”, “ manufacture ”, “ portion ”, “ section ”, “ steps ” and words of similar import when used herein shall not be construed as invoking the provisions of 35 u . s . c . § 112 ( 6 ) unless the following claims expressly use the terms “ means for ” or “ step for ” followed by a particular function without reference to a specific structure or action . all patents and all patent applications referred to above are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety .	0
fig1 shows a hydraulic arrangement including a hydraulic cylinder 10 having a first chamber 12 and a second chamber 14 . a hydraulic piston 16 is arranged between the chambers 12 and 14 . the first chamber 12 is connected over a first supply line 18 , and the second chamber 14 is connected over a second supply line 20 , to an electrically controlled control valve 22 . by means of the control valve 22 , the first and the second supply lines 18 and 20 can selectively be connected with a hydraulic pump 24 or a hydraulic tank 26 . furthermore , it is possible to close both supply lines 18 and 20 by means of the control valve 22 . the control valve 22 is a four position valve , and in particular , includes a lifting position , a lowering position , a semi - closed position and a fully closed position . in the lifting position , the first supply line 18 is connected with the hydraulic pump 24 , and the second supply line 20 is connected with the hydraulic tank 26 . in the lowering position , the first supply line 18 is connected with the hydraulic tank 26 and the second supply line 20 is connected with the hydraulic pump 24 . in the semi - closed position , the first supply line 18 is closed and the second supply line 20 is connected to the hydraulic tank 26 . in the fully closed position , the first and second supply lines 18 and 20 , respectively , are both closed . in the fully closed position , a flow conveyed by the hydraulic pump 24 is deflected over an equalizing line 28 and a pressure controlled opening valve 30 into the hydraulic tank 26 . moreover , a hydro - pneumatic pressure accumulator 32 is provided that is connected with the first chamber 12 of the hydraulic cylinder 10 over a connecting line 34 . the connecting line 34 contains an electrically controlled shut - off valve 36 that can be brought into a closed position and a through - flow position . furthermore , a pressure switch 38 is arranged between the shut - off valve 36 and the pressure accumulator 32 . moreover , an electronic control unit 40 is included that is connected electrically with the control valve 22 and the shut - off valve 36 as well as the pressure switch 38 . furthermore , an activation switch 42 is provided , with which a control mode is activated for the control of the shut - off valve 36 . the hydraulic circuit arrangement shown in fig1 represents a spring support system , in which a spring action is generated in that the hydro - pneumatic pressure accumulator 32 interacts with the pressurized pressure chamber 12 of the hydraulic cylinder 10 . in order to avoid the hydraulic cylinder 10 from dropping suddenly upon a pipe break of the connecting line 34 , the pressure switch 38 is provided that transmits a signal change to the electronic control unit 40 upon a pressure drop in the connecting line 34 . in the following , the various methods of operation of the hydraulic arrangement shall be described . if the control valve 22 is brought into the lifting position , then hydraulic fluid is pumped through the first supply line 18 to the first chamber 12 , whereby the hydraulic piston 16 is raised . simultaneously , excess hydraulic fluid can drain off from the second chamber 14 into the hydraulic tank 26 . if the control mode is activated for the control of the shut - off valve 36 by means of the activation switch 42 , the shut - off valve 36 is opened as long as a predetermined minimum pressure has been built up in the connecting line 34 . in this condition , the spring action is active , since now an interaction can occur between the first chamber 12 and the pressure accumulator 32 . if the hydraulic piston is now moved downward , for example , by an impact or by an acceleration of the tractor , this movement can be intercepted by the pressure accumulator 32 or by spring action , since hydraulic fluid can drain off against a pressure force of the pressure accumulator 32 out of the first chamber 12 into the pressure accumulator 32 . an increased pressure is now built up in the pressure accumulator 32 by gas compression , that again forces the hydraulic piston 16 in the opposite direction until it has again reached its initial position , if necessary after a few cycles of spring movement . if the control mode for the shut - off valve 36 is activated during the lifting phase of the hydraulic cylinder 10 , then the pressure accumulator 32 is filled or loaded parallel to the lifting of the hydraulic piston 16 . now , if a pipe break occurs in the connecting line 34 , the pressure in the connecting line drops . the pressure switch 38 that was activated before a pipe break and was retained in a closed position on the basis of a minimum pressure in the connecting line 34 , is now deactivated or opened , since the minimum pressure no longer exists . this brings about a change in the signal as a result of which the signal at the electronic control unit drops to zero at a minimum pressure , since the pressure switch 38 is opened . as soon as the electronic control unit 40 registers the fact that no signal exists , or that a change in the signal has occurred , it generates a closing signal for the shut - off valve 36 , whereupon the connecting line 34 is closed , so that no more hydraulic fluid can escape from the first chamber 12 . if the control valve 22 is brought into the lowering position , then hydraulic fluid is pumped through the second supply line 20 into the second chamber 14 , whereby the hydraulic piston 16 is lowered . simultaneously , excess hydraulic fluid can drain off from the first chamber 12 into the hydraulic tank 26 . the control unit 40 may be configured in such a way that the shut - off valve 36 is not opened in a lowering position when the control mode is activated by means of the activation switch 42 . this can avoid hydraulic fluid from draining out of the pressure accumulator 32 into the hydraulic tank 26 . however , a closing position of the shut - off valve 36 is not absolutely required , since the pressure accumulator can subsequently be charged again in a lifting position . if the control valve 22 is brought into the semi - closed position , then the first supply line 18 is closed and hydraulic fluid can drain off out of the second chamber 14 into the hydraulic tank 26 . the control mode for the control of the shut - off valve 36 can be activated by means of the activation switch 42 . as a result of this , the shut - off valve 36 is opened , as long as a predetermined minimum pressure has been built up in the connecting line 34 . in this condition , the spring support is active , since now an interaction can take place between the first chamber 12 and the pressure accumulator 32 . if the hydraulic piston 16 is moved downward , for example , by an impact or by accelerating forces , this movement can be intercepted or converted into spring action by the pressure accumulator 32 , since hydraulic fluid can flow out of the first chamber 12 into the pressure accumulator 32 against a pressure force of a pressure accumulator 32 . an increased pressure is now built up in the pressure accumulator 32 by gas compression in the pressure accumulator 32 , which forces the hydraulic piston 16 again in the opposite direction until it has resumed its initial position , if necessary after a few spring - action cycles of movement . if the hydraulic piston 16 is deflected in the other direction or moved upward , hydraulic fluid can drain off into the hydraulic tank 26 . accordingly , the semi - closed position represents the preferred position for spring action , in which the hydraulic piston 16 is to be retained in its predetermined position , which accelerating forces acting on the hydraulic piston 16 from outside can be intercepted by the pressure accumulator 32 . preferably , the control valve 22 is switched into the semi - closed position , after a lifting or lowering process , once the desired position of the hydraulic piston 16 has been reached , as long as a spring support action is desired . if no spring action is desired , the control valve 22 can also be brought into a fully closed position , in which the first and second supply lines 18 and 20 , respectively , are closed . an activation of the control mode for the control of the shut - off valve 36 is also possible in the fully closed position , however , it should be noted here that the hydraulic piston 16 can deflect with spring action only in the direction of the first chamber 12 . if not spring action is desired , the control valve 22 can also be brought into a fully closed position , in which the first and second supply lines 18 and 20 , respectively , are closed . an activation of the control mode for the control of the shut - off valve 36 is also possible in the fully closed position , however , it should be noted here that when the hydraulic piston 16 can deflect with spring action only in the direction of the first chamber 12 . regardless of the position of the control valve 22 , an electronic pipe break safety device of the connecting line 34 to the pressure accumulator 32 is provided , where in the lowering position , an activation of the control mode for the shut - off valve 36 is stopped by the electronic control unit 40 , and hence the shut - off valve 36 is closed . in the remaining three positions , with active spring support action , the connecting line 36 is reliably secured by the electronic pipe break safety device . by deactivating the activation switch 42 , the control mode for the shut - off valve 36 can be stopped at any time , which leads to the immediate closing of the control valve 36 . this may be of interest if , for example , no spring support action is desired . fig2 shows an addition to the hydraulic circuit arrangement of fig1 . here , the circuit arrangement of fig1 is supplemented by the addition of a loader line 44 . the loader line 44 extends between the first chamber 12 of the hydraulic cylinder 10 and the connecting line 34 , where the connecting point lies in the direction of the pressure accumulator 32 behind the pressure switch 38 . a check valve 46 is provided in the loader line 44 , that permits a flow of hydraulic fluid only in the direction of the pressure accumulator 32 . a mechanical pipe break safety valve 48 is provided in the direction of the pressure accumulator behind the check valve 46 , it is preferably a two - pressure valve . the loader line 44 makes it possible for the pressure accumulator 32 to be under pressure at all times which is at least as high as that in the first chamber 12 of the hydraulic cylinder 10 . here the check valve 46 provides the assurance that hydraulic fluid can flow out of the first chamber 12 into the pressure accumulator 32 in order to load or charge the latter , but that no hydraulic fluid can flow out of the pressure accumulator 32 into the first chamber 12 over the loader line . thereby , hydraulic fluid can flow out of the pressure accumulator 32 into the first chamber 12 only at the time that the electrical pipe break safety device is activated or the shut - off valve 36 is open . the mechanical pipe break safety valve 48 is used to secure the loader line 44 in case that a pipe break occurs in the loader line . although the invention has been described in terms of only two embodiments , anyone skilled in the art will perceive many varied alternatives , modifications and variations in light of the foregoing description as well as the drawing , all of which fall under the present invention . thus , it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims .	5
we have found that mixtures of one or more low temperature glasses and one or more refractory materials can be made to exhibit predictable shrinkages approaching zero percent . any refractory material will work ; the choice of refractory material or materials is based primarily on the physical , electrical and / or other properties desired in the resultant ceramic . e . g ., strength , dielectric constant , thermal expansion , hermaticity , thermal conductivity , and performance at various frequencies , etc . the preferred refractories are those which can be fired in an oxidizing atmosphere . suitable examples include alumina , zirconia , magnesia , calcium silicate , cordierite , stealite , mullite , silica , forsterite and mixtures thereof . the most preferred refractories are alumina , silica , forsterite , and mixtures of alumina and forsterite . the refractory material should be in powder form , i . e ., less than about 20 microns . the preferred size range is from about 0 . 1 to about 10 microns . any glass will work ; as with the refractory material , the glass is also selected primarily for its physical , electrical and / or other properties . there are , however , four specific requirements : first and foremost there must be substantially no , i . e ., less than about five percent of glass particles having a size of less than 10 microns . preferably , all glass particles of less than 10 microns have been removed . second , the glass or glasses must have a coefficient of thermal expansion equal to or less than that of the refractory . third , the glass or glasses must have a melting point below the softening point of the refractory material . finally , the particles of glass or glasses should at least partially wet , i . e . adhere to , and spread across immediately adjacent particles of the refractory material when the mixture is fired . this latter requirement aids in the bonding of the glass particles to the refractory particles and thus the refractory particles to each other . as will be explained in greater detail below , the combination of these requirements provides the structural integrity and zero shrinkage . examples of suitable glasses include lead silicate , lead borosilicate , lead borosilicate , barium borosilicate , soda - lime glass and mixtures thereof . the preferred glasses include lead borosilicate and barium borosilicate . the glass should also be in powder form . as mentioned above , however , the particle size and distribution of the glass must be strictly controlled and there should be less than about five percent and preferably no particles having a size of less than 10 microns . studies have shown that there is a dramatic increase in shrinkage in the x - y plane when there is more than about five percent of glass particles smaller than 10 microns present in the ceramic composition . preferred particle sizes are from about 10 to about 100 microns . the most preferred particle sizes are from about 10 to about 50 microns because of the desirable surface characteristics for glass particles within this range . i . e ., the larger the particle size the coarser is the particle and relatively smooth particles are preferred . as stated , the melting point of the glass or mixture of glasses , should be less than the softening point of the refractory material or materials . based on the above examples for refractory materials this would be a range of from about 400 ° c . to about 1000 ° c ., preferably from about 700 ° c . to about 1000 ° c . and most preferably from about 800 ° c . to about 950 ° c . the relative amounts of refractory and glass in the mixture is also largely dependent upon the physical , electrical and / or other properties desired in the resultant ceramic . in those ceramics where hermeticity is a consideration the amount of glass should be adjusted to produce zero absorption or hermeticity . when hermeticity is not a problem less glass may be used . a useful set of properties will usually be found in the range of from about 10 percent to about 60 percent glass , volume to volume , preferably from about 30 percent to about 50 percent glass , and from about 40 to about 90 percent refractory , preferably about 50 to about 70 percent refractory . preferably the mixture also contains a binder . suitable examples are well known to those skilled in the art and would include thermoplastics such as a vinyl acetate - polyethylene copolymer emulsion sold by air products corporation under the name air products 410 , an acrylic resin dispersed in a volatile organic solvent such as methylene chloride , and polyvinyl butyral dispersed in a volatile organic solvent such as methylene chloride . it is preferred to add a plasticizer to assist in the handling and forming of the green body . examples of suitable plasticizers are also well known to those skilled in the art and would include butyl - benzyl phthalate and diallyl phthalate . as those skilled in the art appreciate the amount of plasticizer used is a function of the final condition required for the green body ; the more pliability required , the greater the amount of plasticizer employed . it is also desirable to add a small amount of a surfactant to aid in the dispersing of the binder and thus the forming of the green body . the particular choice of surfactant and whether it is anionic , cationic or non - ionic , is not critical . similarly , the amount of surfactant is not critical . the selection of each is well within the skill of the art . a small amount of water may also be added . particularly desirable thermal and electrical conductivity may be obtained for the resultant ceramic by the incorporation of a suitable metal powder as part of the refractory phase . any conductive metal will work . for applications where the ceramic composition is classified as an insulator , such as for electronic packaging components , the metallic particles are preferably provided in a weight percent so that they are discontinuously dispersed throughout the fired composite . preferably the metal or metal alloy particles make up less than about fifty percent of the weight of the final fired composite . more preferably less than about thirty percent of the weight . limiting the amount of the metallic particles is believed to prevent the formation of a continuous metal path in the final fired composite . even with discontinuously dispersed metallic particles the finally fired body exhibits improved thermal conductivity as compared to a composite containing only ceramic and glass . this is surprising since there is no corresponding increase in electrical conductivity . where electrical conductivity is desired the metal or metal alloy particles should make up more than about fifty percent of the weight of the final fired composite , preferably at least about fifty - five percent by weight . for example , a ceramic composition prepared according to the present invention and containing fifty - five percent by weight of silver powder exhibited an electrical conductivity of less than one ohm per square . for electrical conductivity aluminum , copper , gold , silver , platinum , and palladium are preferred . gold , silver , platinum and palladium are particularly advantageous because they may be fired in an oxidizing atmosphere without loss of their metal characteristics . aluminum , copper and other metals should be fired in a non - oxidizing atmosphere . the particle size for the metal powder should be in the range of from about 0 . 1 to about 6 microns , preferably from about 2 to about 5 microns . the mixture of refractory and glass particles together with the binder , plasticizer and , if desired , metal powder , surfactant and water are intimately mixed and then formed into the selected shape and compacted under pressure . the pressure should be sufficient to compact the particles or refractory material into their &# 34 ; best fit &# 34 ; and substantially fill the interstices between the refractory particles with glass particles . while not wishing to be bound by any particular theory , it is believed that the combination of substantially eliminating glass powder fines , i . e ., particles less than 10 microns in combination with the &# 34 ; best fit &# 34 ; compaction and the structural integrity resulting from the intersticial glass particles as they go through the firing cycle , i . e ., first melting and tightly adhering to the refractory material by wicking into the skeletal structure created by the refractory and then hardening , produces the very low ( preferably zero ) and controlled shrinkage . suitable pressures are from about 5 , 000 to about 200 , 000 psi , preferably from about 50 , 000 to about 100 , 000 psi . the pressure may , for example , be applied by a two - roll mill or by compression molding . the green body may be formed by any known means . spray drying will normally give the most predictable results , as well as being less subject to contamination . with this procedure sufficient water is added to the mixture to make a free flowing slurry which is , in turn , fed to a spray dryer to produce a free flowing spherical powder . preferably about 6 percent water , by volume , is added to the powder which is then subjected to compaction . the resultant batch is ready for final forming into the desired shape and firing . two roll milling is another convenient method of preparation . it is preferred to use tungsten carbide coated rolls to prevent metal contamination . in this procedure , only enough water is added to the mixture of refractory , glass , binder and plasticizer to provide a stiff mud consistency . the mixture is placed on the rolls and milled until a smooth consistency is obtained . the resultant batch is then ready for final forming and firing . other methods will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . ______________________________________aluminum oxide ( alcoa a - 14 ) 50 gramsglass ( 10 - 40 microns ) 50 gramsbinder ( emulsion at 50 % solids in water 20 gramssurfactant ( darvan 821 ) 0 . 5 gramswater as needed______________________________________ the composition was mixed treated in a two - roll mill with tungsten carbide coated rolls . the amount of water added was limited to that required to produce a stiff , mud like consistency . the rolls were in a horizontal configuration and milling continued until a smooth consistency was obtained . the resultant flat strap was further compacted by high shear to obtain the &# 34 ; best fit &# 34 ; of the refractory and glass particles and fired . firing was from room temperature to 450 ° c ., to burn out the organic binders , then linearly rising in temperature to 850 ° c . then holding at 850 ° c . for thirty minutes . ______________________________________zirconium oxide 50 gramsglass ( 200 - 500 mesh ) 50 gramsbinder ( emulsion at 50 % solids in water ) 20 gramssurfactant ( darvan 821 ) 0 . 5 gramswater as needed______________________________________ the ingredients were combined and added to a sigma mixer and then a de - airing pug mill and then extruded in a flat strap of appropriate width and thickness . the resultant flat strap was further compacted by high shear into a tape having the &# 34 ; best fit &# 34 ; of refractory and glass particles and fired as in example i . ______________________________________calcium silicate 50 gramsglass ( 10 - 40 microns ) 50 gramsbinder ( emulsion at 50 % solids in water ) 20 gramssurfactant ( darvan 821 ) 0 . 5 gramswater as needed______________________________________ the composition was mixed treated in a two - roll mill with tungsten carbide coated rolls . the amount of water added was limited to that required to produce a stiff , mud like consistency . the rolls were in a horizontal configuration and milling continued until a smooth consistency was obtained . the resultant flat strap was further compacted by high shear to obtain the &# 34 ; best fit &# 34 ; of the refractory and glass particles and fired . firing was from room temperature to 450 ° c ., linearly rising in temperature for four hours and then further rising in temperature to 850 ° c . then holding at 850 ° c . for thirty minutes . ______________________________________silver powder ( 2 - 5 microns ) 55 gramsaluminum oxide 22 . 5 gramsglass ( 10 - 40 microns ) 22 . 5 gramsbinder 12 gramssurfactant 0 . 2 gramswater 6 . 0 grams______________________________________ the materials were mixed and dispersed on a two - roll mill and rolled to a final thickness of 0 . 007 inches , laminated in 4 layers and fired at 900 ° c . the resultant ceramic was electrically and thermally conductive . to further demonstrate the wide range of ceramics and glasses that can be utilized according to the present invention the following combinations were prepared . each was formed into a bar , measured in the green state , fired and then measured again to determine shrinkage . ______________________________________ glass x , y averagerefractory glass content shrinkage______________________________________titanium oxide soda - lime 50 % 1 . 51 % tin oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 1 . 08 % tin oxide soda - lime 50 % 1 . 04 % zinc oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 1 . 58 % zinc oxide soda - lime 50 % 0 . 87 % zinc oxide lead borosilicate 50 % 0 . 20 % nickel oxide lead borosilicate 40 % 0 . 44 % nickel oxide barium borosilicate 40 % 0 . 64 % nickel oxide soda - lime 40 % 0 . 15 % chromium oxide lead borosilicate 40 % 0 . 43 % chromium oxide barium borosilicate 40 % 0 . 35 % chromium oxide soda - lime 40 % 0 . 19 % aluminum - nickel soda - lime 45 % 0 . 13 % aluminum - nickel barium borosilicate 45 % 0 . 07 % tungsten oxide barium borosilicate 40 % 1 . 77 % neodymium oxide soda - lime 40 % 0 . 92 % neodymium oxide barium borosilicate 40 % 1 . 01 % homium oxide soda - lime 40 % 0 . 10 % homium oxide lead borosilicate 40 % 0 . 65 % europium oxide soda - lime 50 % 0 . 62 % europium oxide lead borosilicate 50 % 1 . 10 % cerium oxide soda - lime 50 % 0 . 60 % cerium oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 0 . 43 % cerium oxide lead borosilicate 50 % 0 . 08 % yttrium oxide lead borosilicate 50 % 0 . 17 % samarium oxide soda - lime 50 % 1 . 00 %; samarium oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 0 . 17 % samarium oxide lead borosilicate 50 % 1 . 17 % magnesium oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 1 . 12 % alumina barium borosilicate 40 % 0 . 65 % alumina lead borosilicate 40 % 0 . 81 % calcium silicate lead borosilicate 52 % 0 . 82 % calcium silicate soda - lime 54 % 1 . 25 % zirconium oxide soda - lime 30 % 0 . 53 % zirconium oxide barium borosilicate 50 % 0 . 50 % ______________________________________ there are many unique and distinct advantages from the use of ceramic compositions prepared in accordance with the present invention . for example , when forming a multilayered electronic device each layer can be of a different composition , assuming a similar coefficient of thermal expansion , and thus have different electrical properties . since each of the layers will have the same controlled shrinkage , there will be no delamination or distortion . similarly , green tapes prepared from ceramic compositions prepared in accordance with the present invention can be laminated to and subsequently fired into previously fired ceramic or metal layers or articles . because there is no shrinkage , there will also be no deleterious &# 34 ; bimetal strip &# 34 ; bending effect . finally , the green tapes can be laminated into seam areas or vacuum formed to create articles of complex shapes and more particularly large complex shapes heretofore not possible . as the present invention may be embodied in many forms without departing from the spirit or essential character and differing only in matters of detail , it should not be limited by the preceding description . the scope of the invention is to be determined solely by the appended claims .	2
the present invention may be used in a number of different environments and for a variety of purposes including , but not limited to all physiological uses of peristaltic or other pump for aspiration and irrigation including , ivus , oct , angioplasty , endortarectomy , cardiac stent placement , vessel treatment , diagnosis and repair , surgical placement of non - cardiac stents , insertion of pig - tail catheters , ear rinsers , etc . the following detailed description is exemplary of possible embodiments of the invention . referring to fig1 a schematic representation of the invention shows the basic components of the device necessary for implementation . the core fluid exchange or activation system maintains a substantially closed loop system with the target site for fluid exchange , e . g . the site within the body where aspiration and irrigation are applied . the irrigation component of the invention is conveniently provided by a dedicated irrigation reservoir 1 , particularly when the fluid exchange system is the mechanical embodiment described in greater detail below . the exchange site is in fluid communication with the fluid exchange system via the irrigation lumen 2 and the aspiration lumen 3 which have exit or entry ports ( not shown ) at the distal end of each lumen . the aspiration component may also feature an aspiration reservoir 4 in fluid communication with the aspiration lumen 3 and aspiration ports ( not shown ) such that fluids removed from the exchange site are stored in the aspiration reservoir 4 . as is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art , the irrigation 1 and aspiration 4 reservoirs may be controlled electronically by valves or pumps to provide the controlled fluid exchange ratios described herein . thus , while the embodiments of the invention featuring fluid exchange apparatus that are mechanically controlled by the user are preferred in certain versions of any system , controlled rate of fluid exchange at a target site may be used in a system of the invention . alternatively , fluids in the aspiration reservoir 4 may be discarded . in one embodiment of the invention , fluids communicated from the target exchange site through the aspiration component of the invention are analyzed for chemical or particulate content to determine a level of removal of fluids or solid matter from the exchange site . referring again to fig1 an optional configuration of the components includes a flow valve 6 that produces a minimum lower threshold for irrigation flow . this minimum delivery flow is beneficial to ensure a minimum amount of exchange flow when the clinical indication dictates maintaining a minimum flow through the irrigation catheter . the flow threshold insures that the fluid exchange does not fall below a predetermined ratio as described herein . for example , although 1 : 1 fluid exchange rates are provided in several embodiments described herein , the exchange ratio may be altered such that a larger volume of fluid is aspirated compared to that which is used for irrigation or vice versa . under such circumstances , the fluid exchange ratio would vary to , for example , a 1 : 2 irrigation to aspiration ratio under circumstances where a larger volume of liquid is desired to be removed from the exchange site . the components of the invention could also incorporate an upper flow rate of exchange or flow ceiling 6 . when conditions dictate that there is motivation to limit the velocity or overall flow parameters during a usage , a configuration that provides an upper limit may be provided . accordingly , this embodiment would apply where a larger volume of fluid was desired to be inserted by irrigation compared to that which is removed by aspiration and the corresponding irrigation to aspiration exchange ratio would be increased to , for example , 2 : 1 . the combination of a flow threshold and flow ceiling capability provide a flow rate bandwidth yielding a range of values between two extremes . in this embodiment , the exchange site can be irrigated and aspirated at a consistent level that is either fixed or varies within a range . this may also allow the activation system to sustain a change in the pressure level at the exchange site while delivering irrigant fluid or removing aspirant fluid at a steady rate or within a range of rates . as will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , the irrigation side of the system of the invention requires active force provided by the fluid exchange apparatus such that irrigant fluid flow is established at the target site . however , while the aspiration side may also be controlled through application of force to withdraw fluid from the target site , the aspiration side may also be passive such that the inherent pressure at the target site propels the aspirant fluid . the inherent pressure is typically provided both by the fluid pressure inside the body , e . g . the blood pressure within a vessel , and the pressure of the irrigant fluid entering the target site . this characteristically passive flow may be described as an efflux flow , see u . s . pat . no . 4 , 921 , 478 which is specifically incorporated by reference herein . the passive flow of aspirant fluid is one way through the aspiration lumen and the fluid pathway is comprised of one - way valve , such as conventional duck bill valves having a minimal cracking pressure to allow passive fluid flow while preventing retrograde flow through the aspiration side of the system . this capability provides for constant extraction of embolic particles throughout a clinical procedure while irrigant fluid flow is maintained and / or when fluid existing at the target site flows from endogenous body pressure . [ 0065 ] fig2 a is a cross - section of a catheter element 7 of the invention at the exchange site . the irrigation lumen 2 in this configuration terminates at or proximate to the distal end of the catheter element . while the aspiration lumen 3 terminates proximally and both lumens terminate with exit ports 8 , 9 . fig2 b depicts the insertion of fluid into an exchange region at a terminal lumen . the irrigation port 6 in this depiction is dislodging a terminal occluding clot . the terminal occlusion may include but is not limited to a clot , lesion , abscess , a ball of wax or an ear canal . in such situations , simple aspiration may not eliminate the lesion and a non - traumatic irrigation of the lesion with a therapeutic formulation , in concert with aspiration after an improved treatment methodology . for example , even if the irrigation fluid is able to produce a substantial breakdown of a terminal occlusion , the occlusion itself must still be cleared . moreover , the combination of irrigation and aspiration to yield fluid exchange after the ability to introduce pharmaceutical agents proximate to the occlusion and the ability to remove the agents before they enter the bloodstream . a specific example of this is a thrombolytic agent used to remove the occlusion or potentially dangerous thrombus , wherein the thrombus or occlusion must be both treated and removed to treat the condition and wherein the necessary dosage of the agent exceeds that which could otherwise be introduced without drug - related toxicity . [ 0066 ] fig2 c is a cross - section of the catheter element of the system incorporated with a proximal occlusion balloon 11 to establish a defined region of fluid exchange . this configuration may be useful for , but is not limited to , occluding flow , limiting a diagnostic agents field of deployment or limiting the bodies exposure to a high intensity agent . a dedicated balloon lumen 12 is provided for inflation of the occluding device . fig2 d is the catheter element of the system of the invention having an occlusion member 11 to aid in establishing an exchange site and having irrigation and aspiration functions distal to the occluding member wherein the arrows depict the general direction of fluid flow , distal to proximal , relative to the occluding member 11 . [ 0067 ] fig3 a is the device incorporated with a combined aspiration lumen 3 and occluding element 11 integral in the same catheter element with the irrigation driven by a separate catheter 2 to aid in defining a target site or field of fluid exchange . the irrigation lumen &# 39 ; s 2 independent travel affords a means of adjusting the location of the fluid exchange site while maintaining the occlusion at a predetermined location . furthermore , a treatment , diagnostic or imaging tool ( not shown ) can also be affixed to the irrigation catheter 2 . this is productive where the resident fluids are desired to be replaced with a dye or contract agent and then removed in turn prior to re - establishing normal blood flow . in optical coherence tomography ( oct ), for example , it is advantageous to introduce and remove a low attenuating fluid . fig3 b is a fluid isolated region that is maintained by irrigation occurring through ports 8 located both proximal and distal to the aspiration port 9 . this configuration presents a means of maintaining a controlled introduced field of fluid between the proximal and distal irrigation ports 8 . as in the embodiment of fig3 a , a treatment , diagnostic or imaging tool could be attached or moved along in concert between the irrigation ports . referring to fig3 c , a catheter element ( not shown ) that merely inserts and removes fluid from a vessel achieves only laminar flow in the direction of the arrows and with velocity illustrated by the size of the arrows . near the vessel wall the total fluid flow approaches zero such that fluid containing emboli at the walls is not disturbed and loosely affixed emboli remain in place . fig3 d is a preferred embodiment of the catheter element of the invention having orthogonally disposed aspiration ports 8 located at the distal end of the catheter element 7 . the region “ a ” experiences turbulent flow , while region “ b ” experiences a flow profile that is in transition from turbulence to laminar flow . fig3 e shows a series of irrigation ports 8 spaced at intervals along the length of the distal end of a catheter 7 such that either turbulent flows , designated as “ a ” or regions where turbulence is transitioning to laminar flows , designated as “ b ” are established along a length of the catheter 7 to substantially eliminate areas of laminar flow . fig3 f shows a configuration wherein the irrigation ports are provided as a perforated region 8 ′ at the distal end of the catheter 7 . the arrows indicate the direction and magnitude of flow showing that the perforated region establishes turbulence in a defined region , and as the distance away from the perforated portion 81 increases , the flow reverts to a laminar flow at a certain distance along the length of the vessel . [ 0068 ] fig4 a is an embodiment of the device 10 that produces pulsatile flow through the application of a mechanical force to an apparatus that propels fluid through the catheter element of the invention . in use , the action of a trigger 20 pulled toward a handle 21 exerts a force on a dedicated irrigant piston 22 that compresses the irrigant reservoir 1 thereby reducing the volume of the irrigant reservoir 1 and forcing fluid through the irrigant lumen ( not shown ) and simultaneously withdraws the dedicated aspirant 23 piston of the aspirant reservoir 4 to accomplish the fluid exchange at the target site . actuation of the trigger 20 may cause the relative motion of the pistons 22 , 23 by connection handle to a ratchet or other gear mechanism that provides the exertion of force in an incremental amount based on the actuation of the handle in a cyclical fashion . see e . g . fig1 below and accompanying text . as shown in fig4 a , the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs may advantageously be provided by conventional syringes or similar devices that provide for fluid containment and the controlled application of fluid flow . the syringes of fig4 a are merely examples of the use of replaceable cartridges that may be readily inserted and removed from the device . such cartridges are particularly useful when pharmaceutically active solutions are pre - filled and used in specific clinical procedures where medicaments are provided to a body conduit or vessel by the system of this invention . in this respect , the use of this invention allows the selective introduction of pharmaceutical compositions of any type during the performance of an ordinary irrigation and aspiration operation . in the embodiment of fig4 a , the syringes comprising the irrigant reservoir 1 and aspirant reservoir 3 may be removably inserted into the hand - held fluid exchange apparatus 10 and used to both provide and expel a predetermined volume of fluid through the target exchange site . in this manner , both the volume and content of the irrigant fluid can be controlled by exchanging syringes and the contents of the aspirant reservoir can be retained and analyzed for fluid or particular content . the operation of preferred embodiments of the hand - held embodiment of the invention is also described at fig7 - 10 below and the accompanying text . [ 0069 ] fig4 b is an example of interchangeable fluid cartridges 24 a 24 b , similar to the syringes described in other embodiments , for irrigation and aspiration . as described in greater detail herein , the irrigant 1 and / or aspirant 3 fluid reservoirs may be provided by cartridges or reservoirs of differing sizes to accomplish the predetermined volume exchange ratio desired for the particular clinical indication . in the embodiment of fig4 b , the irrigant fluid cartridge 24 a has double the volume of the aspirant cartridge 24 b thereby providing a 2 : 1 fluid exchange ratio of irrigant to aspirant at the target site . in this respect , the loop established by the fluid exchange system is not a completely closed loop , but is described as a substantially closed loop , in that a difference exists between the volume expelled through the irrigant reservoir 1 via the irrigant lumen 2 and into the exchange site versus the difference in the aspirant volume taken up through the aspirant lumen and into the aspirant reservoir 40 although the volumes are not identical , the volumes are predetermined and known with certainty as is the volume of fluid that remains at the target site , which is the difference between the volume of the irrigant fluid introduced to the site and the volume of the aspirant fluid removed therefrom . as in the embodiment of fig4 a , the irrigant fluid cartridge 24 a has a dedicated piston 22 for expelling fluid from the cartridge . the aspirant cartridge 24 b similarly has a dedicated piston 23 for collecting fluid introduced to the aspirant reservoir via the aspiration lumen 3 . in this specific embodiment , more irrigant fluid is introduced due to the larger cross - section of the irrigant cartridge 24 a while the overall length of the cartridge that fits into the fluid exchange apparatus remains constant . this technique for providing varying fluid cartridge volumes is advantageous when the irrigant and aspirant cartridges are replaceable in a fluid exchange device . [ 0070 ] fig5 a is a revolving cartridge 25 that can rapidly provide a series of irrigant solutions . this revolver - style orientation of irrigant solution is advantageous for delivery of a sequence of different fluids or for delivery of a pharmaceutical composition at an intermediate point during a procedure . in use , the revolving cartridge 25 is oriented such that the series of irrigant fluids 24 b , 24 c , 24 d are positioned in line with the dedicated irrigant reservoir piston 22 to expel the selected irrigant solution placed in line with the piston 22 . under certain clinical circumstances , the application of the system of the invention may provide an ordinary rinsing solution such as saline at the beginning of a procedure to clear resident fluids and / or emboli from a site , followed by the introduction of a pharmaceutical solution , followed by the removal of the pharmaceutical solution and the subsequent introduction of a neutral solution . in such a use , the saline solution would be confined in the first irrigant reservoir 24 b , which would be infused by actuating the handle 20 as in the embodiment of fig4 a described above . subsequently , the contents of the second irrigant reservoir 24 c , such as a thrombolytic agent , dye , contrast agent or other formulation , is inserted by rotating irrigant reservoir 24 c in line with the irrigant reservoir piston 22 , and similar actuation of trigger 20 . once the desired effect provided by the solution of reservoir 24 c has been achieved , the solution may be rinsed from the vessel by rotating the dedicated irrigant reservoir 24 d into place and actuating the fluid exchange system as above . similarly , a variety of aspirant chambers ( not shown ) can be used to facilitate collection and testing of the aspirant fluid by segregating discrete volumes into containers that can be processed for analysis . [ 0071 ] fig5 b is an embodiment where two different irrigant fluids can be delivered at equal time and measure in a pair of cartridges 243 , 24 f that are designed to be delivered through one or a pair of irrigant lumens 2 , 2 ′ such that one irrigant lumen 2 delivers fluid distal to a predetermined point at the target site and the other irrigant lumen 2 ′ delivers fluid proximal to a predetermined point at the target site . in such a case , each of the two irrigant lumens 2 , 2 ′ has a dedicated irrigant port or ports located at the distal end of the catheter element . the division of the irrigant reservoir 1 into two components 24 e , 24 f allows for the selective introduction of irrigant fluids , which may be the same solutions or different solutions at two or more points within the target site . the predetermined point in the target site that separates the proximal and distal delivery of irrigant fluid may be an aspirant port located therebetween ( as in the embodiment of fig2 d ) or any other structure where separation of irrigant fluid is desired . for example , some irrigants may mix advantageously only at the exchange site and could not be combined outside the body based on their chemical reactivity . [ 0072 ] fig6 is a tabletop version of the fluid exchange device of the invention . as is described elsewhere herein , the fluid exchange apparatus of the invention may be controlled by the simple mechanical operation of a device by a user or by an electronic system that controls a mechanical or electrical pump - or valve - driven system to control the irrigant 1 and aspirant 4 reservoirs . in the embodiment of fig6 a variable position lever 30 drives the stroke of a dedicated piston 22 , 23 that forces fluid from the irrigant reservoir and draws fluid into the aspirant reservoir . as with the embodiments described above , the cycle and the volume of the reservoirs or motion of the pistons can be altered to match the fluid exchange volume needed for any flow in the vessel or body conduit . because the rotation of the individual levers is variable , the ratio of fluid exchange can be achieved by different positioning of the lever arms 31 , 32 rather than by altering the volume of the individual irrigant 1 and aspirant 4 reservoirs . although this embodiment shows the mechanical application of force through levers , a tabletop version of the apparatus of the invention is advantageous when electronically controlled pumps are provided to control the fluid exchange and fluid exchange ratios . the embodiment of fig6 also may include an in - line air trap 33 for the irrigant reservoir 1 and / or a filter 34 for the aspirant reservoir 4 . as it may be advantageous to eliminate debris upon extraction of irrigant fluid and / or prevent air upon entry of irrigant fluid , the inclusion of a filter or trap 33 , 34 for air and / or emboli is appropriate in some cases . [ 0073 ] fig7 a and 7b show the internal structure and function of a fluid exchange device 40 where a pair of reservoirs control fluid flow via the force exerted by pistons or plungers following the action of a trigger 20 and handle 21 connected to or integral with a lever 36 that rotates about a pivot 35 . in this embodiment , the actuation of the trigger 20 rotates the level 36 about pivot 35 and forces the irrigant reservoir piston 22 into the irrigant reservoir 1 and simultaneously withdraws the aspirant reservoir piston 23 out of the aspirant reservoir . from the relaxed position ( fig7 a ), the trigger 20 can be activated to drive the pistons 22 , 23 through either a direct coupling or a mechanism for incremental cycles . if desired , the trigger 20 can return to the relaxed position after a cycle from spring action in the handle or pivot 35 other automatic return mechanism . the reservoirs may be integral to the device 10 or the volume of the reservoir 1 may be attached to a separate reservoir ( not shown ) together with the appropriate lumens , and preferably in - line one - way valves , to facilitate the exchange between the separate reservoir and the chamber of the device . in the former embodiment , the reservoirs are integral to the handle - operated device such that the piston exerts a direct force on the irrigant 1 and / or aspirant 4 reservoir to exert the force necessary for fluid exchange . in the above embodiment , the internal structure of the device acts as an in - line chamber that is intermediate between the separate reservoir and the lumen such that irrigant fluid residing in a separate reservoir is drawn into the chamber prior to being expelled from the chamber through the irrigation lumen . in this embodiment , a pair of lumens are required , a first intermediate lumen connecting the separate reservoir to the chamber , and a second lumen communicating the irrigant fluid from the chamber through the irrigant lumen and via the irrigant ports to the target exchange site . [ 0074 ] fig8 is a preferred embodiment of the invention having a trigger 20 that is squeezed by the hand to operate a syringe that acts as the aspirant reservoir 54 and the irrigant reservoir ( not shown ). as the trigger 20 moves toward the body of the handle 21 , the force is transmitted both to the piston 55 dedicated to the aspirant reservoir 54 and a separate piston ( not shown ) dedicated to the irrigant reservoir . although the internal configurations can be varied to incorporate other mechanical expedients , the orientation of the lever 56 and pivot 62 of the present embodiment provide an advantageous mechanism for a 1 : 1 ratio fluid exchange . the action of trigger 20 is communicated to a lever 56 that is connected to the trigger 20 by a first terminal lever connector 58 a . when the trigger 20 moves toward the body of the handle 21 , the force exerted on the lever 56 rotates the lever 56 around pivot 57 to exert a force , via a second terminal lever connector 58 b that is attached to an irrigant carriage 52 . simultaneously , the motion of the trigger 20 exerts force on a second lever ( not shown ) that is connected to the aspirant carriage 51 in a similar matter as for the irrigant carriage 52 . the motion of the trigger 20 provides a simultaneous but opposite force on the aspirant cartridge 51 compared to the irrigant cartridge 52 . the simultaneous forces that are applied to the pistons dedicated to the irrigant reservoir and aspirant reservoir 54 , respectively , occur in opposite directions to yield a substantially equivalent volume exchange into the aspirant reservoir 4 and out of the irrigant reservoir 1 via the aspirant and irrigant lumens 4 , 2 respectively . the motion of the irrigant carriage 52 is translated to the piston dedicated to the irrigant reservoir by virtue of a connector 53 that is noncompressible and that is aligned with the length of the irrigant reservoir 1 . as noted specifically with the embodiments described at fig4 a herein , the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs 1 , 4 may be interchangeable syringes or cartridges that can be inserted and removed to introduce specific solutions or fluid volumes . in a preferred embodiment , the irrigant and aspirant reservoir 1 , 4 may be molded into the body of the device such that the fluid volumes for the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs are separately filled via a fixture that acts as an input valve to the irrigant and / or aspirant reservoir . the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs 1 , 4 preferably have removable fixtures at the output 60 thereof for attachment of the respective lumens 2 , 3 . the motion of the trigger 20 is rendered linear and reproducible by slots 61 cut into a portion of the trigger 20 that are engaged by the first pivot 57 and the second pivot 61 such that the body of the handle 21 and / or the trigger 20 slidingly move about either of the pivot structures . a second lever 63 operates parallel to the lever 56 to enable the trigger 20 to travel smoothly along its path . this configuration provides for reproducible motion of the trigger 20 relative to the body of the housing 21 and also facilitates attachment of a spring 62 that biases the trigger in the forward position so that actuation of the trigger 20 relative to the handle 21 produces a complete cycle that translates into a defined movement of both the irrigant cartridge 52 and the aspirant cartridge 51 . the volume exchange ratio provided by the device of this invention may be altered by changing the relative lengths of the lever 56 relative to the pivot 57 or by altering a ratcheting mechanism disposed at the connection point between the lever 56 and the irrigant cartridge 52 such that a complete cycle of the trigger 20 from the forward most position when moved toward the body of the handle 21 constitutes a complete cycle that moves the irrigant 52 and / or aspirant cartridge by fixed distance . the spring tension automatically returns the trigger 20 to the forward most position to prepare for a second cycle . [ 0077 ] fig9 a is an embodiment where the travel of the lever in the fluid exchange device is adjustable so that the amount of fluid displaced in a single cycle can be controlled , and both the distance traveled and the force generated can be adjusted by relative positions of the trigger 20 and the handle body 21 . the embodiments of fig9 a and 9b illustrate the ability to alter the fluid flow parameters of the fluid exchange device by changing the configuration of the mechanical components that exert force on the irrigant reservoir 1 and aspirant reservoir 4 , respectively . fig9 b illustrates the adjustment of the pivot point 57 a to produce different flow ratios and peak pressures based on the relative position of the pivot point 57 a about which the trigger 20 rotates . in such an embodiment , if more fluid flow is desired the apparatus can be easily adjusted to accomplish a variable number of flows for a given grip cycle . the travel distance provided by the motion of the trigger 20 as exerted at the point of attachment by the second terminal lever connector 58 c dictates the amount of fluid flow expelled from the irrigant and / or aspirant reservoir 1 , 4 based on the action by a syringe or aspirant reservoir piston or carriage as described above . accordingly , an increase in the motion of a piston compressing fluid in an irrigant or aspirant reservoir or chamber , due to changing the pivot point , results in an increased exchange rate for a given activation of the trigger 20 . as is shown in fig9 a and 9b , the adjustment to the degree of travel of the trigger 20 relative to the handle 21 , when combined with aspiration 51 and irrigant 52 carriages and reservoirs as described in , for example fig8 above , produces the variable fluid flow of this embodiment . as with the embodiments described above , the mechanical movement of the trigger 20 relative to the handle 21 is translated into fluid flow from an irrigant reservoir 1 , via irrigation lumen 2 , aspiration lumen 3 , and aspirant reservoir 4 by the configurations described herein . [ 0078 ] fig1 is a hand - held fluid exchange apparatus of the invention wherein a ratchet mechanism provides for incremental movement of a piston , in this embodiment , a general set of pistons 71 , 71 a for driving fluid out of the irrigant reservoir 1 and into the aspirant reservoir 4 , respectively . as in the embodiment of fig8 the motion of a trigger 20 relative to a body handle 21 completes one cycle . this embodiment may also contain a mechanical or electrical counter that provides a readout indicating the number of cycles that have been performed , the volume of fluid introduced or removed , or the amount of fluid present , or remaining in either reservoir . in this embodiment , the motion of the dedicated , geared piston 71 in the irrigant reservoir 1 is controlled by the ratchet mechanism which is comprised of the trigger 20 , a pivot 70 , about which the trigger 20 rotates , and gear 70 b that engages a first ratchet wheel 77 . preferably , the ratchet mechanism is one - way such that motion of the trigger 20 toward the body handle 21 rotates the first ratchet wheel 72 that rotates to advance or contract the piston 71 . in the example of fig1 , actuation of the trigger 20 about pivot 70 a translates to rotation of the first ratchet wheel 72 via gear 70 b . the rotation of the first ratchet wheel 72 is translated to the geared piston 71 and this rotation is in turn translated to a second ratchet wheel 73 that rotates in the opposite direction to the first ratchet wheel 72 that is in turn connected to a geared piston 71 a in the other reservoir . in the embodiment of fig1 , the device is designed to be hand - operated such that the manual actuation of the trigger 20 causes automatic motion of the two ratchet wheels 72 , 73 and the geared pistons 71 . the equivalent dimensions of the reservoirs 1 , 4 , pistons 71 , 71 a , and the two ratchet wheels 72 , 73 shown in fig1 yields an approximate 1 : 1 fluid exchange ratio . in addition to altering the dimensions of the aspirant 4 or irrigant 1 reservoirs , the alteration of the fluid exchange ratio can be achieved by altering the dimensions of the ratchet wheels 72 , 73 . [ 0080 ] fig1 shows the principles of a fluid exchange device with a segregated irrigant 75 and aspirant chambers 76 each having a dedicated inflow and outflow line . in this embodiment , the inflow line of the irrigation chamber 75 is an irrigation inflow line 2 ′ that communicates fluid held in the irrigation reservoir 1 to the irrigation chamber 75 . the fluid is drawn into irrigation chamber 75 by the dedicated piston 22 and is subsequently expelled through the irrigation lumen 2 into the target site for fluid exchange as described previously . similarly , fluid is drawn from the target site through the aspiration lumen 3 and into the aspiration chamber 76 by operation of the dedicated piston 23 whose motion both pulls fluid through the aspiration lumen 3 and into the aspiration chamber 76 , but also expels fluid from the aspiration chamber 76 to the aspiration reservoir 3 , via the aspiration reservoir outflow line 3 ′. this embodiment of the invention operates much like a two - stroke engine wherein fluid is pulled into the irrigation 76 and aspiration 75 chambers and subsequently expelled through the appropriate lumen . to control the flow of fluids , each of the dedicated inflow and outflow lines for each chamber have valves 77 a , b , c , d that control the fluid flow . for example , when fluid is drawn into the irrigation chamber 75 , a valve 77 a on the chamber inflow line 2 ′ is opened while the piston 22 is pulled back . subsequently , the inflow valve 77 a closes and an outflow valve 77 b that is in line with the irrigation lumen is opened while the irrigation chamber piston 22 is forced into the irrigation chamber 75 to expel fluids through the irrigation lumen 2 . similarly , when the action of the aspiration chamber piston 23 is used to draw out fluid into the aspiration chamber 70 via aspiration lumen 3 , an inflow valve 77 d on the aspiration chamber inflow line 3 is opened and the in - line valve 77 b in the aspiration chamber outflow line 3 ′ is closed . to expel fluid from the aspiration chamber 76 through the outflow line 3 ′ and into the aspiration reservoir 4 , the in - line valve 77 d on the aspiration lumen 3 is closed and the in - line valve 77 c on the aspiration reservoir outflow line 3 ′ is opened . as for the embodiments described above , the action of the individual pistons 22 and 23 used to cause the fluid flow throughout the system can be controlled manually by mechanical expedients affixed to the pistons . alternatively , electronic circuitry can control the speed motion and cycle parameters of both pistons such that the fluid flow is electronically controlled according to a user interface or a predetermined fluid exchange profile . as will be apparent to one of skill in the art , the cycling action of this embodiment produces a pulsatile flow with the relative motion of both pistons 22 , 23 . moreover , the particular minimum and maximum pressures in each pulsatile flow can be controlled by the relative action of the pistons 22 , 23 . in another embodiment , the in - line valves are not actively controlled , but are provided as simple one - way valves that only allow fluid inflow from the irrigation 1 reservoir into the irrigation chamber 75 and , likewise only allow fluid outflow from the irrigation chamber 75 through the irrigation lumen 2 . on the aspiration side of the system , one - way valves allow fluid flow only from the aspiration lumen 3 to the aspiration chamber 76 , and from the chamber 76 to the aspiration reservoir 4 . in use , when the device is activated , the piston plunger in either chamber will produce a positive flow through the lumen . when the lever begins to relax , the one - way valve will close and the irrigation reservoir 1 will fill the chamber . on the aspiration side , one - way valves on both the lumen 3 and the reservoir 4 ensures that the aspirant fluid is purged into the reservoir and , during relaxation , the aspirant is extracted from the exchange site via the aspiration exchange site . aspirant fluid flows from the aspiration chamber 79 through the one - way valve 81 d and into the aspiration reservoir 4 . fluid flow is prevented by one - way valves 81 c and 81 a from entering either the aspiration lumen 3 or the irrigation reservoir 1 . upon relaxation , the outer surface of the handball moves in a direction opposite to the bold arrows in fig1 b and the flow is reversed . thus , fluid flows from the irrigation reservoir 1 through the one - way valve 81 a and into the irrigation chamber 78 . likewise , fluid flows from the aspiration lumen 3 , through one - way valve 81 c , and into the aspiration chamber 79 . this configuration is similar to the embodiment of fig1 because a chamber 78 or 79 is provided at an intermediate position between the exchange site and the reservoir such that a volume of fluid is held at an intermediate position between each reservoir 78 , 79 and the exchange site for purposes of exerting control over a discrete volume of fluid separate from the irrigation and aspiration reservoirs 1 , 4 . however , the compressible handball configuration can be constructed to allow direct manipulation of the irrigation reservoir 1 to expel fluid while simultaneously collecting aspirant fluid within the discrete structure of the handball itself . fig1 a and 13b show a handball pump configured with an internal reservoir of irrigant and a flexible barrier 82 to separate the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs 1 , 4 , which are disposed inside the handball . referring to the embodiment of fig1 a , prior to connection of this embodiment of the invention to a catheter element , the irrigant reservoir 1 is preferably filled with fluid to substantially encompass the entire internal volume of the handball . the flexible and fluid impermeable barrier 82 deforms towards the outer wall of the handball to accept irrigant solution and to simultaneously minimize the internal volume of the aspirant reservoir 4 . when used in a clinical setting , the irrigant reservoir 1 is filled with the pharmaceutically acceptable composition to be used as the irrigant and the apparatus is sealed and may be sterilized while intact . before using , the device is connected to the irrigation lumen 2 and aspiration lumen 3 which may be filled with fluid to establish the substantially closed loop as described previously . as in the embodiment of fig1 a and 12b , one - way valves 83 a , 83 b are positioned in - line between the irrigant reservoir 1 and the irrigation lumen 2 , and between the aspiration lumen 3 and the aspirant reservoir 4 . as the handball is compressed , fluid flow generally occurs in the area of the arrows to force fluid out of the irrigant reservoir 1 , through the irrigation lumen 2 and into the target site while any backflow is prevented by the one - way valve 83 a . accordingly , aspiration fluid is drawn through the aspiration lumen 3 and collects in the aspirant reservoir 4 . fig1 b shows an embodiment of the invention wherein approximately half of the irrigant solution has been expelled through the irrigation lumen 2 , exchanged at the target site , and collected back in the aspirant reservoir 4 via aspiration lumen 3 . as above , fluid flow generally occurs in the direction of the arrows as the internal irrigant volume is exchanged between the irrigant reservoir 1 and the aspirant reservoir 4 . as noted above , the principal of the invention may be achieved by both user operated , generally mechanically controlled embodiments of the invention , or through electronically controlled apparatus that usually require electronically controlled pumps and / or valves . in the embodiment of fig1 c , a volume metric pump 86 with an internal balloon 85 is provided to achieve the fluid exchange function of the invention . generally , the device is comprised of a housing 84 that is preferably substantially rigid and which contains an internal irrigant reservoir 1 and aspirant reservoir 4 connected to dedicated irrigation and aspiration lumens 2 , 3 , as described previously . volumetric control is achieved by selectively expanding an internal balloon 85 within the housing 84 to be positioned in either the irrigant reservoir 1 or aspiration reservoir 4 . as with the embodiments of fig1 a and 13b , at a preliminary point in the use of the device the irrigant reservoir 1 is generally full and the internal volume balloon 85 is confined in the aspirant reservoir such that the internal volume of the balloon 85 is maximized within the aspiration reservoir 4 and does not displace a substantial volume of the irrigant reservoir 1 . this allows the maximum amount of irrigation fluid to exist within the irrigant reservoir 1 prior to use of the device . as the fluid exchange process occurs , the volumetric pump 86 functions by forcing a portion of the internal volume of the balloon 85 into the irrigant reservoir 1 . the volumetric pump 86 may be controlled by the user or through an electrical circuitry that provides an output reading to dictate the volumes or relative percentage volumes between the reservoirs 1 , 4 . as the volume exchange process continues , the internal volume of the balloon 85 is transferred to a greater and greater degree from the aspirant reservoir 4 to the irrigant reservoir 1 to displace the internal volume of the irrigation fluid . at a half - way point , the internal volume of the balloon is equally disposed between the two reservoirs ( assuming that the beginning volume of the two reservoirs is equal ) and the volumes of the fluid contained in both the irrigant 1 and aspirant 4 reservoirs is equal . as described previously , a simple modification of the dimensions of the apparatus allow variation of the volume exchange ratio from a 1 : 1 value to any prescribed ratio dictated by the clinical circumstances . [ 0084 ] fig1 shows a side view of the device where the irrigation 90 and aspiration 91 fluid impermeable chambers are contained in the same , preferably rigid housing 92 and are separated by a centrally disposed piston 93 that engages the interior of the housing 92 about the entire periphery thereof to segregate the irrigant fluid from the aspirant fluid and allows the piston 93 to slide within the housing 92 . by moving the piston 93 within the interior of the housing , typically from one extreme end to another , the irrigant is forced out of the irrigant chamber 90 and into the irrigation lumen 2 . fluid exchanged at the target site is collected through the aspiration lumens and into the aspirant chamber 91 . thus , in the example of fig1 , when the piston 93 slides from one end to the other , the irrigant chamber 90 expels irrigant , while the aspirant chamber 91 simultaneously draws in aspirant fluid . then , as the piston 93 is moved back in the other direction , the irrigant chamber 91 refills itself with fluid from the irrigant reservoir 1 while the aspirant chamber 91 expels its contents into the aspiration reservoir 4 . as in other embodiments described herein , this simple , compact arrangement allows for simultaneous irrigation and aspiration and yield a pulsatile flow . although shown as a cylindrical housing 92 , the construction and arrangement of the input , output , reservoir and piston elements could be altered without departing from the spirit of the invention . in the embodiment of fig1 , the piston is designed to move repeatedly and reproducibly within the housing to expel and collect a defined volume of fluid with each operation cycle . the volume of fluid exchanged at the target site with each cycle of the piston 93 is substantially equivalent to the internal volume of the housing 92 assuming that the piston 93 is moved from one extreme to another extreme inside the housing 92 during each cycle of the operation of the device . this embodiment also demonstrates , as in the foregoing embodiments , that the fluid exchange device of the invention is readily adapted to be controlled either manually , in this case through the application of force to a handle 94 attached to the piston 93 , or by electronic control , which in this embodiment would be provided by a simple pump or electrical or magnetic force to move the piston 91 within the housing 92 . the separation of the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs 1 , 4 from an irrigant and aspirant chamber 90 , 91 permits the device to be repeatedly cycled to draw a defined volume into each chamber 90 , 91 for propulsion through the irrigation lumen 2 and collection through the aspiration lumen 3 . in an alternate embodiment , the entirety of the irrigant fluid to be exchanged at the target site would begin contained within an aspirant reservoir that is entirely located within the housing such that movement of the piston 91 from one extreme of the housing 92 to the other would communicate the entire volume of the irrigant reservoir 1 through the irrigation lumen 2 , to the target exchange site , and back into the aspirant reservoir 4 via the aspiration lumen 3 . a further example of this embodiment is shown in fig1 below , having an alternate mechanical expedient for propelling fluid from the irrigant reservoir 1 into an aspirant reservoir 4 . in the embodiment of fig1 , the irrigant and aspirant reservoirs 1 , 4 are separated by a fluid impermeable barrier 95 that is movable about a threaded axis 97 or other structure that passes within a slidable member 96 that rotates and slides about the threaded axis 97 to move the barrier 95 along the axis 97 to propel the irrigant fluid . ideally , the slidable member 96 provide for a high rate of translation , while the member 97 provides for fine travel about the threaded axis 97 . the sliding element can be selectively disengaged from the threads to allow it to slide rapidly along the threaded axis for gross adjustment . when engaged , the sliding element can be rotated for fine adjustment . interior to the sliding element is a mechanism which permits this selective thread engagement by retracting the thread contact when activated . referring to fig1 , this embodiment of the fluid exchange device is comprised of two main elements to achieve a configuration that allows for the body or cylinder actuation of both syringes in the desired and opposite manner . essentially , a unitary body 101 connects of one syringe element 102 a and is connected rigidly to the piston 103 b of the other syringe element . a slidable element 104 engages the unitary body 101 and slides reproducibly in engagement therewith . as shown in fig1 , the slidable element 104 is also attached to the cylinder 103 a of one syringe and the piston 102 b of the other . motion of the slidable element 104 exerts a force withdrawing one piston while advancing the other and braces the application of force by the attachment of the body 101 or element 104 to the cylinder or body of each syringe 102 a , 103 a . the design could incorporate existing syringes or have the syringe elements molded into the piece . there are several distinct advantages to this embodiment . one is that it ensures a 1 : 1 exchange ratio in terms of travel distance between the syringes . another is that the geometric arrangement allows for a balancing of the forces involved in the device . finally , the realization of the complex mechanics through just two moving parts is a significant advantage for the manufacturing and efficiency of the device . as described above , the element of turbulence is important to the efficacy of the device . since fluids tend to assimilate to laminar flow , proximity of the irrigant ports or perforations that facilitates turbulence is important for optimal rinsing of the interior of a body structure . for this reason , translation of the catheter element may accompany the irrigation or aspiration or both . all embodiments described herein can be manually translated by means of the operator &# 39 ; s hand . additionally , the catheter can be translated using an automated translation system similar to those used in ivus and similar applications . alternatively , the catheter could be translated by an element incorporated into the fluid delivery device . referring to fig1 a a simple mechanism that could be used to realize this self - advancing aspect . when the catheter 7 element is moved to the left in the direction of the arrows in fig1 a , the round engaging element 110 slides up in the slot 111 and engages the catheter 7 to move it to the left as well . [ 0089 ] fig1 b shows the same mechanism . once the catheter element 7 is slid to the right the round engaging element 110 slides down in the slot 11 and allows the catheter element 7 to slide freely to the right in the direction of the arrow without interacting or affecting the catheter &# 39 ; s position . this allows for the selective retraction or advancement of the catheter 7 by a predetermined amount with each squeeze of the device . there are many ways in which this element could be realized . the simplest would be an apparatus that selectively grasps the catheter when moving one direction and idles or does not grasp when moving in the opposite direction . a guiding track that biases the element could be used to apply pressure and grasp the catheter moving in one direction and then release and allow idle sliding to the reset position in the other direction . this element could be selectively engaged by the operator when needed , and could be developed to allow for selection between advancement and retraction of the catheter . in the present preferred embodiment of the fluid exchange device , it is necessary to have a reset force supplied by an element such as a spring inherent in the device . this reset force is added to the resistance in the system that must be overcome by the operator to utilize the device . in some cases , an embodiment where this force was minimized or eliminated would allow more of the force generated by the operator to be directed to the work the device is performing and not to overcoming the reset force element . referring to fig1 a - 18 c , this function could be achieved through the use of a staged device . fig1 a shows a simple mechanical way in which the two sides of the device could be linked mechanically . it is important in this embodiment that the two sides be linked mechanically so that they behave in an equal and opposite manner . this is necessary so that the trigger can be actuated repeatedly in the same manner but engage just one of the sides while still driving the entire system . this allows the benefit of having the operator not realize the changes occurring internally in the device . the squeezes would not feel substantially different . in this embodiment , the first squeeze would activate the two chambers and the second squeeze would reset the two chambers . a simple mechanical setup could achieve this result . similar mechanisms are commonly used in objects such as retractable ball point pens . essentially , an element attached to the trigger element would be slightly biased to selectively engage one side or the other of the device . fig1 b shows a top view of the track layout that would guide the selectively engaging element of the trigger . with the two sides linked mechanically to travel in equivalent and opposite manners as described elsewhere , the force of the trigger element could always be applied in the same manner with varying effect . with the aid of the minimal return force element , the trigger is brought back to its full and extended position and biased to one side so that it will slip into the opposite track for the next actuation of the trigger . after that actuation , as the trigger is returning to its default position , it will be biased to one side of the device and slip easily into the track of the opposite side . [ 0091 ] fig1 c is a diagram of how the system could be achieved such that each time the trigger is expanded , it engages the other side of the device and pulls it back when squeezed . many features have been listed with particular configurations , options , and embodiments . any one or more of the features described may be added to or combined with any of the other embodiments or other standard devices to create alternate combinations and embodiments . although the examples given include many specificities , they are intended as illustrative of only a few possible embodiments of the invention . other embodiments and modifications will , no doubt , occur to those skilled in the art . thus , the examples given should only be interpreted as illustrations of some of the preferred embodiments of the invention .	0
the present invention may be used with network computer systems in which it is necessary to secure the system and in which only a restricted class of users ( e . g ., root users ) have complete read and write access to the system . fig1 illustrates such a computer system 10 with which the present invention may be used . the computer system 10 comprises a servicecontrol manager (“ scm ”) 12 running on a central management server (“ cms ”) 14 and one or more nodes 16 managed by the scm 12 on the cms 14 . together , the one or more nodes 16 managed by the scm 12 make up a scm cluster 17 . a group of nodes 16 may be organized as a node group 18 . the cms 14 preferably is an hp - ux 11 . x server running the scm 12 software . the cms 14 includes a memory 143 , a secondary storage device 141 , a processor 142 , an input device ( not shown ), a display device ( not shown ), and an output device ( not shown ). the memory 143 , a computer readable medium , may include , ram or similar types of memory , which may store one or more applications for execution by processor , including the scm 12 software . the secondary storage device 141 , a computer readable medium , may include a hard disk drive , floppy disk drive , cd - rom drive , or other types of non - volatile data storage . the processor 142 executes the scm 12 software and other application ( s ), which are stored in memory 143 or secondary storage 141 , or received from the internet or other network 24 , in order to provide the functions and perform the methods described in this specification , and the processing may be implemented in software , such as software modules , for execution by the cms 14 and modes 16 . the scm 12 is programmed in java ® and operates in a java environment . see servicecontrol manager technical reference , hp ® part number : b8339 - 90019 , available from hewlett - packard company , palo alto , calif ., which is hereby incorporated by reference , for a more detailed description of the scm 12 . the servicecontrol manager technical reference , hp ® part number : b8339 - 90019 is also accessible at http :// www . software . hp . com / products / scmgr . generally , the scm 12 supports managing a single scm cluster 18 from a single cms 14 . all tasks performed on the scm cluster 18 are initiated on the cms 14 either directly or remotely , for example , by reaching the cms 14 via a web connection 20 . therefore , a workstation 22 at which a user sits only needs a web connection 20 over the network 24 to the cms 14 ( or a managed node 16 ) in order to perform tasks on the scm cluster 18 . the user preferably accesses the scm cluster 18 through graphical user interfaces (“ guis ”) and command - line interfaces (“ clis ”). in addition to the scm 12 software and the hp - ux server described above , the cms 14 preferably also comprises a data repository 26 for the scm cluster 18 , a web server 28 that allows web access to the scm 12 , and a depot 30 comprising products used in the configuring of nodes , and a i / ux server 32 . the nodes 16 are preferably hp - ux servers or other servers and they may be referred to as “ managed nodes ” or simply as “ nodes ”. a node 16 represents a single instance of hp - ux software running on a hardware device . the node 16 may comprise ( not shown ) a memory , a secondary storage device , a processor , an input device , a display device , and an output device . the cms 14 itself is preferably also a managed node 16 . this is so that multi - system aware (“ msa ”) tools can be invoked on the cms 14 . although the cms 14 is depicted with various components , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the cms 14 can contain additional or different components . in addition , although aspects of an implementation consistent with the present invention are described as being stored in memory , one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on or read from other types of computer program products or computer - readable media , such as secondary storage devices , including hard disks , floppy disks , or cd - rom ; a carrier wave from the internet or other network ; or other forms of ram or rom . the computer - readable media may include instructions for controlling the cms 14 ( and / or the nodes 16 ) to perform a particular method , such as those described herein . the scm 12 is preferably an object - oriented programming application . object - oriented programming is a method of programming that pairs programming tasks and data into re - usable chunks known as objects . each object comprises attributes ( i . e ., data ) that define and describe the object . java classes are meta - definitions that define the structure of a java object . java classes when instantiated create instances of the java classes and are then considered java objects . methods within java objects are called to get or set attributes of the java object and to change the state of the java object . associated with each method is code that is executed when the method is invoked . consequently , java objects preferably provide the functionality of the scm 12 . in the system 10 on which the scm 12 runs , each user , node , node group , role , tool , authorization , user name , node name , and node group name is , for each instance , represented by a single java object . a role defines the role ( e . g ., administrator , database manager , web manager , etc .) a user may have on a certain node ( s ) or node group ( s ), where each role has one or more tools associated with it that a user with the role may execute . a tool is an executable that performs a process . an authorization defines the node ( s ) and node group ( s ) that the user is authorized to access and what roles the user has on the authorized node ( s ) or node group ( s ). some objects and classes discussed herein are named with a prefix “ mx ”. the mx prefix is indicative of the application utilizing the objects and classes ( e . g ., the scm 12 ), and is merely exemplary . the names of classes , objects , methods and functions discussed herein are exemplary , are not intended to be limiting , and are merely used for ease of discussion . the terms function and method are used interchangeably herein . generally , user access to scm 12 files is delineated to root users , who have permission to read , write , and execute files and non - root users , who may have limited access to files ( e . g ., only execute ). in an embodiment , root users allocate permissions to read , write , and execute files to non - root users . roles comprise certain delineated tasks ( e . g ., delete a file , write to a file , add a user to the operating system and , modify a database entry ) that non - root users are authorized to perform on authorized machines ( e . g ., nodes 16 ) for a specific purpose . the tools define the delineated tasks of the roles and comprise coding necessary to perform the tasks . the tools are created for each of the tasks and are then assigned to a role or roles in order to fulfill the purposes of the role or roles . once a role is created with assigned tools , the role may be authorized for a user to use on one or more machines . through this authorization , the tools are allocated to users based on authorized roles . an example of a newly created role may be a database administrator role . a database administrator may need to be able to perform tasks such as adding database entries , deleting database entries , modifying database entries , compiling database entries , and searching database entries . accordingly , tools that perform these tasks would be created and assigned to the new database administrator role . certain tools may be useful in a plurality of roles , and therefore , would be assigned to the plurality of roles . likewise , when a new role is created , existing tools that define and perform the necessary tasks may be assigned to the new role . roles are authorized for use in order to allocate tools to the user to give the users root access to a system for a narrow , limited purpose on certain machines ( e . g ., nodes 16 ). continuing with the previous example , the newly created database administrator role may be authorized for a user “ smith ” to use on a node 16 named “ node 1 ”. consequently , the user smith has the role database administrator on node 1 and may execute the tools allocated to the user smith based on the database administrator role on node 1 . in this example , the user smith does not have the database administrator role on any other node 16 , and therefore , cannot execute the tools of the database administrator role on any other node 16 ( such as a node 16 named “ node 2 ”). likewise , the user smith only has the database administrator role on node 1 , and therefore , cannot execute any tools , other than those in part of the database administrator role , on node 1 . as illustrated in fig2 , users may be authorized to use a role on more than one machine . likewise , users may be authorized more than one role . fig2 includes user object 401 , which represents a user and includes attributes that describe the user . the objects 40 , including the user object 401 may be java objects that are instantiated java classes running in a java virtual machine on the system 10 described above . when the scm 12 is running , the objects 40 may be resident in the memory 143 of the cms 14 . referring again to fig2 , the user object 401 may comprise attributes that define and describe the user . as such , fig2 further illustrates role objects 402 , which represent roles for which the user is authorized , node objects 404 , which represent the nodes 16 on which the user may utilize the roles , and node group objects 406 that represent the node groups 18 on which the user may utilize the roles . each role object 402 may comprise attributes that define and describe a role . fig2 also shows tool objects 408 that represent tools assigned to the various roles and that are allocated to the user represented by the user object 402 based on the authorized roles . the tool objects 408 may comprise attributes that identify the roles assigned the tools . a user &# 39 ; s authorization to utilize various roles and tools on certain nodes 16 or node groups 18 may be maintained by authorization objects 410 . authorization objects 410 comprise attributes that define the role or roles , for which the user is authorized , and the node , nodes or node groups on which the user is authorized to utilize the assigned role or roles . accordingly , fig2 also illustrates authorization objects 410 that define the roles and nodes 16 and / or node groups 18 for which the user is authorized . in an embodiment , the authorization objects 410 for each role and node for which the user is authorized may be created . since these authorization objects 410 link the user to a role and a node 16 or node group 18 , they may be referred to as authorization “ triplets ”. in order to provide access to and management of these various objects , the scm 12 preferably comprises one or more domain managers 62 and , housed within each domain manager 62 , a plurality of object managers 64 , as shown in fig3 . preferably one domain manager 62 exists for every domain in the system 10 . likewise , there is preferably one object manager 64 exists for each type of object 40 , except for object name objects ( e . g ., user name object , node name object , role name object , tool name object , node group name object ). accordingly , fig3 illustrates the following object managers 64 : a user manager 641 , a role manager 642 , a tool manager 643 , a node manager 644 , a node group manager 645 and a security manager 646 ( for authorization objects 410 ). the object managers 64 , among other things , are used to access the objects 40 of the scm 12 in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s authorized roles , the nodes ( and node groups ) on which the user is authorized to use the roles and the tools that the user can use on these nodes ( i . e ., the tools associated with the user &# 39 ; s roles ). the relationships between the user , the user &# 39 ; s authorized roles , nodes and tools are collectively referred to as the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . the objects 40 that need to be accessed to determine these security relationships may include , at least , the user , node , role , tool , node group , role name , tool name , node name and node group name objects . when a non - root user accesses ( e . g ., from a workstation 22 ) the scm 12 , for example , in order to perform tasks on the scm cluster 18 , the user can only use the roles that the user is authorized to use . likewise , the user can only use these roles on the nodes ( and node groups ) for which the roles are authorized . moreover , the user can only use the tools associated with the roles . preferably , the user is only presented with the authorized roles , nodes and tools to choose from when accessing the scm 12 . as illustrated in fig4 a and 4 b , a gui 70 presents an exemplary user of the scm 12 with the user &# 39 ; s roles , nodes and tools ( i . e ., the user &# 39 ; s security relationships ). when the user starts - up the gui 70 and requests information about the user &# 39 ; s security relationships , callback code of the gui 70 is executed to determine and present the user &# 39 ; s security relationships , as described below . fig4 a illustrates the gui 70 displaying the names 72 of nodes 16 on which the user can run a tool 74 . the gui 70 may display this information , for example , after execution of a process shown in fig8 and described below . fig4 b illustrates the gui 70 displaying names 76 of node groups 18 to which a node 16 (“ node ”) belongs . the gui 70 shown in fig4 b may display this information , for example , after execution of a process shown in fig9 and described below . as noted above , the object managers 64 are used to access the objects 40 in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . including the coding to access the object managers 64 , for all of the objects 40 necessary for determining the security relationships , in the callback code of the gui 70 clutters the gui 70 and complicates execution of the callback code . accordingly , illustrated in fig5 , is a security relationship component 80 for inquiring about security relationships . the component 80 , referred to herein as the mxbrain , preferably includes coding for accessing the object managers 64 and objects 40 in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . as shown in fig5 , the gui 70 accesses the mxbrain 80 , which in turn accesses the object managers 64 and the objects 40 , in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . the mxbrain 80 preferably comprises functions or methods that are each coded with a process of various method invocations , remote method invocations (“ rmis ”) and / or class instantiations for accessing the object managers 64 and the objects 40 to determine a user &# 39 ; s security relationships . for example , the mxbrain functions may include a function for determining a user &# 39 ; s authorized roles . these functions are preferably invoked by executed callback code of the gui 70 ( e . g ., when the gui 70 starts - up ). the objects 40 and the object managers 64 preferably return the security relationship information to the mxbrain 80 , which may perform additional operations on the security relationship information before returning the security relationship information to the gui 70 for display to the user . the directional arrows between the various components in fig5 depict this flow of information . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method 90 for inquiring about security relationships . the method 90 comprises starting a gui 92 , invoking a mxbrain function 94 , instantiating an object manager 96 , retrieving security relationship information 98 , manipulating the security information 100 , and displaying the security relationship information 102 . starting the gui 92 preferably comprises the user starting the gui 70 in order to access a system such as the system 10 of fig1 and software such as the scm 12 . as noted above , when the user starts the gui 70 in order to access the scm 12 , the gui 70 preferably displays the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . accordingly , invoking the mxbrain function 94 preferably comprises the gui 70 executing the callback code , which in turn invokes the mxbrain 80 function to determine the security relationships of the user . for example , in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s authorized tools , the callback code invokes a mxbrain function , the gettoolnamesforuser method . as noted above , the object managers 64 are accessed to determine the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . accordingly , instantiating the object manager 96 preferably comprises the mxbrain 80 accessing the object manager ( s ) necessary for determining the security relationships , as directed by the invoked mxbrain function . for example , in order to determine a user &# 39 ; s authorized tools , the security manager 646 and the tool manager 643 are instantiated ( as directed by the invoked gettoolnamesforuser method ). the security manager 646 and tool manager 643 , and the other object managers 64 , may be located locally near the mxbrain 80 ( e . g ., the mxbrain 80 may be housed in the domain manager 62 with the object managers 64 ). if the object managers 64 are located remotely from the mxbrain 80 , the object manager 64 may be accessed with a remote method invocation (“ rmi ”). the mxbrain functions comprise a process of various method invocation ( s ), remote method invocation ( s ) (“ rmis ”) and / or class instantiation ( s ) for determining the user &# 39 ; s security relationships . accordingly , retrieving security relationship information 98 preferably comprises execution of the invoked mxbrain function is process and utilization of the instantiated object manager ( s ) 64 to retrieve the security relationship information . the invoked mxbrain function &# 39 ; s process , and therefore the retrieving step 98 , preferably includes invocation of one or more object manager 64 methods and / or object 40 methods . the object manager 64 methods may in turn instantiate one or more objects 40 and invoke one or more object / object manager 40 methods . as part of the retrieving step 98 , once the object manager 64 retrieves the security relationship information , the object manager 64 returns the security relationship information to the mxbrain 80 . the mxbrain 80 may then enter the security relationship information in a hash table or vector , or other storage mechanism ( e . g ., for further processing ). accordingly , manipulating the security relationship information 100 may comprise the mxbrain 80 storing the security relationship information in a hash table or vector and processing the security relationship information ( e . g ., with previously retrieved security relationship information ). for example , if the returned security relationship information includes tool id numbers identifying the user &# 39 ; s authorized tools , the mxbrain 80 may store the tool id numbers in a hash table and then use the stored tool id numbers to determine the tool names from the tool name objects . likewise , if the mxbrain 80 is retrieving the authorized nodes for all of a user &# 39 ; s tools , the manipulating step 100 may comprise comparing the authorized nodes for one tool to the authorized nodes for another tool so as to eliminate repeated nodes . the mxbrain 80 may accomplish this comparison by writing the retrieved security relationship information to a hash table in which new entries overwrite duplicate old entries . displaying the security relationship information 102 preferably comprises the mxbrain 80 returning the security relationship information to the gui 70 and the gui 70 displaying the security relationship information . preferably , the gui 70 displays names of the roles , nodes , node groups , and / or tools of the user . fig7 – 13 are sequence diagrams illustrating exemplary executions of the method 90 for inquiring about security relationships . all of the sequence diagrams include a series of classes 112 , vertical time - lines 114 indicating running of the classes 112 from which they descend , horizontal method ( or function ) call - lines 116 running from the vertical time - line 114 of the class 112 invoking the method to the vertical time line 114 of the target class 112 , and notations 118 providing comments . fig7 is a sequence diagram 110 illustrating a process for getting the user &# 39 ; s authorized tools . in the sequence diagram 110 , the gui 70 executes callback code that in turn invokes a gettoolnamesforuser method of the mxbrain 80 . as seen by the associated method call - line 116 , the gui 70 passes the name of the current user (“ username ”) with the gettoolnamesforuser method invocation . the invoked gettoolnamesforuser method directs the mxbrain 80 to instantiate the security manager 646 and the tool manager 643 , shown by getdefaultmanager ( ): mxsecuritymanager and getdefaultmanager ( ): mxtoolmanager method call - lines 116 running from the mxbrain class 112 to the mxsecuritymanager and mxtoolmanager classes 112 . since a user is allocated tools based on the user &# 39 ; s authorized roles , the mxbrain 80 determines the user &# 39 ; s roles in order to determine the user &# 39 ; s tools . as shown by the listrolesforuser method call - line 116 , the mxbrain 80 invokes a security manager 646 method to list the authorized roles of the user identified by the username . the security manager 646 returns the role names of the user &# 39 ; s authorized roles to the mxbrain 80 . as shown by the self - referential toroleids method call - line 116 , the mxbrain 80 makes a self - referential method invocation to convert the returned role names to role id numbers . the mxbrain 80 then takes the role id numbers and invokes a tool manager 643 method to list the tools allocated to the user by the user &# 39 ; s authorized roles . this invocation is shown by the listbyroles method call - line 116 , which illustrates the passing of the role id numbers (“ int roles ”). the tool manager 643 returns the tools allocated to the user by role . the gui 70 then preferably displays these allocated tools to the user ( not shown ). since the authorized roles were also retrieved , they may also be displayed to the user . fig8 is a sequence diagram 120 illustrating a process for getting names of the node ( s ) 16 on which a user may use an allocated tool . for example , if the gui 70 has displayed the user &# 39 ; s allocated tools , and the user selects an allocated tool , the process shown by the sequence diagram 120 may be executed in order to display the node ( s ) 16 on which the user can execute the selected tool . the gui 70 invokes a getnodenamesforuserbytool mxbrain 80 method , passing the username and the name of the allocated tool (“ toolname ”). the mxbrain 80 , as directed by the invoked getnodenamesforuserbytool method , instantiates the tool manager 643 and the security manager 646 . as shown by the read ( mxtoolname toolname ): mxtool method call - line 116 , the mxbrain 80 invokes a tool manager 643 method to read the tool object 408 (“ mxtool ”) for the allocated tool . the mxbrain 80 uses the tool object 408 to determine the assigned role ( s ) for the allocated tool , as shown by the getenabledroles method call - line 116 . the tool object 408 returns the role id number ( s ). for each assigned role for the allocated tool , the mxbrain 80 queries the role manager 642 for the role object 402 (“ mxrole ”) identified by the role id number , as shown by the read ( int theroleid ): mxrole . the mxbrain 80 may then determine the name of the role object 402 , as shown by the getname method call - line 116 on an mxrole class 112 . the mxbrain 80 preferably then queries the security manager 646 for the nodes 16 authorized for the user by the assigned role identified by the preceding steps . this is shown by the getnodesforuserbyrole method call line 116 . the returned node names may be placed in a hash table ( shown by the “ hash table ” class 112 ), as shown by the put method call - line 116 . these method calls ( read ( int theroleid ): mxrole , getname , getnodesforuserbyrole , and put ) are repeated for each assigned role identified by the getenabledroles method invocation , as indicated by the thickened vertical timeline 114 descending from the mxbrain class 112 . since a user may be authorized more than one role on a node 16 and a tool may be assigned more than one role , there may be repetitive nodes returned by the getnodesforuserbyrole method invocations . as noted by the notation 118 , the put method only saves the unique node names in the hash table . once the illustrated method calls have been repeated for each assigned role , the node names in the hash table are returned to the gui 70 for display to the user . fig9 – 13 are additional sequence diagrams illustrating exemplary executions of the method 90 for inquiring about security relationships . the processes shown in fig9 – 13 are self - evident and are not described in detail herein . fig9 is a sequence diagram 130 illustrating a process for determining node group names from provided node 16 names . for example , if the nodes 16 on which a user is authorized to execute allocated tools have been determined ( e . g ., from the process shown in fig8 ), the node groups 18 , if any , comprised of any of these nodes may be determined for display on the gui 70 per the sequence diagram 130 . fig1 is a sequence diagram 140 illustrating a process for determining node group names . in an embodiment , given a user , the mxbrain 80 determines all the nodes 16 for which the user has an authorization triplet ( e . g ., nodes on which the user is authorized to use a role ). from the determined list of nodes 16 , the mxbrain 80 determines which subset of the nodes 16 make up the node group 18 . for example , a user “ hasii ” has authorization triplets for nodes 1 through 10 . nodes 4 through 7 comprise the entire node group “ webserver ”. if hasii is authorized to execute a tool or tools on all three nodes 4 – 7 , then hasii has a node group authorization for node group webserver . as opposed to fig9 , the authorized nodes 16 and / or tools of the user are not determined prior to execution of the process shown in the sequence diagram 140 . instead , the sequence diagram 140 shows a determination of the user &# 39 ; s authorized node groups 18 . fig1 is a sequence diagram 150 illustrating a process for determining node group names for a user for an authorized tool . for example , if the tools that the user is allocated have been determined ( e . g ., from the process shown in fig7 ) the node groups on which any of these tools may be executed may be determined for display on the gui 70 per the sequence diagram 140 . fig1 illustrates an enumeration class 112 , and the invocation of enumeration class methods . an enumeration is an object that encapsulates a collection of objects . another object or data structure , such as a hashtable or vector , may provide a mechanism to return their entire contents ( e . g ., the entire contents of the hashtable or vector ). the enumeration object is that mechanism . the mechanism is utilized by requesting the first object encapsulated by the enumeration object and then continuing to request the “ next ” object until the enumeration object has no more objects to provide . the enumeration object may not provide the encapsulated objects in a particular order . if , alternatively , the user &# 39 ; s authorized node groups 18 are saved as part of the authorization triplets as authorization objects 410 , then the authorized node groups 18 may be determined even more directly , in a process similar to that shown in fig8 . fig1 is a sequence diagram 160 illustrating a process for determining tool group names for a user . tools may be grouped into logical tool groups for easier display on the gui 70 . accordingly , the process shown by the sequence diagram 160 may be used when the gui 70 displays the tool groups that the user is authorized to use . likewise , fig1 is a sequence diagram 170 illustrating a process for determining tool group names for a user for an authorized node . the process shown by the sequence diagram 170 may be used when the user &# 39 ; s authorized nodes have been determined ( e . g ., as shown in fig8 ). the process shown by the sequence diagram 170 will return the tool groups if any of tools allocated for the user on the authorized node . it is noted that there may be additional processes for determining a user &# 39 ; s security relationships , beyond those shown in fig7 – 13 . the processes shown in fig7 – 13 are merely meant to be illustrative and exemplary and are not meant to be exhaustive . while the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof , those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments of the invention without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . the terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations . those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims and their equivalents .	6
fig1 shows a system employing a pcmcia device 103 in accordance with one aspect of the invention . as shown , the system includes a host computer 101 having a pcmcia compatible socket 102 into which a pcmcia card 103 can be inserted . host computer 101 can comprise a notebook computer , for example , and can access data from a removable storage medium such as a floppy disk 107 and a hard disk 108 . in one embodiment , a software driver 110 can be used to implement certain functions to interact with pcmcia card 103 through socket 102 . driver 110 can be loaded by an application program 111 , which can also implement certain other functions ( e . g ., a user interface ). pcmcia card 103 includes various hardware and software functions for interfacing host computer 101 to an i / o device such as a tape unit 105 . as shown , pcmcia card 103 is coupled to tape unit 105 through a cable 104 and a base unit 106 which may provide a power source to the tape unit 105 . the power source may comprise a small battery , for example . in one embodiment , pcmcia card 103 communicates with tape unit 105 through a parallel port 109 . a second parallel port can be used for communicating with the pcmcia card through socket 102 . as described in more detail herein , pcmcia card 103 is first configured to operate as a memory pcmcia device . in this mode , host computer 101 transfers hardware functions in the form of field programmable gate array ( fpga ) instructions into the card using memory read / write instructions . thereafter , pcmcia card 103 is reconfigured to operate as an i / o type device , and host computer 101 interacts with card 103 using i / o instructions . as one example , pcmcia card 103 can be configured to interface with a tape mass storage unit . fig2 shows one possible embodiment for a pcmcia card according to the present invention . a pcmcia compatible connector 201 provides a standard pcmcia interface which mates with socket 102 of fig1 . an i / o device connector 202 may comprise a pc / txe 15 pin connector which interfaces to tape unit 105 of fig1 through a cable . a field programmable gate array ( fpga ) 203 , which may for example , comprise a xilinx xc3030 , is coupled between connector 201 , connector 202 , and an application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ) 204 . in general , fpga 203 can be dynamically programmed with new hardware functions through connector 201 in a first mode , and then can be used to execute the hardware functions in a second mode . asic 204 includes application - specific circuits which control tape unit 105 of fig1 . the pcmcia device of fig2 also includes a memory 208 which may comprise a 1 mb dram , a translation circuit 207 , an eeprom 205 for storing card information structure ( cis ) data , and a board decoder 206 . appropriate control , address and data lines as shown can be used to connect the aforementioned components . additionally , a parallel port data bus 208 , control lines 209 , and status signal lines 210 can be used to interface the fpga to asic 204 . as is conventional , a pcmcia standard data structure known as card information structure ( cis ) is stored in nonvolatile memory , preferably in eeprom 205 . board decoder 206 can be used in one embodiment to set pointers to one of a plurality of cis &# 34 ; tuples &# 34 ;, described in more detail herein , in order to support both a memory mode and an i / o device mode . the default cis is a memory device ( i . e ., the pcmcia card is treated as a memory card ). in one embodiment , data bus data includes 16 bits , 2 bits of which are used as clock and data lines used to write instructions into fpga 203 . the particular arrangement and asic implementation will of course be dictated by the particular i / o application desired . in one embodiment , a datasonic tape unit may be used . conventional &# 34 ; plug - and - play &# 34 ; pcmcia cards conform to a standard protocol which allows a pc to exchange information with the card . typically , pcmcia cards are configured to operate either as a memory device or as an i / o device , and the cards return data to the pc indicating the type of card and interfacing details . memory - type cards are simpler to interface with , since i / o - type cards typically require that the host pc allocate resources such as memory and interrupt services . according to the present invention , a single pcmcia card is first configured as a memory device in order to load fpga instructions into the fpga . thereafter , the same pcmcia card is configured to operate as an i / o device . fig3 shows in simplified form steps for configuring a pcmcia card as a memory device in order to load fpga instructions , then reconfiguring the card as an i / o device . beginning with step 301 , the pc card is initially configured to interact with the host computer as a memory device ( i . e ., memory read and write instructions are used to read from and write to the card ). this can be done by establishing a default card information structure ( cis ) in the card which informs the host computer that the card is a memory type device . next , in step 302 , an fpga netlist file to be loaded into the fpga in the device is read from a disk , such as a floppy disk or hard disk drive . programs used for creating fpga netlists are well known and are not discussed here . thereafter , in step 303 , the fpga netlist is written into the fpga using memory write commands . in various embodiments , this can be performed by using one bit of data bus data as a clock signal and using another bit of data bus data as a data signal . after the netlist has been written into the fpga , then in step 304 the pc card is reconfigured to operate as an i / o device ( i . e ., it accepts i / o instructions from the host computer , the host computer allocates i / o resources , etc .). this can be accomplished by using board decoder 206 to switch the cis &# 34 ; tuple &# 34 ; in eeprom 205 to one which supports an i / o device , causing the new tuple to be read into the host computer , and allocating resources for the i / o device . thereafter , in step 305 , the host computer interacts with the pc card as an i / o device such as a tape storage unit or the like . fig4 a through 4c provide details of attribute memory maps and an i / o address map which can be used to configure a pc card first as a memory device and then as an i / o device . fig4 a shows a first attribute memory map for communicating with a pcmcia card as a memory device . fig4 b shows a second attribute memory map for communicating with a pcmcia card as an i / o device . fig4 c shows an i / o address map for communicating with a pcmcia card as an i / o device . beginning with fig4 a , it is assumed that an attribute memory map including information shown in fig4 a has been previously programmed into eeprom 205 of fig2 typically starting at address 00000000 hex . in relevant part , this memory map includes a card information structure ( cis ) &# 34 ; tuple &# 34 ; cis1 which indicates that the card type is a memory device . when the host computer initializes the card , this tuple is returned to the host , which determines that the device is a memory device and treats it as such . it is preferable that the cis1 indicate that the card has a memory address range , but that it is not a standard type of memory in order to prevent the memory resource manager from trying to attach to the card . when the card is in this state , it will respond to read and write operations in the common memory to program the fpga . cis memory is aliased every 1000h in memory to save on decoding logic . the memory is accessed as 8 bit quantities at even addresses only . this convention is required by the pcmcia specification to support 8 bit hosts . this means that while the linear memory space is 400h it occupies 800h of address space . in order to perform a write operation , the software must wait a short period of time between each write . to determine when it is safe to write to the next location , the driver polls the last location written . the data read will be inverted relative to what was written until the internal write cycle has been completed . fig4 b shows a second attribute memory map including a second cis tuple cis0 which indicates that the device is an i / o device . it is assumed that this second cis tuple was also previously programmed into eeprom 205 , but beginning at a later address . however , in accordance with one aspect of the invention , board decoder 206 causes fpga 203 to change a memory map associated with this memory such that the host computer perceives the cis0 tuple to be the default tuple at address 00000000h . that is , when the host computer interrogates the card , the memory map shown in fig4 b is returned to the host , causing the host to treat the card as an i / o device . fig4 c shows an i / o address map which is visible after initialization as an i / 0 device . for example , a first parallel port lpt1 can be located at the first address , and a second parallel port lpt2 can be located at a subsequent location , etc . once the fpga has been programmed , the card programming model changes to use the i / o address space and attribute memory space ; the common memory space is no longer used . once the configuration register is configured , the card becomes an i / o address mapped parallel port card . the parallel port registers are all contained in the i / o address space and allow application software to communicate with the device ( e . g ., tape unit ) via the normal parallel port control and data registers . fig5 a is a first flow chart illustrating steps which can be carried out in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . these steps generally provide additional detail to those shown in fig3 and can be implemented in driver 110 and application 111 of fig1 . beginning in step 501 , the host computer is booted , and a device driver which implements the functions described herein is loaded . in step 502 , a test is performed to see whether the operating system supports pcmcia card services . if not , then in step 505 the device driver is unloaded and the program exits . in step 503 , the pcmcia card service information is retrieved and saved . in step 504 , a test is made to determine whether an fpga configuration file exists for loading the fpga . if none exists , then termination occurs at step 505 . in step 506 , the fpga file is retrieved from a disk and stored in memory . additionally , pcmcia card registration occurs , and the event handler is hooked up . these generally include steps of allocating resources for the card , calling card services to register the card , and hooking up an event handler to handle power management , insertion , and removal events . handling of these events is shown in steps 513 through 518 , which are not explained further . processing then advances to step 507 ( see fig5 b ). in fig5 b , in step 507 a test is performed to see whether there is a card in the slot . if not , then in step 508 the card registration is completed and the driver is retained as a tsr ( terminate and stay resident ). otherwise , processing advances to step 509 . in step 509 , the socket number information is saved , and the first cis tuple is checked from the card ( i . e ., cis1 shown in fig4 a ). in step 511 , a test is made to determine whether a special type of string has been inserted into the cis consistent with the type of device contemplated by the invention . for example , if the card has been configured to support a tape controller , a string such as &# 34 ; nt tape &# 34 ; can be stored in the cis1 to indicate this condition . the driver detects this string and , if present , proceeds with the configuration . otherwise , termination occurs in step 518 . in step 512 , programming of the fpga in the card occurs . this includes steps of setting a &# 34 ; card present &# 34 ; flag in the driver , finding an available lpt port and configuring a tape port as a parallel port ( avoiding conflicts with other ports ), allocating an irq for the port , and allocating a block of memory to program the fpga chip . additionally , an fpga programming clock is generated , and an fpga timing delay is established ( used to ensure that the chip is ready ). finally , the fpga chip itself is programmed . one approach for programming the fpga chip is to use one of the data lines ( data in fig2 ) as a clock and another of the data lines for the programming data . as is well known , a hardware schematic can be converted into an fpga netlist which is a file that configures the fpga to perform specific hardware functions . if the hardware schematic is changed , a new netlist can be quickly generated for loading into the fpga , thus saving valuable design time . the fpga netlist data itself is ready out of memory by the driver and written , one bit at a time , into the fpga through one of the data lines data in fig2 . as explained previously , fpga netlist generation programs are well known and are not elaborated upon here . as one example , xilinx provides an off - the - shelf program for creating netlists for its fpga chip . other vendors include viewlogic and mentor graphics . after programming , the process advances to step 519 of fig5 c . in fig5 c at step 519 , a test is made to determine whether the chip has been properly programmed . as one example , various diagnostic tests can be performed by writing information to fpga program registers ( see fig4 a ) and checking the result . if an error exists , then in step 523 an error message is generated and the event handler exits . next , in step 520 , the i / o device ( e . g ., a tape controller ) is initialized . this can be implemented by generating a signal to board decoder 206 , which causes fpga 203 to change a memory map to cis0 ( see fig4 b ), thus causing the host computer to treat the card as an i / o device . the driver uses the new address window , and configures the controller as an i / o device . the allocated memory window is released , and a success flag is set . thereafter , in step 521 a check is made to determine whether a resume flag is set . this might occur if the unit was turned off during a tape backup , for example . if set , the lpt register data must be restored , and the resume flag is reset . if the flag was not set , termination occurs in step 524 . processing in steps 525 through 527 ( entry point &# 34 ; r &# 34 ;) corresponds to a power management resume event from step 517 of fig5 b . processing in step 528 ( entry point &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;) corresponds to a power management suspend event from step 516 of fig5 b . handling of power management events is an optional feature of the present invention . thus has been described a system and method for configuring a pcmcia compatible card as a memory device for the purpose of programming an fpga on the card and then configuring the card as an i / o device using the newly programmed fpga . it is apparent that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible , and references to specific values are by example only . the method steps of the invention may be practiced in a different ordered sequence from that illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention . it is , therefore , to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	6
the teachings herein are directed to a system that accepts sensory input from non - homogenous sensors and / or non - homogenous healthcare domain data stores . the system presents the data in a homogenous user interface as needed by a healthcare provider . in some embodiments , the healthcare domain data stores can include such exemplary systems as an emr system holding patient data , an erp system or other data store systems located at point of care . the collected data can be converted and formatted , in order to obtain homogenized data . the homogenized data from the various sources can be collated . as such , the collated data can be provided by sensors and healthcare domain data stores . in some embodiments , the collated data can be used implement clinical workflow enhancements . the system provides a user interface that can be used by a healthcare provider . in some embodiments , the user interface can be used to make determinations about protocol compliance by the medical professional . in some embodiments , the system can access a patient &# 39 ; s medical record from a healthcare domain data store and determine if the sensed data comports with the protocol prescribed to a patient . warnings and errors for failure to comply with the protocol can be generated . the data can be collected at a patient &# 39 ; s home , at a medical facility or both . the sensors can communicate with an on - site gateway , e . g ., over bluetooth , and the data recorded by the sensors can be forwarded to a central server , e . g ., over the internet . in some embodiments , a system operates with non - homogenous sensors ( sensors made by different manufacturers ). the present teachings save costs in custom programming because ‘ connectors ’ for instrument / protocol specific data acquisition are provided . the connectors can be built into the system . in some embodiments , the connectors can be provided to a user on software as a service ( saas ) basis . so for example , a newly supported device / instrument can be available for all users without significant re - engineering costs to the connector provider . in some embodiments , the connectors can be borrowed or purchased from industry approved solutions in market . in some embodiments , the connectors can be indigenous . in a preferred embodiment , a data gateway capable of using configured connectors to accept data from various sources is described . the gateway can be connected to data producers or sources , which can be humans or physiometric instruments . connectors can be used to connect to data sources . the gateway can be connected to data sinks or consumers , which can be humans or physiometric instruments . data consumers generally interpret the data . connectors can be used to connect to data consumers . the correlation of the acquired data is enhanced after it has been homogenized / standardized within a core system . in some embodiments , the interpretation of data , either by humans or processors is targeted to specific use cases . in specific use cases , meaningful correlation of such homogenized data greatly enhances the value of the data . the correlation can be enhanced by the following exemplary means : increase the scope of relations from targeted use case or workflow to hospital / enterprise wide scope expose homogenized data for writing enterprise level business rules while keeping device dependencies transparent to end user make correlated data available for real - time as well as analyzed decisions ( this is not the case with currently available data interpreters ) allow access to singular ( i . e ., current heart rate ) as well as historical ( average sugar level in last 3 months ) data parameters while creating business rules . provide out of the box business rules ( i . e ., never events ) which can be readily adapted by enterprises using our system . the standardized data can be plugged into a medical protocol . in some embodiments , the standardized data can be integrated and / or associated with a patient &# 39 ; s medical record ( pmr ). in some embodiments , the standardized data can be relayed back to any emr system connected to the system . the integration can be used to provide significant benefits to a user . for example , the integration can post alarms if recommended protocols are not followed by a patient or a service provider . in some embodiments , payments to a service provider can be authorized post acquisition and integration of data related to the service provided . in some embodiments , the integration can be used for findings of fact or for other data mining activities . the present teachings use business rules at enterprise level rather the traditional use of triggers at a workflow level . for example , the system can be used to enhance quality of care and minimize human errors . a business rule that ensures that a specific drug must be dispatched by inventory for given treatment , or it can ensure that the correct patient is being given the treatment or surgery \ at the enterprise level can be modeled as : ( any patient with sw financial rating & lt ; x ) and ( scheduled for a surgery costing & gt ; y ) and with past non - pay cases == true ) ( a patient scheduled for surgery x has arrived into operation room y ) ( there should have a recent entry in inventory system for dispatch of drug z , which is required for surgery x ). presently , there is a push in the medical care industry to switch from pay per procedure to pay per bundle by an insurance carrier . the care giver is paid a fixed price for services to be rendered as a bundle rather than individually , i . e ., the care giver is paid once . examples of such treatment include treating for congestive heart failure ( chf ) ( heart attack ) including in hospital and home care post procedure . in the pay per bundle , a care provider can increase profit and reduce risk by ( 1 ) avoiding duplication of procedures by various specialists needed for treatment and ( 2 ) by verifying that post - procedure protocols that reduce complications are followed in the hospital and at home . for example , for a chf patient weight change within 60 days of a heart attack can indicate problems . in another example , when a bulimic or anorexic patient induces vomiting , his heart stops — this can be seen by a blood pressure sensor . in another example , a patient &# 39 ; s insulin levels retrieved from the glucose monitor can indicate when an insulin shot was received by a diabetic patient . fig1 is an embodiment of a system 100 used by medical facilities . at the technical core , system 100 integrates healthcare related heterogeneous data from various sources . data is collected from monitoring equipment 102 including on - body or off - body physiological sensors . monitoring equipment 102 can transmit physiological data to a gateway 104 , for example , when the patient is at home or a medical facility . in some embodiments , monitoring equipment 102 can transmit physiological data via a cellular phone 106 . data from monitoring equipment 102 or from cellular phone 104 can be transmitted over a network 112 such as the internet to a server 114 . in some embodiments , an integrator 108 can interface with emr systems 110 . data from integrator 108 can be transmitted over network 112 to server 114 . integrator 108 can connect to multiple emr systems . server 114 can provide data acquisition and analysis . server 114 can also comprise a rule database . system 100 can be used for specific workflows or use cases of the same to generate actionable events for several applications including medical compliance check , patient monitoring , caregiver / patient alerts and service validation . system 100 can provide alerts using a notification system 116 . system 100 can present the collected and analyzed data using a presentation system 118 . presentation system 118 can comprise , for example , a web - server . fig2 is an embodiment of how software can be logically connected to provide the systems and methods of the present teachings . a technology stack 200 can be used to implement the software . in a preferred embodiment , data collection 202 can be provided using a combination of various data connectors . in some embodiments data connector 204 can be provided by mirth connect software described at http :// www . mirthcorp . com / products / mirth - connect . in some embodiments , a data connector 206 for connecting a data flow to and from u . s . veterans association ( va ) emr system can be provided . other connectors 208 can be provided as needed . the data collected via data connectors 202 is then homogenized and processed through a core transaction processing engine 210 . transaction processing engine 210 can use active and passive alerts . in some embodiments , the alerts can be via rule engine 212 implemented using drools ( a java based business logic processor ). in some embodiments rule engine 212 can be used in used in conjunction or replaced with a propriety rules engine 214 . propriety rules engine 214 can be written in microsoft vc ++ and . net . data from data connectors 202 can be processed real - time for customer defined business rules resulting into actionable events . processed data is then stored using an archival and analytics system 220 . in some embodiments , archival system 220 can include a database 222 , for example , a mysql database . archival and analytics system 220 can be exposed to customers for reporting . archival and analytics system 220 can comprise an analytics engine 224 that uses , for example , an open source mondrian rolap interface . archival and analytics system 220 can comprise an analytics engine 226 that uses , for example , microsoft ssas ( sql server analytical services ) 224 . fig3 is a logical diagram of how the teachings herein can be utilized to provide business services . the core / gateway 302 technology stack described above is further utilized for various business and domain specific applications . applications 310 use the core / gateway 302 and are viewed as ‘ use cases ’. the applications 304 can utilize integration technologies 320 to provide desired business solutions . the proposed architecture of core / gateway technology 302 includes one or more of : esb ( enterprise service bus ), e . g ., microsoft biztalk server dss ( decision support systems ) and clinical dss business rules management systems ( brms ) e . g ., ibm websphere ilog brms core : ‘ pre - programmed ’ business rules to be made available to customer in saas ( software as a service ) model . logical groups of these pre - programmed business rules form a ‘ use case ’ supported . the pre - programmed rules can also be viewed as standard business practices by smaller customers . a business rules processing layer for healthcare to alter performance of the software according to use case or workflow in either real - time , offline , or batch mode . core / gateway 302 can begin by standardizing data from non - homogenous physiological sensors and perform heterogeneous data integration 304 . data from heterogeneous data integration can be used by various use case or workflow applications 310 such as mental health use case 312 , a chf post - procedure monitoring use case 314 , a care protocol compliance monitoring use case 316 , a diabetes use case 318 , and a fraud detection through validation of services use case 330 . fig4 is an embodiment of a data integrator 400 that accepts data from various heterogeneous health , medical and bio data sources , stores the data in a homogenous format , collates the data and makes the data available for other applications for applying business rules . a user / actor layer 490 of data integrator 400 can obtain personal data 402 , caregiver data 404 , profile data 406 , and / or geo - location data 408 . the data can be divided into one or more of these categories . data integrator 400 can retrieve a personal health record ( phr ) 412 , physiological data collected from a body area network ( ban ) 414 , an ehr 416 , an emr 418 , data from a his 420 , or a combination thereof . in some embodiments , profile data 406 like a public personal profile 422 or a restricted personal profile 424 . in some embodiments , geo - location data 408 can comprise a location 426 or a route 428 . in some embodiments , data integrator 400 can include outbound connectors 410 for actionable events 430 or for ehr updates 432 . user / actor layer 490 can interface with an integration and interface layer 492 which can include connectors to the various categories of data available to user / actor layer 490 . in some embodiments , one or more of a ban / device connector , an offline data capture 436 , or an on - demand data - pull 438 can be provided . integration and interface layer 492 can also provide an application protocol interface ( api ) 440 . api 440 can provide web - services . in some embodiments , api 440 can provide lower level api services . in other embodiments , integration and interface layer can include a portal 442 . portal 442 can provide functions to access , manage and define use cases . in some embodiments , portal 442 can provide an interface for social networking integration . in other embodiments , portal 442 can provide an interface for reporting and analytics . in a preferred embodiment , portal 442 can include a business tool configuration and definition interface . integration and interface layer 492 can interface with an application layer 494 . application layer 494 can include one or more of a data collection 444 , data formatting 446 , data indexing 448 , analytics 450 , and generating dynamic data 452 module . application layer 494 can interface with a pluggable business rules layer 496 . pluggable business rules layer 496 can include one or more of a patient rules check 454 , a compliance rules check 456 , a validation of services 458 , a health status monitoring 460 , a mental health profiling 462 module . pluggable business rules layer 496 can interface with a data services and store layer 498 . data services and store layer 498 can be capable of storing dynamic data 464 , real - time data 466 , archiving 468 , media 468 , analysis services 470 , or any other data 472 needed by the data integrator 400 . archiving 468 can store exceptions , audit events , events , vital signs etc . other data 472 can include , for example , user accounts , billing , security logs , or audit logs . in some embodiments , application layer 494 can collate the data received at user / actor layer 490 . according to various embodiments , pluggable business rules layer 496 can collate the data received at user / actor layer 490 . the following examples illustrate how the present teachings can be used . fig5 illustrates a data flow diagram for a use case or workflow 500 usable with diabetic patients . using data 502 obtained from multiple healthcare related systems like emr 504 , ehr 506 or phr 508 a system can generate actionable events 520 for diabetic patients with or without co - morbidities . by applying business rules 510 , data from emr 504 , ehr 506 or phr 508 can be collated . when a patient has a higher than usual glucose level norm per rules 512 , 514 , the two levels can be compared per rule 516 . as such , when a patient gets admitted in a hospital , the patient &# 39 ; s medical history can be provided to use case 500 . if business rules 510 generate an event to notify a caregiver 524 about the expected higher glucose level and a suggestion to take care of the glucose level before the step of getting the glucose level down is suggested . additionally , business rules 510 can update ehr 526 . fig6 is an embodiment of a data flow diagram for a use case or workflow 600 usable for fraud detection . using data 602 obtained from a sensor on a body area network 604 and a geo - location sensor 606 , use case 600 can validate delivery of health services . when a caregiver provides a patient a pre - scheduled service which has recordable impact on body vitals , business rules 610 can collate the data from body area network 604 and geo - location sensor 606 . the collated data can identify physiological changes in a patient &# 39 ; s vital signs 612 . the physiological data can be related to changes with expected service events 614 . the results from the changes with expected service events 614 can generate corresponding events 620 . events 620 can record exceptions 622 , validate service 624 , authorize payment 626 or detect fraud 628 . organization . caregiver . scheduledpatientvisit . time & lt ; is in & gt ; +/− 2 hours and organization . caregiver . location & lt ; is not in proximity of & gt ; organization . caregiver . scheduledpatientvisit . patient . location or organization . caregiver . scheduledpatientvisit . patient . vitalsigns & lt ; do not show & gt ; organization . caregiver . scheduledpatientvisit . treatment . expectedresults fig7 is an embodiment of a data flow diagram for a use case or workflow 700 usable for monitoring post - procedure monitoring of patients who have suffered from congestive heart failure . use case 700 can be used for remote monitoring of discharged patients . when , a patient is discharged from hospital after a congestive heart failure treatment , the patient needs to be monitored real time . using data 702 obtained from multiple healthcare related systems like emr 704 , ehr 706 or ban sensors 708 and applying business rules 710 , use case 700 can generate actionable events 720 for the treatment of the patient . in some embodiments , by applying business rules 710 , data from emr 704 , ehr 706 or ban sensors 708 can be collated . in some embodiments , ban sensors 708 can comprise body area networked devices . ban sensors 708 can monitor the patient while he is stationary — for example , at home — or when the patient has restricted mobility . business rules 710 can monitor equipment and services and can generate events 720 . events 720 can be to alert caregiver 722 . the alert can raise alarms / notifications to the caregiver if something goes ‘ wrong ’, as defined by business rules 710 . additionally , business rules 710 can update ehr 726 with the progress of the patient . for example , the rule structure can comprise : fig8 shows an embodiment , where a system 800 can be used to create and score individuals profile using data obtained from an individual ehr . the information can include public and restricted personal profiles . for example , data source 802 can comprise a patient intake system . when a new ehr 806 , for example , a veteran &# 39 ; s record , is received into the ehr system , the system can invoke business rule 810 . business rule 810 can retrieve a profile 804 and ehr 806 . in some embodiments , profile data 804 may not exist in the healthcare data domain . in such events , profile data 804 can be collected by business rule 810 from government sources ( e . g ., military records , ncic database ), or from private sources ( e . g ., credit reports , employment records ), or from other public sources ( e . g ., facebook , linkedin ) to generate one or more profiles . this data can be collated . per the rule engine 810 , the patient &# 39 ; s mental health is then assessed by the system or by a health care provider and a score is generated . if deemed medically necessary by the system and / or health care provider , events 820 can be generated . events 820 can alert caregiver 822 to contact the patient . in some embodiments , alert caregiver 822 can contact the patient through the web for a mental health assessment built for suicide prevention . the resulting scores of the assessment packet from business rule 810 can then be entered into the ehr system for clinicians review . for example , the rule structure can comprise : fig9 an embodiment of a data flow diagram for a use case or workflow 900 to validate compliance against configurable protocols and care workflows . using data 902 obtained from multiple healthcare related systems like his 903 , ehr 904 , emr 906 or ban sensors 908 and applying business rules 910 , use case 900 can generate actionable events 920 for the treatment of the patient . in some embodiments , by applying business rules 910 , data from his 903 , ehr 904 , emr 906 or ban sensors 908 can be collated . business rules 910 in the target hospital can monitor activity of his 912 within the hospital . business rules 910 can then compare the activity with patient data 914 and watch for exceptions 916 . in this manner , business rules can evaluate whether a protocol is being violated . for example , if a patient is undergoing certain operative procedure , business rules 910 can check if the expected set of medications is dispatched from inventory . another example would be to monitor certain ‘ never events ’ and prevent them from occurring . business rules 910 can monitor equipment and services and can generate events 920 . events 920 can be to alert caregiver 922 . the alert can raise alarms / notifications to the caregiver if something goes ‘ wrong ’, as defined by business rules 910 . additionally , business rules 910 can update ehr 924 with the progress of the patient . for example , the rule structure can comprise : ‘ vista ’ is a historical ehr / emr system being used by certain u . s . hospitals for a long time . the system is adapted and customized by certain government agencies such as va and department of defense ( dod ) for storing medical records of individuals . the system is not so open for third party developers outside of va and dod , and currently there is a lack of publicly available tools to integrate with vista . current challenges can be summarized as : tools available to integrate with vista provide high level support for hl7 or rpc calls . however there is no specific support to perform certain system functions . vista implementations may differ across locations of va hospitals and there is no publicly available common api to provide integration . vista accepts ‘ cprs ’ as its client software . cprs talks with vista using ‘ rpc calls ’ these rpc calls are very specific and may differ across locations / vista installations . there is not a publicly available authorized list of rpc calls for outside integrators . an integration package can be trained with an instance of vista server and the trained system can later be utilized for performing specific integration tasks . the integration package has following parts : a ‘ recorder ’ module which listens and records rpc traffic between cprs and vista in a log file a ‘ player ’ module which replays the traffic recorded in log file in earlier step an object based substitution engine written in java which substitutes key data elements of the rpc calls being replayed thus allowing external software to repetitively replay log files with different data elements to perform the job frequently without involving manual usage of cprs . the use case or workflow which needs to be automated for integration can be identified . examples of a workflow or use case include : a . add / view a patient record b . add / view a clinical note for a patient c . add clinical reminder into clinical note for given patient , such as , audit - c , phq - 9 , tbi , mst , tobacco , pc_ptsd d . retrieve list of registered patients to check if a patient already has a record in vista e . digitally sign or not sign a newly created / existing note . document in the clinical note a need for placing a consult to other departments . the system can perform the use case or workflow through cprs and record the rpc calls into a log file . then the ‘ player ’ code is changed to set values to be substituted in the rpc calls being replaced . finally , the system replays the log files with different values to perform the same use case in a black box mode . for adding a clinical reminder into an existing patient record in vista . the emr records maintained within vista are not publicly accessible . information provided by va on the rpc calls is described , for example , at : http :// www . va . gov / vdl / documents / infrastructure / remote_proc_call_broker_ ( rpc )/ xwb1 — 1p47r elease_notes . doc . the following rpc commands will be updated real time using value substitution as described : following are the assumed interpretations of the data source to be consumed by the system described . an emr comprises medical information of a person stored at unit level caregiver , mostly about current instance of care . an ehr comprises medical and health related information of a personal stored at global level of the caregiver , mostly about historical records . a personal health record ( phr ) comprises health records in possession of an , individual . a body area network ( ban ) comprises data about vital signs collected from devices worn on or in proximity of body . a his can comprise software systems running in a hospital , including but not limited to , patient intake , operations room mgmt , erp , inventory , billing , etc . in some embodiments , personal profiles are publicly available and legally obtainable . in some embodiments , private profile data comprises profiles including but not limited to social network profiles , financial data , driving records , legal records . in some embodiments , dynamic dimensional data is not restricted to a business of medical function or use case . this is a homogeneous form of data obtained from heterogeneous data sources . actionable events comprise events , alerts and notifications generated by the system when the data qualifies configurable business rules . business rules comprise business function / domain / use case specific rules which are user configured , and the system needs to apply on available data . the ehr server software used and maintained by certain u . s . government agencies including va and dod is named vista . cprs is the ehr client software used and maintained by certain u . s . government agencies including va and dod . rpc is the tcp / ip based non - public interface cprs uses to talk with vista . the various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be constructed to limit the invention . those skilled in the art will readily recognize the various modifications and changes which may be made to the present invention without strictly following the exemplary embodiments illustrated and described herein , and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention , which is set forth in the following claims .	6
in fig1 of the drawings , there is disclosed a drill string 10 located within a borehole 11 , and having a drill motor housing 12 affixed to the lower end of a pipe string 14 . a drill bit 16 forms the lower terminal end of the drill string . borehole annulus 18 is formed between the inner wall of the borehole 11 and the outer wall of the pipe string 14 . the borehole extends through a geological formation 20 . as seen in fig2 a pneumatic motor 22 has an output shaft 24 thereof connected to a gear reduction system 26 , which in turn is connected to rotate an output shaft 28 . a swivel 30 enables spent gases from conduits 32 and 34 to enter the interior of the output shaft 28 . an orifice means 36 is connected within the gas supply entrance to the pneumatic motor 22 , while a lower orifice means 38 is connected within the spent gas outlet 40 at the downstream side of the motor 22 . more specifically , the drill bit 16 is connected in axially aligned , underlying relationship respective to swivel 30 by means of shaft 40 , within which there is included the before mentioned lower orifice means 38 positioned therewithin so that outlet ports 42 located adjacent to face 44 of bit 16 are provided with spent compressible drilling fluid , whereupon cuttings 45 removed from formation 20 are carried back uphole through the annulus 18 . aquifer 46 is sometimes encountered and causes water to flow into annulus 18 , thereby increasing the bottomhole pressure of the borehole . a source of compressed fluid , s , such as air , flue gases , gaseous hydrocarbons , and any other suitable compressible fluid , hereinafter often referred to as a gas or gases , flows down the interior of pipe string 14 , through the upper orifice 36 , into the gas motor 22 , where work is extracted from the gas and spent gases are then free to exhaust through conduits 32 and 34 , where the gases are conducted into the swivel 30 and enter hollow shaft 28 . the spent gases from shaft 28 are conducted through the lower orifice 38 and exit the drill bit 16 by means of outlets 42 . the outlets 42 are sometimes called drill bit nozzles . in order to remove formation cuttings from the bottom of the borehole , and to accommodate for variation in bottom hole pressure , the gases exiting the drill bit nozzles must be maintained at a sufficient pressure differential respective to the ambient to assure that fluids do not reflux and kill the well , a condition which can only occur when the critical downhole pressure is reached . as formation water enters the borehole , the gas motor outlet is exposed to an increased pressure , which , in the absence of the present invention , would vary the pressure drop across the motor and thereby vary the output torque of the motor . to eliminate this problem , gauged orifices are placed at the inlet to the motor ( upper orifices , fig3 ) and at the exit to the motor ( lower orifices , either below the motor or at the air or gas exit from the bit , fig3 ). these orifices are gauged to provide sonic flow conditions at the lower level and either sonic or subsonic flow conditions at the upper level . this will require a slightly higher injection pressure of air or gas to the drill string . the upper and lower orifices are gauged to allow a predetermined pressure drop across the downhole pneumatic motor and a predetermined flow of air or gas . this will ensure a constant horsepower output from the motor . since sonic flow conditions will exist at the lower orifice , the bottom hole pressure is free to vary ( within limits ) with no change in motor output horsepower . only when the bottom hole pressure increases to the critical ratio will the motor be affected by the bottom hole pressure variation . the injection pressure , therefore , the pressure drop through the upper and lower orifices can be set ( by diameter of the orifices ) such that the motor is unaffected by the bottom hole pressure variations for normal operating conditions . a downhole gas driven motor is to develop 25 horsepower with an air flow of 1600 scfm . the efficiency of the motor is to be about 50 %. the drilling rate is estimated to be 30 ft / hr . the downhole motor is to be used to drill hole from the surface to 5 , 000 &# 39 ; in depth with a 61 / 4 &# 34 ; bit . using the work of angel , r . r . angel , volume requirements for air and gas drilling , gulf publishing company , 1958 , the bottom hole pressure , p b , can be found for this 5 , 000 &# 39 ; depth from the following equation : ## equ1 ## which can be solved to obtain a value of 148 psia . it is estimated that the bottom hole pressure can vary by as much as a factor of 2 higher than the 148 psia magnitude during normal drilling operations due to variations in drilling rate and to formation water which may enter the annulus ; therefore , the maximum bottom hole pressure , p d . sbsb . max could be 296 psi . the critical relationship for sonic flow in a lower set nozzle ( s ) is : ## equ2 ## where p 1 is the pressure above the nozzle ( psia ), k is the ratio of specific heats of the gas ( i . e ., for air k = 1 . 4 ). if the nozzles at the bit ( lower set ) below the air motor are sized ( i . e ., diameter of openings ) to require that the pressure above the bit nozzles be maintained at a level of pressure which will preclude its change even though the bottom hole pressure fluctuates between 148 psia and 296 psia , then pressure above the bit nozzles , p a , must be if there are three nozzle openings on the bit , then the diameter of these openings can be found from the following equation of j . k . vennard , elementary fluid mechanics , 4th edition , wiley & amp ; sons , inc ., 1961 , which is valid for sonic flow : ## equ3 ## which yields a 2 = 0 . 0011 ft 2 , so the three nozzle openings at the bit must have a diameter of 0 . 2593 inches in order to maintain sonic flow conditions while the bottom hole pressure changes . the pressure drop through the motor can be calculated by the following formula : ## equ4 ## this gives a calculated pressure drop through the motor of p out / p in = 0 . 7536 with p in = 743 . 5 psia . since p out / p in is greater than 0 . 5283 , the following equation applies when calculating the orifice area : ## equ5 ## if p out / p in were less than 0 . 5283 , the sonic flow equation would be used to calculate the orifice area . this equation was used to calculate the lower orifice area . by gauging the diameters of the nozzles above the air motor and below the air motor ( bit nozzles ) as above , the bottom hole pressure can vary by a factor of 2 higher than expected and the horsepower of the air motor will remain constant at 25 . if the bottom hole pressure decreases from the 148 psia level , the air motor will not be affected . if the bottom hole pressure increases beyond the 296 . 0 psia level , the air motor horsepower will decrease in accordance with the pressure increase . those skilled in the art , having digested the above portions of this disclosure , should now appreciate that the following data should be known before accurate calculations can be made for selecting the proper orifice sizes : ( c ) size of the borehole to be drilled , and the pipe string diameter ; once the above initial conditions have been determined , the bottom hole pressure in the annulus is calculated by the following equation : ## equ6 ## the above equation is therefore the basis for the start of pressure drop regulation . bottom hole pressure will fluctuate with the change in characteristics of the returned cuttings along with the influx of water into the annulus . it is necessary to estimate the maximum bottom hole pressure . a reliable estimation is to initially add 100 psi to the calculated bottom hole pressure : sonic flow through the lower orifice is essential for the practice of this invention . when sonic flow exists in an orifice , a shock wave is created . this shock will isolate the pressure above the orifice from the pressure below the orifice . stated differently , sonic flow through the lower orifice allows the bottom hole pressure to fluctuate within limits without affecting the pressure above the orifice , i . e ., the exit pressure from the turbine . the following terms are used to describe the pressure when referring to the upper and lower orifices : pressure drop through lower orifice : to assure sonic flow through the lower orifice , the following equation applies : ## equ7 ## the orifice must be sized to meet the above conditions , which can be achieved by the following formula : ## equ8 ## based on the initial conditions , only one orifice size can be calculated to meet these conditions . the upper orifice size is determined in much the same manner as sizing the lower orifice . the pressure drop across the upper orifice is a function of turbine horsepower , and therefore the pressure drop across the orifice can be calculated by the following equation : ## equ10 ## pressure at the exhaust port of the turbine equals the pressure above the lower orifice . therefore , since p 1b = p 2a the equation for the pressure above the upper orifice may be solved as follows : ## equ11 ## the orifice must be sized to meet the above conditions , and therefore the critical flow equation is employed : if p 1b / p 1a is less than 0 . 5283 , the following equation is used to determine orifice size : ## equ12 ## if p 1b / p 1a is greater than 0 . 5283 , the following equation is used to determine orifice size : ## equ13 ## turbine horsepower requirement is a function of pressure drop across the upper orifice . if this pressure drop is above the critical pressure ratio , sonic flow equations must be used when calculating orifice size . likewise , if the pressure drop is below the critical pressure ratio , subsonic flow equations apply when calculating orifice size . from the above system of equations , it becomes apparent that , when the initial conditions are specified , only one set of orifice sizes can be calculated . if one were to estimate or guess at orifice size in order to use a shorter method , it is very unlikely that the orifices would function according to the method of the present invention . sonic : the sharp rise in aerodynamic drag that occurs as the flow approaches the speed of sound . at supersonic flow rates , the flow rate exceeds the speed of sound ; and , at sonic flow rates , the speed of sound is equal to the speed of the flowing material . subsonic speed is a flow rate less than the speed of sound . at any point in a duct through which air is flowing , the ratio of velocity to local wave speed ( v / c ) is called the mach number m , which is the speed of sound , or sonic velocity . if m is less than 1 , subsonic flow is realized . if the m is greater than 1 , supersonic flow is realized .	5
the present invention is now described with reference to the figures , where like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements . referring now to fig1 a valve gated injection molding system 100 is shown . system 100 includes a nozzle assembly 102 and an actuation system 104 . a longitudinal axis 136 of nozzle assembly 102 is shown for reference . nozzle assembly 102 functions , to a certain extent , similarly to known injection nozzles and includes a nozzle body 138 . melt is introduced into a first melt channel 105 and a second melt channel 107 of the nozzle body 138 via first and second manifold melt channels 106 , 108 of a melt distribution manifold 122 . the melt flowing through first melt channel 105 and first manifold melt channel 106 may be the same material as the melt flowing through second melt channel 107 and second manifold melt channel 108 , or two different materials may be flowing through each set of channels . also , the diameter of first melt and first manifold melt channels 105 , 106 may be the same as the diameter of second melt and second manifold melt channels 107 , 108 , or the diameters of the two set of melt channels may be different . such design considerations are heavily dependent upon the type of product to be produced by system 100 and / or the molding process being implemented . as shown in fig1 first manifold melt channel 106 is located closer to an outlet surface 109 of manifold 122 than second manifold melt channel 108 . while not necessary for the operation of the present invention , offsetting the manifold melt channels 106 , 108 allows for the later inclusion of additional melt channels or the modular addition of separate manifolds . separate manifolds may be necessary if two different materials are used that have substantially different melt characteristics that require maintaining the melt at different temperatures . connecting manifold 122 to nozzle assembly 102 is a melt connector 121 . melt connector 121 includes a first connection melt channel 123 and a second connection melt channel 125 . melt connector 121 is a bushing used to connect manifold melt channels 106 , 108 to nozzle melt channel 105 , 107 . manifold melt channels 106 , 108 are disposed in this embodiment towards the exterior perimeter of manifold 122 . nozzle melt channels 105 , 107 are disposed closer to longitudinal axis 136 than manifold melt channels 106 , 108 . as such , first connection melt channel 123 is disposed diagonally through melt connector 121 so that first connection melt channel 123 fluidly connects first manifold melt channel 106 to first nozzle melt channel 105 . similarly , second connection melt channel 125 is disposed diagonally through melt connector 121 so that second connection melt channel 125 fluidly connects second manifold melt channel 108 to second nozzle melt channel 107 . as the melt flows through the first and second melt channels 105 , 107 of the nozzle body 138 , the temperature of the melt is maintained by heating element 124 . heating element 124 may be coiled , embedded , clamped , and / or cast to nozzle body 138 . further , heating element 124 may be comprised of a thin or thick film heating element . the melt flows through first and second valve gates 114 , 116 into a mold cavity ( not shown ). the flow of the melt through each valve gate 114 , 116 is independently controlled . first valve gate 114 is open when first valve pin 110 is not seated within first valve gate 114 . similarly , second valve gate 116 is open when second valve pin 112 is not seated within second valve gate 116 . fig1 a shows first valve gate 114 in the open position and second valve gate 116 in the closed position . the flow of the melt through first and second valve gates 114 , 116 is controlled by actuation system 104 . actuation system 104 is located on the opposite side of the manifold 122 as the nozzle assembly 102 . first and second valve pins 110 , 112 extend through manifold 122 into actuation system 104 . with reference now to fig2 movement of the first valve pin 110 is controlled by a first actuation unit 118 . first actuation unit 118 includes a first piston driving mechanism 204 and a first piston 208 , which is slidable within a cylinder 217 . first valve pin 110 is axially movable through a first valve pin channel 212 . first valve pin channel 212 extends through a second actuation unit 120 , manifold 122 , and melt connector 121 . first piston driving mechanism 204 may be any of several mechanisms known in the art , for example , pneumatic or hydraulic systems , bladder pistons , or cam and lever systems . a pneumatic driving system operates by hooking an external air source to the piston driving mechanism with valves controlled by a timing circuit which applies and releases the pressure in a repetitive timed sequence in conjunction with the application of pressure to the melt from the molding system . a hydraulic driving system operates in the same manner as the pneumatic system , only hydraulic fluid is substituted for air . in another embodiment , first piston driving mechanism 204 may be a bladder piston , as shown and described in the copending u . s . appl . no . 60 / 363891 filed on mar . 14 , 2002 by the same assignee which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . a bladder piston is an expandable and elongated bag which shortens in length when filled with a pressurized fluid like air , water or oil . one end of the bladder is affixed to a valve pin such that as the bladder is pressurized it contracts in length the valve pin is unseated from the valve gate allowing the melt to flow into the mold cavity . similarly , depressurizing the bladder causes the bladder to increase in length , which seats the valve pin in the valve gate and stops the flow of the melt into the mold cavity . as first piston driving mechanism 204 cycles through the sequence , first piston 208 is driven up and down . this causes first valve pin 110 to be driven downwards and upwards , thereby seating and unseating first valve pin 110 within first valve gate 114 . a longitudinal axis 216 of actuation system 104 is slightly offset from longitudinal axis 136 of nozzle assembly 102 . however , first valve pin 110 of first actuation unit 118 is centered on longitudinal axis 216 . in order to minimize the space required to control movement of the valve pins 110 , 112 independently , the second actuation unit 120 is disposed between first actuation unit 118 and manifold 122 . second actuation unit 120 includes a second piston driving mechanism 206 and a second piston 210 , which is movable within a second cylinder 219 . second valve pin 112 is axially movable through a second valve pin channel 214 . second valve pin channel 214 extends through manifold 122 and melt connector 121 . first valve pin channel 212 passes through second actuation unit 120 to allow first valve pin 110 to reach nozzle assembly 102 unimpeded . a length of second valve pin 112 and second valve pin channel 214 are offset from longitudinal axis 216 in order to provide for the disposition of first valve pin channel 212 through second actuation unit 120 . as shown in fig1 a , a rod 140 is disposed on second piston 210 in order to balance the operation of second piston 210 due to the offset positioning of second valve pin 112 . rod 140 may also be a dowel or other similar component . second piston driving mechanism 206 may be any of the various driving mechanisms as mentioned above with reference to first piston driving mechanism 204 . as second piston driving mechanism 206 cycles through the sequence , second piston 210 is driven up and down . this causes second valve pin 112 to be driven downwards and upwards , thereby seating and unseating second valve pin 112 within second valve gate 116 . this arrangement of first and second actuation units 118 , 120 permits the minimization of a pitch 202 between the longitudinal center axis of first valve pin 110 and second valve pin 112 . pitch 202 may be as small as less than 7 mm . this tight pitch configuration of the valve pins 110 , 112 makes possible the close setting of valve gates 114 , 116 of nozzle assembly 102 while maintaining independent actuation of valve gates 114 , 116 . if a greater number of valve gates are desired with independent control from first and second valve gates 114 , 116 , additional actuation units can be stacked upon the existing actuation units . additional offset valve pin channels would be provided through first and second actuation units 118 , 120 . rod 140 could be eliminated as the additional valve pins would provide the necessary balancing of the piston action . a bladder piston actuation unit may be employed for each valve pin of a multiple valve pin arrangement which may or may not require stacking or a lateral offset of each actuation unit [ 0035 ] fig3 a and 3b show one possible application of a tight pitch dual valve gate configuration , the overmolding of a small part . a mold cavity 302 is shaped to mold a dual material small part , such as a cap . a mold core 304 is disposed within mold cavity 302 in order to form a secondary mold cavity 306 . secondary mold cavity 306 is filled with a first material through second valve gate 116 , which is in the open position . to prevent a second material from entering secondary mold cavity 306 , first valve gate 114 is in the closed position . [ 0036 ] fig3 b shows the second step of the overmolding process in which a mold core 304 has been moved axially away from the valve gates 114 , 116 . a second material is injected into mold cavity 302 through first valve gate 114 , which is in an open configuration to permit the flow of the second material . second valve gate 116 is in the closed configuration to prevent further injection of the first material in to mold cavity 302 . the second material covers a first molded material piece 306 a to form a single dual material cap . [ 0037 ] fig4 shows another application of the present invention . the valve gated injection molding apparatus of the present invention is shown with a mold having two separate mold cavities 440 , 442 of the same size and shape in close proximity . in this application , two similar articles of a different color or different material may be simultaneously molded . if for some reasons there is a need to mold more parts of one color than the other , the fact that two valve pins 410 , 412 are independently movable allows one to inject only one kind of part for any number of cycles . also of the two materials have different molding characteristics , such as the viscosity , the parts can be still molded by reciprocating valve pins 410 , 412 at different times . furthermore , one can either shuttle or rotate mold cavities 440 , 442 to provide an overmolding solution where a second color / material is injected into each cavity . [ 0038 ] fig5 shows another application of the present invention . the valve gated injection molding apparatus of the present invention is shown with a mold having two separate cavities 540 , 542 of different size and shape in close proximity . in this application , two articles of the same or different color and / or same or different material may be simultaneously molded . pressure sensors 502 are shown in the nozzle and or in the manifold that are used to control the movement of the valve pins in each melt channel , as well as the temperature of each nozzle based on the pressure readings . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents .	1
in fig1 a , a silicon substrate 31 having a ( 100 ) surface orientation , is washed and polished to a thickness of about 280 microns . a one micron oxide film 32 ( e . g ., silicon dioxide ) is formed over the entire surface of this silicon substrate , in fig1 b , using a thermal oxidation step . in fig1 c , a resist photomask over oxide film 32 , top and bottom , and hydrofluoric acid are used to etch any unprotected parts of oxide film 32 , e . g ., by photolithography . etching photomasks 33d and 33c are then formed on the top side of substrate 31 . these photomasks correspond to a micropump diaphragm and a valve membrane . then , on the bottom side , a feature 33 is placed , which corresponds to a through - hole that will pass through the substrate 31 . ( the through - hole acts as a pipe conduit for fluid flow .) both sides of silicon substrate 31 get a first wet anisotropic etching to form depression 36b ( for the diaphragm ) to a depth of 60 microns , depression 36a ( for the valve membrane ), and an incomplete through - hole 34 . the etching typically uses a potassium hydroxide ( koh ) 30 percent by weight aqueous solution heated to 80 ° c . in this case , in order to accurately etch a 60 micron depth in silicon substrate 31 , the temperature of the etch solution must be closely controlled and frequently stirred . in fig1 e , another resist photomask is applied over oxide layer 32 on the bottom side of silicon substrate 31 . hydrofluoric etching then removes any unprotected parts of oxide layer 32 , thus forming features 33a and 33b ( corresponding to the diaphragm and valve ). a second anisotropic etch further shapes the diaphragm and valve from the top and bottom . the bottoms of the valve and diaphragm depressions etch to a depth of 80 microns , and the tops to a depth of 140 microns , from their respective surfaces , after the second anisotropic etching . diaphragm 36 and valve membrane 50 ( surrounding valve 35 ) take their final forms within the substrate 31 . the etching depth for valve 35 will be 80 microns , as opposed to a prior art habit of making the top and bottom etches equal , resulting in a valve etching depth of 110 microns . the shallower , 80 micron depth prevents deformation of the valve and promotes better valve sealing . a hydrofluoric acid solution removes oxide films 32 and 32a ( fig1 g ). in fig1 h , silicon dioxide is sputtered through a photomask to form a one micron valve compression layer 37 ( see detail of fig1 ). the entire surface of silicon substrate 31 is oxidized to form a 0 . 13 micron thick oxidation layer 32 ( fig1 j ). such an oxide film allow fluids to flow more easily through the micropump to improve the corrosion resistance of the substrate to chemicals that may be used in the fluids being pumped . the process is stopped when holes 34a open up . in fig2 a silicon substrate 38 is shown without the thin oxide layer ( e . g ., layer 32b ) for clarity . diaphragm 36 , valve 35 , and flow channel 41 , are anodic bonded to particular locations in contact with lower glass substrate 40 . ( an electrode surface for bonding purposes has not been shown in the drawing .) upper glass substrate 39 ( also having an electrode surface not shown in the drawing ) is bonded to form a flow channel 41 and a pressure chamber 42 . both the upper and lower glass substrates 39 and 40 comprise one millimeter thick borosilicate glass sheets . fluid supply port 43 and fluid nozzle 44 are fabricated in the lower glass substrate 40 in advance of assembly with substrate 38 . a wide hole 48 accepts a piezoelectric flexer 47 on top of diaphragm 36 . when a current is passed through flexer 47 , it vibrates , causing the diaphragm it is attached to to also move in and out . this causes the valves to operate and fluid will be pumped . an oxide layer 32b is only 0 . 13 microns thick , and is not so thick as to make anodic bonding impossible . because valve compression layer 37 is one micron thick , it prohibits anodic bonding . supply tube 45 connects to supply port 43 , while spray tube 46 connects to nozzle 44 . the micropump is completed by electrical wiring to drive flexor 47 and tubing to ports 45 and 46 . fig4 a - 4m have element designations that are basically the same as those used in fig1 - 3 . in fig4 a , both sides of a ( 100 ) surface orientation substrate , 280 microns thick , are polished and washed . a one micron oxide layer 32 is formed over the entire surface of silicon substrate 31 using thermal oxidation , as illustrated in fig4 b . next , a resist photomask is used on both sides of oxide layer 32 , as shown in fig4 c . the unprotected parts of the oxide layer are removed with hydrofluoric acid , thus forming photomasks 33d and 33c , which will eventually become a diaphragm and a valve membrane , on the same side of silicon substrate 31 . in fig4 d , a first wet anisotropic etching forms diaphragm depression 36b and valve membrane depressions 36a . each depression has a depth of about 60 microns . the etching is done with a potassium hydroxide ( koh ) 30 percent by weight aqueous solution heated to 80 ° c . in order to accurately etch to a depth of 60 microns , the etching solution is preferably temperature controlled and kept thoroughly mixed by stirring . resist photomask of the opposite side of substrate 31 , and oxide layer 32 of the pattern portion is removed using hydrofluoric acid etching . this forms feature 33 which locates the through - holes . a second anisotropic etching of both sides of silicon substrate 31 forms an incomplete hole 34 to a depth of 60 microns ( fig4 f ). simultaneously , diaphragm depression 36b and valve membrane depressions 36a , on the top side of silicon substrate 31 , have each grown to a depth of 120 microns . part of oxide layer 32 , not protected by a photomask , is removed by hydrofluoric acid etch . this forms feature 33b and 33a , which correspond to the diaphragm and valve ( fig4 g ). another anisotropic etching step forms the diaphragm and valve features at a depth of about 50 microns from the bottom side ( fig4 h ). therefore , diaphragm depression 36b and valve membrane depression 36a grow to a depth of 170 microns and hole 34a punches through silicon substrate 31 . oxide layer 32 and 32a are thereafter selectively removed with a hydrofluoric acid solution ( fig4 i ). by allowing diaphragm 36 to be offset and lower in substrate 31 , the anisotropic etching needed to form valve 35 is only 50 microns , so there will be substantially no deformation or deficiency in valve 35 . this improves the valve seal performance . next , a one micron thick valve compression layer 37 is sputtered onto valve 35 . this also prevents valve 35 from bonding with the glass in the later anodic bonding step . a thermal oxidation over all of silicon substrate 31 forms a 0 . 13 micron thick oxidation layer 32 ( fig4 l ). this allows fluids to flow through the micropump more easily . it also improves the ability of the surface of the substrate to withstand the corrosive effects of many chemicals found in the fluids being pumped . the final assembly of the micropump is the same as that described above , for the embodiments shown in fig2 and 3 . in fig5 a , both sides of a ( 100 ) surface orientation substrate 31 , which is 280 microns thick , are polished and washed . a one micron oxide layer 32 ( e . g ., silicon dioxide ) is formed over the whole surface of silicon substrate 31 , using a thermal oxidation method ( fig5 b ). next , a resist pattern is laid down on the top side of oxide layer 32 ( fig5 c ), and the unprotected parts of oxide layer 32 are removed with hydrofluoric acid . photomasks 33d and 33c are used to form a diaphragm and a valve membrane . next , a first anisotropic etching forms depression 36b for the diaphragm , and depression 36a for the valve membrane . both have a depth of 190 microns ( fig5 d ). such etching is typically done with a potassium hydroxide solution , 30 percent by weight at 80 ° c . to accurately etch to a depth of 190 microns , the temperature of the etching solution is controlled and well mixed by constant stirring . silicon substrate 31 is then coated with oxide layer 32 by thermal oxidation ( fig5 e ). since depressions 36a and 36b only need be covered , the silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) layer can also be sputtered on . a resist pattern is laid down on the bottom side of substrate 31 , and part of oxide layer 32 is etched away using hydrofluoric acid . this forms feature 33 , which will ultimately produce through - holes for the valves ( fig5 f ). a second anisotropic etch forms incomplete hole 34 to a depth of 60 microns . this hole is formed on the bottom side of silicon substrate 31 ( fig5 g ). the bottom side of silicon substrate 31 gets another resist pattern . the unprotected parts of oxide layer 32 are removed by a hydrofluoric acid etch . features 33b and 33a , which respectively correspond to the diaphragm and valve ( fig5 h ). a third anisotropic etch forms the diaphragm and valve at a depth of 30 microns on the bottom surface of silicon substrate 31 ( fig5 i ). because diaphragm 36 is below center in substrate 31 , the anisotropic etch for the valve was only required to be 30 microns deep . there will be substantially no deformation or deficiency in the resulting valve . the valve seal that results is very much improved . for hole 34 , because the back of the valve is covered with an oxide layer , there is also no irregularity in the through - hole , and helps eliminate liquids and bubbles . oxide layer 32 and 32a are removed with a hydrofluoric acid solution to form through - hole 34a ( fig5 j ). silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) photomask sputtering forms a one micron thick valve compression layer 37 on valve 35 ( fig5 k ). this prevents the valve 35 from bonding with the glass in the anodic bonding step , below . thermal oxidation is done , as above , over the entire silicon substrate to get a 0 . 13 micron thick oxidation layer 32 ( fig5 l ). this allows fluids to flow easily and improves the anti - corrosive properties of the surface of the substrate . in fig5 l , a one micron valve compression layer 37 is formed from the oxide layer on valve 35 , and is brought to the end . final assembly is as above . fig6 a illustrates a fourth embodiment where a valve 55 and diaphragm 56 are etched from both sides of silicon substrate 51 in a 30 % koh solution heated to 60 ° c ., using a thermal oxide layer 52 ( e . g ., silicon dioxide ) as the photomask . next , in fig6 b , thermal oxide layer 52 is removed using hydrofluoric acid . a polyimide coating is then applied to the tips of the face of valve 55 , as illustrated in fig6 c , using a screen printing process . it is then cured at 350 ° c . for 30 minutes to form high - polymer layer 57 , which will makes up the preloading section and complete silicon substrate 58 . next , as illustrated in fig6 d , upper glass substrate 59 and lower glass substrate 60 are bonded to either side of silicon substrate 58 using anodic bonding ( 350 degrees c ., 0 . 5 kv ). finally , flexer 61 , which drives the diaphragm and drives pipe 66 , which allows the fluid to flow in and flow out of the micropump , are attached to complete the micropump . an examination was made of the micropump fabricated in this manner using the stability of the output volume to compare the degree of seal and the reverse flow conditions with those of the products of the prior art . when the output volume was measured by driving the micropump at 60 hz , 50 % or more of the products of the prior art became rejects because they did not get the required output volume , which is the rated two microliters ± 0 . 1 per minute . the valve seal was not enough . however , of the 50 micropumps fabricated according to the present invention , only one had to be rejected . in addition to using polyimide as the high - polymer material of the preloading layer , the same type of trial production uses polyamide as the high - polymer material . it was confirmed that there were no problems in the case of anodic bonding and that a sufficient seal was obtained . fig7 is the process steps of the cross - section drawing that is the method of fabricating an alternative embodiment of the third micropump of the present invention . fig7 d is a cross - section of the micropump configuration . in fig7 a , 7b , and 7d , the content is exactly the same as that described in the embodiment in fig6 . therefore , this description will be omitted . in fig7 c , a partial 0 . 5 micron film of tin is deposited on the upper surface of valve 55 to form nitride layer 57a by metal plating through a photomask . this layer becomes the preloading layer . however , instead of the tin described above , the preloading layer may also be formed by depositing ain or tan . in the case of an ain layer , it is desirable to have a film thickness of one microns or less , and the anodic bonding conditions may be increased to 400 ° c . and 0 . 8 kv . when the condition of the valve of a micropump formed in this manner was examined , in the case of the preloading layer of the thermal oxide layer of the prior art , with a film thickness of one microns or less , 10 % to 20 % of the valves bonded to the glass substrate . by contrast , almost no such bonding was seen with the valves of the present invention . in the case of a long period of time as well , the sticking of valves after 1 , 000 hours had elapsed in a 60 degrees c .× 90 % atmosphere was 30 % for valves of the prior art . however , of the 100 micropumps fabricated from the present invention , only one showed the valve sticking problem . fig8 a - 8b show a step 77 and diaphragm 74 being formed by etching in a 30 % koh solution heated to 60 ° c . photolithography and etching are used on both sides of the silicon substrate 73 , which is attached to bonding surfaces 78 of the entry - side glass substrate 72 and exit - side glass substrate 71 . these are bonded using an anodic bonding method to complete the diaphragm valve . the etching of silicon substrate 73 uses a photomask that was a 1 . 5 micron thermal oxide film . in this structure , silicon substrate 73 shifts and the width of conical tip 75 , which is on valve 76 and makes contact with glass substrate 72 , is 200 microns . a spacer with a height of one micron is formed and preloading step 77 is formed . the method of fabricating preloading step 77 is to use photolithography to pattern the shape of conical tip 75 on the silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) film and etch a one micron thick section of unnecessary silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) film ( not illustrated ). preloading step 77 can be made even higher by continuing to etch the silicon of silicon substrate 73 . the silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) layer is the left over photomask thermal oxide film used to etch silicon substrate 73 or a thermal oxide film that was formed again or a sputtered film . silicon dioxide ( sio 2 ) formed through thermal cvd has the same effect . the width and height of conical tip 75 of valve 76 quite naturally have the optimum dimension that depend on the thickness of diaphragm 74 . table 1 is the reverse flow results compared to the width and height of the conical tip . the diaphragm thickness is 40 microns and the back pressure is 0 . 8 m h 2 o . based on the results in table 1 , the optimal dimensions are 200 microns for the contact point width and 1 - 2 microns for its height . table 1______________________________________ ( re : fig8 ) contact pointwidth height reverse flow volume______________________________________ 50 μm 2 μm 0 . 03 microliters / minute100 μm 2 μm 0 . 02 microliters / minute200 μm 1 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute200 μm 2 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute400 μm 4 μm 0 . 04 microliters / minute______________________________________ table 2______________________________________ ( prior art ) contact pointwidth height reverse flow volume______________________________________ ˜ 900 μm 40 μm 0 . 02 microliters / minute______________________________________ in fig9 a , a conical tip 84 comprising a high - polymer ( e . g ., polyimide or polyamide ) is formed by photolithography and uses photo - sensitive resins . preferably , conical tip 84 will have a width of 200 microns and a height of two microns . the optimum dimensions depend on the thickness of diaphragm 74 . table 3 lists some experiment observations of reverse flow rates versus the width and height of conical tip 84 . table 4 is a comparison with the prior art . the diaphragm thickness is 40 microns and the back pressure is 0 . 8 m h 2 o . table 3______________________________________ ( re : fig9 ) contact pointwidth height reverse flow volume______________________________________100 μm 2 μm 0 . 04 microliters / minute200 μm 1 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute200 μm 2 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute400 μm 2 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute500 μm 4 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute______________________________________ table 4______________________________________ ( prior art ) contact pointwidth height reverse flow volume______________________________________about 900 μm 40 μm 0 . 02 microliters / minute______________________________________ the embodiment shown in fig1 a is a case in which a part of the conical tip is buried into the silicon substrate in order to improve the strength of the adhesion of the conical tip . fig1 a is a drawing of the components that show the structure of another diaphragm valve of this embodiment . fig1 b is a cross - section showing the diaphragm valve production method . the method of fabricating conical tip 81 is to form concentric circle groove 82 on valve 76 of diaphragm 74 and bury spacer ring 81 . spacer ring 81 is formed separately within the groove 82 and is higher than the depth of concentric circle groove 82 . or , the spacer ring may be formed on the substrate using photolithography . in the embodiment in fig1 , spacer ring 81 was formed with a width of 200 microns and a spacer was formed with a height of two microns in a substrate using photolithography . the width and height of conical tip 81 of valve 76 quite naturally have the optimal dimensions depend on the thickness of diaphragm 74 . next , table 5 is the reverse flow results compared to the width and height of conical tip 84 . table 4 is a comparison with the prior art . the diaphragm thickness is 40 microns and back pressure is 0 . 8 m h2o . table 5______________________________________contact pointwidth height reverse flow volume______________________________________100 μm 2 μm 0 . 04 microliters / minute200 μm 2 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute300 μm 3 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute500 μm 4 μm 0 . 01 microliters / minute______________________________________ as indicated above , by using embodiment 2 and devising a method for the diaphragm valve , it is possible improve the leak resistant characteristics as well as possible to have reliable fabrication . that is , the conical tip can be formed easily and it is possible to prevent the reverse flow caused by back pressure by eliminating the lack of uniform spacer thickness due to photomask sputtering . reverse flow is also prevented by the conical tip of the valve making uniform contact with the glass substrate . if the valve contact point is made of a flexible high - polymer material , the diaphragm valve will be excellent against leaks , even if there is some slight deformation or foreign matter . when a part of the conical tip was inlaid within the silicon substrate , the strength of the adhesion between the spacer and the silicon substrate improved . a micropump production method , according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention , is used for precision fabrication and control of the diaphragm . as such , it has an affect on the precision and reproducibility of the micropump fluid displacement . fig1 a and 11b illustrate a silicon wafer ( substrate ) 101 that has several micropump bodies being fabricated on it . wafer 101 can be the end wafer in a cassette full of wafers . silicon substrate 101 will separate from substrate 104 along the line of a first end - of - etch detector 102 when etching has progressed far enough . this separation gives a dramatic signal to an operator to stop etching . the figs . represent the situation that exists the instant etching should be stopped ( when the substrate splits into parts 101 and 104 ). fig1 a - 12c show more precisely what is going on in fig1 a - 11b . in fig1 a , a through - hole 105 and the first end - of - etch detector 102 are formed on a first side of silicon substrate 101 . the end - of - etch detector 102 is not a point like through - hole 105 , but rather is a straight - line channel that cuts across the silicon substrate and wafer , which has a outside diameter of about three inches and a thickness of about 220 microns . features 102 and 105 are made by etching in a 30 % koh solution , heated to 60 ° c ., to get the desired diaphragm thickness and an accurate depth of 40 microns . in fig1 b , the silicon substrate is then etched further , this time on both top and bottom sides (&# 34 ; top &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; bottom &# 34 ;, with respect to the drawing only ). through - hole 105 opens up the same time the first end - of - etch detector 102 cuts through . if several identical wafers 101 are in the same batch , it is enough to control one of the batch . diaphragms would vary ± 5 microns or more in the prior art . the typical variations observed for the present invention were within the range of ± 1 micron . in the ninth embodiment , the second end - of - etch detector 103 was formed on both sides of the silicon substrate . however , depending on the production method , if the bottom side of diaphragm pattern 107 is completed first , the effect is the same even if the second end - of - etch detector 103 is formed only on the side of the substrate in which the first end - of - etch detector 102 is formed , overlapping part or all of the first end - of - etch detector 102 . fig1 a - 13c show an alternative detection method , according tenth through twelfth embodiments of the present invention . in fig1 a , a laser beam 108 passes through a first detector 102 &# 39 ; after the etching should be stopped . an etching tank 114 is preferably transparent and made of thick quartz glass ( so the laser and a laser receiver can be located outside tank 114 ). it has been observed that , if etching tank 114 is made of sapphire , there is almost be no etching of tank 114 in a 30 % koh solution , even when the solution is heated to 60 ° c . fig1 b illustrates a detection method , according to the eleventh embodiment of the present invention . silicon substrate 101 is placed in series with a current flow , and when the substrate 101 separates , current flow in the circuit drops substantially . so indirectly , the time to end etching will be indicated on a current meter 109 . fig1 c illustrates the twelfth embodiment of the present invention . as before , silicon substrate 101 is cut in two at the same time that through - hole 105 opens up . if that edge of the silicon wafer had been supporting the weight , silicon substrate 101 drops a bit lower and a sort of dip - stick attached to it can be easily read outside the tank 114 . or , if converted to an electrical contact point , it can be detected electrically . again , if the thickness of silicon wafers 101 is the same , it is sufficient to control one substrate from a batch . the variation in the diaphragms of the prior art was ± 5 microns or more . however , the variation in the thickness of the diaphragms when actually produced using this embodiment was within a range of ± 0 . 8 microns . as described in the foregoing , the thickness of the diaphragm can be fabricated accurately by etching the desired thickness of the diaphragm , by etching the first end - of - etch detector accurately at the same depth , and by detecting that the overlapping part of the first end - of - etch detector and the second end - of - etch detector has opened up . in addition , even if there is variation in the thickness of the silicon substrate , the diaphragm can be accurately fabricated using this method . next , the processing of a silicon substrate for use in an ink jet printer head becomes an example to describe the silicon substrate processing of the present invention . fig1 is an exemplary cross - section showing the silicon substrate production process of the present invention . as illustrated in fig1 f , the purpose of this process is to form flow channel 125 and ink nozzle 124 on the silicon substrate . silicon substrate 121 , which has a ( 100 ) crystal surface orientation and is 200 microns thick , is heated for 50 minutes at 1 , 000 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere that includes steam , to form 0 . 4 micron oxide layer 122 ( fig1 a ). oxide layer 122 undergoes pattern processing by means of photolithography and hydrofluoric acid etching to form ink flow channel 125 ( fig1 b ). next , silicon substrate 121 is again heated in an oxygen atmosphere including steam for thermal oxidation . however , the process conditions are changed to 50 minutes at 900 ° c . this forms 0 . 2 micron thermal oxide layer 128 for the section corresponding to ink flow channel 125 . the section that was 0 . 4 microns thick before the processing began now becomes 0 . 5 microns thick fig1 c ). next , the patterning process for forming thermal oxide layer 128 in ink nozzle 124 is done using photolithography and hydrofluoric acid etching ( fig1 d ). an alkaline solution is used to etch the silicon . in this embodiment , a koh solution is used as the alkaline solution . ( a koh concentration of 25 % percent by weight and a temperature of 80 degrees c .) under these conditions , the silicon etching rate is one micron per minute . the thermal oxide layer etching rate is 0 . 002 microns per minute . silicon substrate 121 is etched for 200 minutes in the koh solution . due to the 200 minutes of etching , a 200 micron thick nozzle 124 opened up in silicon substrate 121 . however , at 100 minutes after the etching begins , the 0 . 2 micron thick thermal oxide layer 128 , which correspond to the ink flow channel 125 , disappears , exposing the silicon substrate below it ( fig1 e ). however , 100 microns of this area will be etched away in the subsequent 100 minutes of etching ( fig1 f ). in other words , nozzle 124 and ink flow channel 125 of the ink jet printer head will be formed together in the production steps in fig1 e and f . because this process does not photolithograph deeply contoured surfaces , as does the prior art , the patterning accuracy of the thermal oxide layer , as an etching photomask , is excellent . this results in better valve shapes . fig1 shows an example of an ink jet printer head . silicon substrate 121 , which has a ( 100 ) crystal surface orientation and is 200 microns thick , is heated for 70 minutes at 1 , 000 ° c . in an oxygen atmosphere that includes steam to form a 0 . 5 micron oxide layer 122 ( fig1 a ). by using photolithography and hydrofluoric acid etching , oxide layer 122 is used to form an ink channel 125 . next , 0 . 3 microns of film is etched away from oxide layer 122 etching half way through ( fig1 b ). next , photolithography is used to form a photoresist pattern that is the shape of nozzle 124 on oxide layer 129 . oxide layer 129 is then etched using a hydrofluoric acid solution ( fig1 c ). an alkaline solution is used to etch away the silicon substrate ( e . g ., fig1 ) to form nozzle 124 and ink channel 125 . as in the case of the first embodiment , this embodiment also does not use photolithography on deep surfaces ( see , fig1 ). therefore , the etched shape of the silicon substrate is free of imperfections , allowing the desired , highly accurate shape to be obtained . the embodiments described above use the example of the processing of an ink jet printer head . however , the present invention is not limited to this . it is also effective in producing a variety of devices , such as micropumps or pressure sensors that include the alkaline anisotropic etching of the silicon substrate in their production processes . while the present invention has been described in conjunction with several specific embodiments , it will be evident to those skilled in the art that many further alternatives , modifications and variations are possible , in light of the foregoing description . thus , the present invention described herein is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , applications and variations as may truly fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims .	1
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings , and specific language will be used to describe the same . it is nevertheless understood that no limitation to the scope of the disclosure is intended . any alterations and further modifications to the described devices , systems , and methods , and any further application of the principles of the present disclosure are fully contemplated and included within the present disclosure as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates . in particular , it is fully contemplated that the features , components , and / or steps described with respect to one embodiment may be combined with the features , components , and / or steps described with respect to other embodiments of the present disclosure . for the sake of brevity , however , the numerous iterations of these combinations will not be described separately . referring to fig1 , shown therein is an imaging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown , the imaging device 100 comprises an elongate flexible body 102 having a proximal portion 104 and a distal portion 106 . the proximal portion 104 includes an adapter 108 . in the illustrated embodiment , the adapter 108 is y - shaped with extensions 110 and 112 . in that regard , extension 110 generally extends along the longitudinal axis of the body 102 , while extension 112 extends at an oblique angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body . generally , the extensions 110 and 112 provide access to the body 102 . in that regard , in the illustrated embodiment extension 110 is configured to receive a guidewire 114 that is sized and shaped to fit within a lumen that extends along the length of the body 102 from the proximal portion 104 to the distal portion 106 and defines an opening at the distal end of the imaging device 100 . as a result of this arrangement , the imaging device 100 is understood to be what is commonly referred to as an over - the - wire catheter . in some embodiments , the lumen of the imaging device is centered about the central longitudinal axis of the body 102 . in other embodiments , the lumen is offset with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the body 102 . in the illustrated embodiment , extension 112 of adapter 108 is configured to receive communication lines ( e . g ., electrical , optical , and / or combinations thereof ) that are coupled to imaging components positioned within the distal portion 106 of the imaging device 100 . in that regard , a cable 116 containing one or more communication lines extends from extension 112 to a connector 118 . the connector 118 is configured to interface the imaging device directly or indirectly with one or more of a patient interface module (“ pim ”), a processor , a controller , and / or combinations thereof . the particular type of connection depends on the type of imaging components implemented in the imaging device , but generally include one or more of an electrical connection , an optical connection , and / or combinations thereof . the distal portion 106 includes a plurality of markers 120 . in that regard , the markers 120 are visible using non - invasive imaging techniques ( e . g ., fluoroscopy , x - ray , ct scan , etc .) to track the location of the distal portion 106 of the imaging device 100 within a patient . accordingly , in some instances the markers 120 are radiopaque bands extending around the circumference of the body 102 . further , the markers 120 are positioned at known , fixed distances from an imaging element 122 and / or the distal end 124 of the imaging device 100 in some instances . while the distal portion 106 has been illustrated and described as having a plurality ( two or more ) of markers 120 , in other embodiments the distal portion 106 includes one marker or no markers . further , in some embodiments , one or more components associated with the imaging element 122 can be utilized as a marker to provide a reference of the position of the distal portion 106 of the imaging device 100 . the imaging element 122 may be any type of imaging element suitable for visualizing a vessel and , in particular , a sever occlusion in a vessel . accordingly , the imaging element may be an ultrasound transducer array ( e . g ., arrays having 16 , 32 , 64 , or 128 elements are utilized in some embodiments ), a single ultrasound transducer , one or more optical coherence tomography (“ oct ”) elements ( e . g ., mirror , reflector , and / or optical fiber ), and / or combinations thereof . in that regard , in some embodiments the imaging device 100 is configured to be rotated ( either manually by hand or by use of a motor or other rotary device ) to obtain images of the vessel . referring to fig2 , shown therein is an imaging device 200 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown , the imaging device 200 comprises an elongate flexible body 202 having a proximal portion 204 and a distal portion 206 . the proximal portion 204 includes a handle 208 for grasping by a user . in the illustrated embodiment , a cable 216 extends from the handle 208 and includes one or more communication lines ( e . g ., electrical , optical , and / or combinations thereof ) that are coupled to imaging components positioned within the distal portion 206 of the imaging device 200 . in that regard , a cable 216 containing one or more communication lines extends from handle 208 to a connector 218 . the connector 218 is configured to interface the imaging device directly or indirectly with one or more of a patient interface module (“ pim ”), a processor , a controller , and / or combinations thereof . the particular type of connection depends on the type of imaging components implemented in the imaging device , but generally include one or more of an electrical connection , an optical connection , and / or combinations thereof . the body 202 includes an opening 210 that is in communication with a lumen that extends along the length of the body 202 from the opening 210 to the distal portion 206 and defines an opening at the distal end of the imaging device 200 . the opening 210 and the lumen it is in communication with are configured to receive a guidewire . as a result of this arrangement , the imaging device 200 is understood to be what is commonly referred to as a rapid exchange catheter . in some embodiments , the lumen of the imaging device is centered about the central longitudinal axis of the body 202 . in other embodiments , the lumen is offset with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the body 202 . the distal portion 206 includes a plurality of markers 220 . in that regard , the markers 220 are visible using non - invasive imaging techniques ( e . g ., fluoroscopy , x - ray , ct scan , etc .) to track the location of the distal portion 206 of the imaging device 200 within a patient . accordingly , in some instances the markers 220 are radiopaque bands extending around the circumference of the body 202 . further , the markers 220 are positioned at known , fixed distances from an imaging element 222 and / or the distal end 224 of the imaging device 200 in some instances . while the distal portion 106 has been illustrated and described as having a plurality ( two or more ) of markers 220 , in other embodiments the distal portion 206 includes one marker or no markers . further , in some embodiments , one or more components associated with the imaging element 222 can be utilized as a marker to provide a reference of the position of the distal portion 206 of the imaging device 200 . the imaging element 222 may be any type of imaging element suitable for visualizing a vessel and , in particular , a sever occlusion in a vessel . accordingly , the imaging element may be an ultrasound transducer array ( e . g ., arrays having 16 , 32 , 64 , or 128 elements are utilized in some embodiments ), a single ultrasound transducer , one or more optical coherence tomography (“ oct ”) elements ( e . g ., mirror , reflector , and / or optical fiber ), and / or combinations thereof . in that regard , in some embodiments the imaging device 200 is configured to be rotated ( either manually by hand or by use of a motor or other rotary device ) to obtain images of the vessel . referring now to fig3 and 4 , shown therein is a distal portion 300 of an imaging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . in that regard , the illustrated arrangement of the distal portion 300 is suitable for use in both over - the - wire catheters ( e . g ., imaging device 100 of fig1 ) and rapid exchange catheters ( e . g ., imaging device 200 of fig2 ). as shown , the distal portion 300 includes a main body 302 the contains imaging components 304 , which may include various electronic , optical , and / or electro - optical components necessary for the particular imaging modality utilized by the imaging device . in the illustrated embodiment , the distal portion 300 of the imaging device is configured for ultrasound imaging and includes an array 306 of ultrasound transducers arranged circumferentially about the distal portion 300 of the imaging device . in that regard , in some embodiments the transducer array 306 and associated components 304 include features as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 857 , 974 to eberle et al . that issued jan . 12 , 1999 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 283 , 921 to nix et al . that issued on sep . 4 , 2001 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 080 , 109 to baker et al . that issued on jun . 27 , 2000 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 123 , 673 to eberle et al . that issued on sep . 26 , 2000 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 457 , 365 to stephens et al . that issued on oct . 1 , 2002 , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 762 , 954 to nix et al . that issued on jul . 27 , 2010 , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 846 , 101 to eberle et al . that issued on dec . 7 , 2010 , and u . s . patent application publication no . 2004 / 0054287 that published on mar . 18 , 2004 , each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . as shown , the main body 302 of the distal portion 300 has a diameter or thickness 308 . generally , the diameter or thickness 308 of the distal portion 300 closely matches the diameter of the main body of the imaging device . in some instances , the diameter or thickness 308 of the distal portion 300 exactly matches the diameter of the main body of the imaging device . in other instances , the diameter or thickness 308 of the distal portion 300 is slightly larger or slight smaller than the diameter of the main body of the imaging device . in some instances , the diameter or thickness 308 is between about 0 . 5 mm and about 5 mm , with some particular embodiments having a diameter or thickness of 2 . 73 mm ( 8 . 2 french ), 2 . 33 mm ( 7 french ), 1 . 17 mm ( 3 . 5 french ), 1 . 1 mm ( 3 . 3 french ), 1 . 0 mm ( 3 french ), 0 . 97 mm ( 2 . 9 french ), or otherwise . the distal portion 300 also includes a tapered tip portion 310 that extends distally from the main body 302 to the distal end 312 . as shown , the tapered tip portion 310 transitions the distal portion 300 from the diameter or thickness 308 to a reduced diameter or thickness 314 at the distal end 312 . in some instances , the diameter or thickness 314 is between about 0 . 30 mm and about 2 . 5 mm , with some particular embodiments having a diameter or thickness of 0 . 30 mm ( 0 . 012 ″ or 0 . 9 french ), 0 . 38 mm ( 0 . 015 ″ or 1 . 14 french ), 0 . 48 mm ( 0 . 019 ″ or 1 . 44 french ), or otherwise . in that regard , the diameter or thickness 314 is determined based on the desired lumen size for the imaging device in some instances . for example , as shown in fig3 and 4 a guidewire 114 is received within the lumen of the imaging device such that it extends through an opening in the distal end 312 of the imaging device . in some particular instances , the guidewire 114 has an outer diameter between about 0 . 28 mm ( 0 . 011 ″ or 0 . 84 french ) and about 0 . 46 mm ( 0 . 018 ″ or 1 . 38 french ) mm , with some embodiments having an outer diameter of 0 . 36 mm ( 0 . 014 ″ or 1 . 07 french ). in other instances , the guidewire 114 has outer diameter outside of this range , either larger or smaller . as the distal end 312 of the imaging device defines the opening that receives the guidewire , the diameter or thickness 314 is between 0 . 28 mm ( 0 . 011 ″ or 0 . 84 french ) and about 0 . 5 mm ( 0 . 020 ″ or 1 . 5 french ) in some embodiments . in that regard , it is understood that the distal end 312 of the imaging device will necessarily have a slightly larger diameter or thickness than that of the guidewire 114 such that the guidewire can be received therein . however , in some instances the diameter or thickness 314 of the distal end 312 of the imaging device is within 0 . 03 mm ( 0 . 001 ″ or 0 . 09 french ) or less of the outer diameter of the guidewire . in other instances , the diameter or thickness 314 of the distal end 312 of the imaging device is within 0 . 5 mm ( 0 . 020 ″ or 1 . 5 french ) or less of the outer diameter of the guidewire . as shown , the tapered tip portion 310 of the imaging device extends proximal of the distal end 312 by a distance 316 . in that regard , the distance 316 is less than 5 mm in some embodiments . further , the distance 316 is less than 4 mm , less than 3 mm , less than 2 mm , less than 1 mm , and / or less than 0 . 5 mm from the distal end 312 of the device in some instances . the distance 316 and the difference between the diameter or thickness 308 of the main body 302 and the diameter or thickness 314 at the distal end 312 determine the slope of the outer surface defined by the tapered tip portion 310 . in that regard , in some embodiments the tapered tip portion 310 includes a constant taper between the diameter or thickness 308 of the main body 302 at the proximal end of the tapered tip portion and the diameter or thickness 314 at the distal end 312 of the tapered tip portion . in other instances , the tapered tip portion 310 includes a variable taper between the diameter or thickness 308 of the main body 302 at the proximal end of the tapered tip portion and the diameter or thickness 314 at the distal end 312 of the tapered tip portion . for example , in some instances the degree of taper decreases as the tapered tip portion 310 extends distally towards the distal end 312 . referring now to fig5 , there is shown a catheter 400 for intravascular use , which may be similar to either of imaging devices 100 and 200 discussed above . in that regard , this catheter has an elongated flexible body 402 with an axially extending lumen 404 through which a guide wire 406 , fluids , and / or various therapeutic devices or other instruments can be passed . the present disclosure is not , however , limited to use with the illustrated catheter arrangements , and it can be utilized with any suitable catheter , guide wire , probe , etc . an ultrasonic imaging transducer assembly 408 is provided at the distal portion 410 of the catheter , with a connector 424 located at the proximal end of the catheter . this transducer 408 comprises a plurality of transducer elements 412 that are preferably arranged in a cylindrical array centered about the longitudinal axis 414 of the catheter for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic energy . the transducer elements 412 are mounted on a cylindrical substrate 416 which , in the embodiment illustrated , consists of a flexible circuit material that has been rolled into the form of a tube . a transducer backing material with the proper acoustical properties surrounds the transducer elements 412 . each of the transducer elements 412 comprises an elongated body of pzt or other suitable piezoelectric material . the elements extend longitudinally on the cylindrical substrate and parallel to the axis of the catheter . each element has a rectangular cross - section , with a generally flat surface at the distal end thereof . the transducer elements are piezoelectrically poled in one direction along their entire length as highlighted . in some embodiments , a transversely extending notch of generally triangular cross - section is formed in each of the transducer elements . the notch opens through the inner surface of the transducer element and extends almost all the way through to the outer surface . preferably , the notch has a vertical sidewall on the distal side and an inclined sidewall on the proximal side . the vertical wall is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catheter , and the inclined wall is inclined at an angle on the order of 60 degrees to the axis . the notch , which exists in all the array transducer elements , can be filled with a stable non - conductive material . an example of a material that can be used to fill notch is a non - conductive epoxy having low acoustic impedance . although not the preferred material , conductive materials having low acoustic impedance may also be used to fill notch . if a conductive material is used as the notch filler , it could avoid having to metalize the top portion to interconnect both portions of the transducer elements as required if a nonconductive material is utilized . conductive materials are not the preferred notch filler given that they have an affect on the e - fields generated by the transducer elements . in the preferred embodiment , the transducer array provides for a forward looking elevation aperture for 10 mega hertz ( mhz ) ultrasound transmit and receive , and a side looking elevation aperture for 20 mhz ultrasound transmit and receive . other frequencies and / or frequency combinations can be used depending on the particular design requirements or intended uses for the imaging device . the transducer array is manufactured by electrically and mechanically bonding a poled , metalized block of the piezoelectric material to the flexible circuit substrate with the substrate in its unrolled or flat condition . the transducer block exists , as a piezoelectrically poled state where the thickness - axis poling is generally uniform in distribution and in the same axis throughout the entire block of material . if included , a notch is then formed across the entire piezoelectric block , e . g . by cutting it with a dicing saw . each of the individual notches is filled with a material such as plastic and a metallization is applied to the top of the notch to form a continuous transducer inner electrode with metallization . the block is then cut lengthwise to form the individual elements that are isolated from each other both electrically and mechanically , with kerfs formed between the elements . cable wire attachment terminals are provided on the substrate that allow microcables that are electrically connected to an external ultrasound system to connect with the transducer assembly in order to control the transducers . integrated circuits are installed on the substrate and the substrate is then rolled into its cylindrical shape , with the transducer elements on the inner side of the cylinder . the sleeve of radiopaque material is mounted on the core , the core is positioned within the cylinder , and the acoustic absorbing material is introduced into the volume between the core and the transducer elements . in the event that a radiopaque marker is not required for a particular application , it can be omitted . the transducer elements 412 can be operated to preferentially transmit and receive ultrasonic energy in either a thickness extensional te ) mode ( k 33 operation ) or a length extensional ( le ) mode ( k 31 operation ). the frequency of excitation for the te mode is determined by the thickness of the transducer elements in the radial direction , and the frequency for the le mode is determined by the length of the body between distal end surface and the vertical wall of notch . the thickness te mode is resonant at a frequency whose half wavelength in the piezoelectric material is equal to the thickness of the element . and the le mode is resonant at a frequency whose half wavelength in the piezoelectric material is equal to the distance between the distal end and the notch . each transducer element is capable of individually operating to transmit and receive ultrasound energy in either mode , with the selection of the desired mode ( i . e . “ side ”, or “ forward ”) being dependent upon ; a ) an electronically selected frequency band of interest , b ) a transducer design that spatially isolates the echo beam patterns between the two modes , and c ) image plane specific beam - forming weights and delays for a particular desired image plane to reconstruct using synthetic aperture beam - forming techniques , where echo timing incoherence between the “ side ” and “ forward ” beam patterns will help maintain modal isolation . referring now to fig6 - 8 , shown therein are various imaging planes that are utilized in some embodiments of the devices and methods of the present disclosure . in that regard , some of the ultrasonic imaging catheters of the present disclosure are configured to be “ side looking ” devices that produce b - mode images in a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the catheter and passes through the transducer . that plane can be referred to as the b - mode lateral plane and is illustrated in fig6 . further , some of the ultrasonic imaging catheters of the present disclosure are configured to be “ forward looking ” devices that produce a c - mode image plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the catheter and spaced distally from the transducer array , which is illustrated in fig7 . further still , some of the ultrasonic imaging catheters of the present disclosure are configured to be “ forward looking ” devices that produce a b - mode image in a plane that extends in a forward direction from the transducer and parallel to the axis of the catheter . that imaging plane is referred to as the b - mode forward plane and is illustrated in fig8 . forward viewing devices can be particularly advantageous in some crossing severe occlusions as they allow the physician to see aspects of the occlusion in front of the catheter . finally , some of the ultrasonic imaging catheters of the present disclosure are configured to transition between two or more of the imaging planes shown in fig6 - 8 . the following discusses ways these multiple modes of imaging can be implemented . it is understood that some embodiments of the present disclosure implement only a single one of these imaging modes . further , it is understood that any suitable operating frequencies may be utilized for the different imaging modes , including frequencies between 10 mhz and 80 mhz , including without limitation 10 mhz , 20 mhz , 40 mhz , and 80 mhz . the forward - looking imaging modes described below utilize a 20 mhz operating frequency in some instances . a piezoelectric transducer , when properly excited , will perform a translation of electrical energy to mechanical energy , and as well , mechanical to electrical . the effectiveness of these translations depends largely on the fundamental transduction efficiency of the transducer assembly taken as a whole . the transducer is a three dimensional electromechanical device though , and as such is always capable of some degree of electromechanical coupling in all possible resonate modes , with one or several modes dominating . generally an imaging transducer design seeks to create a single dominate mode of electromechanical coupling , suppressing all other coupling modes as “ spurious .” the common method used to accomplish a transducer design with a single dominate mode of electromechanical coupling usually rests in the creation of a single , efficient mechanical coupling “ port ” to the medium outside of the transducer . the single port is created by mounting the transducer such that the most efficient resonant mode of transducer operation faces that mechanical coupling port , with all other modes suppressed by means of mechanical dispersion attained by transducer dimensional control and dampening materials . in the design of the present disclosure , the transducer design utilizes the fact that a transducer can be effective in two principal electromechanical coupling modes , each mode using a different frequency of operation , acoustic “ port ”, and electro - mechanical coupling efficiency . one port is the “ side looking ” port that is used in the cross - sectional view image ( as shown in fig6 ). the other port is the “ end ” or “ forward looking ” port of the array ( as shown in fig7 and 8 ). the present disclosure allows the two electromechanical coupling modes ( i . e . “ side ” and “ forward ”) to be always active , without any mechanical switching necessary to choose one mode exclusive of the other . this design also assures that echoes of any image target in the “ side looking ” plane ( see fig6 ) do not interfere with the target reconstruction in the “ forward looking ” planes ( see fig7 and 8 ), and reciprocally , image targets from the “ forward looking ” do not interfere with the target reconstruction in the “ side looking ” planes . in accordance with the disclosure , the design methods listed below are used to maintain sufficient isolation between the two modes of operation . in some instances , the “ side looking ” port is designed for approximately twice the frequency of the “ forward looking ” port in accordance with the preferred embodiment . the transducer dimensional design is such that the “ high frequency and side looking ” transducer port sensitivity to low frequency signals , and as well the “ low frequency and forward looking ” transducer port to high frequency signals , is very low . additionally , the transmit and receive acoustic “ beam ” directions of the two modes are at approximately right angles to each other and this feature offers an additional isolation with respect to image target identification . also , as a means to further promote isolation between the two modes of operation , and as well optimize a sparse array echo collection method , the echo collection process in “ forward ” beam reconstruction uses an intentional physical separation of transmitting and receiving transducer elements of preferably 10 elements or more in the circular array annulus . this physical separation aids in preventing “ spurious ” transmit echoes from the “ high frequency side looking ” port from contaminating the receiving element listening to “ forward only ” echoes at the its lower frequency of operation . as stated previously , the two modes of operation are operated at center frequencies that differ by about a factor of two . this design feature allows for additional isolation between the two modes through the use of band pass filters in the host system that is processing the echo signals received from the catheter . additionally , if one or both of the two modes is operated in a low fractional bandwidth design ( i . e . & lt ; 30 %), the bandpass filters will be even more effective in the maintenance of very high modal isolation . synthetic aperture beam reconstruction is used for all image modes . the beam formation process will preferentially focus only on image targets that are coherently imaged in a particular image plane . thus , while image reconstruction is forming an image in , for example , the “ side looking ” plane , targets that may have contaminated the echoes from the “ forward looking ” planes will be generally incoherent and will be suppressed as a type of background noise . the reciprocal is also true : “ side looking ” echoes contaminants will be generally incoherent in “ forward looking ” imaging and will be suppressed through the process of synthetic aperture reconstruction . a flexible digital image reconstruction system is required for the creation of multiple image planes on demand . the preferred method of assembling multiple image planes utilizes a synthetic aperture reconstruction approach . the “ side looking ” image shown in fig1 can be reconstructed using sampled transducer element apertures as large as for example 14 contiguous transducer elements in a 64 total transducer element circular array . the transmit - receive echo collection for aperture reconstruction can be continuously shifted around the circular array , sampling all transmit - receive cross - product terms to be used in a particular aperture reconstruction . within any 14 - element aperture there can be 105 independent transmit - receive echo cross products used to construct the image synthetically . “ forward looking ” images shown in fig7 and 8 can be reconstructed using sampled apertures that consist of selected transducer elements arranged on the annulus end of the circular array . for the 64 transducer element example mentioned above , all elements may contribute to a complete data set capture ( this would consist of 64 by 32 independent transmit - receive element cross - products ) to form a “ forward looking ” image in either c - mode or b - mode . as an alternative to the complete data set approach , a reduced number of independent transmit - receive element cross - products are used to adequately formulate the image . the transmit - receive echo collection for aperture reconstruction can be continuously shifted around the circular array , sampling all transmit - receive element cross - products to be used in a particular aperture reconstruction . special signal processing may be advantageous , especially in the “ forward looking ” imaging modes that use a less efficient transducer coupling coefficient ( k 31 ) and as well may suffer from additional diffraction loss not experienced in the “ side looking ” mode of synthetic aperture imaging . in forming a “ forward looking ” c - mode image plane as an example , a low noise bandwidth can be achieved by using a high number of transmit pulses and a narrow bandpass echo filter in the processing system . additionally , or as a preferred alternative , a matched filter implementation from the use of correlation processing may be used to improve the echo signal - to - noise ratio . the advantage of this cross - sectional b - mode operation of the catheter imaging device is in its ability to see an image at great depth in the radial dimension from the catheter , and at high image resolution . this depth of view can help aid the user of the catheter to position the device correctly prior to electronically switching to a “ forward viewing ” mode of operation . image targets moving quickly in a path generally parallel to the long axis of the catheter can be detected and displayed as a colored region in this mode ; this information can be used to compare and confirm moving target information from the “ forward viewing ” mode of operation of the catheter to enhance the usefulness of the imaging tool . the transducer in this “ primary ” mode operates in the thickness extensional ( te ) resonance , utilizing the k 33 electro - mechanical coupling coefficient to describe the coupling efficiency . this “ thickness resonance ” refers to a quarter wave or half wave ( depending on the acoustic impedance of the transducer backing formulation ) resonance in the transducer dimension that is in alignment with the polarization direction of the transducer , and also the sensed or applied electric field . this te mode utilizes a typically high frequency thickness resonance developed in the transducer short dimension following either electric field excitation to generate ultrasound acoustic transmit echoes , or , in reception mode following acoustic excitation to generate an electric field in the transducer . the te mode is used for generating a cross - sectional b - mode image . this cross - section image cuts through the array elements in an orthogonal plane to the long axis of the transducer elements . echo information gathered from sequential transducer element sampling around the array allows for the synthetically derived apertures of various sizes around the array . for the creation of any synthetically derived aperture , a contiguous group of transducer elements in the array are sequentially used in a way to fully sample all the echo - independent transmit - receive element pairs from the aperture . this sequencing of elements to fully sample an aperture usually involves the transmission of echo information from one or more contiguous elements in the aperture and the reception of echo information on the same or other elements , proceeding until all the echo independent transmit - receive pairs are collected . the small notch forming an acoustical discontinuity in the middle of the array of some embodiments will have a minor , but insignificant effect on the te mode transmission or reception beam pattern for that element . the small notch will be a non - active region for the te mode resonance and therefore contribute to a “ hole ” in the very near field beam pattern for each element . the important beam characteristics however , such as the main lobe effective beam width and amplitude , will not be substantially affected , and except for a very minor rise in the transducer elevation side lobes , reasonable beam characteristics will be preserved as if the entire length of the transducer element was uniformly active . the te mode transducer operation will exist with other resonant modes simultaneously . the efficiency of electromechanical energy coupling however for each mode though depends on primarily these factors : a ) the k coefficient that describes the energy efficiency of transduction for a given resonance node , b ) the acoustic coupling path to the desired insonification medium , and c ) the echo transmission - reception signal bandwidth matching to the transducer resonance for that particular mode . thus , for the creation of a “ side looking ” image , a transducer design is created to optimize the factors above for only the te resonance , while the other resonant modes within a transducer are to be ignored through the design which suppresses the undesired resonances by minimizing the energy coupling factors mentioned above . through this frequency dispersion of unwanted coupling , the desired echoes transmitted and received from the “ side looking ” transducer port necessary to create a b - mode image plane will be most efficiently coupled through the te resonance mode within any particular element . therefore , the proposed transducer design which features a high efficiency te mode coupling for desired echoes and frequency dispersion of the unwanted resonances and echoes , along with the other modal isolation reasons stated in an earlier section , constitutes a means for high quality te echo energy transduction for only those desired in - plane echoes used in the creation of the b - mode cross - sectional image plane . the host ultrasound processing system shown in fig9 controls the ultrasound array 408 element selection and stepping process whereby a single element 412 or multiple elements will transmit and the same or other elements will receive the return echo information . the elements in the array that participate in a given aperture will be sampled sequentially so that all essential cross product transmit - receive terms needed in the beam forming sum are obtained . the host processing system or computer 914 and reconstruction controller 918 will control the transmit pulse timing provided to wideband pulser / receiver 902 , the use of any matched filter 910 via control line 916 to perform echo pulse compression . the echo band pass filter ( bpf ) processing paths in the system are selected using control signal 906 to select between either the 10 mhz 904 or 20 mhz 936 center frequency bpf paths . the amplified and processed analog echo information is digitized using adc 908 with enough bits to preserve the dynamic range of the echo signals , and passed to the beam - former processing section via signal 912 . the beam former section under the control of reconstruction controller 918 uses stored echo data from all the transmit - receive element pairs that exist in an aperture of interest . as the element echo sampling continues sequentially around the circular array , all element group apertures are “ reconstructed ” using well known synthetic aperture reconstruction techniques to form beam - formed vectors of weighted and summed echo data that radially emanate from the catheter surface using beam - former memory array 922 , devices 924 and summation unit 926 . memory control signal 920 controls switch bank 924 which selects which memory array to store the incoming data . the vector echo data is processed through envelope detection of the echo data and rejection of the rf carrier using vector processor 928 . finally a process of coordinate conversion is done to map the radial vector lines of echo data to raster scan data using scan converter 930 for video display using display 932 . this processing system , through the host control , may also accomplish blood velocity detection by tracking the blood cells through the elevation length of the transducer beams . the tracking scheme involves a modification of the element echo sampling sequencing and the use of the beam - former section of the host processing system . the blood velocity information may be displayed as a color on the video display ; this blood velocity color information is superimposed on the image display to allow the user to see simultaneous anatomical information and blood movement information . the advantage of this “ forward looking ” operation of the catheter imaging device is in its ability to see an image of objects in front of the catheter where possibly the catheter could not otherwise physically traverse . a “ forward ” c - mode plane produces a cross - sectional view similar to the standard b - mode cross - sectional view , and so can offer comparable image interpretation for the user , and as well this forward image plane is made more useful because the user can see the presence of image targets at the center of the image , otherwise obscured in the standard cross - sectional view by the catheter itself . this forward view allows also the ideal acoustic beam positioning for the detection and color image display of doppler echo signals from targets moving generally in parallel with the long axis of the catheter device . the transducer in this “ secondary ” mode operates in the length extensional ( le ) resonance , utilizing the k 31 electromechanical coupling coefficient to describe the coupling efficiency . in this mode of operation , the poling direction of the transducer element and the sensed or applied electric field in the transducer are in alignment , but the acoustic resonance is at 90 degrees to the electric field and poling direction . this “ length resonance ” refers fundamentally to a half wave resonance in the transducer element &# 39 ; s length dimension that is at 90 degrees with the polarization direction of the transducer . the le mode of resonance , which is typically much lower in resonant frequency than the te mode because the element length is normally much longer than the thickness dimension , always exists to some extent in a typical transducer array element , but is usually suppressed through a frequency dispersive design . some embodiments of the present disclosure utilize an abrupt physical discontinuity ( a notch ) in the transducer element to allow a half wave le resonance to manifest itself at a desired frequency , in the case of the preferred embodiment , at about one half the frequency of the te mode resonance . a unique feature of this disclosure is a mechanically fixed transducer design that allows two resonant modes to operate at reasonably high efficiencies , while the “ selection ” of a desired mode ( i . e . “ side ”, or “ forward ”) is a function of a ) an electronically selected frequency band of interest , b ) a transducer design that spatially isolates the echo beam patterns between the two modes , and c ) image plane specific beam - forming weights and delays for a particular desired image plane to reconstruct using synthetic aperture beam - forming techniques , where echo timing incoherence between the “ side ” and “ forward ” beam patterns will help maintain modal isolation . as discussed earlier , a resonant mode in a transducer design can be made efficient in electromechanical energy coupling if at least the three fundamental factors effecting coupling merit are optimized , namely a ) the k coefficient ( in this case it is the k 31 electro - mechanical coupling coefficient ) that describes the energy efficiency of transduction for a given resonance node , b ) the acoustic coupling path to the desired insonification medium , and c ) the echo transmission - reception signal bandwidth matching to the transducer resonance for that particular mode . the disclosure allows for reasonable optimization of these factors for the le mode of resonance , although the le mode coupling efficiency is lower than that of the te mode coupling . the k 31 coupling factor , used in describing le mode efficiency , is typically one half that of k 33 , the coupling factor that describes the te mode efficiency . the abrupt acoustical discontinuity in the transducer element is created at a step in the assembly of the array . following the attachment of the transducer material to the flex circuit to create a mechanical bond and electrical connection between the transducer block and the flex circuit , while the transducer material is still in block form , a dicing saw cut can be made the entire length of the transducer material block , creating the notch . the notch depth should be deep enough in the transducer material to create an abrupt discontinuity in the distal portion of the transducer material to allow for a high efficiency le mode half wave resonance to exist in this end of the transducer element . the saw cut should not be so deep as to sever the ground electrode trace on the transducer block side bonded to the flex circuit . the cut should ideally have a taper on the proximal side to allow for acoustically emitted energy to be reflected up into the backing material area and become absorbed . generally , it is not desirable to have any acoustic coupling exist between the le modes of resonance in the distal and proximal transducer regions separated by the notch . the distal transducer region le mode half wave resonance will exist at 10 mhz in pzt ( motorola 3203hd ) for a length of about 170 microns between the distal end of the transducer element and the notch . the proximal transducer region le mode resonance will exist at a frequency considered out of band ( approximately 6 mhz ) in the two embodiments shown in fig5 and 7 so as to minimally interfere with the desired operating frequencies ( in this case 10 mhz le mode resonance in the distal region for “ forward ” acoustic propagation , and 20 mhz te mode resonance in the entire active field length of the transducer ). the desired acoustic energy coupling port of the distal transducer le resonant mode region is at the distal end of the catheter array . to protect the end of the array and potentially act as an acoustic matching layer , an end cap made of polyurethane could be used , or alternatively , a uniform coating of adhesive material would suffice . the beam pattern produced by this acoustic port must be broad enough to insonify a large area that covers intended extent of the image plane to be formed . to this end , the beam pattern must typically be at least 60 degrees wide as a “ cone shaped ” beam measured in the plane to be formed at the half - maximum intensity angles for 2 - way ( transmitted and received ) echoes . the preferred design of the array has 64 or more elements , and a transducer sawing pitch equal to pi times the catheter array diameter divided by the number of elements in the array . for an effective array diameter of 1 . 13 mm and 64 elements , the pitch is 0 . 055 mm . using two consecutive array elements as a “ single ” effective le mode acoustic port can provide an adequate , uniform beam pattern that produces the required 60 - degree full - width half maximum (“ fwhm ”) figure of merit . the aperture of this “ single ” forward looking port is then approximately 0 . 080 mm by 0 . 085 mm ( where 0 . 085 mm is twice the pitch dimension minus the kerf width of 0 . 025 mm ). the transducer design may also include a version where no notch is needed in the transducer block . in this case , the driven electrode can exist all along one surface of the transducer element , and the ground or reference electrode can exist all along the opposite side of the element . the long axis length of the transducer will resonate at a half wavelength in le mode , and the thickness dimension will allow the production of a te mode resonance in that thickness dimension . in order for this design to operate though , the le and te mode resonant frequencies will be quite different in order to maintain the proper te mode elevation beam focus . as an example , in maintaining the length of the active region of the element for an adequately narrow 20 mhz te mode elevation beam width at 3 mm radially distant from the catheter , the element length should be approximately 0 . 5 mm long . the resulting half wave resonance frequency in le mode then will be about 3 mhz . this design can be used for dual - mode imaging , but will not offer the focusing benefits that 10 mhz imaging can offer for the forward looking image planes . other designs are possible , where the forward frequency is maintained near 10 mhz , but the required frequency for the side - looking mode will rise dramatically , and although this can be useful in itself , will complicate the design by requiring a concomitant increase in the number of elements and / or a reduction in the array element pitch dimension . the host processing system will control the array element selection and stepping process whereby one element , a two element pair , or other multiple elements in combination , will transmit and the same or other elements will receive the return echo information . the intended array operational mode is the le resonant mode to send and receive echo information in a forward direction from the end of the catheter array . as stated earlier , the le mode echoes produced may be isolated from the te mode echoes through primarily frequency band limitations ( both by transducer structural design and by electrical band selection filters ), and through the beam - forming reconstruction process itself as a kind of echo selection filter . to produce an image of the best possible in - plane resolution while operating in the forward - looking cross - sectional c - mode , the entire array diameter will be used as the maximum aperture dimension . this means that , in general , element echo sampling will take place at element locations throughout the whole array in preferably a sparse sampling mode of operation to gather the necessary minimum number of cross - product echoes needed to create image resolution of high quality everywhere in the reconstructed plane . by using transmit - receive echo contributions collected from elements throughout the whole catheter array , using either a “ complete data set ” ( e . g . 64 × 32 ), or a sparse sampling ( e . g . less than 64 × 32 ) of elements , the fwhm main beam resolution will be close to the 20 mhz resolution of the “ side looking ” cross - sectional image . this is due to the fact that although the “ forward looking ” echo frequency is about one half as much as the “ side looking ” frequency , the usable aperture for the forward looking mode is about 1 . 6 times that of the largest side looking aperture ( i . e . the largest side looking aperture is about 0 . 7 mm , and the forward aperture is about 1 . 15 mm ). for a 10 mhz forward looking design , the fwhm main lobe resolution in an image plane reconstructed at a depth of 3 mm will be approximately 0 . 39 mm , and 0 . 65 mm resolution at 5 mm distance . due to the limitation of beam diffraction available in the design using 10 mhz as the echo frequency for “ forward looking ”, the c - mode image diameter that can be reconstructed and displayed with a high level of resolution from echo contributions throughout the whole array will be related to the distance between the reconstructed c - mode image plane and the distal end of the catheter . at 3 mm from the end of the catheter , the c - mode image diameter will be about 2 . 3 mm , at 5 mm distance the image diameter will be 4 . 6 mm , and at 7 mm distance the image diameter will be 6 . 9 mm . the host processing system , in addition to the control of the transducer element selection and stepping around the array , will control the transmit pulse timing , the use of any matched filter to perform echo pulse compression , and the echo band pass filter processing path in the system . the amplified and processed analog echo information is digitized with enough bits to preserve the dynamic range of the echo signals , and passed to the beam - former processing section . the beam former section uses stored echo data from the sparse array sampling ( or alternatively the whole complete array echo data set of 64 . times . 32 of transmit - receive element pairs ) that exist in an aperture of interest . as the element echo sampling continues sequentially around the circular array 1108 as shown in fig1 and 11 , a number of “ full trips ” around the array will have been made to collect a sufficient number of echo cross - products ( up to 105 in the preferred sparse sampling method ) to allow the reconstruction of one image vector line 1102 . as cross - product sampling continues around the array , the “ older ” echo cross - product collections are replaced with new samples and the next image vector is formed . this process repeats through an angular rotation to create new image vectors while sampling their element cross - product contributors around the array . in the same manner as described in the processing of the “ side looking ” image , the vector echo data is processed through envelope detection of the echo data and rejection of the rf carrier . finally a process of coordinate conversion is done to map the radial vector lines of echo data to raster scan data for video display . this processing system , through the host control , may also accomplish “ forward looking ” target ( such as blood cells ) velocity detection by either correlation - tracking the targets along the “ forward looking ” direction ( with processing as earlier discussed with the “ side looking ” approach ), or by standard doppler processing of echo frequency shifts that correspond to target movement in directions parallel with the “ forward looking ” echo paths . the target ( e . g . blood ) velocity information may be displayed as a color on the video display ; this velocity color information is superimposed on the image display to allow the user to see simultaneous anatomical information and target movement information . the advantage of the “ forward looking ” operation of the catheter imaging device is in its ability to see an image of objects in front of the catheter where possibly the catheter could not otherwise physically traverse . “ forward ” b - mode plane imaging produces a cross - sectional planar “ sector ” view ( see fig8 ) that can exist in any plane parallel to the catheter central axis and distal to the end of the catheter array . this imaging mode may be used , in addition , to produce image “ sector ” views that are tilted slightly out of plane ( see fig8 ), and as well , may produce individual or sets of image “ sectors ” rotated generally about the catheter axis to allow the user to see a multitude of forward image slices in a format that shows clearly the multidimensional aspects of the forward target region of interest . this forward b - mode imaging ( as with c - mode plane imaging ) utilizes the ideal acoustic beam positioning for the detection and color image display of doppler echo signals from targets moving generally in parallel with the long axis of the catheter device . the transducer operation in creating the “ forward looking ” b - mode image format is virtually the same as discussed earlier for creating the “ forward looking ” c - mode image . the transducer in this “ secondary ” mode operates in the length extensional ( le ) resonance , utilizing the k 31 electromechanical coupling coefficient to describe the coupling efficiency . as with the c - mode image creation , the number of elements used at any time to form a wide beam pointing in the “ forward ” direction are selected to produce a required 60 degree fwhm beam width performance ; the modal isolation techniques mentioned earlier against the higher frequency te resonances are valid as well for this forward b - mode imaging method . however , where it is merely preferred to operate the “ forward ” c - mode imaging with high bandwidth echo signals ( low bandwidth echo signals can also be used , but with some minor loss in image resolution ), it is a requirement in the “ forward ” b - mode imaging that only high bandwidth echo signals ( echo fractional bandwidth greater than 30 %) be used to preserve the “ axial ” resolution in the “ forward ” b - mode image . the lateral resolution in the “ forward ” b - mode image is determined ( as the c - mode image plane resolution ) by the aperture ( diameter of the array ) used for the image reconstruction . the lateral resolution performance will be as stated earlier ( i . e . from the description of the c - mode imaging case ) for various depths from the catheter distal end . the system operation in creating the “ forward looking ” b - mode image format is largely the same as discussed earlier for creating the “ forward looking ” c - mode image , with the difference being in the use of the echo signals collected in the beam - forming process to create , rather than a c - mode image plane , a “ forward ” sagittal b - mode image in a plane that effectively cuts through the center of the circular array at the distal end of the catheter . the host processing system , as shown in fig9 , will control the array element selection and stepping process whereby one element , a two element pair , or other multiple elements in combination , will transmit and the same or other elements will receive the return echo information . the intended array operational mode is the le resonant mode to send and receive echo information in a forward direction from the end of the catheter array . as stated earlier , the le mode echoes produced may be isolated from the te mode echoes through primarily frequency band limitations ( both by transducer structural design and by electrical band selection filters ), and through the beam - forming reconstruction process itself as a kind of echo selection filter . to produce an image of the best possible in - plane resolution while operating in the “ forward looking ” sagittal b - mode , the entire array diameter will be used as the maximum aperture dimension . this means that , in general , element echo sampling will take place at element locations throughout the whole array in preferably a sparse sampling mode of operation to gather the necessary minimum number of cross - product echoes needed to create image resolution of high quality everywhere in the reconstructed plane . by using transmit - receive echo contributions collected from elements throughout the whole catheter array , using either a “ complete data set ” ( e . g . 64 × 32 ), or a sparse sampling ( e . g . less than 64 × 32 ) of elements , the fwhm main beam lateral resolution in the b - mode plane will be close to the 20 mhz resolution of the “ side looking ” cross - sectional image . similarly , as stated earlier for the c - mode image case , in the creation of the b - mode image using a 10 mhz forward looking design , the fwhm main lobe lateral resolution in the image plane reconstructed at a depth of 3 mm will be approximately 0 . 39 mm , and 0 . 65 mm resolution at 5 mm distance . due to the limitation of beam diffraction available in the design using 10 mhz as the echo frequency for “ forward looking ”, the b - mode sector image width that can be reconstructed and displayed with a high level of resolution from echo contributions throughout the whole array will be related to the distance between the reconstructed b - mode target depth in the image sector and the distal end of the catheter . at 3 mm from the end of the catheter , the b - mode image sector width will be about 2 . 3 mm , at 5 mm distance the image sector width will be 4 . 6 mm , and at 7 mm distance the image sector width will be 6 . 9 mm . the host processing system , in addition to the control of the transducer element selection and stepping around the array , will control the transmit pulse timing , the use of any matched filter to perform echo pulse compression , and the echo band pass filter processing path in the system . the amplified and processed analog echo information is digitized with enough bits to preserve the dynamic range of the echo signals , and passed to the beam - former processing section . the beam former section uses stored echo data from the sparse array sampling ( or alternatively the whole complete array echo data - set of 64 . times . 32 of transmit - receive element pairs ) that exist in an aperture of interest . as the element echo sampling continues sequentially around the circular array , a number of “ full trips ” around the array will have been made to collect a sufficient number of echo cross - products ( up to 105 in the preferred sparse sampling method ) to allow the reconstruction of one image vector line . as cross - product sampling continues around the array , the “ older ” echo cross - product collections are replaced with new samples and the next image vector is formed . this process repeats through an angular rotation in the array to create new image vectors while sampling their element cross - product contributors around the array . the method used for the creation of a single “ forward looking ” sagittal b - mode image plane may be expanded to create multiple rotated sagittal planes around an axis either congruent with the catheter central axis , or itself slightly tilted off the catheter central axis . if enough rotated planes are collected , the beam - forming system could then possess a capability to construct and display arbitrary oblique “ slices ” through this multidimensional volume , with b - mode or c - mode visualization in either a 2 - d sector format , a 2 - d circular format , or , other multidimensional formats . the echo data volume may also be off - loaded to a conventional 3 - d graphics engine that could create the desired image format and feature rendering that would enable improved visualization . in the same manner as described in the processing of the “ forward looking ” c - mode image , the vector echo data is processed through envelope detection of the echo data and rejection of the rf carrier . finally a process of coordinate conversion is done to map the radial vector lines of echo data to a video sector - format display of the “ forward looking ” b - mode image . this processing system , through the host control , may also accomplish “ forward looking ” target ( such as blood cells ) velocity detection by either correlation - tracking the targets along the “ forward looking ” direction ( with processing as earlier discussed with the “ side looking ” approach ), or by standard doppler processing of echo frequency shifts that correspond to target movement in directions parallel with the “ forward looking ” echo paths in the “ forward looking ” b - mode plane . the target ( e . g . blood ) velocity information may be displayed as a color on the video display ; this velocity color information is superimposed on the image display to allow the user to see simultaneous anatomical information and target movement information . the disclosure has a number of important features and advantages . it provides an ultrasonic imaging transducer and method that can be used for imaging tissue in multiple planes without any moving parts . it can operate in both forward and side imaging modes , and it permits imaging to be done while procedures are being carried out . thus , for example , it can operate in a forward looking c - mode , while at the same time a therapeutic device such as a laser fiber - bundle can be used to treat tissue ( e . g . an uncrossable arterial occlusion ) ahead of the catheter tip either by tissue ablation , or , tissue photochemotherapy . the laser pulses may be timed with the ultrasound transmit - receive process so that the high frequency laser induced tissue reverberations can be seen in the ultrasound image plane simultaneously . in this way the disclosure can dynamically guide the operator &# 39 ; s vision during a microsurgical procedure . in some instances , the present disclosure is directed to a method of crossing a severe occlusion of a vessel of a patient . in that regard , the method includes introducing a flexible , elongate imaging device into the vessel of the patient , advancing the imaging device to a position immediately adjacent the severe occlusion of the vessel such that a tapered distal tip of the imaging device is in contact with the occlusion and such that at least one imaging element of the imaging device is spaced from the occlusion by a distance less than 5 mm , less than 3 mm , or less than 1 mm ; and obtaining images of the vessel , including the occlusion , with the imaging device positioned immediately adjacent the severe occlusion . in some instances , the imaging device is an ultrasound device and the at least one imaging element is an ultrasound transducer . in other instances , the imaging device is an optical coherence tomography device and the at least one imaging element is an optical fiber or a reflector . further , in some embodiments flexible , elongate imaging device is a catheter , such as a rapid - exchange catheter or an over - the - wire catheter . the method also includes penetrating the severe occlusion based on the images obtained by the imaging device . in that regard , penetrating the severe occlusion includes advancing an occlusion crossing device through a central lumen of the catheter to the occlusion . the occlusion crossing device may be one or more of an ablation device and a puncture device . in some instances , penetrating the severe occlusion comprises partially crossing the severe occlusion such that a recess is created in the occlusion , and the method further includes advancing the imaging device into the recess created by the partial crossing ; obtaining images of the vessel , including the partially crossed occlusion , with the imaging device positioned within the recess ; and further penetrating the severe occlusion based on the images obtained by the imaging device while positioned within the recess . this process can be repeated until the occlusion has been completely crossed . further , in some instances , after the occlusion has been crossed a balloon or other expansion mechanism may be introduced into the opening created through the occlusion and used to further expand the opening . in some instances , the balloon or other expansion mechanism is attached to or formed as part of the imaging device . in some embodiments , an imaging device for use in imaging a severe occlusion of a vessel of a patient is provided . the device includes an flexible elongate body having proximal portion and a distal portion , the flexible elongate body having a constant diameter along a majority of its length between the proximal and distal portions , the distal portion defining a distal tip that tapers from the constant diameter of the flexible elongate body to a smaller diameter as the distal tip extends distally along a longitudinal axis of the flexible elongate body , wherein the tapered portion of the distal tip has a length less than 5 mm as measured along the longitudinal axis of the flexible elongate body , and wherein at least the distal portion of the flexible elongate body includes a lumen extending along its length ; and at least one imaging element secured to the distal portion of the flexible elongate body proximal of the tapered portion of the distal tip such that the at least one imaging element is spaced from a distal end of the flexible elongate body by a distance of 5 mm or less . in some embodiments , the imaging device is an ultrasound device and the at least one imaging element is an ultrasound transducer , such as single ultrasound transducer or an array of ultrasound transducer elements . in other embodiments , the imaging device is an optical coherence tomography device and the at least one imaging element is an optical fiber or a reflector . in some instances , the lumen is in communication with an opening in a sidewall of the flexible elongate body such that the imaging device is configured as a rapid - exchange catheter . in some instances , the lumen extends along a full length of the flexible elongate body such that the imaging device is configured as an over - the - wire catheter . aspects of the present disclosure can also be used in a biopsy or atherectomy procedure to allow the operator to perform a tissue identification prior to tissue excision ; the advantage being that the catheter or biopsy probe device can be pointing in the general direction of the target tissue and thus aid significantly in the stereotaxic orientation necessary to excise the proper tissue sample . the disclosure can also be used for the proper positioning of a radiotherapy core wire in the treatment of target tissue that exists well beyond the distal extent of the catheter . persons skilled in the art will recognize that the apparatus , systems , and methods described above can be modified in various ways . accordingly , persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the embodiments encompassed by the present disclosure are not limited to the particular exemplary embodiments described above . in that regard , although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described , a wide range of modification , change , and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure . it is understood that such variations may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the present disclosure .	0
referring now to the drawings , and initially to fig1 a liquid cryogen freezer apparatus according to principles of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 the freezer apparatus being generally indicated at 10 . apparatus 10 includes an enclosure 12 that is formed with thermally insulated side , top and bottom walls and has an entrance end 14 and an exit end 16 . an endless spiral conveyor 18 carries products to be cooled or frozen through the freezer . the spiral conveyor 18 is of a type described in commonly assigned u . s . pat . no . 4 , 739 , 623 , which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . the ends of the conveyor 18 of fig1 are coupled through a customary return loop 19 . conveyor 18 includes a central portion 20 comprising a stack of coils , or windings of the conveyor where freezing of the products and thermal equilibration , begun at the entrance end 14 , is completed . conveyor 18 passes through an entrance 24 in the enclosure wall 26 . as will be seen herein , cryogen liquid is vaporized in the enclosure , the vapor providing a cooling or freezing of the product . with the present invention , a balance of the cryogen vapor with ambient air pressure is maintained such that the partial pressure of the cryogen gas within the enclosure is slightly higher than the surrounding air pressure , to thereby form an &# 34 ; air lock &# 34 ; preventing infiltration of ambient air within the freezer . an optimum pressure difference blocks air infiltration with a minimal outflow of cryogen vapor through entrance 24 . if this minimum pressure differential is exceeded , cryogen vapor expelled from entrance 24 will not be available to perform cooling of the products passed through the freezer . the following describes vapor balance control of the entrance openings of various freezer systems . those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that principles of the present invention can also be applied to exit openings of freezer enclosures , or virtually any opening , for that matter . as explained in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 739 , 623 , an injection control system is provided , being driven by a temperature sensor located in enclosure 12 . the injection control system sends a cryogen control signal to cryogen injection apparatus , typically a control valve , to control the amount of cryogen entering the freezer . as will be seen , in one preferred embodiment of the present invention , the cryogen control signal is employed as an input to a vapor balance control system . in another preferred embodiment the pressure of the cryogen injection apparatus is monitored to provide vapor balance control . turning to fig1 and 2 , freezer 10 includes a baffle box 32 disposed adjacent entrance 24 . a plurality of blowers 30 are installed in box 32 , scavenging cryogen vapor passing outwardly through box 32 , redirecting the vapor into enclosure 12 . baffle plates 33 are installed in box 32 to impede cryogen outflow , out of enclosure 12 . cryogen injectors 34 are fed by a source of cryogen ( not shown ) through a manifold and an injection control apparatus 38 , constructed according to u . s . pat . no . 4 , 739 , 623 . the blowers 30 are connected through an electrical circuit 40 to a blower control unit 42 . according to one aspect of the present invention , the blower fans 30 are of a variable speed type , their output being varied by the electrical signals along circuit 40 . the blower speed control unit 42 provides the energization for , and controls the speed of blower fans 30 by generating the appropriate electrical signals in circuit 40 . according to one aspect of the present invention , the blower fan speed control unit 42 energizes blower fans 30 and controls the speed thereof in response to the cryogen injection signal , which is carried along conductor 60 . electronic controller 46 further includes a gain control module having a temperature set point adjustment knob 54 for inputting a set point temperature , used in a manner which will now be described . the blower fans 30 may also have single speed or multiple speed windings , and the control unit will thus comprise only the gain control module . in this first embodiment , the electronic controller 46 responds to signals fed therein from temperature sensors 52 which are located adjacent the entrance wall of enclosure 12 . it should be mentioned that fig3 illustrates a schematic representation of a physical freezing system . as such , the cryogen lines , temperature sensors and blower fans are shown exploded for ease of visual reference . in a practical embodiment , the cryogen lines , temperature sensors and blower fans are located close to one another . temperature sensors 52 continuously monitor the cooling capacity of the cryogen vapor in the enclosure and either sends a signal along circuit 50 or can be polled by electronic controller 46 . in either event , the electronic controller 46 is continuously provided with updated sensor output information directly related to the cooling capacity of the cryogen vapor within the enclosure and indirectly related to the amount of cryogen vapor escaping out of the entrance to the enclosure . according to one aspect of the present invention , the controller 46 is provided with one or more set point adjustments 54 indicating the levels of operating temperatures which the controller seeks to maintain . for example , assuming the temperature indicated by sensor 52 begins to rise , the temperature is compared against a lower set point value . once the set point value is exceeded , the electronic controller is programmed to make decisions and take action which will lower the temperature at the enclosure entrance . for example , the electronic controller may set a timing circuit , or may light an indicator lamp indicating the over temperature condition . preferably , the electronic controller 46 is programmed to supply control signals on circuit 50 , instructing the cryogen injection control apparatus 38 to release cryogen to manifold 35 or to increase the pressure in the supply line feeding the manifold . if desired , a pressure sensor 64 can be provided to indicate to the electronic controller through circuit 68 , that the proper amount of cryogen is released to the enclosure entrance . in the first embodiment , however the pressure sensor 64 has been found to be unnecessary , since the increased injection of cryogen from injectors 34 is directly sensed by the temperature sensor 52 located proximate thereto . according to an important aspect of the present invention , the demand for additional cryogen injection ordered by electronic controller 46 is simultaneously accompanied by control signals issued by the electronic controller on circuit 44 to drive the fan controller 42 in a manner which produces an increased output or fan capacity of blower fans 30 . according to one aspect of the present invention , if the injection rate of cryogen exceeds a preset level , a continued demand for cryogen injection is accompanied by a concurrent signal to the fan controller in the manner which insures that fan output , e . g . fan speed , will increase when the cryogen injection is increased . as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art , the control signals to fan controller 42 issued by the electronic controller can bear a variety of mathematical relationships to the signals on circuit 60 which are issued by the electronic controller to drive the cryogen injection unit 38 . for example , fan output ( e . g . speed ) and cryogen injection pressure can be linearly related in electronic controller 46 . in the preferred embodiment , the signals on conductor 44 are the same as those on conductor 60 , that is , the speed control unit is driven by the cryogen injection signal . thus , many conventional freezer units need be provided only with a control unit 42 , and a second process controller is not required . as mentioned above , the control unit will include a variable speed control circuit having a gain control stage , or may alternatively comprise the gain control module and relay logic , and thus a significant savings is made possible with the present invention . assuming that the temperature sensor 52 indicates an over temperature condition , passing the lower threshold set in electronic controller 46 , injection of cryogen continues at injectors 34 thus cooling the ambient temperature at entrance 24 . eventually , with sufficient cryogen injection the temperature at the entrance 24 is lowered sufficiently , being directly detected by temperature sensor 52 which relays this information through conductors 50 to electronic controller 46 . the presence of sufficient cooling can be readily determined by inputting a second temperature set point in the electronic controller and by initiating certain decisions and taking certain actions when the second , higher temperature set point is attained . for example , the electronic controller 46 can be programmed to simply discontinue injection at injectors 34 by so instructing the injection controller 38 . also , if desired , the electronic controller can be programmed to &# 34 ; ramp down &# 34 ; the cryogen injection at injectors 34 with the temperature sensor 52 being continuously monitored to determine the rate of heat influx , thereby preventing rapid cycling of the control system . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the electronic controller can calculate substitute set point temperatures based upon a calculated rate of heat influx . again , according to an important aspect of the present invention , the fan speed of blower fans 30 is made to follow the change in injection by injection controller 38 , the blower fans and cryogen injection control both being controlled by circuitry in electronic controller 46 . as has been pointed out , an important feature of the present invention is the control of electronic controller 46 over both the blower fan output and the cryogen injection rate , in response to the same input signal , herein the signal from temperature sensor 52 . thus , if the cryogen injection is &# 34 ; ramped down &# 34 ; the electronic controller 46 also &# 34 ; ramps down &# 34 ; the blower fan output , matching the blower fan output to the cryogen injection rate according to a predetermined patterned stored in the circuitry of electronic controller 46 . according to another aspect of the present invention , the fan control unit is provided with a gain control module , such as that available from wilkerson instrument co . inc . of lakeland florida , under the name mighty module . the gain control module includes a differential amplifier which measures either a dc input voltage , or with a shunt resistor measures a current input . the preferred gain control module provides a dc output proportional to a dc input signal while providing wide ranging zero and span adjustments that allow the unit to accommodate a wide range of signal levels and offsets . the gain control module provides an adjustment for the freezer operator to quickly and easily initialize the desired freezer operation . for example , when the cryogen input is established for a given product loading through the freezer , the gain control module can be adjusted to provide the desired outflow of cryogen vapor , necessary to establish an air lock at the freezer entrance . once the gain control module is initialized , blower output is thereafter automatically controlled in response to the input to control unit 42 . the controller 46 of the preferred embodiment generates a varying 4 - 20 milliamp output signal on conductors 60 and 44 . in addition to the gain control module portion , the fan control unit 42 of this preferred embodiment generates an alternating current speed controller signal in response thereto , which ranges in frequency from 0 to 60 hertz . as will be seen herein , simpler and less costly fan control units can be constructed with a gain control module and relay logic . however , even the relatively more costly fan control unit of this preferred embodiment is considerably less expensive than a process controller , such as that typically used in temperature sensor - driven systems . as mentioned , the blowers 30 need not have variable speed capability , but can rather include either single or multiple speed windings . assuming the blowers have multiple speed windings , the fan control unit 42 includes ( in addition to the gain control module ) relay logic of either the mechanical or electronic type which energize selected windings of the blower motors along separate conductors 40 . alternatively , if blower motors 30 have only a single speed winding , blower output is controlled by unit 42 , by &# 34 ; staging &# 34 ; the blowers , energizing either 1 , 2 or 3 blowers to attain the desired blower output . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the most economical control unit is obtained with fan control units employing relay logic , those used in combination with blower motors having either single or multiple speed windings . thus , as before , operation of the electronic controller 46 controlling the cryogen injection and operation of the blower fan are related to one another , that is they &# 34 ; follow &# 34 ; one another in response to a common input signal . in a second embodiment of a freezer system having an improved vapor balance control , a pressure sensor 64 is employed to monitor cryogen input to the freezer . as those familiar with the freezing art are aware , the pressure of liquid cryogen at the supply to cryogen injectors 34 provides a direct indication of the temperature drop at cryogen injectors 34 , and hence at the enclosure entrance 24 . thus , the cooling capacity of the cryogen vapor within the enclosure , adjacent the entrance thereof , is indicated . an increased pressure sensed by unit 64 is relayed through circuitry 68 to fan control unit 42 . as in the first embodiment , the present invention causes the blower output to follow the increased cooling input to the freezer unit . thus , with increasing pressure supplied to cryogen injectors 34 , the output ( e . g . speed ) of blower fans 30 is increased by sending appropriate control signals through conductors 40 to blowers 30 . it is contemplated that , in many applications , pressure must be continuously applied to cryogen injectors 34 during operation of the freezer unit . thus , the pressure sensor 64 will send a continuous signal to fan control unit 42 , which in turn will send a continuous control signal to a variable speed blower 30 . as the pressure at the cryogen supply is decreased , a decreasing pressure signal is sent by sensor 64 to circuit 60 to fan control unit 42 . the fan controller 42 thereupon reduces the air speed exhausted from blower fans 30 . as can be seen from the above , when cryogen injection is increased as dictated by circuitry to attain desired operating conditions within the freezer unit , the output of blower fans 30 is automatically and correspondingly increased , thereby increasing the vacuum or suction at the freezer entrance 24 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the amount of increased suction at the freezer entrance 24 can be accurately controlled so as to prevent excessive outflow or purge of cryogen vapor through entrance 24 . the fan output of blower fans 30 can be easily controlled with the gain control module so as not to &# 34 ; overpower &# 34 ; cryogen vapor pressures at entrance 24 to a point where those pressures fall below the ambient air pressure at the freezer entrance , thus insuring that a cryogen vapor purge or air - lock at the freezer entrance will be provided at all times . by increasing the blower fan output along with increased cryogen injection , the most efficient utilization of the added cryogen vapor is attained , by directing that vapor toward the coil stack and the conveyor belt 18 where useful work is done in cooling or freezing products to be processed by the freezer system . as the freezer enclosure cools down to a desirable temperature , the pressure in the cryogen injection injectors 34 is reduced and accordingly the blower fan output is also reduced to prevent the intrusion of ambient air through entrance 24 . those skilled in the art will also readily appreciate that electronic controller 46 can closely monitor the rate of temperature drop during a cryogen injection cycle , to determine if the air lock at entrance 24 is insufficient , with ambient air being entrained into the mixture flowing past temperature sensor 52 . if such a condition is detected , the fan control unit can issue control signals to cut back fan output , while concurrently monitoring the effect on the temperature experienced at sensor 52 . depending upon the results , the blower fan output set points can be reset automatically by the control unit , or the data can be recorded for later analysis by an operator , or an indicator lamp can be energized indicating the undesirable condition . the control system according to the present invention has been found to provide the flexibility necessary to offer efficient cryogen usage in a variety of applications , such as the spiral freezer illustrated in fig1 - 3 . as will be seen herein , the same control system is also readily adaptable for use with the two tunnel freezer systems of fig4 - 6 , operated as a stand - alone freezing unit , and a tunnel freezer illustrated in fig7 providing an initial cooling at the entrance to a mechanical freezing unit . attention will now be turned to fig4 showing a tunnel freezer generally indicated at 100 , including a tunnel enclosure 102 having an entrance end 104 and an exit end 106 . as will be seen herein , fig5 - 6 show a similar freezer 101 . the freezers 100 , 101 differ in the style and location of the vapor balance control blowers employed . the exit end 106 of the freezer enclosure is provided with a mating surface 107 suitable for connection to another , downstream freezer apparatus . for example , the freezer 100 can provide augmented cooling capacity for a downstream mechanical freezer , such as one using ammonia or freon . an endless conveyor belt 110 projects through an entrance opening 112 in the entrance enclosure wall 114 . the tunnel freezer system 100 is preferably constructed in a manner similar to the apparatus disclosed in commonly assigned united states patent no . 4 , 350 , 027 which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . the operation of tunnel freezer 100 is controlled by an automatic control system generally indicated at 120 . the control system 120 includes an injection control unit 122 for controlling the injection of cryogen at lines 124 supplied by a manifold 126 . a conduit 128 supplies cryogen to manifold 126 . the control system 120 further includes a pressure sensor 130 coupled to conduit 128 through a line 132 . pressure sensor 130 samples the pressure at conduit 128 providing an output signal on circuit 134 indicative of the sensed pressure . the pressure indicating data signal is fed by circuit 134 to a fan control unit 140 . the fan control unit in turn generates signals to blower fans 141 through circuit 144 . when variable speed blowers are employed , the blower fan control unit 140 includes an electronic control circuit which produces blower fan signals on circuit 144 proportional to or otherwise related to the pressure input signal carried on conductors 134 . it is expected , in many applications , that cryogen will be continuously injected at lines 124 to maintain the interior of tunnel freezer unit 100 at a proper operating temperature . thus , a pressure signal will be continuously produced on circuit 134 , and a continuous input to fan control unit 140 will also be provided . assuming , for example , that the injection control unit 122 orders an increase in cryogen injection , the increased pressure will be immediately sensed at pressure sensor 130 and a corresponding signal will be sent along circuit 134 to fan control unit 40 . the circuitry in fan control unit 140 operates such that the fan output of blower fans 141 is increased as the injection pressure applied to cryogen lines 124 is increased . conversely , the fan output is decreased as the cryogen pressure is decreased when injection control unit 122 senses the need for increased cooling , cryogen pressure at cryogen lines 124 is increased . blowers 141 are also pointed in a downstream direction to aid in drawing cryogen vapor through the tunnel enclosure 102 where useful work is performed on products being processed by the freezer unit 100 and on a downstream freezer mated therewith . the arrangement of fig4 is preferred for such so - called combination freezer systems , where the freezer 100 is added to an existing freezer system to augment the cooling capacity thereof . the blowers 141 , located at the transition wall or downstream end of the enclosure assure a pressure balance at the freezer outlet , preventing an external atmosphere from entering the enclosure . as cryogen pressure is decreased at lines 124 , the fan output of blower fans 141 is accordingly decreased to insure that the partial pressure of cryogen vapor at entrance 112 exceeds the ambient air pressure , thereby maintaining an air - lock at the enclosure entrance . as with the systems described above with reference to fig1 - 3 , the control system 100 , provides an accurate control of the partial pressure of the cryogen vapor at enclosure entrance 112 , despite fluctuations in the injection pressure . if desired , the fan control unit can be driven by the cryogen injection signal which regulated cryogen injection , rather than a signal from a pressure sensor . both modes of driving the fan control unit , however , are related to the changing rates of cryogen injection . turning now to fig5 and 6 , a tunnel freezer 101 is substantially identical to the aforedescribed freezer 100 , except for the design and location of the blowers used in the vapor balance control system . more particularly , the blowers 141 located at the downstream transition wall of the freezer enclosure are replaced by a baffled blower system of the type described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 783 , 972 which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein . as described in the united states patent , the baffled blower system includes a control motor 143 which displaces a system of upstream and downstream damper plates through a series of linkages and crank arms . for example , as illustrated in fig5 the lower or inferior upstream damper plate is shown in a closed position , whereas the inferior downstream damper plate is moved to an open position . the fan 145 of blower system 142 can be operated to discharge in either an upward or a downward direction . as illustrated in fig5 cryogen is injected into the freezer enclosure by lines 124 , herein representing spray nozzles for direct impingement of cryogen vapor on the product to be cooled or frozen . accordingly , the fan 145 is made to discharge in a downward direction . if the spray nozzles are replaced by a cryogen immersion bath , it is preferred that the direction of discharge of fan 145 be reversed , the fan now being made to discharge in an upward direction , to more uniformly distribute cryogen vapor resulting from the immersion bath . fig6 illustrates the same control system described above with reference to fig4 except that the output of fan control unit 140 is now directed along output conductors 144 through the actuator motor 143 , rather than the transition - mounted blowers 141 of the preceding embodiment . as before , a pressure signal derived from the cryogen injection system is fed to the fan control unit 140 . in the preferred embodiment , the damper actuator motor 143 is continuously variable and accordingly the fan control unit 140 includes circuitry appropriate to drive the motor 143 . for example , in the preferred embodiment , the pressure transducer provides an output signal of 0 to 10 volts dc , and the actuator motor 143 requires pulse input signals ranging between 0 and 115 volts . accordingly , the fan control unit 140 provides circuitry necessary to perform the signal conversion . in addition , as in the other embodiments of the present invention , the fan control unit 140 includes a gain control module which can be set by an operator during initialization of the freezer operation to provide a convenient initial set point of the cryogen vapor discharge through the freezer entrance opening 112 . referring now to fig7 one commercially important application of the tunnel freezer of fig4 - 6 is to provide added cooling capacity for a mechanical freezer , one using ammonia or freon , as the cooling medium , for example . fig7 shows a cooling apparatus generally indicated at 500 . it is preferred for such combination systems , that the freezer 102 be provided without a vapor balance control blower , such as the blowers 141 of fig4 or the blower system 142 of fig5 - 6 . the tunnel freezer apparatus 102 is otherwise substantially identical to the tunnel freezers described above with reference either to fig4 or fig5 - 6 . the blowers necessary to obtain the desired vapor balance conditions , not only at the entrance 112 to the tunnel freezer but also the exit 514 of the mechanical freezer 504 , are provided in a baffle chamber 132 installed in freezer enclosure 506 , immediately behind entrance wall 502 . blower fans 130 in chamber 132 provide vapor balance control similar to that described above , responding to fan control signals on conductors 144 , outputted by fan control unit 140 . the exit end 106 of freezer apparatus 100 is directly coupled to the entrance end 502 of a mechanical freezer apparatus generally indicated at 504 , having an enclosure 506 enclosing a helical stack portion 510 traversed by conveyor belt 110 . products to be cooled or frozen by apparatus 500 are placed on conveyor 110 at entrance 112 . the products are then processed by tunnel freezer apparatus 102 , passing through the exit of apparatus 102 into enclosure 506 . thereafter , the products enter helical stack 510 and advance to an exit 514 . the conveyor belt then passes return loop 516 and reverses direction , travelling toward entrance end 502 of enclosure 506 . the conveyor belt thereafter travels toward the entrance end 104 of tunnel enclosure 102 , completing the cycle of travel . the tunnel freezer 102 functions as described above with reference to fig4 - 6 . apparatus 500 has an additional advantage in that any cryogen vapor passing completely through tunnel apparatus 102 now enters the mechanically cooled enclosure 506 providing additional cooling therefore . the contribution to overall operating efficiency for apparatus 500 by tunnel freezer 102 and the automatic vapor balance control loop system therein makes the retrofit application of the tunnel freezer economically advantageous . control of the blowers 130 follow the same principles described above , particularly those described with reference to the spiral freezer apparatus 10 of fig1 - 3 . in particular , a gain control module is employed to establish initial vapor outflow conditions during freezer start up . once the desired freezer operation is established , the gain control module is adjusted to provide the desired amount of cryogen outflow at tunnel freezer entrance 112 . if variable speed blowers are employed , the fan control unit 140 generates a continuously varying signal proportional to the pressure signal sensed in the cryogen injection system of the tunnel freezer 102 . the signal driving fan control unit 140 can be obtained from the temperature controller for the tunnel freezer , that control system providing an injection control signal in response to the output of a temperature sensor . it is possible , however , to construct a more economical fan control unit if blower motors having either signal or multiple speed windings are used . in addition to a gain control module , the fan control unit of this latter embodiment would comprise relay devices for switching the windings of the blower motors to obtain different blower output levels . illustrated in fig7 are a series of auxiliary ceiling - mounted fans to create a turbulent flow surrounding the conveyor belt . the blowers in chamber 132 in effect decrease the pressure of the outflow through freezer entrance 112 , and are controlled to closely regulate the cryogen vapor outflow volume through the entrance opening . as described in the various embodiments above , blower units located within the freezer enclosure are controlled to regulate the cryogen vapor outflow through the freezer enclosure entrance . it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the principles of the present invention can also be applied to the control of &# 34 ; roof vents ,&# 34 ; a term describing exhaust vents located adjacent the entrance and / or exit openings of the freezer enclosure . for example , referring again to fig1 a &# 34 ; spill over &# 34 ; chamber 40 is provided to surround the enclosure entrance . an opening 42 in the spill over chamber is aligned in registry with the enclosure entrance opening 24 , allowing product to be passed therethrough . because cryogen vapor is heavier than air , vapor &# 34 ; spilling out &# 34 ; of the entrance opening of the enclosure will fall into chamber 40 , being collected there rather than spreading throughout the operating area . a &# 34 ; chimney &# 34 ; 44 evacuates or purges chamber 40 . the blowers applying a suction to chimney 44 are commonly referred to as part of the &# 34 ; roof vent &# 34 ; system . if desired , blowers disposed within the freezer enclosure can be omitted , with vapor balance control according to the present invention being provided by the application of control signals to the blower 45 applying a suction to chimney 44 . the present invention is also directed to control of the blowers providing &# 34 ; roof venting &# 34 ; of tunnel freezers , such as the freezer illustrated in fig4 . as shown at the entrance end of fig4 a collection chamber 101 surrounds the entrance end of the freezer and a chimney 103 communicates with chamber 101 to apply a suction thereto . the output of fan control unit 140 can be connected roof vent blower 105 either in combination with or to the exclusion of blowers 141 . if blowers 141 are omitted , the output of fan control unit 140 is directed exclusively to roof vent blower 105 to control the cryogen vapor outflow through entrance opening 112 . if desired , however , blowers 141 can be used in conjunction with the roof vent blower 105 , all being controlled by fan control unit 140 . alternatively , a second fan control unit can be employed , for separate use with the roof vent blower . however , even with two fan control units , a considerable cost savings is still realized , compared to the cost of a process controller . this flexibility is important for example , where a freezer apparatus is operated in a refrigerated environment . the above are examples of roof vent blower control for a spiral freezer ( fig1 ) and for a tunnel freezer for a combination freezer application ( fig4 ). if desired , however , the vapor balance control of the present invention can also be provided with the other freezer apparatus described herein . in each application , the fan control unit , including a gain control module , will be connected either to the roof vent blower , blowers internal to the freezer enclosure , or both . in addition , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that roof vents can be provided at any opening of the freezer enclosure , notably the exit openings and that the vapor balance control of the present invention can be employed to provide a controlled vapor balance at any such opening , not only the entrance opening . it will now be seen that the various vapor balance control systems provided by the present invention receive input signals directly related to cryogen injection , rather than exhaust temperature . for example , input to the vapor balance control is obtained either from the cryogen injection signals of a freezer controller , or pressure signals from sensors monitoring the cryogen injection system . the fan output is thereby made to more directly track the cryogen injection rate , rather than a change in exhaust temperature which lags there behind , sometimes at a considerable time delay interval . gain control is provided to set an initial cryogen vapor outflow . however , the cost of such gain control apparatus , like the fan control unit , is not considerable , and does not detract from the economical advantages obtained with the present invention . further , with the present invention , a fan control unit can comprise relatively inexpensive relay logic if single speed or multiple speed windings are employed in the blower motors . however , even if the blower motors have a continuously variable speed output , the fan control circuitry needed to adapt cryogen injection control signals or pressure sensor signals is still rather inexpensive , especially compared to process controllers such as those that would be required for a temperature - driven control of the freezer blowers . the drawings and the foregoing descriptions are not intended to represent the only forms of the invention in regard to the detail of its construction and manner of operation . changes in form and in the proportion of parts , as well as the substitution of equivalents , are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient ; and although specific terms have been employed , they are intended in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purposes of limitation , the scope of the invention being delineated by the following claims .	5
fig1 presents a block diagram of a telecommunications system 100 illustrating one example of the present invention . the telecommunications system 100 comprises a telecommunications network 110 , a plurality of user terminals 120 typically associated with respective subscribers 130 , and interfaces 140 and 150 for connecting to the internet 160 and to other telecommunications systems 170 , respectively . the telecommunications network is typically a public switched telecommunications network ( pstn ), a cellular telecommunications network such as gsm , wideband code division multiple access ( w - cdma ), is - 95 , personal digital communications network ( pdc ) or a satellite telecommunications network . the telecommunications system may also comprise a number of different telecommunications networks in which case the invention can be applied to any or all of such networks depending on implementation . in the following , the network 110 is described using gsm as an example so that the network comprises normal gsm network elements ( not shown in fig1 ) including a home location register ( hlr ), a mobile switching centre ( msc ), visiting location register ( vlr ) and a plurality of base station subsystems ( bss ) including base station controllers ( bsc ) and base transceiver stations ( bts ). fig2 presents general structure of the user terminals 120 in the telecommunications systems of fig1 . the user terminals 120 comprise a communications block 210 , a work memory 220 , a non - volatile memory 230 comprising operating instructions , a processor 240 for executing the operating instructions and accordingly controlling other blocks of the user terminal , and a user interface 250 for providing output to a user and reading user input . the user interface 250 typically comprises , for data output , a display and / or a speaker . for data input , the user interface 250 typically comprises one or more of the following : dedicated buttons , soft keys , touch screen , microphone , voice recognition circuitry , and pointing device . the processor is typically a master control unit mcu . alternatively , the processor may be a microprocessor , a digital signal processor or an application specific integrated circuit . fig3 presents a simplified block diagram of a telecommunications network 110 illustrating a first example of the present invention . fig3 shows three main blocks referred to as a service control point ( scp ) 310 , a mobile switching centre ( msc ) 320 and a home location register ( hlr ) 330 . fig3 further shows a user terminal that in this case is a mobile station ( ms ) 340 . in this example , the service control point 310 operates as part of an intelligent network . when a user or more accurately a - subscriber of the ms is starting a phone call , the msc receives a first signal s 1 for call request from the ms to a call recipient , that is , b - subscriber . it is appreciated that there is usually a base station subsystem between the ms and the msc , although not drawn here . further , the b - subscriber need not be a subscriber of common network or network operator with the ms . the first signal s 1 triggers a second signal representing detection point dp 2 for the scp indicative of the need to check the subscriber &# 39 ; s chargeability and start charging . the scp responds to the second signal s 2 with a third signal s 3 . in case that the ms subscription is an economy subscription in which the subscribers are allocated lowered service level in comparison to other subscribers , the third signal contains supplementary data together with the b - subscriber number . typically the supplementary data is represented as a prefix or postfix to the b - subscriber number . the msc next receives the third signal and obtains the subscriber data of the a - subscriber in a fourth signal s 4 . the subscriber data typically comprises enhanced multi level precedence and preemption ( emlpp ) service information implemented in hlr & amp ; msc including isdn user part ( isup ) add - on information . next , the msc sends a fifth signal comprising call control information to the base station subsystem ( s ) in communication with the ms , which are about to be used for communication with the ms or which reside within a particular area ( such as a given location area or paging area ) of the network 110 . the case in which the a - subscriber desires to make an express call with temporarily enhanced service level is next described with reference to fig3 . the a - subscriber first sends a service level change request ( slcr ) to the network . this slcr can be implemented in a number of ways , including a particularly formed and / or addressed short message , with a phone call to a particular number , with an internet based request via subscriber &# 39 ; s internet portal , for instance , or with any other mechanism capable of indicating to the network the request with sufficient authentication of the subscriber . in this case , the request is incorporated into the first signal as a prefix to the b - subscriber number of form 123 * 87654321 or as a postfix of form 87654321 * 123 . alternatively , the request can be included in a phone call request using unstructured supplementary service data ( ussd ). the request can be identified from the presence of a predetermined code in the prefix or in the suffix . with the first prefix , the express call request can be pre - programmed to a phone book of existing mobile phones and it is relatively easy to enter on placing a phone call by manually entering the digits of the b - subscriber number . on receiving the first signal with the slcr , the msc contains an indication of the slcr in the second signal by passing the received b - subscriber number with its prefix or postfix , for example , to the scp . armed with the slcr , the scp determines whether the a - subscriber can be charged the call and proceeds placing the phone call by providing the msc with the third signal adapted to indicate the slcr , optionally by including supplementary information such as a prefix or postfix . the msc obtains the fourth signal that comprises the default and maximum priority level of the a - subscriber and now furnishes the fifth signal with the maximum priority level responsive to the slcr instead of the default priority level . whilst the slcr may be indicated by particular supplementary information in the third signal s 3 , alternatively the third signal may be such as with normal subscribers who do not have a reduced service level subscription . in this implementation , the msc should output the fifth signal with call control information indicative of using the maximum priority level defined in the subscriber data . if the slcr were allowed to indicate temporary lowering of the service level , then hlr should contain a predetermined lowest priority level and a default priority level and the msc should normally pass in the fifth signal the default level and the predetermined lowest priority level on the msc detecting the slcr . typically , the network is configured to charge a higher rate for express calls ( lower rates for lowered service level calls if used ) than normally . the charging function is typically controlled by the msc or by the scp to account for the temporary change of service level for the duration of the call for which the service level is changed . in alternative embodiments the charging function is performed by other network elements . in communications over the map interface hlr - vlr ( typically in prepaid & amp ; postpaid subscriptions ), the slcr can be conveyed , for instance , by using an adapted routing category . adapted routing categories are supported by modern hlr and msc equipment and provide end - to - end priority definition mechanism in mobile - to - mobile calls such that if so desired , the network can allocate enhanced priority to both the originating and terminating subscribers . alternatively , the map interface may employ the emlpp service , which is also implemented in some modern hlr and msc ( including the isup add - on mentioned in the foregoing ). in this case , one possible implementation is as follows : the subscriber record is created in the hlr . the subscriber record includes the maximum / default priority levels . upon registration on a vlr , hlr sends maximum and default priority levels to the vlr or msc . the msc maps the emlpp priority on the scale of priority levels such as 1 to 14 for bsc . for a mobile terminated call , the priority level is defined in the isup ( isdn user part ) set - up message to the vmsc . the scp can be configured to detect the change request and respectively evoke enhanced multi level precedence and preemption feature in the mobile switch center to command the mobile switch center to apply maximum priority level . further alternatively to using the emlpp , cs allocation or retention priority can be employed on the map interface . this embodiment may enable providing interoperability when , for instance , either the hlr or the msc is unable to employ the emlpp . hence , the cs allocation retention priority ( arp ) can be understood as an alternative to the emlpp . on the a - interface between the msc and the serving bsc the msc informs the bss about call priority and pre - emption associated with individual subscribers by using the priority message element in the fifth signal an assignment request . the serving bsc is typically capable of informing target bsc about user parameters on handover of the subscriber to the target bsc . see 3gpp ts 48 . 008 section 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 , successful operation , for further information on radio resource assignment in a mobile communications system . the call control in the fifth signal may contain following data when the slcr has been detected ( class one case ): the labels used indicate intended priority level ( 1 being the highest ), whether the call being made is allowed to preempt an existing call ( that is , abruptly assume resources prior assigned to another subscriber ), whether the call is allowed to be placed into a queue on setting up if the network resources are not available , and whether the call shall be indicated by the bsc as one that may not be preempted . the bsc may communicate the preemption vulnerability indicator to the ms such that if the ms supports the feature , the ms can indicate to the user that the call is not indicated vulnerable for preempting . in case that the subscriber has a subscription normally employing reduced service level and the slcr is not made ( class 2 ), the call control of the fifth signal may contain the following data : this class 2 case differs from class 1 case in that the call being made is only established if there are sufficient resources available without preempting other calls . the ms may be indicated of the vulnerability to preempting . it should also be appreciated that the bsc may be configured to leave a predetermined headroom of free resources to accommodate for sudden radio interference caused needs to reallocate new channels to subscribers , for allowing data transfer and / or for enhancing the segmentation of subscriptions . in order to facilitate the entering of a prefix to pre - stored phone numbers , the ms may be capable of combining a stored number with a prefix or postfix used for indicating the slcr . the ms may be further configured to provide the user with an option of temporarily changing the service level and respectively to adapt the phone number as applicable . it should be appreciated that the afore described mechanism of making an express call can also be used to indicate requests for temporarily lowered service level , in which case the network should identify that the service level is being lowered and to define respectively adapted call control for the fifth signal . usually , when emlpp is used and a subscriber record is created in the hlr , the record includes the maximum and default priority levels . upon registration on a visiting location register ( vlr ), hlr sends these maximum and default priority levels to the vlr or to the visiting msc ( vmsc ). the msc maps the emlpp priority on priority levels using a scale depending on implementation for a serving base station controller ( bsc ), which scale is , for instance , 1 to 14 . regarding phone calls terminated to a subscriber who has the economy subscription with lowered service level , the allocation of radio resources may depend on the originating subscriber &# 39 ; s subscription especially when the originating subscriber is responsible for the charging of the phone call . alternatively , especially when the b - subscriber is charged for her radio access , the a subscriber may provide the b - subscriber &# 39 ; s network with the priority level with an isup set - up message to the vmsc . a high priority of subscriber a can be informed to subscriber b &# 39 ; s msc over isup . this is particularly useful in order to improve the call reliability end - to - end , as a call drop could also happen at the b - subscriber &# 39 ; s end . however , the b - party priority need not influence msc - a resource allocation . on establishing a phone call , the priority may be chosen at a phone call recipient &# 39 ; s end based on the higher of the called user priority and the calling user priority . fig4 presents a flow chart illustrating the basic operation of one example of the invention . the flow chart begins in step 400 at which a user indicates that a phone call should be made to a given destination . it is next detected at the caller &# 39 ; s mobile station that a slcr is made . responsively , in step 420 the ms forms and transmits the first signal s 1 of fig3 to the network . the network receives the first signal and detects in step 430 that a special call is desired by detecting the slcr . the network next updates the charging rate for the next phone call in step 440 to correspond with the slcr and instructs the access network in step 450 for the change in resource usage priority . the network may next indicate the current service level or resource usage priority by a message to the ms , which may inform the user of the current service level in step 461 . the operation also proceeds from step 460 to step 462 in which the end of the service level change is detected . typically , when the service level is only changed for the following or commencing phone call , this detection of the ending of the special call status is based on detecting the end of the phone call . alternatively , a timer may be used to detect expiry of a predetermined duration and / or number of phone calls made after the slcr was made . responsively to the detection in step 462 of the ending of the special call status , the network may indicate in step 470 the current service level so that the ms may inform the user correspondingly in step 471 . the operation also proceeds from the step 470 to step 472 in which the network instructs the access network of the service level to which the access network should resume after the temporary change of service level caused by the slcr . the network next updates the charging again to correspond with the normal service level for next phone calls and resumes to step 400 to wait for the next call the user desires to originate . in general , the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits , software , logic or any combination thereof . for example , some aspects may be implemented in hardware , while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller , microprocessor or other computing device , although the invention is not limited thereto . while various aspects of the invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams , flow charts , or using some other pictorial representation , it is well understood that these blocks , apparatus , systems , techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in , as non - limiting examples , hardware , software , firmware , special purpose circuits or logic , general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices , or some combination thereof . embodiments of the inventions may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules . the design of integrated circuits is by and large a highly automated process . complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate . the foregoing description has provided by way of exemplary and non - limiting examples a full and informative description of the best method and apparatus presently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the invention . however , various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description , when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims . however , all such and similar modifications of the teachings of this invention will still fall within the scope of this invention . furthermore , some of the features of the preferred embodiments of this invention could be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features . as such , the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention , and not in limitation thereof .	7
referring to fig1 there is generally shown an outline of a tractor 10 . as such , there are many examples of tractors such as 10 which will operate according to the principles of this invention to be described . it is noted at the onset that any type of vehicle can be employed , but a tractor vehicle is preferable due to the fact that the user can employ the tractor in various other applications when the tractor is not being used to accommodate the dispensing apparatus according to this invention . as such , a suitable tractor is manufactured by a company called engineering research associates of wisconsin and sold under the trade name jim dandy as the economy model . this tractor is relatively small and is capable of providing 14hp in operation . as shown in fig1 the tractor 10 has a relatively large rear wheel 11 . fig1 shows one wheel but it is common knowledge that such tractors employ two rear wheels . disposed between the rear wheels is a seat 12 which the operator is positioned on to control the path of the tractor . essentially as shown in fig1 such tractors have a frame attachment mechanism which may consist of a series of bars or steel beams such as 12 and 13 . these beams extend from the rear of the tractor beyond the wheel 11 and are used for attaching various equipment thereto . as one can ascertain , the nature of the frame members such as 12 and 13 are not pertinent and the apparatus to be described is adapted to be attached to any type of tractor or vehicle as 10 in a simple and reliable manner . shown coupled to the attachment frame assembly is a vertical beam 15 . there is a similar beam located on the other side as will be shown in fig2 . in essence , the beam 15 serves as the main base for the entire dispenser frame assembly as will be explained and hence , it can be ascertained that it is relatively simple to couple such a beam configuration to any frame attachment assembly associated with a conventional tractor as 10 . rigidly secured to the tractor assembly is a cannister or hopper mechanism 20 . cannisters such as 20 are well known in the art and basically accommodate a material to be dispensed such as a fertilizer , seed and so on . cannisters such as 20 may contain one or more compartments for holding different materials to be dispensed . as such , the cannisters contain a series of operating valves as 21 which operate to select one compartment as compared to another or to select more than one compartment to thereby enable an operator to distribute , for example , seed and fertilizer in a single operation . located internal to the cannister 20 is a rotatable dispensing mechanism or cylinder . as the cylinder rotates , it causes the material to be dispensed to be uniformly distributed via the output section of the cannister 20a sometimes referred to as the flute . shown in fig1 is a pulley 30 . the pulley is attached to the dispensing cylinder associated with cannister 20 and hence , as the pulley 30 rotates , it causes the dispensing cylinder to rotate as well . material which is discharged from the flute 20a is dropped on a spinner plate 33 ( shown in dashed line ). the spinner plate is electrically operated and is rotated by means of a motor . as the material is discharged onto the spinner plate , the rotation of the plate causes the material to circulate within a confined area and hence , assures that the material that is being dispensed is uniformly distributed . as such , the cannister 20 and the spinner plate 33 are known in the art and are conventional components . in any event , it is one object of the present invention to enable the rotation of pulley 30 and hence , to control the rotation of the dispensing cylinder associated with the cannister according to the speed of the vehicle . it is , of course , an object of any efficient dispensing apparatus to control the rotation of the dispensing cylinder according to the speed of the vehicle to thereby assure that the optimum amount of material is being distributed . shown in fig1 is a pivotable longitudinal member or bar 31 . the bar 31 is pivotably coupled to the beam 15 and can move in the direction of the arrow 35 . it is noted that there is a corresponding bar as 31 associated with the other side of the tractor . bar 31 and its associated bar form a pivotable frame member . the frame member thus formed has a rotatable shaft located relatively transverse to the bar 31 . the shaft contains a friction wheel 32 . there is another friction wheel which is associated with the other tire of the tractor as will be shown . located on the rotatable shaft is a pulley . the pulley is not shown in fig1 but serves to drive the pulley 30 by means of a suitable belt 36 directed about pulley 30 . also shown in fig1 is a pivotable lever 40 , which lever is mounted on the frame assembly and in this instance , is mounted on member 31 . tension in the belt 36 is adjusted by means of two idler pulleys 41 and 42 . the idler pulleys are located on an idler plate 43 which is rigidly secured to the cannister 20 or to the dispenser frame assembly . the top idler 41 is adjustable within a slot in the plate 43 and exerts a downward force on the belt 36 . the bottom idler 42 is also adjustable and exerts an upward force on the belt 36 . these forces can be adjusted to achieve an optimum tension in the belt when being driven . as seen from fig1 an operator by exerting a downward force on lever 40 will cause the friction wheels such as 32 to engage the rear wheel such as 11 of the tractor . the friction wheel 32 has its periphery covered with an elastomeric material such as a plastic or rubber to create friction and therefore to enable efficient driving of the same by the tractor wheel . hence , as can be ascertained from fig1 as the lever 40 is pushed downward , the wheel 32 engages the tractor wheel 11 . this causes the shaft upon which wheel 32 is mounted to rotate and hence , pulley 30 is rotated as will be further explained . since the lever 40 is pivotable , the operator can pivot the lever towards the seat 12 and secure the lever underneath the seat to maintain the friction wheel 32 in contact with the tire 11 and hence , the operator can dispense materials while using both hands for guiding the tractor . in combination with the dispensing mechanisms described above , there is shown an aerator assembly 50 . essentially , aeration of the lawn may be afforded at the same time certain materials are dispensed . the aerator assembly consists of a rotatable shaft 52 upon which is mounted a plurality of circular blade members 53 which are used to penetrate the soil . the shaft 50 is positioned between two pivotable plates such as 53 . a bar mechanism , as will be explained , is coupled to the aerator assembly . the mechanism is operated by means of a hydraulic cylinder 90 . the cylinder 90 may be coupled to the hydraulic power output associated with the tractor 10 and upon actuation of the cylinder 90 , the aerator mechanism 50 is moved into contact with the ground and hence , the operator can perform dispensing and aeration simultaneously or separately , if desired . referring to fig2 there is shown a perspective view of the dispensing mechanism and dispensing frame assembly together with the pulley system for both the rear wheels 11 and 11a of the tractor . as shown in fig1 the member 31 is a longitudinal bar which extends from an area proximate to the seat to the frame beam 15 . the beam 15 may be secured to the tractor attachment frame by such conventional means as bolts and so on . there is one frame bar 15 for the right side of the tractor and a similar bar 15a shown on the left side of the tractor . using this nomenclature , it is seen from fig2 that the left side of the tractor also has a longitudinal member 31a which corresponds to member 31 and is relatively parallel thereto . located and secured to members 31 and 31a is an associated pillar block 60 and 60a . these blocks may contain bearings . located within the apertures in blocks 60 and 60a is a rotatable shaft 61 , which shaft is relatively transverse to members 31 and 31a . secured to the extreme right side of the shaft 61 is the friction wheel 32 . secured to the other side of the shaft 61 is a similar friction wheel 32a which is adapted to coact with rear wheel 11a . the longitudinal bars 31 and 31a are pivotally coupled to frame members 15 and 15a via couplings 62 and 62a . pivotable couplings such as 62 and 62a are well known in the art and many examples of coupling the frame assembly to members as 15 and 15a should be clearly understood by those skilled in the art . also shown in fig2 is a reinforcing bar 64 which extends between members 31 and 31a to afford greater support to the assembly . shown coupled on shaft 61 and located between the longitudinal members 31 and 31a is a pulley 65 . the belt 36 encircles this pulley and is also directed about pulley 30 , which pulley is coupled to the dispensing cylinder 66 located within the hollow of the cannister 20 and shown in fig2 . located beneath the dispensing cylinder 66 is the spinning plate 33 . the plate 33 is rotatably mounted and driven by means of a motor . shown schematically in fig2 is a wire connecting the motor of the plate 33 to the tractor battery 70 . the switch 71 selectively applies power to the spinning plate means or motor and is preferably located near the driver position on the tractor 10 . as can be clearly seen from fig2 as a downward force is exerted on lever 40 , the friction wheels 32 and 32a contact the surfaces of the rear wheels 11 and 11a of the tractor . this causes both friction wheels to rotate and hence , imparts rotational motion to the shaft 61 and therefore to the pulley 65 . this rotational motion is imparted to pulley 30 via the belt 36 and hence , the dispenser cylinder 66 is driven . also shown in fig2 are the idler wheels 41 and 42 located on the idler plate 43 . the idler wheels are adjustable within slots 75 and 75a and hence , tension on the belt 36 both in an upward and downward direction can be properly set and maintained by means of the wheels 41 and 42 . as can be seen from fig2 the operator of the vehicle , by imposing a force on the lever 40 , can cause wheels 32 and 32a to engage the tractor wheels and hence , operate the dispensing cylinder 66 as the tractor is being moved . as indicated , the lever 40 is pivotable . the operator can pivot the lever to the dashed line position where it is positioned beneath the seat 12 of the tractor and hence , in this position , the dispensing cylinder 66 is continually rotated and the operator may then drive the tractor or operate the tractor using both hands . as can be ascertained , the operator can simply disengage or engage the dispensing mechanisms by controlling of the lever 40 as indicated and hence , he may operate the dispensing mechanism continuously or intermittently as desired . referring to fig3 there is shown a simple mechanical diagram of the aerator mechanisms . as indicated , the aerator assembly consists of a plurality of circular blades 53 located on a rotatable shaft 52 . the shaft 52 is rotatably mounted between plates 53 and 53a . plates 53 and 53a are pivotally connected to the frame member 15 by means of pivot points as 80 and 80a . a hinge mechanism is afforded by members such as 81 and 82 which are hinged between a bar 83 . the bars 82 and 82a may be connected directly to a rod or shaft 91 located between plates 53 and 53a . cylinder 90 is shown and is rigidly mounted on the frame assembly . the cylinder has a movable piston assembly 89 which is coupled to member 81a or bar 83 . the cylinder , as indicated , is coupled to the tractor hydraulic system or power take off 100 . when the valve 101 is operated , the piston 89 pushes the bar 83 towards the ground causing the aerator blades to contact the ground surface and hence , as indicated , the operator by the manual operation of the valve 101 , can perform dispensing and aeration as desired . the entire aerator assembly as shown in fig1 is completely compatible with the dispensing mechanism and is fabricated as part of the assembly . this gives the user of this dispensing apparatus great versatility in performing all functions necessary to maintain and care for lawns and other property . as can be seen , the entire unit is referenced to the two supporting beams such as 15 and 15a , which beams can be easily accommodated and mounted on any type of tractor assembly to fully afford the above described operation . it is , of course , understood that many additional support beams as well as coupling techniques can be employed in conjunction with the support beams such as 15 and 15a in order to give greater rigidity and add mechanical strength to the entire assembly . thus , the cannister 50 may be supported by additional rods or members which emanate from various other beams which can be positioned transverse to the beams 15 and 15a . it is thus seen that there is described a very efficient and simple mechanism for the automatic dispensing of chemicals or other materials with a conventional tractor 10 . the unit affords positive drive by means of two friction wheels , each of which engage respective rear wheels of the tractor . this provides for efficient and reliable operation of the unit , while providing great mechanical stability . it is believed that one skilled in the art upon reading the above specification will be aware of many alternatives and modifications which may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto .	0
in the following , an image display technology according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , a display apparatus a according to the present embodiment includes an image processing apparatus b and a display unit c . the image processing apparatus b includes an image analysis unit 1 , an image processing unit 3 , and a control unit 5 . the image analysis unit 1 includes a luminance distribution computation unit 1 a that computes a luminance distribution of an input picture signal . the image analysis unit 1 receives the picture signal as an input and sends luminance distribution information to the control unit 5 . the image processing unit 3 receives the picture signal as an input and sends the picture signal after image processing including a correction process to the display unit c . the control unit 5 receives the luminance distribution information , and sends image correction information to the image processing unit 3 and light source luminance information to the display unit c . the display unit c includes a light source 11 , a storage unit 15 , and a display panel 17 . the light source 11 irradiates the display panel with light based on the luminance information from the control unit 5 . the storage unit 15 stores the picture signal from the image processing unit 3 , and sends the stored picture signal to the display panel 17 . the picture signal is stored on a pixel by pixel basis , for example . fig2 is a detailed functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the control unit 5 . as shown in fig2 , the control unit 5 includes a light source luminance target value computation unit 5 - 1 that computes a light source luminance target value ; a light source luminance change amount computation unit 5 - 2 that computes an amount of change in light source luminance ; a light source luminance target value storage unit 5 - 3 that stores the light source luminance target value ; a light source luminance change determination unit 5 - 4 that determines a change in light source luminance ; a threshold value storage unit 5 - 5 that stores a threshold value for the amount of change in light source luminance ; an image correction target value computation unit 5 - 6 that computes an image correction target value ; and a drawing update instruction unit 5 - 7 that provides a drawing update instruction . the threshold value may be set to an arbitrary value . the threshold value storage unit 5 - 5 may be provided at a position other than the control unit 5 in the image processing apparatus b . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of image processing and a display process according to the present embodiment . fig4 is an operational chart illustrating an example of changes over time in an input image , backlight ( light source ) luminance , brightness correction , and apparent brightness in accordance with the process according to the conventional technology . fig5 is an operational chart illustrating an example of changes over time in an input image , backlight ( light source ) luminance , brightness correction , and apparent brightness in accordance with the process according to the present embodiment . as shown in fig3 , the process is started ( start ) and in step s 1 , an input image to the display apparatus a is updated . in step s 2 , the image analysis unit 1 computes a luminance distribution of the input image . in step s 3 , the light source luminance target value computation unit 5 - 1 of the control unit 5 computes a light source luminance target value b 1 corresponding to the luminance distribution . in step s 4 , the light source luminance change amount computation unit 5 - 2 subtracts from the light source luminance target value computed in step s 3 a light source luminance target value for the previous correction ( hereafter referred to as a “ previous target value ”), thus computing an amount of change in light source luminance . it is assumed that in a period before the initial image correction is performed , an initial value b 0 of light source luminance is saved as the previous target value . thereafter , in step s 5 , the light source luminance change amount determination unit 5 - 4 determines whether the amount of change in light source luminance is more than the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 5 - 5 ( hereafter referred to as “ the threshold value ”). if the amount of change in light source luminance ( b 1 - b 0 ) corresponding to an input image luminance change indicated at time t 10 in fig5 ( a ) is so small as to be not more than the certain threshold value ( no ), the process goes on to step s 6 , where the brightness of the light source 11 in the display unit c is modified to a light source luminance target value b 1 computed by the light source luminance target value computation unit 5 - 2 , as indicated by t 11 in fig5 ( b ). however , in this case , picture signal brightness correction ( image correction ) is not performed , as indicated by fig5 ( c ). on the other hand , if the result of the determination in step s 5 by the light source luminance change amount determination unit 5 - 4 as to whether the amount of change in light source luminance is more than the threshold value indicates that the amount of change in light source luminance ( b 2 - b 0 ) corresponding to an input image luminance change indicated at time t 20 of fig5 ( a ) is so large as to be more than the certain threshold value ( yes ), the process goes on to step s 7 where the light source correction target value computation unit 5 - 6 computes an image correction target value in accordance with the light source luminance . for example , when the input luminance value is x and the luminance value after correction is y , an image correction target value y is computed according to the following expression . then , in step s 8 , the light source luminance target value b 2 at the time of image correction is stored in the light source luminance target value storage unit 5 - 3 as the previous target value . in step s 9 , the drawing update instruction unit 5 - 7 feeds correction information from the control unit 5 to the image processing unit 3 , instructing a drawing update . in step s 10 , the image processing unit 3 sends , based on the instruction from the drawing update instruction unit 5 - 7 , a corrected picture signal for image display to the storage unit 15 , and updates the picture signal in consideration of the brightness correction , as indicated by t 21 in fig5 ( c ), while in the display unit c , the luminance of the light source 11 is modified to the target value as indicated by t 21 in fig5 ( c ), as in step s 6 . the drawing timings are indicated by black dots . according to the conventional technology , because of the absence of steps s 5 and s 6 of the process , the brightness correction and light source luminance modification processes are performed uniformly at both t 11 and t 21 , regardless of the magnitude of the amount of change in light source luminance , as illustrated in fig4 . thus , in fig4 illustrating the conventional technology , the drawing process is performed a total of four times at the timings t 10 , t 11 , t 20 , and t 21 indicated by black dots . in contrast , in fig5 , while a slightly darker portion than in the case of the conventional technology ( indicated by dashed line l 2 ) is caused in the apparent brightness , as indicated by l 1 in fig5 ( c ), the drawing process is required for a total of three times at t 10 , t 20 , and t 21 . thus , there is the advantage that the number of times of drawing can be decreased compared with the conventional technology . the image processing and a display process according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . herein , when the extent of change in backlight luminance is large , the time for the change is extended so as to make the change less visible . according to a general technology illustrated in fig7 , in order to make the amount of change in backlight luminance per unit time approximately the same , the time from t 10 to t 11 is taken for a change from b 0 to b 1 , and for a change from b 1 to b 2 in which the backlight luminance is changed more greatly , intermediate targets of b 21 , b 22 , and b 23 are placed so that the change takes place over the time from t 20 to t 24 . in this case , as indicated by fig7 ( c ), brightness correction is also performed similarly at four separate times ( t 21 , t 22 , t 23 , t 24 ), resulting in an increase in the total number of times of the drawing to 7 . in contrast to the technology of fig7 , according to the technology of the present embodiment illustrated in fig6 , with reference to the backlight luminance at the point in time when brightness correction was performed last , brightness correction is performed only when the amount of change is more than a threshold value . for example , the amount of change in light source luminance ( b 1 - b 0 ) corresponding to an input image luminance change indicated at t 10 of fig6 ( a ) is less than the threshold value , and therefore brightness correction is not performed at t 11 of fig6 ( c ). the first amount of change in light source luminance ( b 21 - b 0 ) corresponding to an input image luminance change indicated at t 20 in fig6 ( a ) is more than the threshold value , and therefore brightness correction is performed at t 21 of fig6 ( c ). similarly thereafter , no brightness correction is performed at t 22 and t 24 of fig6 ( c ), while brightness correction is performed at t 23 . in this way , the total number of times of the drawing can be limited to 4 . further , while the apparent brightness is slightly decreased as indicated by l 3 in fig6 ( d ) compared with the conventional technology ( indicated by dashed lines l 4 , l 5 , and l 6 in fig6 ( d )), there is the advantage that the number of times of the drawing can be decreased . thus , when the extent of change in backlight luminance is large , even if the time for the change is extended so that the change can be made less visible , there is obtained the advantage that the number of times of the drawing can be decreased compared with the conventional technology . the image processing and a display process according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described . here , the invention is applied to a system in which , in consideration of a delay in the change in backlight luminance with respect to a change in input image , the image is accumulated in a frame memory and output with a delay . according to a general technology illustrated in fig9 , as in the conventional technology corresponding to the second embodiment , the change from time t 20 to t 24 involving a greater change in backlight luminance is given a longer time than the change from time t 10 to t 11 . in this case , the original image output and brightness correction can be performed at the same time , providing the feature that the corresponding drawings can be performed all at once ( t 11 or t 21 in the figure ). namely , in this example , the drawing is performed a total of five times , of which three corresponds to the increase in the drawing due to correction . in contrast to the technology of fig9 , according to the technology of the present embodiment illustrated in fig8 , with reference to the backlight luminance at the point in time when brightness correction was performed last , brightness correction is performed only when the amount of change is more than a threshold value . for example , brightness correction for the input image luminance change at t 20 in fig9 ( a ) is performed only at t 21 and t 23 in fig9 ( c ). while the apparent brightness is slightly decreased as indicated by fig8 ( d ) compared with the conventional technology ( indicated by dashed lines l 8 and l 9 in fig8 ( d )), the advantage that the number of times of the drawing can be decreased can be obtained . in this case , the drawing needs to be performed a total of three times , of which only one corresponds to the increase in the drawing due to correction . thus , even in the system such that , in consideration of the delay in the change in backlight luminance with respect to an input image change , the image is accumulated in a frame memory and output with a delay , the advantage that the number of times of the drawing can be decreased compared with the conventional technology can be obtained . the image processing and a display process according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . while this example is similar in principle to the case of the second embodiment , it contemplates a case where , with regard to a change in input image , a luminance change occurs twice with the same extent of change . in a general example illustrated in fig1 , when luminance changes are caused at time t 10 and time t 20 , according to the conventional technology of fig1 , the drawing for brightness correction is performed at t 11 , t 12 , t 21 , and t 22 . thus , the drawing is performed a total of six times . on the other hand , according to the present embodiment , as illustrated in fig1 , the backlight luminance change threshold value for determining whether brightness correction is to be performed is varied in accordance with the current backlight luminance value ; namely , the threshold value is made variable . for example , when the backlight luminance value is large , the threshold value is increased , and when the backlight luminance value is small , the threshold value is also decreased . thus , as illustrated in fig1 , for a change from t 10 where the backlight luminance value is large , no brightness correction is performed at t 11 , for example , because the threshold value is also increased . on the other hand , for a change from t 20 where the backlight luminance value is small , brightness correction is performed at t 21 , for example , because the threshold value is also decreased . in the figure , because the first luminance change is on the relatively high luminance side , the drawing is performed just once . for the second luminance change , because the change is on the lower brightness side , the drawing is performed twice . 1 ) as a feature of human visual properties , the greater the original physical quantity ( herein luminance ), the less readily perceivable its change becomes , and the smaller the physical quantity , the more readily perceivable its change becomes ( weber - fechner law ). in view of this property , in a high luminance state where a change is not readily perceivable , the threshold value is increased so that correction takes place less often . on the other hand , in a low luminance state , because a change is more readily perceivable , the threshold value is decreased so that correction takes place more often . in this way , the display becomes more readily perceivable , thus delivering better visual quality . 2 ) when the electric power balance is considered , in the case of high luminance , the backlight luminance can be hardly decreased and not much of a power saving effect can be obtained , so that it is necessary to minimize an increase in power consumption by corrections . on the other hand , in the case of low luminance , a sufficient power saving effect can be obtained by a decrease in backlight luminance , so that the net power consumption is suppressed even if correction is performed and the drawing is performed . in this case , too , there can be obtained the advantage that the number of times of drawing can be decreased compared with the conventional technology . while , according to the present embodiment , an example provided with a memory for holding picture data in pixels has been described , the processing technology according to the present embodiment may also be applied to a configuration in which pixels are not provided with a memory . in this case , too , the processing burden caused by image correction performed when the luminance change is very small can be decreased . the foregoing description of the embodiment with reference to configurations and the like illustrated in the attached drawings should not to be taken as limiting the present invention , and various changes may be made as long as the effect of the invention can be obtained . various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the purpose of the present invention . various constituent elements of the present invention may be adopted or rejected as needed , and inventions provided with such adopted or rejected configurations may be included in the present invention . a program for realizing the functions described with reference to the present embodiment may be recorded in a computer - readable recording medium , and the program recorded in the recording medium may be read and executed by a computer system so as to perform the processing in various units . the “ computer system ” herein includes hardware such as an os or a peripheral device . the “ computer system ” may include a web page providing environment ( or display environment ) when the www system is utilized . the “ computer - readable recording medium ” may refer to a portable medium such as a flexible disc , a magnetooptic disc , a rom , or a cd - rom , or a storage unit built inside a computer system , such as a hard disk . the “ computer - readable recording medium ” may further include a medium that holds a program dynamically for a short period of time , such as a communication line in the case of transmission of the program via a network , such as the internet , or a communication line , such as a telephone line , and a medium that holds a program for a certain time , such as a volatile memory inside the computer system providing a server or a client in the above case . the program may be configured to realize some of the above - described functions , or may be configured to realize the above - described functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system . at least some of the functions may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit . 5 - 1 light source luminance target value computation unit 5 - 2 light source luminance change amount computation unit 5 - 3 light source luminance target value storage unit all publications , patents , and patent applications mentioned herein are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety .	6
a computer system 10 , shown in fig1 includes a processing unit 12 , one or more input devices 14 , and a display device 16 upon which a user is presented displays in accordance with the invention . the display device 16 has a video screen 18 upon which displays appear . as is conventional , the processing unit 12 includes a processor 20 , random access memory ( ram ) 22 , and read - only memory ( rom ) 24 , all interconnected by a data bus 26 . input device controllers 28 , also connected to the data bus 26 , receive command signals from input devices 14 and forward the command signals in the appropriate format for processing . a video controller 30 , connected to the data bus 26 , receives video command signals from the data bus 26 and generates the appropriate video signals that are forwarded to the display device 16 so that the desired display is provided on the screen 18 . the computer system 10 is not limited to a personal computer , but could instead include a personal digital assistant , a terminal , a workstation , or other such device . rom 24 , as is conventional , provides non - volatile data storage for various application programs . in the example shown in fig1 a number of different application programs 32 , 34 , etc ., are stored in rom 24 . also stored in rom 24 is a user interface program 36 designed to work in concert with each of the application programs 32 , 34 , etc . this is conceptually depicted in fig1 by the user interface program 36 being shown as a layer on top of the application programs 32 , 34 , etc . with such a design , user interface program modules common to several application programs need not be duplicated in each of the application programs . in addition , such a design may enable a common “ look - and - feel ” to the user interface for the different program applications 32 , 34 , etc . in other implementations , the user interface program , or module , need not be a common program or module for more than one program application . also , the components just described could be combined or separated in various manners , and could be stored in various manners , such as on various non - volatile storage medium . as is conventional , programs 32 , 34 , and 36 have program instructions that may be loaded into ram 22 during operation . processor 20 then executes the program instructions , as required , to perform desired program functions . also stored in rom 24 are various data in database 38 . database 38 includes data needed or generated during operation of the application programs 32 , 34 , etc . in the fig1 implementation , a single database 38 is shown that serves as a common database for all applications 32 , 34 , etc . in other implementations , there may be separate databases for one , or more , of the applications 32 , 34 , etc . also shown in fig1 is server 40 . the computer system 10 has a network interface 42 , connected to its data bus 26 . as such , computer system 10 may access server 40 via network 44 to run applications residing on the server 40 . network 44 may be , for example , a lan , wan , or the internet . as is conventional , the server 40 includes a network interface 46 , a processor 48 , ram 50 , and rom 52 , all interconnected by a data bus 54 . the server &# 39 ; s network interface 46 provides the connection to network 44 so that client computer systems , such as system 10 , can access the server 40 . in similar fashion to computer system 10 , the server rom 52 includes various different application programs 56 , 58 , etc ., as well as a common user interface program 60 for the application programs 56 , 58 , etc . rom 52 , in this example , also includes data stored in database 62 , although in other implementations separate databases or a separate database server may be required . the invention will be described in the context of a program application for customer relationship management ( crm ). a crm program application manages the interactions a company may have with its customers , for example , marketing , sales , and service functions . in one implementation , the crm application program is made up of several different application program modules , some of which reside on a client computer , such as system 10 , while others reside on a central server , such as server 40 . crm functions typically require access to , and generate , a large amount of data that is stored in various databases on a client or server . the data can include customer and product information , marketing statistics , and service information , to give just a few examples . [ 0026 ] fig2 shows an example display 200 that may be presented , on screen 18 shown in fig1 to a user of a crm application program . in the fig2 example , the user is using the program to view information on various business accounts . generally , display 200 allows a user to define and select search criteria for searching a database , such as database 62 ( fig1 ), for database objects that may be presented in a table 242 of objects following the execution of the database search . an object is a collection of data , organized as a group of attributes ( also called fields ) where each field may contain information pertaining to the object . objects may be stored in a database , such as database 62 , for access by users via networked computer systems , such as computer system 10 display 200 is comprised of a title row 202 , a search bar 208 , and a results area 222 . a title row 202 is located along an upper edge of display 200 . the title row 202 contains a display title 204 (“ account ”) near its left side , informing the user that display 200 contains information on business accounts , in this example . a pair of size - adjust buttons 206 , near the right side of the title row 202 , allow a user to change the size of display area 200 , for example , by minimizing or maximizing display 200 . a search bar 208 , located below the title row 202 , provides database access mechanisms , or search mechanisms , that a user may use to search for , and identify , objects stored in a database , such as database 62 . a first search mechanism 210 , located near the left side of the search bar 208 , is a “ show ” mechanism containing a drop - down list with a selection of database access patterns , or search patterns , for retrieving collections of database objects . the show mechanism 210 , in the fig2 example , contains a “ my accounts ” search pattern , which causes a database search seeking those accounts for which the user has personal responsibility . a second search mechanism 212 , positioned to the right of the show mechanism 210 , is a search tool having three parts : 1 ) a “ get ” list box 214 for choosing a field label , 2 ) a string entry field 216 for providing a search string , and 3 ) a “ go ” button 218 for initiating a database search . after choosing a field label from the get list box 214 and providing a search string in the string entry field 216 , a user may select the go button 218 to initiate a database search for objects having the entered search string in the selected field . an example highlighting the operation of the search tool 212 is shown in fig5 - 6 , and will be described later . a third mechanism 220 is an “ advanced ” search button , positioned to the right of the go button 218 , which allows a user to define advanced search criteria in an advanced search area . this is the mechanism that a user may use if neither the first nor the second search mechanisms 210 , 212 meet the user &# 39 ; s needs . suppose that , instead of viewing the accounts for which he or she is responsible , a user is interested in viewing the most recently created accounts . a new database search may be required , and may be initiated using one of the search mechanisms 210 , 212 , 220 . fig3 shows a display 300 where a “ last created accounts ” search pattern 308 is selected from a show list 306 . fig3 will be discussed later . referring again to fig2 a results area 222 , located below the search bar 208 , provides a user with the results of the database search in a table 242 of objects , as well as object - related functionality in a functional area 224 . beginning with the functional area 224 , at the top of results area 222 , there is a toolbar 226 , a column label row 234 , and a filter row 240 . the toolbar 226 contains a “ help ” icon 232 near its right side , and a group of action buttons 228 near its left side . the “ help ” icon 232 , as is conventional , provides the user with assistance when selected . a first action button 230 , labeled “ add favorites ,” allows a user to add a selected object to a collection of favorite objects and will be further described later . the remaining buttons in the group of action buttons 228 cause actions to occur that affect the table 242 of objects . examples include displaying a single selected object &# 39 ; s fields of information , creating a new object , and saving changes made to an object . the toolbar 226 may contain other ( including a different number of ) buttons in other embodiments . a column label row 234 , located below the toolbar 226 , provides labels identifying field names for each of the columns in the table 242 of objects . the column labels in this example are “ name 1 ” 236 , the name of the business account ; “ street ,” the business &# 39 ; s street address ; “ house number ,” the business &# 39 ; s house number , if applicable ; “ postal code ,” the business &# 39 ; s zip code ; “ city ” 238 , the city in which the business is located ; “ country ,” the country in which the business is located ; “ standard cp ,” the relevant contact person ; and “ telephone contact ,” the contact person &# 39 ; s telephone number . a filter row 240 , located below the column label row 234 , is partitioned into sections corresponding to the columns of the table 242 below . the filter row 240 allows a user to filter the table 242 of objects by sorting the objects according to one or more conditions , and displaying only those objects that satisfy the condition ( s ). the table 242 of objects in fig2 displays each object as a row . the table 242 is located below the filter row 240 and , in this example , five objects are shown ( although , as will be described below , table 242 consists of thirty - four pages with only the thirty - first page shown in fig2 ). the columns of table 242 correspond to the fields of the objects , identified by the respective label in the column label row 234 . the table 242 is created using objects identified by a database search initiated by one of the three search mechanisms from the search bar 208 , described above ( the show mechanism 210 in this example ). an information row 244 for the table 242 of business objects , located along the bottom of display 200 , contains a page number indicator 246 near its right side ( page 31 of 34 in this example , indicating that there are thirty - four pages of business objects in table 242 , and that page thirty - one is currently displayed ). a group of buttons 248 for navigating between pages , for example by going backward or forward by one page , or by jumping to the first or last page , is located near the left side of the information row 244 . the fig3 display 300 presents the unchanged title row 202 and results area 222 ( each described above ) from fig2 and a search bar 302 . in the fig3 example , a user has selected a drop - down list button 303 from show mechanism 304 , producing a drop - down list 306 presenting six database search patterns . the search patterns in this example are “ my accounts ,” discussed previously ; “ my favorites ” 310 , described below ; “ accounts in europe ,” a pattern to find europe - based accounts ; “ accounts in us ,” a pattern to find american accounts ; “ all accounts ,” a pattern to find all business accounts ; and “ last created accounts ” 308 , the relevant search pattern in this example . the my favorites selection 310 specifies a manually defined collection of objects , and will be discussed later . in contrast to the my favorites pattern 310 , the other five search patterns specify previously defined query criteria for searching a database , such as database 62 ( fig1 ). when one of these search patterns is selected , the database is searched for objects having field data satisfying the query criteria . an advanced search area 706 , shown in fig7 and further described later , allows a user to define search pattern query criteria and add or remove search patterns from the show list 306 . the ensuing database objects are then presented in a results area below . the search tool 212 and advanced button 220 appear unchanged from the fig2 display 200 . because the “ last created accounts ” search pattern 308 is selected from the drop - down list 306 in this example , database 62 ( fig1 ) will be searched for objects created within some previously determined time frame ( the last week , for example ). note that in the fig3 display 300 , the search has not yet occurred , so the objects displayed in results area 222 match those displayed in display 200 ( fig2 ). fig4 shows the resulting display 400 , following the database search . the fig4 display 400 shows an updated search bar 402 and results area 404 , following a database search initiated from display 300 ( fig3 ). title row 202 ( described above ) appears unchanged . the search bar 402 , below the title row 202 , contains a show mechanism 406 with the “ last created accounts ” search pattern , selected in display 300 ( fig3 ). search tool 212 and advanced button 220 , to the right of show mechanism 406 , are unchanged from the fig2 display 200 . a results area 404 , below the search bar 402 , contains the unchanged functional area 224 ( described above ) from fig2 and a table 408 of most recently created account objects , below the functional area 224 . table 408 presents five objects , each retrieved from database 62 according to the “ last created accounts ” search pattern from show mechanism 406 . object 410 ( chiptech ) is selected , as indicated by a highlighted selection icon 412 near the left edge of the object 410 . the other objects in the table 408 are “ farbenfroh ag ,” “ nathalie &# 39 ; s kunde ,” “ northtel ,” and “ sap ag .” an information row 414 , along the bottom of results area 404 , contains a page number indicator 416 near its right edge ( page 1 of 1 in this example ). the group of buttons 248 for navigating between pages , near the left edge of the information row 414 , appears unchanged from the fig2 display 200 and is as described above . returning to the fig3 display 300 , if my favorites 310 is selected from the show drop - down list 306 , a database search occurs to identify a collection of objects for retrieval from the database . the collection of objects has been previously manually defined . results area 222 would then be updated with a new table presenting the collection of objects . a user may add an object to the “ my favorites ” collection of objects at any time by selecting an object ( for example , by selecting the object &# 39 ; s selection icon ) from results area 222 , and selecting the add favorites button 230 , shown in fig2 ( hidden by the dropdown list 306 in fig3 ). when the new table of “ my favorite ” objects is presented , a “ delete favorites ” button replaces the add favorites button 230 , permitting the user to remove a selected object from the collection . the “ my favorites ” collection of objects allows a user to define a custom set of objects that need not share any common characteristic . this may be useful , for example , when working with a certain group of objects not collectively covered by any of the available search patterns in the show list 306 . as another example , a user may assign frequently - used objects to the “ my favorites ” collection , thereby defining a database access pattern allowing convenient and efficient access to the desired set of database objects . in some embodiments , a database search utilizing the “ my favorites ” search pattern 310 is executed initially when an application is launched , such that a user has meaningful results initially available in a results area 222 . the user could then work with one of the objects in the “ my favorites ” collection , or could initiate a new database search using one of the three available database access mechanisms 304 , 212 , or 220 . consider an example where a user wishes to view all accounts having a “ city ” field entry beginning with “ fort .” perhaps the user is interested in a particular account , but cannot remember anything about it , other than that the business is located in either fort lauderdale , fla ., or fort collins , colo . taking display 200 ( fig2 ) to be the initial screen for this example , the user may select a “ city ” field from the get list box 214 , and enter “ fort ” in the string entry field 216 . the asterisk character (“”) is a wild card character , allowing the substitution of any combination of characters in its place . fig5 shows the resulting display 500 . the fig5 display 500 presents the unchanged title row 202 and results area 222 ( both described above ) from display 200 ( fig2 ), and an updated search bar 502 . the search bar 502 contains the unchanged show mechanism 210 from display 200 ( fig2 ), still containing the “ my accounts ” search pattern corresponding to the objects in the results area 222 below . advanced button 220 is also unchanged from display 200 . a search tool 504 , between the show mechanism 210 and advanced button 220 , includes an updated get list box 506 and string entry field 508 , and the unchanged go button 218 . the get list box 506 contains a “ city ” field selection , selected by the user from a drop - down list of choices summoned by the selection of the list selection icon near the right side of the get list box 506 . the string entry field 508 contains the user - entered string “ fort .” in the fig5 example , the user has not yet selected the go button 218 to initiate a database search . fig6 presents the resulting display 600 , following the selection of the go button 218 . the fig6 display 600 presents an updated search bar 602 and results area 604 , and the unchanged title row 202 . because results area 604 no longer presents results according to a show mechanism 606 search pattern , search bar 602 contains an empty show mechanism 606 . when the search tool go button 218 ( fig5 ) is selected , the show mechanism 210 is automatically cleared by the user interface . referring again to fig6 the search tool 504 and advanced button 220 appear unchanged from display 500 ( fig5 ). a results area 604 , below the search bar 602 , presents the unchanged functional area 224 ( fig2 ), and an updated table 608 of objects , below the functional area 224 . table 608 contains four objects , each having city field entries beginning with “ fort .” object 410 ( chiptech , located in fort lauderdale ) is shown , along with object 610 ( applied telephone technology , located in fort collins ). the other two object names are smarttech and northtel , each based in fort lauderdale . thus , it is seen that all objects representing businesses located in cities beginning with “ fort ” have been identified and displayed in display 600 . the user may now locate the desired account . referring again to fig6 an information row 612 contains a page number indicator 614 near its right side , and the unchanged page navigation buttons 248 near its left side . consider , as another example , a user interested in all accounts having the letters “ tech ” somewhere in the account name . with display 200 ( fig2 ) as the initial display in this example , a user might initiate a database search by choosing a “ name 1 ” field from the get list box 214 ( assuming this field choice is present in the list ), entering the string “ tech ” in string entry field 216 , and selecting the go button 218 . suppose now that field “ name 1 ” is not available as a choice in the get list box 214 . this may occur , for example , when the desired field (“ name 1 ” in this example ) is not one of the predefined choices for the get list box 214 . suppose further , for this example , that the available show mechanism 210 search patterns are unsuitable . the user could alternatively select the advanced search button 220 , and proceed to define a new search pattern . fig7 shows the resulting display 700 , following the selection of the advanced search button 220 ( display 700 shows the results following a new database search using the advanced search feature , as will be explained below ). the fig7 display 700 presents the unchanged title row 202 along the top of display 700 . a search bar 702 , below the title row 202 , contains an empty show mechanism 704 and search tool 212 , along with the advanced search button 220 . the show mechanism 704 and search tool 212 are empty because a results area 707 below presents results according to a database search initiated from an advanced search area 706 , not from mechanisms 704 , 212 . an advanced search area 706 , below the search bar 702 , allows a user to create and define new search patterns for inclusion in the show mechanism 704 list , as well as initiate database searches . additionally , unneeded show search patterns may be deleted . beginning at the top of the advanced search area 706 , a title row 708 is shown . the title row 708 contains a title 710 (“ advanced search ”) near its left side , and a close button 712 near its right side . the close button 712 closes the advanced search area 706 when selected . an advanced search area body 714 , below the title row 708 , provides a work area for defining database searches and adding or removing search patterns from the show list 704 . a selection area 715 , in the upper left corner of the advanced search area body 714 , contains a pair of selection functions 716 , 718 for selecting which object fields may be used to define a database search pattern . a “ search ” list box 716 provides a list of choices for narrowing the universe of objects to be searched . in the fig7 example , “ all accounts ” is selected in the search list box 716 , indicating the database search pattern will apply to all account objects . other search list box 716 choices might include “ active accounts ,” “ my accounts ,” or “ deleted accounts ,” to give just a few examples . a “ by ” selection list box 718 , to the right of the search list box 716 , provides a list of choices that determine which object fields appear in a search specification area 720 . in the fig7 example , “ address ” is selected in the by list box 718 , causing address - related object fields to be presented in the search specification area 720 . a specification area 720 , below the selection area 715 , provides input functionality by presenting a collection of search definition fields corresponding to the selections in the list boxes 716 , 718 . in the fig7 example , the available input fields are “ name 1 ” 722 , “ name 2 ,” “ search term ,” “ street ,” “ postal code ,” “ city ,” and “ country .” the name 1 field 722 contains the entry “ tech ,” indicating a user wishes to identify all accounts having “ tech ” in the name 1 field , in this example . in another example , other fields may have search conditions , or the collection of search definition fields may be different . multiple field search conditions are also possible . the advanced search area 706 provides a user with more search definition choices than either the show mechanism 704 , or the search tool 212 , allowing a user to define a customized database search . this may be useful , for example , when a desired object field is not available in the get list box 214 , the search patterns in the show mechanism 704 are not sufficient , or when several search conditions should be used to sufficiently focus the database search . a “ go ” button 724 , in the lower left corner of the advanced search area body 714 , initiates a database search using the criteria in the search specification area 720 , when selected . in the fig7 example , a user has selected the go button 724 , as indicated by an updated results area 707 presenting a table 736 of objects , each having the letters “ tech ” in the name 1 field . the results area 707 , below the advanced search area 706 , contains the unchanged functional area 224 ( described above ) from display 200 ( fig2 ), and an updated table 736 of objects . the table 736 of objects shows five objects ( although , as will be explained below , table 736 totally consists of eight pages ). the shown objects in table 736 are “ am comm technologies ,” “ awl - techniek b . v .,” “ applied telephone technology ,” “ asia high tech inc .,” and “ bea high tech .” thus , it is seen that the database search initiated by the selection of the go button 724 from advanced search area 706 produces a resulting table 736 of objects satisfying the search criteria ( the letters “ tech ” in the name 1 field ). an information row 738 , below the table 736 of objects , provides a page number indicator 740 ( page 1 of 8 , in this example , indicating that table 736 consists of eight pages , with only the first page shown in display 700 ), near its right edge . the unchanged page navigation buttons 248 from display 200 ( fig2 ) appear near the left edge of the information row 738 . suppose , now , that a user anticipates having to work with this set of objects ( including any newly added objects satisfying the search criteria ) many times over the next several months . the user may create a new search pattern for the show mechanism 704 for this purpose . thereafter , the user may simply select the search pattern from the show mechanism 704 list , without having to reconstruct the pattern in the advanced search area 706 . a show search pattern control area 726 , in the lower right corner of the advanced search area body 714 , provides control functionality allowing a user to add or remove search patterns to ( from ) the show mechanism 704 list box . a “ name ” input field 728 allows a user to specify a name for the new search pattern by entering a text string . selecting an “ add to ‘ show ’” button 730 causes the search criteria defined in the specification area 720 to be added to the show mechanism 704 list with the name in field 728 . for example , after entering appropriate search criteria (“ tech *” in the name 1 field 722 in this example ) in 13906 - 052001 specification area 720 , a user could enter “ names containing ‘ tech ’” in the name field 728 and select the add to “ show ” button 730 . thereafter , a “ names containing ‘ tech ’” search pattern will appear as a choice in the show mechanism 704 list , permitting quick access to the desired set of objects . a search pattern list box 732 , to the right of the “ add to ‘ show ’” button 730 , contains a list of the show mechanism search patterns . a user may select a search pattern from the box 732 and remove it from the show mechanism 704 list by selecting a “ remove from ‘ show ’” button 734 , to the right of the box 732 . thus , it is seen that the advanced search area 706 conveniently facilitates the addition ( removal ) of search patterns to ( from ) the show mechanism 704 . this coupling between the show search mechanism 704 and the advanced search mechanism provides a powerful combination of quick access via defined patterns in the show mechanism 704 , and complex search formulation and search pattern definition in the advanced search area 706 , with the ability to thereafter quickly select the same search pattern from the show mechanism 704 . the combination of the show mechanism 704 , search tool 212 , and advanced search area 714 , collectively displayed in the fig7 display 700 , provides a user the flexibility to select the appropriate search mechanism , the convenience of easily switching between search mechanisms , and the potency of a powerful set of database access mechanisms . referring to the exemplary flowchart of fig8 the process performed by a processor executing instructions from a user interface program begins , at step 805 , with the execution of a database search using the “ my favorites ” database access pattern . this ensures that a user will have access to meaningful content in a results area when the application is launched . next , at step 810 , the display of a first view , on screen 18 ( fig1 ), having database access mechanisms and a results area containing objects identified in the database search of step 805 occurs . in some embodiments , step 805 may be omitted , in which case a results area displayed at step 810 may not contain objects identified using the “ my favorites ” access pattern . next , at step 820 , the process determines whether an input selecting a database access mechanism has been received . examples of user inputs that may be received to select a database access mechanism might include the click of a mouse button ( for example , to select a database access pattern , see fig3 ), the typing of a key or sequence of keys on a keyboard ( for example , to enter a search string , see fig5 ), a voice - activated command input , the touch of a touchpad screen , etc ., or any combination thereof . as was described above with regard to fig7 the selection of a database access mechanism , such as the advanced mechanism 220 , may result in the display of a modified first view . in the absence of such a received input , the first view will continue to be displayed ( step 810 ). the database search is performed in step 830 using the selected database access mechanism . then , a second view with the resulting set of database objects in a results area is displayed , at step 840 , and the process ends . examples of views displaying objects in a results area are shown in fig4 . the advanced search mechanism may be useful for specifying new database search patterns when either the show mechanism or the search tool are expected to , or turn out to , be insufficient . additionally , search patterns may be added to the show mechanism from the advanced search area . the flowchart of fig9 shows an example of how a user interface may operate to present additional functionality in an advanced search area . the process performed by a processor executing instructions from a user interface program begins , at step 910 , with the display of an initial view having an advanced search button on screen 18 ( fig1 ). an example of a view having an advanced search button 220 is shown in fig2 . the fig2 view also includes the show mechanism 210 and the search tool 212 as has been described above . in the fig9 example , a user may have determined , perhaps by operating them , that these two database access mechanisms 210 , 212 are not sufficient for the user &# 39 ; s needs . accordingly , the user may turn to the advanced mechanism 220 . referring again to fig9 the receipt of an input selecting the advanced search button , at step 915 , prompts the display of a view having an advanced search area in step 920 . an example of a view having an advanced search area 706 is shown in fig7 . in the absence of such a received input , the initial view will continue to be displayed ( step 910 ). next , the receipt of an input specifying a database search pattern , at step 925 , prompts the display of a view with the specified search pattern at step 930 . in the absence of such a received input , the display with the advanced search area will continue to be displayed ( step 920 ). the receipt of an input requiring that a database search be executed , at step 935 , prompts a database search using the specified search pattern at step 940 . thereafter , the resultant set of database objects is displayed in a results area at step 945 and the process ends . an example of a view displaying objects in a results area 707 is shown in fig7 . in the absence of a received input requiring a database search at step 935 , a received input requiring the inclusion of the specified search pattern in the show list , at step 950 , prompts the addition of the specified search pattern to the show list at step 955 and the process ends . fig3 shows an example of a show list 306 . in the absence of a received input requiring the inclusion of the specified search pattern in the show list at step 950 , the display with the specified search pattern will continue to be displayed ( at step 930 ). 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 . for example , the various views may display data using a variety of formats and arrangements , and may display one or multiple objects in any particular view . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims .	8
referring to fig1 a polyphase phase - shift - keyed ( psk ) surface wave device ( swd ) 10 is shown interposed between a receiving antenna 11 and a transmitter antenna 14 . this system forms a coded transponder . more particularly , receiving antenna 11 is connected by way of a channel 12 to the input of psk swd 10 , the output of which is connected by way of a channel 13 to transmitter antenna 14 . an incoming signal by way of example may be a linear fm or &# 34 ; chirp &# 34 ; signal . it may comprise 2 or 3 sine wave cycles of high frequency . the incoming signal is received by antenna 11 and applied along channel 12 to the swd 10 . in response thereto , a phase coded signal is generated by swd 10 and applied to transmitter antenna 14 by way of channel 13 . thus , upon receiving a signal , swd 10 generates a coded signal which is transmitted by antenna 14 . the coded signal may uniquely identify an article , vehicle or location with which swd 10 is associated . a more detailed illustration of an embodiment of swd 10 is shown in fig2 . each phase alternative is characterized by one of two parallel transducer configurations . more particularly , an input transducer 15 acts in combination with a coded output transducer 17 , and an input transducer 16 acts in combination with a coded output transducer 18 to form a biphase swd . an upper conductive bar 15a of transducer 15 is connected by way of a bus 19 to a lower conductor bar 16b of transducer 16 , and by way of channel 12 to receiving antenna 11 . in addition , a lower conductive bar 15b of transducer 15 is connected to both an upper conductive bar 16a of transducer 16 and to an electrode 20 at ground potential . electrode 20 in turn is connected to a lower conductive bar 17b of a transducer 17 and to an upper conductive bar 18a of a transducer 18 . further , an upper conductive bar 17a of transducer 17 is connected by way of an electrode path 21 to a lower conductive bar 18b of transducer 18 . bar 17a is also connected by way of channel 13 to transmitting antenna 14 . in fig2 metalized fingers extend transversely from the bars 15a , 15b , 16a , 16b , 17a , 17b , 18a and 18b of transducers 15 - 18 . the fingers are clustered in groups of four , with each group constituting a single interdigitated bit tap . input transducers 15 and 16 thus are dual tap transducers comprising taps 50 and 51 , respectively . transducer 17 has four active taps 30 interspersed with as many disabled taps 31 to effect phase reversals in an electrical output signal . similarly , transducer 18 comprises active taps 40 and selectively disabled taps 41 . each of the taps of transducer 17 are paired in space with a tap from transducer 18 . in accordance with the invention , taps 31 and 41 are disabled one per pair by severing metalized fingers of like polarity from their common conductor bar . by this means , transducers 17 and 18 are coded tap by tap rather than by individual finger alterations . in operation , an rf signal is received by antenna 11 and applied by way of channel 12 and electrode 19 to input transducers 15 and 16 . electric fields thus generated in the piezoelectric substate between the interdigital fingers of each transducer cause corresponding strains in the surface of the substrate underlying each signal tap . these strains propagate away from the taps of transducers 15 and 16 in the form of acoustic rayleigh waves , which are sampled by taps 30 and 40 of coded transducers 17 and 18 , respectively . the outputs of transducers 17 and 18 are then combined by way of electrode path 21 and channel 13 for use as a uniquely coded signal . to more clearly illustrate the phase relationships involved in the operation of the transducer configuration of fig2 reference is made to the impulse response diagrams of fig3 a - 3c . the simplest , most direct method for evaluating matched filters is to observe their impulse response , which is a time - reversed copy of the corresponding input signal . to simulate an impulse , a pulse narrower than one half cycle of the center frequency is used . such a signal is represented in fig3 a by a wave in envelope 60 applied by way of channel 12 and path 19 to transducers 15 and 16 , respectively . since the fingers of taps 50 and 51 are alternately connected to the upper and lower conductor bars of transducers 15 and 16 , respectively , a signal voltage impressed upon the electrodes causes the strains induced between adjacent fingers to be opposite in phase . the resultant waveforms are illustrated as acoustic waveforms 61 and 62 of fig3 a . acoustic waveform 61 is induced by transducer 15 and consists of a plurality of pulses , with each pulse having two negative excursions and one positive excursion . by way of contrast , acoustic waveform 62 is generated by transducer 16 and consists of a plurality of pulses having two positive excursions and one negative excursion . waveforms 61 and 62 have an opposite phase relationship because of the structural difference between transducers 15 and 16 . as an acoustic wave of waveform 61 propagates across the substrate , it is sampled by taps 30 of transducer 17 , thereby producing an output electrical signal of waveform 63 . concurrently , an acoustic wave having waveform 62 is sampled by taps 40 of transducer 18 to produce an output electrical signal of waveform 64 . output signals 63 and 64 are then combined by way of electrode path 21 and channel 13 . the resultant is then transmitted as a psk waveform 65 by way of antenna 14 . the sudden reversals in polarity caused by disabled taps 31 and 41 divide waveform 65 into segments which may represent a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; or a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; in a binary code as illustrated by binary sequence 66 , fig3 c , wherein a &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; represents a phase reversal . in accordance with the present invention , there is provided a programmable swd compatible with automated system tolerance levels to form , from a single master design , transducer electrode masks for a polyphase psk swd . by providing pairs of electrode sets at each bit location the spacing are such that electrodes depending from bar 17a or 18b may readily be severed without damage to any operating part of the structure . each device to be programmed may be manually altered or may be placed in a machine programmed to slice or remove portions of arrays 31 and 41 to render them ineffective . it will be appreciated that antennas 11 and 14 may comprise a single unit serving as both receiver and transmitting antenna . further , an fm system may be employed as well as the psk system and may be selected where maximizing input energy in the substrate is desired . having described the invention in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that further modifications may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims .	7
in the drawings , a command device 10 is of generally pen - like size and shape and can be gripped in one hand and manipulated in the manner of a writing instrument . the device therefore has an elongate barrel 12 terminating distally in a tapered head end 14 skin to the point or nib or a writing instrument , the head end 14 defining a surface 16 that is obliquely angled to the longitudinal axis of the barrel 12 . the pen analogy is continued by a pocket clip 18 that is attached resiliently to the proximal end of the barrel 12 and extends distally along one side of the barrel 12 . one the side of the barrel 12 opposed to the clip 18 , the barrel 12 is cut away to define a generally flat , oblong display area 20 . the distal end of the display area 20 is occupied by an array of leds 22 indicating the operational status of the device 10 by their different colors and positions within the array . much of the remainder of the display area 20 is occupied by a three - line dot matrix lcd display 24 . the head end 14 includes input means in the form of a scanner and output means in the form of a transmitter such as an ir or rf transmitter . well - known scanner and transmitter technologies can be used in the invention , so there is no need to elaborate here save to say that the device 10 includes a processor controlling scanner and transmitter drivers , and memory for storing a scanned image as well as for providing the operational memory requirements of the processor . different types of memory could be employed for these different purposes , although there is no need to distinguish between them for the purposes of this description . the processor also controls display drivers for the leds 22 and the lcd display 24 , although it will be apparent that some processors can offer memory and driver facilities integrally and so could be used instead . referring specifically now to fig1 , the device 10 is shown with its head end 14 having been dragged or wiped by a user across a url 26 printed on a brochure 28 or the like . for this purpose , the device 10 has been held at such an angle that it presents the angled surface 16 at the head end 14 flat to the surface of the brochure 28 on which the url 26 is printed . a scanned image representative of the url 26 has been acquired by the scanner under control of the processor and has been stored in the memory of the device 10 . the processor has run a proprietary ocr software application on the stored scanned image and has written the resulting text to the lcd display 24 , where it appears on the second line below a status confirmation word ‘ scan ’ on the first line . these lines of text appear as confirmation to the user that the device 10 is in a scanning mode , and that the url has been scanned correctly . if it has not , the device 10 can be wiped across the url 26 again to clear the memory and repeat the procedure . an appropriate one or more of the leds 22 can light as further confirmation that the device 10 is in the scanning mode and / or that a scan has been completed . should the url 26 be exceptionally long , the confirmatory text on the second line of the display 24 can extend onto the third line . in much the same way that a knowledgeable human reader is able to tell apart a web page address , an e - mail address or a telephone number in view of their different conventional formats , the processor is capable of recognizing the type or nature of the scanned text , if suitably programmed with the simple formatting rules that apply to web page addresses , e - mail addresses and telephone numbers . the processor can then call from memory an application launch code suitable to launch the application appropriate to the detected format of text , such as a browser or e - mail program . this code can be appended to the stored identity of the scanned text to complete the command data necessary to both launch the application and access the desired resource using that application . so , once identified by the ocr application and , if necessary , type - recognized by the processor , the url 26 is stored in the memory with any necessary application launch code until the time comes to transmit the url 26 and other command data to a terminal 30 as shown in fig2 . here , the head end 14 of the device 10 has been pointed at the terminal 30 and the transmitter in the head end 14 has been activated in a manner that will be described later . in this instance , the terminal 30 is a pda , although any suitable terminal could be used instead . the first line of the lcd display 24 now recites the word ‘ use ’ to confirm the new status of the device 10 and the second line again recites the url 26 as confirmation of the resource that will be loaded and displayed by the terminal 30 . in fig2 , the command data has been transmitted to a suitable receiver on the terminal 30 using well - known modulation and transmission techniques . following demodulation and decoding operations performed by the terminal 30 , the terminal 30 has recognized , verified and acted upon the command data by launching a browser and by using that browser to load a web page 32 corresponding to the scanned url 26 . the user can then view and , if desired , interact with the displayed web page 32 in any manner that may be permitted by the terminal 30 , in this instance using a touch screen display on the front of the terminal 30 to enter the appropriate command inputs via icons or a virtual keypad on the display . it will be evident from the foregoing that the device 10 is advantageously small and yet that the user must somehow enter control inputs to start scanning , start transmission and so on . rather than burden the device 10 with an unworkable user interface such as impossibly small buttons that could require another pen - like implement to operate , the device 10 preferably includes control means that respond to the orientation and / or movement of the device 10 . this control means can be wholly internal as it requires no user manipulation . so , this feature simplifies the device 10 to the benefit of cost and reliability , allows more of its external surface to be dedicated to the purposes of display and manipulation , and gives aesthetic and functional designers of the device 10 greater freedom . such control means could be as simple as a tilt switch or an array of tilt switches arranged to sense orientation of the device 10 , whereby the processor taking inputs from the resulting signals enables and / or triggers certain functions in accordance with the orientation of the device 10 or in accordance with a predetermined sequence of such orientations . in an over - simplified example , the ‘ scan ’ mode could be enabled whenever the device 10 is oriented to present its angled head end surface to horizontally - disposed text , the transmit or ‘ use ’ mode could be enabled whenever the device 10 is approximately horizontal , or the device 10 can be in an off or dormant mode when the device 10 is vertical , as if clipped in a pocket . the tilt switch or tilt switch array could be replaced or supplemented by an accelerometer or an array of accelerometers . apart from sensing orientation and possibly also movement or a sequence of movements for the purposes of control , accelerometer - based control means can sense movement of the head end 14 of the device 10 if the device 10 is used as a writing instrument . for this purpose , the head end 14 of the device is suitably equipped with a retractable stylus ( not shown ) that can be advanced or retracted by use of a button 34 at the head end 14 . with adequate memory and processing power in the device 10 , the movement of the head end 14 detected by the accelerometer ( s ) can be analyzed and understood by the processor . if the user is writing , it would be possible to generate a text file in the memory as the user writes with the device 10 . this text file can constitute a message that can be sent as an e - mail message or attachment upon its transmittal to the terminal 30 with an e - mail address and suitable command data , preferably after displaying , checking and , if necessary , editing the text on the terminal 30 . of course , if the user is writing or drawing , it would also be possible to record the movement of the head end 14 as the graphics file and to upload that file to the terminal 30 for display , checking and / or onward transmission . the invention has the benefit that the device 10 can interact with many different terminals , subject to the usual compatibility issues , and can use those terminals to access any resource that the terminal can offer either internally or through a communications network . in summary , the device 10 enables easy collection of resource addresses , ensures accurate identification of those resource addresses , and permits convenient operation of a terminal many variations are possible without departing from the inventive concept . for example , those skilled in the art will know that whilst ir technology is directional to the extent of requiring some attempt at pointing the device 10 and , usually , a line of sight between the device 10 and the terminal 30 , rf technology is generally omnidirectional and so an rf - enabled device 10 could be used in any orientation and out of sight of the terminal 30 , not necessarily even in the same room . either transmitter technology can be used in the invention but rf is preferred for this reason . the memory within the device 10 is preferably large enough to store several urls , in which case the device 10 includes means for displaying all of the stored urls , for example by being scrolled line - by - line on the lcd display 24 , and means for selecting an appropriate one of the stored and displayed urls when it is desired to access the resource represented by that url . the necessary control inputs can be effected via the aforementioned orientation and / or movement sensors . whilst the invention provides great benefit in the internet environment , it is not essential that the information resource is an internet resource : information could be held on an intranet or in a database of any description . more generally , as has been mentioned , the invention can be used to acquire and identify the unique address of other resources , such as a telephone number , and to cause a suitable terminal to dial that number . in view of these and other variants , reference should be made to the accompanying claims rather than the foregoing specific description in interpreting the scope of the invention .	6
many methods have been employed to measure an uncooperative radar &# 39 ; s aoa , ranging from widely spaced receivers ( i . e ., multiple aircraft ) to single aircraft approaches . this invention is designed for a single aircraft application . in employs two or more antennas , a radio frequency measurement receiver which accomplishes accurate phase measurement and appropriate processing . while this invention does not rely upon any manufacturer &# 39 ; s product , a potential candidate for implementation and test would be with a radio frequency ( rf ) receiver being developed by anaren microwave , inc . anaren microwave , under contract no . f33615 - 90 - c - 1414 , with the air force wright laboratory , is developing a phase measurement receiver that measures very accurately the frequency of coherent radars . recently , anaren has proposed and has been experimenting with using this receiver to measure aoa with a single antenna by utilizing a special doppler frequency compensation technique . the techniques described in this specification use two or more antennas but do not require the compensation approach employed by anaren . 1 . fig1 shows a two antenna system where the transmitter is at location b , the antennas are separated by x meters , and the receivers are traveling at some velocity v at the angle θ relative to b . in general , it is assumed that at each antenna there are in phase and quadrature phase channels and that the output of the antenna at position 0 and at time 0 can be written in complex form as ## equ1 ## wherein , in v 0 , 0 the first subscript represents location and the second subscript represents time . a represents the amplitude of the signal , ω is the angular velocity of the emitter , v is the aircraft velocity , θ is the angle between the emitter and receiver , c is the speed of light , and t 0 is the initial time . in a similar manner ## equ2 ## where x is the distance between the antennas . 2 . now assume that the phase angles can be accurately measured and are represented as ## equ3 ## which are the exponential terms in equation ( 1 ): now let ## equ4 ## in these two equations there are two unknowns ω and θ . solving them results in ## equ5 ## 3 . errors in calculating θ : for this analysis first consider the following approximations to equations 4 and 5 for typical values of using these values and letting t 1 - t 0 = δt , equations 4 and 5 can be approximated as ## equ6 ## for calculating errors in θ it is assumed that all errors in θ are a result of measurement errors in a and b and we are interested in the change in θ as a function of the change in a and b . taking the derivative of equation 8 results in ## equ7 ## dividing both the numerator and denominator of equation 9 by abcx results in ## equ8 ## substitution of equations 3 and 7 into this equation results in ## equ9 ## 4 . boundary calculation example : assume measurement errors in a and b to be ± 0 . 03 5 . fig2 shows the results of simulating the above conditions with the typical values and the measurement errors previously described . in fig2 the x axis of the figure is the incident angle θ where 0 ≧ θ90 ° and the y axis is the error represented by ( θ ± θ )/ θ . fig3 used the same conditions but the data plotted were only those bounded as described in equation 13 . it tracks very well with the calculated boundary values . 6 . conclusions : the invention described above utilizes two antennas and a receiver system which currently measures phase angles . by utilizing the phase measurement , equations 5 and 6 can be derived which allow approximation of the incident frequency ( ω / 2π ) and the incident phase angle ( θ ). the errors described above represent only an analysis of a two sample approach . by taking multiple samples and averaging , the angle measurement errors will be significantly reduced from that described above . in addition , while the above disclosure describes a two antenna approach , by inclusion of a third ( or multiple ) antenna , the errors in angle measurements would be further reduced . 7 . receiver system : a simple block diagram of the receiver system is shown in fig4 . an antenna 10 is connected to the input of a first frequency measuring receiver 20 , and antenna 11 is connected to the input of a second frequency measuring receiver 21 . the outputs of the two receivers are connected to a digital processor 25 . the receivers 20 and 21 may each be any suitable instantaneous or digital frequency measurement receiver which is capable of measuring the phase of received signals . one candidate for the receivers in that shown in fig5 . fig5 is functional block diagram of the digital phase sampling radio frequency receiver being developed by anaren microwave , inc ., under contract no . f33615 - 90 - c - 1414 with the air force wright laboratory . it is a phase measurement receiver that measures very accurately the frequency of coherent radars . this receiver may be used as each of the two receivers shown in fig4 . the rf input from the antenna is coupled via a radio frequency amplifier 30 to mixing means 32 , where it is mixed with signals from a local oscillator . in - phase and quadrature components from the mixer means 32 are supplied to a block 34 which includes low pass filters and video amplifiers . outputs from block 34 are supplied to a 6 - bit phase digitizer 36 , and the digitized phase signals are coupled via a 6 - conductor parallel line to a 8 deep by 6 wide shift register 38 . the output from the shift register is supplied via a 48 - conductor parallel line to a 1 deep by 56 wide holding register 50 . the rf input is also coupled to a digital log video amplifier 42 to a threshold comparator 46 , whose output is supplied to an 8 deep by 1 wide shift register 48 . the output from the shift register 48 is supplied via an 8 - conductor parallel line to the holding register 50 . the output from the holding register 50 is supplied to the digital processor 25 of fig4 . clock signals are supplied from a common source to the blocks 36 , 38 , 48 and 50 . it is understood that certain modifications to the invention as described may be made , as might occur to one with skill in the field of the invention , within the scope of the appended claims . therefore , all embodiments contemplated hereunder which achieve the objects of the present invention have not been shown in complete detail . other embodiments may be developed without departing from the scope of the appended claims .	6
the same elements have been designated with the same reference numerals in the different drawings . further , for clarity , only those steps and elements which are useful to the understanding of the present invention have been shown and will be described . in particular , the origin of the data to be submitted to an rsa - crt algorithm to which the present invention applies has not been detailed , the present invention being compatible with any conventional origin of such data according to whether ciphering / deciphering or signature / verification mechanisms are involved . similarly , the destination of the data processed by the implementation of the present invention has not been detailed , the present invention being here again compatible with any conventional exploitation . fig4 is a simplified flowchart of a portion of an rsa - crt algorithm according to an embodiment of the present invention . for simplification , the steps preceding the second partial modular exponentiation have not been illustrated , said steps being unmodified by this embodiment and are , for example , the same as phases 21 and 22 previously described in relation with fig3 . according to this embodiment of the present invention , result x ′(= y z ′ mod q ) of the first partial modular exponentiation is modified ( block 31 ) by the addition of a digital masking quantity r , into a quantity x ′ m = x ′+ r . quantity r is , preferably , an unpredictable number , typically a random number . the obtaining of quantity r may take various forms , for example , the generation of a random number , followed by a verification of conditions which will be specified hereafter . quantity r can also be obtained by drawing from a table of recorded values and respecting the conditions which will be discussed hereafter . then , the second partial modular exponentiation x ″ is calculated ( block 23 ′) and the recombination ( block 24 ) is implemented by using quantity x ′ m . the operator ( s ) ( software and / or hardware ) used in this third phase are not modified by this implementation of the present invention , only input datum x ′ is replaced with datum x ′ m modified at step 31 . the result ( noted x m ) provided by step 24 is reprocessed in a step 32 to obtain the result x which would have been calculated without the introduction of quantity r . step 32 performs , in this preferred embodiment , the following calculation : x = x m − r ( 1 −( q − 1 mod p ) q ). indeed , the application of function h ( step 24 ) to quantities x ′ m , x ″, p , q , and ( q − 1 mod p ) represents the following equation : x m =[( x ″ −( x ′+ r ))( q − 1 mod p )] q + ( x ′+ r ). x = ⁢ [ ( x ″ - ( x ′ + r ) ) * ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) ] * ⁢ q + ⁢ r * ⁡ ( 1 - ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) * ⁢ q ) . ⁢ ( x ′ + r ) - ⁢ x = ⁢ x ″ * ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) * ⁢ q - x ′ * ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) * ⁢ q - ⁢ r * ⁡ ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) * ⁢ q + x ′ + r - r - r * ⁡ ( q - 1 ⁢ ⁢ mod ⁢ ⁢ p ) * ⁢ q ) ; x = x ″ ( q − 1 mod p ) q − x ′* ( q − 1 mod p )* q + x ′ ; and thus : x =[( x ″− x ′ )( q − 1 mod p )] q + x ′. quantity r is selected so that ( x ′+ r ) mod p is different from zero . if not , the contribution of x ′ in the recombination is eliminated , which no longer enables finding the result . for none of the products to risk being performed with a zero factor , quantity r is preferentially selected so that quantity x ′+ r is lower than quantity p . if not , the restoring of the result ( step 32 , fig4 ) should be replaced with a different calculation according to whether quantity x ′+ r is or not lower than p . if x ′+ r is greater than or equal to p , the quantity r taken into account in the equation of block 32 ( and not the quantity r introduced at block 31 , which is not modified ) is replaced with a quantity r m =( x ″−( x ′+ r )) mod p . as a variation , the introduction of quantity r intervenes on the calculation of quantity x ″ ( block 23 ′) instead of quantity x ′. in this case , all the above - described operations and conditions transpose by replacing r with − r . according to another variation , the intervention on quantity x ′ is completed by a similar intervention on quantity x ″. this amounts to separating above - described quantity r in two quantities r ′ and − r ″ with r = r ′+(− r ″). the modification of the first calculated modular exponentiation x ′ however remains a preferred embodiment in an implementation where second phase 22 is separate from the third phase ( steps 23 ′ and 24 ) which comprises recombination 24 . this enables not modifying the operators performing the conventional calculations of the rsa - crt , but merely their input data . an advantage of the present invention is that it scrambles the use of the keys against spa - type attacks . indeed , even if quantity r is the same for several executions , when an attacker thinks he has determined the factorization of the n modulo , the result that it obtains is false since this result takes into account the random quantity that he cannot know . with respect to the method disclosed in us application 2003 / 0044014 , the introduction of the random quantity before the recombination step causes the calculation to be resistant to spa - type attacks , without modifying this recombination step . further , even if the quantity r is to be stored , the results of an attack become unexploitable if the value of quantity r is periodically modified , preferably on each execution of the rsa algorithm . of course , the present invention is likely to have various alterations , improvements , and modifications which will readily occur to those skilled in the art . in particular , the implementation of the present invention to protect the algorithm execution against spa - type attacks may be combined with other scramblings ( for example , those described in above - mentioned us patent application 2003 / 0044014 ). further , the implementation of the present invention with hardware and / or software means is within the abilities of those skilled in the art based on the functional indications given hereabove , be they storage means , calculation means , random quantity generation means , etc . such alterations , modifications , and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure , and are intended to be within the spirit and the scope of the present invention . accordingly , the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting . the present invention is limited only as defined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto .	6
although making and using various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below , it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many inventive concepts that may be embodied in a wide variety of contexts . the specific aspects and embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of ways to make and use the invention , and do not limit the scope of the invention . in the description which follows like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals , respectively . the drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in a somewhat generalized or schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness . now referring to fig1 and 4 , an example of a mold 2 in accordance with the invention is illustrated with respect to a base part 4 . generally , the exemplary base part 4 is a shaped block having a bottom wall 6 , an upward facing continuous , planar outer rim 8 , an inner rim 10 , at least one interior base chamber or cavity 12 delimited by a base surface 14 . ( see fig4 ) the outer rim 8 is of a different , often lower , elevation than the inner rim 10 . likewise , the inner rim 10 is generally of a different elevation than the base surface 14 and delimits the top of the base part 4 . the base surface 14 will generally include one or more projections 16 ( e . g ., raised or debossed portions ) as well as one or more recesses 18 ( e . g ., sunken or embossed portions ) with respect to a baseline 20 . ( see fig4 ) baseline 20 may be coplanar with outer rim 8 . the base surface 14 may include only projections 16 or only recesses 18 . the projections 16 and / or recesses 18 may be of various configurations or combinations of configurations , and generally provides for a material that is shaped , such as in a uniform design , nonuniform design , letter ( s ), and / or word ( s ) with viewing surfaces that are embossed , debossed or both . one or more pressure fluid passages 22 are located at various positions in bottom wall 6 and extend between bottom wall 6 , opening into one or more interior base chambers or cavities 12 . pressure fluid passages 22 open generally into the interior base chamber or cavity 12 at projections 16 and recesses 18 ; however , the pressure fluid passages may be disposed in other locations opening into interior base chamber 12 . fig1 shows a base part 4 that is square in shape . similarly , the figure shows a square - shaped outer rim 8 , square - shaped inner rim 10 , and square - shaped base surface 14 . any alternative shape may be used for the base part 4 , outer rim 8 , inner rim 10 , and base surface 14 . in one embodiment of the base part 4 , the outer rim 8 , inner rim 10 , and base surface 14 are the same shape . alternatively , the outer rim 8 , inner rim 10 , and base surface 14 may be of different shapes . shapes include but are not limited to a rectangle , triangle , sphere , polygon , and combinations thereof . in addition , the shape may be a design that is uniform or nonuniform , and may include letters and / or words . now referring to fig2 , there is illustrated an example of a top part 30 of a mold of the present invention . generally , the top part 30 comprises a perimeter wall 32 delimited by a planar surface 34 , and at least one pour space 40 . a recess 36 , as shown in fig4 , is formed in top part 30 between surface 34 and a perimeter ledge or shoulder 38 and opens to the pour space 40 . optionally , the top part 30 may also include pressure fluid passages as needed ( not shown ). while fig2 shows the top part 30 , perimeter wall 32 , and surface 34 to be rectangular in shape , any alternative shape may be used . shapes include one or more of the shapes described above ( e . g ., rectangle , triangle , sphere , polygon , uniform design , nonuniform design , letter , word , and combinations thereof ). in the embodiment shown in fig2 , the perimeter wall 32 , planar surface 34 , and pour space 40 are the same shape . alternatively , the perimeter wall 32 , planar surface 34 , and pour space 40 may be of different shapes . the perimeter wall 32 of the top part 30 is often the same shape as the outer rim 8 of the base part 4 ; however , the perimeter wall 32 ( of the top part 30 ) and the outer rim 8 ( of the base part 4 ) may be of different shapes . likewise , the planar surface 34 of the top part 30 are often the same shape as the inner rim 10 of the base part 4 , but may be of different shapes . when referring to the top part 30 , as shown in fig2 , the perimeter wall 32 and surface 34 may or may not be continuous . when not continuous , they comprise separate parts that are in close contact with one another . as shown in fig2 , the perimeter wall 32 and surface 34 are of different elevations . generally , the perimeter wall 32 of top part 30 fits the outer rim 8 of base part 4 . similarly , surface 34 of top part 30 fits inner rim 10 of the base part 4 . surface 34 may , however , include a larger surface than shown ( e . g ., wider ). in such a case , pour space 40 of top part 30 will be dimensionally smaller . in addition , top part 30 may have more than one pour space 40 . top part 30 may also comprise one or more recesses , projections and / or pressure fluid passages . the shape and design of such projections and / or recesses will determine the number and location of pour spaces . fig3 and 4 illustrate how top part 30 and base part 4 of a mold engage each other . arrows 70 in fig3 and 4 show how the top part 30 is positioned in order to engage it to base part 4 . cutout views of fig4 show pour space 40 of top part 30 as well as projection 16 , recess 18 , and pressure fluid passages 22 of base part 4 . top part 30 also shows a shoulder or perimeter ledge 38 that contacts base part 4 of the mold of the present invention , dimensions of which will vary depending on , for example , the shape of the mold and on the number and extent of projections and / or recesses . consequently , pour space 40 may be narrower or wider than shown , depending on the dimensions of shoulder or perimeter ledge 38 . generally , the method of introducing a hot pour material or product 50 ( hpm 50 ), such as a cosmetic article or the like , to a mold of the present invention comprises the steps of setting up a mold 2 with top part 30 and base part 4 tightly engaged , adding hpm 50 to the mold 2 through one or more pour spaces 40 to a fill level 60 , and allowing the hpm 50 to cool to a hot pour consistency using cooling techniques known to one of ordinary skill in the art . ( see fig5 and 6 ). as shown in fig5 and 6 , fill level 60 is coplanar with perimeter wall 32 of top part 30 . other alternatives may be equally advantageous depending on the desired end product . upon cooling of hpm 50 , top part 30 of mold 2 is removed carefully , generally by moving upward relative to base part 4 ( as shown in fig7 ). a first receptacle 70 replaces top part 30 of mold 2 ( as shown in fig8 a and 8b ). hpm 50 in contact with first receptacle 70 is released from base part 4 by introducing pressure fluid , such as compressed air , through one or more pressure fluid passages 22 ( as shown in fig9 and 10 ) providing for hpm 50 in contact with first receptacle 70 , wherein hpm 50 displays one or more projections 16 and / or one or more recesses 18 ( as shown in fig1 ). as shown in fig5 and 6 , the highest elevation for baseline 20 of base part 4 is higher than projections 16 and recesses 18 of mold 2 . other embodiments may provide for one or more projections 16 and / or one or more recesses 18 of base part 4 to be higher than the highest elevation of the baseline 20 . in addition , peak portions of projection 16 may be near or coplanar with fill level 60 . furthermore , fill level 60 may be coplanar with the uppermost surface of top part 30 , as shown in fig5 and 6 . an alternative embodiment includes a fill level that is not coplanar with the uppermost surface of top part 30 . removal of top part 30 of mold 2 from base part 4 after hpm 50 has cooled , as shown in fig7 , may be performed mechanically or by hand . in some instances , pressure fluid , such as air , introduced through pressure fluid passages 22 may used to remove the top part 30 from base part 4 . the addition of a first receptacle 70 to the cooled hpm 50 , as shown in fig8 , may also be performed mechanically or by hand . similarly , the first receptacle 70 may be introduced into a second receptacle 72 . mechanical techniques , as used herein and throughout the specification are those known to one of ordinary skill in the art and may be automated . as shown in fig1 , the surface of formed hpm 50 is above the surface of a first receptacle 70 . alternate embodiments include a surface of formed hpm 50 that is either contiguous with a cooperative surface of first receptacle 70 , as shown in fig1 , or below the surface of first receptacle 70 , as shown in fig1 . while specific alternatives to steps of the invention have been described herein , additional alternatives not specifically disclosed but known in the art are intended to fall within the scope of the invention . thus , it is understood that other applications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the described embodiment and after consideration of the appended claims and drawing .	0
referring now to fig1 the projectile 10 of the present invention is shown with its major sections depicted . the projectile has a cylindrical body comprising three major sections , the cylindrical aft section 12 , the cylindrical center section 22 , and the nose section 32 . the steel aft section 12 is configured with suitable stabilizing empennage . this empennage is in the form of a plurality of fins 14 . in the preferred embodiment , four equally spaced fins are circumferentially located around the aft section 12 and are sized to fit within the gun bore of a selected existing weapon . for aerodynamic stability , the center of gravity of the projectile 10 must be located forward of the center of pressure . the long body design of the projectile 10 with fins 14 as stabilizing empennage on the aft section 12 produces restoring force sufficient to provide good stability in both air and water . gyroscopic - induced stability , such as used by spinning bullets in air , cannot be achieved because of the difference in the medium density of water versus air . a payload cavity 16 is located inside the aft section 12 of the projectile 10 suitable for containing tracer material or other desired payload . the threaded aperture 18 of the main body 24 attaches into a bored aperture of the aft section 12 . a threaded aperture 18 provides an attachment point for fixing the aft section 12 to the main body 24 of the projectile 10 . the main body 24 is a tungsten or similar heavy metal rod comprising the center section 22 and the nose section 32 of projectile 10 . on the center section 22 , circumferential grooves 26 are machined to provide a matching interface for a sabot assembly ( hereinafter described ). the forward or nose section 32 of the projectile 10 includes the tapered portion 34 and the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 . the nose taper angle 38 of the tapered portion 34 forms a shoulder 42 integral with the center section 22 . as previously described , it is necessary to generate a water cavity such that the entire projectile 10 travels within the cavity . this cavity is produced by the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 . the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 is cylindrical about the axis of the projectile 10 and has a flat circular face 40 which generates the water cavity as the projectile 10 travels through water . it is imperative to the hydrodynamic stability of the projectile 10 and , thus to success of the invention , that the diametrical size of the flat circular face 40 , the nose taper angle 38 , and the length of the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 be designed such that the shoulder 42 does not touch the water cavity wall before the fins 14 of the stabilizing empennage touch the water cavity wall . it is also important to minimize the hydrodynamic drag of the projectile 10 by reducing the diametrical size of flat circular face 40 as much as possible without producing a resultant increase in hydrodynamic drag as a result of the fins 14 of the stabilizing empennage contacting the water cavity wall in an excessive manner beyond what is necessary to provide hydrodynamic stabilization . referring now to fig2 a detailed view of the nose section 32 is shown . the aforementioned supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 is illustrated in more detail . for the subcaliber 25 mm design having a nominal center section 22 ( the center section 22 is depicted in fig1 ) diameter of 0 . 327 inches , the preferred diameter of the flat circular face 40 is in the range of 0 . 10 inches in diameter . the preferred length of the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 is 0 . 07 inches . the preferred nose taper angle 38 is five degrees . a variation on the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 is depicted in fig3 . in some applications where the water impact loads are higher than the strength of the material of the projectile 10 ( the projectile 10 is depicted in fig . l ), the supercavitating blunt nose tip 36 ( as shown in fig1 and 2 ) is replaced by a very high strength supercavitating insert 46 . the supercavitating insert 46 is made from very high strength material sufficient to withstand the loads generated by the combination of high speed water impact and impact obliquities approaching perpendicular to the water surface . the supercavitating insert 46 is cylindrical with a flat circular face 50 which generates the water cavity . the supercavitating insert 46 is placed in the insert bore 47 of the projectile 10 . in this variation of the supercavitating invention , the alternative nose section 33 of the projectile 10 includes the tapered portion 44 having a nose taper angle 48 and forms a shoulder 52 with the center section 22 ( the center section 22 is depicted in fig1 ). the tapered portion 44 is terminated on the end by the lip 45 . the means of securing the supercavitating insert 46 into the insert bore 47 may be secured by an interference fit , taper fit , threaded fit , or suitable bonding material . it is imperative to the hydrodynamic stability of the projectile 10 ( as shown in fig1 ), and thus to success of the invention , that the diameter of the flat circular face 50 , the length that the supercavitating insert 46 protrudes from the projectile 10 , and the nose taper angle 48 be designed such that the shoulder 52 and the lip 45 do not touch the water cavity wall before the fins 14 ( the fins 14 are depicted in fig1 ) touch the water cavity wall . however , in order to minimize the hydrodynamic drag of the projectile 10 , the diametrical size of flat circular face 50 must be reduced as much as possible without producing a resultant increase in hydrodynamic drag which results when the fins 14 of the stabilizing empennage protrude into the water cavity wall to an excessive depth beyond what is necessary to provide hydrodynamic stabilization . for the subcaliber 25 mm design having a nominal center section 22 ( the center section 22 is depicted in fig1 ) diameter of 0 . 327 inches , the preferred diameter of the flat circular face 50 of the supercavitating insert 46 is on the order of 0 . 10 inches in diameter . the preferred protrusion distance of the supercavitating insert 46 from the face of the lip 45 is 0 . 20 inches . the preferred diameter of the lip 45 is 0 . 136 inches . the preferred nose taper angle 48 is five degrees . the overall configuration of the projectile 10 with the three sabot petals 62 is shown in fig4 . the sabot petal 62 is formed in a 120 degree segment and the three sabot petals form a complete 360 degree fit over the center section 22 of projectile 10 . the circumferential grooves 26 ( as shown in fig1 ) of the projectile 10 match with the circumferential sabot grooves 56 . the sabots are held in place by the obturation band 64 . the obturation band 64 provides a gas seal during cartridge actuation in the weapon . during firing , the sabot petals 62 and the obturation band 64 separate from the projectile 10 shortly after muzzle exit from the weapon . stabilizing fins 14 are shown for reference . fig5 is a two - dimensional , graphical representation of the cavitation bubble formed by travel of the blunt nose through the water . the cavity radius in units of inches , along the ordinate of the graph , is shown with respect to length of cavity in units of inches , along the abscissa . the water cavity wall 72 stands off from the nose section 32 of the projectile and off the entire projectile 10 . by this means , the entire projectile 10 travels inside of the cavitation bubble as it travels through the water . in this illustration , it can be seen that if the projectile 10 is disturbed about its longitudinal axis , the tip of the fins 14 will contact the water cavity wall prior to the shoulder 42 . one embodiment of the invention is adapted to a subcaliber projectile launched from a 25 mm caliber cannon . the cartridge used to launch the projectile utilized existing parts from the standard m919 cartridge , including the 25 mm sabot assembly , the obturator , and the propelling charge . the invention , however , can be applied in similar fashion to other long - rod projectiles . fig6 illustrates the hydroballistic capabilities of several calibers of long - rod projectiles with the invention incorporated into the round . the projectile velocity in units of feet per second , along the ordinate of the graph , is shown with respect to range of water travel in units of feet , along the abscissa . the 25 mm hydroballistic potential 81 shows the exponential decay typical of velocity degradation while traveling through a fluid medium . the 30 mm hydroballistic potential 82 , the 35 mm hydroballistic potential 83 , the 40 mm hydroballistic potential 84 , the 76 mm hydroballistic potential 85 , and the 105 mm hydroballistic potential 86 are also shown in this graph . the water entry velocities of each caliber represented in the graph are decayed from the muzzle velocity by 1000 feet of air flight . the velocity potential of each caliber cartridge is driven by the particular design . the features and advantages of the present invention are numerous . the invention &# 39 ; s unique supercavitating nose section allows current long - rod ammunition designs to have hydroballistic potential . the supercavitating nose , which is designed to be incorporated as part of a subcaliber projectile such as the m919 &# 39 ; s subcaliber projectile , is based upon a truncated cone with an extended tip whose diameter in this particular projectile is 0 . 10 inch . the base diameter of the truncated cone is the diameter of the cylindrical center section of the subcaliber projectile body . the angle of the truncated cone determines the majority of the length of the supercavitating nose . the length of the extended tip , expressed in terms of the diameter of the tip , can be as short as 0 . 2 times the diameter to as long as 2 . 0 times the diameter . the extended tip diameter , the length of the extended tip , and the cone angle are critical to the stability during water entry and subsequent travel to the underwater target . the nose diameter also controls the diameter of the water cavity such that the water cavity wall clears the shoulder of the nose cone at the joint with the projectile &# 39 ; s cylindrical center section . however , the stabilizing empennage on the aft end of the projectile can contact the water cavity wall providing stability before the unstable situation of the cone shoulder contacting the water cavity wall can occur . the supercavitating nose tip diameter is made as small as possible to reduce the hydrodynamic drag which results in high kinetic energy delivered to the target . the supercavitating nose tip diameter and cone angle are designed to optimize drag reduction while maintaining the required shape and mass distribution to promote stability not only in water but also in air . the material chosen for the projectile has a number of properties critical to the design . the tungsten alloy or heavy metal equivalent must withstand the high impact loads due to high velocity water impact , particularly for the nose tip . the projectile material must also maintain strength and ductility to withstand gun launch and hydrodynamic loads during underwater travel . to achieve high kinetic energy at the target , the density of the material must be high . the materials of the present invention achieved but are not limited to water entry velocities up to 4300 feet per second . the use of the aft empennage for stabilization in both air and water gives further advantage to the invention . using the empennage for both fluid mediums gives the invention robustness with simplicity . the empennage is preferably in the form of fins , but it may be of a flared nature ( flared designs have strength and mass property disadvantages ). the projectile &# 39 ; s basic construction is based on a long - rod projectile design which incorporates empennage on the aft end of the projectile that provides both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic stability . the front end , or nose , of the projectile is shaped in such a way that the water is displaced by the nose tip , creating a cavitation bubble which is large enough for the rest of the projectile to travel in . the 25 mm m919 cartridge was chosen as the basis for proof of the invention , but would apply to other calibers as well . the shape of the existing m919 projectile was modified to incorporate the supercavitating nose . although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof , there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the above teachings . variations in nose tip design may improve the capability slightly . to achieve underwater stability , the water cavity formed by the tip must clear the forward part of the body such that the fins can stabilize the projectile . nose tip designs including smaller diameter flats , flared , conical , and power law shapes can be adapted to the projectile to optimize drag . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced other that as specifically described .	5
fig1 shows the appearance of a watch having a variable hour circle . dial 3 and hands 4 seem to be conventional . however , dial 3 is pierced with twelve apertures 16 at the location of every hour to let the stones appear which are mounted on studs 30 , 40 . fig2 depicts the mechanism of the variable hour circle according to one particular embodiment . two - part middle 10 , provided with the required millings and cutouts , holds rack 50 and the twelve studs 30 , 40 that are each provided with an axle 33 allowing their rotation and with a satellite 34 allowing their actuation . fig3 describes the prior art disclosed in patent ch 684 814 . the figure shows a wristwatch 1 composed of a case formed of a middle 10 and a back 20 containing a dial 3 , hands 4 , a movement 5 , a glass 6 , and a crown 7 . an actuating device 60 drives circular rack 50 . studs 30 , 40 integral with satellites 34 , 44 are driven by rack 50 . a precious stone 35 a . . . 48 a is mounted on each face of studs 30 , 40 . apertures 16 in dial 3 allow the stones to be seen . by actuating device 60 , different stones appear in apertures 16 . due to the fact that studs 30 , 40 may have three or four faces and satellites 34 , 44 may have nine or twelve teeth , the arrangement of the stones visible according to the hours in function of the rotation of rack 50 comprises twelve possibilities . fig4 a and 4b show the operation of the studs in detail . stud 40 is visible in fig4 a with its pin 42 of axis 43 , its satellite 44 , and its cube 41 mounted on pin 42 . the edges and particularly corners 49 are rounded in order to be able to arrange the stud as close as possible to portion 14 of middle 10 , i . e . to aperture 16 . in fact , the curvature of the edges obtained by rounding the corners avoids that cube 41 conflicts with portion 14 in the vicinity of aperture 16 during its rotation . in face 45 of cube 41 , e . g . a diamond 45 a is inserted or set . in adjacent face 46 , a ruby 46 a is inserted . in face 47 opposite face 45 , an emerald 47 a is inserted . in face 48 , adjacent to face 45 and opposite face 46 , a sapphire 48 a is inserted . as mentioned above , satellite 44 cooperates with tooth array 51 of rack 50 . in the example illustrated in fig4 a , satellite 44 has twelve teeth . fig4 b shows another example of a stud of global reference 30 that is not shown in the exemplary arrangement of fig3 . this stud has a pin 32 of axis 33 . it is freely rotatable about this axis . the body of stud 30 has the shape of a triangular straight prism 31 whose edges 39 are curved for the same reasons as already explained in the preceding paragraph with regard to stud 40 . the three faces , which are parallel to axis 33 , are designated by reference numerals 35 , 36 , 37 . these faces are e . g . provided with a diamond 35 a , a ruby 36 a , and an emerald 37 a , respectively . a satellite 34 cooperates with tooth array 52 of rack 50 . in the illustrated example , satellite 34 has nine teeth . fig5 a shows the actuating device 60 of rack 50 and a pressure or brake device 70 . the actuating device is guided in middle 10 by means of bores that are adapted to the dimensions of portions 66 , 67 of stem 61 and support this part . the gear characteristics of toothed driving wheels 63 , 64 are adapted to those of tooth array 51 , 52 of rack 50 ( same module and correspondence of the pitch diameters or pitch lines ). the rack further has a stepped profile 68 that cooperates with a corresponding guide profile ( not shown ) performed in back 20 . at least one brake device 70 is provided . this device consists of a plate 71 , e . g . of glass , and of a spring 72 arranged in a cavity made in back 20 , such that a force is applied to the rack by said spring through plate 71 . this device has a double function : on one hand , to prevent any involuntary rotation of the rack , e . g . due to wrist movements , and on the other hand , to allow an easy and continuous rotation through actuation of crown 65 . preferably , two devices will be provided which are diametrically opposed to one another . fig5 b and 5c show an embodiment variant in which the rack is formed of two independent parts 55 , 56 . exterior rack 55 is actuated by a device 60 b whose single toothed driving wheel 60 d is meshing with the tooth array of part 55 . interior rack 56 in turn is meshing with single toothed driving wheel 60 c of device 60 a . the fit of the surfaces carrying the global reference 57 is such that there is no friction between the two racks , thereby preventing that the rotation of one rack causes an involuntary rotation of the other one . the other characteristics are similar to those of device 60 . fig6 and 7 illustrate another solution for allowing the variation of the rotation speed of the studs . to drive triangular studs 30 and cubic studs 40 by means of the same rack 50 , a conical tooth array is used . thus , satellite 34 of smaller diameter is placed on the highest portion of rack 50 while satellite 44 having a larger diameter is placed on the lowest portion . fig8 indicates an advantageous possibility of arranging crown 65 in direct engagement with a stud stem 32 , 42 to drive a satellite 34 , 44 , thereby causing the rotation of rack 50 and of the other eleven studs connected to rack 50 via their respective satellites . as appears in fig9 , the watch of the invention comprises the elements of a usual wristwatch . the case of this watch is not illustrated . it may be of a usual construction . dial 3 is provided with twelve hour signs 8 that are distributed on its rim and have the appearance of stones . hour hands 4 , minute hands 4 a and second hands 4 b turn above dial 3 . a setting stem 9 carrying a crown 65 passes through the wall of the case . this stem 9 actuates a setting mechanism by the axial movement of crown 65 , which may take three different positions : a : pushed - in position , b : intermediate position and c : outer position . in fig1 , dial 3 has been removed , and stem 9 and setting crown 65 are placed in their middle positions so that different mechanisms accommodated under the dial are visible . in fact , hour signs 8 are decorations that are provided on studs 30 , 40 of cylindrical or prismatic shape with convex lateral faces , which are distributed around the movement and rotatable about radial axes . fig1 shows that movement 5 of the described watch is enclosed in a circular cage that is formed of two portions : a lower casing ring 80 and an upper casing ring 81 , and that studs 30 , 40 are mounted on stems 32 , 42 whose ends pivot in grooves made in rings 80 and 81 . stud 30 , 40 directed to three o &# 39 ; clock turns on stem 9 . it is mounted on a sleeve 82 that turns on stem 9 . like stems 32 , 42 , this sleeve 82 is connected to a satellite 34 , 44 . the axes 33 , 43 of stems 32 , 42 located at 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 and 12 o &# 39 ; clock are slightly closer to the surface of plate 73 than the axes of the other stems , the latter being at the same height as the axis of setting stem 9 . these differences in height between the axes of satellites 34 , 44 are also visible in fig1 . a circular rack 50 ( fig1 ) that is coaxial to the movement is arranged on plate 73 . at its periphery , this rack 50 is provided with a tooth array 51 whose teeth project downwards and mesh with satellites 34 , 44 . the diameters of the latter are of course selected such that their teeth likewise mesh with tooth array 51 . this arrangement allows providing the different studs 30 , 40 with adapted specifications and making them turn at different speeds , as has been described in patent ch 684 814 already . at its inner edge , rack 50 has another tooth array 18 of spaced teeth that are directed radially . hour wheel 19 , which is a usual element of movement 5 , in turn carries a star wheel 38 having twelve teeth . the latter cooperate with a pawl wheel 21 that is accommodated in a circular recess of plate 73 . this wheel 21 is made with an arched elastic arm 22 whose free end is hooked between two posts that are inserted in the bottom of the recess . pawl wheel 21 further carries a pawl 23 that pivots on a post which is connected to the plate of wheel 21 . pawl 23 is under the action of a spring wire 24 bearing against a second post , and its rotation is limited by a third post . fig1 , compared to fig1 and 12 and independently from the actuating mechanism that will be explained later on , shows how pawl wheel 21 operates . it has a radial finger 25 that gets in the way of the triangular teeth of wheel 38 . in fig1 , this finger is about to be liberated . elastic arm 22 is wound to the maximum and acts upon star wheel 38 . in fig1 , the finger of pawl 23 engages a tooth of tooth array 18 and moves rack 50 forward until the tip of jumper 26 has passed the tooth on which this jumper is pressing . from this moment on , it is jumper 26 that brings rack 50 to its final position . in this manner , every hour , rack 50 advances by an angle that is equal to the sum of the angles marked by double arrows in fig1 . all studs 30 , 40 turn by an angle that is determined by the modules of tooth arrays 51 and satellites 34 , 44 . since studs 30 , 40 may be prisms having a different number of faces and may carry decorations on their faces which represent hour signs 8 having different appearances 35 a , 45 a , an hour circle is thus obtained whose appearance changes every hour . by combining the number of teeth of the tooth arrays and the number of faces of the studs , simple or complex cyclic variations can be realized . in fig1 , an actuating mechanism that adds other possibilities of animations of the studs is illustrated in part . it is composed of parts that are those of a usual mechanism . thus , stem 9 acts upon a setting lever 27 whose positions are set by a setting lever jumper spring 28 . a linkage cooperates with setting lever 27 . it is composed of a rocking lever 29 and of an angled lever 74 whose curved free end may engage in front of the nose of pawl 23 and keep it from actuating tooth array 18 during the alternating rotation of pawl wheel 21 . fig1 shows that linkage 29 , 74 is located in a cavity of dial 3 . the position of the mechanism as shown in solid lines in fig1 is an intermediate position designated by ( b ). however , the movement of crown 65 to its pushed - in position ( a ) and the movement to its outer position ( c ) both bring lever 74 to the position shown in dotted lines in fig1 due to the curvature of its slotted rear part . pawl 23 may actuate rack 50 when wheel 21 returns to its unwound position , as seen above . furthermore , in one position of the mechanism , preferably in the intermediate position ( b ), a setting wheel 75 comprising a star having three teeth at its upper level and a tooth array at its lower level is connected to stem 9 in such a manner that the rotation of the latter rapidly displaces rack 50 , thereby allowing to set a particular constellation of the different faces of studs 30 , 40 as desired . finally , fig1 shows how the mechanism behaves during hand setting . while hour wheel 19 , 38 is actuated in the counterclockwise direction , nose 25 of wheel 21 is moved to the right and bends elastic arm 22 outwards without pawl 23 acting on rack 50 . casing rings 80 and 81 are fastened to each other by ring screws 76 , and dial 3 is fastened by its feet 78 and by dial screws 78 to assembly 80 , 81 ( fig1 , 14 and 15 ). as the dial has to be fastened so as to secure the positions of various functional members , four feet 77 with dial screws 78 are provided and four ring screws 76 for the rigidity of the fitting circle . in the previously described construction , due to the fact that tooth array 51 of rack 50 is continuous on its entire rim , all studs 30 , 40 are actuated every hour when the mechanism is in the activated position , i . e . when stem 9 is in the pushed - in position ( a ). however , it is possible to conceive a different operation . thus , fig1 shows an embodiment variant of the tooth array of rack 50 with several toothed sectors 79 of a short length that are distributed in locations a , a ′, a ″ along the rack . each sector 79 may mesh both with a satellite having nine teeth 34 and a satellite 44 having 12 teeth . this arrangement allows providing numerous variations . for example , if tooth array 51 comprises only one toothed sector whose length covers the space occupied by two successive studs 30 , 40 , every hour , a stud will turn from its visible face to the adjacent face and the preceding one from that to the following one . if studs 40 have four faces carrying successive white , black , white , and red signs , for example , every stud 40 will successively become black and then white in twelve hours of operation , thereby simulating the displacement of an hour hand on the dial . in the next twelve hours , every stud will become red and then white , thereby also simulating the displacement of an hour hand , however in such a manner as to indicate the hours of the night . this arrangement may be equivalent to the indication of the hour in a different time zone than that for which the regular hour hand 4 ( fig9 ) is set . this use is only an example , and other arrangements and other uses may be implemented with the described means and without leaving the scope of the invention . in particular , the watch movement might not be mechanical but a quartz movement to which an additional module for actuating the crown is coupled and which comprises specific control means that are apparent to one skilled in the art .	6
the same elements have been designated with the same reference numerals in the different drawings . in particular , the structural and / or functional elements common to the different embodiments may be designated with the same reference numerals and may have identical structural , dimensional , and material properties . for clarity , only those steps and elements which are useful to the understanding of the described embodiments have been shown and will be detailed . in particular , the circuits powered by the power converter have not been detailed , the described embodiments being compatible with usual applications . in the following description , when reference is made to terms “ about ”, “ approximately ”, or “ in the order of ”, this means to within 10 %, preferably to within 5 %. reference is now made to fig4 showing a control circuit 110 for a bldc sensorless motor 12 with mutual inductance voltage offset compensation . like reference numbers refer to like or similar components or features in fig1 and will not be further described . the description of fig1 presented above is incorporated here by reference . the driver 110 of fig4 differs from the driver 10 of fig1 mainly with respect to the inclusion of a mutual inductance ( mi ) voltage difference detection circuit 112 and provision with respect to the logic circuit 118 and driver circuit 114 to drive the motor 12 with different current amplitudes . the logic circuit 118 include a drive control circuit for generating drive control signals applied to control operation of the driver circuit 114 . in fig4 , the mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 includes a first input coupled to the output of the mux circuit 20 and a second input coupled to the reference node 26 . the comparator 22 has a first input coupled to an output of the mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 and a second input coupled to receive a reference voltage vref . the control circuit 110 may be implemented as an integrated circuit comprising one or more chips in a single package . it will further be understood that the driver circuit 114 may be implemented “ off - chip ” using discrete transistor devices in half - bridge circuit configurations as known in the art . the circuitry of mux circuit 20 , mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 and comparator 22 may be implemented as mixed analog / digital domain circuits on one or more chips . in certain embodiments , as much of the signal processing as possible is preferably implemented in the digital domain . appropriate analog - to - digital converter and digital - to - analog converter circuitry would be provided to convert the signals between the analog / digital domains . fig5 shows the effect of the mutual inductance voltage offset on the voltage across the undriven winding for two different current amplitudes ( referenced as a “ high ” current ( mi 1 ) and a “ low ” current ( mi 2 ) to indicate their relative magnitudes or maximum amplitudes ) in driving operation of the motor . it will be noted that the mutual inductance voltage across the undriven winding of the motor 12 has a modulation amplitude that is a function of the magnitude of the current flowing through the two driven windings of the motor . additionally , it will be noted that the mutual inductance voltage offset 30 on the voltage across the undriven winding is independent of the magnitude of the current flowing through the two driven windings of the motor . the logic circuit 118 and driver circuit 114 function in fig4 to drive the motor 12 with different current amplitudes ( high and low , for example ), while the mutual inductance ( mi ) voltage difference detection circuit 112 functions to determine the difference between the mutual inductance voltages for the two different currents . fig5 a shows the applied winding current . fig5 b shows detail of the applied winding current to more explicitly show that the winding current includes a relative higher magnitude current and a relatively lower magnitude current that is applied to the winding . the different current amplitudes ( high and low ) are obtained by forcing a current decay ( for example , acting on the current limiter circuit ) for a certain time . in fig5 b , the high current point and the low current point generate two different mutual inductance voltages ( mi 1 and mi 2 ), respectively . fig6 shows the result of determining the difference between the mutual inductance voltages for the two different currents . the mutual inductance voltage offset 30 , which is shared in common at a same magnitude for each of the mutual inductance voltages mi 1 and mi 2 at the two different currents , is canceled by the differencing operation performed by the mutual inductance ( mi ) voltage difference detection circuit 112 . the result of the differencing operation is shown by waveform mi 1 - mi 2 which is applied to the first input of the comparator circuit 22 for comparison against the reference voltage vref ( which comprises , for example , a null voltage ). the signal at the output of the mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 ( i . e , mi 1 - mi 2 ) is a “ sign ” signal that is either positive or negative , and the null reference voltage is used for the sign comparison . the comparator circuit 22 functions as the zero - crossing detector to generate the zero - crossing detection signal 28 . notably , the detected zero - cross positions are , in the case of the waveform mi 1 - mi 2 , accurate since the zero - cross position error has been compensated by the operation of the mutual inductance ( mi ) voltage difference detection circuit 112 ( compare to ideal case of fig2 ). it will further be noted that the zero - crossing event coincides with instances wherein the mi 1 and mi 2 waveforms cross over each other . in other words , the zero - crossing event coincides with instances where the mathematical difference between mi 1 and mi 2 changes sign . this sign change can be detected by the voltage difference detection circuit 112 and output as the zero - crossing signal . examples of implementations of the described operation are presented below . it will be understood that the illustration of the mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 and comparator circuit 22 as separate from the logic circuit is by example only . indeed , the functionalities performed by these circuits may be implemented within the logic circuit itself if desired . indeed , much of the signal processing operations could be performed in a microprocessor or microcontroller circuit which implements all or part of the logic circuit 118 , the mi voltage difference detection circuit 112 and comparator circuit 22 . appropriate analog - to - digital converter and digital - to - analog converter circuitry would be provided to convert the signals between the analog / digital domains . the functionality of the mutual inductance ( mi ) voltage difference detection circuit 112 can be implemented in a number of ways using either analog or digital circuitry . an example of an analog circuit implementation is shown in fig7 . the mi 1 voltage is sampled and stored using the sample and hold ( s & amp ; h ) circuit and is compared with the voltage mi 2 using a differencing circuit ( diff ) after a certain time . of course , the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 on the undriven winding must be generated using two different driven winding current amplitudes , and this is effectuated through the operation of the logic circuit and driver circuit as discussed above . the voltages mi 1 and mi 2 are the analog voltages across the undriven winding as output by the operational amplifier ( opamp ) with reference to the voltage at the reference node 26 . when the output of the comparator changes state , this is indicative of a change in sign with respect to the difference between the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 provides information regarding the mi zero - cross detection . in this implementation the logic circuit not only provides the control signal s for selecting the undriven terminal through the mux , but also provides a control t for timing the sample and hold function to capture either the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 . an example of a digital circuit implementation is shown in fig8 . in this circuit the mi 1 voltage is measured using the opamp and the analog to digital converter ( adc ) circuit . the mi 2 voltage is also measured using the opamp and the adc circuit at a different time . the adc circuit further receives a fixed adc reference voltage ( for example , a ground voltage ), and because of this the opamp is included to reconstruct the differential voltage across the winding . of course , the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 on the undriven winding must be generated using two different driven winding current amplitudes , and this is effectuated through the operation of the logic circuit and driver circuit as discussed above . the digital values for the mi 1 and mi 2 voltages are supplied to the logic circuit which implements the difference determination and performs the zero - crossing detection . so , the mi 1 - m 12 determination is a numeric computation done inside the logic block . a further example of a digital circuit implementation is shown in fig9 . in this circuit the differential voltage across the winding ( mutual inductance voltage mi 1 and mi 2 ) is obtained by properly using the reference of the analog to digital converter ( adc ) circuit . the use of the center tap voltage as adc reference voltage allows for reconstruction of the differential voltage across the undriven winding without using the opamp circuit , thus reducing the cost of the application . thus , the numeric voltage at the output of the adc for application to the logic circuit is the differential voltage between the undriven coil tap and the center tap obtained with a single adc conversion . of course , the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 on the undriven winding must be generated using two different driven winding current amplitudes , and this is effectuated through the operation of the logic circuit and driver circuit as discussed above . this circuit does not use the opamp circuit as shown in fig8 . another example of a digital circuit implementation is shown in fig1 . in this circuit , the voltage difference on the undriven winding is obtained by a numeric difference . each mi voltage ( mi 1 and mi 2 ) is then obtained by two analog to digital converter ( adc ) conversion operations performed in fast sequence where the first adc conversion is applied to the tap of the undriven coil selected by mux 1 , and the second conversion is applied to the center tap voltage selected by mux 2 . of course , the voltage mi 1 and the voltage mi 2 on the undriven winding must be generated using two different driven winding current amplitudes , and this is effectuated through the operation of the logic circuit and driver circuit as discussed above . the digital values for the mi 1 and mi 2 voltages are supplied to the logic circuit which implements the difference determination and performs the zero - crossing detection . so , the mi 1 - mi 2 determination is a numeric computation done inside the logic block . the adc circuit further receives a fixed adc reference voltage ( for example , a ground voltage ). the foregoing advantageously permits cancellation of the mutual inductance voltage offset without the necessity of actually measuring the mutual inductance voltage offset . fig1 a and 11b show waveforms for start - up procedures , with fig1 a showing operation of the prior art circuit 10 of fig1 and fig1 b showing operation of the circuit 110 of fig4 . fig1 a illustrates the mutual inductance zero - cross ( mizc ) signal as being affected by imprecise ( spurious ) commutations 90 ( due to the mutual inductance voltage offset ). fig1 b , on the other hand , illustrates that the difference determination for the mi 1 - mi 2 zero - cross signal is instead without any imprecise commutations 92 ( because the mutual inductance voltage offset has been compensated ). fig1 a and 12b likewise show waveforms for start - up procedures , with fig1 a showing operation of the prior art circuit 10 of fig1 and fig1 b showing operation of the circuit 110 of fig4 . fig1 a shows in more detail the imprecise ( spurious ) commutations 90 present in the mutual inductance zero - cross ( mizc ) signal due to the offset . fig1 b , on the other hand , shows that the spurious commutations are not present in the difference mi 1 - m 12 zero - cross signal . the foregoing describe how to cancel the effect of the mutual inductance voltage offset without the necessity to directly measure the offset amplitude itself ( the offset is automatically cancelled by the mi 1 - mi 2 computation ). the mutual inductance voltage offset measurement is anyway possible thanks to the following characteristic : the mi voltage offset is equal to the mi 1 and / or mi 2 voltage value measured in the mi 1 - mi 2 zero cross position ( see , fig5 ). thanks to the above characteristic , it is possible to measure the voltage offset during the motor driving commutations based on the mi 1 - mi 2 zero cross . in other words , any time the mi 1 - mi 2 zero cross is detected , the mi 1 ( or mi 2 ) value is stored ( in a memory , for example , see fig7 - 10 storing mi value at zero cross ). the stored value corresponds to the mutual inductance voltage offset and can be used as described herein . the knowledge of the mutual inductance offset value allows for use of a mutual inductance zero cross detection by the logic circuitry without the necessity of the double mutual inductance voltage measurement ( mi 1 and mi 2 ) and computation of the difference ( mi 1 - mi 2 ). this allows further advantages on the bldc driving technique . knowing the offset value it is possible to use a single mutual inductance voltage ( mi 1 , for example ) in a further operational mode to detect the mutual inductance voltage zero cross , in other words it is not required for two different current amplitudes to be used to generate mi 1 and mi 2 with an advantage in terms of current ripple . the logic circuit thus need only control the driver circuit to generate a single current amplitude and the mutual inductance voltage in response to that current amplitude is obtained ( and perhaps stored if needed ) for comparison against the previously stored value associated with the zero cross detection . knowing the voltage offset , the zero cross is simply obtained by comparing the mi 1 voltage with the offset ( mi 1 - offset ). fig5 a shows the current ripple generated by the high current and low current conditions ( required for mi 1 and mi 2 generation ). knowing the voltage offset , however , means that the two different current amplitudes are no longer necessary . the current ripple can then be minimized with advantages in term of average current and acoustic noise generation . the driver can accordingly operate with only the higher ( or lower ) drive amplitude and the ripple associated with use of both current amplitudes is obviated . an example of mutual inductance voltage offset measure ( during the first driver commutations ) and the usage of the voltage offset is shown in fig1 b . fig1 a shows the bldc startup procedure based on the mi 1 zero cross ( as in the prior art ) with imprecise ( spurious ) commutations 90 while fig1 b shows the startup instead based on the mi 1 - offset zero cross without any imprecise commutations 92 . fig1 a further shows performance using a prior art method based on the undriven winding differential voltage zero cross , such as in the prior art method showed in fig1 . in fig1 b , it is evident how the embodiments herein are able to guarantee a very accurate zero cross detection in comparison to the prior art method . it is also evident the advantage of the offset measurement to minimize the current ripple for a minimum time . various embodiments have been described . various alterations , modifications , and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art . further , the practical implementation of the embodiments which have been described is within the abilities of those skilled in the art based on the functional indications given hereabove .	7
in fig1 an axially extending drill bit is shown formed of an axially extending insertion end part 1 and an axially extending carrier part 2 equipped with drilling cutter members 8 at its first or leading end . in fig1 each of the insertion end part 1 and the carrier part 2 has a first or leading end and second or trailing end . the first and second ends extend transversely of the axially direction of the drill bit . the insertion end part 1 has a first end region extending axially from its first end and the carrier part 2 has an axially extending second end region extending from its second end . in its first end region , the insertion end part 1 has a circumferentially extending receiving second groove 10 formed in a central opening with a radially flexible spring washer 7 inserted into the receiving groove 10 . the receiving second groove 10 is spaced in the axial direction from the first end of the insertion end part 1 . the insertion end part 1 has a first stop face 3 at its first end and the carrier part 2 has a second stop face 4 spaced axially from its second end . the insertion end part 1 has an inside thread located between the receiving second groove 10 and its first stop face 3 . the inside thread on the insertion end part 1 cooperates with an outside thread 6 on the carrier part 2 . the outside thread 6 extends from the second stop face 4 to a circumferentially extending first groove 9 adjacent the second end of the carrier part 2 . the spacing a of the first groove 9 from the second stop face 4 of the carrier part corresponds to the spacing b of the receiving second groove 10 from the first stop face 3 of the insertion end part 1 . between the first groove 9 and the second end 11 of the carrier part 2 , there is an axially extending guide region 5 having an outside diameter which is less than the core diameter of the outside thread 6 . the guide region 5 tapers inwardly towards the second end 11 of the carrier part whereby the least outside diameter d of its second end 11 is less than the inside diameter of the unstressed spring washer 7 . in fig2 another drill bit is shown formed of an axially extending insertion end part 21 and an axially extending carrier part 22 equipped with drilling cutter members 28 at its first end . as in fig1 the insertion end part 21 and the carrier part 22 each have a first or leading end , that is the lower end in fig2 and a second or trailing end , that is , the upper end in fig2 . the insertion end part 21 and the carrier part 22 are joined together by a threaded connection . the carrier part 22 has a central through opening extending axially from its second end . a circumferentially extending receiving second groove 30 is located in the axially extending second end region of the carrier part 22 . the receiving second groove 30 serves for receiving and guiding a radially flexible spring member 27 . a through opening in the second end of the carrier part 22 has an inside thread extending axially between the receiving second groove 30 and the second end face . this inside thread cooperates with an outside thread 26 on the insertion end part 21 . the outside thread 26 extends from a stop face 23 to a circumferentially extending first groove 29 located in the outside surface of the insertion end part 21 . a spacing a of the first groove 29 from a first stop face 23 on the insertion end part 21 corresponds to a spacing b of the receiving second groove 30 from the second stop face 24 on the carrier part 22 . the insertion end part 21 has a guide region 25 extending axially from its first end 31 towards the first groove 29 and the guide region has an outside diameter which is smaller than the core diameter of the outside thread 26 . the guide region 25 tapers inwardly to the first end 31 of the insertion end part 21 whereby the smallest outside diameter d at the first end is less then the inside diameter of the unstressed spring washer 27 . while specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles .	1
an ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig3 a is a perspective view illustrating the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention , and fig3 b is a schematic side - sectional view illustrating the inside structure of the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention . referring to fig3 a and 3b , the ampule cutting apparatus includes a box - shaped housing 10 , a cyclone object collecting unit 20 disposed at the top inside portion of the housing 10 , and an ampule cutting unit 30 . the cyclone object collecting unit 20 is configured to suck and collect a cut ampule head h and flakes ( hereinafter referred to individually and collectively as ‘ objects ’). the ampule cutting unit 30 , for housing and cutting the ampule head h , is linked and coupled to an intake port 21 of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 . in addition , the ampule cutting apparatus includes collecting units 40 and 60 for collecting the objects sucked by the cyclone object collecting unit 20 and a vacuum motor 50 for supplying a negative pressure to the cyclone object collecting unit 20 . the collecting units 40 and 60 and the vacuum motor 50 are installed inside the housing 10 . the constitutional elements of the ampule cutting apparatus will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig4 is a partial perspective view illustrating a protruding unit for housing a suction tube in the housing of fig3 a , and fig5 is a partial cross - sectional view illustrating an inclination angle of the bottom surface of the protruding unit of fig4 . the ampule cutting unit 30 is installed at the top inside portion of the housing 10 . in this case , the protruding unit 11 is formed on the top front surface of the housing 10 , for covering the ampule cutting unit 30 protruded from the upper portion in the forward direction . as illustrated in fig4 and 5 , the bottom surface 12 of the protruding unit 11 has an angle θ of substantially 5 to 85 °, preferably , 30 to 60 ° to the horizontal plane . the angle θ of protruding unit 11 helps the user to set the appropriate hand moving range in the ampule cutting operation . that is , the ampule a cutting direction is the direction towards the front surface of the housing 10 as shown in fig5 . when the user cuts the ampule a by pushing an ampule body b in the cutting direction , his / her hand is inwardly bent and fixed to the front surface of the housing 10 . therefore , the user can safely and easily cut the ampule a . preferably , the angle θ of the bottom surface 12 can be appropriately adjusted among the suggested angles in consideration of the size of the ampule a or other factors . fig6 is a disassembled cross - sectional view illustrating the ampule cutting unit of the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention . fig7 is a perspective view illustrating a nozzle of fig6 . fig8 is a perspective view illustrating the ampule inserted into the nozzle of fig6 . fig9 is a partial cross - sectional view illustrating the front end of the nozzle of fig8 . fig1 a and 10b are schematic cross - sectional views illustrating a state where the ampule is inserted into the ampule cutting unit and a state where the ampule is cut by the ampule cutting unit , respectively . as shown in fig3 b and 6 , the ampule cutting unit 30 includes a suction tube 31 , a fixing unit 330 , and a nozzle 310 . the suction tube 31 has one end detachably coupled to the intake port 21 of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 and another end detachably coupled the nozzle 310 via the fixing unit 330 . as depicted in fig1 a , the nozzle 310 is inserted into the suction tube 31 through a through hole 331 of the fixing unit 330 . an outer circumference of a front end 321 of the nozzle 310 and an outer circumference of a protruding jaw 323 are pressed in a first inner circumference 333 and a second inner circumference 335 of the fixing unit 330 , respectively . here , the nozzle 310 pressed in the fixing unit 330 is not any more inserted by the fixing jaw 337 . in the ampule cutting unit 30 , the nozzle 310 and the fixing unit 330 for fixing the nozzle 310 can be easily replaced according to the capacity or shape of the ampule a . a main suction hole 311 is formed in the nozzle 310 in the longitudinal direction . a plurality of auxiliary suction holes 313 for linking the main suction hole 311 to the outside space of the nozzle 310 are inclinedly formed around the front end 321 of the nozzle 310 . the main suction hole 311 has a diameter larger than the ampule head h and smaller than the ampule body b , thereby preventing the ampule body b from being sucked into the cyclone object collecting unit 20 by the negative pressure generated in the nozzle 310 by the vacuum motor 50 in the ampule cutting operation . the inner circumference of the main suction hole 311 has a streamline shape corresponding to the shape of the ampule head h , for stably supporting the ampule a and minimizing the cutting force in the ampule cutting operation . that is , as shown in fig9 a and 10 b , the front end of the main suction hole 311 , namely , a shoulder positioning surface 316 a is formed to correspond to the shoulder s of the ampule a , thereby stably supporting the ampule a inserted into the main suction hole 311 . in addition , the rear end of the main suction hole 311 , namely , a head positioning surface 316 b is formed to correspond to the head h of the ampule a . in a state where the ampule head h is inserted into the main suction hole 311 to cut the ampule a ( refer to fig1 a ), if the ampule body b is pushed to the front surface of the housing 10 ( refer to fig1 b and 5 ), one side of the shoulder s of the ampule a is supported by the shoulder positioning surface 316 a , and the other side of the head h of the ampule a is supported by the head positioning surface 316 b . the ampule a having its two points supported can be easily cut by a small force . on the other hand , as shown in fig9 , the plurality of auxiliary suction holes 313 are inclinedly formed around the front end 321 of the nozzle 310 on which the inserted ample neck n is positioned , for sucking minute flakes generated at the cutting part in the ample head h cutting operation . preferably , the inclination angle of the plurality of auxiliary suction holes 313 ranges from about 15 to 75 ° to the longitudinal direction of the nozzle 310 according to the shape and size of the ampule a . in the case that the cut ampule head h does not pass through the main suction hole 311 but blocks the main suction hole 311 , the plurality of auxiliary suction holes 313 serve to prevent overheating of the vacuum motor 50 . fig1 a and 11b are cross - sectional views illustrating states before and after the suction tube is coupled to the intake port of the cyclone object collecting unit through a pair of coupling rings , respectively . referring to fig1 a , the ampule cutting unit 30 is detachably coupled to the intake port 21 of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 through the first and second coupling rings 341 and 343 . the first coupling ring 341 is fixedly coupled to one end of the intake port 21 , and the second coupling ring 343 is coupled to the suction tube 31 . the first and second coupling rings 341 and 343 have a protruding unit 341 a and a groove 343 a , and are detachably coupled to each other as shown in fig1 b . preferably , the first and second coupling rings 341 and 343 are made of a sealing material , for example , a rubber material . the ampule cutting unit 30 can be disconnected from the intake port 21 of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 through the first and second coupling rings 341 and 343 , and thus easily cleaned and repaired . it is thus easy to remove alien substances from the suction tube 31 . fig1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an ultraviolet sterilizing unit of the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention , fig1 a is a side view illustrating the ultraviolet sterilizing unit of fig1 , and fig1 b is a rear view , seen from i direction of fig1 a . as illustrated in fig1 , the ampule cutting apparatus includes the ultraviolet sterilizing unit 70 installed adjacently to the suction tube 31 , for sterilizing the suction tube 31 and the nozzle 310 contaminated by the injection contained in the ampule a . the ultraviolet sterilizing unit 70 includes an ultraviolet lamp 73 ( consumed power : 3 to 4 watts ) disposed adjacently to the suction tube 31 , a pair of supporting members 71 coupled to the inside portion of the housing 10 , for supporting the ultraviolet lamp 73 , and a grill unit 75 formed at the part of the suction tube 31 adjacent to the ultraviolet lamp 73 . as shown in fig1 a and 13b , the grill unit 75 is preferably formed to correspond to the ultraviolet lamp 73 , for sterilizing the suction tube 31 and the nozzle 310 by the ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 73 . preferably , suction tube 31 includes transparent ultraviolet transmission members 77 sealed therein . the transparent ultraviolet transmission members 77 allow the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet lamp 73 into the suction tube . for example , transparent ultraviolet transmission members 77 can be made of transparent fluorine - containing polymers such as teflon . preferably , the positions of the grill unit 75 and the ultraviolet lamp 73 are appropriately varied by the position of the nozzle 310 varied by the cutting position of the ampule a . fig1 is a schematic disassembly perspective view illustrating a first collecting vessel of the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention , and fig1 a and 15b are side views illustrating open and close states of a discharge plate of the first collecting vessel of fig1 . the collecting units 40 and 60 include the first collecting vessel 40 and the second collecting vessel 60 . the first collecting vessel 40 is detachably coupled to the bottom end of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 . the second collecting vessel 60 collects the objects collected in the first collecting vessel 40 for final disposal . the first collecting vessel 40 primarily collects the objects sucked into the cyclone object collecting unit 20 , and discharges a predetermined amount of objects to the lower direction when the vacuum motor 50 stops the operation . the second collecting vessel 60 finally collects the objects discharged from the first collecting vessel 40 . a door 15 formed on the housing 10 as shown in fig3 a is opened to empty the second collecting vessel 60 . the structure of the first collecting vessel 40 will now be explained in detail . as illustrated in fig1 , the first collecting vessel 40 includes a body 41 and a discharge plate 45 . the body 41 has its top end detachably coupled to the bottom end of the cyclone object collecting unit 20 . the discharge plate 45 is elastically hinge - coupled to one side of the bottom end of the body 41 and , thus , is configured for opening or closing the bottom end of the body 41 . first and second protrusions 42 a and 42 b are formed on the bottom end of one surface of the body 41 at predetermined intervals . third and fourth protrusions 47 a and 47 b corresponding to the first and second protrusions 42 a and 42 b are formed on one side of the discharge plate 45 . as depicted in fig1 and 15 a , the first to fourth protrusions 42 a , 42 b , 47 a and 47 b are hinge - coupled to each other by a hinge rod 49 passing through coupling holes 43 a , 43 b , 48 a and 48 b formed on the first to fourth protrusions 42 a , 42 b , 47 a and 47 b , respectively . the discharge plate 45 is elastically hinge - coupled to the body 41 by first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b coupled to the hinge rod 49 . the first torsion spring 46 a is positioned between the first protrusion 42 a and the third protrusion 47 a , and the second torsion spring 46 b is positioned between the second protrusion 42 b and the fourth protrusion 47 b . as shown in fig1 a , the first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b include a first fetch line 461 fixed to fixing protrusions 471 and 472 , and a second fetch line 463 elastically supported on one surface 41 a of the body 41 . still referring to fig1 a , the first collecting vessel 40 normally closes the bottom end of the body 41 by the elastic force of the first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b . when the suction force is generated by the operation of the vacuum motor 50 , the first collecting vessel 40 prevents reduction of the suction force by closing the bottom end of the body 41 by the discharge plate 45 . in addition , in a state where the vacuum motor 50 stops the operation , when the amount of the objects is over a reference amount , namely , when the weight of the objects is over the elastic force of the first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b , the first collecting vessel 40 freely drops the objects by opening the bottom end of the body 41 by rotating one side of the discharge plate 45 around the hinge rod 49 as shown in fig1 b . after all the objects collected in the first collecting vessel 40 are freely dropped , the discharge plate 45 returns to the original position of fig1 a by the first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b . here , the reference amount for discharging the objects can be adjusted by varying the specifications of the torsion springs , namely , elastic coefficients or winding numbers . the objects freely dropped from the first collecting vessel 40 are collected in the second collecting vessel 60 . preferably , the vacuum motor 50 disposed between the first and second collecting vessels 40 and 60 is appropriately covered not to interfere with the objects dropped from the first collecting vessel 40 . the operation of the ampule cutting apparatus in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail . in a state where the vacuum motor 50 is operated , the ampule head h is inserted into the main suction hole 311 of the nozzle 310 as shown in fig1 a . when the ampule body b is pushed to the front surface of the housing 10 as shown in fig5 and 10 b , one side of the shoulder s of the ampule a is supported in the two points of the shoulder positioning surface 316 a , so that the ampule head h can be cut around the ampule neck n . the cut ampule head h is sucked into the cyclone object collecting unit 20 through the main suction hole 311 along the suction tube 31 . the minute flakes generated at the cutting part in the ampule head h cutting operation are sucked into the cyclone object collecting unit 20 through the plurality of auxiliary suction holes 313 and the main suction hole 311 along the suction tube 31 . the objects sucked into the cyclone object collecting unit 20 with the air are collected in the first collecting vessel 40 as shown in fig3 b , and the air contaminated by object is filtered by a general filter ( not shown ) installed in the cyclone object collecting unit 20 , sucked into the vacuum motor 50 through an exhaust port 23 and an exhaust path p , and externally discharged . on the other hand , while the suction operation is carried out by the vacuum motor 50 , if the amount of the objects collected in the first collecting vessel 40 exceeds the reference amount , the discharge plate 45 of the first collecting vessel 40 is rotated to the lower direction to open the bottom end of the first collecting vessel 40 . therefore , the objects accumulated on the discharge plate 45 are freely dropped to the second collecting vessel 60 . after most of the objects collected in the first collecting vessel 40 are dropped to the second collecting vessel 60 , the discharge plate 45 returns to the state of fig1 a by the first and second torsion springs 46 a and 46 b , thereby closing the bottom end of the first collecting vessel 40 . in this embodiment , two torsion springs are used , but one or more than two torsion springs can be used according to the needed elastic force . as discussed earlier , in accordance with the present invention , the ampule cutting apparatus can optimize suction of the ampule head and the flakes , by obtaining the smooth suction path by forming the main suction hole and the plurality of auxiliary suction holes on the nozzle into which the ampule head is inserted . in addition , the ampule cutting apparatus can easily cut the ampule with the minimum force , by forming the main suction hole of the nozzle in the streamline shape to correspond to the ampule head , and appropriately setting the installation angle of the ampule cutting unit in consideration of the ampule cutting angle . furthermore , the ampule cutting apparatus can maintain the wide suction path , optimize suction efficiency and prevent overheating of the vacuum motor , by easily cleaning the suction tube and removing alien substances from the suction tube by freely connecting or disconnecting the suction tube . finally , the ampule cutting apparatus can improve suction efficiency of the vacuum motor by setting the two steps of collecting vessels , reduce noises generated in the collecting operation of the cyclone object collecting unit , and sterilize the nozzle or suction tube contaminated by the injection by using the ultraviolet sterilizing unit . the foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . the present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses . also , the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , and not to limit the scope of the claims , and many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art .	1
fig1 illustrates the basic , skeletal building block embodiment upon which this invention is predicated and which is incorporated in the various methods of structure fabrication taught herein . the block is comprised of a framework fabricated from metal , plastic , reinforced plastic or any other material capable of being formed into the required basic strip shapes . in the preferred embodiment , 28 gauge galvanized steel sheet material is used . preferably , the steel sheet is galvanized after the strips are cut , formed and assembled into skeletal blocks . regardless of material used , its strength is calculated to meet the anticipated stress which will be encountered in the structure fabricated from a plurality of similar blocks . the use of galvanized metal strips of the preferred embodiment is presented as a convenient form in which to describe the invention . the strips can be fabricated from metal , plastic , fiberglass , boron filament , or a wide variety of materials having the required physical properties which will enable the creation of a strong and resilient structure . the exemplary building block illustrated in fig1 is comprised of two identical subassemblies identified as 0 and 20 . each subassembly is comprised of a top frame , 11 or 21 respectively . the top frames of the subassemblies are identical . they each form a square in the preferred embodiment but may be any geometric shape limited only by the requirement of having straight sides which match the sides of adjoining structures . they include latch means 31 formed in or affixed to the straps or wall members 13 , 14 , 15 and 16 forming the top frame structure . a spacer 41 connects top frames 11 and 21 together . in the illustrated embodiment , the spacer is fabricated from the same material as the top frames , that is , 8 gauge steel sheet material which is galvanized after the manufacturing assembly of the block . each subassembly includes a bottom frame , 12 or 22 . the bottom frames are identical to the top frames except they are formed slightly smaller than the top frame so that a bottom frame will nest within a top frame in the manner of a male and female coupling . the bottom frames are provided with snap fit coupling elements 32 which cooperate with the snap fit coupling elements 31 when two blocks are nested together . the bottom frames comprised of side walls 23 , 24 , 25 and 26 are joined by a spacer 42 which , in the illustrated embodiment , is identical to spacer 41 . in fig1 spacer 41 includes flanges , 43 , on either side which are secured to the inside of the top frame straps . the spacer 42 joining the bottom frames is secured by flanges 44 to the outside of the lower frame straps to accommodate the differences in dimensions between the top and bottom frames . the top and bottom frames are joined by angle members 35 and 38 positioned at each corner to complete the basic block structure comprised of two similarly shaped subassemblies having top and bottom frames dimensioned so that blocks can be interconnected by the male and female joint functions created b their relative dimensional differences . the corner legs 35 and 38 are secured to the inside of the corners of the top frame and to the outside of the corners in the bottom frame to accommodate the differences in dimension between the top and bottom frames . when the frames are assembled , the bottom , 36 of each leg 35 or 38 rests on the top , 37 of the mated block structure so that a column of subassemblies , 10 and 10 , result in a building structure comprised of four columns of angle members securely held relative to each other by top and bottom frames to effect a continuous vertical , load bearing structure . nesting of two block assemblies to create a straight wall is illustrated in fig3 . subassembly 10 of block &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; is inserted into subassembly 20 of block &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to create a staggered interlock . single , unattached subassemblies are provided to square off wall ends , such as the single block 30 of fig3 . this block locks into the top of subassembly 10 of block a and if an overlying course is required , it will lock into the top of block 30 just as subassembly 10 of block b locks into subassembly 20 of block a . fig2 illustrates a cutaway section of a side strap of a top frame 11 and bottom frame 22 of a pair of nested subassemblies . a d - lance arrangement is illustrated to provide a snap fit for the two frames but other mechanical fasteners such as screws , nuts and bolts , rivets , glue or nails may be used . the d - lance is created by horizontal cuts through the strap material of 11 and 22 of fig1 and 2 and deformation of the metal adjacent to the slits creates an arcuate extension 31 or 32 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 the upper frame member , 11 , is identical to the lower frame member except in size and the metal is deformed in the opposite side of the cut through the web to create the interlocking shape . fig4 illustrates block assemblies arranged at right angles to form a corner . blocks &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; are placed at 90 degrees to each other and interlocked by block &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; which is in the same plane as block &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; and 90 degrees to block &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;. note that subassembly 10 of block &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; fits into subassembly 20 of block &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; and subassembly 20 of block &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; fits into subassembly 20 of block &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;. when a plurality of blocks are assembled with the top and bottom frames of the subassemblies nested or interconnected together as illustrated in fig3 or 4 , a structural wall having significant load bearing properties is created . in a preferred embodiment , fig5 the blocks are set so that the top frame receives the bottom frame of the next course of blocks in a staggered interlock arrangement as illustrated in fig3 . this results in a structure having vertical channels dimensioned as a function of spacing web members 41 and 42 which may be used to support floor joists or roof truss members . studs , such as wood 1 × 2 &# 39 ; s or metal studs are set into the channels . in the fabrication of the basic blocks , the spacers are dimensioned so that the end product will match the type of stringer or stud that is to be used in the wall assembly . that is , the length of the spacer creates a space , 70 , between vertical members of adjacent subassemblies 10 and 20 which equals the width of the studs to be used , see fig3 . the length of the spacer is controlled so the distance between its edges and block face , 71 , equals the depth of the stud . fig5 illustrates the use of metal studs 51 positioned in the channels formed by the web spacing between subassemblies of alternate courses and the spacing between blocks in the adjacent courses . fig5 is a cutaway view of a wall assembled from a plurality of blocks to illustrate the use of a metal or wood studs 51 which provide a nailing surface for wall sheathing 52 and 53 as well as structural integrity for the assembled wall . if desired , the wall sheathing may be secured directly to the blocks by adhesives or any of a number of mechanical fasteners such as nuts and bolts , rivets , screws , dry wall screws , spring clips etc . when mechanical fastened devices such as screws are used to hold a wall sheathing to the basic skeletal structure , the snap fittings 31 and 32 may be eliminated in favor of securing the blocks together by the same mechanical device which secures the wall sheathing to the structure . if additional security is required , additional mechanical fasteners such as nuts and bolts , rivets , screws or clamps may be used in addition to those securing the sheathing to the structure . the space between wall sheathing 52 and 53 of fig5 may be filled with an insulating material or concrete . one or both sheathings may be removed after the filling material 55 sets , see fig6 . alternately , only one side of the wall may be covered by sheathing and the filling material may be packed into the skeletal framework by any standard means such as hand packing or pneumatic blowing . the bottom course of blocks in a wall may be set in a footer excavation or concrete form such that when the footer material , such as concrete , is poured , it will be reinforced by the blocks . in this type of structure , the top of the block course must extend above the concrete high enough to receive the bottoms of the next course of blocks as illustrated i fig6 where the bottom courses 63 and 64 are set in footers 61 and 62 . the block structure illustrated in fig1 and 3 through 5 is fabricated using vertical support members 35 and 38 of equal dimensions . if required , the vertical members 35 may be different in length than vertical members 38 . this results in a structure which may be used to create an arch . fig6 illustrates such a structure where support members 35 are shorter than support members 38 . a more esthetic and stronger structure may be created by curving support members 35 and 38 to conform with the overall dimensions of the desired arch 60 . in fig6 the arch 60 is secured at both ends to footers 61 and 62 which , may be partially buried in the earth as required by local building codes . an alternate embodiment of the building blocks illustrated in fig1 through 6 is illustrated in fig7 wherein the side walls which comprise the top and bottom frame of the skeletal embodiment are extended to join and create a tube , thereby eliminating the need for the corner , vertical support channels . in this embodiment , each subassembly tube may be fabricated from a bent metal sheet or cast or molded from a plastic or similar material . in the illustrated embodiment , a top frame 11 similar to the top frame of the skeletal embodiment is joined to the extended side walls 73 , 74 , 75 and 76 of the bottom frame . this could be reversed with the top frame side walls being extended to join the bottom frame side walls or , in a still further version of the tube embodiments , the top and bottom frames similar to those utilized in fig1 through 5 may be joined by walls which replaces the vertical channels of fig1 through 5 to join the top and bottom frames together to create a tubular structure . the subassemblies so created result in blocks with totally enclosed sides having open tops and bottoms to permit inserting reinforcing rods 77 and filling the tubes with concrete 78 to create solid pillars within a wall frame work . fig8 illustrates another version of the alternate tubular embodiment illustrated in fig7 . in this version , the bottom of the tubular structure is closed to create a pair of containers . in the illustrated version , the joining webs 41 and 42 of fig1 and 7 are replaced by a conduit 81 which joins the two subassemblies together to create a continuous container that may be used to transport materials to a building site . after materials are removed for use at the site , the container is then used to build a structure . thus this adaptation of the invention provides an ideal building block for military use or use in remote areas because a building block may be used as a back pack to allow individuals to carry materials to a building site and then the back pack , after it is no longer needed , is used to form part of a structure . fig9 is a still further variation of the tubular embodiment of fig7 and 8 . in this embodiment , a bottom closes the tubes as in fig8 and top 83 and 84 are sealed within the top frames to create closed containers . a spout and cap 85 may be provided in one or both tops to permit adding and removing materials from the vessel . when this version of the invention is used , a plurality of containers may be joined together to create a raft or similar floating structure . for instance , if a group of closed containers similar to those illustrated in fig9 are assembled as illustrated in fig3 the resultant item may be used as a wall or as a raft or floating dock such as illustrated in fig1 . while preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described , variations and modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , i do not wish to be limited thereto and ask that the scope and breadth of this invention be determined from the claims which follow rather than the above description .	4
referring to fig1 , 5 , and 9 , a lamp 10 is shown having a round shaped housing 12 with a base 13 , outer periphery provided by sides 14 , a base 13 , and a front surface 16 providing lens or lens elements 17 through which light is projected from the lamp . the assembly of the lamp is shown in more detail in fig4 , 8 , 12 , and 26 . the housing 12 is an assembly of an upper housing portion 18 with front surface 16 , and a lower housing portion 19 providing base 13 . sandwiched between portions 18 and 19 , which mate along the edges thereof , is a circuit board 20 having an array of light sources 20 a , such as leds , with electronics coupled to wires 22 , and a gasket member 23 of flexible elastomeric material , such as rubber . each light source 20 a should be disposed to provide light to a lens element 17 , such as a fresnel lens , along front surface 16 . such fresnel lens may be similar to lens elements 17 a as shown in fig2 . however , front surface 16 may have other optics for desired shaping of light from light sources 20 a , as desired . for example , wires 22 connect to circuit board 20 to provide power and / or control to light sources 20 a . lens or lens elements 17 and light sources 20 a provide the optical system of lamp 10 . as best shown in fig2 , screws 24 are received in holes 21 along circuit board 20 to mount the circuit board into threaded holes 29 a of lower portion 19 . screws 25 are received through holes 26 and 27 of lower portion 19 and gasket member 23 , respectively , and tightened in threaded holes 28 of upper portion 18 , to complete assembly of housing 12 . when assembled , wires 22 extend through an opening 29 in lower housing portion 19 . gasket member 23 provides a seal between upper and lower portion 18 and 19 . light sources 20 a are of wattage which does not generate enough heat that would require a heat sink in housing 12 . the assembled housing 12 has an exterior flange , projecting ridge , or step 14 a along sides 14 of lower housing portion 19 , as best shown in the fig4 and 8 . the upper housing portion 18 along with integrated lens or lenses 17 , and lower housing portion 19 , may be made of molded plastic material . lamp 10 is thin , such as for example a height from its base 13 to front surface 16 is ⅞ inches , with housing 12 being ¾ of that height , and lens or lens elements 17 along front surface 16 extending a height of ⅛ inches . housing 12 for example may have a diameter of 4 . 4 inches , but other diameters may be used . the thinness of lamp 10 is enabled by avoiding the need for a heat sink in housing 12 . for example , lamp 10 may be of par 36 type lens , such as shown , for example , in u . s . design patent application ser . no . 29 / 374 , 905 , now u . s . pat . no . d693 , 035 , but other lenses may be used to provide the desired projected illumination from the lamp . the shape of the housing ( e . g ., thickness and outer sides ) is such that it may be received in one of multiple mounting members ( or fixtures ) 30 a , 30 b , and 30 c , as described below in connection with fig1 - 4 , 4 a , 5 - 8 , and 9 - 12 , respectively . referring to fig1 - 4 , mounting member 30 a is shown for enabling on - surface mounting mode of lamp 10 so that it lies flush onto an exterior surface 40 of a vehicle body wall 41 . mounting member 30 a represents a rigid tray , such of molded plastic material , having a bottom wall 36 a which meets inner or interior wall 36 b , and an outer or exterior wall 36 c which meets interior wall 36 b along a rounded edge 36 d at the front end of mounting member 30 a . the outer wall 36 c may be a frusto - conical shape in that it forward slopes and tapers in diameter to round edge 36 d , while interior wall 36 b extends from round edge 36 d tapers in diameter from round edge 36 d to bottom wall 36 a . there is thus a general triangular cross - sectional shape along walls 36 b and 36 c with an open ended cavity there between , as best shown in fig4 . the surface of mounting member 30 a along interior wall 36 b is sized to receive sides 14 of housing 12 and retained therein by clips ( or clip members ) 32 to capture housing 12 along portions of its flange 14 a as shown in fig4 . a front view of mounting member 30 a is shown in fig4 a , showing for example four clips 32 spaced at different locations along wall 36 a . each clip 32 has an inwardly extending tab portion 33 which is downwardly sloped . the diameter of member 30 a along interior wall 36 b is larger than the outer diameter lamp housing 12 so as to facilitate engagement of clips 32 of housing 12 when received in mounting member 30 a . as shown in fig1 , a pad 34 , such as of foam material , is placed along the interior surface of bottom wall 36 a of mounting member 30 a so as to provide a forward bias onto base 13 so that tab portion 33 of each of clips 32 lies against flange 14 a when housing 12 is received in mounting member 30 a . for example , outer wall 36 c may be 5 . 1 inches in diameter at lower end of mounting member 36 a and 4 . 9 inches in diameter at round edge 36 d , while interior wall 36 b may be 4 . 5 inches in diameter at rounded edge 36 d , and 4 . 4 inches in diameter when meeting bottom wall 36 a , where walls 36 a - c may each be 1 / 16 inches thick . however , other dimensions may be used if desired so long as lamp 10 can engage clips 32 when received in member 30 a . prior to placement of lamp 10 in mounting member 30 a , the mounting member 30 a is disposed over surface 40 with a pad 38 of flexible elastomeric material , such as rubber , between surface 40 and exterior surface of bottom wall 36 a of mounting member 30 a . the outer diameter of pad 38 is preferably the same or slightly larger as the outer diameter of mounting member 30 a at lowest end of outer wall 36 c , as shown in fig1 and 4 . the pad 38 provides sealing material between the back of mounting member 30 a and surface 40 . fasteners provided by screws 38 a and nuts 38 c are used to install mounting member 30 a with pad 38 onto surface 40 . four screws 38 a are then received via holes 37 in bottom wall 36 a of mounting member 30 a , and holes 38 b in pad 38 , into holes 39 a drilled into surface 40 , and retained by nuts 38 c ( see fig1 and 4 ). lamp 10 is placed in mounting member 30 a until flange 14 a passes and pushes outwardly upon inwardly extending tab portions 33 of clips 32 until such portions of flange 14 a facing tab portions 33 are captured under tab portions 33 under the forward bias of compressed pad 34 . when mounted , wires 22 extend through an opening 34 a of pad 34 , an opening 35 of mounting member 30 a , an opening 38 d of pad 38 , and then an opening 39 b drilled in surface 40 . the completed mounting of lamp 10 with mounting member 30 a , along with pads 34 and 38 , is shown in fig3 , and 4 . a portion of lens or lens elements 17 of front surface 16 may extend from mounting member 30 a , if desired . in this manner , lamp 10 is flush mounted onto ( and over ) surface 40 with pad 38 there between for on - surface mounting with a bezel mounting appearance . referring to fig5 - 8 , mounting member 30 b is shown for enabling inset mounting mode of lamp 10 in a drilled hole or opening 42 extending through exterior surface 40 of a vehicle body wall 41 . mounting member 30 b is a generally cylindrical shaped grommet of flexible elastomeric material , such as rubber . for example , mounting member 30 b may be a model 60 mounting grommet manufactured by truck - lite company llc , but grommets of other manufacturers may be used which are similarly adapted to the shape of housing 12 . mounting member 30 b has a lower portion 44 and a upper portion 45 , where lower portion 44 is insertable into opening 42 and upper portion 45 extends to frame about opening 42 along surface 40 . lower portion 44 has a ledge 47 a which presses against side wall 43 of hole 42 to retain mounting member 30 b in opening 42 . an exterior ridge 47 b may also be provided along lower portion 44 to frictionally engage side wall 43 if thicker than shown in fig8 . upper portion 45 has three walls 49 , 50 , and 51 which provide a frame upon surface 40 . walls 49 and 51 are generally parallel to each other , and wall 50 connects walls 49 and 51 and is generally perpendicular thereto , as best shown in fig8 . wall 49 of upper section 45 extends continuously with the surface of an interior wall 48 of lower section 44 . wires 22 from lamp 10 extend through opening 54 of mounting member 30 b when lamp 10 is received in mounting member 30 b . as shown in fig8 , mounting member 30 b is sized along its interior walls 48 and 49 so as to frictionally engage housing 12 of lamp 10 when received therein so that flange 14 a engages wall 48 of lower portion 44 , and base 13 of the lamp is disposed along interior of bottom ledge or wall 46 of mounting member 30 b . mounting member 30 b with lamp 10 received therein is pressed into opening 42 so that its ridge 47 b and ledge 47 a deform to engage the opening &# 39 ; s wall 43 , and edge 52 from wall 51 of the upper portion 45 lies against surface 40 providing an annual cavity 53 between walls 49 - 51 , thereby retaining the assembly of the mounting member 30 b and lamp 10 in opening 42 inset in surface 40 and also sealing opening 42 from the external environment . the completed mounting of lamp 10 with mounting member 30 b is shown in fig6 , 7 , and 8 , where wall 41 is removed in fig6 and 7 . referring to fig9 - 12 , mounting member 30 c is shown for also enabling inset mounting mode of lamp 10 in a drilled hole or opening 42 extending through exterior surface 40 of a vehicle body wall 41 . mounting member 30 c is a circular bracket which may be made of stainless steel , such bracket may be for example model no . 97334 security flange manufactured by truck - lite company llc . mounting member 30 c has a lower surface 55 having legs 58 extending there from generally perpendicular with respect to the lower surface 55 . each leg 58 has an interior clip member 60 which captures the rear of lamp housing 12 , i . e ., at a location along the outer periphery of base 13 , when the lamp 10 is pressed into mounting member 30 c from the back side thereof to retain lamp 10 to mounting member 30 c . each leg 58 further has two exterior clip members 61 which clip under the back surface 62 of wall 41 below opening 42 when the mounting member 30 c with lamp 10 received therein is pressed into opening 42 of surface 40 . when the assembly of lamp 10 and mounting member 30 c is received in opening 42 , lower surface 55 of the mounting member 30 c partially lies flat against surface 40 about opening 42 , i . e ., over radial distance between legs 58 and the outer edge 57 of the mounting member 30 c . the upper surface 56 of mounting member 30 c then lies generally parallel to the surface 40 providing a trim appearance with the lamp inset surface mounting to the vehicle body wall 41 . although the above round housing 12 is described above , other lamp housing shapes may be provided which can be similarly received in mounting members 30 a , 30 b , and 30 c adapted to the particular housing shape . for example , a lamp 10 a with an oval housing 12 a may be provided with mating upper housing portion 18 a and lower housing portion 19 a , lens or lens elements 17 a along front surface 16 a , sides 67 , base 13 a , and flange , ridge or step 68 , such as shown in fig1 - 25 which is mountable in oval mounting members 30 d , 30 e , and 30 f in the same manner as described above for mounting members 30 a , 30 b , and 30 c , respectively , as in the case of a round lamp housing 12 , and thus have like numerals . in particular , mounting member 30 d provides an oval tray for on - surface mounting lamp 10 a with oval shaped pads 34 and 38 by fasteners 38 a and 38 c , as shown in fig1 - 17 , in the same manner as described earlier for mounting member 30 a . a flange 68 is provided along lamp 10 a and provides the same function as flange 14 a of lamp 10 a , such as to engage clips 32 by tab portions 33 when placed in mounting member 30 d . however , one difference is that the number and position of clips 32 along mounting member 30 d differ due to the oval shape of housing 12 a . for example , three clips 32 are provided at spaced locations from each other , two along one side and one on the other side for mounting member 30 d as shown in fig1 . mounting member 30 e provides a oval shaped grommet of elastomeric material for receiving lamp 10 a as shown in fig1 - 21 in same manner as mounting member 30 b , but in an oval shaped opening or hole 42 . thus , when lamp 10 a is received in mounting member 30 e , interior wall 48 engages the outer sides of housing 12 a , including flange 68 . mounting member 30 f provides a oval bracket for inset mounting lamp 10 a as shown in fig2 - 25 in the same manner as mounting member 30 c , but in an oval shaped opening or hole 42 . however , one difference is that the number and position of legs 58 along mounting member 30 f differs due to the oval shape of housing . for example , six legs 58 are provided at spaced locations from each other as shown in fig2 . the assembly of lamp 10 a is shown in fig2 , and other than difference in shape of components , such assembly is similar to that described earlier for lamp 10 . in particular , housing 12 a is an assembly of an upper housing portion 18 a with a front surface 16 a , and a lower housing portion 19 a providing base 13 a . flange 68 extending along the outer periphery of the surface of lower housing portion 19 a . sandwiched between portions 18 a and 19 a , which mate along the edges thereof , is a circuit board 20 b having an array of light sources , such as leds , facing front surface 16 a with electronics coupled to wires 22 , and a gasket member 23 a of flexible elastomeric material , such as rubber . the light sources on circuit board 20 b are the same as light sources 20 a shown in fig2 and are spaced from each other to direct light to lens elements 17 a , which may be fresnel lenses . however , front surface 16 a may have other optics for desired shaping of light from light sources 20 a , as desired . screws 24 a are received in holes 21 a along circuit board 20 b to mount the circuit board into threaded holes 29 c of lower portion 19 a . such attachment of the circuit board to lower housing portion 19 a may be the same as screws 24 via holes 21 to threaded holes 29 a of lamp 10 . screws 25 a are received through holes 26 a and 27 a of lower housing portion 19 a and gasket member 23 a , respectively , and tightened in threaded holes 28 a of upper housing portion 18 a , to complete assembly of housing 12 a . when assembled , wires 22 extend through an opening 29 b in lower housing portion 19 a . the upper and lower portions 18 a and 19 a may be made of molded plastic . from the foregoing description it will be apparent that there has been provided a system for mounting a lamp with respect to a surface along a vehicle . variations and modifications herein this described system , apparatus , and method will undoubtedly suggest themselves to those skilled in the art . accordingly the foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	1
a technical effect of some embodiments of the present invention is to link a real inspection image with a simulated cad ( computer aided design ) model and to display dimensional information that otherwise would not be available . this linking can be used , for example , to enable 3d measurements of defects from 2d images and diffusivity compensation for ir inspection . fig1 is a pictorial block diagram of an exemplary apparatus 10 for use in determining 3d distances from a 2d image of an object . in the exemplary exhibit , apparatus ( 10 ) includes an ir camera 12 that scans or otherwise produces ir ( thermal ) images 14 of a part 16 under inspection . one or more ir lamps 18 are used to initially heat part 16 before being de - energized . in some embodiments , lamps 18 arc only energized for several seconds to heat part 16 . the acquision of a first thermal image 14 occurs after lamp 18 is de - energized . in some embodiments 10 , thermal images 14 can be rapidly and repeatedly acquired as the temperature of part 16 diminishes . for example , images 14 may be acquired up to one hundred times per second , at every microsecond , at every several microseconds , or at any other rate , depending upon the thickness of part 16 and the speed of its cool down . each image 14 acquired in such a manner is different , in that the temperature varies somewhat from image to image . although images 14 are related to what is shown in fig1 as a “ film plane ,” those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that this “ film plane ” in most embodiments represents an array of ir sensors . images 14 are processed to determine a thickness of part 16 at various points 20 on the image . the thickness is readily determined when part 16 has a uniform composition because in such embodiments , areas of greater thickness will have a greater heat capacity and will thus cool down more slowly . the thicknesses of parts with known , non - uniform compositions , such as those parts that include coatings or laminations , can also be determined using a more detailed application of this principle . the processing required for those determinations , as well as control of apparatus 10 , input of camera ir image 14 , and processing of a cad image can be performed in a computer workstation 21 under control of a program which can be in internal storage of workstation 21 or on a machine readable medium 23 or media of any suitable type , such as a cd - rom . in some embodiments and referring to fig2 , a defect may be found on some portion 15 of a pixilated image 14 . more specifically , fig2 illustrates a representation of a portion of a pixelized image obtained from the apparatus shown in fig1 , wherein the image includes a fault or defect present in an object . a defect , such as a crack , may manifest itself as , for example , a dark line or curve 30 , because the portion of part 16 in the immediate vicinity of the crack is thinner and hence cools more rapidly than other portions of part 16 that do not include defects . in some instances , depending on the orientation of part 16 relative to the “ film plane ,” the crack may be projected on image 14 as a straight line 30 rather than as a curve , even though the portion of part 16 that is cracked is actually curved . linking the ir thermal image 14 to the 3d geometry of part 16 , enables the actual 3d dimensions of the crack or other defect on part 16 to be determined and enables a determination of whether the defect is curved , and if so , whether it is an arc or a spline , etc . fig3 is a flowchart of a portion of an exemplary process performed by the apparatus shown in fig1 . in flow chart 100 , 3d distances are determined between pairs of pixels . at block 102 , the real 2d pixilated ir ( thermal ) image 14 is read in , as well as a view angle and distance for the real ir image . ( the view angle can be determined based on the relative orientations of ir camera 12 and part 16 , and may itself be relative to a standard position .) at block 104 , a simulated ir image is generated from a cad model of part 16 in accordance with the view angle of the real 2d pixilated ir image 14 and based on the temperature to which part 16 is heated . the simulated ir image may be generated by a computer projecting the cad model through a simulated ir camera at the view angle and distance of the real part 16 from real camera 12 . in many embodiments , block 106 is subsumed by the making of this computer projection . in other embodiments , an additional adjustment may be made at block 106 . the adjustment at block 106 may be made either manually , e . g ., by visual inspection of images on a screen followed by a manual adjustment , automatically by a program in a computer or workstation , or by some combination thereof , next , at block 108 , a suitable cost function is used to compare the simulated ir image with the real 2d pixilated ir ( thermal ) image 14 . the cost function can be evaluated by establishing a correspondence between pixels on the 2d pixilated ir image 14 with points on the 3d cad model . on suitable cost function is related to a grayscale difference between the two images . for example , an embodiment may have pixels that are assigned grayscale values between 0 and 255 depending upon real or simulated ir emission intensity or interpreted thickness value . such an embodiment may also have an image size of , for example , 500 × 500 pixels . an example of a cost function suitable for this embodiment is one in which a statistic is calculated that depends upon the difference of grayscale values of corresponding pixels in the real 2d pixilated ir ( thermal ) image 14 and the simulated ir image . the statistic may be , for example , the sum of the absolute values of the differences in grayscale values . if , at block 108 , the value of the cost function is at or above a selected threshold value , a suitable optimization is performed 110 to determine a repositioning of the simulated ir image ( i . e ., an adjustment of a relative position between the cad model and the 2d pixilated image to change the ir image ), and the simulated ir image is repositioned in accordance with this determination . one suitable optimization method utilizes an lm ( levenberg - marquardt ) algorithm , which provides a numerical solution to the problem of minimizing a function , generally non - linear , over a space of parameters of the function . the algorithm interpolates between the gauss - newton method and the method of gradient descent . however , any other optimization method that works can be employed in other embodiments . for example , a newton algorithm can be used , but the newton algorithm does not necessarily guarantee a group or optimization solution . if an optimization is necessary , it is performed and the comparison at block 108 is performed again . the loop comprising blocks 108 and 110 is performed until the cost function is below the selected threshold value . when this occurs , or if no optimization is necessary , a 3d distance scale matrix between two pixels along the x - axis and the y - axis is generated at block 112 in accordance with the simulated and optimized ir image and the cad model used to produce the simulated and optimized ir image . more particularly , in an embodiment having a thermal image 14 of 500 by 500 pixels , it is assumed that the pixels are linearly spaced in the x and y direction , e . g ., that the pixels represent 100 mm × 100 mm portions of part 16 . ( some , but not all embodiments , apply a correction to image 14 based on the view angle projection for each pixel to compensate for pincushion , barrel , or other known types of distortion in image 14 .) in this embodiment , the 3d distance scale matrix comprises a value for each pixel ( x , y ) that represents the distance ( depth ) of the surface of the cad model simulated pixel relative to a distance to an imputed 2d surface representing thermal image 14 . it is thus possible to determine a distance along the surface of a part 16 using the matrix values contained in the 3d distance scale matrix as offsets from a fat surface . at block 114 , assuming that neither ir camera 12 nor part 16 are moved or otherwise adjusted , additional thermal images 14 can be read repeatedly ( e . g ., acquired every several microseconds , or as otherwise discussed above ) and analyzed for defects and such defects measured using the same 3d distance scale matrix generated in block 112 . for example and referring to fig2 and fig4 ( the latter figure being a cross section along line 4 - 4 of a part 16 depicted in fig2 ), a crack manifesting itself as line 30 in portion 15 of fig4 includes pixels representing portions of part 16 that are not coincident with focal plane 17 of camera 12 . examples of such distances in the z - direction relative to focal plane 17 are shown in fig4 as d 1 , d 2 , d 3 , d 4 , and d 5 , with d 4 ≈ 0 . therefore , if a straight crack extends , for example , from pixel 202 to pixel 204 as shown in fig2 , the distance determined solely by the x - y coordinates of pixels 202 and 204 does not give an accurate representation of the length or geometry of the crack because it such a distance ignores the z - axis distance of the projection of the crack onto line 30 . referring to fig5 , a portion of the 3d distance scale matrix 206 containing z - axis distances of the unrolled cad model from focal plane 17 is shown . the numbers contained in the matrix each represent the z - axis distance representative of the corresponding pixel in image 14 . thus , a good approximation to the real distance represented by any specific pixels on image 14 along the surface of a part 16 is readily determined using x - y coordinates and z - axis distances in the 3d distance scale matrix 206 corresponding to selected x - y coordinates . for example , the distance along a curved portion of the surface of part 16 represented by a line between pixels 202 and 204 can be determined by obtaining the geodesic distance between two points in the 3d image corresponding to the adjacent pixels along the length of the line . if the curve is known from the cad model to follow a specific parametric curve , an even better , non - linear estimate can be obtained . the unrolling of the cad model and the ir ( thermal ) image thus allows a workstation to use cad information to improve inspection accuracy , such as thermal diffusivity correction for ir inspection . the cad information can also be used to obtain accurate inspection analysis on a 2d inspection images ( such as defect sizing on an ir image ). furthermore , ir inspection data can be visualized and / or analyzed on the 3d geometry of the cad model and the inspection directly validated based upon engineering specifications of the cad model . some configurations can be extended by incorporating x - ray ct ( computed tomographic ) information with the cad model to link the ir ( thermal ) image to the more accurate 3d geometry information from the cad model and ct x - ray inspection data . in place of a 2d pixilated ir ( thermal ) image , some embodiments utilize a ut ( ultrasound tomographic ) image . other types of real 2d images may be used along with the 3d cad model . linking 2d images with 3d cad models enables 3d world measurements of defects on 2d ir images . one embodiment enables measurements of cmc composite blades , vanes , and shrouds used in aircraft . cad information can also be used in some embodiments for diffusivity compensation , for better defect characterization and for more accurate defect sizing . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention , including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims .	6
the best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment , herein depicted within the figures . referring now to fig1 - 4 , a drinking vessel with retractable drinking straw 10 is shown , according to the present invention , having an otherwise conventional beverage container , shown herein as a bottle 12 having a threaded upper spout 14 that is threadingly engaged to a lid 16 . the lid 16 is formed of an upper cap 18 covering a lower lid assembly 20 . the upper cap 18 is attached to and covers a housing base 21 , and forms an orifice 24 through which a retractable straw 26 extends in a vertical , linearly actuated manner . as shown best in conjunction with fig4 , the straw 26 forms generally cylindrical tube , and circumscribing the outer cylindrical surface of the straw 26 are a series of linearly aligned rack gears 28 are formed and engage with the radially extended gears 22 b of a lifting cam 22 a , as described in greater detail below . although the tubular straw 26 forms an upper drinking orifice 40 at the end surface of the upper portion of the straw 26 , the end surface of the lower portion of the straw 26 terminates at a closed engagement nipple 42 . an entry orifice 44 is formed vertically along the outer cylindrical surface at the lower portion of the straw 26 . in this fashion , as suction is applied to the upper drinking orifice 40 fluid is drawn side - ways in from the entry orifice 44 . referring to fig2 , in conjunction with fig3 a and fig3 b , the lower lid assembly 20 is shown and described in greater detail . the lifting cam 22 a is pivotally supported by an axle 30 upon cam holding tabs 32 formed along the upper surface 34 of the housing base 21 . a linearly tracking actuation button 36 is guided perpendicular to the lifting cam 22 a , and drives a transfer gear 38 having series of linearly aligned , vertically extended gear detente 38 b . the transfer gear 38 is spring urged against the actuation button 36 by at least one return spring 50 . further , the straw 26 penetrates downward through the housing base 21 in order to form a fluid communication between the drinking orifice 40 and a lower straw housing 54 . the lower straw housing 54 retains the lower portion of the straw 26 , and is in fluid communication with a dip tube 52 that extends into the fluid volume of the bottle 12 . by way of example , and not as a limitation , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig2 , the actuation button 36 extends outwardly through the upper cap 18 such as to allow it to be manually manipulated by pressing in against the upper cap 18 . the actuation button 36 horizontally tracks and drives a transfer gear 38 laterally . the vertically extended gear detente 38 b thereby rotate the axle 30 , which pivots the lifting cam 22 a in an upward direction . as the lifting cam 22 a rotates upward , the radially extended gears 22 b lift against the linearly aligned rack gears 28 , driving the straw 26 upward through the orifice 24 . while holding the button 36 , there is now fluid communication between the drinking orifice 40 and the bottle 12 such that the user can use the straw 26 to access the bottle contents . upon releasing the actuation button 36 , the spring 50 urges the transfer gear 38 backwards to reverse the process and automatically lower the straw 26 . the foregoing descriptions of specific 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 teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . therefore , the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims .	1
remedial food supplement compositions contemplated by the present invention comprise a combination of naturally - occurring food recipes which have been formulated to quell common cold symptoms . it has been discovered that an individual &# 39 ; s timely commencing a daily regimen of a suitable food supplement embodiment hereof may prevent the individual from acquiring common cold symptoms . moreover , formulations taught by the present invention afford high - blood - pressure patients and diabetics a convenient , reliable , and inexpensive means for safely preventing or attenuating common cold symptoms . as will be hereinafter explained , suitably formulated food supplement compositions of the present invention inherently tend to sustain a patient &# 39 ; s medically - preferred blood pressure and blood sugar levels in conjunction with a pre - existing physician - prescribed regimen of medication and exercise . it will be appreciated that compositions of the present invention comprise a specially formulated combination of jalapeno peppers , bell peppers , garlic , almonds , lemons , and vinegar . it has been found that combinations of these active ingredients contribute synergistically to allaying symptoms attributable to common colds and the like . experimental results have shown that dosage of preferred food supplement embodiments should preferably be self - administered in tablespoon quantities by mouth , preferably twice daily . it has been found that , typically , a dose of one or two tablespoons should be taken — in the absence of water or other liquid drink — contemporaneously with breakfast and dinner . as will be elucidated hereinafter , neither water nor other liquid is prerequisite for lubricating purposes during ingestion of food supplement embodiments hereof . indeed , it has been found to be more effective if a food supplement embodiment is ingested alone — in tablespoon quantities . testing has shown that advantageously formulated and prepared finely - divided slurries taught by the present invention inherently afford a preferred range of viscosities that are conducive to easy ingestion thereof by a self - administering patient . best cold - symptom remedial results appear to be obtained if and when food supplement administration occurs either immediately prior or immediately after mealtime . when taken with meals , food supplement embodiments have occasionally tended to distort normal taste of select individual testers . hence , ingesting a formulation contemporaneously with meals , albeit not necessarily simultaneously with the meals , accomplishes the profound benefits contemplated by the present invention without otherwise adversely affecting enjoyment of the meal , per se . as will hereinafter be described , food supplement compositions of the present invention comprise a combination of the following naturally - occurring ingredients : jalapeno peppers , bell peppers , garlic , almonds , lemons , and vinegar . it has been discovered that incorporating jalapeno peppers of suitable potency and portion into food supplement compositions of the present invention contribute to the beneficial treatment contemplated hereunder . practitioners in the art will readily appreciate that jalapeno or chile peppers vary significantly in intensity and , accordingly , should preferably be selected to impart the appropriate characteristics . for example , it is well known that jalapeno can impart an enjoyable “ hot ” character to food preparations . thus , by judicious inclusion of jalapeno into embodiments of the present invention , intended positive affects upon an individual &# 39 ; s irritated mucous membranes ; inflamed eyes , nose , and / or throat ; and the like may be achieved without any significant adverse affects . thus , it has been found that food supplement embodiments formulated with relatively mild jalapeno peppers afford the contemplated synergistic remedial impact . it has been found that embodiments hereof should preferably incorporate jalapeno peppers having light - to - medium green color in order to impart a “ mild ” contribution to formulations taught herein . nevertheless , jalapeno peppers having darker green color may also be used , albeit tending to impart a stronger or “ hotter ” affect during ingestion . as will be hereinafter illustrated , formulations having preferably 8 , but ranging from 7 to 10 , very large mild jalapeno peppers have afforded contemplated remedial affects for alleviating common cold symptoms . once being properly selected , jalapeno peppers are thoroughly washed with water , then the stems are preferably removed , and the remaining jalapeno portions — including the seeds — are preferably incorporated into food supplement compositions . it has also been found that bell pepper , and , more particularly , green bell pepper , affords a tangy taste and crunchy texture to the food supplement mix , and fosters the purposes contemplated by the present invention . bell peppers are known to belong to the same species as jalapeno peppers , but bell peppers generally tend to be sweet . it is , of course , known that the variety of the bell pepper plant and the stage of ripeness determine the flavor and color . green bell peppers tend to have a slightly bitter flavor , while red , orange , and yellow bell peppers tend to have a sweet and fruity flavor . brightly - colored bell peppers , regardless of whether green , red , yellow , or orange , afford an excellent source of antioxidants through presence of vitamins a and c therein . red bell pepper is generally indicative of mature green pepper , and affords about three times as much vitamin c as green bell pepper . while green bell pepper is a preferred ingredient of food supplement embodiments taught herein , it should be understood that other varieties of bell peppers may be substituted . as will be described in the illustrative examples hereinafter , formulations preferably having 3 , but ranging from 2 to 4 , large , mild green peppers have been found to afford significant positive remedies for common cold symptoms . as preparation for admixture with the other ingredients taught herein , the bell peppers should be thoroughly washed with water , the stems and seeds preferably removed , and then the remaining pepper portions should be incorporated into embodiment compositions . garlic , preferably in the form of garlic cloves , has been discovered to contribute to the synergy afforded by food supplement embodiments of the present invention . practitioners in the art will readily appreciate that garlic is widely regarded as constituting a healthy herb that is regularly recommended as a remedy for a diversity of ailments from the common cold to the flu , and even beyond . raw garlic is known to be a natural antibiotic and antioxidant , and is believed to reduce blood pressure and blood sugar levels . as will be described in the illustrative examples hereinafter , formulations preferably having 7 , but ranging from 6 to 9 , very large cloves of garlic have afforded positive remedies for common cold symptoms . prior to be admixed with the other ingredients taught herein , garlic cloves or the like should be thoroughly wash with water , the outer peel preferably removed , and the remaining garlic clove portion should be incorporated into the food supplement mix . almonds , preferably a combination of a major portion of shelled and skinned almonds in conjunction with a minor portion of unskinned almonds , contribute to the nutritional and remedial threshold taught by food supplement embodiments of the present invention . whole almonds — skin included — are believed by practitioners in the food supplement art to provide a catalyst function for heightening antioxidant affects of vitamin e . almonds are also an especially advantageous ingredient for sustaining a patient &# 39 ; s normal blood flow and for affording a patient protection against increasing blood pressure . almonds also impart to a patient the benefit of a experiencing a mellow , pleasing sensation during ingestion of food supplement compositions . thus , almonds appear to neutralize and attenuate the otherwise burning sensation commonly experienced by patients or the like imbibing jalapeno peppers . as will be described in the illustrative examples hereinafter , formulations having preferably about 65 natural almonds with skin , ranging from 55 to 75 almonds , and about 3 medium - large almonds with husk have afforded positive remedies for common cold symptoms . after being thoroughly washed with water , the almonds should be incorporated into the food supplement mix . lemons are also added to food supplement embodiments of the present invention . it is well known that lemon fruits afford an advantageous nutritional balance including vitamins a and c , citric acid , ascorbic acid , calcium , phosphorus , and potassium . sliced whole lemons , preferably 3 , ranging from 2 to 4 medium - large lemons — including the peel — should be thoroughly wash with water and then incorporated into embodiments of the food supplement of the present invention . as is common in the art , to promote a positive experience while being self - administered , mints should preferably be included in ingredient embodiments to provide a measure of mellow and familiar sweet taste and flavor . while there are many suitable hard candy mints that may be incorporated into food supplement embodiments , it has been found advantageous to use brachs starlight peppermints . in particular , preferably about 20 starlight peppermints , ranging from 15 to 30 thereof , have been found to afford a pleasing taste and suitable consistency . it is well known that vinegar is basically a sour - tasting liquid that obtains from oxidation of ethanol in fermented fruit juice , apple cider , wine , beer , and , indeed , in most alcohol - containing liquids . white or clear vinegar is a common variety , while cider vinegar obtains from apple cider . it has been discovered that ordinary white vinegar tends to raise blood pressure ; accordingly , preferred food supplement embodiments are comprised of apple cider vinegar in the range 28 to 36 ounces . to obtain the most preferred consistency and performance contemplated hereunder , 32 ounces of apple cider vinegar should be used . while alternative procedures have been found to be effective for preparing food supplements as contemplated hereunder , it has been found to be particularly effective to prepare embodiments of the present invention via essentially a five - step procedure . this procedure commences with preferably thoroughly water - washing the plurality of substantially solid ingredients corresponding to natural fruits and vegetables . then , ether in turn or sequentially , this plurality of washed ingredients is separated from the wash water and left in a substantially water - free condition . next , these water - free ingredients are vigorously blended until a finely - divided paste is formed . it will be appreciated that this paste - like consistency is attributable to a dispersion of finely - divided fruit and vegetable particles in their natural juices and the like . this paste is then admixed with vinegar to form a slurry , and moderately and slowly boiled to again form a paste - like consistency . this boiled paste is next cooled slowly at room temperature to yield finished food supplement . more particularly , the preferred preparation protocol of the present invention comprises the five steps of : thoroughly washing the plurality of substantially solid fruits and vegetables , e . g ., jalapeno peppers , bell peppers , garlic , almonds and lemon , with water . of course , such washing may be achieved by emplacing such plurality of fruits and vegetables in a conventional suitably - sized colander or the like and flushing with streaming water . the selected fruits and vegetables may be washed all at once or sequentially ; thorough washing thereof is advantageous for health and safety reasons . thus , the presence of residual pesticides or other potentially harmful chemicals and contaminants is to be avoided . it will be appreciated that the spent wash - water must be isolated from the washed ingredients of the present invention . after being isolated from contaminants or the like , the jalapeno peppers , bell peppers , garlic cloves , almonds , and lemon ingredients should preferably be admixed with the mints in vinegar liquid to form a slurry . it has been found to be advantageous for this slurry of solid and liquid ingredients to be blended by preferably high - intensity agitation for at least three minutes ; more preferably , this blending should continue for five to ten minutes until this slurry has become populated by finely divided solid ingredients . it should be apparent that blending will vary depending upon the conventional blender , food processor , or the like used to effectuate the intended agitation ; nevertheless , agitation should persist until the prerequisite slurry attributes have been achieved . step 3 : slurry formation the slurry is then removed from the blender and transferred to a suitably - sized pot . care should be taken that all of the particles residing on the side walls and bottom of the blender or the like are removed and poured into the pot . such residual particulate fruits and vegetables may be conveniently flushed therefrom by rinsing with all or a portion of the liquid ingredient , thereby forming a slurry . it has been found to be particularly advantageous to prepare preferred slurry formulations with the liquid component comprising about 32 ounces of commercially - available apple cider vinegar ; it should be understood that this apple vinegar component can range from about 28 to 36 ounces to form a slurry of ingredients contemplated hereunder . step 4 : cooking the slurry is then boiled in the pot for about 8 minutes with constant stirring to avoid burning or scorching of the slurry . a conventional spatula has been found to be especially effective for assuring circulation of the slurry to avoid protracted contact with the hot pot surfaces during cooking . it has been found that consistent satisfactory results have been achieved by first bringing the mixture to a rapid - boil under a high level of heating and then , once boiling has been achieved , to reduce the heat source to a medium level sufficient to sustain boiling . boiling should be moderated so as to engender a thick liquid paste , but not a viscous paste . preferred food supplement embodiments should be characterized by liquid paste consistency which may be easily self - administered by tablespoon without the need for any accompanying water or other common liquid drink - lubricant that enables pills , tablets , caplets and the like to be expeditiously ingested by mouth . step 5 : cooling the mixture is then cooled within the same pot ; the pot should be covered and preferably air - cooled . it will be appreciated that covering the pot during cooling prevents evaporation of the liquid component thereby undermining the preferred viscosity of the resultant food supplement . that is , if too much evaporation of vinegar and water occurs , the viscosity of the slurry tends to increase whereby it tends to become too thick for ingestion as contemplated hereunder , i . e ., ingestion without using water or the like . this controlled cooling should continue until the mixture reaches room temperature . as an illustration of preparation variations of embodiments of the present invention , an alternative blending procedure ( step 2 ) is to admix vinegar after the solid fruit and vegetable ingredients have been thoroughly washed . then , once all of these prescribed ingredients have been admixed , agitation thereof proceeds until a finely - divided slurry has been obtained . it will be understood that , since the resultant slurry is thinner than a slurry obtained when liquid is not admixed with the plurality of solid ingredients , there are minimal particles residing on the side walls and bottom of the blender or the like ; notwithstanding , any such residual particulate fruits and vegetables should be flushed therefrom . it is contemplated that food supplement embodiments should preferably be in the form of a thick liquid that is convenient to administer via tablespoon or the like . dosage should preferably constitute one or two tablespoons which are preferably self - administered twice daily . it has been found that an administration regimen of once in the morning and once in the evening engenders remedial results contemplated herein . as any food supplement , embodiments of the present invention should not affect patients &# 39 ; or cold - sufferers &# 39 ; normal dietary and exercise regimens . that is , as should evident to those skilled in the art , any food supplement is designed to augment patients &# 39 ; pre - existing doctor - prescribed medication regimen and such patients &# 39 ; pre - existing health and fitness exercise regimen . food supplements of the present invention have been formulated and prepared to sustain a viscosity commensurate with readily being swallowed by patients . accordingly , such food supplements should be individually self - administered slowly and then should be swallowed immediately . neither water nor any other liquid is recommended or necessary for self - administering a formulation of the present invention . once such food supplement has been swallowed as contemplated hereunder , water and other liquids may be imbibed at patients &# 39 ; discretion . this is a tabulation of the natural ingredients comprising the preferred embodiment of the food supplement formulation taught by the present invention : the preferred embodiment was tested by diabetic patients and by patients otherwise suffering from blood sugar and blood pressure equilibrium deficiencies . as hereinbefore described , embodiments of the present invention seek to enable such patients to self - administer food supplement formulated not only for preventing or assuaging symptoms associated with common colds and the like , but also for controlling blood sugar and blood pressure within established healthy and safe limits . testing protocol consisted of a diversity of patients supplementing doctor - prescribed medication with the preferred embodiment . as hereinafter described , exemplary testing during successive two - week periods is represented for such patients who have supplemented normal self - administered protocol of prescribed medications with a composition taught by the present invention . test i : patient “ br ” taking normally prescribed medications and food supplement a diabetic patient ( identified as patient “ br ”) supplemented her doctor - prescribed medication regimen for treatment of her blood sugar level and her blood pressure . she self - administered the preferred embodiment having the ingredients as enumerated herein . table i shows one week &# 39 ; s experimental results : the blood sugar medication was self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . the blood pressure medication was self - administered once daily . this medication was supplemented with two - tablespoon doses of the preferred embodiment which were self - administered twice daily , once in the morning and once in the evening . patient br &# 39 ; s blood sugar level increased after meals : it is seen to have increased from only 1 - 2 mg / dl to about 80 - 100 mg / dl after breakfast ; and from only 1 mg / dl to as much as about 40 - 60 mg / dl after dinner . more particularly , for the second and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was only 1 - 2 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the third and fourth days , the blood sugar increase was at about 80 mg / dl ; on the first day , the blood sugar increase was about 20 mg / dl and on the sixth day , the blood sugar increased to about 100 mg / dl . similarly , for the first , second , and third days of this week , the blood sugar increase was at least 11 mg / dl and as high as 17 mg / dl after dinner ; on the fifth day , the blood sugar increase was about 40 mg / dl and on the sixth day , it increased to as much as about 60 mg / dl ; and on the fourth day , the blood sugar increase was only 1 mg / dl . for this patient &# 39 ; s blood pressure pattern , her high blood pressure varied from 140 to 164 . her low blood pressure varied from 77 to 92 . patient br exclusively sustained her doctor - prescribed medication for treatment of her blood sugar level and her blood pressure . no food supplement was taken . these observations were made during the week immediately following her combined medication and food supplement regimen per test i ( enumerated in table i ). the blood sugar medication was self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . predictably , the blood sugar level increases after meals , and , for patient br , is seen to increase from only 3 mg / dl to about 50 mg / dl after breakfast ; and from about 20 mg / dl to as much as about 70 mg / dl after dinner . more particularly , for the first , third , and seventh days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 20 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the second , fourth , and sixth days , the blood sugar increase was at least 39 mg / dl and as much as 48 mg / dl . similarly , for the third , fifth , and sixth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was at least 59 mg / dl and as high as 69 mg / dl after dinner ; on the second , fourth , and seventh days , the blood sugar increase was at least 31 mg / dl and as much as 43 mg / dl ; and on the first day , the blood sugar increase was only about 20 mg / dl . the blood pressure medication was self - administered once daily . the high blood pressure varied from 142 to 166 . the low blood pressure varied from 72 to 93 . diabetic patient ( identified as patient “ hm ”) supplemented his doctor - prescribed medication regimen for treatment of his blood sugar level and his blood pressure , with administration of the preferred embodiment having the ingredients enumerated herein . table iii shows one week &# 39 ; s experimental results : the blood sugar medication ( glyburide ) was self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . the blood pressure medication was self - administered once daily . this medication was supplemented with one - tablespoon doses of the preferred embodiment which were self - administered thrice daily , after each of breakfast , lunch , and dinner . patient hm &# 39 ; s blood sugar level increased after meals : it is seen to have increased from about 30 mg / dl to about 50 - 65 mg / dl after breakfast ; from about 10 mg / dl to about 60 - 130 mg / dl after lunch ; and from 3 mg / dl to as much as about 50 - 60 mg / dl after dinner . more particularly , for the second , third , and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 35 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the first , fourth , and seventh days , the blood sugar increase was at about 40 mg / dl ; on the sixth day , the blood sugar increase was as high as 65 mg / dl . after lunch , for the first and second days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 65 mg / dl ; on the fourth and fifth days , the blood sugar varied from about 85 mg / dl to 100 mg / dl ; on the third day , the blood sugar increase was about 130 mg / dl ; on the sixth day , it had a slight decrease about 5 mg / dl ; and on the seventh day , the blood sugar increase was about 10 mg / dl . similarly , after dinner , for the forth , fifth , sixth , and seventh days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 55 - 65 mg / dl ; and on the first three days , the blood sugar tended to remain the same , with there being a modes increase of 3 mg / dl on the third day and a modes decrease of 3 mg / dl on the first and second days . for patient hm &# 39 ; s blood pressure pattern , his high blood pressure varied from 126 to 138 . his low blood pressure varied from 58 to 78 . diabetic patient hm exclusively took his doctor - prescribed medication regimen for treatment of his blood sugar level and his blood pressure , without administration of a food supplement taught by the preferred invention . table iv shows one week &# 39 ; s experimental results : the blood sugar medication ( glyburide ) was self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . the blood pressure medication was self - administered three times daily . no food supplement augmented this regimen . patient hm &# 39 ; s blood sugar level increased after meals : it is seen to have increased from about 20 mg / dl to about 50 mg / dl after breakfast ; from about 10 mg / dl to about 60 - 130 mg / dl after lunch ; and from about mg / dl to about 50 mg / dl after dinner . more particularly , for the first , third , and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 40 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the second and fourth days , the blood sugar increase was about 70 and 40 mg / dl , respectively ; and on the sixth and seventh days , the blood sugar increase was about 20 mg / dl . after lunch , for the first and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 130 mg / dl ; on the second day , the blood sugar increase was 17 mg / dl ; on the third day , the blood sugar increase was only 5 mg / dl ; on the seventh day , it had a decrease of about 25 mg / dl ; and on the fourth and sixth days , the blood sugar increase was about 80 and 40 mg / dl , respectively . similarly , after dinner , for the first and fourth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 50 - 65 mg / dl ; on the fifth and sixth days , the blood sugar increase was about 20 and 80 mg / dl , respectively ; and on the second and third days , the blood sugar tended to remain the same , with there being a modes increase of about 10 mg / dl on the second day and a modes decrease of about 5 mg / dl on the third day . for patient hm &# 39 ; s blood pressure pattern , his high blood pressure varied from 130 to 150 , with this blood pressure tending to reach 144 . his low blood pressure varied from 66 to 84 , but tending to remain at less than 80 . diabetic patient ( identified as patient “ mj ”) supplemented his doctor - prescribed medication regimen for treatment of his blood sugar level and his blood pressure , with administration of the preferred embodiment having the ingredients enumerated herein . table v shows one week &# 39 ; s experimental results : the blood sugar medications ( metformin and glyburide ) were self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . the blood pressure medication was self - administered also twice daily . these medications were supplemented with one - tablespoon doses of the preferred embodiment which were self - administered thrice daily , after each of breakfast , lunch , and dinner . patient mj &# 39 ; s blood sugar level generally increased after meals . more particularly , for the first , second , and seventh days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 12 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the third and fifth days , the blood sugar increase was about 5 mg / dl ; on the fourth and sixth day , the blood sugar increase was virtually unchanged , being only 1 mg / dl and then actually decreased by 1 mg / dl . similarly , after lunch , for the first , second , third , and sixth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 2 - 4 mg / dl ; on the fourth , fifth , and seventh days , the blood sugar was about 9 mg / dl . similarly , after dinner , for the first and seventh days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 10 mg / dl ; for the second and sixth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 6 mg / dl ; and on the fourth and fifth days , the blood sugar increase was about 3 mg / dl . for patient mj &# 39 ; s blood pressure pattern , his high blood pressure varied from 122 to 163 . his low blood pressure varied from 75 to 95 . diabetic patient mj exclusively took his doctor - prescribed medication regimen for treatment of his blood sugar level and his blood pressure , without administration of a food supplement taught by the preferred invention . table vi shows one week &# 39 ; s experimental results : the blood sugar medications ( metformin and glyburide ) were self - administered twice daily , at breakfast and dinner . the blood pressure medication was self - administered three times daily . no food supplement augmented this regimen . patient mj &# 39 ; s blood sugar level increased after meals : it is seen to have increased from about 20 mg / dl to about 50 mg / dl after breakfast ; from about 10 mg / dl to about 60 - 130 mg / dl after lunch ; and from about 10 mg / dl to about 50 mg / dl after dinner . more particularly , for the first , third , and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 40 mg / dl after breakfast ; on the second and fourth days , the blood sugar increase was about 70 and 40 mg / dl , respectively ; and on the sixth and seventh days , the blood sugar increase was about 20 mg / dl . after lunch , for the first and fifth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 130 mg / dl ; on the second day , the blood sugar increase was 17 mg / dl ; on the third day , the blood sugar increase was only 5 mg / dl ; on the seventh day , it had a decrease of about 25 mg / dl ; and on the fourth and sixth days , the blood sugar increase was about 80 and 40 mg / dl , respectively . similarly , after dinner , for the first and fourth days of this week , the blood sugar increase was about 50 - 65 mg / dl ; on the fifth and sixth days , the blood sugar increase was about 20 and 80 mg / dl , respectively ; and on the second and third days , the blood sugar tended to remain the same , with there being a modes increase of about 10 mg / dl on the second day and a modes decrease of about 5 mg / dl on the third day . for patient mj &# 39 ; s blood pressure pattern , his high blood pressure varied from 160 to 171 , with this blood pressure tending to remain at about 165 . his low blood pressure varied from 75 to 95 . experience teaches that during various successions of 2 - week periods wherein prescribed medications were supplemented with the preferred embodiment , the food supplement compositions described herein appear to generally accommodate the remedial needs of a diversity of diabetic patients suffering from common cold symptoms . such patients &# 39 ; cold - related symptoms appeared to be attenuated without adversely affecting either normally safe blood sugar levels or blood pressure equilibrium . hence , unlike the prior art , the present invention teaches food supplement compositions for remedying the common cold without disturbing both blood pressure and blood sugar equilibrium . other variations and modifications will , of course , become apparent from a consideration of the specific embodiments and illustrative examples and concomitant methodology herein before described . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited by the particular disclosure , embodiments and formulation examples hereinbefore described , but that the present invention is to be measured by the scope of the appended claims herein .	0
embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings . a structure of a radio wave reception converter according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to fig1 . referring to fig1 , the radio wave reception converter of the present embodiment mainly includes a chassis main unit 1 , a horn 2 , an insulation sheet 3 , a feedome 4 , and exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b . chassis main unit 1 includes a cylindrical waveguide 10 for guiding a radio wave , high frequency circuitry 7 in which is sealed a high frequency circuit substrate ( not shown ) incorporated with a low noise amplifier and the like , and an f type attachment 8 that is a connection terminal . waveguide 10 is formed of , for example , a metal pipe , or a resin pipe having metal plating on the inner circumferential face . a substrate antenna ( not shown ) extending from the high frequency circuit substrate is located at the rear of waveguide 10 to receive a radio wave guided by waveguide 10 . the received signal is frequency - converted by the high frequency circuit , amplified , and then output to an external source via f type attachment 8 . horn 2 is the part where a radio wave reflected at the parabola of the antenna apparatus is introduced . the radio wave passing through a front opening 21 is guided towards the rear . horn 2 is a metal shaped piece formed by , for example , press working , or a resin molded piece having metal plating applied on the inner face . insulation sheet 3 is a disk member formed of , for example , pet ( polyethylene terephthalate ) resin , pp ( polypropylene ) resin , polyimide resin , teflon ( registered trademark ) resin or the like , having its thickness adjusted to several 10 μm . insulation sheet 3 is formed in a desired shape by , for example , die - cutting a rectangular sheet . insulation sheet 3 preferably has an adhesive ( tenacious material ) applied on one or both sides of the main surface . feedome 4 is a member attached to horn 2 so as to occlude front opening 21 of horn 2 . feedome 4 is a formed piece such as a resin member . exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b identified as the casing are divided into two , covering chassis main unit 1 . exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b are formed pieces of resin . assembly of respective components are carried out by the procedures set forth below . first , insulation sheet 3 is attached at the front end side of waveguide 10 of chassis main unit 1 . horn 2 is attached to the front end of waveguide 10 by means of a screw 9 which is a fastening means . insulation sheet 3 is located between the front end plane of waveguide 10 and the back end plane of horn 2 . then , feedome 4 is attached to horn 2 so as to cover front opening 21 of horn 2 . finally , bisected exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b are fitted so as to cover the connecting part between waveguide 10 of chassis main unit 1 and horn 2 . thus , the radio wave reception converter is assembled . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the radio wave reception converter of the present embodiment has insulation sheet 3 located and sandwiched between waveguide 10 and horn 2 . specifically , a salient 24 is provided at the end plane of horn 2 facing waveguide 10 , and a reentrant 14 is formed at the end plane of waveguide 10 facing horn 2 . reentrant 14 of waveguide 10 receives salient 24 formed in horn 2 . insulation sheet 3 is located between salient 24 and reentrant 14 . the circumferential edge of insulation sheet 3 is sandwiched between salient 24 and reentrant 14 . a waveguide side flange 12 is provided at the front end of waveguide 10 . a horn side flange 22 provided at the rear end of horn 2 . a through hole 13 is formed in waveguide side flange 12 . a screw hole 23 is formed at horn side flange 22 at a position corresponding to through hole 13 . screw 9 is inserted through through hole 13 . waveguide 10 and horn 2 are secured by screw 9 fixed in screw hole 23 . by adjusting insulation sheet 3 to a predetermined thickness , insulation sheet 3 is compressed and deformed to be sandwiched between waveguide 10 and horn 2 . therefore , hermetic sealing is ensured at this portion . at the bottom of reentrant 14 provided at the end plane of waveguide 10 , a reentrant 15 of a size corresponding to the configuration of insulation sheet 3 is formed . by setting the depth of this reentrant 15 equal to or slightly smaller than the thickness of insulation sheet 3 , the gap between waveguide 10 and horn 2 can be reduced even if insulation sheet 3 is made thicker . therefore , leakage of radio wave can be prevented . since a thick insulation sheet 3 can be used by such a structure , hermetic sealing can be achieved more ensurely . as shown in fig2 , feedome 4 is press - fitted and fixed at the front end of horn 2 . specifically , the inner diameter of feedome 4 is set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of horn 2 . press - fit fixation can be established by fitting feedome 4 to horn 2 . a claw 41 is provided at the rear end of feedome 4 to prevent feedome 4 from being detached from horn 2 . fitting is established to engage claw 41 with projection 28 located at a predetermined position at the outer circumferential plane of horn 2 . this prevents rain from intruding through front opening 21 of horn 2 . by the radio wave reception converter of the above structure , intrusion of rain through the connecting part of bisected exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b and the connecting part between horn 2 and feedome 4 is prevented . furthermore , the moist air introduced through the gaps thereof is prevented from flowing into waveguide 10 by insulation sheet 3 . therefore , various electronic components such as the high frequency circuit substrate and the like arranged in high frequency circuitry 7 is protected from moisture . as a result , a radio wave reception converter of high reliability can be provided . since the connection structure set forth above can be realized by the simple working steps of attaching insulation sheet 3 to the end plane of waveguide 10 , and fastening waveguide 10 with horn 2 by means of screw 9 , the assembly work will not become tedious . furthermore , the fabrication cost can be reduced significantly since critical surface roughness or dimension accuracy are not required . furthermore , since the connection between bisected exterior cabinets 5 a and 5 b and the connection between horn 2 and feedome 4 are conducted by press - fitting , it is no longer necessary to use an adhesive . the problem of deterioration in the outer appearance caused by overflow of the adhesive can be eliminated . complete blocking of the path of waveguide 10 and the path of horn 2 by means of insulation sheet 3 in the radio wave reception converter of the present embodiment allows the interior of waveguide 10 to be sealed hermetically against outside air . by virtue of insulation sheet 3 having the thickness of several 10 μm as set forth above , most of the radio waves introduced into horn 2 will pass through insulation sheet 3 and reach the interior of waveguide 10 . there is little , if any , loss in radio wave by such arrangement of an insulation sheet 3 . by the structure of dividing the feed horn that guides a radio wave into waveguide 10 and horn 2 as in the present embodiment , most of the components of a radio wave reception converter having a different angular aperture depending upon the specification can be used in common . specifically , a horn 2 ′ having an angular aperture differing from that of fig2 is additionally prepared , as shown in fig4 . by setting the configuration of the connecting part between horn 2 ′ and waveguide 10 identical to that of horn 2 shown in fig2 , the components of chassis main unit 1 including waveguide 10 and external cabinets 5 a and 5 b can be used in common . versatility can be improved . accordingly , a radio wave reception converter differing in angular aperture can be produced economically . the connection structure of the waveguide and horn of a radio wave reception converter according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig5 . elements similar to those of the first embodiment have the same reference characters allotted in the drawings , and description thereof will not be repeated . as shown in fig5 , the radio wave reception converter of the present embodiment has insulation sheet 3 located and sandwiched between waveguide 10 and horn 2 . specifically , a salient 16 is formed at the end plane of waveguide 10 facing horn 2 , and a reentrant 26 is formed at the end plane of horn 2 facing waveguide 10 . reentrant 26 of horn 2 receives salient 16 of waveguide 10 . insulation sheet 3 is located between salient 16 and reentrant 26 . the circumferential edge of insulation sheet 3 is sandwiched between salient 16 and reentrant 26 . waveguide side flange 12 is provided at the front end of waveguide 10 . horn side flange 22 is provided at the rear end of horn 2 . through hole 13 is formed at waveguide side flange 12 . screw hole 23 is formed at horn side flange 22 at a position corresponding to through hole 13 . screw 9 is inserted through through hole 13 . waveguide 10 is secured with horn 2 by screw 9 being fixed in screw hole 23 . by adjusting insulation sheet 3 to a predetermined thickness , insulation sheet 3 is compressed and deformed by waveguide 10 and horn 2 to be sandwiched therebetween . therefore , hermetic sealing at this region can be ensured . a reentrant 27 of a size corresponding to the configuration of insulation sheet 3 is formed at the bottom of reentrant 26 provided at the end plane of horn 2 . by setting the depth of reentrant 27 equal to or slightly smaller than the thickness of insulation sheet 3 , the gap between waveguide 10 and horn 2 can be reduced even if insulation sheet 3 is made thicker . therefore , radio wave leakage can be prevented . since a thick insulation sheet 3 can be used by such a structure , hermetic sealing can be achieved more ensurely . the structure set forth above has an advantage similar to that of the first embodiment . a structure of an antenna apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig6 . referring to fig6 , the antenna apparatus of the present embodiment includes a radio wave reception converter 50 and a parabola 52 . radio wave reception converter 50 corresponds to the radio wave reception converter of the first or second embodiment set forth above . the radio wave from a satellite is reflected and concentrated by parabola 52 to be introduced into the horn of radio wave reception converter 50 arranged in front of parabola 52 . the radio wave from a satellite is a circularly polarized wave , including a right - handed polarized wave and a left - handed polarized wave . radio wave reception converter 50 separates these two components , amplifies respective components , and converts the radio wave in a band of ten several ghz to a signal of the frequency band of 1 ghz . the converted signal passes through a cable connected to the f type attachment of radio wave reception converter 50 and an indoor receiver ( for example , a satellite receiver ) to be send to a television . by the above - described structure , an antenna apparatus maintaining high reliability can be provided . although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail , it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation , the spirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims .	7
for purposes of this discussion , the programmable dma controller and control system of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the jet patterning apparatus discussed above and to which this invention is particularly well suited . it should be understood , however , that the operation of the programmable dma controller and control system of the instant invention may be used , perhaps with obvious modifications , in other devices where similar quantities of digitized pattern data must be distributed in real - time to different destinations . referring to fig1 a multiprocessor patterning system 5 is shown having a host computer 12 coupled via a bus 11 to a real - time computer 10 . optional pattern computer 14 is further coupled to the host computer 12 and real - time computer 10 by the bus 11 . it is readily apparent that the coupling of the pattern computer 14 , host computer 12 and real - time computer 10 may be by any means for coupling a local area network ( lan ) such as an ethernet bus . a pattern control system 16 is coupled via bus 26 to a jet dyeing apparatus 18 . the jet dyeing apparatus 18 may be of the type generally described in greater detail in , for example , commonly assigned u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 894 , 412 , 3 , 942 , 343 , 3 , 969 , 779 , 4 , 033 , 154 , 4 , 034 , 584 , 4 , 116 , 626 , 4 , 309 , 881 , 4 , 434 , 632 and 4 , 584 , 854 . the pattern control system 16 receives inputs from bus 22 and channel select lines 24 of the programmable dma controller board 20 . the programmable dma controller board 20 is part of the real - time computer 10 and is described in greater detail in fig2 . optional pattern computer 14 may be provided to allow a user of the system to quickly create their own pattern design . alternatively , pattern designs may be pre - loaded onto magnetic or optical media for reading into the system . a computer terminal 13 may be coupled via a suitable connection 17 , e . g ., a standard rs232 cable , to the host computer 12 . the terminal 13 then serves as the operator &# 39 ; s interface for providing the input parameters to the host computer for each &# 34 ; job &# 34 ; of patterns to be generated on the substrate by jet dyeing apparatus 18 . the host computer 12 also fetches the pattern data from the pattern computer or other source and sets it up for processing by the real - time computer 10 . the real - time computer 10 functions to insure that the pattern data is properly output to the pattern control system 16 by programming appropriately the dma controller board 20 . referring to fig2 the real - time computer 10 is shown having memory 34 and programmable dma controller board 20 . pattern data is received from the host computer 12 via the bus 11 and stored on high speed disk 33 by way of diagrammatically depicted links 35 and 35a , which typically may be comprised of an i / o bus , associated bus interface units , and an appropriate network interface unit , not shown . as appropriate , data is moved from high speed disk 33 into memory 34 , via link 35 , for access by dma controller 20 via bus 36 . the programmable dma controller board 20 is shown comprising a programmable dma processor 32 , fifo buffer 28 and 3 - bit latch 30 . the programmable dma processor 32 couples with bus 36 via line 38 and with fifo buffer 28 via line 37 . further , the 3 - bit latch 30 is coupled to the bus 36 via line 39 . it should be understood that fig2 shows only a simplified diagrammatically depicted version of the programmable dma controller board 20 . a more complete and accurate description of the controller board 20 can be found by consulting the specifications thereof ; for example , the controller board 20 may be of the type produced by digital equipment corporation as model drq3b or may be the intel 82258 dma chip used in conjunction with a host computer card such as the intel 286 / 12 board . pattern numbers chosen by the operator using terminal 13 are entered via line 17 , into host computer 12 ( fig1 ). computer 12 loads pattern data from , e . g ., pattern computer 14 , onto high speed disk 33 , and then sends data messages to real - time computer 10 . computer 10 , on receipt of such messages , loads the requested pattern data from high speed disk 33 into memory 34 . when requested by means of an interrupt , as by the occurrence of a transducer pulse indicating a predetermined length of substrate has passed under the patterning jets , the real - time computer 10 commands the dma controller 20 to initiate the transfer of the appropriate pattern data stored in memory 34 to the pattern control system 16 , via fifo buffer 28 . in one embodiment , a first - in - first - out ( fifo ) buffer 28 stores words ( 16 - bits ) of pattern data in each buffer location . the pattern data stored in fifo buffer 28 is then output to the pattern control system 16 along the high - speed ( e . g ., 2 . 6 megabytes / second ) data bus 22 . the fifo buffer 28 serves as an interface between the rate at which data is placed into the fifo buffer 28 by dma processor 32 and the rate at which data is output to the pattern control system 16 . if the pattern control system 16 operates at a rate equal to or greater than that of the real - time processor 10 , fifo buffer 28 would not be needed to perform the interface function . in accordance with commands from the real - time computer 10 , the dma processor 32 also functions to request memory 34 to provide inputs via line 39 to the 3 - bit latch 30 . the latch 30 provides a parallel output on the three channel select lines 24 to the pattern control system 16 . the demultiplexer 42 receives the channel select lines 24 and provides one of eight outputs depending upon the state of the channel select lines 24 . the demultiplexer 42 may be any suitable conventional 3 - to - 8 type demultiplexer . a portion of the pattern control system 16 is shown in fig2 having a 3 : 8 demultiplexer 42 , a series of 16 - bit registers , and a 16 - to - 8 bit data multiplexer 40 . multiplexer 40 receives the 16 - bit words ( when either the pattern data select line 45 or the lut load data select line 47 is selected by the channel select lines 24 , through demultiplexer 42 ) over data bus 22 from the fifo buffer 28 in the programmable dma controller board 20 . the 16 - bit multiplexer 40 then provides single byte ( 8 bit ) write outputs over 8 - bit bus 44 . therefore , the data multiplexer 40 serves to convert each 16 - bit parallel word into a sequence of two bytes over 8 - bit parallel bus 44 for pattern data or lut load data . the bus 44 is further coupled in parallel with an array of n firing time converters ( numbers 1 through n ), each firing time converter corresponding to one of n arrays of individual dye jets . each firing time converter 1 though n includes a plurality of look - up tables ( lut arrays 1 through n ) addressed by the contents of the lut select register 46 which provides the upper address lines to each firing time converter array . each firing time converter array may be thought of as a simple high speed static memory having address lines , data - in lines , data - out lines , and read and write control lines . the other four 16 - bit registers can be loaded by selecting the appropriate register with the channel select lines and providing the desired value on 16 - bit bus 22 . one of the four 16 - bit registers loaded by bus 22 is the look - up table ( lut ) select register 46 . in the embodiment shown in fig2 bits from the lut select register provide the upper nine address lines to each lut array ( 1 through n ), thus providing 512 luts for each respective array . for purposes of discussion , this embodiment is assumed to include 8 arrays ( n = 8 ) and , as mentioned above , 512 luts per array . each look - up table has a sufficient number of addresses so that each possible address code forming the serial stream of pattern data may be assigned a unique address in each of the look - up tables . at each address within the look - up table is a byte representing a relative firing time or dye contact time . assuming an 8 bit address code used to form the raw pattern data , the firing time can be zero or one of 255 different discrete time values corresponding to the relative amount of time the dye jet in question is to remain &# 34 ; on &# 34 ;. accordingly , for each 8 bit byte of pixel data , one of 256 different firing times ( including a firing time of zero ) is defined for each specific jet location on each and every array 1 - n . jet identity within a given array is determined by the relative position of the address code within the serial stream of pattern data and by the information pre - loaded into the look - up tables , which information specifies in which arrays a given jet position fires , and for what length of time . the 8 - bit bus 44 from data mux 40 is connected in parallel to the data inputs of the firing time converters . it is also connected to the input of mux 48 . connected to the other input of mux 48 is auto address generator 50 . depending on the state of channel select lines 24 , one or the other of these inputs can be connected to the lower address lines of each lut array . to load an array with conversion data , select lines 24 activate the lut load data select line 47 . this &# 34 ; enables &# 34 ; data mux 40 , as well as connects auto address generator 50 through mux 48 to the lower address lines of each lut array in sequence , and provides a sequential &# 34 ; write enable &# 34 ; through sequencer 52 to each lut within each lut array selected by lut select register 46 for each lut array . ( the first 256 bytes on bus 44 are loaded into lut array 1 ; the second 256 bytes are loaded into lut array 2 , etc .) to output pattern data through the lut &# 39 ; s , select lines 24 activate the pattern data select line 45 , which &# 34 ; enables &# 34 ; data mux 40 , routes data on bus 44 through mux 48 to the lower address lines of each lut array , and provides a &# 34 ; read enable &# 34 ; signal to each lut array such that data from bus 44 selects the appropriate contents ( i . e ., firing time ) of each lut selected by the lut select register 46 . this firing time is output on its respective data out bus 55 to each stagger memory array 56 . thus , depending upon the output from channel select lines 24 of the programmable dma controller 20 , the enabling of one of the eight possible output lines from demultiplexer 42 directs where data from bus 22 will go ( i . e ., to one of the 16 bit registers , or through data mux 40 to the data inputs of the lut arrays , or channeled through mux 48 to the lower address lines of each lut array ). the firing time information from the lut arrays comprising firing time converters 1 - n is supplied to a respective stagger memory 56 for each of the lut arrays 1 - n . the stagger memories 56 1 - n function to compensate for the time necessary for the substrate to be patterned to travel from array to array due to the physical spacing between the arrays in the jet dyeing apparatus . the stagger memory 56 operates on the firing time data produced by lut arrays 54 and performs two principal functions : ( 1 ) the serial data stream from the lut array , representing firing times , is grouped and allocated to the appropriate arrays on the patterning machine and ( 2 ) &# 34 ; non - operative &# 34 ; data is added to the respective pattern data for each array to inhibit , at start up and for a predetermined interval which is specific to that particular array , the reading of the pattern data in order to compensate for the elapsed time during which the specific portion of the substrate to be patterned with that pattern data is moving from array to array . the precise operation of the staggered memories is described fully in co - pending ser . no . 327 , 843 referenced above . the stagger memories 56 provide their output to a &# 34 ; gatling &# 34 ; memory module 58 for each array . the gatling memory 58 performs two principal functions : ( 1 ) the serial stream of encoded firing times is converted to individual strings of logical ( i . e ., &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;) firing commands , the length of each respective &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; string reflecting the value of the corresponding encoded firing time , and ( 2 ) these commands are quickly and efficiently allocated to the appropriate dye jets . thus , the gatling memory arrays serve to distribute the encoded firing times to the appropriate jets for each dye jet array such that the desired pattern is produced on the substrate moving under the dye jet arrays . again , as noted above , a complete description of the gatling memory modules is provided in co - pending ser . no . 327 , 843 . it is readily apparent that because the dma controller can be programmed to change the channel select lines 24 in real - time , it is possible to enable different look - up tables in each of the arrays by reloading lut select register 46 in real - time between pattern data outputs , for the processing of different pattern data across the width of the substrate . this allows multiple ( different or identical ) patterns to be printed side - by - side in real - time , each with its own look - up table of firing times . an example showing a typical use of this system is now described below , in which two different patterns are produced across the substrate using the programmable dma controller 20 . fig3 is an example showing pattern a and pattern b as they exist in memory 34 ( fig2 ). also shown are look - up tables a and b as they exist in memory 34 . real - time computer 10 loads these items in memory 34 prior to the time that they are actually needed . fig . 4 illustrates the finished product or pattern of producing one repeat of pattern a and two repeats of pattern b on the substrate . referring again to the example of fig3 pattern a is shown being six pixels wide by five pattern lines long . it is arranged in memory 34 as a sequence of 30 contiguous bytes as indicated by the relative address ( in memory numbers ) in the upper right portion of the cells . this pattern contains two different pattern elements numbered &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 20 &# 34 ;. these are two independent areas of the pattern which will generate two different colors on the final product . the look - up table for pattern a ( lut a ) serves to translate the pattern a elements into firing time information for each dye jet array . note that element 10 translates to firing time 22 ( typically in milliseconds ) for the red array and element 20 translates to firing time 22 for the blue array . this means that area 10 will be red on the final substrate and area 20 will be blue . firing time 22 is a relative amount of time to deliver dye from the dye jets which is directly proportional to the amount of dye delivered . pattern b and its associated look - up table lut b will be translated in a similar manner to pattern a . the finished product will be as shown in fig4 . a sequence of dma commands for producing the product of fig4 is given in table 1 below . real - time computer 10 sets up these commands in memory and instructs dma controller 20 to execute them at the appropriate time . the appropriate time is determined by means of an interrupt such as a transducer pulse occurring after a predetermined length of substrate has travelled under the jet dyeing apparatus for each pattern line . table 1______________________________________line 0 group 1 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 1 wait on fifo emptyline 0 group 2 set channel select lines = lut load output lut a wait on fifo emptyline 0 group 3 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 0 wait on fifo emptyline 0 group 4 set channel select lines = pattern data output last line of previous patternline 1 group 1 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 2 wait on fifo emptyline 1 group 2 set channel select lines = lut load output lut b wait on fifo emptyline 1 group 3 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 1 wait on fifo emptyline 1 group 4 set channel select lines = pattern data output 2 bytes = 255 output first line of pattern a ( 6 bytes ) output 2 bytes = 255 wait on fifo emptyline 1 group 5 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 2 wait on fifo emptyline 1 group 6 set channel select lines = pattern data output first line of pattern b ( 4 bytes ) output first line of pattern b ( 4 bytes ) output 2 bytes = 255line 2 group 1 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 1 wait on fifo emptyline 2 group 2 set channel select lines = pattern data output 2 bytes = 255 output second line of pattern a ( 6 bytes ) output 2 bytes = 255line 2 group 3 set channel select lines = lut select output lut number = 2 wait on fifo emptyline 2 group 4 set channel select lines = pattern date output second line of pattern b ( 4 bytes ) output second line of pattern b ( 4 bytes ) output 2 bytes = 255line 3 same as line 2 except third line of patterns a & amp ; b outputline 4 same as line 2 except fourth line of pattern a output and first line of pattern b outputline 5 same as line 2 except fifth line of pattern a output and second line of pattern b output______________________________________ line 0 must occur sometime prior to line 1 . in this example , it will be the last pattern line of the previous pattern . the first command in group 1 for line 0 , set channel select lines = lut select , provides an output on channel select lines 24 to the demultiplexer 42 which signals the write enable line &# 34 ; lut select &# 34 ; coupled to lut select register 46 . the next command , output lut number = 1 , instructs the dma controller board 20 to provide as an output on bus 22 a word of data ( 16 bits with only 9 bits used in this embodiment ) equal to 1 , which identifies the look - up table number to the lut select register 46 . the look - up table select register 46 selects , via bus 49 , the correct look - up table in the respective firing time converters 1 - n 54 , in accordance with the look - up table number , that will be used in succeeding operations . the third command , wait on fifo empty , is provided to allow the fifo buffer 28 to be emptied prior to changing the channel select lines 24 . this insures that all data meant to go to the lut select register 46 has been distributed . it is readily apparent that this command would not be necessary if the fifo 28 were not in the system . for the present embodiment , this command instructs the dma controller 20 to read its own status register and mask ( not shown ), and compare it to determine when a fifo empty bit becomes set , and then proceed to the next command when a match is detected . the first command in group 2 , set channel select lines = lut load , enables the lut load data select line 47 from demultiplexer 42 which is coupled to data mux 40 , write sequencer 52 and mux 48 . this enables the next command , output lut a , to provide the firing time data contained in lut a as shown in fig3 on bus 44 to load the selected look - up table ( in this case lut 1 ) in each array sequentially as controlled by auto address generator 50 and write sequencer 52 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . these commands essentially load lut a into lut 1 in firing time convertors 1 - n 54 . the first command in group 3 , set channel select lines = lut select , provides an output on channel select lines 24 to the demultiplexer 42 which signals the write enable line , lut select , coupled to lut select register 46 . the next command , output lut number = 0 , instructs the dma controller board 20 to provide as an output 0 on bus 22 . this number is written into lut select register 46 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . these commands essentially connect lut 0 for subsequent operations . the first command in group 4 , set channel select lines = pattern data , changes the channel select lines 24 such that demultiplexer 42 asserts the pattern data select line 45 . this enables data from bus 44 to be input on the lower address lines for the firing time converters such that each pattern element translates in parallel to the appropriate firing time for each array through firing time convertors 1 - n 54 for lut 0 as selected above . finally , the command , output last line of previous pattern , sends the pattern data fetched from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n . the pattern data output on bus 44 is a serial stream of 8 - bit pattern elements which act as addresses for the selected lut ( 0 ) in each array 1 - n . the parallel output from firing time converters 1 - n 55 drives stagger memories 56 which output data on bus 57 which drives gatling memories 58 which finally activates the appropriate dye jets in each dye jet array for the specified times for the appropriate line of data . once the lut a is loaded into lut 1 in the firing time convertors 1 - n 54 , the system is ready to output line 1 of pattern &# 39 ; s a and b ( fig3 ). the first command of group 1 for line 1 , set channel select lines = lut select , provides an output on channel select lines 24 to the demultiplexer 42 which signals the write enable line lut select coupled to lut select register 46 . the next command , output lut number = 2 , identifies the look - up table number to the lut select register 46 . the look - up table select register 46 selects , via bus 49 , the correct look - up table in the respective firing time convertors 1 - n 54 , in accordance with the look - up table number , that will be used in succeeding operations . the third command , wait on fifo empty , is provided to allow the fifo buffer 28 to be emptied prior to changing the channel select lines 24 . the first command in group 2 for line 1 , set channel select lines = lut load , enables the lut load data select line 47 from demultiplexer 42 which is coupled to data mux 40 , write sequencer 52 and mux 48 . this enables the next command , output lut b , to provide the firing time data contained in lut b as shown in fig3 on bus 44 to load the selected look - up table ( in this case lut 2 ) in each array sequentially as controlled by auto address generator 50 and write sequencer 52 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . these commands essentially load lut b into lut 2 in firing time converters 1 - n 54 . the first command in group 3 for line 1 , set channel select lines = lut select , provides an output on channel select lines 24 to the demultiplexer 42 which signals the write enable line lut select coupled to lut select register 46 . the next command , output lut number = 1 , instructs the dma controller board 20 to provide as an output 1 on bus 22 . this number is written into lut select register 46 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . these commands essentially connect lut 1 for subsequent operations . the first command in group 4 for line 1 , set channel select lines = pattern data , changes the channel select lines such that demultiplexer 42 asserts the pattern data select line 45 . this enables data from bus 44 to be input on the lower address lines for the firing time converters such that each pattern element translates in parallel to the appropriate firing time for each array through firing time converters 1 - n 54 for lut 1 loaded with lut a ( fig3 ) above . the next command , output 2 bytes = 255 , sends two bytes equal to 255 ( an element which translates to zero firing time for all dye jet arrays ) from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n . these two bytes will essentially assure no dye on the left edge of the final product as shown in fig4 . the next command , output first line of pattern a ( 6 bytes ), sends the first 6 bytes of pattern a ( 10 , 10 , 20 , 20 , 10 , 10 ) from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n 54 . the resulting looked up firing time information will be 22 , 22 , 0 , 0 , 22 , 22 for array 1 and 0 , 0 , 22 , 22 , 0 , 0 for array 3 . all remaining arrays include all zeroes . the next command , output 2 bytes = 255 , sends two bytes equal to 255 ( an element which translates to zero firing time for all dye jet arrays ) from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n . these two bytes will essentially assure no dye between pattern a and the two repeats of pattern b as shown in fig4 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . the first command in group 5 for line 1 , set channel select lines = lut select , provides an output on channel select lines 24 to the demultiplexer 42 which signals the write enable line lut select coupled to lut select register 46 . the next command , output lut number = 2 , instructs the dma controller board 20 to provide as an output 2 on bus 22 . this number is written into lut select register 46 . again , a wait on fifo empty command is included to allow the fifo buffer 28 to empty before changing the channel select lines 24 . these commands essentially connect lut 2 for subsequent operations . the first command in group 6 for line 1 , set channel select lines = pattern data , changes the channel select lines such that demultiplexer 42 asserts the pattern data select line 45 . this enables data from bus 44 to be the lower address lines for the firing time converters such that each pattern element translates in parallel to the appropriate firing time for each array through firing time converters 1 - n 54 for lut 2 loaded with lut b ( fig3 ) above . the next command , output first line 0f pattern b ( 4 bytes ), sends the first 4 bytes of pattern b ( 16 , 92 , 92 , 16 ) from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n 54 . the resulting looked up firing time information will be 36 , 0 , 0 , 36 for array 1 and 0 , 44 , 44 , 0 for array 7 and all zeroes for the remaining arrays . this command essentially produces the first line of the first repeat of pattern b . the next command , output first line of pattern b ( 4 bytes ), essentially does the same as the last command and produces the second repeat of pattern b on the substrate . the next command , output 2 bytes = 255 , sends two bytes equal to 255 ( an element which translates to zero firing time for all dye jet arrays ) from real - time computer memory 34 through the enabled data mux 40 to be output on bus 44 through mux 48 , to the lower address lines of the firing time converters 1 - n . these two bytes will essentially assure no dye on the right side of the substrate as shown in fig4 . this completes all of the commands necessary to produce the first line of the final product . the series of commands for line 2 are essentially the same as groups 3 - 6 for line 1 except that the second line for patterns a and b are outputted . the series of commands for line 3 are essentially the same as for line 2 except that the third line for patterns a and b are outputted . the series of commands for line 4 are essentially the same as for line 2 except that the fourth line of pattern a and the first line of pattern b is outputted . the series of commands for line 5 are essentially the same as for line 2 except that the fifth line of pattern a and the second line of pattern b are outputted . it should be understood that the above example illustrates how to repeat a pattern in a lengthwise direction . as noted with respect to line 4 , pattern b begins starting over in the lengthwise direction . it is readily apparent from this example that a single full width pattern may be produced on the substrate or multiple independent patterns may be produced across the substrate and any pattern may be repeated across the substrate to fill the desired width for that pattern . this is shown in fig4 a . it is also apparent that the patterns may be shifted , expanded , or contracted depending upon how many bytes equal to 255 are outputted at the beginning and end of each line of pattern data . note also that for proper pattern registration , repeats of the patterns may begin in the middle of a pattern , go to the end , then start at the beginning for full repeats , and then end up with a partial repeat on the other side . the programmable dma controller board in conjunction with the use of the channel select lines makes flexible patterning possible . overall , the use of the programmable direct memory access controller of the present invention provides for the real - time functioning of the patterning apparatus . the dma controller provides increased flexibility with respect to changing the pattern sequences on - line . further , by being able to repeatedly access pattern data from memory , there is a substantial savings in memory space for the real - time processor . by this technique , far less memory is required , and the data necessary to produce a full width line of patterns can be generated much more quickly and in real - time , as opposed to off - line .	3
with reference initially to fig1 , there is shown an animal management system 10 coupled with a towing vehicle 500 . the system 10 includes a base frame 12 having a first end 14 , a second end 16 , a first side section 18 , and a second side section 20 to define an elongate alley 22 therebetween , as can be seen in more detail in fig5 . the base frame 12 may include various vertical structural members 24 and horizontal structural members 26 rigidly affixed together to support the remaining components of the system 10 . for instance , vertical and horizontal structural members 24 and 26 , and other base frame 12 components , may be manufactured of steel , and may be welded together . an entrance 28 to the alley 22 is formed at the first end 14 and an exit 30 to the alley 22 is formed at the second end 16 . in this arrangement , the first side section 18 may also be referred to as the “ left side ” of the alley 22 , and the second side section 20 may also be referred to as the “ right side ” of the alley 22 . a headgate 32 is mounted to the base frame 12 at the exit 30 and is generally movable between an entrapping position for securing the head of an animal therein ( e . g ., a cow ) and a releasing position whereby the animal is free to move through the exit 30 and out of the alley 22 . those of skill in the art will appreciate that the headgate may be of any type , and for example , may be actuated through hydraulic means ( e . g ., hydraulic cylinder ) or manually ( e . g ., typically under spring force ). a pair of wedge - shaped doors 34 is pivotably mounted onto the base frame 12 preferably on the left side 18 of the alley 22 for swinging thereof into and out of the alley 22 for selective obstruction of the pathway of an animal in the alley . more specifically , the wedge - shaped doors 34 comprise a leading door 34 a and a trailing door 34 b , and each swingingly mount with a lower longitudinal member 36 and an upper longitudinal member 38 . in another embodiment of the system 10 , one of the doors 34 may be omitted if only one general size group of animals ( e . g ., cows ) are moved through the alley 22 . for example , if only adult or larger cows are used , then leading door 34 a may be omitted if desired , because the cow will fit well between the headgate 32 and the trailing door 34 b within the alley 22 ; conversely , if only immature or smaller cows up to a given length are used , then trailing door 34 b can be omitted , as the small cow will fit between the headgate 32 and the leading door 34 a within the alley 22 . however , it is preferred to include both leading and trailing doors 34 a , 34 b so that more efficient access to and movement of animals of varying sizes may be achieved , as will be more fully explained herein . selective swinging of the wedge - shaped doors 34 may be accomplished by hydraulic cylinders 40 or similar means pivotably coupled with the doors 34 on one end and with secured with various structural members 24 , 26 of the base frame 12 frame components . for example , the cylinders 40 may be coupled with upper lateral members 42 interconnecting upper longitudinal members 38 of the base frame 12 . in fig6 , a closed position c d for the doors 34 is shown by one set of dashed lines ; a partially - open position po d for the doors 34 is shown by a set of solid lines ; and a fully - open position o d for the doors 34 is shown by another set of dashed lines . each of the doors 34 preferably has a first vertical panel 43 , a second vertical panel 44 offset at an angle from the first panel 43 and a curved bracing member 46 spanning therebetween . the doors 34 may have a lower region 47 having a width such that when the doors 34 are in the closed position c d , the alley 22 is substantially blocked , and an upper region 49 . the height of the lower region 47 may be sufficiently above the average line - of - sight for the typical size of cattle traveling through the alley 22 ( e . g ., average adult ) so that an animal rearward of one of the doors 34 in the closed position c d cannot see another animal forward of the respective door 34 ; the rearward animal , thus , has an obstructed view . it should also be understood that a door 34 being “ wedge shaped ” does not require a specific wedge or “ pie ” like shape , but merely a degree of narrowing of the space between the first and second panels 43 , 44 moving from the bracing member 44 towards the mounting with the lower and upper longitudinal members 36 and 38 . the system 10 is preferably transported by coupling with towing vehicle through an articulating hitch assembly 48 mounted with the base frame 12 , as seen in fig1 – 3 and 5 . the hitch assembly 48 includes a generally l - shaped rigid coupling member 50 having a hitch ball receiver 52 at a forward end 54 thereof , a pair of bracing arms 56 interconnecting the coupling member 50 with the base frame 12 , and an upper working member 58 . the bracing arms 56 are mounted to the coupling member 50 on a first end 60 , and are each releasably pinned with a sleeve 62 on an opposing second end 64 thereof . the sleeves 62 are extended over forward vertical members 66 of the base frame 12 and are fixed in position . the bracing arms 56 thus provide lateral and longitudinal support , with respect to the alley 22 , to the coupling member 50 when in the transport position . the coupling member 50 moves upwardly and downwardly around a hitch assembly pivot point 68 where the member 50 is pivotably mounted to the frame 12 . the upper working member 58 extends from the coupling member 50 at the pivot point 68 , and has a free end 70 pivotably coupled with the working end of a hydraulic cylinder 72 mounted with another upper lateral member 42 of the base frame 12 . the hitch assembly 48 is shown in a towing position in fig1 . once the desired location for use of the alley 22 is chosen , the bracing arms 56 are first unpinned from the sleeves 62 on the second end 64 and detached from the coupling member 50 ( or if pivotally connected with the coupling member 50 , rotated laterally outwardly therefrom ) on the first end 60 . then , the hydraulic cylinder 72 is activated and retracted by pulling the free end 70 of the upper working member 58 rearwardly , thereby rotating the upper working member 58 and coupling member 50 clockwise about the pivot point 68 , as shown in fig2 . this action dismounts the receiver 52 from a hitch ball 502 of the towing vehicle 500 . preferably , the hydraulic cylinder moves the hitch assembly 48 upwardly to the position shown in fig9 , such that sufficient vertical clearance between the surface the system 10 is resting upon and the lowermost point of the coupling member 50 is attained for cattle or other animals to move out of the exit 30 and out of the alley 22 when released from the headgate 32 . reverse activation to achieve extension of the hydraulic cylinder 72 will move the hitch assembly back to position for mounting with the towing vehicle 500 . to make use of the alley 22 to manage cattle movement , the system 10 must be lowered so that the same rests on an underlying surface or ground . this is preferably done prior to the hitch assembly 48 being dismounted from the towing vehicle 500 so that the weight of the system 10 is borne by the alley 22 , as seen in more detail in fig4 . each axle assembly 74 includes at least one wheel 76 mounted with a generally horizontal support member 78 and a vertical support member 80 extending from each horizontal member 78 . two wheels are show for each axle assembly 74 in the figures , but one wheel could be used as an example . the vertical support member 80 has a bracket 82 extending therefrom , and another hydraulic cylinder 84 is coupled to the bracket 82 on a lower end 86 and coupled to one of the upper longitudinal members 38 on an upper end 88 of the cylinder 84 . each hydraulic cylinder 84 is in an extended position when the wheels 76 support the system 10 for transportation , as seen in fig1 and 2 . retraction of the cylinders 84 , as seen in fig3 and 4 , will cause the other components of the system 10 ( e . g ., alley 22 ) to lower with respect to the axle assemblies 74 until the base frame 12 rests upon the underlying surface or ground . the base frame 12 is thus immobilized until the cylinders 84 are once again extended . as seen in more detail in fig5 – 8 , a squeeze assembly 86 is also mounted with the base frame 12 , and under actuation by a hydraulic cylinder 88 , directs and thereby restricts animal movement when positioned in a confinement area 90 between either of the wedge - shaped doors 34 and the headgate 32 . a controller 92 may be mounted with the base frame 12 such that user commands may be inputted for directing the activity of the hydraulic cylinders 40 and 88 to thereby induce movement of each of the wedge - shaped doors 34 and squeeze assembly 86 , respectively ( and preferably , the headgate 32 ). for example , the controller 92 may have various levers or buttons to accept user input and being connected with circuitry generating signals for activation of a motor and hydraulic pump ( not shown ) to generate movement of the hydraulic cylinders 40 and 88 , or other mechanisms implemented to affect motion of various components of the system 10 . another controller ( not shown ) may be provided for accepting user commands for directing the activity of hydraulic cylinders 72 and 84 to induce movement of the hitch assembly 48 and axle assembly 74 . the squeeze assembly 86 includes directing plate 94 , contact plate 96 and brace bars 98 . directing plate 94 is slidably coupled with one of the vertical or horizontal structural members 24 , 26 of the base frame 12 on one end 100 thereof , and pivotably connected with the contact plate 96 on an opposing end 102 thereof . the brace bars 98 are each pivotably coupled with a base frame structural member 24 , 26 on one end 104 thereof , and with the contact plate 96 on an opposing end 106 thereof . a bracket member 108 extends from the right side or second side section 20 of the alley 22 . the hydraulic cylinder 88 has one end 110 possessing a pivot connection with the bracket member 108 and an opposing end 112 possessing a pivot connection with one of the brace bars 98 ; alternatively , the opposing end 112 may have a pivot connection with the contact plate 96 . extension of the hydraulic cylinder 88 causes rotation of the brace bars 98 away from the base frame structural members 24 , 26 on the second side section 20 of the alley 22 , the contact plate 96 to move inwardly in the alley 22 , and the one end 100 of the directing plate 94 to slide forwardly along a guide ( not shown ) on one of the base frame 12 structural members 24 , 26 . this movement arranges the squeeze assembly 86 as shown in fig7 to provide less lateral space in the confinement area 90 . retraction of the hydraulic cylinder 88 causes the brace bars 98 to rotate towards the second side section 22 of the alley 20 , the contact plate 96 to move outwardly in the alley 22 , and the directing plate end 100 to slide rearwardly . accordingly , the squeeze assembly 86 provides increased lateral space in the confinement area 90 , as shown in fig8 . when an animal is entering the confinement area 90 past the wedge - shaped doors 34 , or leaving the confinement area 90 by moving past the headgate 32 out the alley exit 30 , the squeeze assembly 86 is typically moved to the retracted position shown in fig8 . conversely , the squeeze assembly 86 may be moved to the extended position shown in fig7 when an animal is in the confinement area 90 for receiving veterinary care or other services , so that there is little room for the animal to try and move laterally or turn around . however , if an animal is too large to fit in the lateral dimension between the contact plate 96 and the first side section 18 or left side of the alley 22 when the squeeze assembly 86 is in the extended position , the assembly 86 may be held in the retracted position while that particular animal is being handled . the movement of cattle though the alley 22 is best understood with reference to fig5 – 8 . upon the system 10 being lowered to the ground , cattle may enter in a single file line through entrance 28 of the alley 22 . the wedge - shaped doors 34 are initially in the fully open position o d , as seen in fig1 – 3 . once a first cow passes the appropriate door 34 ( e . g ., the leading door 34 a for smaller cows , trailing door 34 b for larger cows ) and into the confinement area 90 , such door 34 will quickly move to the closed position c d to prevent the cow from backing out of the area 90 and obstruct the travel of other successive cows into the area 90 . additionally , when the cow has moved sufficiently forward , the headgate 32 will move inwardly to an entrapping position to prevent the animal from leaving through the alley exit 30 . simultaneous with movement of the appropriate door 34 to the closed position , or anytime thereafter , the squeeze assembly 86 may move to the extended position such that contact plate 96 narrows the width of the alley 22 in the confinement area 90 , further restricting animal movement . because the doors 34 are solid and cannot be seen through by successive cows , these cows generally tend to not push on the doors 34 to reach the leading cow , thereby putting less stress on the doors 34 and other components of the system 10 . at this point , the veterinarian or other person performing procedures on the entrapped animal may enter through an opening 114 in the left side or alley first side section 18 formed by the respective wedge - shaped door 34 that has moved to the closed position c d or to another position away from the fully - open position o d inwardly into the alley 22 a sufficient amount for the person to pass through the opening 114 without the animal blocking their path . subsequently , the wedge - shaped door 34 that has moved to the closed position c d is moved to the partially open position po d so that successive cattle can see the leading cow entrapped in the confinement area 90 . this tends to make the successive cattle want to follow the lead cow into the confinement area 90 . the lead cow is then released by moving the headgate outwardly into a releasing position and the contact plate 96 of the squeeze assembly 86 moves to the retracted position so that the animal can easily move through exit 30 and out of the alley 22 . the respective door 34 in the partially - open position po d is then moved to the fully - open position o d so that the next cow in line behind the lead cow can move into the confinement area 90 . this next cow in line tends to want to follow the lead cow out of the alley exit 30 , so it will naturally move forward in the alley 22 , as will other successive cows in line with respect to the cow ahead of them . as soon as this cow attempts to follow the lead cow out of the alley exit 30 , the headgate 32 will move to the entrapping position to capture the cow . at generally the same time , or at any time after the following cow has cleared the forward point of the respective door 34 ( at the bracing member 46 ), the door will immediately move to the closed position c d to prevent additional cows from attempting to enter the confinement area 90 , and if needed , the squeeze assembly 86 will move to extend the contact plate 96 towards the confined animal . again , the particular door 34 in motion depends on the size of the animal being confined ( e . g ., leading door 34 a for small cows , trailing door 34 b for large cows ). at this point , the process can be repeated for each cow to be treated . because , as shown in fig9 , the hitch assembly 48 may be rotated upwardly , cows can easily move out of the alley exit 30 without having to avoid the hitch assembly 48 . the wedge - shape of the doors 34 is advantageous for a couple of reasons . first , the shape of the doors 34 provides a degree of longitudinal space in the alley 22 between the leading cow and the next cow in line . at the same time , the doors 34 are sufficiently narrow near the pivot point at the left side or side section 18 of the alley 12 . this ensures that the door 34 is balanced about the pivot , making it easy to swing , and does not protrude excessively into the alley 22 when in the fully - opened position o d , nor outside the alley 22 which could interfere with the movements operator of the system 10 . fig9 and 10 show an additional feature that may be implemented with the system 10 of the present invention . a sorting gate 116 may be coupled with one of the forward vertical members 66 of the base frame 12 by a set of clamps 118 . these clamps 118 allow the sorting gate 116 to swing or pivot relative to the base frame 12 . ideally , the clamps 118 attach with one forward vertical member 66 at either the left or right side ( i . e ., on first or second side sections 18 or 20 ) of the frame 12 . the sorting gate 116 is formed to have a first section 120 extending from the clamps 118 and hingedly connected with a second section 122 . the second section 122 has a vertical rod 124 arranged to extend through an opening 126 in the coupling member 50 of the hitch assembly 48 . however , other means may be used to affix the position of the sorting gate second section 122 with respect to the hitch assembly 48 . this configuration for the sorting gate 116 allows the operator to direct animals leaving through the exit 30 of the alley in a certain direction , for example , to a particular holding pen for a certain type of cattle ( e . g ., dairy or beef cattle , male or female cattle , adult cows and calves , etc .). in the arrangement shown in fig1 , animals leaving the alley 22 are directed to their right . the clamps 118 may be moved to the forward vertical member 66 on the right side of the frame 12 , if desired , which would then position the sorting gate 116 to direct the travel of animals leaving the alley exit 30 to their left , opposite of what is shown in fig1 . from the forgoing , it can be seen that various embodiments and features of the animal management system 10 of the present invention provide a safe , efficient and effective tool for arranging cattle or other animals to receive various procedures , such as those performed by veterinarians . the system 10 may also be transportable for use in various locations where cattle may be located . furthermore , since certain changes may be made in the above invention without departing from the scope hereof , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense .	1
the novel compounds encompassed by the instant invention can be described by general formula i : ## str12 ## and pharmaceutically acceptable non - toxic salts thereof wherein : n is 0 , 1 or 2 ; r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 are the same or different and represent hydrogen or straight chain or branched lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl , each of which is mono or disubstituted with halogen , hydroxy , amino , mono or dialkylamino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or straight or branched chain lower alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- or &# 39 ; 4 , -- cor 4 , -- co 2 r 4 , -- ocor 4 , or r 4 , where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 5 is hydrogen or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , and nr 4 r 5 is n - alkyl - piperazyl , - morpholyl , - piperidyl , or - pyrrolidyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; nr 4 co 2 r 6 where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 6 is phenyl or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; or -- c ( oh ) r 7 r 8 where r 7 and r 8 are the same or different and represent straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms , phenyl or phenylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; x is ## str13 ## with the proviso that when x is ## str14 ## t is oxygen or sulfur and r 10 is hydrogen , straight or branched chain lower alkyl containing 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; or cor 11 where r 11 is hydrogen , amino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or dialkylamino where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; and when x is ## str15 ## r 9 is hydrogen , halogen , cyano , aryloxy , or alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , amino , phenylamino , mono - or dialkylamino where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl amino where the alkyl portion is a straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; cor 11 where r 11 is hydrogen , amino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or dialkylamino where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; or conhr 12 where r 12 is hydrogen or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms . the invention also encompasses compounds of formula ii : ## str16 ## and pharmaceutically acceptable non - toxic salts thereof wherein : w is phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl , each of which is mono or disubstituted with halogen , hydroxy , amino , mono or dialkylamino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or straight or branched chain lower alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- or 4 , -- cor 4 , -- co 2 r 4 , -- ocor 4 , or r 4 , where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 5 is hydrogen or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , and nr 4 r 5 is n - alkyl - piperazyl , - morpholyl , - piperidyl , or - pyrrolidyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; nr 4 co 2 r 6 where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 6 is phenyl or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; or -- c ( oh ) r 7 r 8 where r 7 and r 8 are the same or different and represent straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms , phenyl or phenylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; and hydrogen , halogen , aryloxy , alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms or ocor 11 where r 11 is hydrogen , amino , straight or branched chain alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or dialkyl amino where each alkyl is a straight or branched chain alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms . the invention additionally encompasses compounds of formula iii : ## str17 ## and pharmaceutically acceptable non - toxic salts thereof wherein : w is phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl ; or phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl , each of which is mono or disubstituted with halogen , hydroxy , amino , mono or dialkylamino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or straight or branched chain lower alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- or &# 39 ; 4 , -- cor 4 , -- co 2 r 4 , -- ocor 4 , or r 4 , where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 5 is hydrogen or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , and nr 4 r 5 is n - alkyl - piperazyl , - morpholyl , - piperidyl , or - pyrrolidyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; nr 4 co 2 r 6 where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 6 is phenyl or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; or -- c ( oh ) r 7 r 8 where r 7 and r 8 are the same or different and represent straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms , phenyl or phenylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; furthermore the invention encompasses compounds of formula iv : ## str18 ## and pharmaceutically acceptable non - toxic salts thereof wherein : w is phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl ; or phenyl , thienyl , oxazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl or pyridyl , each of which is mono or disubstituted with halogen , hydroxy , amino , mono or dialkylamino , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , or straight or branched chain lower alkoxy having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- or 4 , -- cor 4 , -- co 2 r 4 , -- ocor 4 , or r 4 , where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 5 is hydrogen or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; -- conr 4 r 5 or --( ch 2 ) n nr 4 r 5 where n = 0 , 1 , or 2 , and nr 4 r 5 is n - alkyl - piperazyl , - morpholyl , - piperidyl , or - pyrrolidyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms ; nr 4 co 2 r 6 where r 4 is hydrogen , phenyl , thienyl , straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , phenylalkyl or thienylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , and r 6 is phenyl or straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms ; or -- c ( oh ) r 7 r 8 where r 7 and r 8 are the same or different and represent straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms , phenyl or phenylalkyl where each alkyl portion is straight or branched chain lower alkyl having 1 - 6 carbon atoms . non - toxic pharmaceutical salts include salts of acids such as hydrochloric , phosphoric , hydrobromic , sulfuric , sulfinic , formic , toluene sulfonic , hydroiodic , acetic and the like . those skilled in the art will recognize a wide variety of non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable addition salts . representative compounds of the present invention , which are encompassed by formula i , include , but are not limited to the compounds in figure i and their pharmaceutically acceptable salts . the present invention also encompasses the acylated prodrugs of the compounds of formula i . those skilled in the art will recognize various synthetic methodologies which may be employed to prepare non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable addition salts and acylated prodrugs of the compounds encompassed by formula i . by lower alkyl in the present invention is meant straight or branched chain alkyl groups having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , such as , for example , methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , sec - butyl , tert - butyl , pentyl , 2 - pentyl , isopentyl , neopentyl , hexyl , 2 - hexyl , 3 - hexyl , and 3 - methylpentyl . by lower alkoxy in the present invention is meant straight or branched chain alkoxy groups having 1 - 6 carbon atoms , such as , for example , methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy , n - butoxy , sec - butoxy , tert - butoxy , pentoxy , 2 - pentyl , isopentoxy , neopentoxy , hexoxy , 2 - hexoxy , 3 - hexoxy , and 3 - methylpentoxy . by halogen in the present invention is meant fluorine , bromine , chlorine , and iodine . by n - alkylpiperazyl in the invention is meant radicals of the formula : ## str19 ## where r is a straight or branched chain lower alkyl as defined above , the pharmaceutical utility of compounds of this invention are indicated by the following assay for gabaa receptor activity . assays are carried out as described in thomas and tallman ( j . bio . chem . 156 : 9838 - 9842 , j . neurosci . 3 : 433 - 440 , 1983 ). rat cortical tissue is dissected and homogenized in 25 volumes ( w / v ) of 0 . 05m tris hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .). the tissue homogenate is centrifuged in the cold ( 4 °) at 20 , 000 × g for 20 &# 39 ;. the supernatant is decanted and the pellet is rehomogenized in the same volume of buffer and again centrifuged at 20 , 000 × g . the supernatant is decanted and the pellet is frozen at - 20 ° c . overnight . the pellet is then thawed and rehomogenized in 25 volume ( original wt / vol ) of buffer and the procedure is carried out twice . the pellet is finally resuspended in 50 volumes ( w / vol of 0 . 05m tris hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 40 ° c .). incubations contain 100 μl of tissue homogenate , 100 μl of radioligand 0 . 5 nm ( 3 h - ro15 - 1788 specific activity 80 ci / mmol ), drug or blocker and buffer to a total volume of 500 μl . incubations are carried for 30 rain at 4 ° c . then are rapidly filtered through gfb filters to separate free and bound ligand . filters are washed twice with fresh 0 . 05m tris hcl buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) and counted in a liquid scintillation counter 1 . 0 μm diazepam is added to some tubes to determine nonspecific binding . data are collected in triplicate determinations , averaged and % inhibition of total specific binding is calculated . total specific binding = total - nonspecific . in some cases , the amounts of unlabeled drugs is varied and total displacement curves of binding are carried out . data are converted to a form for the calculation of ic 50 and hill coefficient ( n h ). data for the compounds of this invention are listed in table i . table i______________________________________compound number . sup . 1 ic . sub . 50 ( um ) ______________________________________ 1 0 . 007 5 0 . 00712 0 . 40013 0 . 80014 0 . 01018 0 . 01021 0 . 00324 0 . 03025 0 . 00328 0 . 15031 2 . 033 0 . 10039 5 . 050 0 . 0551 0 . 003______________________________________ compounds 1 , 5 , 21 , 25 , 50 and 51 are particularly preferred embodiments of the present invention because of their potency in binding to the gabaa receptor . the compounds of general formula i may be administered orally , topically , parenterally , by inhalation or spray or rectally in dosage unit formulations containing conventional non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers , adjuvants and vehicles . the term parenteral as used herein includes subcutaneous injections , intravenous , intramuscular , intrasternal injection or infusion techniques . in addition , there is provided a pharmaceutical formulation comprising a compound of general formula i and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . one or more compounds of general formula i may be present in association with one or more non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and / or diluents and / or adjuvants and if desired other active ingredients . the pharmaceutical compositions containing compounds of general formula i may be in a form suitable for oral use , for example , as tablets , troches , lozenges , aqueous or oily suspensions , dispersible powders or granules , emulsion , hard or soft capsules , or syrups or elixirs . compositions intended for oral use may be prepared according to any method known to the art for the manufacture of pharmaceutical compositions and such compositions may contain one or more agents selected from the group consisting of sweetening agents , flavoring agents , coloring agents and preserving agents in order to provide pharmaceutically elegant and palatable preparations . tablets contain the active ingredient in admixture with non - toxic , pharmaceutically acceptable excipients which are suitable for the manufacture of tablets . these excipients may be for example , inert diluents , such as calcium carbonate , sodium carbonate , lactose , calcium phosphate or sodium phosphate ; granulating and disintegrating agents , for example , corn starch , or alginic acid ; binding agents , for example starch , gelatin or acacia , and lubricating agents , for example magnesium stearate , stearic acid or talc . the tablets may be uncoated or they may be coated by known techniques to delay disintegration and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby provide a sustained action over a longer period . for example , a time delay material such as glyceryl monosterate or glyceryl distearate may be employed . formulations for oral use may also be presented as hard gelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with an inert solid diluent , for example , calcium carbonate , calcium phosphate or kaolin , or as soft gelatin capsules wherein the active ingredient is mixed with water or an oil medium , for example peanut oil , liquid paraffin or olive oil . aqueous suspensions contain the active materials in admixture with excipients suitable for the manufacture of aqueous suspensions . such excipients are suspending agents , for example sodium carboxymethylcellulose , methylcellulose , hydropropylmethylcellulose , sodium alginate , polyvinylpyrrolidone , gum tragacanth and gum acacia ; dispersing or wetting agents may be a naturally - occurring phosphatide , for example , lecithin , or condensation products of an alkylene oxide with fatty acids , for example polyoxyethylene stearate , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with long chain aliphatic alcohols , for example heptadecaethyleneoxycetanol , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and a hexitol such as polyoxyethylene sorbitol monooleate , or condensation products of ethylene oxide with partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol anhydrides , for example polyethylene sorbitan monooleate . the aqueous suspensions may also contain one or more preservatives , for example ethyl , or n - propyl p - hydroxybenzoate , one or more coloring agents , one or more flavoring agents , and one or more sweetening agents , such as sucrose or saccharin . oily suspensions may be formulated by suspending the active ingredients in a vegetable oil , for example arachis oil , olive oil , sesame oil or coconut oil , dr in a mineral oil such as liquid paraffin . the oily suspensions may contain a thickening agent , for example beeswax , hard paraffin or cetyl alcohol . sweetening agents such as those set forth above , and flavoring agents may be added to provide palatable oral preparations . these compositions may be presented by the addition of an anti - oxidant such as ascorbic acid . dispersible powders and granules suitable for preparation of an aqueous suspension by the addition of water provide the active ingredient in admixture with a dispersing or welling agent , suspending agent and one or more preservatives . suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents are exemplified by those already mentioned above . additional excipients , for example sweetening , flavoring and coloring agents , may also be present . pharmaceutical compositions of the invention may also be in the form of oil - in - water emulsions . the oily phase may be a vegetable oil , for example olive oil or arachis oil , or a mineral oil , for example liquid paraffin or mixtures of these . suitable emulsifying agents may be naturally - occurring gums , for example gum acacia or gum tragacanth , naturally - occurring phosphatides , for example soy bean , lecithin , and esters or partial esters derived from fatty acids and hexitol , anhydrides , for example sorbitan monoleate , and condensation products of the said partial esters with ethylene oxide , far example polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoleate . the emulsions may also contain sweetening and flavoring agents . syrups and elixirs may be formulated with sweetening agents , for example glycerol , propylene glycol , sorbitol or sucrose . such formulations may also contain a demulcent , a preservative and flavoring and coloring agents . the pharmaceutical compositions may be in the form of a sterile injectable aqueous or oleaginous suspension . this suspension may be formulated according to the known art using those suitable dispersing or wetting agents and suspending agents which have been mentioned above . the sterile injectable preparation may also be sterile injectable solution or suspension in a non - toxic parentally acceptable diluent or solvent , for example as a solution in 1 , 3 - butanediol . among the acceptable vehicles and solvents that may be employed are water , ringer &# 39 ; s solution and isotonic sodium chloride solution . in addition , sterile , fixed oils are conventionally employed as a solvent or suspending medium . for this purpose any bland fixed oil may be employed including synthetic mono - or diglycerides . in addition , fatty acids such as oleic acid find use in the preparation of injectables . the compounds of general formula i may also be administered in the form of suppositories for rectal administration of the drug . these compositions can be prepared by mixing the drug with a suitable non - irritating excipient which is solid at ordinary temperatures but liquid at the rectal temperature and will therefore , melt in the rectum to release the drug . such materials are cocoa butter and polyethylene glycols . compounds of general formula i may be administered parenterally in a sterile medium . the drug , depending on the vehicle and concentration used , can either be suspended or dissolved in the vehicle . advantageously , adjuvants such as local anaesthetics , preservatives and buffering agents can be dissolved in the vehicle . dosage levels of the order of from about 0 . 1 mg to about 140 mg per kilogram of body weight per day are useful in the treatment of the above - indicated conditions ( about 0 . 5 mg to about 7 g per patient per day ). the amount if active ingredient that may be combined with the carrier materials to produce a single dosage form will vary depending upon the host treated and the particular mode of administration . dosage unit forms will generally contain between from about 1 mg to about 500 mg of an active ingredient . it will be understood , however , that the specific dose level for any particular patient will depend upon a variety of factors including the activity of the specific compound employed , the age , body weight , general health , sex , diet , time of administration , route of administration , and rate of excretion , drug combination and the severity of the particular disease undergoing therapy . an illustration of the preparation of compounds of the present invention is given in schemes i and ii . ## str20 ## wherein those having skill in the art will recognize that the starting materials may be varied and additional steps employed to produce compounds encompassed by the present invention , as demonstrated by the following examples . the invention is illustrated further by the following examples which are not to be construed as limiting the invention in scope or spirit to the specific procedures and compounds described in them . a mixture of ethyl - 4 , 4 - dicarboethoxycyclohexanone - 2 - carboxylate ( 100 g ) and guanidine carbonate ( 18 . 9 g ) and dry ethanol ( 200 ml ) was refluxed for 2 . 5 h . the mixture was cooled and 300 ml water and 20 ml acetic acid were added . the precipitate that formed was collected and air dried to yield 2 - amino - 6 , 6 - dicarboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 4 ( 3h )- quinazolinone . to a solution of 2 - amino - 6 , 6 - dicarboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 4 ( 3h )- quinazolinone ( 75 g ) in acetic acid ( 250 ml ) at reflux was added a solution of sodium nitrite ( 75 g ) in water ( 100 ml ) in a dropwise fashion over a period of 45 min . the solution was cooled and the solvent removed in vacuo . the subsequent addition of 300 ml of water precipitated a solid which was collected and dried to yield 6 , 6 - dicarboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 , 4 ( 1h , 3h )- quinazolinedione . a solution of of 6 , 6 - dicarboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 , 4 ( 1h , 3h )- quinazolinedione ( 25 g ) in 1n naoh ( 350 ml ) was stirred at 40 ° c . for 35 min . the solution was cooled in an ice bath and acidified with 35 ml of concentrated hcl . the precipitate that formed was collected and refluxed in 20 ml of dimethylformamide ( dmf ) for 2 h . the reaction was cooled and the dmf removed in vacuo . to the resulting mixture 40 ml of water was added and the solid collected and dried to yield 6 - carboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 , 4 ( 1h , 3h )- quinazolinedione . a mixture of 6 - carboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 , 4 ( 1h , 3h )- quinazolinedione ( 7 . 12 g ) and pocl 3 ( 100 ml ) was refluxed overnight . the mixture was cooled and the excess pocl 3 removed in vacuo . after the mixture was further cooled to 0 ° c ., 20 ml of dry ethanol was added and the resulting mixture neutralized to ph 7 with 10 % aqueous ammonium hydroxide . the solid which precipitated was collected and dried to yield 6 - carboethoxy - 2 , 4 - dichloro - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydroquinazoline . a mixture of 6 - carboethoxy - 2 , 4 - dichloro - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydroquinazoline ( 7 . 68 g ), 2 - propanol ( 7 ml ) and 30 % ammonium hydroxide ( 12 ml ) was heated in a sealed tube at 130 ° c . for 20 min . the tube was cooled and 20 ml of h 2 o was added to the mixture . the solid which precipitated was collected and dried to yield 4 - amino - 6 - carboethoxy - 2 - chloro - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydroquinazoline . a mixture of 4 - amino - 6 - carboethoxy - 2 - chloro - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydroquinazoline ( 6 . 4 g ) and concentrated hcl ( 10 ml ) was refluxed for 20 min . after the solvent was removed in vacuo , 250 ml ethanol saturated with hcl was added , and the mixture was further refluxed for 1 hour . the solvent was subsequently removed in vacuo and 15 ml of water was added to the mixture . the solution was then brought to ph 4 with 30 % ammonium hydroxide and the solid subsequently collected and dried to yield 4 - amino - 6 - carboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 ( 1h )- quinazolinone . a solution of 4 - amino - 6 - carboethoxy - 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - tetrahydro - 2 ( 1h )- quinazolinone ( 262 mg ) and 2 &# 39 ;- fluoro - bromoacetophenone ( 217 mg ) in dry dmf ( 10 ml ) was refluxed under nitrogen for 1 . 5 h . the solution was cooled and 40 ml water is added . the precipitate was collected and washed successively with 10 ml of methanol and 20 ml hot ethyl acetate to yield 9 - carboethoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 1 ), m . p . 257 °- 277 ° c . the following compounds were prepared essentially according to the procedures described in examples i - vii : to 10 ml of 2 - propanol saturated with hcl gas was added 9 - carboethoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 100 mg ) and the mixture was heated in a sealed tube at 150 ° c . for 1 h . the reaction was cooled and the solvent was evaporated in vacuo . to the reaction mixture was added 10 ml of h 2 o and the mixture was then brought to ph 7 with ammonium hydroxide . the solid was collected and dried to yield 9 - carboisopropoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 14 ), m . p . 282 °- 285 ° c . the following compounds were prepared essentially according to the procedure of example ix : to 20 ml of 1n naoh was added 9 - carboethoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 400 mg ). after the solid dissolved , the mixture was stirred for 40 minutes at 60 ° c ., cooled and the ph adjusted to 3 with concentrated hcl . the solid was collected and dried to yield 9 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 17 ), m . p .& gt ; 325 ° c . a mixture containing 9 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 150 mg ) and 1 , 1 - carbonyldiimadazole ( 120 mg ) in dmf ( 5 ml ) was heated to 60 ° c . for 15 rain after which time the reaction was cooled and 2 ml of dimethylamine added . the reaction was allowed to stand at room temperature for 1 hour . to the mixture was then added 10 ml of h 2 o and the resultant product was collected and dried to yield 9 -( n , n - dimethylcarbamyl )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 18 ), m . p .& gt ; 325 ° c . the following compounds were prepared essentially according to the procedure of example xii : to 100 ml of anhydrous tetrahydrofuron was added 9 -( n , n - dimethylcarbamyl )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 70 mg ). the mixture was refluxed until the solid had completely dissolved . refluxing was ceased and 100 mg of lithium aluminum hydride was added to the solution . this mixture was allowed to stand for 20 min before being quenched with ethyl acetate . the quenched reaction mixture was filtered through celite and the solvent removed in vacuo to yield an oil . the oil was then dissolved in 5 ml of ethyl acetate and to this ethyl acetate solution was added 1 ml of hcl saturated ethyl acetate . a solid precipitated which was collected and dried to yield 9 -( n , n - dimethylaminomethyl )- 2 -( 2 - fluoropenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one monohydrochloride ( compound 24 ), m . p .& gt ; 325 ° c . the following compound was prepared essentially according to the procedure of example xiv : to 10 ml of anhydrous t - butanol was added 9 - carboxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 327 mg ), diphenylphosphorylazide 275 mg ), and triethylamine ( 100 mg ). the resulting mixture was refluxed for 14 hours and the solvent removed in vacuo . the mixture was then triterated with 10 ml hot methanol and the resultant solid was collected , washed with ethyl acetate , and dried to yield 9 -( t - butoxycarbonylamino )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 28 ), m . p .& gt ; 325 ° c . to 10 ml of trifluoroacetic acid was added 9 -( t - butoxycarbonylamino )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 100 mg ). after the solid dissolved , the solution was stirred for 20 minutes and the tfa removed in vacuo . to the residue was added 10 ml of water followed by sufficient saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the mixture . the mixture was subsequently cooled and the solid collected to yield 9 - amino - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 29 ), m . p .& gt ; 325 ° c . to 50 ml of pocl 3 was added 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 600 mg ) and the resultant mixture was refluxed for 48 h . the mixture was then cooled and the pocl 3 was removed in vacuo . to the residue was added 20 ml of water and the ph adjusted to 7 with ammonium hydroxide . after cooling , the precipitated solid was collected to yield 5 - chloro - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 30 ). m . p . 175 °- 176 ° c . to 5 ml of benzylamine was added 5 - chloro - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 150 mg ) and the resulting mixture heated at 100 ° c . for 20 min . after 10 ml of water was added to the mixture , it was cooled and the solid that precipitated was collected . the solid was recrystallized from ethanol / water to yield 5 -( n - benzylamino )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 31 ), m . p . 144 °- 145 ° c . the following compounds were prepared according to the procedure of examples xviii and xix : to 10 ml anhydrous methanol was added 100 mg of sodium , and the mixture was stirred to ensure all the sodium had dissolved . next , 5 - chloro - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 200 mg ) was added and the mixture refluxed for 1 h . to this mixture was added 2 ml of acetic acid and the solvent was then removed under reduced pressure . the resulting solid was recrystallized from ethanol and collected to yield 5 - methoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 37 ), m . p . 160 °- 161 ° c . the following compounds were prepared essentially according to the procedure of example xxi : to a solution of 700 mg of potassium fluoride and 200 mg 18 - crown - 6 in 10 ml of dmf was added 5 - chloro - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 200 mg ). this mixture was refluxed for 1 . 5 h , cooled to room temperature and poured into water . the aqueous solution was extracted with ethyl acetate , the organic layer was separated and dried , and the solvent removed m vacuo to yield 5 - fluoro - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 41 ), m . p . 154 °- 155 ° c . a mixture of 5 - chloro - 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 200 mg ), triethylamine ( 0 . 5 ml ), and 100 mg of 10 % palladium on carbon catalyst in 200 ml ethanol was hydrogenated at 30 psi for 4 hours . the reaction mixture was then filtered through celite , and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the resulting mixture was chromatographed using 30 % ethyl acetate / hexane as eluant to yield 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 42 ), m . p . 175 °- 181 ° c . the following compound was prepared essentially according to the procedure of example xxiv : to a solution of 200 mg of potassium cyanide and 300 mg of 18 - crown - 6 in 20 ml of acetonitrile was added 5 - chloro - 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 220 mg ). the mixture was refluxed for 2 hours , cooled and poured into water . the aqueous layer was extracted with dichloromethane , the organic layer separated and dried and the solvent removed in vacuum . the resultant crude reaction mixture was chromatographed using 15 % ethyl acetate / hexane as eluent to yield 5 - cyano - 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 44 ), m . p . 203 °- 205 ° c . &# 34 ; the following compound can be prepared essentially according to the procedure set forth above in example xxvi : 5 - cyano - 2 - fluorophenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imadazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin &# 34 ;. to 5 . 0 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid was added 5 - cyano - 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( 80 mg ). the resulting solution was then heated at 100 ° c . for 10 min , poured into cold saturated aqueous k 2 co 3 and the solid collected and dried . the solid was extracted with dichloromethane and the solvent removed in vacuo to yield crude product . the product was chromatographed using 5 % methanol / methylene chloride as eluent to yield 5 - carboxamido - 2 - phenyl - 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 45 ), m . p . 260 °- 261 ° c . to a solution of 9 - carboethoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 110 mg ) in 15 ml of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran was added 2 ml of 1 . 8m phenylithium . the reaction was allowed to stand for 15 minutes and then quenched with 1 ml of 10 % acetic acid . the solvent was removed in vacuo and the crude reaction mixture triterated with water . the solid was then collected and dried to yield 9 -( diphenylhydroxymethyl )- 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 46 ), m . p . 315 °- 318 ° c . a mixture of 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( 283 mg ) and 50 % sodium hydride ( 144 mg ) in dmf ( 5 ml ) was stirred at room temperature for 15 min . acetyl chloride ( 1 ml ) was added and stirring was continued for 30 min . the reaction was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with water . after drying over magnesium sulfate , the solvent was removed in vacuo and he residue was subjected to flash chromatography on silica gel with 30 % ethyl acetate in hexane as the eluent to afford 6 - acetyl - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazolin - 5 ( 6h )- one ( compound 47 ) and 5 - acetoxy - 2 -( 2 - fluorophenyl )- 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 - tetrahydro - imidazo [ 1 , 2 - c ]- quinazoline ( compound 48 ) as white solids . the following additional examples were prepared essentially according to the procedures described in examples ivii : the following additional example was prepared essentially according to the procedure described in example xxix : the invention and the manner and process of making and using it , are now described in such full , clear , concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains , to make and use the same . it is to be understood that the foregoing describes preferred embodiments of the present invention and that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims . to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter regarded as invention , the following claims conclude this specification .	2
the present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings , wherein like elements are referred to with the same reference numerals . the invention is related to medical devices used to introduce a contrast media fluid into a patient , preferably at high pressure and with a large flow rate . specifically , the devices according to the invention may be used to inject the contrast media using a picc . as described above , where repeated access to the vascular system is required , a semi - permanent central venous catheter may be inserted in a vein kept in place for up to two years . a picc typically comprises a flexible elongated portion tunneled from a remote peripheral location ( an arm or leg ) to a location near the heart . the proximal end of the picc may be accessed via a port placed , for example , subcutaneously in the arm or chest of the patient or which may remain outside of the body . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , the pressure exerted by the fluid is a function of the flow rate , the viscosity and the cross sectional flow area of the catheter , among other variables . accordingly , limitations on the fluid pressure and / or flow rate are often specified for various types of catheters to ensure that the catheter will not be damaged during use by excessive strains . however as mentioned above , modern imaging methods often rely on the introduction of contrast fluids at high flow rates . the catheter according to the present invention , may be used for both central venous access and the injection of contrast media decreasing patient discomfort and the time and expense of procedures . the catheter according to this invention , e . g ., a picc venous catheter , is at least partially reinforced to enhance its burst pressure and maximum flow rate to levels suitable for the introduction of contrast media without compromising kink resistance or increasing the cross sectional profile of the catheter , as compared to conventional picc devices . for example , a catheter according to the present invention will withstand a flow rate of about 4 to about 6 cc / sec and a pressure of more than about 300psi typical of power injection devices . a reinforcement is included in the exemplary catheter according to the invention to increase the burst pressure . in one embodiment , both the shaft of the catheter and an extension tube thereof are reinforced , to give a substantially uniform resistance to the increased pressure . alternatively , only the shaft may be reinforced . fig1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a catheter comprising a reinforced portion in accord with the present invention . the exemplary catheter 100 is a dual lumen catheter in which the lumens 110 are separated by a partition 108 extending along a longitudinal axis of the catheter 100 . in the exemplary embodiment , the catheter 100 has a layered construction , in which layers of stronger material are formed near layers of more flexible material to obtain desired mechanical characteristics of an outer wall 102 . for example , an outer layer 104 of a material having a lower durometer value may be used , to retain the flexibility of a conventional catheter . materials such as members of the polyurethane family that are alcohol compatible may be used advantageously in this function . an inner portion 106 of the catheter shaft wall 102 may be made of a material with a higher durometer value , to give strength to the composite assembly . for example , high strength thermoplastic polyurethanes , polyether block - amides and polyolefines may be used . it is often necessary , in the course of a catheterization procedure , to adjust the length of the portion of the catheter inserted into the patient . generally , the surgeon cuts a distal portion of the catheter to a desired length . thus , in the case of a catheter 100 reinforced according to the present invention , the reinforcing material is preferably selected so that it can be easily cut with a blade . the exemplary materials described above fall within this category , so that the reinforced catheter 100 may be cut to a desired length using conventional methods . alternatively , a material that is more difficult to cut may be used and / or a portion of the catheter 100 may be left unreinforced so that it may be cut . for example , the weakest portions of the catheter , such as the portion immediately distal to the suture wing , may be reinforced , leaving a 20 - 40 cm section of the tip of the catheter unreinforced . because the portion immediately distal to the suture wing is one of the weakest and most likely to fail , reinforcement around the weak areas will prevent most failures from occurring . the unreinforced section of the catheter will continue to permit surgeons to easily cut the catheter in conventional manners , such as with a blade . according to the present embodiment , the catheter 100 may be composed of various layers with each layer being formed of a material of different hardness , thereby allowing the catheter 100 to be atraumaticly inserted while exhibiting an improved resistance to the pressures associated with high flow rate power injection . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , the manufacture of the catheter 100 may be accomplished using a co - extrusion or a lamination process . for example , the softer , more flexible outer layer 104 of the shaft wall 102 may be co - extruded with the stiffer , higher durometer inner layer 106 . this configuration provides both the flexible outer portion and the pressure resistant inner portion of the catheter 100 . the co - extrusion process may be carried out with polymers that are either compatible or non - compatible with one another . if non compatible polymers are used , it may be necessary to provide an intermediate tie layer along an interface 112 between the outer layer 104 and the inner layer 106 . in this exemplary embodiment , a soft thermoplastic polyurethane ( tpu ) may be used for the outer layer 104 while a stiff polyester block - amide ( peba ), a stiff polyether block - amide , polyolefin or polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) may be used for the inner layer 106 . the outer tpu exhibits softening while within the body , giving the desired flexibility , etc ., and allowing atraumatic insertion . however the peba of the inner layer 106 retains its inherent strength and resistance to pressure . fig2 shows a second embodiment of the catheter 120 according to the invention . in this exemplary embodiment , the shaft wall 122 is reinforced by an inner layer 126 of a material with greater durometer values . here , instead of an entire inner portion of the shaft 120 formed of a higher durometer material as in the example of fig1 , both the inner layer 126 and the outer layer 124 are formed of lower durometer , more flexible material . specifically , the outer layer 124 of the wall 122 as well as the inner core 132 of a lumen divider 128 are formed from one piece of the lower durometer material . to this basic catheter shaft is then added a coating of higher durometer material on the inner sides of the two lumens 110 , forming the inner layer 126 of the wall 122 as well as outer portions 130 of the divider 128 . this embodiment provides for a flexible outer surface of the catheter 120 , together with increased mechanical reinforcement of the stiffer lining of the dual lumens 110 . alternatively , the inner layers 126 , 130 may be part of a separate tube of smaller diameter which is inserted into , but not bonded to the shaft of the catheter 120 . a further exemplary embodiment of a catheter shaft according to the invention is shown in fig3 . in this case , the increased resistance to fluid pressure within the lumens 110 is provided by a braid included therewithin . as shown , the catheter 140 includes an outer wall 142 comprising a braid 144 , shown here in cross section . the braid 144 may be formed of any of a variety of materials , depending on the amount of additional pressure resistance desired . the braid 144 may be formed , for example , of a metal or alloy such as nitinol or stainless steel . a material having shape memory properties may be especially well suited for reinforcement braids used in extension tubes of the catheter . in use , the proximal ends of these catheters are clamped shut between uses . thus , the reinforcing braid will preferably be selected so that it will not retain the clamped shape , but will return to the original tubular shape when the clamping force is released . as would be understood by those skilled in the art , for catheters which are to be used in conjunction with mri , the braid 144 is preferably formed of a non - ferro - magnetic material , for example , kevlar , vectran , silk , members of the polyolefin family and other types of polymer or other suitable material . a variation of the braid reinforcement is shown in cross section in fig4 . the exemplary embodiment shown there comprises a braid 154 together with a dual material layered construction of the wall 152 . the catheter shaft 150 includes two lumens with an inner portion 156 of the wall 152 formed of a material having an increased durometer with respect to a material comprising an outer portion 158 thereof . all of the variations in design described above with respect to the embodiments of fig1 - 3 may also be applied to the construction of the exemplary catheter shaft 150 . it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the radial location of the braid 154 within the wall 152 of the catheter shaft 150 may also be varied . it will also be apparent that the same reinforced construction methods described herein may be used for other components of a catheter , such as extension tubes , or for other medical tubes . in a different embodiment , the reinforcement braid may be disposed on the outside of the catheter body . for example , fig5 shows a dual lumen catheter 160 having an outer wall 162 and a braid 164 disposed outside the surface of the wall 162 . this configuration may provide manufacturing benefits compared to a configuration in which the braid 164 is embedded within the material of the catheter wall . for example , the braid 164 may be added to the assembly after the catheter has been formed by extrusion . the braid 164 may then be bonded to the catheter wall 162 , or may be left free to slide longitudinally relative to the catheter . in this latter embodiment , the user may be allowed to longitudinally move the external braid to a desired position . to further improve the pressure resistance and ultimate hoop strength of the base catheter material , micro particles may be added to the compound forming the catheter wall . the micro particles ( sometimes referred to as nano - particles , depending on their size ) may include clay and fumed silica . fig6 shows an exemplary embodiment , in which a catheter shaft 170 is formed with a wall 172 comprising strengthening particles 174 . the presence of the micro particles 174 increases the radial stiffness of the catheter wall 172 , resulting in a more durable and more pressure resistant base material for the catheter . the distribution of the micro particles 174 both radially and longitudinally along the catheter 170 may be selected to obtain desired mechanical properties of the device . for example , a more pliable section of the catheter may be formed by locally reducing the amount of micro particles 174 added to the material of wall 172 while areas of increased stiffness may be created by increasing the amount of micro particles 174 in a region . as an alternative to introducing strengthening particles into the catheter material , cross linking agents may be incorporated into the base material of the catheter shaft . for example , agents such as silanes , dicumyl peroxide , maleic anhydride and functionalized polymers may be added . these agents are effective in partially cross - linking thermoplastic polymers . activation of the cross linking agents may be accomplished in a conventional manner , for example through secondary exposure to high energy sources such as electron beams to increase the strength of the base material . as indicated above , both the radial and tangential distribution of cross linking agents through the material of the catheter shaft may be selected to obtain desired mechanical properties , as would be understood by those skilled in the art . it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that the various methods described herein to increase the strength of a catheter shaft wall may be applied selectively to certain portions of the catheter in question . for example , fig7 shows a catheter shaft 200 having a reinforced portion 204 and an unreinforced portion 202 . the reinforced portion 204 may comprise any of the reinforcement elements or treatments described above , such as a mesh 206 embedded within wall 208 of the catheter shaft 200 . it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that different types or combinations of reinforcements may be used , such as an external mesh , a layered multi - material composite structure , or the addition of reinforcing particles in the wall material . in the example depicted in fig7 , the shaft wall 208 is altered along its length , in the longitudinal direction . however , for different applications , the variation in structural reinforcement may be carried out in the angular direction or in the radial direction , as was described above . the non - uniform reinforcement construction may be applied to both catheter shaft and to the extension tubes , as needed . in one exemplary application , the longitudinal variation in the strength of catheter wall 208 may be used to allow the user to trim the distal end of the catheter shaft 200 , to provide a better fit in the patient . leaving the unreinforced portion 202 without the reinforcement elements 206 included elsewhere ( i . e ., in reinforced portion 204 ) to increase pressure resistance allows the user to cut the wall 208 more easily , the reinforcement elements 206 may thus be selected to have greater strength , since it is not necessary that the user be able to cut therethrough to trim the catheter shaft 200 to the desired length . in one example , between about 15 cm and 20 cm of the distal end of catheter shaft 200 may form the unreinforced portion 202 . in another exemplary application , the wall of shaft 200 may be composed of varying materials , or may be otherwise reinforced by different amounts along its length to allow for increased strength and durability at specified stress points . these points of increased stress may occur during power injection of a fluid only at certain locations , such as near the injection point or near bends in the catheter . in this manner , the additional material used to strengthen the catheter may be targeted where it is most effective , without having to reinforce the entire catheter . this construction may be simpler and less costly than forming a catheter with reinforcements along its entire length . according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention , the catheter shaft or the extension tube may be constructed with an inherent weak point designed to fail before the rest of the device does . when the catheter experiences excessive pressure , the extension tube will fail and release the pressure , leaving the catheter shaft intact . the extension tube may be formed with a tapered region of lesser strength , or by profiling the wall thickness of the tube to create the designated failure point . as shown in fig8 , a catheter extension tube 250 comprises a reduced thickness portion 252 in which the wall 254 is much thinner and is , at this point , able to withstand a pressure reduced with respect to the rest of the catheter . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the wall thickness reduction may be achieved by removing material from the outside of the wall ( as shown ), the inside of the wall or both . in another embodiment , the inherent weak point may be formed by making either or both of the inside and outside diameters of the tube irregular in cross section . the non uniform wall thickness thus created , for example in the extension tube , defines specific sites for failure of the tube . as shown in the example of fig8 , a rectangular inner profile 256 of the extension tube 250 may be placed within a generally circular extension tube 250 . this configuration may be used to define four thin walls 258 at the corners of the profile 256 , which will tend to fail before thicker portions of the wall . in addition , the corners 260 act as stress concentrators , further ensuring that the extension tube 250 will fail at the location of the rectangular profile 256 when subject to excessive pressure . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the rectangular profile 256 may be used separately or in conjunction with the reduced thickness portion 252 , as desired in specific applications . the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , and more specifically to a picc catheter used for power injection of contrast media used in ct imaging . however , other embodiments may be devised that are applicable to other medical devices and procedures , without departing from the scope of the invention . accordingly , various modifications and changes may be made to the embodiments , particularly with regard to dimensions and materials , without departing from the broadest spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims that follow . the specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive illustrative rather than restrictive sense .	0
referring to fig1 the reference numeral 10 denotes an external gear pump . pump 10 includes a body 12 with a gear chamber 14 which is enclosed by a rear cover plate 16 and a front cover plate 18 , both being fastened to body 12 by any suitable means , such as machine screws . disposed in gear chamber 14 is a pair of meshing gears 20 and 22 which preferably are formed integrally with shafts 24 and 26 , respectively . shaft 24 is journaled for rotation in a pair of cylindrical bearings 28 and 30 pressed into bores 32 and 34 in cover plates 16 and 18 , respectively . similarly , shaft 26 is journaled for rotation in a pair of cylindrical bearings 36 and 38 pressed into bores 40 and 42 in cover plates 16 and 18 , respectively . shaft 26 is a drive shaft and extends outwardly through cover plate 18 past a seal assembly 48 . a cavity 50 in cover plate 16 connects bores 32 and 40 and a similar cavity 52 connects bores 34 and 42 in cover plate 18 . referring now also to fig2 and 3 , it will be seen that pump 10 includes an inlet or low pressure port 44 and an outlet or high pressure port 46 . both ports are located in rear cover plate 16 and communicate with gear chamber 14 on opposite sides of meshing gears 20 and 22 . pump 10 is a pressure loaded pump , and so includes a pair of pressure plates 54 and 56 located in gear chamber 14 on opposite sides of gears 20 and 22 . both pressure plates are arranged to have high pressure fluid communicated to a portion of their surfaces remote from the side faces of gears 20 and 22 so they are biased against the gear side faces in order to provide a highly effective seal between the pressure plate and gear side faces . pump 10 , as thus far described , is old and well known in the art . i will now describe my novel low pressure lubrication system for use with pump 10 . insofar as this lubrication system is concerned , the construction of the pump to the right of gears 20 and 22 , as viewed in fig1 can be considered to be identical with the construction of the pump to the left side of gears 20 and 22 . therefore , only that portion of the lubrication system located to the right of gears 20 and 22 will be described in detail , but it should be understood that the entire lubrication system includes an arrangement of grooves and fluid passages to the left of gears 20 and 22 which is identical with those which will be described to the right of gears 20 and 22 . referring now to fig3 there is a recess in the inner surface of cover plate 16 which communicates with inlet port 44 and with a pair of fluid passages 60 and 62 in plate 16 . fluid passages 60 and 62 ( see ( fig4 ) in turn communicate with cavity 50 so that fluid passage means is provided between inlet 44 and the outboard ends of bearings 28 and 36 . referring now alos to fig1 and 5 , all of the bearings are provided with a pair of grooves 64 and 66 . each groove 64 extends longitudinally only partially along the inner diameter of the associated bearing from the outboard end thereof . similarly , each groove 66 extends longitudinally only partially along the inner diameter of the associated bearing from the inboard end thereof . as is best shown in fig5 grooves 64 and 66 are located substantially diametrically opposite each other and approximately 90 ° away from the line of force 68 pressing shaft 26 against bearing 36 . bearing 36 has a running diametrical clearance with shaft 26 of approximately 0 . 004 inches ( 0 . 10 mm ). thus , when pump 10 is in operation so that gears 20 and 22 are being biased apart , line of force 68 will push shaft 26 to the position shown in fig5 so that shaft 26 is running on a very thin film of oil between it and bearing 36 . this provides a crescent shaped chamber 70 which at its widest is approximately 0 . 004 of an inch ( 0 . 10 mm ) and extends approximately from groove 64 around to groove 66 . the importance of chamber 70 will be explained shortly . while only the relationship between shaft 26 and bearing 36 has been explained in this regard , it will be understood that a similar situation exists for all of the bearings and shafts in the pump . turning now to fig2 it will be seen that a groove 72 on the inner surface of pressure plate 54 serves to place the inboard end of bearing 28 in fluid communication with inlet port 44 . similarly , a groove 74 serves to place the inboard end of bearing 36 in fluid communication with inlet port 44 . similar grooves in pressure plate 56 serve to place bearings 30 and 38 in fluid communication with inlet port 44 as well . in describing the operation of my imroved low pressure lubrication system , it will be assumed that shaft 26 is being driven in the direction indicated by arrow 76 which , due to the meshing of gears 20 and 22 , will cause shaft 24 to be driven in the direction indicated by arrow 78 . as a result fluid will be drawn into pump 10 through inlet port 44 and discharged from pump 10 through outlet port 46 . during operation of pump 10 each shaft and bearing assembly functions as a viscous shear pump . specifically , referring to fig5 fluid which is in chamber 70 tends to cling to shaft 26 , and so is carried along with shaft 26 as it rotates in the direction indicated by arrows 80 ; however , as the fluid approaches the area of groove 66 , chamber 70 decreases substantially in volume so that some of the fluid in chamber 70 is forced out through groove 66 . by the same token , the fluid that is being carried along in chamber 70 due to its tendency to cling to shaft 26 is moving away from groove 64 so the fluid that is being pulled away tends to cause a lower pressure at this area with the result that fluid is drawn into chamber 70 through groove 64 . as will now be obvious , shaft 26 and bearing 36 act as a viscous shear pump drawing or pulling fluid into chamber 70 through groove 64 and forcing fluid out of chamber 70 through groove 66 . since groove 64 is in fluid communication with inlet 44 through cavity 50 , passage 62 and recess 58 and groove 66 is in fluid communication with inlet port through groove 66 , there is provided a complete circuit of low pressure lubricating fluid flow from inlet port 44 , past bearing 36 and back to inlet port 44 . while the operation of my low pressure lubrication system has been described in detail only for that portion of the system regarding shaft 26 and bearing 36 it should be understood that the same operation and viscous shear pump action occurs for all of the shaft and bearing assemblies in the pump . while only a single embodiment of my invention has been described , it will be understood that various modifications can be made to my invention without departing from the spirit and scope of it . for example , depending upon manufacturing processes , the various fluid passages communicating the inboard and outboard ends of the bearings with inlet port 44 can be in various locations other than those specifically shown in the preferred embodiment . therefore , the limits of my invention should be determined from the appended claims when considered in light of the prior art .	5
the following presents a new method for fabricating an electrically actuated switch having , for example , applications as a memristor . as discussed above , a memristor is a device having at least a region or layer capable of hosting and transporting dopants and at least a second region or layer for providing the dopants . in contrast with previous manufacturing techniques which deposit the second region from a single material that contains the dopants or adds a material to remove dopants , the method described here deposits the second region from either a mixture of differently doped materials or a mixture of a material and an environment containing dopants . the two methods of mixing and depositing the second region may also be combined . embodiments of the method allow all layers to be deposited using a single manufacturing process , thus removing the need for intermediate steps which add complexity and may expose the materials to oxidation . such a method thus lends itself to continuous manufacturing . in one embodiment , the process is carried out with a single lithographic step . this could be realized in various ways such as : optical lithography , electron - beam lithography , nano - imprint lithography or substrate conformal imprint lithography . an example of such a process is illustrated in fig2 , and is described as follows : i . a photo - resist layer 8 is laid down on a substrate 7 and is exposed through a mask 9 to uv light 10 . development of the resist removes certain portions of the photo - resist ; ii . a bottom electrode 11 is deposited ; iii . a first material is deposited in an environment containing an inert gas ( such as argon ) to create the first active region 12 ; iv . the same or different material is deposited in an environment where a reactive gas is present ( such as oxygen ) to create the second active region 13 ; v . a top electrode 14 is deposited . vi . lift - off removes material above the extant photo - resist to reveal the final memristor devices 15 . the deposition of all layers can be performed at room temperature , with no need for a temperature - annealing step as described in previous techniques . each sub - layer can be of any thickness from a few nanometres ( nm ) to a micrometer . a variation of the process described above is shown in fig3 , where a masking layer 16 is laid down as a final layer , subsequently patterned using for example photolithography , and an etchant used to remove the undesired portions . the process may take place in a high - vacuum chamber . for example , the chamber may initially be at 10 − 7 mbar for the deposition of the electrode . during the deposition of the active regions 12 , 13 , the pressure may increase to 2 × 10 − 2 mbar as the inert and / or reactive gas is introduced . in one exemplary embodiment , the argon flow is 12 sccm ( standard cubic centimeters per minute ) for step iii above , becoming 12 sccm of o 2 during step iv above . deposition of materials may be done with any suitable technique , such as : electron beam evaporation , knudsen cell evaporation , rf sputtering from a target material , as well as other known chemical vapour deposition methods . the thickness of the first active region 12 may range from 1 nm to 100 nm and the range of the second region 13 may be the same . in one embodiment , the thickness is 75 nm for the whole active region 12 , 13 . whilst previous devices have been limited to the nanometer scale because the memristance effect was believed to decrease with the square of active region thickness , using devices manufactured according to the processes described here it has been found that the memristance effect is even present on a micro - scale and varies with the volume of the active region . thus memristors having larger cross - sectional areas are possible by compensating with a very thin film active region . for example a memristor may be made having plan - view dimension of 50 micrometers × 50 micrometers , for a cross - sectional area of 2500 square micrometers . memristors with plan - view dimensions of only a few nanometers have also been made . in an alternative embodiment , the process of fabricating the active layer illustrated in fig2 at step ( iv ) is : iv . depositing material for the second region 13 concurrently from two or more materials , at least one of which provides a dopant species . fig4 illustrates deposition of the second region from two source materials 17 , 18 , with the specimen identified by reference numeral 20 . in an exemplary embodiment , the first source material 17 is tio 2 and the second source material 18 is tio 2 + x ( where “ x ” represents a fractional amount of extra oxygen atoms per tio 2 structure ), the resulting second region being a mixture of the two materials having a net excess of o 2 ions . in general , the combined utilisation of two or more source materials , one of which is conductive , results in the deposition of a composite layer that will contain conductive defects . furthermore the concentration of the defects will depend on the relative concentration of the source materials which can be controlled by the deposition method . it is also possible to reverse the order of the deposition of the first and second regions . for example , the dopant - rich second region 13 may be deposited before the dopant - free first region 12 . it is also possible to combine the techniques described above to create a second region from two or more source materials deposited in an environment where a reactive gas 19 , for example oxygen , is present . the resulting concentration of dopants in this region will depend on the ratio of source materials and the partial pressure of the reactive gas . from the foregoing description of the fabrication of the first and second regions , it is possible to manufacture an electrically actuated switch having an active layer with two distinct regions with a dopant step - change interface therebetween or an active region with a continuously varying doping distribution . fig5 is an illustration of a cross - section of an electrically actuated switch manufactured using a tio 2 source target and an oxygen - rich environment . the switch has a step change in dopants within the active layer , creating a tio 2 sub - layer 12 and tio 2 + x sublayer 13 . the arrows indicate the displacement of the mobile charge on the upper layer , depending on the applied biasing . such a switch is manufactured using the process above where there is a step change in the source materials and / or the environment . in one embodiment for fabricating the active layer of an electrically actuated switch , deposition of the active layer material begins in an environment where an inert gas is initially present . the flow is gradually reduced and at the same time the flow of a reactive gas ( such as oxygen ) is gradually increased . in another embodiment for fabricating the active layer of an electrically actuated switch , deposition of the active layer material begins with a first material ( e . g . an insulator ). the rate of deposition of the first material is gradually reduced and , at the same time , the rate of deposition of a second material ( e . g . conductive material ) is gradually increased . fig6 is an illustration of a cross - section of an electrically actuated switch manufactured using the novel technique . in contrast to fig5 , there is no step - change in dopant concentration . rather , this switch has an active layer 21 where the relative tio 2 / tio 2 + x ratio changes substantially continuously across the device . the distribution may vary linearly or non - linearly depending on the characteristics desired . the arrows indicate the displacement of the mobile charge on the upper layer , according to the applied biasing . since manufacturing is performed in an ( initially ) evacuated chamber , the individual interfaces are exposed to controlled gases in controlled amounts instead of air , thus resulting in greater control over the interface quality and greater consistency in device characteristics . in principle , the primary material for the first region can be any source material for depositing a material that acts as a host for the ions . a list of potential primary materials is summarised in table 1 . similarly a secondary material ( used in the case of depositing two source materials for the second region ) may be any material which provides a dopant species . a list of potential secondary materials is also summarised in table 1 . it is also possible to choose a mixture of primary materials for the first region and / or a mixture of primary materials and secondary materials for the second region . the dopant species that results from the secondary material or reactive gas is listed also in table 1 . the reactive gas is any gas that contributes a dopant species by reacting with the primary or secondary material to create a new material with an excess of the dopants . for example , oxygen , nitrogen or fluorine may be used . in contrast , the inert gas does not contribute a dopant and does not react with the primary or secondary material . for , example , argon , neon , xenon or krypton may be used . the following describes in more detail a method of manufacturing memristors , having two variants . these involve the use of a deposition chamber that includes both electron - gun and rf - sputtering evaporation sources and employs contact optical lithography and lift - off for depositing the platinum electrodes and the titanium oxide switching layers . more specifically , the top and bottom electrodes consist of electron - gun evaporated ti / pt bilayers with respective thicknesses of 5 and 15 nm . the switching layers consists of two successive 30 nm - thick titanium - oxide layers , sputtered off a stoichiometric tio2 target at a pressure of 1 . 8 × 10 − 2 mbar and a rf ( 13 . 56 mhz ) power density of 8 w / cm2 . the first region is deposited in the presence of 12 sccm flow of argon gas and the second region is deposited in the presence of 12 sccm flow of oxygen gas . two distinct fabrication approaches have been tested using the above conditions . the first one involved deposition of the bottom memristor electrode together with the switching layers in a single lithography and lift - off step . the top intersecting electrode was then fabricated following a second lithography , evaporation and lift - off process . both these lithographic steps were performed by using an enhanced photoresist profile consisting of a double layer of sub - micron resolution positive photoresist ( az 5214 e , clariant ). in more detail , the first layer was flood - exposed prior to the spinning of the second layer , followed by exposure of the desired pattern through a photomask and subsequent development of both layers . as a result of this process , an undercut was formed in the first layer as shown in fig7 , the extent of which can be reproducibly controlled by varying the development time . according to this process , whilst the top layer can retain a dimension close to the nominal value , an undercut of over six microns can be formed within the bottom resist layer . this process makes it possible to lift - off sputter - evaporated layers , something not usually achievable with standard photoresist profiles , given the conformal step coverage of sputter deposition . importantly , the resulting undercut profile can also be used to shrink electrode width towards nanoscale dimensions , if required , by employing angle evaporation , as shown in fig7 . in this case , the undercut in the photoresist profile , apart from facilitating lift - off , also serves to accommodate the offsets required to shrink electrode lateral dimensions . by using angle evaporation in combination with the enhanced photoresist profile , it is possible to shrink electrode lateral dimensions controllably to below 100 nm . a second memristor fabrication technique approach involves the deposition of the whole active stack ( top and bottom electrodes and switching layers ) in a single lithography and evaporation step , without exposing the unfinished device to ambient conditions , leading to high - quality interfaces with reproducibly controlled characteristics . in more detail , a ti / au contact pad is first made on a silicon substrate , onto which the whole stack is deposited via lift - off in a single lithography step . then , a silicon nitride passivating layer is sputter - deposited and a window etched to uncover the memristor stack as well as the contact pad . finally , a second contact pad is deposited onto the silicon nitride layer to provide a connection to the top end of the memristor stack . the first fabrication approach described above offers a cost - effective method of realising memristors by using standard photolithography and lift - off . these devices can be used for characterisation purposes as well as for integration up to a moderate density . as the method is compatible with the angle evaporation technique , it is possible to shrink electrode width down to under 100 nm without resorting to expensive tools . the device stack has to be exposed to ambient prior to the completion of the fabrication process , which may be a concern with regard to the quality and reproducibility of the interfaces . however , this interruption is designed to occur at the top interface , involving an oxygen - rich titanium oxide layer and the titanium layer of the memristor top electrode . the second fabrication approach also uses standard lithography and lift - off but offers higher interface quality , as the whole of the device stack is deposited in one continuous step without exposure to ambient conditions . the same method can be combined with nanoimprint lithography to yield reliable nanoscale devices . memristors , fabricated with both processing approaches described above , have been characterised . dc current - voltage measurements were performed “ on - wafer ” by contacting the top and bottom device electrodes with a pair of wentworth probes , connected with a keithley 4200 semiconductor characterisation system . since the properties of the devices are dependent upon their previous state , the measurement procedure was of great significance . thus , all devices were initially biased at the maximum negative voltage (− 5v ), then the applied bias was ramped up to the maximum voltage of 5v in 50 mv , 1 ms long steps and finally back to − 5v again , in the same manner . for device protection purposes , current limiting to +/− 100 ma was applied throughout all measurements . typical current - voltage characteristics of 1 μm × 1 μm memristors , fabricated with the first approach described above , are shown in the graphs of fig8 ( with fig8 a illustrating a detail of the graph of fig8 a ). transition from a high - resistance state ( off state ) to a low resistance state ( on state ) occurs at a bias of around +/− 1 v . furthermore , there is an evident broadening of the hysteresis loop after each consecutive scan ( three scans are illustrated in fig8 ). similar memristive response was also observed on devices fabricated with the second method , as shown in the graphs of fig9 ( for which two scans are illustrated ). in this case , the device cross - section was 5 μm × 5 μm and perhaps this was the reason that transition from an off to an on state is not as clear as in the devices of the first technique . however , the broadening of the hysteresis loop after the second scan is more pronounced and the characteristic curves for all scans are smoother , suggesting a better quality device core . these techniques make it possible to realise the full active stack in one continuous step and to controllably shrink the memristor electrodes towards nanoscale width dimensions in a cost - effective way . devices of various dimensions have been fabricated and characterised . dc current - voltage measurements show reproducible electrical response that is consistent with memristive behaviour . the non - linear dynamics of the memristor as well as its “ plasticity ” are properties that resemble the chemical synapse and have recently attracted significant interest within the “ neuromorphic ” community . artificial synaptic networks could in principle imitate the way the human brain functions , particularly the processing and storing of information perceived by the body &# 39 ; s sensory network . thus , networks comprising high - densities of interconnected memristors have great potential for imitating the large number of synapses between neighbouring neurons . although the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments as set forth above , it should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative only and that the claims are not limited to those embodiments . those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and alternatives in view of the disclosure which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the appended claims . each feature disclosed or illustrated in the present specification may be incorporated in the invention , whether alone or in any appropriate combination with any other feature disclosed or illustrated herein .	7
the techniques in accordance with the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown . this invention may , however , be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein . rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete and fully conveys the scope of the invention to one skilled in the art . the same reference numerals are used to denote the same elements throughout the specification . the elements may have different interrelationships and different positions for different embodiments . the terms used herein are for illustrative purposes of the present invention only and should not be construed to limit the meaning or the scope of the present invention . as used in this specification , a singular form may , unless definitely indicating a particular case in terms of the context , include a plural form . also , the expressions “ comprise ” and / or “ comprising ” used in this specification neither define the mentioned shapes , numbers , steps , actions , operations , members , elements , and / or groups of these , nor exclude the presence or addition of one or more other different shapes , numbers , steps , operations , members , elements , and / or groups of these , or addition of these . terms such as “ first ,” “ second ,” etc . are used to describe various components . however , it is obvious that the components should not be defined by these terms . the terms are used only for distinguishing one component from another component . thus , a first component which will be described may also refer to a second component without departing from the scope of the present invention . spatially relative terms , such as “ top ,” “ bottom ,” “ upper ,” “ left ,” “ right ,” “ above ,” “ below ,” and the like , may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature &# 39 ; s relationship to another element ( s ) or feature ( s ) as illustrated in the figures . it will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures . it will also be understood that when an element , such as an electrical component , is described as being “ coupled to ,” or “ electrically coupled to ” another element , it may be directly coupled to the other element , or one or more intervening elements may be present in the coupling . in contrast , when an element is referred to as being “ directly coupled to ” another element or layer , there are no intervening elements present . it may be appreciated that the claims of the application may be amended to recite exemplary relationships described in the specification or shown in the figures with the support thereof being provided by the original application . the term “ and / or ” used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items . fig1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary full - bridge dc - output converter 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention . converter 100 comprises an input port 101 to receive a source of power ( at a voltage vin ) to be converted , an output port 102 to provide a dc output power at a voltage vout , a bridge circuit 110 that applies the input power to a transformer t 1 , a rectifying circuit 120 coupled to the secondary side of transformer t 1 , an output inductor lout coupled between the rectifying circuit 120 and the output port 102 , and an output capacitor cout coupled in parallel with output port 102 . transformer t 1 has a primary winding , a first secondary winding ( top secondary winding ), second secondary winding ( bottom secondary winding ), and a parasitic leakage inductance l lk that naturally results from the winding construction of the transformer . rectifying circuit 120 has a first diode d 1 coupled between the top secondary winding and output inductor lout , and a second diode d 2 coupled between the bottom secondary winding and output inductor lout . a large dot notation has been given at one terminal of each transformer winding to show the orientation of the winding relative to other windings . a voltage designation may be assigned to each winding , such as vpr for the primary winding . without loss of generality , the positive side of the winding &# 39 ; s voltage designation will be assigned to the terminal with the large dot . when a voltage is applied to the transformer &# 39 ; s primary winding , a voltage is generated at each of the secondary windings in relation to the turns ratio 1 : n of the transformer . in the schematic diagrams shown herein , wires that cross one another do not make electrical contact to one another unless there is a small dot shown at their crossing . bridge circuit 110 comprises a first switch s 1 and second switch s 2 coupled in series at a first node n 1 , and a third switch s 3 and fourth switch s 4 coupled in series at a second node n 2 . each switch s 1 - s 4 comprises a semiconductor switching device ( such as a mosfet , bjt , igbt , etc . ), which has a parasitic capacitance disposed in parallel with the switch &# 39 ; s conduction terminals ( e . g ., source and drain for mosfet , emitter and collector for bjt and igbt ) and may have a parasitic conduction diode similarly disposed . if the parasitic conduction diode is not present in the semiconductor device for the switch , a diode or rectifier may be coupled in parallel with the conduction terminals of the semiconductor device . each semiconductor device also has a modulation terminal ( e . g ., gate , base , etc . ), to which a control signal is applied to control the flow of current between the device &# 39 ; s conduction terminals . the modulation terminals are schematically shown in fig1 by the arrow symbols next to the switches . the series combination of switches s 1 and s 2 are coupled in parallel with input port 101 , and the series combination of switches s 3 and s 4 are coupled in parallel with the input port 101 . each of nodes n 1 and n 2 is electrically coupled to a terminal of the primary winding of transformer t 1 . as described below in greater detail , one of the nodes , such as node n 2 , may be coupled to the primary winding by way of a resonant inductor l r to increase the range of zero - voltage switching for converter 100 . if resonant inductor l r is used , diodes d 3 and d 4 may be added to limit the positive and negative voltage excursions at the inductor &# 39 ; s terminal that is coupled to transformer t 1 ( the anode of d 3 is coupled to l r , the cathode of d 3 is coupled to the positive side of input port 101 , the anode of d 4 is coupled to the negative side of input port 101 , and the cathode of d 4 is coupled to l r ). if resonant inductor l r is not used , a direct connection 105 ( shown by a dashed line ) may be used . resonant inductor l r may be coupled to either of nodes n 1 or n 2 ; fig1 illustrates the inductor as being coupled to node n 2 . equivalently , the position of the combination of switches s 1 and s 2 may be swapped with the position of the combination of switches s 3 and s 4 . accordingly , it should be understood that the recitations of first switch , second switch , third switch , fourth switch , first transistor , second transistor , third transistor , and fourth transistor in the claims and in the brief summary of the invention section encompass each of these configurations . that is , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the first switch and first transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 1 or switch s 3 , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the second switch and second transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 2 or switch s 4 , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the third switch and third transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 3 or switch s 1 , and the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the fourth switch and fourth transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 4 or switch s 2 . when in a conducting state , the semiconductor device of a switch s 1 - s 4 may have a voltage drop of 0 . 15 v or less across its conduction terminals . this voltage is translated to the conduction terminals of the switch . the parasitic conduction diode of a switch s 1 - s 4 , if present , has a voltage drop of about 0 . 6 v to 0 . 8 v when conducting ; and a rectifier added to a switch s 1 - s 4 may have a voltage drop as low as about 0 . 3 v when conducting . when the semiconductor device of a switch is conducting , the parasitic diode or added rectifier is not conducting , or only conducting an insignificant amount of the current flowing through the switch ( e . g ., less than 1 %). typically , the semiconductor device of a switch is intended to control the flow of current in a particular direction for the switch ( such as in the direction that provides power to transformer t 1 ). the parasitic diode , or added rectifier , is oriented to conduct in the opposite direction so as to allow current flow when forward biased and to limit the voltage across the semiconductor device when the semiconductor device is not conducting , and thus to act as a safety mechanism . when placed in a conducting state by the control signal at its modulation terminal , the current flow through the semiconductor device can typically flow in either direction ( bi - directional conducting ). in contrast , each of the parasitic diode and added rectifier only conducts in one direction ( uni - directional conducting ). to simplify the description herein , when a switch s 1 - s 4 is referred to as being closed , conducting , or in a conducting state , it means that the switch &# 39 ; s semiconductor device is in a conducting state ; and when a switch s 1 - s 4 is referred to as being opened , non - conducting , or in a non - conducting state , it means that the switch &# 39 ; s semiconductor device is in a non - conducting state and that the parasitic diode ( if present ) or added diode / rectifier ( if present ) may conduct current if the voltage present across the switch &# 39 ; s conduction terminals permits such conduction . switches s 2 and s 3 may be closed ( placed in conducting states ) at the same time to cause power and a positive voltage to be applied to the primary winding of transformer t 1 and to cause current to flow into the dotted terminal of the primary winding ( a positive value of ipr ). this causes current to flow out of the dotted terminal of the transformer &# 39 ; s top secondary winding and through diode d 1 to output inductor lout . the current is sent to output capacitor cout and the load at output port 102 , and returns back to the non - dotted terminal of the top secondary winding . on the other hand , switches s 1 and s 4 may be closed ( placed in conducting states ) at the same time to apply a negative voltage to the primary winding and to cause current to flow out of the dotted terminal of the primary winding ( a negative value of ipr ). this causes current to flow out of the non - dotted terminal of the transformer &# 39 ; s bottom secondary winding and through diode d 2 to output inductor lout . the current is sent to output capacitor cout and the load at output port 102 , and returns back to the dotted terminal of the bottom secondary winding . thus , the application of either positive voltage or negative voltage to the transformer &# 39 ; s primary provides power to output port 102 . the voltage at output port 102 can be regulated by controlling the amount of power provided by output inductor lout , which in turn can be controlled by controlling the time duration that the switch pairs ( s 2 / s 3 , and s 1 / s 4 ) are conducting . when power is not being provided to inductor lout , both of switches s 1 and s 3 are placed in conducting states to provide a voltage near zero volts across the transformer windings so that inductor lout may have a free - wheeling current path through one or both of diodes d 1 and d 2 . this near zero - voltage condition may also be provided by placing both of switches s 2 and s 4 in conducting states . the free - wheeling current of inductor lout is reflected back to the primary winding , and keeps current flowing and energy stored in the transformer &# 39 ; s leakage inductance l lk , and also in resonant inductor l r , if present . each switch of the pair of switches used to provide the zero volts across the primary winding for free wheeling ( i . e ., either s 1 and s 3 , or s 2 and s 4 ) permits current to flow in either direction through its conduction terminals when the switch is placed in a conducting state . this is distinguishable from the body diode associated with the switch , which only permits current flow in one direction through its conduction terminals . thus , the conducting states for these transistors are bidirectional conducting states . an exemplary switching sequence is provided next with reference to the timing diagram shown in fig2 , which shows a timing diagram of the control signals to the modulation terminals of switches s 1 - s 4 , the voltage vpr across the transformer &# 39 ; s primary winding , and the current ipr flowing through the transformer &# 39 ; s primary winding . eight time points t 0 - t 8 are shown in the timing diagram . one full switching cycle occurs between time points t 0 and t 8 . just prior to time point t 0 , the control signal to switch s 1 is in an on state while the control signals to switches s 2 - s 4 are in off states . at time point t 0 , switch s 4 is turned on , and both of switches s 1 and s 4 cause power and a voltage of negative polarity to be applied to the primary winding by way of l lk and l r ( if present ), which causes power to be transferred to inductor lout via diode d 2 . during this time , energy is stored in inductance l lk and inductor l r ( if present ). switch s 4 may then be turned off at time point t 1 , and then a short time duration later , switch s 3 may be turned on at time point t 2 . during this short duration , the current iout through inductor lout flows through the bottom secondary winding and is reflected to the primary winding as a current that flows from switch s 1 into the capacitances coupled to node n 2 , thereby raising the voltage of node n 2 up from zero toward the input voltage level since switch s 4 is off . as such , switch s 3 may be turned on under zero - voltage conditions ( i . e ., zero voltage switching ) or near thereto . the energy in inductance l lk and inductor l r ( if present ) assists in this transition . this voltage transition is relatively fast and energetic due to the presence of the reflected current iout from inductor lout . with switches s 1 and s 3 in conducting states between time points t 2 and t 3 , inductor lout is allowed to free - wheel to achieve a desired control of the output voltage vout . the current for inductor lout flows through both of the secondary windings , but principally in diode d 2 due to transformer action . the energy in each of inductance l lk , inductor l r ( if present ), and output inductor lout decreases during this time duration . prior art full - bridge converters would not have switch s 3 in a conducting state ( on state ) at this time period , and instead would rely upon the parasitic diode of switch s 3 to carry the current flow . however , as part of making his invention , the inventor has recognized that such a configuration leads to conduction losses in the body diode , which can be significant for light duty cycle conditions . it also leads to a faster dissipation of energy in each of inductance l lk , inductor l r ( if present ), and output inductor lout , which lessens the possibility of achieving zero voltage switching in the next time segment between time points t 3 and t 4 . taking the case of a reflected free - wheeling current of 5 a , a forward voltage drop of 0 . 7 v for the body diode of switch s 3 , and an on - resistance of 70 mω for each of switches s 1 and s 3 , the power dissipated in switches s 1 and s 3 during this time segment is approximately 3 . 5 watts , whereas a prior art full - bridge converter would dissipate approximately 5 . 25 watts . according , the invention reduces these conduction losses by approximately 33 % during this time segment . next , switch s 1 may then be turned off at time point t 3 , and then a short time duration later , switch s 2 may be turned on at time point t 4 . during this second short duration , the current supported by the energy stored in the transformer &# 39 ; s leakage inductance l lk , and optionally in resonant inductor l r , now flows out of the capacitances coupled to node n 1 and into switch s 3 ( which is still on ), thereby lowering the voltage of node n 1 from the input voltage level to near zero volts ( since switch s 1 is off ). as such , switch s 2 may be turned on under zero - voltage conditions ( i . e ., zero voltage switching ) or near thereto at time point t 4 . in contrast to the previous voltage transition between time points t 1 and t 2 , relatively little or none of the current of inductor lout is reflected to the primary winding during this transition , and this voltage transition is not as fast or as energetic as the previous voltage transition . this voltage transition is mainly based on the resonant transfer of energy from the leakage inductance l lk and resonant inductor l r ( if present ) to the capacitances coupled to node n 1 . between time points t 4 and t 5 , with both of switches s 2 and s 3 turned on , voltage of a positive polarity and power are applied to the primary winding by way of l lk and l r ( if present ), and power is transferred to inductor lout via diode d 1 . during this time , energy is stored in inductance l lk and inductor l r ( if present ). switch s 2 may then be turned off at time point t 5 , and then , a short time duration later , switch s 1 may be turned on at time point t 6 . during this short duration , the current iout through inductor lout flows through the top secondary winding and is reflected to the primary winding as a current that flows from switch s 3 into the capacitances coupled to node n 1 , thereby raising the voltage of node n 1 up from zero toward the input voltage level since switch s 2 is off . as such , switch s 1 may be turned on under zero - voltage conditions ( i . e ., zero voltage switching ) or near thereto . the energy in inductance l lk and inductor l r ( if present ) assists in this transition . this voltage transition is relatively fast and energetic due to the presence of the reflected current from inductor lout . with switches s 1 and s 3 in conducting states between time points t 6 and t 7 , inductor lout is allowed to free - wheel to achieve a desired control of the output voltage vout . the current for inductor lout flows through both of the secondary windings , but principally through diode d 1 due to transformer action . the energy in each of inductance l lk , inductor l r ( if present ), and output inductor lout decreases during this time duration . prior art full - bridge converters would not have switch s 1 in a conducting state ( on state ) at this time period , and instead would rely upon the parasitic diode of switch s 1 to carry the current flow . however , as part of making his invention , the inventor has recognized that such a configuration leads to conduction losses in the body diode , which can be significant for light duty cycle conditions . it also leads to a faster dissipation of energy in each of inductance l lk , inductor l r ( if present ), and output inductor lout , which lessens the possibility of achieving zero voltage switching in the next time segment between time points t 7 and t 8 . taking the case of a reflected free - wheeling current of 5 a , a forward voltage drop of 0 . 7 v for the body diode of switch s 1 , and an on - resistance of 70 mω for each of switches s 1 and s 3 , the power dissipated in switches s 1 and s 3 during this time segment is approximately 3 . 5 watts , whereas a prior art full - bridge converter would dissipate approximately 5 . 25 watts . according , the invention reduces these conduction losses by approximately 33 % during this time segment . next , switch s 3 may then be turned off at time point t 7 , and then , a short time duration later , switch s 4 may be turned on at time point t 8 . during this second short duration , the current supported by the energy stored in the transformer &# 39 ; s leakage inductance l lk , and optionally in resonant inductor l r , now flows out of the capacitances coupled to node n 2 and into switch s 1 ( which is still on ), thereby lowering the voltage of node n 2 from the input voltage level to near zero volts ( since switch s 3 is off ). as such , switch s 4 may be turned on under zero - voltage conditions ( i . e ., zero voltage switching ) or near thereto at time point t 8 . in contrast to the previous voltage transition between time points t 5 and t 6 , relatively little of the current of inductor lout is reflected to the primary winding during this transition , and this voltage transition is not as fast or as energetic as the previous voltage transition . this voltage transition is mainly based on the resonant transfer of energy from the leakage inductance l lk and resonant inductor l r ( if present ) to the capacitances coupled to node n 2 . time point t 8 corresponds to time point t 0 and completes the switching cycle . in the above example , it may be appreciated that each side of bridge circuit 110 is operated as an asymmetric half - bridge topology , with one side comprising switches s 1 and s 2 , and the other side comprising switches s 3 and s 4 . in each half bridge , one switch ( s 2 or s 4 ) is operated at a duty cycle d , which lies between 0 and 0 . 5 ( 50 %), and the other switch ( s 1 or s 3 ) is at a duty cycle of ( 1 − d − δ ), where δ is the dead time of two voltage transitions ( e . g ., t 1 - t 2 and t 7 - t 8 ). the value of ( 1 − d − δ ) is always greater than 0 . 5 ( 50 %), and may range up to 1 . 00 ( 100 %). the operation of the switches in one half bridge is phase shifted by 180 degrees from the operation of the corresponding switching in the other half bridge . that is to say that the waveform of the control signal to switch s 2 is phase shifted by 180 degrees from that of control signal to switch s 4 , or delayed by a time of 0 . 5 ( t 8 − t 0 ). similarly , the waveform of the control signal to switch s 1 is phase shifted by 180 degrees from that of control signal to switch s 3 , or delayed by a time of 0 . 5 ( t 8 − t 0 ). an exemplary circuit for generating the control signals for switches s 1 - s 4 is provided below . it may be appreciated that one edge of a switch control signal may be set by a clock signal or the like , whereas another edge may be modulated according to d or ( 1 − d − δ ), as the case may be . in a typical implementation , the leading edges of the control signals may be set of a clocking signal and the falling edges may be modulated by a modulation circuit to vary the duty cycle value d as needed to regulate the output voltage to a desired value . it may also be appreciated that the above configuration enables the energy stored in the leakage inductance l lk of the transformer &# 39 ; s primary winding and the resonant inductor l r ( if present ) of the primary to ring the “ open ” midpoint voltage of the primary winding up to positive input voltage (+ vin in fig2 ) or ring down to the negative of the input voltage (− vin ), and to allow zero - voltage turn on of the bridge switches . it may also be appreciated that switches s 1 and s 3 ( the upper bridge switches ) are turned on at the same time during much of the switching cycle , an amount that is on the order of ( 1 − 2d − 2δ ). this time corresponds to time durations t 2 to t 3 and t 6 to t 7 , which are times durations where the output inductor lout is free wheeling . in comparison , the upper bridge switches of a prior art full - bridge dc - output converter are configured to be in non - overlapping conduction state and to be at a near 0 . 5 ( 50 %) duty cycles . as such , a prior art full - bridge dc - output converter relies upon the body diodes of the upper bridge switches to conduct the reflected load current iout and the current of the transformer leakage inductance . as part of making his invention , the inventor has recognized that the conduction of these currents through the body diodes generates a significant power loss , particularly at low values of duty cycle where the free - wheeling time durations occupy a significant amount of the switching cycle . these losses are significantly reduced by the above embodiment of the present invention with both of switches s 1 and s 3 being in conducting states during a significant portion ( e . g ., typically greater than 90 %) of the free - wheeling durations of inductor lout . while this exemplary embodiment has been illustrated with the lower switches s 2 and s 4 having a duty cycle of d and the upper switches s 1 and s 3 having a duty cycle of ( 1 − d − δ ), it may be appreciated that the reverse arrangement may be used ( e . g ., the lower switches s 1 and s 3 having a duty cycle of ( 1 − d − δ ) and the upper switches s 2 and s 4 having a duty cycle of d . accordingly , it should be understood that the recitations of the switching operations of the first switch , second switch , third switch , fourth switch , first transistor , second transistor , third transistor , and fourth transistor in the claims and in the brief summary of the invention section encompass each of these configurations . that is , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the first switch and first transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 1 or switch s 2 , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the second switch and second transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 2 or switch s 1 , the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the third switch and third transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 3 or switch s 4 , and the switching operations of ( e . g ., control signals for ) the fourth switch and fourth transistor recited in the claims and in the brief summary can be applied to switch s 4 or switch s 3 . in general , the switching operations ( e . g ., the control signals for ) the switches s 1 - s 4 of bridge circuit 100 may be interchanged top to bottom for both top - bottom pairs of switches ( one pair being s 1 and s 2 , and the other pair being s 3 and s 4 ), and left to right for both right - left pairs of switches ( one pair being s 1 and s 3 , and the other pair being s 2 and s 4 ). a combination of these interchanges is also possible ( the combination being equivalent to a rotation of 180 degrees or a double diagonal interchange , s 1 with s 4 and s 2 with s 3 ). however , a single diagonal interchange of switching operations ( e . g ., control signals ), such as those for s 1 with those for s 4 or those for s 2 with those for s 3 , is not permitted . in view of the above description , it may be appreciated that an exemplary method of operating converter 100 may comprise the following actions : placing switch s 1 in a conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 3 in a non - conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 4 in a conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 4 in a non - conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 3 in a conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 1 in a non - conducting state , thereafter placing switch s 2 in a conducting state , and thereafter placing switch s 2 in a non - conducting state . fig3 shows an exemplary circuit 200 that may be used to generate exemplary control signals for the switches s 1 - s 4 of converter 100 described above . circuit 200 comprises a divider network that samples the output voltage , a reference , and error amplifier that compares the sampled output voltage and the reference , and a feedback network that generates an error signal . the error signal provides a representation of what the switch duty cycle d should be in order to regulate the output voltage vout to a desired value . circuit 200 further comprises an oscillator , a pulse width modulator , a latch , and a logic gate ( e . g ., or gate ) that are configured to generate an output at the logic gate ( right most signal in fig3 a ) that comprises a series of pulses , each pulse having a width that varies in relation to the desired value of ( 1 − d ). the pulse width modulator can receive a trigger signal from the oscillator or the output the logic gate , where the trigger signal ends the prior modulation cycle and starts a new modulation cycle . in the example shown in fig3 , the pulse width modulator outputs the duty cycle signal in inverted form , with a low voltage for the duty cycle duration “ d ” during the initial portion of the modulation cycle , and a high voltage pulse for the duration of 1 − d during the latter portion of the modulation cycle . ( subsequent circuitry , as described below , inverts the modulation signal before conveying to some of the switches .) however , the pulse width modulation provides its output modulation signal in non - inverted form . in either case , two modulation cycles ( e . g ., two high voltage pulses ) are generated for each switching cycle of converter 100 . it is within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the switching power supply art to arranged the aforementioned components to provide such a pulsed modulation signal , or to construct another arrangement of components to provide the pulsed signal . referring to fig3 b , the pulsed modulation signal is provided a logic circuit ( e . g ., toggle flip - flop , 2 or gates and 2 nor gates ) that generates two sets of initial control signals for the two half bridges . each set of initial control signals has a signal with a pulse width of d and signal with a pulse width of ( 1 − d ). the two sets of initial control signals are phase shifted with respect to one another by 180 degrees ( e . g ., half of a switching cycle ). the initial signals are then provided to respective delay elements that delay the leading edges of the signals by adjustable amounts , which generate the final control signals . the adjustable delay of the delay elements for the “ d ” signals may is denoted as δ1 in the figure , and the adjustable delay of the delay elements for the “ 1 − d ” signals may is denoted as δ2 in the figure . the sum of δ1 and δ2 is δ ( shown in fig2 ). δ1 and δ2 can have the same or different values . the delay elements provide the previously described short durations t 1 - t 2 , t 3 - t 4 , t 5 - t 6 , and t 7 - t 8 for zero - voltage switching . it is within the ability of one of ordinary skill in the switching power supply art to construct and arranged the aforementioned components to provide the initial and final control signals , or to construct another arrangement of components to provide these signals . fig4 shows an embodiment 110 ′ of bridge circuit 110 where switches s 1 - s 4 are implemented by insulated - gate field effect transistors ( igbts ). fig5 shows an embodiment 110 ″ of bridge circuit 110 where switches s 1 - s 4 are implemented by metal - oxide field - effect transistors ( mosfets ). ( capacitance and body diodes , either parasitic or discrete devices , are included for clarity .) referring back to fig1 , while transformer t 1 has been implemented with two secondary windings coupled to rectifying circuit 120 , it may be appreciated that transformer t 1 may be implemented with one secondary winding as a modified transformer t 1 ′ coupled to a rectifying circuit 120 ′ having a full - wave bridge , as shown in fig6 . as another implementation , the modified transformer t 1 ′ may be coupled to a rectifying circuit 120 ″ having two diodes , and the rectifying circuit 120 ″ may be coupled to two output inductors lout 1 and lout 2 , as shown in fig7 . while each of rectifying circuits 120 , 120 ′, and 120 ″ have been illustrated using diodes as the rectifying components , it may be appreciated that synchronous rectifiers ( e . g ., synchronously switched transistors ) or combinations of synchronous rectifiers and diodes may be used in place of the diodes d 1 , d 2 , and db shown in the figures . accordingly , it should be understood that the term “ current rectifying circuit ” encompasses implementations that use diodes , synchronous rectifiers , other current rectifying devices , or combinations thereof . any recitation of “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” is intended to mean one or more unless specifically indicated to the contrary . the terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described , it being recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed . moreover , one or more features of one or more embodiments of the inventions may be combined with one or more features of other embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention . while the present inventions have been particularly described with respect to the illustrated embodiments , it will be appreciated that various alterations , modifications , adaptations , and equivalent arrangements may be made based on the present disclosure , and are intended to be within the scope of the invention and the appended claims .	7
the process for producing the benzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione compound represented by formula ( 1 ) of the present invention is explained in detail below . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 1 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 2 ) can be carried out by deprotecting the protective group ( r 5 ) in a suitable solvent . in the formula , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 and r 5 are as defined above . examples of the lower alkyl group represented by r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , or r 4 include straight or branched c 1 - 6 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , sec - butyl , n - pentyl , neopentyl , n - hexyl and isohexyl , and preferably c 1 - 4 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl and isobutyl . the protective group represented by r 5 for the hydroxy group is , for example , a benzyl group that may be substituted . examples of the substituent of the benzyl group that may be substituted include lower alkyl groups , halogen atoms , cyano groups , lower alkoxy groups , nitro groups , phenyl groups , acyl groups , and the like . the benzene ring of the benzyl group may be substituted with at least 1 to 5 ( particularly 1 to 3 ) substituents selected from these groups . the lower alkyl group can be selected from the lower alkyl groups represented by r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 . examples of the halogen atom include fluorine , chlorine , bromine and iodine . examples of the lower alkoxy group include straight or branched c 1 - 6 alkoxy groups such as methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy and n - butoxy . in particular , c 1 - 4 alkoxy groups are preferable . examples of the acyl group include lower alkanoyl groups ( for example , c 1 - 6 alkanoyl groups ) such as formyl , acetyl , propionyl , hexanoyl and pivaloyl ; lower alkoxycarbonyl groups ( for example , c 1 - 6 alkoxycarbonyl groups ) such as methoxycarbonyl , ethoxycarbonyl , tert - butoxycarbonyl , tert - pentyloxycarbonyl and hexyloxycarbonyl ; aroyl groups such as benzoyl , toluoyl and naphthoyl ; aryl lower alkoxycarbonyl groups ( for example , aryl c 1 - 6 alkoxycarbonyl groups ) that may be substituted with suitable substituents , such as benzyloxycarbonyl , phenethyloxycarbonyl , p - nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl ; and the like . preferable examples of the benzyl group that may be substituted include benzyl , p - methoxybenzyl , 3 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl , 2 , 6 - dimethoxybenzyl , o - nitrobenzyl , p - nitrobenzyl , chlorobenzyl , fluorobenzyl , 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzyl , 2 , 4 - dichlorobenzyl , 2 , 6 - difluorobenzyl , p - cyanobenzyl , p - phenylbenzyl , p - acetylbenzyl , and the like . in the compound represented by formula ( 1 ), the binding position of the hydroxy group on the benzene ring is not particularly limited . examples of the compound represented by formula ( 1 ) include compounds represented by the following formulae ( 1a ) to ( 1d ), and preferably the compounds represented by formulae ( 1a ) and ( 1b ). in the formula , the wavy lines indicate the abbreviation of the structural formulae . as a preferable example of the reaction scheme 1 , reaction scheme 1a is shown below . in the formula , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 and r 5 are as defined above . the case where r 5 is a benzyl group , which is the typical example of this reaction , is explained below . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 1 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 2 ) can be carried out by performing reduction ( debenzylation ) in a suitable solvent in the presence of a catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent . the solvent is not particularly limited , as long as it does not adversely affect the reduction reaction . examples of the solvent include carboxylic acids such as formic acid and acetic acid ; ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; lower alcohols ( for example , c 1 - 6 alcohols ) such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol ; hydrocarbons such as n - hexane and cyclohexane ; esters such as ethyl acetate and methyl acetate ; aprotic polar solvents such as n , n - dimethylformamide ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; and mixture solvents thereof , and preferably c 1 - 3 alcohols such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol . examples of the catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent include palladium black , palladium carbon , palladium hydroxide carbon , platinum carbon , platinum , platinum black , platinum oxide , copper chromite , raney nickel , and the like . the amount of the catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent used is generally 0 . 1 to 40 wt %, and preferably 1 to 20 wt %, relative to the compound represented by formula ( 2 ). the reaction can be generally performed in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1 to 20 atm , preferably 1 to 10 atm , and more preferably 1 to 5 atm . the reaction is generally performed at − 20 to 150 ° c ., and preferably 0 to 100 ° c . the reaction is generally completed in about 0 . 5 to 100 hours . in the reaction , acids such as hydrochloric acid , may be added . in the reaction scheme 1 , the determined protective group ( r 5 ) as described above is used as a protective group of the hydroxy group on the benzene ring . thereby , in the process of producing the compound represented by formula ( 2 ), the hydroxy group on the benzene ring can be suitably protected , and then deprotected under mild conditions to efficiently produce the compound represented by formula ( 1 ). among the aforementioned protective groups ( r 5 ), a benzyl group that may be substituted is particularly preferable . the compound represented by formula ( 2 ) includes the compounds represented by the following formulae ( 2a ) to ( 2i ). the compounds represented by formulae ( 2a ) to ( 2i ) are converted into the corresponding compounds ( 1a ) to ( 1i ) each having a phenolic hydroxy group by the deprotection reaction . next , the processes of producing the compounds represented by formulae ( 2a ) to ( 2i ) are explained below . the compounds represented by formulae ( 2a ) to ( 2c ) can be produced , for example , by the process described in the reaction scheme 2 . in the formula , r 1a , r 2a , r 3a , r 4 and r 5 are as defined above , r 6 represents a lower alkyl group , x a represents a halogen atom , and x b represents a leaving group . examples of the lower alkyl group represented by r 1a , r 2a , or r 3a include straight or branched c 1 - 6 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , sec - butyl , n - pentyl , neopentyl , n - hexyl and isohexyl ; and preferably c 1 - 4 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl and isobutyl . examples of the lower alkyl group represented by r 6 include straight or branched c 1 - 6 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , sec - butyl , n - pentyl , neopentyl , n - hexyl and isohexyl . in particular , c 1 - 3 alkyl groups such as methyl , ethyl and isopropyl are preferable . examples of the halogen atom represented by x a include fluorine , chlorine , bromine and iodine , and preferably chlorine . examples of the leaving group represented by x b include halogen atoms ( for example , fluorine , chlorine , bromine , iodine , etc .) and organic sulfonyloxy groups ( for example , p - toluenesulfonyloxy , methanesulfonyloxy , trifluoromethanesulfonyloxy , nonafluorobutanesulfonyloxy , etc . ), and preferably iodine and p - toluenesulfonyloxy . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 3 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 4 ) can be performed in a suitable solvent . examples of the solvent include water ; ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; lower alcohols ( for example c 1 - 6 alcohols ) such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; and mixture solvents thereof . preferable examples include water ; c 1 - 3 alcohols such as methanol and ethanol , aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene , and mixture solvents thereof . the proportion of the compound represented by formula ( 3 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 4 ) is such that the latter is used in an amount of 0 . 5 to 10 mol , preferably 0 . 8 to 10 mol , and more preferably 1 . 8 to 5 . 0 mol , per mol of the former . the temperature of the reaction is generally − 20 to 150 ° c ., and preferably − 20 to 100 ° c . the reaction is generally completed in about 0 . 5 to 10 hours . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 5 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 6 ) can be carried out in a suitable solvent in the presence of a basic compound , optionally in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst . examples of the solvent include water ; ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , chloroform and carbon tetrachloride ; lower alcohols ( for example , c 1 - 6 alcohols ) such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol ; ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone ; polar solvents such as dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dimethylacetamide ( dma ), dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), hexamethylphosphoric triamide and acetonitrile ; and mixtures thereof . the basic compound can be selected from a wide variety of known inorganic and organic bases . examples of the inorganic bases include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , cesium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide ; alkali metal carbonates such as sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , cesium carbonate , lithium carbonate , lithium hydrogen carbonate , sodium hydrogen carbonate and potassium hydrogen carbonate ; alkali metals such as sodium and potassium ; alkali metal amides such as sodium amide ; alkali metal hydrides such as sodium hydride and potassium hydride ; and the like . examples of the organic bases include alkali metal alcoholates such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , sodium tert - butoxide , potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide ; triethylamine ; tripropylamine ; pyridine ; quinoline ; 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo [ 4 . 3 . 0 ] non - 5 - ene ( dbn ); 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene ( dbu ); 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( dabco ); and the like . such basic compounds can be used singly , or as a mixture of two or more . the amount of the basic compound used is generally 0 . 5 to 10 mol , and preferably 0 . 5 to 6 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 5 ). the proportion of the compound represented by formula ( 5 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 6 ) used is such that the latter is 0 . 5 to 10 mol , preferably 0 . 8 to 5 . 0 mol , and more preferably 0 . 9 to 3 . 0 mol , per mol of the former . the phase transfer catalyst can be used to promote the reaction , and examples thereof include quaternary ammonium salts , phosphonium salts , pyridinium salts , and the like . examples of the quaternary ammonium salts include quaternary ammonium salts in which groups selected from the group consisting of straight or branched c 1 - 18 alkyl groups , phenyl alkyl groups in which the alkyl moiety is a straight or branched c 1 - 6 alkyl group , and phenyl groups , are bonded to a nitrogen atom . examples of the quaternary ammonium salts include tetrabutyl ammonium chloride , tetrabutyl ammonium bromide , tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride , tetrabutyl ammonium iodide , tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide , tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfite , tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate , tributylmethyl ammonium chloride , tributylbenzyl ammonium chloride , tetrapentyl ammonium chloride , tetrapentyl ammonium bromide , tetrahexyl ammonium chloride , benzyldimethyloctyl ammonium chloride , methyl trihexyl ammonium chloride , benzyldimethyl octadecanyl ammonium chloride , methyltridecanyl ammonium chloride , benzyltripropyl ammonium chloride , benzyl triethyl ammonium chloride , phenyl triethyl ammonium chloride , tetraethyl ammonium chloride , tetramethyl ammonium chloride , and the like . examples of the phosphonium salts include phosphonium salts in which straight or branched c 1 - 18 alkyl groups are bonded to a phosphorus atom . specific examples of the phosphonium salts include tetrabutyl phosphonium chloride , and the like . examples of the pyridinium salts include pyridinium salts in which a c 1 - 18 straight or branched alkyl group is bonded to a nitrogen atom . specific examples of the pyridinium salts include 1 - dodecanyl pyridinium chloride , and the like . the phase transfer catalysts can be used singly , or as a mixture of two or more . the amount of the phase transfer catalyst is generally 0 . 01 to 1 mol , and preferably 0 . 02 to 0 . 5 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 5 ). the reaction is generally performed at − 10 to 150 ° c ., and preferably 0 to 120 ° c . ; and is generally completed in 0 . 5 to 80 hours . if necessary , conversion into salts such as hydrochloride , ½ sulfate , p - toluenesulfonate , etc ., using a known salt - forming method is possible . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 7 ) or a salt thereof and the compound represented by formula ( 8 ) can be performed in a suitable solvent . examples of the solvent include ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , chloroform and carbon tetrachloride ; ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone ; polar solvents such as dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dimethylacetamide ( dma ), dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), hexamethylphosphoric triamide and acetonitrile , and mixture solvents thereof , and preferably aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene . the amount of the compound represented by formula ( 8 ) is generally 0 . 5 to 2 mol , preferably 0 . 7 to 1 . 3 mol , and more preferably 0 . 9 to 1 . 2 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 7 ). the reaction is generally performed at 0 to 150 ° c ., and preferably at 0 to 120 ° c ., and is generally completed in 1 to 80 hours . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 9a ) from the compound represented by formula ( 9 ) can be carried out in a suitable solvent in the presence of a catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent . the solvent is not particularly limited as long as it does not adversely affect the reduction reaction . examples of the solvent include carboxylic acids such as formic acid and acetic acid ; ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; lower alcohols ( for example , c 1 - 6 alcohols ) such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol ; hydrocarbons such as n - hexane and cyclohexane ; esters such as ethyl acetate and methyl acetate ; aprotic polar solvents such as n , n - dimethylformamide ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; and mixture solvents thereof , and preferably c 1 - 3 alcohols such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol . examples of the catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent include palladium black , palladium carbon , palladium hydroxide carbon , platinum carbon , platinum , platinum black , platinum oxide , copper chromite , raney nickel , and the like . the amount of the catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent used is generally 0 . 1 to 40 wt %, and preferably 1 to 20 wt %, relative to the compound represented by formula ( 9 ). it is preferable to add a substance ( i . e ., poisoning substance ) capable of reducing the catalytic activity of the catalytic hydrogenation reducing agent . examples of the poisoning substance include sulfides such as diphenyl sulfide and dimethyl sulfide ; dipyridyl ; ethylenediamine ; and the like , and preferably diphenyl sulfide . by these poisoning substances , even when r 5 in the compound represented by formula ( 9 ) is a benzyl group , the nitro group can be selectively reduced to an amino group without debenzylation . when the poisoning substance is used , the amount of the poisoning substance is generally 0 . 0001 to 0 . 2 mol , and preferably 0 . 001 to 0 . 1 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 9 ). the reaction can be generally performed in a hydrogen atmosphere at 0 . 5 to 20 atm , preferably 1 to 10 atm , and more preferably 1 to 5 atm . the reaction is generally performed at − 20 to 50 ° c ., and preferably − 10 to 40 ° c . the reaction is generally completed in about 0 . 5 to 100 hours . the compound represented by formula ( 9a ) can be subjected to the subsequent ring - closing reaction in its crude product form . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) from the compound represented by formula ( 9a ) can be carried out in a suitable solvent , in the presence of a basic compound . the solvent is not particularly limited , as long as it does not adversely affect the ring - closing reaction . examples thereof include ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether , ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; esters such as ethyl acetate and methyl acetate ; aprotic polar solvents such as n , n - dimethylformamide ; and mixture solvents thereof , and preferably aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene . the basic compound can be selected from a wide variety of known inorganic and organic bases . examples of the inorganic bases include alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , cesium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide ; alkali metal carbonates such as sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , cesium carbonate , lithium carbonate , lithium hydrogen carbonate , sodium hydrogen carbonate and potassium hydrogen carbonate ; alkali metals such as sodium and potassium ; sodium amide ; sodium hydride ; potassium hydride ; potassium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide ; and the like . examples of the organic bases include alkali metal alcoholates such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , sodium tert - butoxide , potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide ; triethylamine ; tripropylamine ; pyridine ; quinoline ; 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo [ 4 . 3 . 0 ] non - 5 - ene ( dbn ); 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene ( dbu ); 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( dabco ); and the like . such basic compounds can be used singly , or as a mixture of two or more . the amount of the basic compound is generally 0 . 001 to 10 mol , and preferably 0 . 2 to 2 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 9a ). in particular , when a basic compound such as sodium tert - butoxide , potassium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide , potassium hydroxide , or potassium carbonate is used , the amount of the basic compound is about 0 . 1 to 0 . 8 mol ( catalytic content ) per mol of the compound ( 9a ). the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) and the compound represented by formula ( 10a ) or ( 10b ) ( hereinbelow referred to as a lower alkylating agent ( 10 )) can be carried out without using a solvent or in a general inert solvent , in the presence of a basic compound , optionally in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst . examples of the inert solvent include water ; ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene and xylene ; halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , chloroform and carbon tetrachloride ; lower alcohols ( for example , c 1 - 6 alcohols ) such as methanol , ethanol and isopropanol ; ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone ; polar solvents such as dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dimethylacetamide ( dma ), dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), hexamethylphosphoric triamide and acetonitrile ; and mixtures thereof . the basic compound can be selected from a wide variety of known compounds . examples thereof include inorganic bases including alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , cesium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide ; alkali metal carbonates such as sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , cesium carbonate , lithium carbonate , lithium hydrogen carbonate , sodium hydrogen carbonate and potassium hydrogen carbonate ; alkali metals such as sodium and potassium ; sodium amide ; sodium hydride ; potassium hydride ; and the like ; and organic bases including alkali metal alcoholates such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , sodium tert - butoxide , potassium methoxide , potassium ethoxide , potassium tert - butoxide ; triethylamine ; tripropylamine ; pyridine ; quinoline ; 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo [ 4 . 3 . 0 ] non - 5 - ene ( dbn ); 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene ( dbu ); 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( dabco ); and the like . such basic compounds can be used singly , or as a mixture of two or more . the amount of the basic compound used is generally 0 . 5 to 10 mol , and preferably 0 . 5 to 6 mol , per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 2c ). the phase transfer catalyst can be used to promote the reaction . for example , the phase transfer catalyst ( e . g ., quaternary ammonium salts , phosphonium salts , pyridinium salts , etc .) used in the step in which the compound ( 5 ) is converted into the compound ( 7 ) in the reaction scheme 2 can be used . the amount of the phase transfer catalyst used is generally 0 . 01 to 1 mol , and preferably 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 mol , per mol of the compound ( 2c ). the above reaction can be performed by adding , if necessary , an alkali iodide compound such as potassium iodide and sodium iodide as a reaction promoter to the inside of the reaction system . the amount of the alkali iodide compound used is generally 0 . 1 to 10 mol , and preferably 0 . 8 to 3 . 0 mol , per mol of the compound ( 2c ). the proportion of the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) and the lower alkylating agent ( 10 ) is such that the amount of the latter is at least 1 mol , preferably 1 to 1 . 5 mol , and more preferably 1 to 1 . 3 mol , per mol of the former . the reaction is generally performed at − 20 to 100 ° c ., and preferably 0 to 80 ° c . ; and is generally completed in about 0 . 5 to 80 hours . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) and the compound represented by formula ( 11a ) or ( 11b ) ( hereinbelow referred to as a lower alkylating agent ( 11 )), and the reaction of the compound obtained by the aforementioned reaction and the compound represented by formula ( 12a ) or ( 12b ) ( hereinbelow referred to as a lower alkylating agent ( 12 )) can be carried out under the same conditions as the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) and the lower alkylating agent ( 10 ) in the reaction scheme 2 . when the lower alkyl group ( r 2a ) in the lower alkylating agent ( 11 ) is different from the lower alkyl group ( r 3a ) in the lower alkylating agent ( 12 ), the lower alkylating agent ( 11 ) in an amount of at least 0 . 5 mol ( particularly 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 mol ), and then the lower alkylating agent ( 12 ) in an amount of at least 1 mol ( particularly 1 to 3 mol ), per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) can be reacted stepwise . when the lower alkyl group ( r 2a ) in the lower alkylating agent ( 11 ) is the same as the lower alkyl group ( r 3a ) in the lower alkylating agent ( 12 ), the lower alkylating agent ( 11 ) and / or ( 12 ) in a total amount of at least 2 mol ( particularly 2 to 5 mol ) per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) can be reacted in one step . the compounds represented by formulae ( 2a ) to ( 2c ) can be produced through the steps described in the reaction scheme 2 . the compounds represented by formulae ( 2d ) and ( 2e ) can be produced , for example , by the process described in the reaction scheme 3 . in the formula , r 1a , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and x b are as defined above , and x c is the same or different , and represents a halogen atom . examples of the halogen atom represented by x c include fluorine , chlorine , bromine and iodine , and preferably chlorine . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 7 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 9a ) from the compound represented by formula ( 9 ) in the above reaction , if necessary , 2 . the resulting compound represented by formula ( 13 ) can be converted into a salt such as hydrochloride , sulphate , and p - toluenesulfonate , using a known salt - forming method . by converting the compound into the salt , the phenylenediamine compound represented by formula ( 13 ), which is generally unstable , can be stably obtained . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 14 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 9 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 7 ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . specifically , the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) or a salt thereof and the compound represented by formula ( 14 ) can be performed in a suitable solvent . examples of the solvent include ethers such as dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , diethyl ether , diethylene glycol dimethyl ether , and ethylene glycol dimethyl ether ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene , and xylene ; halogenated hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , chloroform , and carbon tetrachloride ; ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone ; polar solvents such as dimethylformamide ( dmf ), dimethylacetamide ( dma ), dimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso ), hexamethylphosphoric triamide , and acetonitrile , and mixture solvents thereof , and preferably aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene and xylene . the amount of the compound represented by formula ( 14 ) used is generally 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 mol , preferably 0 . 7 to 1 . 3 mol , and more preferably 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 mol per mol of the compound represented by formula ( 13 ). the reaction is generally performed at 0 to 150 ° c ., and preferably 0 to 120 ° c ., and is generally completed in 1 to 80 hours . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2d ) and the lower alkylating agent ( 10 ) can be performed under the same reaction conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) from the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . the compound represented by formula ( 2d ) or ( 2e ) can be produced through the steps described in the above reaction scheme 3 . the compounds represented by formula ( 2f ) and ( 2g ) can be , for example , produced by the process described in the above reaction scheme 4 . in the formula , r 1a , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , x b and x c are as defined above . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 15 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 4 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 5 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 3 ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 16 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 6 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 7 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 5 ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 18 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 17 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) from the compound represented by formula ( 7 ) in the above reaction scheme 3 . the resulting compound represented by formula ( 18 ) can be , if necessary , converted into a salt such as hydrochloride , sulphate and p - toluenesulfonate , using a known salt - forming method . by converting the compound into the salt , the phenylenediamine compound represented by formula ( 18 ), which is generally unstable , can be stably obtained . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 18 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 14 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2d ) from the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) in the above reaction scheme 3 . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2f ) and the lower alkylating agent represented by formula ( 10 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) from the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . the compounds represented by formulae ( 2h ) and ( 2i ) can be produced , for example , by the process described in the above reaction scheme 5 . in the formula , r 1a , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , x b and x c are as defined above . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 19 ) and the compound represented by formula ( 14 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2d ) from the compound represented by formula ( 13 ) in the above reaction scheme 3 . the reaction of the compound represented by formula ( 2h ) and the lower alkylating agent represented by formula ( 10 ) can be performed under the same conditions as the reaction that produces the compound represented by formula ( 2b ) from the compound represented by formula ( 2c ) in the above reaction scheme 2 . in each step of the above reaction schemes , a target compound can be obtained from a reaction mixture after the completion of the reaction by using a known isolation operation ( e . g ., filtration , concentration , extraction , etc .) and known purifying means ( e . g ., column chromatography , recrystallization , etc .). hereinafter , the present invention will be explained with reference to examples ; however , the invention is not limited thereto . an aqueous solution of 40 % methyl amine ( 61 ml , 0 . 71 mol ) was added dropwise to a methanol solution ( 200 ml ) of 2 , 4 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 46 . 7 g , 0 . 29 mol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour under the same temperature . the reaction solution was poured into ice water . precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , followed by washing with water . the resulting crystals were dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 47 . 6 g of a yellow , powdery target compound ( yield : 95 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 3 . 00 ( 3h , d , j = 5 . 1 hz ), 6 . 3 - 6 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 47 ( 1h , dd , j = 11 . 4 hz , 2 . 6 hz ), 8 . 0 - 8 . 3 ( 1h , br ), 8 . 1 - 8 . 3 ( 1h , m ) benzyl alcohol ( 49 . 6 ml , 0 . 48 mol ), tetrabutyl ammonium chloride ( 6 . 66 g , 24 . 0 mmol ) and potassium carbonate ( 40 . 0 g , 0 . 29 mol ) were added to a toluene solution ( 200 ml ) of 5 - fluoro - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 40 . 8 g , 0 . 24 mol ), and the mixture was heated under reflux for 3 . 5 hours . the reaction solution was cooled , and 100 ml of water was added thereto . thereafter , the mixture was stirred for 1 hour at 60 to 70 ° c . after the mixture was stirred under ice cooling for 30 minutes , precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 57 . 1 g of an orange , powdery target compound ( yield : 92 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 2 . 98 ( 3h , d , j = 5 . 1 hz ), 5 . 14 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 5 hz ), 6 . 32 ( 1h , dd , j = 9 . 5 hz , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 15 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 5 hz ), 8 . 26 ( 1h , brs ) benzyl alcohol ( 0 . 93 ml , 9 mmol ) and potassium carbonate ( 1 . 24 g , 9 mmol ) were added to a n , n - dimethyl formamide solution ( 5 ml ) of 5 - fluoro - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 510 mg , 3 mmol ). the mixture was stirred at 60 - 70 ° c . for 8 hours . the reaction solution was cooled , then water was added thereto , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 680 mg of orange , powdery 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( yield : 88 %). sodium t - butoxide ( 865 mg , 9 mmol ) was added to a n , n - dimethylformamide ( 5 ml ) solution of benzyl alcohol ( 0 . 93 ml , 9 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . thereafter , 5 - fluoro - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 510 mg , 3 mmol ) was added thereto , and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 hours . water was added to the reaction solution , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 710 mg of orange , powdery 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( yield : 92 %). an aqueous solution of 40 % methyl amine ( 8 . 2 ml , 94 . 2 mmol ) was added dropwise to a toluene solution ( 50 ml ) of 2 , 4 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 5 . 0 g , 31 . 4 mmol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred at 35 - 40 ° c . for 2 hours . water was added to the reaction solution , and toluene extraction was performed , followed by washing with water . benzyl alcohol ( 6 . 5 ml , 62 . 8 mmol ), tetrabutyl ammonium bromide ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 1 mmol ) and potassium carbonate ( 5 . 2 g , 37 . 6 mmol ) were added to the resulting organic layer , and the mixture was heated under reflux for 4 hours . after the reaction solution was cooled , water ( 25 ml ) was added , and the mixture was stirred at 70 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was stirred under ice cooling for 30 minutes , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 7 . 8 g of orange , powdery 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( yield : 96 %). an aqueous solution of 40 % methyl amine ( 82 ml , 0 . 94 mol ) was added dropwise to a toluene solution ( 500 ml ) of 2 , 4 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 50 . 0 g , 0 . 31 mol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours at 35 to 40 ° c . water was added to the reaction solution , and toluene extraction was performed , followed by washing with water . the resulting organic layer was concentrated under reduced pressure until reduced to about half . benzyl alcohol ( 65 ml , 0 . 63 mol ), tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate ( 10 . 7 g , 31 . 5 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 65 . 2 g , 0 . 47 mol ) and water ( 5 ml ) were added to the resulting solution , and the resulting mixture was heated under reflux for 4 hours . after the reaction solution was cooled , water ( 250 ml ) was added thereto , and the mixture was stirred at 70 ° c . for 1 hour . the mixture was stirred under ice cooling for 30 minutes , and then precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . after the resulting crystals were washed with water , methanol ( 500 ml ) was added . the mixture was heated under reflux for 30 minutes , and then stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 1 hour . precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , and then washed with methanol ( 100 ml ). the resulting crystals were dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 76 . 9 g of an orange , powdery 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( yield : 95 %). a toluene solution ( 20 ml ) of ethyl malonyl chloride ( 30 . 7 ml , 0 . 24 mol ) was added dropwise to a toluene ( 230 ml ) suspension of 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 51 . 6 g , 0 . 20 mol ) at 50 ° c ., and the mixture was stirred at 80 ° c . for 3 hours . the reaction solution was then cooled , and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure . ethanol ( 100 ml ) was added to the resulting residue , and the mixture was again distilled off under reduced pressure . ethanol ( 100 ml ) was added to the residue , and the residue was dispersed in and washed with the ethanol . thereafter , precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 71 . 0 g of a light - yellow , powdery target compound ( yield : 95 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 23 ( 2 . 52h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 32 ( 0 . 48h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 3 . 14 ( 1 . 68h , d , j = 3 . 7 hz ), 3 . 24 ( 2 . 52h , s ), 3 . 39 ( 0 . 48h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 0 . 32h , br ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 2 ( 1 . 68h , m ), 4 . 24 ( 0 . 32h , q , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 5 . 13 ( 0 . 32h , s ), 5 . 17 ( 1 . 68h , s ), 6 . 9 - 7 . 2 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 11 ( 0 . 16h , d , j = 9 . 2 hz ), 8 . 14 ( 0 . 84h , d , j = 9 . 2 hz ) 10 % palladium carbon ( 4 . 00 g , water content : 52 . 1 %) and diphenyl sulfide ( 0 . 18 ml , 1 . 08 mmol ) were added to a methanol ( 400 ml ) suspension of n -( 5 - benzyloxy - 2 - nitrophenyl )- n - methylmaronamidic acid ethyl ester ( 20 . 0 g , 53 . 7 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed at 20 ° c . or less . the reaction solution was filtered , and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure at 25 ° c . or less . toluene ( 50 ml ) was added to the residue , and then the solvent was again distilled off under reduced pressure at 25 ° c . or less . toluene ( 100 ml ) was added to the residue , and then sodium t - butoxide ( 1 . 03 g , 10 . 7 mmol ) was added thereto at room temperature , and the mixture was stirred overnight . water ( 40 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour . precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , and washed with toluene . the resulting crystals were dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 12 . 4 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : 78 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 3 . 35 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 38 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 8 - 6 . 9 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 09 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 6 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 9 . 22 ( 1h , brs ) 8 - benzyloxy - 1 - methyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 33 . 4 g , 113 mmol ), tetrabutyl ammonium bromide ( 7 . 28 g , 22 . 6 mmol ) and an aqueous solution of 25 % sodium hydroxide ( 20 . 8 g , 130 mmol ) were added to the mixture of toluene ( 167 ml ) and water ( 150 ml ). ethyl iodide ( 10 . 4 ml , 130 mmol ) was added thereto , and the reaction was performed at 80 ° c . for 4 hours . the reaction solution was cooled , and ethyl acetate ( 334 ml ) extraction was performed . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure . ethyl acetate ( 70 ml ) was added to the resulting residue , and the mixture was heated and dissolved . thereafter , hexane ( 35 ml ) was added thereto , and heating was performed again . the mixture was stirred at 40 - 50 ° c . for 30 minutes , and stirred under ice cooling for 1 hour to collect precipitated crystals by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with ethyl acetate - hexane ( 1 : 1 ; 50 ml ), and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 39 . 6 g of a light - yellow , powdery target compound ( containing ammonium salt ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 12 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 3 . 2 - 3 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 36 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 1 - 4 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 86 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 8 hz ), 6 . 91 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 8 hz , 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) sodium t - butoxide ( 330 mg , 3 . 43 mmol ) was added to a n , n - dimethylformamide ( 5 ml ) solution of 8 - benzyloxy - 1 - methyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 1 . 01 g , 3 . 4 mmol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred under ice cooling for 30 minutes . thereafter , diethyl sulfate ( 0 . 51 ml , 3 . 69 mmol ) was added , and the mixture was stirred for 6 hours under ice cooling . water was added to the reaction solution , and ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ) extraction was performed . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure . the resulting residue was recrystallized from 50 % ethanol ( 9 ml ). precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , washed with 50 % ethanol , and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 760 mg of light - yellow , powdery 7 - benzyloxy - 1 - ethyl - 5 - methyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( yield : 69 %). under ice cooling , sodium hydride ( 60 % in oil ) ( 5 . 2 g , 130 mmol ) was added to an n , n - dimethylformamide ( 300 ml ) suspension of 1 - ethyl - 7 - benzyloxy - 5 - methyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 35 . 2 g , 109 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes . thereafter , an n , n - dimethylformamide ( 10 ml ) solution of methyl iodide ( 8 . 1 ml , 130 mmol ) was added dropwise thereto . the reaction solution was stirred at the same temperature for 1 hour , and then stirred at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction solution was cooled to 0 ° c ., and sodium hydride ( 60 % in oil ) ( 7 . 8 g , 195 mmol ) was added thereto . after the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes , an n , n - dimethylformamide ( 10 ml ) solution of methyl iodide ( 12 . 2 ml , 196 mmol ) was added dropwise . the reaction solution was stirred at the same temperature for 2 hours , and then stirred at room temperature overnight . ice water was added to the reaction solution , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , and added to methanol ( 210 ml ). the mixture was stirred while heating , and allowed to stand overnight at room temperature . precipitated crystals were washed with 50 % methanol , and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 38 . 3 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : quantitative amount ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 86 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 15 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 53 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 37 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 6 - 3 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 1 - 4 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 8 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 8 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) after sodium t - butoxide ( 1 . 53 g , 15 . 9 mmol ) was added to a dimethoxyethane ( 20 ml ) suspension of 1 - ethyl - 7 - benzyloxy - 5 - methyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 4 . 31 g , 13 . 3 mmol ) under ice cooling , the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . thereafter , dimethoxyethane ( 2 ml ) of methyl p - toluenesulfonate ( 2 . 6 ml , 17 . 2 mmol ) was added thereto under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred under ice cooling for 2 hours . the reaction solution was poured into ice water , and ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ) extraction was performed . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off . the resulting residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography ( elution solvent : 2 : 3 = ethyl acetate : n - hexane ). the solvent was distilled off , thereby obtaining 3 . 78 g of a colorless liquid target compound ( yield : 84 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 10 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 36 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 6 hz ), 3 . 2 - 3 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 39 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 11 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 87 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 93 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 28 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) under ice cooling , sodium hydride ( 60 % in oil ) ( 129 mg , 3 . 23 mmol ) was added to a n , n - dimethylformamide ( 5 ml ) solution of 7 - benzyloxy - 1 - ethyl - 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 500 mg , 1 . 48 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes . thereafter , butyl iodide ( 0 . 336 ml , 2 . 95 mmol ) was added . the reaction solution was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes , and then stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . the reaction solution was poured into ice water , and ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ) extraction was performed . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off . the resulting residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography ( elution solvent : 1 : 2 = ethyl acetate : n - hexane ). the solvent was distilled off , thereby obtaining 520 mg of a colorless , liquid target compound ( yield : 89 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 61 ( 3h , t , j = 6 . 9 hz ), 0 . 8 - 1 . 1 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 17 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 1 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 36 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 6 - 3 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 2 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 10 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 79 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 88 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 20 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) 5 % platinum carbon ( 2 . 15 g , water content : 53 . 1 %) was added to a toluene ( 300 ml ) suspension of 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 20 g , 77 . 4 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed at 4 atm . the reaction solution was filtered to remove a catalyst . the catalyst was washed with 2 - propanol ( 40 ml ), and the washing liquid was added to the precedent filtrate . under ice cooling , concentrated hydrochloric acid ( 6 . 6 ml , 77 . 4 mmol ) was added to the mixture , and the mixture was stirred under the same temperature for 30 minutes . the resulting precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , then washed with 2 - propanol ( 60 ml ), and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 18 . 6 g of a light - pink , crystal target compound ( yield : 91 %) 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 2 . 72 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 2 - 6 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 8 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 9 . 2 - 10 . 2 ( 4h , br ) 5 % platinum carbon ( 0 . 50 g , ( dry )) was added to a 2 - propanol ( 170 ml ) suspension of 5 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 10 . 00 g , 38 . 7 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed at ordinary pressure . the reaction solution was filtered to remove a catalyst . the catalyst was washed with 2 - propanol ( 20 ml ), and the washing liquid was added to the precedent filtrate . under ice cooling , 97 % sulfuric acid ( 1 . 06 ml , 19 . 3 mmol ) was added to the mixture , and then the mixture was stirred under the same temperature for 30 minutes . the resulting precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , then washed with 2 - propanol ( 40 ml ), and dried at 40 ° c ., thereby obtaining 9 . 07 g of a light - purple , crystal target compound ( yield : 94 . 7 %). 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 2 . 72 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 8 - 4 . 2 ( 4h , br ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 2 - 6 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 84 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) under ice cooling , dimethylmalonic acid dichloride ( 9 . 9 ml , 74 . 9 mmol ) was added dropwise to a n , n - dimethyl acetamide ( 90 ml ) solution of 5 - benzyloxy - n 1 - methylbenzene - 1 , 2 - diamine hydrochloride ( 18 . 0 g , 68 . 0 mmol ). the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 2 . 5 hours , and water ( 90 ml ) was added thereto . the reaction solution was stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 30 minutes , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , then added to methanol ( 180 ml ), and heated under reflux . the mixture was cooled and stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 30 minutes , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with methanol ( 36 ml ), and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 18 . 3 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : 83 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 8 - 1 . 7 ( 6h , br ), 3 . 41 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 8 - 6 . 9 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 97 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 2 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 55 ( 1h , brs ) under ice cooling , a n , n - dimethylacetamide ( 3 ml ) solution of dimethylmalonic acid dichloride ( 0 . 68 g , 4 . 0 mmol ) was added dropwise to a n , n - dimethyl acetamide ( 5 ml ) suspension of 5 - benzyloxy - n 1 - methylbenzene - 1 , 2 - diamine ½ sulfate ( 1 . 11 g , 4 . 0 mmol ). after the reaction solution was stirred at the same temperature for 4 hours , water ( 8 ml ) was added . the mixture was stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 30 minutes , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with water , and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 0 . 75 g of a slightly pink , powdery target compound ( yield : 57 . 8 %). a target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 16 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 84 ( 6h , t , j = 6 . 9 hz ), 1 . 5 - 1 . 9 ( 4h , br ), 3 . 40 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 7 - 6 . 9 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 97 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 80 ( 1h , brs ) under ice cooling , sodium t - butoxide ( 1 . 96 g , 20 . 4 mmol ) was added to a n , n - dimethylacetamide ( 30 ml ) solution of 8 - benzyloxy - 1 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 6 . 0 g , 18 . 5 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes . 1 . 63 ml ( 20 . 4 mmol ) of ethyl iodide was added dropwise . the reaction solution was stirred at 10 - 20 ° c . for 4 hours . water ( 42 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , and the mixture was stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 30 minutes . thereafter , precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , and the crystals were added to methanol ( 60 ml ). the resultant was heated under reflux , and stirred at 10 ° c . or less for 30 minutes . crystals were collected by filtration , then washed with methanol , and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 5 . 90 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : 91 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 86 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 15 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 53 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 37 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 6 - 3 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 1 - 4 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 8 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 8 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 19 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 83 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz ), 0 . 85 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 1 - 1 . 3 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 4 - 1 . 6 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 37 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 3 . 0 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dd , j = 3 . 0 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 20 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 19 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 82 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 0 . 85 ( 3h , s ), 0 . 87 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 1 . 3 - 1 . 5 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 36 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) 10 % palladium carbon ( 1 . 66 g , water content : 54 . 8 %) was added to an ethanol ( 150 ml ) solution of 1 - ethyl - 7 - benzyloxy - 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 15 . 0 g , 42 . 6 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed at 40 - 50 ° c ., at 3 atm . the reaction solution was filtered to remove a catalyst , and ethanol was distilled off . methanol ( 105 ml ) and water ( 105 ml ) were added to the resulting residue , and the mixture was heated while stirring . after the dissolution was confirmed , stirring under ice cooling was conducted for 1 hour , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with 50 % methanol ( 30 ml ), and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 10 . 7 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : 96 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 90 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 16 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 55 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 41 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 6 - 3 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 1 - 4 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 85 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 8 . 8 hz ), 7 . 17 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 8 hz ), 7 . 49 ( 1h , brs ) 20 % palladium hydroxide carbon ( 4 . 00 g ) was added to a methanol ( 400 ml ) solution of 1 - ethyl - 7 - benzyloxy - 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 39 . 8 g , 113 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed at room temperature at ordinary pressure . the reaction solution was filtered to remove a catalyst , and methanol was distilled off . ethanol ( 120 ml ) was added to the resulting residue , and the mixture was heated while stirring . after the dissolution was confirmed , water ( 40 ml ) was added , and the mixture was heated again . after the temperature was cooled to near room temperature , stirring was performed under ice cooling for 1 hour . precipitated crystals were then collected by filtration . the resulting crystals were washed with 50 % ethanol ( 40 ml ), and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 24 . 3 g of white , powdery 1 - ethyl - 7 - hydroxy - 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( yield : 82 %). the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 22 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 82 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 0 . 88 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 1 - 1 . 3 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 3 - 1 . 6 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 54 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 40 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 79 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 8 . 7 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz ), 7 . 29 ( 1h , brs ). the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 22 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 82 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 0 . 86 ( 3h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 0 . 88 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 3 - 1 . 5 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 54 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 39 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 76 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 82 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 6 . 8 - 7 . 0 ( 1h , br ), 7 . 16 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 22 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 0 . 72 ( 6h , brs ), 1 . 3 - 1 . 9 ( 4h , br ), 3 . 30 ( 3h , s ), 6 . 64 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 4 hz , 8 . 7 hz ), 6 . 72 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 4 hz ), 6 . 92 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz ), 9 . 3 - 9 . 8 ( 1h , br ), 10 . 12 ( 1h , brs ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 22 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 63 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 0 . 8 - 1 . 2 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 18 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 1 . 56 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 40 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 6 - 3 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 2 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 79 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 84 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 17 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 50 ( 1h , brs ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 23 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 0 . 96 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 2 . 96 ( 1h , d , j = 12 . 3 hz ), 3 . 25 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 39 ( 1h , d , j = 12 . 3 hz ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 9 - 4 . 2 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 75 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 8 . 7 hz ), 6 . 80 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 7 . 33 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 7 hz ), 9 . 5 - 10 . 5 ( 1h , br ) an aqueous solution of 70 % ethyl amine ( 25 ml , 0 . 315 mol ) was added dropwise to a toluene solution ( 167 ml ) of 2 , 4 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 16 . 7 g , 0 . 105 mol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred at 35 - 40 ° c . for 2 hours . water was added to the reaction solution , and toluene extraction was performed , followed by washing with water . the resulting organic layer was concentrated under reduced pressure until reduced to about half ( the concentrated solution including a crude product of 5 - fluoro - n - ethyl - 2 - nitroaniline ). benzyl alcohol ( 21 . 7 ml , 0 . 21 mol ), tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate ( 3 . 56 g , 0 . 01 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 21 . 76 g , 0 . 157 mol ), and water ( 1 . 7 ml ) were added to the resulting solution , and the mixture was heated under reflux for 3 hours . the reaction solution was cooled , and water ( 84 ml ) was added thereto . thereafter , the mixture was stirred at 70 ° c . for 1 hour , and stirred under ice cooling for 30 minutes . next , precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , and the resulting crystals were washed with water , and dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 17 . 7 g of a yellow , powdery target compound ( yield : 62 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 34 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 3 . 28 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 5 . 12 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 30 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 2 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 14 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 2 hz ), 8 . 1 - 8 . 3 ( 1h , br ) isobutylamine ( 25 ml , 121 mmol ) was added dropwise to a toluene solution ( 40 ml ) of 2 , 4 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 8 . 0 g , 50 . 3 mmol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred at 35 - 40 ° c . for 2 hours . water was added to the reaction solution , and toluene extraction was performed , followed by washing with water . the resulting organic layer was concentrated under reduced pressure until reduced to about half ( the concentrated solution including a crude product of 5 - fluoro - n - isobutyl - 2 - nitroaniline ). benzyl alcohol ( 10 . 4 ml , 100 mmol ), tetrabutyl ammonium hydrogen sulfate ( 1 . 71 g , 5 . 0 mmol ), potassium carbonate ( 10 . 42 g , 75 . 4 mmol ), and water ( 0 . 8 ml ) were added to the resulting solution , and the mixture was heated under reflux for 3 hours . after the reaction solution was cooled , water ( 84 ml ) was added thereto , followed by toluene extraction . after the resulting organic layer was washed with water , the solvent was distilled off , and cyclopentyl ether was added to the resulting residue . the mixture was stirred for 1 hour . precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , and the resulting crystals were dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 12 . 2 g of a yellow , powdery target compound ( yield : 81 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 03 ( 6h , d , j = 6 . 5 hz ), 1 . 8 - 2 . 1 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 0 - 3 . 1 ( 2h , m ), 5 . 12 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 29 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 9 . 5 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 15 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 5 hz ), 8 . 38 ( 1h , brs ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 14 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 1 . 21 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 3 . 06 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 3 - 6 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 13 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 2 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 9 . 2 - 10 . 3 ( 4h , br ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 14 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 0 . 97 ( 6h , d , j = 6 . 5 hz ), 1 . 7 - 2 . 0 ( 1h , m ), 2 . 84 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 0 hz ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 2 - 6 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 9 . 7 - 10 . 3 ( 4h , br ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 16 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 1 . 02 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 19 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 72 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 7 - 4 . 2 ( 2h , m ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 8 - 6 . 9 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 01 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 6 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 6 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 6 - 9 . 1 ( 1h , br ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 16 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 71 ( 6h , d , j = 6 . 5 hz ), 0 . 99 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 7 - 1 . 9 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 2 - 3 . 5 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 08 ( 2h , d , j = 4 . 6 hz ), 6 . 8 - 6 . 9 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 99 ( 1h , d , j = 10 . 0 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 8 . 55 ( 1h , brs ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 19 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 84 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 0 - 1 . 2 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 48 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 7 ( 2h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 5 . 09 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 8 - 7 . 0 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 1 - 7 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 19 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 73 ( 6h , dd , j = 5 . 7 hz , 6 . 5 hz ), 0 . 83 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 22 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 51 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 6 - 1 . 8 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 1 - 3 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 7 - 3 . 9 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 2 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 0 - 5 . 2 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 82 ( 1h , d , j = 2 . 7 hz ), 6 . 91 ( 1h , dd , j = 2 . 7 hz , 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 23 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 88 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 11 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 15 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 0 hz ), 1 . 54 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 5 - 3 . 8 ( 2h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 5 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 8 - 7 . 0 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 17 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 5 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 7 ( 1h , br ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 23 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 78 ( 6h , dd , j = 6 . 8 hz , 13 . 5 hz ), 0 . 87 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 24 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 54 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 7 - 2 . 0 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 2 - 3 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 7 - 3 . 9 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 3 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 3 - 4 . 5 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 8 ( 2h , m ), 6 . 9 - 7 . 2 ( 1h , br ), 7 . 18 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 5 hz ) a methanol solution of 40 % methyl amine ( 12 . 2 ml , 119 mmol ) was added dropwise to a methanol solution ( 39 . 5 ml ) of 2 , 6 - difluoronitrobenzene ( 7 . 90 g , 49 . 7 mmol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 0 . 5 hours , and then stirred at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction solution was poured into ice water , and precipitated crystals were collected by filtration and washed with water . the resulting crystals were dried at 50 ° c ., thereby obtaining 7 . 84 g of a red , powdery target compound ( yield : 93 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 2 . 98 ( 3h , d , j = 5 . 1 hz ), 6 . 43 ( 1h , dd , j = 11 . 6 hz , 8 . 9 hz ), 6 . 57 ( 1h , d , 8 . 9 hz ), 7 . 2 - 7 . 4 ( 2h , m ) benzyl alcohol ( 9 . 54 ml , 92 . 2 mmol ), tetrabutyl ammonium bromide ( 1 . 49 g , 4 . 62 mmol ), and potassium carbonate ( 7 . 64 g , 55 . 3 mmol ) were added to a toluene solution ( 39 ml ) of 3 - fluoro - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 7 . 84 g , 46 . 1 mmol ), and the mixture was heated under reflux for 6 hours . the reaction solution was cooled , and water ( 39 ml ) was added thereto , followed by toluene extraction . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure , thereby obtaining 11 . 9 g of a red , powdery target compound ( yield : 100 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 2 . 90 ( 3h , d , j = 4 . 9 hz ), 5 . 15 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 2 - 6 . 4 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 0 - 7 . 5 ( 7h , m ) 0 . 80 g of 5 % platinum carbon ( dry ) was added to a toluene ( 80 ml ) suspension of 3 - benzyloxy - n - methyl - 2 - nitroaniline ( 7 . 19 g , 27 . 8 mmol ), and catalytic hydrogenation reaction was performed under ordinary pressure . the reaction solution was filtered to remove a catalyst , and the catalyst was washed with toluene ( 10 ml ). the washing liquid was added to the precedent filtrate . a 1n hydrochloric acid ethanol solution ( 28 ml , 28 . 0 mmol ) was added to the mixture under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred under the same temperature for 30 minutes . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure at 20 ° c . or less . precipitated crystals were collected by filtration , washed with toluene ( 15 ml ), and dried at 40 ° c ., thereby obtaining 6 . 30 g of an orange , crystal target compound ( yield : 85 %). 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 2 . 80 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 19 ( 2h , s ), 5 . 4 - 6 . 6 ( 4h , br ), 6 . 66 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 6 . 74 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 6 . 94 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 1 hz , 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 6 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 16 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 8 - 1 . 7 ( 6h , br ), 3 . 45 ( 3h , s ), 5 . 15 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 83 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 6 . 87 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 13 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 1 hz , 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ), 7 . 89 ( 1h , brs ) 60 % sodium hydride ( 0 . 37 g , 8 . 5 mmol ) was added to a n , n - dimethylacetamide ( 12 . 5 ml ) solution of 6 - benzyloxy - 1 , 3 , 3 - trimethyl - 1 , 5 - dihydrobenzo [ b ][ 1 , 4 ] diazepine - 2 , 4 - dione ( 2 . 5 g , 7 . 7 mmol ) under ice cooling , and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes . ethyl iodide ( 0 . 68 ml , 8 . 5 mmol ) was added dropwise thereto , followed by stirring at 10 - 20 ° c . for 2 hours . water ( 17 . 5 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , and ethyl acetate ( 20 ml ) was added , followed by ethyl acetate extraction . the resulting organic layer was washed with water , and the solvent was distilled off . an aqueous solution of 70 % methanol was added to the resulting residue , and the mixture was heated under reflux for 1 hour , followed by stirring for 30 minutes under ice cooling . crystals were collected by filtration , then washed with an aqueous solution of 70 % methanol , and dried at 60 ° c ., thereby obtaining 2 . 71 g of a white , powdery target compound ( yield : 100 %). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δppm : 0 . 77 ( 3h , s ), 0 . 91 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 40 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 3 - 3 . 7 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 2 - 4 . 4 ( 1h , m ), 5 . 15 ( 2h , s ), 6 . 8 - 7 . 0 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 26 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 1 hz , 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 3 - 7 . 5 ( 5h , m ) the target compound was synthesized in the same manner as in example 23 , using a suitable starting material . 1 h - nmr ( dmso - d 6 ) δppm : 0 . 70 ( 3h , s ), 0 . 81 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 31 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 29 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 4 - 3 . 6 ( 2h , m ), 4 . 0 - 4 . 2 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 84 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 4 hz ), 7 . 21 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 1 hz , 8 . 4 hz ), 10 . 30 ( 1h , brs )	8
the unique formulation of the present invention of a stable and non - toxic soft gel coenzyme q 10 where the amount of coenzyme q 10 is balanced with antioxidants and absorption agents to maximize the percentage of coenzyme q 10 in a capsule of a given size , that is delivered to the blood stream from the intestines . the formulation includes : coenzyme q 10 , vitamin e , beta - carotene , bee &# 39 ; s wax , medium chain triglycerides ( mct ) such as mct myglyol s12 , and rice bran oil . the preferred soft gel coenzyme q 10 formulation of the present invention is prepared in accordance with the following sequence of ingredients and process . rice bran oil , a carrier suspension agent for soft gel formulation useful for absorption of lipophilic ingredients such as coenzyme q 10 , is heated to 50 to 60 ° c . bee &# 39 ; s wax is then added . 50 ° c . is above the melting point of bee &# 39 ; s wax and the wax and oil is mixed until a uniform mixture is formed . bee &# 39 ; s wax thickens the rice bran oil and acts as a suspension agent for subsequent ingredients . without bee &# 39 ; s wax , the other ingredients , which are to be suspended inside a transparent gel capsule , might separate or congregate under the effect of gravity , and appear faulty or spoiled to the consumer . subsequently , the mixture is cooled to 35 to 45 ° c . coenzyme q 10 , beta - carotenes including alpha and beta carotenes , cryptoxanthin , lutein and zeaxanthin ( available commercially as betatene , available from cognis nutrition ), vitamin e , and medium chain triglycerides ( mct ) are then simultaneously added to the oil - wax mixture under a vacuum ( to eliminate oxidation ) and mixed together for one to two hours beta - carotenes improves the solubility and adds antioxidant value . vitamin e is an antioxidant preservative that prevents peroxidation of the final product , adds antioxidant value , and is fat soluble . although vitamin e is available commercially in 30 iu , 100 iu , 200 iu , 400 iu , and 1000 iu concentrations for the present invention concentrations from 350 iu to 400 iu are usable , with 372 iu being the preferred concentration , which results in a concentration from 30 to 100 iu in the soft gel capsule . medium chain triglycerides are fatty acids that improve the lipid environment and enhance absorbability like the rice bran oil . the bee &# 39 ; s wax primarily increases viscosity to keep insoluble components from settling to one side of the soft gel capsule , but it also improves solubility . for instances where viscosity ( and in turn gel capsule cosmetics ) is not a concern , it can be eliminated . the resultant mixture is cooled to 25 to 30 ° c . a nitrogen gas blanket is introduced to shield the mixture for oxygen and the pressure is returned to atmospheric . the mixture is then encapsulated in a soft gel capsule . the bioavailability or intestinal absorption of coq 10 has been a major controversy in the international coq 10 research community . previous data indicate that only 1 to 3 percent of dry powder coq 10 formulations are absorbed through the lacteals in the intestines and appear in the blood over a twelve hour interval . in general , blood levels of 1 . 2 to 1 . 6 μg / ml have been reported , when taking 30 to 60 mg / day dry powder coq 10 formulation for 30 days . it has been reported that when a dry powder coq 10 formulation is taken with a fat , such as peanut butter , steady - state blood levels of 2 . 0 to 2 . 8 μg / ml are measurable . multiple clinical trials were conducted in the united states and europe using the folkers ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 824 , 669 ) soft gel . with a dosage of 100 mg / day , multiple investigators have reported group mean blood levels of 2 . 3 to 3 . 5 μg / ml depending on the laboratory conducting the measurement . as observed in recent trials , the bioavailability results found for the present soft gel indicate it provides approximately 50 percent , and with two 30 mg coq 10 containing capsules , 100 percent , of the daily coq 10 requirements of a normal sedentary individual . it would take at least three of the dry powder 30 mg coq 10 capsules to produce the same effects as one soft gel , and six to produce the same effect as two 30 mg coq 10 containing soft gel capsules of the present invention . regardless of the absorption mechanism , the significantly higher basal blood coq 10 levels ( 167 %) and the 273 % greater absorption rate were found in previous studies to establish that the present soft gel formulation is indeed a superior product to dry coq 10 formulations . this may be particularly true for those individuals whose daily coq 10 requirement is elevated due to high physical activity , an increased use of coq 10 as an antioxidant , and disease associated with known coq 10 deficiencies . cellular coq 10 content is a function of the number and quality of the cellular mitochondria . for example , the failing heart muscle has 2 . 2 μg coq 10 per mg of tissue and a blood coq 10 deficiency of 0 . 3 - 0 . 5μg / ml . the normal hearts conditioned heart has 6 . 3 μg / gm per mg of tissue , and a low basal blood level of 0 . 5 - 0 . 6 μg / ml . these results indicate that supplemental coq 10 enters the cell . this observation has also been reported for skeletal muscles of trained and non - trained athletes . the subjective and objective responses to supplemental coq 10 in the normal individual appear more rapidly compared to that of the physically unfit or the diseased individual with a coq 10 deficiency . the most probable reason for this observation is that the metabolic machinery ( mitochondria ) is viable in the non - diseased normal volunteer , whereas the mitochondria are atrophied in the cells of deconditioned and / or diseased individuals . therefore , it takes time in the diseased individual to build up the mitochondria to a more normal activity level and to normalize their distribution in the organ system involved . in summary , studies have statistically proven that the present soft gel coq 10 formulation used at 60 mg coq 10 / day is superior to dry powder coq 10 formulations , and prior art soft gel formulations . thus , there has been shown novel formulations , which fulfill all of the objects and advantages sought therefor . many changes , alterations , modifications and other uses and applications of the subject invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification . all such changes , alterations and modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims that follow .	0
the present invention comprises an actuator that employs shearing portions , comprising piezoelectric elements , and shear - translated structural extensions , attached to the piezoelectric elements to provide forceful positioning in a direction perpendicular to the broad plane of the apparatus . although couched in terms of piezoelectric shear actuator layers , the actuator of the present invention may incorporate any combination of known transducer media that produces forceful shear in response to electrical stimulation . for a clear understanding of the present invention , fig1 - 3 provide an introduction to piezoelectric shear actuator elements . fig1 shows a piezoelectric element 2 , comprising piezoelectric body 4 , top active film electrode 6 , bottom stationary film electrode 8 , and leads 10 and 12 to connect the electrodes to a source of electrical potential . for simplicity , stationary electrode 8 is assumed to remain fixed in space and at electrical ground . piezoelectric body 4 , when such body is made of ferroelectric material , is polarized in the direction indicated by the arrow labeled p . the piezoelectric element of fig1 has no potential applied to lead 12 and stands in its true electrical and mechanical zero state . fig2 shows the piezoelectric element of fig1 after the application of a positive electric potential + v to lead 12 . the electrical potential + v causes an electric field in direction e in body 4 . the applied electric field in combination with polarization p causes body 4 to shear elastically . the shear deformation results in translation of electrode 6 in direction 14 by mechanical stroke 16 relative to fixed electrode 8 . the magnitude of stroke 16 is governed by the piezoelectric shear constant of the material of body 4 and the intensity of the electric field , e . fig3 shows that the magnitude of the mechanical stroke 20 is in the opposite direction 18 , when the opposite polarity of the potential applied to lead 12 is - v . in piezoelectric elements it is important to apply the electric field perpendicular to the direction of polarization because if the electric field is applied antiparallel to the polarization direction reduction , destruction , and in severe cases , reversal of polarization occurs . in addition , both the coupling coefficient and the piezoelectric coefficient of action of shear elements are generally larger than those of similarly sized thickness and extension elements . fig4 is a perspective view of a single piezoelectric shear body 4 affixed between ground electrode 8 and active electrode 6 , body 4 being polarized in direction p . the application of a bipolar electric signal to lead 12 causes shear deformation of body 4 that translates electrode 6 in direction 14 or 18 relative to electrode 8 , depending on the polarity applied . the translation is essentially free of internal tensile stress because each plane of body 4 parallel to electrodes 6 and 8 does not change size during the shear deformation . therefore , there is no internal stress between body 4 and its affixing electrodes . electrodes 6 , 8 extend beyond body 4 in order to carry loads . during forceful relative electrode translation , the connecting electrodes carry the shearing forces generated by body 4 , and the reaction loads due to forceful positioning of an object . for clarity , the thicknesses of all members of the figure are exaggerated . in practice , both body 4 and connecting electrodes 6 , 8 , are slender , allowing electrode forces , vertical in the figure , to be borne by body 4 in essentially pure shear . however , the configuration of fig4 cannot , as it stands , stably sustain vertical forces without incurring some bending forces in the piezoelectric body and its electrodes , such forces being less well borne by brittle materials of which piezoelectric elements are an example . the shear force bearing capacity of body 4 is proportional to the area of the broad surface of the body . the stroke in directions 14 , 18 are prescribed by the applied electric field intensity in direction e and the piezoelectric sensitivity of body 4 . another similar body affixed to and extending upward from electrode 8 will be urged in directions 14 or 18 , thereby adding the strokes of the two bodies . therefore , a multiplicity of bodies added vertically may be connected in electrical parallel and mechanical series . fig5 is a partial perspective view of a unit cell called a tetramorph , comprising four shear electrodeformable bodies 4 of fig4 central electrode 6 , connected to a bipolar electric source by lead 12 , and connecting electrodes , 8 connected to electrical ground by leads 10 . tetramorphs can be continuously assembled to the left and right of the one shown , constituting a layer . tetramorphs can also be continuously assembled vertically , constituting a stroke multiplier . continuous assembly of tetramorphs is structurally more efficient when common adjacent electrodes are integral . the tetramorph is symmetric with regard to polarization direction and force bearing . as in fig4 the element thickness is greatly exaggerated for clarity . unlike the element of fig4 the forces due to normal loads in directions 14 , 18 that cause bending of either piezoelectric body 4 or electrodes 6 , 8 are made largely self - cancelling by symmetry . active electrode 6 is activated by a bipolar electric signal applied by lead 12 , resulting in the generation of electric fields in directions e in bodies 4 . the electric fields cause connecting electrodes 8 to translate in direction 14 in the lower pair of elements , and in direction 18 in the upper pair of elements , relative to central electrodes 6 . the stroke of the tetramorph is thus twice that of the element of fig4 because upper and lower element pairs are in mechanical series . structurally , the two pairs of bodies 4 are in 2 × 2 parallel - series and are as stiff as a single element of fig4 neglecting the generally negligible compliances of the electrodes . the tetramorph shown will add its mechanical stroke to the sum of the strokes of all other tetramorphs affixed ( vertically in the figure ) to the extremities of the one shown . fig6 a shows a partial cross section of the quiescent state of a tetramorph actuator comprising two layers 22 , 24 of tetramorphs of fig5 stationary base 26 , and movable plane 28 . layers are attached to each other by extensions of electrodes 6 or 8 from one layer to the bodies 4 of adjacent layers . connection leads are omitted for clarity , but all ground electrodes g may be connected to a common ground , and the active electrodes 0 , illustrated at zero potential may be connected to a common bipolar electric source . alternatively , the active electrodes of each layer , 22 or 24 , may be independently electrically activated by a separate electrical source . fig6 b shows the actuator of fig6 a after the application of a negative potential to active electrodes , now labeled -, resulting in translation of movable plane 28 in direction 18 by forceful mechanical stroke 32 relative to ( stationary ) base 26 . fig6 c shows the actuator of fig6 a after the application of a positive potential to active electrodes , now labeled +, resulting in translation of movable plane 28 in direction 14 by forceful mechanical stroke 36 . adding more tetramorphs , horizontally and into the plane of the figure will increase the area of the layer , thereby increasing the actuating force and normal load carrying capacity of the actuator . in the case of essentially identical piezoelectric bodies 4 , and the application of the same electric potential to all the active electrodes , each layer 22 and 24 will produce the same contribution to the total mechanical stroke . increasing the number of layers increases the mechanical stroke , and increases the capacitance , and reduces the structural rigidity of the actuator unless compensated for by increasing layer area , but does not increase the operating peak potential ( all active electrodes paralleled ). external static forcing means ( omitted for clarity ) applied to the external vertical side surfaces of the actuator further increase the load bearing capacity of the actuator by compressively overwhelming any internal tendency of shear loads to reorient to bending loads . a static vertical downward force on the body of the tetramorph actuator is allowed but is not essential because load bearing internal to the actuator body is essentially altogether shear , precluding the application of tensile loads to the piezoelectric bodies 4 . those ground electrodes 8 at the actuator body surfaces proximate stationary base 26 and movable plane 28 are extended to transmit acting loads without causing interference with translations of bodies 4 . the extensions also obviate the need for insulators for active electrodes and high - potential portions of piezoelectric bodies 4 . gaps internal to the structure prevent contact of active electrodes of adjacent layers , allowing independent electrical activation of layers . extending only ground electrodes allows assembly of the lifting actuator assembly to other structural and transducer body portions without regard to the electrical states thereof . as previously described , the thickness of piezoelectric bodies , electrodes , and gaps are greatly exaggerated in the figures for clarity , and in practice are made small to obtain essentially pure shear load bearing , to achieve a desirably high electric field intensity with the application of a predetermined electric potential , and to allow individual layer activation while preserving actuator body rigidity and load carrying capacity by maintaining an actuator body density close to that of an otherwise solid structure . referring to fig7 shown is a piezoelectric element 54 similar in construction to the piezoelectric element 2 of fig4 but with shear polarization directed by the arrow p . piezoelectric body 56 lies between electrodes 58 and 60 to which respective electric potentials are applied by means of leads 64 and 62 . when a cyclic bipolar electric potential is applied to lead 62 relative to lead 64 , an oscillating electric field is created in directions e in piezoelectric body 56 , resulting in relative shear translation between electrodes 58 and 60 indicated by arrows 66 , 68 . the directions of translation 66 , 68 may be perpendicular to the translation directions 16 , 18 of the piezoelectric element 2 shown in fig4 . fig8 is a unit action cell of the preferred embodiment of the present invention called a tetramorph , comprising four piezoelectric shear elements 56 affixed to a common electrode 64 and electrically enclosed in electrodes 60 . all electrodes 60 may be electrically connected together and to ground , but not mechanically connected , allowing further ramification by additional tetramorphs without regard to the electrical states of their outer electrodes . the upper pair of elements are polarized into the plane of the figure while the lower pair are polarized in the opposite direction . the upper and lower pairs of elements are arranged in mechanical series by the interdigitated arrangement of the electrodes . a potential applied to lead 63 causes the upper electrode pair to translate relative to the lower electrode pair by a distance equal to the sum of the upper and lower translations , thereby doubling the mechanical stroke compared to the stroke of a single element of fig7 . extensions into and out of the tetramorph pass positioning forces to and from adjoining tetramorphs . vertical levels of piezoelectric elements are arranged in electrical parallel and mechanical series . tetramorphs are integrally extended horizontally in the figure to form larger layers capable of greater force . additional layers are integrally extended vertically in the figure to increase stroke . parallel electrical connection of one or more tetramorphs into layers activates the layer with a single desirably low potential . mechanical series connection of layers provides a desirably large mechanical stroke at a given potential . each layer may be electrically connected to a separate source of electrical potential . fig9 a shows generally as 76 a perspective view of the quiescent state of a portion of a piezoelectric actuator comprising , for example , four layers 22 , 24 , 72 , and 74 tetramorphs . component labels are carried over from previous figures . stack tops 28 are omitted for clarity . layers 22 , 24 are composed of tetramorphs of fig ., 5 , while layers 72 , 74 comprise the tetramorphs of fig8 . the stack of layers is affixed to stationary base 26 . all active electrodes are electrically connected ( wiring omitted for clarity ) to a source of electric potential which , when negative , causes the top of the stack to translate in two orthogonal directions simultaneously , the translation having a vertical component of length 32 in direction 18 due to the combined actions of layers 22 , 24 , and a horizontal component of length 84 in direction 66 into the plane of fig9 b due to the combined actions of layers 72 and 74 . when the applied electric potential is positive , the stack top translates by distance 36 in direction 14 in combination with distance 92 in direction 68 , directions opposite those obtained by a negative applied potential as shown in fig9 c . although individual tetramorphs are independently electrically addressable , the result of differing potentials on portions of adjacent tetramorphs results in undesirable internal stresses . each layer is therefore electrically connected together and provided with a single respective electric potential . in fig9 layers 22 , 24 may be electrically activated with a separate electrical source , while other sources may independently activate layers 72 , 74 . an application for the present invention is smooth walking using a pair of the actuators of fig9 activated alternately and cyclically with predetermined electrical wave forms that cause stack tops to smoothly walk without rubbing a traction surface portion of a positioned object . the preferred method of affecting smooth walking in the multilayered embodiment of the present invention is fourier stimulation as previously described , wherein separate non - sinusoidal mechanical stroke waveforms are stimulated in the actuator portions having angularly disposed directions of action . it should be clear that horizontally and vertically acting layers of tetramorphs may be located in any desired order in the stack without changing the action of the actuator output . although rectilinear actions of tetramorphs have been described , it is emphasized that the directions of polarizations p determine the directions of the mobile electrodes . polarizations may be aligned 45 degrees to the layer plane for example , providing a 45 degree tetramorph direction of action . however , a diverse class of applications of walking actuators may engender greater accelerations in the vertical , or stepping - down , direction than in the horizontal , or tread direction . therefore , for such applications , the preferred location of step - down layers is near the actuator output end where the least mass must be accelerated . for a description of smooth walking actuators see applicant &# 39 ; s patent , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 043 , 621 issued aug . 27 , 1991 entitled piezoelectric actuator , which is hereby made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference . a third direction of actuator action is added by affixing anywhere in the illustrated stack a shear actuator of the piezoelectric shear type described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 928 , 030 issued may 22 , 1990 entitled piezoelectric actuator which is hereby made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference . other layers such as twisters may be added to give the stack nonlinear motions from one or more layers . twisters are described in the applicant &# 39 ; s copending application ser . no . 07 / 708 , 643 filed may 31 , 1991 entitled twisting actuators , which is hereby made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference . the preferred methods of making actuators with two or more directions of motion are extensions of the methods previously described for making single - direction actuators , in combination with the step of orienting the direction of action of each plane of actuator elements in a predetermined manner . the primary advantage of the multiple - axis embodiment of the present invention is avoidance of internal stresses . shear deformation , particularly the deformations of piezoelectric elements , entail a two - dimensional deformation that keeps the volume of the element essentially constant , translates one plane ( electrode ) relative to another , but causes essentially no change in the thickness , width or length of the element . during actuator operation no internal strains other than the shear strain applied to the positioned object are generated between elements , between tetramorphs , between layers of the same action direction , and between adjacent layers acting in angularly disposed directions . further , unlike the inseparable thickness - extension deformations of prior art piezoelectric elements that suffer a stroke loss when one of the deformations is constrained by bonding the element to a rigid support , the shear element bonding surfaces do not change shape during shear deformation and therefore do not restrict full and unencumbered actuation . another advantage to the multiple - axis embodiment of the present invention is monolithic construction having components of similar size and shape with similar orientations , allowing convenient and economical actuator manufacturing with a single and relatively simple apparatus . fig1 is a perspective view of a partially completed tetramorph actuator body under construction by a manufacturing method comprising the steps of successive epitaxial application of layers of piezoelectric 4 and electrode 6 , 8 materials onto a temporary substrate 38 from material source direction 40 . source direction 40 includes directions other than purely normal to the broad deposited surfaces during some steps of the method , to enhance the directionality of piezoelectric materials deposition , for example . this method is preferred for relatively thin layers of small actuators and thin layers of large , high performance actuators . masks ( omitted ) confine the depositions to predetermined patterns . temporary filler materials can be deposited where gaps are required , the fillers removed after body completion by evaporation , melting , or solvation . compressible , electrically insulating fillers are left in place in actuators that operate in vacuum or other hostile environments . compressible insulating gap fillers allow operation , for example , at pressures within the range of gas pressures that allow electrical conduction . temporary substrate 38 is removed after completion of the actuator body , thereby permitting rotation by a quarter turn ( of the figured body ) and subsequent assembly to the other actuator parts such as other layers . a subset of actuator lifting layers may be deposited and tested as separate components and subsequently assembled into a larger lifting actuator . inter - electrode wiring , connections to external electrical terminals , and electric drive components can be co - deposited with the electrodes and piezoelectric bodies . piezoelectric bodies can be deposited from materials that are intrinsically piezoelectric ( rather than ferroelectric ) and are inherently polarized in the directions illustrated by a deposition process which is well known to those versed in the art . ferroelectric materials may be polarized by the polarizing step of deposition of each piezoelectric body . electric drive components may be co - deposited on layers of insulation that are thinner than the piezoelectric body thickness . co - deposited drive components ( omitted from the figures ) are also deposited on polarized or unpolarized portions of the piezoelectric bodies , resulting in higher inherent reliability , simpler integration with other actuator segments , and simplified connection to electrical sources and source controlling means . thinner layers reduce the peak potential needed to achieve a predetermined electric field intensity , while thinner layers , being more numerous , add proportionally to the capacitance of the assembly . despite the higher capacitance of thinner layers , entailing larger reactive currents during operation , the lower operating potential allows the use of solid state devices of direct - drive electrical sources . lower potentials also increase actuator reliability by reducing electrical stress on insulating materials adjunct to the acting layers . fig1 also illustrates a method of assembling large actuators using preformed , prepolarized , pre - electroded piezoelectric bodies , and prefabricated electrodes . layers of prefabricated components 4 , 6 , and 8 may be stacked on a temporary substrate 38 with a device ( not illustrated ) to maintain prescribed gaps between components . the assembly can then be subjected to pressure in direction 40 relative to substrate 38 until all components become integral . the method also includes the coating of each plane surface of each piezoelectric body that is to be proximate an electrode with diffusible , conducting material , for example , gold . the electrode bonding surfaces may be similarly coated . the integration step includes the application of modest pressure 40 and moderate temperature until the conducting coatings inter - diffuse to join piezoelectric elements and electrodes into a monolithic structure . variants of the method can add the steps of drying , dust removal , and vacuum as aids to inter - diffusion . inter - electrode electrical connections can be made by extensions ( not illustrated ) of the electrodes . alternatively , electrodes can be etched from a broad sheet , each electrode being joined to one or more neighboring electrodes by a permanent or subsequently removed conducting portion of the sheet . fig1 is an abbreviated schematic of an electrical drive means , comprising electrical source connection 52 , actuator activation signal connection 78 , controller 44 , stimulator 46 , and actuator 48 of the present invention . actuator 48 further comprises actuator layers or groups of electrically paralleled layers , shown schematically as typical layer or layer group capacitances 42 . each layer or layer group is connected in a loop with a portion of stimulator 46 . in response to activation signals 78 , controller 44 distributes electrical power from input 52 to stimulators 46 . controller 44 creates a time - varying signal for each circuit of stimulator 46 that consists of a unique amplitude , frequency , phase , and polarity . each stimulator circuit stimulates the corresponding layer - stimulator loop to resonate electrically ( but not necessarily mechanically ). amplitudes and frequencies of loop resonances are predetermined by the non - sinusoidal mechanical stroke wave form desired from actuator 48 . for example , when the lifting actuator is a portion of a smooth walking actuator , the lifting mechanical wave form is an approximation of a rectangular wave in direction 50 . such wave forms may be obtained by selection of layer or layer group signals in accordance with fourier &# 39 ; s theorem . high lift , flat - topped portions of the wave form apply the normal force needed for traction by other actuator portions . the low - lift portions of the wave form provide the clearance between retracing traction portions of the actuator as it prepares for the next walking step . the rectangular lifting wave form contributes to the mechanical efficiency of the walking actuator by preventing sliding during every portion of the walking motion . the use of resonance contributes to the electrical efficiency of the system by relegating high voltage swings and large reactive currents to the layer - stimulator loops , rather than through relatively resistive output components of controller 44 . for a more detailed explanation of control circuits , wave forms and driving signals see the applicant &# 39 ; s copending patent applications ser . no . 07 / 488 , 548 filed mar . 5 , 1990 and continued as ser . no . 07 / 743 , 069 on aug . 9 , 1991 entitled electrical drive for a segmented transducer , also see applicant &# 39 ; s copending application ser . no . 07 / 836 , 495 filed feb . 18 , 1992 entitled walking toothed actuator and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 628 , 275 issued dec . 9 , 1986 entitled efficient power amplifier for high capacitive devices , by skipper et al . all of which are made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference . an embodiment of the present invention made of electromechanically reciprocal electroshearable material may be used as a force sensor . in the practice of the invention , piezoelectric elements are relatively numerous , forces are borne by many parallel and series paths , and local stresses are low enough to permit at least one element to be used as a sensor . in the embodiment of the present invention using piezoelectric shear elements , the law of reciprocity allows an element to convert applied electric charge to mechanical work , and conversely , to convert mechanical action to electrical signals . the sensor signal is an analog of the state of force inside the lifting actuator body and is used by controller 44 ( connections omitted ) to coordinate the timing of signals applied to the actuator &# 39 ; s layers or layer groups . it is to be understood that within the scope of the present invention , lifting actuator elements also include electrostrictive , remanent , permeable , magnetostrictive , thermal - expansive , and other materials that provide a forceful shear translation in response to electrical stimulation as previously described , the piezoelectric shear embodiment being described by way of example . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that , within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	7
the ensuing description provides preferred exemplary embodiment ( s ) only , and is not intended to limit the scope , applicability or configuration of the invention . rather , the ensuing description of the preferred exemplary embodiment ( s ) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention . it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments . however , it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . for example , circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail . in other instances , well - known circuits , processes , algorithms , structures , and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments . referring first to fig1 a , a side - sectional view of an embodiment of a data card 100 - 1 is shown . this embodiment of the data card 100 - 1 comprises a card body 104 that may be formed either from a single piece of material or from two or more layers of material . the material is commonly plastic and / or paper but may include other substances that are durable and capable of holding a shape . in addition , the material may be transparent or opaque as required to display pictures and / or writing . the card body 104 is intended to be portable and may be approximately the size of a consumer credit card . other embodiments may be approximately the size of identification cards , fare cards , membership cards , card keys , passports , or stored value cards . other embodiments could have other configurations and sizes . in this embodiment , the card body 104 includes a first region 108 and a second region 112 . the regions 108 , 112 may perform different functions and may be either rigid or flexible depending upon their intended use . in a particular embodiment , for example , the first region 108 might be used with a magnetic stripe card reader / writer . thus , it might be flexible and specially designed for swiping operations . the second region 112 , on the other hand , might be substantially more rigid than the first region 108 in order to protect an integrated circuit and / or an antenna . applications of the data card 100 - 1 have regions 108 , 112 of particular thicknesses . the thickness may be a physical constraint or may be related to durability and length of service considerations . for example , an atm machine may only accept cards with a particular thickness . alternatively , a data card manufacturer may design a card to last for a short period of time . data cards intended to last for long periods of time may be thicker and more rigid than disposable cards that provide only a few uses . thus , thickness may be an important consideration in determining whether a data card is suitable for a specific application . to provide flexibility , regions of the card body 100 - 1 have different thicknesses . specifically , the first region 108 has a first thickness 116 and the second region 112 has a second thickness 120 . the two thicknesses are generally selected to conform with popular card standards , including iso 7810 ( identity cards ) and iso 15457 ( thin flexible cards ). other embodiments of the data card 100 , however , may incorporate additional aspects of commercial and international card standards to further enhance data card functionality . further , some embodiments may not conform to any standard , but are designed to work with proprietary readers . throughout this specification card reader / writers may be referred to as being a reader or reading equipment , but it is to be understood that the reader may also write to the data card . in an exemplary embodiment , the first thickness 116 is from about 250 um ( 10 mils ) to about 305 um ( 12 mils ) thick and is designed for use with magnetic thin card reading equipment . the second thickness 120 is approximately 760 um ( 30 mils ) thick and conforms to thickness specifications of iso 7810 , id - 1 format . in other embodiments , the first thickness 116 at its maximum may comprise any whole number between 200 um ( 8 mils ) and 381 um ( 15 mils ) and the second thickness 120 at its maximum may include any whole number between 600 um ( 25 mils ) and 1000 um ( 40 mils ). many combinations of the first thickness 116 and the second thickness 120 are possible in various embodiments . these combinations permit card manufacturers and card sellers to target the needs of their customers . thus , a transit system operator may deploy a data card that allows passengers to swipe the first region 108 of the card body through a turnstile in a subway system and later insert the second region 112 into a vending machine to make purchases , for example . alternatively , combination data cards might be offered by different businesses or government entities to meet customer demands . for example , a fare card could be paired with an identification card or an rfid toll card . in each case , however , the first thickness 116 and the second thickness 120 enable a single data card 100 - 1 to be used with a wide range of reader equipment in many different applications . a first data storage element 124 is included in the first region 108 for interacting with external reader / writer systems . the second region 112 has a second data storage element 128 . as shown , the data storage elements may be different . for example , the first data storage element 124 may be a magnetic stripe (“ magstripe ”) and the second data storage element 128 may be an integrated circuit . other embodiments , however , may include the same type of data storage element in both the first and second regions . the data storage elements may comprise magnetic stripes , optical bar codes , integrated circuits with external contacts , integrated circuits with antenna configurations , and passive or active rfid tags . integrated circuit storage elements may be further coupled to microprocessors and digital memory circuits to provide additional capabilities . a magnetic loop antenna 132 enables embodiments of the data card to wirelessly interact with card reading equipment . the magnetic loop antenna 132 may have different lengths and geometric arrangements for particular applications . for example , some embodiments of the data card 100 - 1 may include a second data storage element 128 that is an active rfid tag . in this case , the rfid tag would be activated by exposing the magnetic loop antenna 132 to electromagnetic radiation from an rfid transceiver . standard rfid activation frequency ranges include low - frequency ( 125 or 134 . 2 khz ), high - frequency ( 13 . 56 mhz ), uhf ( 868 to 956 mhz ) and microwave ( 2 . 45 ghz ) in various embodiments . thus , embodiments of the data card may include a magnetic loop antenna 132 that is specifically designed to receive the wireless communication signals . other embodiments of the data card 100 - 1 , for example , might include a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit coupled to a magnetic loop antenna 132 . this configuration might provide contact - less smartcard functionality in accordance with iso 14443 or some other standard . as an example , the card might act as a stored value card that employs data encryption technology for secure wireless transactions with a host system . in some embodiments , the first data storage element 124 operates independently from the second data storage element 128 . other embodiments , however , may include an electrical connection 130 between the elements that facilitates the exchange of information . for example , an embodiment comprising a first data element 124 that is a magnetic stripe and a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit might also include an electrical connection 130 between the elements such that the integrated circuit could read data from or write data to the magnetic stripe to reprogram it . where there is the ability to reprogram one data storage elements from the other , both data storage elements could be synchronized . further embodiments might include a first data storage element 124 that is an integrated circuit coupled to a microprocessor and a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit . an electrical connection 130 might couple the data storage elements such that both could be programmed by the microprocessor . referring to fig1 b , a side - sectional view of an embodiment of a data card 100 - 2 having surface mounted electrical contacts 152 is shown . this embodiment illustrates a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit . the second data storage element 128 is disposed in the second region 112 of the data card and can be protected by the second thickness 120 . the second data storage element 128 can be accessed by a card reader through electrical contacts 152 . this embodiment also shows a first data storage element 124 that is a magnetic stripe 124 . the magnetic stripe 124 is located at an offset 156 distance from an edge of the card body . placement of the first data storage element 124 in relation to an edge of the card body 104 allows proper alignment of the magnetic stripe 124 when the data card is swiped through a card reader / writer . in an exemplary embodiment , the first data storage element 124 is a 9 . 53 mm ( 0 . 375 inch ) magstripe and is offset 156 by a distance of about 5 . 66 mm ( 0 . 223 inch ) from the edge of the card body 104 . other offsets 156 from the edge of the card body 104 may be selected to accommodate a variety of card reading / writing equipment . referring next to fig1 c , a side - sectional view of an embodiment of a data card 100 - 3 with a removable cover 136 is shown . the removable cover 136 connects to the card body 104 with a fastener 148 . the fastener 148 may comprise plastic tabs , a perforated seam , an adhesive strip , a snap assembly , or other means of attachment . depending upon the fastener 148 selected , it may or may not be possible to reattach the removable cover 136 to the card body 104 . thus , some embodiments may include tear - away or break - away covers while other embodiments may have fasteners that permit the cover to remain attached and be flipped - back to its original position . in one embodiment , the fastener allows removal of the cover 136 , which can be reattached by snapping the fastener back in place on the card body 104 . there may be a non - permanent adhesive on the cover 136 to allow sticking it into place on the card body when the first data storage element 124 is not needed . the removable cover 136 protects the first data storage element 124 until it is needed . in the embodiment shown , the removable cover 136 also increases the first thickness 116 so that it generally matches the second thickness 120 . this results in a uniform thickness throughout the card body 104 and may facilitate manufacturing , distribution and use of the data card in one embodiment . for example , uniform thickness may facilitate use with automated test equipment or dispensing devices such as vending machines . with reference to fig1 d , a side - sectional view of an embodiment of a data card 100 - 4 with a retractable cover 140 is shown . in this embodiment , the retractable cover 140 rotates about an axis running along an edge of the card body 104 . a fastener 144 such as a hinge , pin , or swivel joint attaches the retractable cover 140 to the card body 104 . in one embodiment , the fastener 144 is made of the same material as the card body 104 , but is thin enough to allow the material to act as a hinge . the retractable cover 140 may be opened to a position that exposes the first data storage 124 element and later closed to cover and protect the first data storage element 124 . adhesive on the retractable cover 140 may allow the cover 140 to remain in the close position without passing adhesive to first region 108 . referring to fig2 a , a plan view of an embodiment of a data card 200 - 1 is shown . this embodiment illustrates a card body 104 with length 208 and width 204 dimensions where the length dimension is greater than the width dimension . in an exemplary embodiment , the length 208 and the width 204 conform to the id - 1 format of iso 7810 . thus , the length 208 is approximately 86 mm ( 3 . 39 inches ) and the width 204 is approximately 54 mm ( 2 . 13 inches ), for example . other data card embodiments , however , may be directed to different standards or different data card applications . thus , the length 208 and width 204 dimensions of the card body 104 may be varied to meet different card requirements . the present embodiment includes electrical contacts 152 mounted on the surface of the card body 104 that connect to a second data storage element located directly below the electrical contacts 152 . in other embodiments , the data storage element is not directly below the electrical contacts 152 , but the data storage element is electrically coupled to the electrical contacts 152 . the electrical contacts 152 enable a card reader to access data stored by the second data storage element . in an exemplary embodiment , the layout of the electrical contacts 152 and their position on the data card 104 conform to the iso 7816 standard describing contact smart cards . other embodiments , however , may use customized electrical contacts 152 that may be attached at custom locations on the data card . a first region width 212 is also shown in the present embodiment . the first region width 212 may vary with respect to the card body width 204 and assume different percentages of the card body width 204 . in an exemplary embodiment , the first region width 212 may be approximately 33 % of the card body width 204 . however , as used in different applications , the maximum first region width 212 may be any whole percentage from 15 % to 41 % of the card body width 204 . referring to fig2 b , a plan view of an alternative embodiment of a data card 200 - 2 is shown . in this embodiment , a third data storage element 216 has been added to the second region 112 . this configuration further enhances the functionality of the data card . for example , a data card in the present embodiment might include a first region 108 serving as a magnetic thin card and a second region 112 that acts both as a standard magnetic stripe credit card and as a contact smartcard . with reference to fig2 c , a plan view of a further embodiment of a data card 200 - 3 is shown . in this embodiment , the first region 108 comprises a first data storage element 124 that is a magnetic stripe . the second region 112 includes a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit coupled to a magnetic loop antenna 132 . the magnetic loop antenna 132 is fully contained within the second region 112 and may vary in length and geometry based upon its intended application . for example , this configuration might permit transit passengers to pass between different fare collection systems in a transit network or to pass through different segments of a transit system . referring to fig2 d , a plan view of an additional embodiment of a data card is shown . this embodiment illustrates surface mounted electrical contacts 152 that attach below to a first data storage element . a second data storage element 128 that is an integrated circuit coupled to a magnetic loop antenna 132 is also shown . this embodiment may represent a customized application intended for use during a transition period , for example . an electrical conductor may be included for synchronizing the two data storage elements or otherwise sharing information between them . other embodiments may not couple together the data storage elements . while the principles of the disclosure have been described above in connection with specific apparatuses and methods , it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as limitation on the scope of the invention .	6
in the typical embodiments of the invention represented by the door hinges 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 shown in fig1 - 4 and by the guide device 12 together with a door hinge 10 shown in fig5 a door 14 that is attached at its front end to a door pillar 16 by a pair of the door hinges 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 is prevented from swinging outwardly to the side of the vehicle in the case of a collision which causes deformation of the two door hinges 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 or of their attachment as is illustrated with the conventional door hinge 18 shown in fig6 a and 6b . the conventional door hinge of fig6 a includes a hinge retaining part 20 having an angle body part section affixed to a door pillar 16 of the vehicle body , a hinge part 24 rigidly connected to the hinge retaining part 20 by a schematically illustrated off - center screw 22 along with a hinge door part 26 having an angle section welded to the door 14 and being rotatably connected to the hinge part 24 by a hinge pin 28 so that the door 14 can be opened and closed . in a frontal collision or a so - called offset collision of the motor vehicle , the closed door 14 , as a result of its inertia , exerts a force on the hinge pin 28 in the direction of vehicle motion and during deformation of the door pillar 16 in the rearward direction , that force can lead to damage or destruction of the door hinge 18 or its attachment to the pillar 16 . usually , the door pillar 16 deforms or a weld seam 30 between the hinge retaining part 20 and the door pillar 16 tears open starting at its back end since the forces and moments are greatest there . as a result of the still existing attachment of the front end of the weld seam 30 to the pillar and the inertial forces acting on the door 14 as the weld seam 30 tears open , the hinge retaining part 20 , and with it the rest of the door hinge 18 and the front part of the door 14 , is swung outwardly and accelerated away from the vehicle &# 39 ; s longitudinal center line about an axis of rotation located near the front end of the weld seam 30 , as shown by the arrow m in fig6 b . this causes the front end of the door 14 to swing out to the side , while the adjacent angled surfaces 32 and 34 at the front end of the door 14 and on the door pillar 16 along the edge of the door opening , which face each other across a gap , move in the direction of the arrow p relative to each other so that they do not come into contact . this means , on the one hand , that the forces acting between the door 14 and the door pillar 16 are thereafter transmitted only through the door hinge 18 so that the weld seam 30 very quickly tears completely open , and , on the other hand , that forces from the door pillar 16 cannot then be transmitted rearwardly to more remote regions of the vehicle either through the door hinge 18 or through the angled surfaces 32 and 34 . the representative embodiment of a door hinge 2 in accordance with the invention , which is shown in fig1 a and 1b , is constructed for the most part identically to the conventional door hinge 18 , and like the conventional hinge it includes a hinge retaining part 20 having angled two flanges 36 and 38 , with the flange 36 welded to the door pillar 16 and extending essentially parallel to the longitudinal center line of the vehicle . in contrast to the conventional door hinge 18 of fig6 a and 6b , however , a groove 40 , which extends over the full height of the hinge retaining part 20 , is provided along the inside corner of the angle between the two flanges 36 and 38 . the groove 40 constitutes an intended deformation point at which the hinge retaining part 20 is deformed before any tearing of the weld seam 30 can occur . during such deformation , the free flange 38 of the hinge retaining part 20 bends forward at the groove 40 and the hinge pin 28 moves essentially parallel to the direction of travel , so that the front end of the door 14 does not swing outwardly before the adjacent angled surfaces 32 and 34 on the front end of the door 14 and on the door pillar 16 come into contact in the manner shown in fig1 b . thereafter , the surfaces 32 and 34 act as force transmitting surfaces through which the forces between the door pillar 16 and the door 14 are transmitted so that the door hinge 2 is relieved of the load and consequently does not deform further . in another embodiment of a door hinge 4 in accordance with the invention shown in fig2 a and 2b , the hinge retaining part 20 , which is welded to the door pillar 16 parallel to the longitudinal center offset line of the vehicle is a flat plate to which the hinge part 24 that is fixed to the body is mounted by offset screws as schematically shown in the drawings . the hinge part 24 , which has a u - shaped cross - section open toward the outside , consists of a flat yoke 40 that abuts the hinge retaining part 20 and has a hole for the screw 22 and two flat horizontal side plates 42 which project outwardly from the top and bottom ends of the yoke 40 . both of the side plates 42 have a hinge pin hole 44 in the vicinity of their outer edges to receive the hinge pin 28 , which also passes through a cylindrical receptacle in the hinge part 26 that is fixed to the door between the side plates 42 . the aligned holes 44 in the top and bottom side plates 42 are each separated by a narrow bridge 46 in the form of a web from corresponding slot guides 48 in the side plates 42 , the slot guides being vertically aligned and curved inwardly toward the door pillar 16 so that they extend in the forward direction toward the longitudinal center line of the vehicle . the material bridges 46 constitute intended break points that yield first in the case of deformation of the door hinge 4 caused by an impact so that the top and bottom ends of the hinge pin 28 enter the slot guides 48 and move forwardly and inwardly therein , as shown in fig2 b . as a result , the hinge part 26 that is fixed to the door and the front end of the door 14 are pulled somewhat inwardly so that the adjacent angled surfaces 32 and 34 come into contact earlier . in the further embodiment of a door hinge 6 shown in fig3 deformation of the door pillar under load is used to stabilize the door in the door opening . in contrast to the conventional door hinge 18 of fig6 a , however , the angular hinge retaining part 20 is oriented in such a way that the flange 36 welded to the door pillar 16 extends toward the rear so that the hinge pin 28 is located essentially in line laterally with the front end of the weld seam 30 which then forms the axis of rotation about which the hinge pin 28 is pivoted when deformation of the door pillar occurs . this means that the hinge pin 28 , and thus the front end of the door 14 , is accelerated in the direction of the arrow m in fig3 and thus moves when the weld seam 30 tears open inwardly toward of the vehicle &# 39 ; s longitudinal center line until the adjacent surfaces 32 and 34 come into contact shortly thereafter . in the embodiment of a door hinge 8 shown in fig4 the hinge pin 28 is likewise located essentially in line laterally with the front end of the weld seam 30 so that , when deformation of the door pillar 16 occurs , the hinge pin swings in the direction of the arrow m and pulls the front end of the door 14 inwardly . placement of the hinge pin 28 laterally in line with the front end of the weld seam 30 can be achieved in this case because the flange 36 of the angular hinge retaining part 20 is welded to a surface of the door pillar 16 which is inclined at a forward angle toward the longitudinal center line . while the movement of the front end of the door in the direction of travel toward the vehicle &# 39 ; s longitudinal center line is accomplished as a result of a deformation of the door hinge 2 ( fig1 a ) or 4 ( fig2 a ) itself or of an attachment of the door hinge 6 ( fig3 ) or 8 ( fig4 ) in the exemplary embodiments described above because of the design of the door hinge or its attachment , in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig5 this movement is accomplished by a guide mechanism 12 which is separate and independent of a door hinge 10 . this guide mechanism 12 includes a tongue 52 that is bent forward out of the door 14 and is located between the upper and lower door hinges 10 , which are of conventional design and are disposed vertically one above the other . the tongue 52 is punched out of a front door strut 54 of the door 14 and , when the door 14 is closed , the tongue extends through a recess 56 into the inside of the door pillar 16 and behind the hinge - side wall of the door pillar 16 so that it prevents the front end of the door 14 from swinging out to the side when the door hinge 10 is destroyed . in order to additionally pull the front end of the door 14 in the direction of the longitudinal center line so that the adjacent surfaces 32 and 34 come into contact more quickly , a strap 60 punched out on three sides during manufacture of the recess 56 in the door pillar 16 is bent through the recess 56 into the inside of the door pillar 16 so that it forms a guide surface 62 extending inward at an angle for the tongue 52 which projects out of the door strut 54 . in order to keep the strap 60 in its position despite the forces acting on it during deformation of the door hinge 10 , the strap is supported against the inside of the door pillar 16 by two or more punched and bent angular projections 64 . the tongue 52 is bent in the shape of a semicircular arc with its forward face 66 in the direction of travel positioned opposite a base section 68 of the strap 60 , which likewise has the shape of a semi circular arc but with a smaller radius of curvature so that when the door hinge 10 is destroyed the two form an auxiliary hinge that permits the door 14 to be opened . instead of a tongue 52 punched out of the door strut 54 , the guide mechanism can alternatively be , for example , a massive spike ( not shown ), which is welded to the door strut 54 and , like the tongue 52 extends into a recess 56 of the door pillar 16 so that it does not hinder opening and closing of the door 14 . the front end of the spike can have the shape of a truncated cone in order to cause the spike and the front end of the door 14 to move inwardly upon impact by interaction with the angled guide surface 62 of the door pillar 16 . a guide arrangement of this or a similar type can be used together with conventional door hinges 18 as well as in conjunction with the door hinges 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 shown in fig1 - 5 . alternatively , the tongue 52 , the spike , or another element projecting past the front end of the door 14 , can be made shorter so that it first engages with and moves behind the inner surface of the door pillar 16 to prevent the front end of the door 14 from swinging outwardly upon deformation of the door hinge 10 or its attachment and during the resultant forward motion of the door 14 . although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments , many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention .	4
referring first to fig1 and 2 , a free piston engine 10 includes a first cylinder 12 and a second cylinder 14 , axially aligned with the first cylinder , the cylinders being located in cylinder liners 16 , 17 , surrounded by an engine block . a first pair of pistons , inner pistons 18 , 20 , are mutually connected by a push rod 22 . a first piston 18 of the first piston pair reciprocates within the first cylinder 12 , and the second piston 20 of the first piston pair reciprocates within the second cylinder 14 . a second pair of pistons , outer piston 22 , 24 , are connected mutually by pull rods 28 , 30 , and secured mutually at the axial ends of pistons 24 , 26 by bridges 32 , 34 . a first piston of the second or outer piston pair reciprocates within the first cylinder 12 , and a second piston 26 of the outer piston pair reciprocates within the first cylinder 14 . each cylinder 12 , 14 is formed with air inlet ports 36 , 37 and exhaust ports 38 , 39 . in fig1 , the ports 37 , 39 of cylinder 12 are closed by pistons 18 , 24 , which are shown located near their top dead center ( tdc ) position , and the ports 36 , 38 of cylinder 14 are opened by pistons 18 , 24 , which are shown located near their bottom center ( bdc ) position . in fig2 , ports 36 , 38 of cylinder 14 are closed by pistons 20 , 26 , which are shown there located near their tdc position , and the ports 37 , 39 of cylinder 12 are opened by pistons 18 , 24 , which are shown there located near their bdc position . when the pistons of either cylinder are at the tdc position , the pistons of the other cylinder are at or near their bdc position . each cylinder is formed with a fuel port 40 , through which fuel is admitted , preferably by injection , into the cylinder during the compression stroke . displacement of the piston pairs between their respective tdc and bdc positions , the extremities of travel shown in fig1 and 2 , is coordinated such that a fuel - air mixture located in the space between pistons 18 , 24 in cylinder 12 and between pistons 20 , 26 in cylinder 14 is compressed . combustion of those mixtures occurs within the cylinders , preferably when the pistons have moved slightly past the tdc position toward the bdc position . this synchronized reciprocation of the piston pairs is referred to as “ opposed piston - opposed cylinder ” ( opoc ) reciprocation . the synchronized , coordinated movement of the pistons is controlled through a hydraulic circuit , which includes fluid motor - pumps check valves and lines contained in a hydraulic or pneumatic block 43 , located axially between the cylinder sleeves 16 , 17 . referring next to fig3 , the control circuit includes a low pressure accumulator 41 , a high pressure accumulator 42 , a motor pump 44 driveably connected to push rod 22 , a motor pump 46 driveably connected to pull rod 28 , and a motor pump 48 driveably connected to pull rod 30 . push rod 22 is formed with a piston 50 located in a cylinder 51 formed in block 43 . reciprocation of engine pistons 18 , 20 causes piston 50 of motor pump 44 to reciprocate . pull rods 28 , 30 are each formed with pistons 52 , 54 , located in cylinders 55 , 57 , respectively , formed in block 43 . reciprocation of engine pistons 24 , 26 causes pistons 52 , 54 of motor pumps 46 , 48 to reciprocate . the actuator connects high pressure accumulator 42 alternately to actuator motors 44 , 46 , 48 in order to displace the piston pairs 18 - 20 , 24 - 26 in their respective cylinders 12 , 14 against the pressure produced in the cylinders during the compression stroke . preferably the actuator motors 44 , 46 , 48 apply force to the pistons when the pistons are at or near the bdc position , and the motors remove the actuating force before the piston reaches the tdc position . the pressure developed in each cylinder during its compression stroke forces the piston away from the tdc position during the expansion stroke . the increase of piston displacement for each piston displacement cycle is accomplished by progressively increasing the magnitude of the pressure applied by the actuator motors during each displacement cycle , or by increasing the length of the period when pressure is applied to the actuator , or by a combination of these actions . when the engine 10 is running , the coordinated reciprocating movement of the engine pistons draws fluid from the low pressure accumulator 41 to the pump motors 44 , 46 , 48 , which produce hydraulic or pneumatic output fluid flow , supplied to the high pressure accumulator 42 . the motor - pumps 44 , 46 , 48 operate as motors driven by pressurized fluid in order to start the engine , and operate as pumps to supply fluid to the high pressure accumulator for temporary storage there or to supply fluid directly to fluid motors , which drive the wheels in rotation against a load . an electronic controller 56 produces an actuating signal transmitted to a solenoid or a relay , which , in response to the actuating signal , changes the state of a control valve 58 . for example , when the hydraulic system is operating as a motor to move the engine pistons preparatory to starting the engine , controller 56 switches valve 58 between a first state 60 , at which accumulator 42 is connected through valve 58 to the left - hand side of the cylinder 51 of pump - motor 44 through line 64 . with valve 58 in the state 60 , the left - hand sides of the cylinders 55 , 57 of motor - pumps 46 , 48 , are connected through lines 68 , 70 and valve 58 to the low pressure accumulator 41 . these actions cause piston 50 to move rightward forcing fluid from pump - motor 44 through line 72 to the right - hand side of the cylinder 57 , and through line 74 to the right - hand side of cylinder 55 . in this way , the first state of valve 58 causes the fluid control system to move engine pistons 18 , 20 rightward and engine pistons 24 , 26 to move leftward from the position shown in fig3 . when controller 56 switches valve 58 to the second state 76 , high pressure accumulator 42 is connected through line 68 to the left - hand side of piston 57 of motor - pump 48 , and through line 70 to the left - hand side of piston 55 of motor - pump 46 . this forces engine pistons 24 , 26 rightward . when valve 58 is in the second state 76 , the low - pressure accumulator 41 is connected through valve 58 and line 64 to the left - hand side of cylinder 51 of motor - pump 44 . as pistons 52 , 54 move rightward , fluid is pumped from cylinders 55 , 57 through lines 74 , 72 , respectively , to the right - hand side of cylinder 51 . this causes piston 50 , push rod 22 and engine pistons 18 , 20 to move leftward . referring now to the cross section of fig4 a and 4b , the inner pistons 18 , 20 are bolted to a hydraulic plunger 82 , which reciprocates with pistons 18 , 20 within a hydraulic cylinder 84 along axis 86 . when the engine 10 is producing hydraulic output , hydraulic fluid at relatively low pressure is supplied to cylinder 84 from a low pressure rail 88 through a check valve 90 , which opens communication to cylinder 84 when the pressure in rail 88 is greater than the pressure in the cylinder 84 , and otherwise closes communication to prevent flow from rail 88 to the cylinder 84 . similarly , plunger 82 pumps hydraulic fluid from cylinder 84 through a check valve 92 to a high - pressure rail 94 . check valve 92 closes to prevent flow from rail 94 to cylinder 84 when pressure in rail 94 is greater than that of cylinder 84 . pressure sensors 96 , 98 produce electronic signals representing the pressure in combustion cylinders 12 , 14 . the signals produced by sensors 96 , 98 are supplied as input to the electronic controller 56 , which receives other input signals , executes control algorithms that employ information regarding current operation conditions represented by the input signals , and produces output signals for controlling engine throttle valves 128 , 129 , a fuel supply system , an engine ignition system , and the starter - actuator . fuel injectors 100 supply fuel to cylinders 12 , 14 through the fuel ports 40 under programmed control of controller 56 . fig5 shows the location of a spark plug 104 , and fig6 shows a glow plug 106 , which can be used instead of a spark plug . either the spark plug or glow plug is located in a wall 108 of each liner 16 , 17 of combustion cylinders 12 , 14 . when the spark plug 104 is used , controller 56 produces an output signal that ultimately produces a voltage differential across the spark plug terminals and a spark in the combustion chamber , which ignites the air - fuel mixture there . when the glow plug 106 is used , controller 56 produces an output signal that causes an electric current momentarily to pass through the glow plug creating a hot spot in the combustion chamber that ignites the air - fuel mixture . air enters the engine through inlet ports 36 , 37 , which communicate with the output of a turbocharger ( not shown ). inlet ports 37 in cylinder 12 are supplied from the turbocharger with air though passages 110 , 112 ; intake reed valves 114 , 116 ; scavenge pump inlet ports 118 ; a scavenge pump 120 ; scavenge pump outlet ports 122 ; outlet reed valves 124 ; and an air intake annulus 126 , which communicates with inlet ports 37 . a similar circuit carries air from the turbocharger output to air inlet ports 36 in cylinder 14 . passages 110 each contain a throttle valve 128 , which opens and closes in response to an output command signal produced by controller 56 while starting the engine . after the engine is started , throttle valves 128 are opened , and the engine operates independently of throttle control or ignition control , preferably with homogeneous charge compression ignition . before fuel is injected to start the engine 10 , pistons 18 , 20 are moved leftward and pistons 24 , 26 are moved rightward by the actuator toward the position shown in fig1 sufficiently to cause the pistons to open the inlet ports 36 in cylinder 14 , thereby ensuring that cylinder 14 is filled with a pneumatic charge , an air charge . next , pistons 18 , 20 are moved rightward and pistons 24 , 26 are moved leftward by the actuator toward the position shown in fig2 sufficiently to cause the pistons to open the inlet ports 37 in cylinder 12 , thereby ensuring that cylinder 12 is filled with an air charge . after an air charge is admitted to each cylinder , the actuator reciprocates the pistons producing compression and expansion strokes having increasing piston displacement or stroke , increasing piston speed , increasing peak pressure in the combustion chamber , increasing compression ratio of the air charge , but without allowing piston displacement to open the inlet ducts 36 , 37 . cyclic compression and expansion of the air charges in cylinders 12 , 14 are analogous to the effect of a compression spring located in each cylinder . compression of the pneumatic charge in a cylinder opposes acceleration of the piston masses toward the tdc position in that cylinder . expansion of the pneumatic charge in a cylinder assists in accelerating the piston masses toward the bdc position in that cylinder . as the charge in one cylinder is being compressed , the charge in the other cylinder is expanding . therefore , pressure forces are continually developed that assist the pistons in each cylinder to move alternately toward the tdc and bdc positions in the correct phase relationship . to restart a hot or warm engine , it is expected that only one or two cycles of compression and expansion strokes will be required after admitting the air charges to the cylinders and before subsequent engine starting steps are performed . to start a cold engine , it is expected that about ten such cycles will be required after admitting the air charge and before additional engine starting steps are performed . next , a volume of fuel to be added to each air charge during a first series of cycles while starting the engine with spark ignition is determined . throttle valves 128 are used to establish a flow rate of air into the cylinders through the inlet ports 36 , 37 during a first series of starting cycles . fuel is admitted to the cylinders through fuel ports 40 such that a stoichiometric mixture of fuel and air , or a mixture that is approximately stoichiometric , is present in the cylinders . either spark plug 104 or glow plug 106 produces ignition . combustion of the fuel - air mixture in the cylinders 12 , 14 at the correct phase relation to the peak pressure occurs . after the engine begins to run under spark ignition , the actuator stops driving the pistons , and the engine operates independently of the starter - actuator . the engine controller causes the fuel injectors 100 , 102 to inject fuel repetitively in an appropriate quantity of fuel thorough fuel ports 40 into the combustion chambers located between the pistons in each cylinder 12 , 14 . the peak pressure in each cylinder is monitored by pressure sensors 96 , 98 . the controller 56 determines whether the peak pressure during spark ignition occurs when the pistons are at the tdc position in the combustion cylinder , or within a predetermined period or distance after the tdc position . the period is preferably about 0 . 25 ms . after tdc , or a delay comparable to 2 ° after tdc for a two stroke , crankshaft internal combustion engine supplied with a comparable fuel , such as gasoline . the controller 56 adjusts the spark ignition timing until the peak pressure occurs within an acceptable phase range . when ignition occurs at an acceptable phase relation to the peak pressure , a second series of engine starting cycles begins . during these engine cycles , the air - fuel ratio in the cylinders is reduced by using the throttle valves 128 to increase the air flow rate supplied to the cylinders , or by using the fuel injectors 100 , 102 to reduce the fuel flow rate to the cylinders , or by using both the throttle valves and fuel injectors to increase the air flow rate and reduce the fuel flow rate . the spark ignition system is turned off by the engine controller 56 . thereafter , the engine operates preferably with a homogenous air - fuel charge and combustion occurs by compression ignition . after the engine starts and continues to run under programmed control , and an external load can be placed on the engine . in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes , the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment . however , it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope .	5
fig3 is a block diagram of a semiconductor memory device which includes a circuit for compensating imprinting degradations of ferroelectric capacitors according to the present invention . for convenience , fig3 depicts two unit cells only connected to a single row or word line and circuit portions associated with the two unit cells . it should be noted that a multiplicity of unit cells can be arranged in a matrix form of rows and columns , with a row decoder for selecting one of row lines and a column decoder connected to a corresponding one of column selection gates for selecting at least one of column or bit lines . referring to fig3 a preferred semiconductor memory device comprises a plurality of pads 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 . these pads include a chip enable pad 2 for applying a chip enable signal ( ce ) to a chip enable buffer 12 , an address input pad 4 for applying an address signal to an address input buffer 14 , a write enable pad 6 for applying a write enable signal ( we ) to a write enable buffer 22 and for applying a high voltage higher than a chip internal supply voltage to a first control portion 24 at the time of a left imprint compensation mode of operation according to the feature of the present invention . an input enable pad 8 is used for applying an output enable signal ( oe ) to an output enable buffer 26 therethrough and for applying a high voltage higher than the supply voltage to a second control portion 28 at the time of a right imprint compensation mode of operation . an input / output pad 10 is provided for receiving external data and also for passing internal data to an external chip . the preferred semiconductor memory device further includes multiple unit cells 44a or cell array blocks 44b , one or more of which are connected along the column or bit lines 62 and 64 . each unit cell comprises access transistors 36 , 40 and one or more ferroelectric capacitors 38 , 42 . a cell array block 44b includes a plurality of unit cells such as unit cell 44a , in a matrix arrangement of multiple rows and columns . each ferroelectric capacitor includes a storage electrode 38a and 42a and a plate electrode 38b and 42b . the storage electrodes 38a and 42a in the cell array block 44a are connected to sources of the access transistors 36 and 40 therein , respectively . the plate electrodes 38b and 42b are commonly connected to a plate line 56 which is connected to a pulse generator 20 . gates of the access transistors 36 and 40 are connected to a row or word line 54 which is connected to a row decoder 18 . drains of the access transistor 36 and 40 are connected to column or bit lines 62 and 64 , respectively . access transistors and ferroelectric capacitors of the cell array block 44b are connected in the same manner as those of the cell array block 44a . the bit lines 62 and 64 then connect drains of the access transistors in cell array blocks to drains ( or sources ) of selection gates 32 and 34 respectively . sources ( or drains ) of the selection transistors 32 and 34 are respectively connected to data lines 58 and 60 respectively . gates of the selection transistor 32 and 34 are connected to a column decoder 16 for selecting bit lines in response to an output signal . second ends opposite to the first ends of the bit lines 62 and 64 further connect to first sensing nodes of sense amplifiers 48 and 50 in an open bit line manner . second sensing nodes of the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 are connected to reference lines 66 and 68 , each of which is connected to a reference circuit 70 and 72 for providing a reference voltage to a corresponding sense amplifier during reading or writing mode of operation . sensing operation of sense amplifiers with reference circuits is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 424 , 975 which is incorporated herein by reference . a sense amplifier enabling portion 46 is connected to the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 and to the first controller 24 . when a high voltage from the write enable pad 6 is detected by first controller 24 , the sense amplifier enabling portion 46 disables the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 in order to compensate for a left imprint of the hysteresis loop . similarly , the sense amplifier enabling portion 46 enables the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 in response to a high voltage detected by the first controller 24 in order to compensate a right imprint of the hysteresis loop . the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 , when enabled , provide a full high state of voltage to the bit lines 62 and 64 . a pulse generating portion 20 has outputs 20a and 20b are connected to the first and second controllers 24 and 28 , respectively . in a left imprint compensation mode , the pulse generator 20 sends left imprint compensation pulses to the plate electrodes 38b and 42b of the capacitors 38 and 42 via the plate line 56 in response to a control signal from the first control portion 24 . similarly , in a right imprint compensation mode , the pulse generator 20 sends a low level ground voltage to the plate electrodes 38a and 42a of the capacitors 38 and 42 via the line 56 in response to a control signal from the second controller 28 . a data input / output block 30 is connected to data lines 58 and 60 , data input / output pad 10 , and output of output enable buffer 26 and write enable buffer 22 . the data input / output block 30 includes data input and output buffers , ( 30a and 30b ) connected to the data input / output pad 10 . during the left imprint compensation mode of operation , the data output buffer 30b in the data input / output block 30 provides high impedance . in contrast , during the right imprint compensation mode of operation , the data output buffer 30b passes the supply voltage vcc , to data lines 58 and 60 in response to a high state signals applied to the pad 10 . the address input buffer 14 is connected to the column and row decoders 16 and 18 . the buffer 14 serves to latch addresses from the address input pad 4 and to forward the latched addresses to the row and column decoders 18 and 16 . in the preferred embodiment , the latched addresses of address input buffer 14 are distributed to the row and column decoders 18 and 16 by means of a strobe - signal multiplexing . the chip enable buffer 12 engages various other buffers and circuit portions to cooperate within the device by activating a chip enable signal of the chip enable pad 2 . the operation of the preferred device in fig . 3 can be explained further by reference to fig4 and 5 , each of which shows a timing diagram for the principal signals and parts illustrated in fig3 . fig4 and 5 are timing diagrams for right and left imprint compensations , respectively . whether a given unit cell is in right or left imprint state can be determined by writing and reading of data to and from the cell after the completion of wafer process . for example , in the case where a unit cell is in the right imprint state , data &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; can be written into it and then its complement &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; cannot be written into it . in the case where a unit cell stays in the left imprint state , after data &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; has been written into the cell , its complement &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; cannot be written into it . a right imprint compensation is commenced by activating of the chip enable signal ce , disabling the output enable signal oe , and by applying a high state ( vcc level ) to the pad 10 . at this time , a high voltage greater than the supply voltage vcc ( internal operation voltage ) is applied to the write enable pad 6 as the output enable signal oe , as shown in fig3 and 4 . in response to the chip enable signal ce going to a low state ( a ground voltage ), the chip enable buffer 12 causes the address input buffer 14 , the column decoder 16 and the pulse generator 20 to activate . the address input buffer 14 receives addresses of cells requiring the restoration of a normal hysteresis loop . if it is determined that the ferroelectric capacitors 38 and 42 need to be compensated , the address input buffer 14 receives address signals designating the capacitors 38 and 42 . the second control portion 28 outputs a control signal in response to the high voltage . the column decoder 16 outputs a high state on the gate selection line ( gsl ) 52 in response to the address signals . therefore , the selection gates 32 and 34 are conductive or turned on . the high state voltage ( vcc ) on the data bit lines 58 and 60 , realized through the conductive selection gates 32 and 34 , is applied through the bit lines 62 and 64 reduced to the threshold voltage of the selection gates 32 and 34 . at this time , the sense amplifier enabling portion 46 causes the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 to be enabled . the sense amplifiers 48 and 50 amplify the threshold voltage to a full high state voltage . as a result , the selection gates 32 and 34 are turned off and the full high state voltage is written to the capacitors 38 and 42 . the row decoder 18 outputs a high state or a boosted voltage greater than the high state , i . e . vcc , in response to the address signals . therefore , transistors 36 and 40 are conductive . on the other hand , the data input / output block 30 outputs high states on the data lines 58 and 60 in response to the output from the write enable buffer 22 . the pulse generating portion 20 outputs a low states on the plate line 56 . therefore , storage nodes of ferroelectric capacitors 38 and 42 are pulsed by high states on the data lines 58 and 60 . although the storage nodes of ferroelectric capacitors 38 and 42 are pulsed once in a single cycle , it is obvious to those skilled in the art that a pulse signal can be supplied to the storage nodes by the application of the pulse signal to the data input / output pad 10 . next , the operation of the left imprint compensation will be explained with reference to fig3 and fig5 . the operation of the left imprint compensation is executed by activating the chip enable signal ce , disabling the write we and output enable signals oe , and the application of the high voltage to the write enable pad 6 . therefore , the write enable buffer 22 and the output enable buffer 26 are disabled and thereby the data output buffer 30b exerts a high impedance . the first control portion 24 outputs a control signal in response to the high voltage . the pulse generating portion 20 outputs a pulse signal on the plate line 56 in response to the control signal from the first control portion 24 . the column decoder 16 outputs a low state on the gate selection line ( gsl ) 52 in response to the control signal . the row decoder 18 decodes row address signals and provides a boosted voltage greater than the internal operation voltage ( vcc ) on the word line 54 . the sense amplifier enabling portion 46 disables sense amplifiers 48 and 50 in response to the control signal . therefore , the plate nodes of the ferroelectric capacitors 38 and 42 are pulsed by the pulse signal from the pulse generating portion 20 and thereby the capacitors 38 and 42 are restored to the normal hysteresis loop . it will be understood that the particular device and circuit and the methods of operation embodying the invention are shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention . the principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims .	6
the instant invention is directed to a coating composition comprising : ( a ) at least one latex polymer ; ( b ) water ; and ( c ) at least one open time and freeze - thaw additive in an amount effective to increase the open time and freeze thaw properties of the coating composition the additive having the structural formula i : where n = 2 , x = 10 - 12 , y = 0 - 10 , z = 0 - 10 and t = 0 - 10 , bo denotes a moiety derived from butylene oxide and so denotes a moiety derived from styrene oxide and r is hydrogen or a c 1 - c 22 alkyl group and wherein the additive is present in an amount greater than about 0 . 5 % by weight of the polymer . the invention is further directed to a coating composition comprising : ( a ) at least one latex polymer ; ( b ) water ; and ( c ) at least one open time and freeze - thaw additive in an amount effective to increase the open time and freeze thaw properties of the coating composition the additive having the structural formula ii : where n = 1 - 3 , x = 1 - 5 , y = 0 - 10 , z = 5 - 40 , w is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and 1m + where z is selected from the group consisting of so 3 − and po 3 2 − , and m + is selected from the group consisting of na + , k + , nh 4 + , or an alkanolamine ; and wherein the additive is present in an amount greater than about 0 . 5 % by weight of the polymer . preferably , x = 1 - 3 and more preferably x = 1 - 2 . this compounds of formula i and ii provide improvements in water - based latex paints . more specifically , the improvements are ( 1 ) the increase of the open time of water based latex paints and ( 2 ) the increase in the number of times that the paint can be frozen and then thawed before it loses it integrity as a uniform dispersion . additional compounds which are useful in providing improved properties to the coating compositions of the invention are selected from the group consisting of : where x = 5 - 40 preferably is x = 10 ; y = 0 - 10 , preferably is y = 0 ; w is selected from the group consisting of h , sulfate (— so 3 − m + ), phosphate (— po 3 h − ( m )) and carboxylate ( och 2 coo − m + ) where m + is selected from the group consisting of na + , k + , nh 4 + and triethanolamine . the compounds of the invention can be used in a number of ways for improving open time characteristics , freeze - thaw cycles , as well as drying time characteristics , of latex binders , paints , inks and other coatings . the present invention may optionally employ polymerizable reactive alkoxylated monomers as a reactant during emulsion polymerization to form the latex polymer . the present invention may employ one or more surface active alkoxylated compounds of the formula i or ii as a surfactant ( e . g ., emulsifier ) during emulsion polymerization to form the latex polymer . the present invention also uses compounds of the formula i or ii as an additive to latex polymer - containing formulations such as coatings , including but not limited to paints ; as well as an additive for adhesives , including but not limited to pressure sensitive adhesives ; glues ; resins ; sealants ; inks , including but not limited to uv inks , conventional inks , hybrid inks , and water - based inks ; and the like . the invention also provides a latex paint composition which is freeze - thaw stable with improved open time , wet edge time and drying time characteristics . in an alternate embodiment , the latex coating composition contains an open time additive in an amount effective to lengthen the open time of the composition to greater than 4 minutes , typically greater than 6 minutes . in one embodiment , improved open time characteristics means that the open time of a coating or adhesive is made greater than 4 minutes . in another embodiment , improved open time characteristics means that the open time of a coating or adhesive is made greater than 6 minutes . in a further embodiment , improved open time characteristics means that the open time of a coating or adhesive is made greater than 8 minutes . in another embodiment , improved open time characteristics means that the open time of a coating or adhesive is made greater than 10 minutes . in alternate embodiment , improved open time characteristics means that the open time of a coating or adhesive is made greater than 12 minutes . the coating compositions of the invention can optionally contain additives such as one or more film - forming aids or coalescing agents . suitable firm - forming aids or coalescing agents include plasticizers and drying retarders such as high boiling point polar solvents . other conventional coating additives such as , for example , dispersants , additional surfactants ( i . e . wetting agents ), rheology modifiers , defoamers , thickeners , biocides , mildewcides , colorants such as colored pigments and dyes , waxes , perfumes , co - solvents , and the like , can also be used in accordance with the invention . the aqueous coating compositions of the invention can be subjected to freeze - thaw cycles using astm method d2243 - 82 or astm d2243 - 95 without coagulation . in one preferred embodiment of the invention , the aqueous coating composition is a latex paint composition comprising at least one latex polymer derived from at least one acrylic monomer selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid , acrylic acid esters , methacrylic acid , and methacrylic acid esters and at least one compound of the formula i or ii ; at least one pigment and water . as mentioned above , the at least one latex polymer can be a pure acrylic , a styrene acrylic , a vinyl acrylic or an acrylated ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer . the present invention further includes a method of preparing an aqueous coating composition by mixing together at least one latex polymer derived from at least one monomer and mixed with a compound of the formula i or ii and at least one pigment . typically , the latex polymer is in the form of a latex polymer dispersion . the additives discussed above can be added in any suitable order to the latex polymer , the pigment , or combinations thereof , to provide these additives in the aqueous coating composition . in the case of paint formulations , the aqueous coating composition typically has a ph of from 7 to 10 . in this particular invention , the additives were added to the paint after it was formulated and were mixed in at levels of 0 . 05 %- 5 . 0 % using non - aggressive blade mixing . the most preferred compounds were found to be ( see the introduction to the example table for the key to the abbreviations ) ddbsa formulated with tea , water and a water soluble reverse block copolymer . where the abbreviations stand for : f / t = freeze / thaw , o / t = open time , dsp = distyrenated phenol , tsp = tristyrenated phenol , poe = polyoxyethylene polymer chain , age = allyl - glycidyl ether and tcdam = tricyclodecane monomethanol two stocks of water - based semi gloss latex paints were provided by behr paints of california . one was formulated with a standard additive to improve its open time and the other was formulated without it . the version with the additive was tested as the control for the open - time evaluations . comparisons of the test agents were made by post - adding the agents at various percentages to aliquots of the version of the paint that was formulated without additive and then determining the open times . the post - additions were made by simple ambient mixing using an overhead mixer with a two - inch blade turning at 180 rpm . all open - times were determined using the method outlined in astm method d 7488 - 10 and the associated method d - 5608 . open - time is the length of time that flaws in a paint film can be smoothed over with a paint brush after the first coat has been applied . the test method consists of drawing down a film of paint at a certain thickness onto a leneta contrast sheet and scratching “ x ” marks in the film at various points along its length . this is followed by conditioning the film and then attempting to smooth out the “ x ” marks at various times using a paint brush that has been presoaked in the paint . the length of time that the “ x ” marks can be painted smooth is noted for each additive ( this is the open - time ) and the longer the time , the better . as an additional check , the length of time that the raised edge of the original paint strip can the smoothed is also noted as an open time . commercially available martha stewart living white / base 1 interior acrylic latex semi - gloss msl3011 and martha stewart living white / base 1 interior acrylic latex semi - gloss msl3011n paints ( both having 50 g / l voc ) were found to have no freeze - thaw resistance under the conditions of astm method d2243 - 95 . these paints were used interchangeably as a substrate to which the various test additives were post - added at various percentages . the freeze - thaw test consists of placing a container of several ml of the test paint mixture in a chamber at − 18 c for 17 hours followed by allowing it to thaw under ambient conditions for 7 hours . a sample was deemed to pass a cycle if after freezing solid it thawed back to its original uniformity and flow characteristics . if the sample passed , the test was repeated up to a maximum of five freeze - thaw cycles . the post - addition blends were made by adding the additives to 100 g aliquots of paint and blending the mixtures using an overhead metal blade mixer with a 2 - inch blade turning at about 180 rpm under ambient conditions . the control additive for the freeze - thaw tests was rhodoline ft - 100 ( rhodia ) which is a commercially available agent sold as a freeze - thaw improver . the ft - 100 is reported to be a tristyrenated phenol with about 10 moles of ethylene oxide reacted to it . the hydrophobes were added to a stainless steel autoclave at the levels shown in the table below , along with potassium hydroxide at catalytic levels ( 2 - 3 grams ) and the autoclave sealed and heated to 105 c . ethylene oxide was then added , at the levels indicated on the table , over the course of several hours . after all of the eo was consumed , the reaction mass was cooled and the catalyst neutralized with the addition of a small amount of acid . step one : the hydrophobes , tsp or dsp , are added at the levels shown in the table below to a stainless steel autoclave , along with allyl glycidyl ether ( age ) ( also at the levels shown ) and a catalytic amount of potassium hydroxide ( 2 - 3 grams ) and the mix heated to 105 c . when all of the age was consumed , the reaction mass was cooled , and the product discharged . step 2 : the styrenated phenol / age adducts from step 1 were then added to another autoclave and heated to 105 c . ethylene oxide , at the level shown in the table below , was then added over the course of several hours . after all the eo was consumed , the reaction mass was cooled and the catalyst neutralized with the addition of a small amount of acid . step 3 ( for examples 15 and 17 ): selected surfactants from steps 1 and 2 were sulfated with sulfamic acid and a trace amount of dicyandiamide catalyst in a glass reactor equipped with a stirrer , thermometer , and reflux condenser by heating to 120 c until the % sulfate was & gt ; 90 %. the products were then isolated as the ammonium salt . ? indicates that it is not known whether the commercial paint has additive or not but it is used as a control for comparison purposes . literature teaches that ethoxylated tsp will offer improvements in the freeze - thaw performance of water - based coating formulations . comparing additive 3 to additive 2 , we see that the internally made poe ( 10 ) tsp is an improvement over the commercial material , being stable to 5 f / t cycles at 1 . 0 % additive as opposed to 2 %. dsp , with an appropriate level of ethoxylation is as effective as tsp as a f / t additive . additive 4 shows that 2 % poe ( 11 . 5 ) dsp is as effective as the commercial tsp derivative control of additive 2 in that they both must be present at a minimum of 2 %, at which level , they both pass five cycles . this example , further , shows that poe ( 11 . 5 ) dsp yields an o / t performance at 0 . 5 % additive that is equal to that of the commercial standard . the level of ethoxylation is important both to f / t and to o / t performance of dsp derivatives . comparing additive 5 to additive 4 , it is evident that excessive ethoxylation damages the freeze - thaw performance while improving the o / t . derivatives of dsp and tsp other than the original poe offer f / t and / or ot performances equivalent to those shown in control tests 1 and 2 . additives 11 and 12 indicate that poe ( 16 ) dsp reacted with one and two age groups yields an o / t equal to standard of test 1 . additives 13 and 15 , which are poe ( 10 ) tsp reacted with 1 and 2 moles of age respectively , show open times that are equivalent to the o / t results of the standard in test 1 together with f / t results that are extensions compared to the results of the standard in test 2 . additives 14 and 16 use the sulfated versions of additives 13 and 15 , respectively and indicate that sulfation yields an extension in the ot performance but a slight drop in the f / t performance . there are additives other than either dsp or tsp derivatives that combine acceptable f / t and o / t capabilities . additive 6 compared to additives 1 and 2 indicates that poe ( 10 ) beta naphthol causes acceptable open - times and freeze - thaws . additives 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 , indicate that poe ( 10 ) cydecanol , poe ( 10 ) tcdam , poe ( 10 ) 4 - cumylphenol and poe ( 10 ) tert - amylphenol show reasonable o / t performance , compared to the control tests 1 and 2 even though f / t performance was diminished . again , these are non - dsp and non - tsp agents . the contents of all references cited in the instant specifications and all cited references in each of those references are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein as if those references were denoted in the text . while the many embodiments of the invention have been disclosed above and include presently preferred embodiments , many other embodiments and variations are possible within the scope of the present disclosure and in the appended claims that follow . accordingly , the details of the preferred embodiments and examples provided are not to be construed as limiting . it is to be understood that the terms used herein are merely descriptive rather than limiting and that various changes , numerous equivalents may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention .	2
throughout the drawings , the same reference numbers are used for similar or corresponding elements . one approach to enable a cost - efficient large - scale production of electrochromic devices is to manufacture large sheets or rolls of electrochromic layered structures , based on polymer substrates . the electrochromic layered structures are at a later stage are cut into a final shape electrochromic device suitable for the end application . such an approach makes it possible to transport or store electrochromic layered structures in an efficient way as well as enabling production of differently shaped electrochromic devices from one and the same basic front end process . as mentioned above , a problem with such an approach is how to provide an efficient contacting . one approach to solve this problem is to try to remove a portion of the laminated electrochromic layered structure for exposing one of the electron conducting layers . this is schematically illustrated in fig1 a - b . a laminated electrochromic layered structure 10 comprises an upper half - cell 11 and a lower half - cell 12 , between which an electrolyte 50 is laminated . as schematically shown in fig2 a , each half - cell 11 , 12 comprises a respective substrate sheet 21 , 22 , made of polymer , a respective electron conducting layer 31 , 32 , and an electrochromic layer or a counter electrode layer 41 , 42 . in other words , one half - cell , in fig2 a the upper half - cell 11 , of the laminated electrochromic layered structure 10 comprises a first substrate sheet 21 , made of polymer , a first electron conducting layer 31 at least partially covering the first substrate sheet 21 , and a first electrochromic layer 41 at least partially covering the first electron conducting layer 31 . the other half - cell , in fig2 a the lower half - cell 12 , of the laminated electrochromic layered structure 10 comprises a second substrate sheet 22 , made of polymer , a second electron conducting layer 32 at least partially covering the second substrate sheet 22 , and a counter electrode layer 42 at least partially covering the second electron conducting layer 32 . the electrolyte layer 50 is laminated between and at least partially covering the first electrochromic layer 41 and the counter electrode layer 42 . in one embodiment , the counter electrode layer 42 may in itself also be an electrochromic layer . a cutting equipment , schematically illustrated as an edge 5 in fig1 a , is used to create a continuous kiss cut or incision through the upper half - cell 11 . the continuous kiss cut is ideally made through the upper half - cell 11 but does not extend into the lower half - cell 12 . the portion of the upper half - cell 11 that was situated outside the cut was easily removed , since only the adhesive properties of the electrolyte kept it in place . the result is shown in fig1 b . any remaining electrolyte below the removed portion was also cleaned off . possibly , depending on the contacting method , the counter electrode layer of the lower half - cell was cleaned off as well . this exposes a surface 14 covered with the second electron conducting layer 32 . contacting can then be performed with the exposed second electron conducting layer 32 . the situation in fig1 a - b is of course idealized . one problem is that the depth of the continuous kiss cutting ending exactly within the electrolyte has to be controlled within extremely tight tolerances . in a typical case , the substrate sheets may be 0 . 1 - 0 . 2 mm thick , whereas the electrochromic layer and counter electrode layer typically are some hundreds of nm thick , the electrolyte may be some tens of μm thick and the electron conducting layers may be 200 nm thick . it is therefore a very delicate problem to control the cutting in such a manner that the upper substrate sheet is completely penetrated but that the lower electron conducting layer is intact . very stable cutting equipments are thus required . different cutting methods have been investigated for this purpose , e . g . laser ablation and mechanical cutting . in a few cases , cutting accuracy that was satisfactory for ensuring an unaltered operation of the electrochromic device was obtained . however , in order to reduce production costs , simple cutting equipment may be selected to be used , which typically lowers the cutting accuracy . if the kiss cut 15 is too deep , breaking the electron conducting layer , the electrical connection is lost or at least severely deteriorated , which detrimentally influences the electrochromic properties of the final product . if the kiss cut 15 is too shallow , not penetrating the entire upper substrate sheet , there is a certain risk for bringing parts of the neighboring parts of the upper substrate sheet when a cut - out piece is to be removed . the substrate sheets are typically at least partially crystalline and tend therefore to flake off in directions transverse to the cut . the internal operation of the electrochromic device will be intact , however , the device will be impossible or at least difficult to provide with reliable contacts . these two alternatives are schematically illustrated in fig2 b and 2c with the bottom of the kiss cut denoted as 99 . the possibilities for removing the cut - away half - cell without damaging the device can be improved by using an incision with an undulating cutting depth , as schematically indicated in fig2 d . a relatively large difference between the deep and shallow parts of this undulation and an adapting the kiss cutting so that the deep parts end relatively close to the inner surface of the cut substrate , as denoted by y in the figure , ensures that a distance y between the most shallow parts of the incision and the inner surface of the opposite substrate becomes much larger than the width of the electron conducting layers , the electrolyte and the electrochromic layer / counter electrode layer together . a low value of y is requested , since that means that the remaining part of the substrate that has to be broken away is small . a relatively high value of y is at the same time requested in order to have a margin for operational accuracy of the kiss cutting device . in fig2 e , a further example is given . here the y value for the left deep incision part is negative , however to its absolute value smaller than the width of the electron conducting layers , the electrolyte and the electrochromic layer / counter electrode layer together . in other words , the inner surface of the upper substrate is penetrated , but the lower electron conducting layer is unharmed . this would be an ideal kiss cutting depth . in the right deep incision part , the absolute value of y is larger than the width of the electron conducting layers , the electrolyte and the electrochromic layer / counter electrode layer together , which means that the incision cuts through the electron conducting layer of the lower half - cell within the range denoted by x . in this region , the electron conducting properties are thus destroyed . however , outside the range x , the electron conducting layer is still unharmed and such parts are enough to take over the function of the destroyed range . pushing these ideas further , a non - continuous cutting or perforation cutting has been found also to be applicable . ideally , at least for continuous non - undulating cutting , the kiss cut should not penetrate the electron conducting layer of the opposite side to the side on which the cutting is applied . however , if as illustrated above only a minor part of the electron conducting layer along the cut is destroyed , the remaining , major , part of the electron conducting layer is typically enough to provide sufficient electron conduction into the main area of the electrochromic layered structure . in other words , it is not devastating if the cut locally penetrates through the electron conducting layer , if there are unspoiled portions in the neighborhood . likewise , in non - undulating continuous cutting , it is preferred if the cut goes all the way through the first substrate sheet . however , for non - continuous cutting , it has been found that full penetration of the first substrate sheet is only requested at limited spots in order to have advantageous properties . it was therefore found that a line of spots where the substrate sheet was penetrated , i . e . a perforation , was enough to support a ripping off of the cut - off portion of the first substrate sheet . another advantage of utilizing a non - continuous cutting is that even if the cut is made , the risks for an accidental removal of the portion intended to be ripped off is low . this means that storage and transportation of sheets of electrochromic layered structures with non - continuous cuttings can be performed in a safer way . in this way , it becomes possible to choose the occasion of producing the cut , in connection with the original production of the electrochromic layered structures or in connection with the actual contacting process . the size and distribution of the holes have influence on the removal properties . fig3 illustrates cross - sections of some different , non - exclusive , possibilities for holes 2 a - e in an electrochromic layered structure 10 . note that these illustrated situations are strongly idealized concerning e . g . geometry , smoothness etc . hole 2 a penetrates the entire upper half - cell 11 and a little bit into the electrolyte layer 50 . the hole 2 a has a diameter d at the first electron conducting layer 31 . hole 2 b penetrates the first substrate sheet 21 and a little bit into the electron conducting layer 31 . the bottom of the hole 2 b has inclined portions , which gives the hole 2 b smaller dimensions in the electron conducting layer 31 than generally in the first substrate sheet 21 . the largest diameter through the first substrate sheet 21 is l , but the largest diameter in the first electron conducting layer 31 is d , which is somewhat smaller than l . it has been found that one characteristic property of a non - continuous cut is the size of the hole at the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 ( and analogously between the second substrate sheet 22 and the second electron conducting layer 32 for holes provided from the opposite side ). the substrate sheet 21 constitutes the main structural member of the upper half - cell 11 , and if a part of the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 is removed , the mechanical strength against ripping actions becomes reduced . the mechanical strengths of the first electron conducting layer 31 and the electrochromic layer 41 are not large enough to influence the overall mechanical strength in any significant way . one of the size quantities of the holes in the upper half - cell 11 that are used for defining particular embodiments of the present disclosure is thus the largest diameter of the hole at the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 , and analogously for holes through the lower half - cell 12 , the largest diameter of the hole at the interface between the second substrate sheet 22 and the second electron conducting layer 32 . returning to fig3 , it has been found that the impact of a hole 2 b on the ripping properties is approximately the same as if the hole would have had the diameter d along its entire length , e . g . as indicated by the broken lines 3 , at least if the holes are not merging . this is of course a simplification of the situation , but the largest diameter of the hole at the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 is indeed an important measure . at the same time as the intention is to reduce the ripping resistance of the first substrate sheet 21 , the hole size should be kept small in order to reduce the risk for a large impact on the operation of the laminated electrochromic layered structure 10 as a whole . it has been found that in preferred embodiments , holes in an interface 23 between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 or in an interface 24 between the second substrate sheet 22 and the second electron conducting layer 32 , respectively , have a respective largest diameter that is less than 0 . 2 mm , more preferably less than 0 . 1 mm and most preferably less than 0 . 05 mm . hole 2 c penetrates though the entire upper half - cell 11 , the electrolyte as well as at least a part of the lower half - cell 12 . in this particular embodiment , the hole 2 c is a non - through hole , with respect to the entire electrochromic layered structure 10 . this ensures that there will be no channels for air to the electrolyte , which may deteriorate with time if it is exposed for oxygen . the hole 2 c in the present embodiment damages the counter electrode 32 and the second electron conducting layer 22 . however , these damages are only local and undamaged parts of the lower half - cell 12 will anyway be operative to present sufficient charging properties . one may here easily understand that holes damaging the counter electrode 32 and the second electron conducting layer 22 should not be situated too close . sufficient electron conductivity has to be present in a direction perpendicular to a line of holes . hole 2 d is a hole with a diameter varying considerable over the length of the hole . still , one important measure of the hole is the largest diameter d at the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 . hole 2 e is a hole with a rounded - off tip . both the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 are fully penetrated , and the tip of the hole 2 e is situated in the electrochromic layer 41 . the geometries of holes 2 d and 2 e are the holes among the examples in fig3 that probably are most similar to real hole geometries . in fig3 , a distance d denotes the distance between two adjacent holes , as measured at the interface between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 . in order to provide an indication for how a ripping - off should be directed , the distance d should not be too large . it has been found that in preferred embodiments , two neighboring holes in the interface 23 between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 or in the interface 24 between the second substrate sheet 22 and the second electron conducting layer 32 , respectively , are separated by less than 1 mm , more preferably by less than 0 . 5 mm and most preferably by less than 0 . 2 mm . fig4 a - d illustrates schematically , in a top view , embodiments of lines of holes in a laminated electrochromic layered structure 10 with the first substrate sheet removed . the illustrated hole dimensions and geometries thus corresponds to the dimensions and geometries at the interface 23 between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 . in fig4 a , a line 4 of holes 2 is illustrated . each hole 2 has a diameter d and the holes are separated by a distance d . the distance d is thus defined as the distance between the closest parts of the hole circumferences . in fig4 b , another line 4 of holes 2 is illustrated . here , the geometry of the holes 2 is not circular . instead , the holes have an elongated shape in the direction of the line 4 . the diameter d is here the largest diameter of each hole 2 , i . e . the diameter in the extension direction of the elongated shape , which in this embodiment is directed in the direction of the line 4 . in fig4 c , another line 4 of holes 2 with elongated cross - section is illustrated . however , here the extension direction is transverse to the general direction of the line 4 . the largest diameter d of the holes 2 is now the diameter perpendicular to the line 4 . another measure that is possible to define is the hole diameter s in the direction of a neighbouring hole . this diameter measure s is in fig4 c smaller than the largest diameter d of the holes 2 . in fig4 a and 4b , however , these two measures , s and d , are the same . another parameter that influences the ripping - off properties is the ratio between the hole diameter s in the direction of a neighbouring hole in the interface 23 between the first substrate sheet 21 and the first electron conducting layer 31 or analogously the interface between the second substrate sheet and the second electron conducting layer and the distance d between these neighbouring holes . it has been found that in preferred embodiments , this ratio s / d is larger than 0 . 1 , preferably larger than 0 . 2 and most preferably larger than 0 . 4 . the tests were mainly performed with polyethylene ( pet ) substrates of 175 μm thickness . the absolute optimum conditions are dependent on the mechanical properties of the film material as well as on the thickness of the substrate sheet . a general trend is that a film of a tougher material , as well as a thicker film , will need more closely positioned holes to achieve the very best results . however , for polymer substrates presently being considered as suitable as substrate materials for electrochromic devices , e . g . pet , poly ( ethylene naphtalate ) ( pen ) or polycarbonate ( pc ), the ripping properties are relatively similar . the dependency of the optimum conditions is therefore not extremely strong and the above presented preferred distances or ratios can therefore be used as approximate estimations also for such materials and for reasonable film thicknesses used for electrochromic applications . fig4 d illustrates another embodiment of a line 4 of holes 2 . in this embodiment , the hole sizes s and d , the hole distances d and the hole geometries varies along the line 4 . this embodiment is shown just to emphasize that it is not necessary to have identical holes in the lines . different embodiments can have vastly different hole sizes s and d , hole distances d and hole geometries within one and the same line . the electrochromic layered structure is as described above perforated by of a line of holes , in order to give a fracture indication for ripping off a part of one of the substrate sheets . in other words , the electrochromic layered structure has a fracture indication along a line . in one embodiment , the fracture indications are a perforation constituted by of a line of holes , where each of the holes penetrate the first substrate sheet , the first electron conducting layer and the first electrochromic layer or the second substrate sheet , the second electron conducting layer and the counter electrode layer . the opposite substrate sheet is typically and preferably provided with a similar fracture indication , however , at a different lateral position . in an alternative embodiment , contacting of one of the electron conducting layers is provided by other means . it is then only necessary to provide a fracture indication in one of the substrates , to provide the opposite side contacting . the perforation , i . e . the provision of the holes can be performed in different manners . the holes can in one embodiment be made by purely mechanical means , e . g . by pushing narrow needles through the substrate sheet . in other embodiments , techniques such as local heating can be used . in a presently preferred embodiment , laser ablation is utilized . by moving a laser along the surface of the electrochromic layered structure and at the same time modulating the laser power , a perforation can be obtained . in test runs , the result is a continuous melted groove in the substrate sheet closest to the laser with varying width in the top layer . the groove is provided with penetrating holes down through the electron conducting layer separated by remaining substrate sheet material . along the center line of the groove , there is remaining electrochromic layer material , remaining electron conducting layer material and remaining substrate sheet material at the positions of the power minima of the laser . however , these materials are gone at the power maxima , showing only remaining electrolyte or counter electrode material on top of the second electron conducting layer and the second substrate sheet . the so produced holes in the interface between the first substrate sheet and the first electron conducting layer have in the particular test runs an average length in the direction of the groove of about 120 μm . the distance between the holes in the interface between the first substrate sheet and the first electron conducting layer was in the particular test runs at an average about 250 μm . a principal picture of the cross section of a perforation cut is seen in fig5 . the effect of the laser pulse distribution combined with the speed of the head is simplified here in the figure to result in basically triangular melt or ablation zones , as seen in the cross section . a more realistic situation typically involves more rounded - off main geometrical structures combined with a more rough detailed structure . this situation thus resembles a continuous undulating kiss cut . the result could also be considered as a combination of an incision and perforation . however , the simplified situation depicted in the figure is sufficient as illustration for the present discussion . an optimal setting of the laser is to cut through the top substrate layer with no damages in the underlying metal oxide layers , such as in the hole at the very left in the figure . however , even if the operation of the pulsed laser is perfectly stable and repeatable , the probability to have a fully undamaged lower half cell is small , for example considering variations in laser table or device thickness or properties . in the hole at the very right end of fig5 , the hole penetrates in to the lower half cell . however , undamaged electron conducting layer portions are still present . the neighboring hole does instead not reach the entire way down to the electrolyte , which means that a thin bridge of material from the first substrate sheet remains . such a remaining bridge is typically very narrow and if not all or a significant part of the holes are of such a type , the ripping off action will be possible to perform anyway . in fig6 , a scanning electron microscope ( sem ) image is shown . the object is a counter electrode surface , in this case a wo layer provided on top of an indium - tin - oxide ( ito ) layer on a pet substrate . this surface is obtained by perforating an electrochromic layered structure by pulsed laser ablation followed by a total removal of the upper half - cell and the electrolyte . from the sem image it is possible to conclude that the holes caused by the pulsed laser ablation indeed penetrated into the wo layer and the underlying ito layer . however , it is also clearly seen that there are undamaged areas in - between , which would be able to handle conduction of electron in a satisfactory manner . fig7 is a flow diagram of steps of an embodiment of a method for producing an electrochromic device . the procedure starts in step 200 . in step 210 , an electrochromic layered structure is provided . the electrochromic layered structure has a first substrate sheet , a second substrate sheet , an electron conducting layer at least partially covering the first substrate sheet , a second electron conducting layer at least partially covering the second substrate sheet , a first electrochromic layer at least partially covering the first electron conducting layer , a counter electrode layer at least partially covering the second electron conducting layer , and an electrolyte layer laminated between and at least partially covering the first electrochromic layer and the counter electrode layer . examples of how to produce such an electrochromic layered structure are well known as such in prior art . examples of similar basic electrochromic layered structures can be found in e . g . u . s . pat . no . 8 , 018 , 644 , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 872 , 791 , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 808 , 692 and u . s . pat . no . 7 , 952 , 785 . the details of the provision of the electrochromic layered structure are therefore known as such by the person skilled in the art and thus not further discussed . for instance in the case the manufacturer of the electrochromic layered structure is not aware of the final size and shape of the intended electrochromic devices , the electrochromic layered structure may be provided in rolls or large sheets . in such cases , a preferred embodiment also comprises a step 215 , in which the electrochromic layered structure is cut into a shape and size of an intended final electrochromic device . since sheet rolls or piles of large sheets often are easier to handle , e . g . during transportation , such an approach may also be beneficial also in cases where the final shape in well know in advance . in any case , in step 220 , fracture indications are created in the electrochromic layered structure along a line into one of the first substrate sheet and the second substrate sheet . at least a part of the fracture indications cut through at least a major part of the first substrate sheet or the second substrate sheet , respectively . in one embodiment , the creation of fracture indications comprises forming at least one incision , cutting through at least a major part of the first substrate sheet or the second substrate sheet , respectively . in a further embodiment the forming of the at least one incision comprises forming of at least one incision having an undulating cutting depth along said line . in another embodiment , the step of creating fracture indications comprises perforating the first substrate sheet or the second substrate sheet by of a series of holes along the line . the holes preferably penetrates the first substrate sheet , the first electron conducting layer and the first electrochromic layer , or the second substrate sheet , the second electron conducting layer and the counter electrode layer . the procedure ends in step 299 . as briefly mentioned above , the use of a perforation for enabling ripping off a cell half to expose the inner surface of the other cell half also enables a flexible manufacturing . the perforation can e . g . in one embodiment be performed in connection with the lamination process . a perforated electrochromic layered structure can thereby be provided as a semi - manufactured article , which may be sold , stored , transported etc . the perforation can in other embodiments be performed in connection with the actual contacting . an integral electrochromic layered structure can thereby be perforated soon before the contacting is performed . a perforated electrochromic layered structure is thereby provided as an intermediate temporary article . in a final electrochromic device , the electrochromic layered structure presents portions , where one half cell is ripped off , of the half cells that are not covered with the other half cells . these portions are preferably used as contacting spots . fig8 a illustrates schematically one embodiment of a front end production flow for production of electrochromic layered structures for use in electrochromic devices . ito coated pet are provided in rolls 60 . the ito provides an electron conducting layer on the pet substrate sheet . the ito of one roll 60 a is moved through a sputter equipment 62 , arranged for sputtering a layer of electrochromic nio , to be used as counter electrode , on the ito in a continuous sputtering process . the ito of another roll 60 b is moved through the sputter equipment 62 , now arranged for sputtering a layer of electrochromic wo on the ito in a continuous sputtering process . these two sputtering processes can also be performed simultaneously in two parallel process lines . two rolls 64 , 66 of covered ito on pet are thus produced , each one suitable as a half cell in an electrochromic layered structure . the rolls 64 , 66 are provided to a laminator 68 . electrolyte is provided from an electrolyte source 70 into the space between the coated pet substrates and the coated pet substrates and electrolyte are laminated together creating an electrochromic layered structure 80 . the lamination can also be followed by a post - treatment in a post - treatment equipment 72 , providing e . g . structural supporting features , curing and / or sealing . fig8 b illustrates schematically one embodiment of a back end production flow for production of electrochromic layered structures for use in electrochromic devices . the back end production flow can in one embodiment be provided in connection with the front end production flow . in another embodiment , the two flows are geographically separated into two different locations and the integral electrochromic layered structure is transported there between . in the back end production flow the laminated electrochromic layered structure 80 is provided to a cutter 82 . the cutter 82 comprises a laser equipment 83 arranged for cutting out pieces 81 from the electrochromic layered structure adapted for the final application . the laser equipment 83 is furthermore arranged for a “ kiss - cut ” operation providing a incision or perforation of the laminated electrochromic layered structure 80 as basically described above . in one embodiment , the laser equipment comprises only one set - up , which used with a high power and a continuous steady power operates for cutting out the pieces , and which used with a lower varying power and or higher varying speed operates for providing the incision or perforation . the cutter 82 further comprises a ripping mechanism 84 , attachable to the portions of the respective half cells that are separated from the main electrochromic layered structure 80 by the laser ablation . the ripping mechanism 84 is further arranged for ripping off portion to which it has attached . the kiss - cut operation and the ripping operation are typically performed on both sides of the cut - out electrochromic layered structure in order to provide contacting areas for both half cells . typically , such kiss - cuts are provided at opposite edges of the cut - out electrochromic layered structure . the portion having the lower half - cell ripped off is illustrated by broken lines in the figure . the cutter 82 also comprises a cleaner 85 , removing any remaining substances that ideally should have followed the ripped off half cell as well as remaining electrolyte . the bare inner surface of the remaining half cell is therefore exposed . the electrochromic layered structure leaving the cutter 82 thus has a first area in which the first substrate sheet is not covered by the second substrate sheet , and a second area in which the second substrate sheet is not covered by the first substrate sheet . this means that a first edge of the second substrate facing the first area and a second edge of the first substrate facing the second area is created by ripping off a first part of the second substrate or a second part of the first substrate , respectively , along fracture indications , such as a perforation constituted by of a line of holes . the electrochromic layered structure leaving the cutter 82 is in the embodiment of fig8 b entered into a contactor 88 , in which for example a conducting tape is soldered to or electrically attached in any other ways to the conducting layers of the respective remaining half cells . in other words , at least one first electrode is attached to the first electron conducting layer and at least one second electrode is attached to the second electron conducting layer . the electrochromic layered structure with attached electrodes or contacts 89 is provided to an ecd mounting section 90 in which the electrochromic layered structure is mounted into a final electrochromic device . the electrochromic device thereby comprises an electrochromic layered structure according to the above described principles , but with an upper half cell ripped off in one lateral portion and with a lower half cell ripped off in another lateral portion . an embodiment of a manufacturing method for an electrochromic device therefore , besides the earlier described steps for providing the perforated electrochromic layered structure , also comprises the action of ripping off a part of the first substrate sheet , the first electron conducting layer and the first electrochromic layer , and / or ripping off the second substrate sheet , the second electron conducting layer and the counter electrode layer , along the line of holes . such an approach utilizing the creation and use of fracture indications on the electrochromic layered structure opens up for allowing transportation of large quantities of generic electrochromic layered structure sheet rolls or in generic electrochromic layered structure sheet stacks . the generic electrochromic layered structure can upon mounting in a final electrochromic device be cut into the intended shape and contacted in connection with the final assembly . a kind of “ free form ” manufacturing approach can thereby be applied . the embodiments described above are to be understood as a few illustrative examples of the present invention . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications , combinations and changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention . in particular , different part solutions in the different embodiments can be combined in other configurations , where technically possible . the scope of the present invention is , however , defined by the appended claims .	1
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views , there is shown fig1 and 2 a housing 10 suitably supported . one side of the housing 10 has an opening with a guideway 11 extending thereinto with adjacent guiderails 12 and 13 to guide a circular bead 14 into the housing . located within the lower bottom portion of the housing 10 is a supply receptacle , tank or box like structure 15 which has talc or some similar rubber lubricant . an elevated hopper 16 secured to the top portion of housing 10 contains a supply of talc which is gravity fed to the talc supply receptacle via supply pipe 17 . a plurality of cooperative rollers 20 , 21 , 22 , and 23 are operative in pairs to support for rotation the beads 14a and 14b as shown in fig1 . pairs of vertically spaced guides 24 and 25 extend generally horizontally through the housing 10 except at the one end , wherein the pairs of guides 24 and 25 are inclined upwardly to be in alignment with guiderails 12 and 13 . such spaced guides 24 and 25 cooperate with pairs of rollers 20 , 21 , 22 , and 23 to support and guide the beads through the dusting apparatus as to be described . the other side of housing 10 has an opening in alignment with the guide rails or guides 24 and 25 to facilitate the discharge of the beads from the housing 10 . an inclined guideway 26 extends from such opening on the other side of housing 10 to discharge the dusted or coated beads 14 . vertically spaced pairs of guides 27 and 28 ( fig1 ) extend from such opening on the other side of housing 10 and cooperate with a lower guideway 26 to facilitate the removal of beads 14 from the dusting apparatus . a vertically extending strip or bar 30 which may be an extension of guideway 26 is located at the one end portion of guideway 26 to act as a stop for the dicharged beads 14 . to facilitate the movement of the beads 14 through the dusting apparatus , pairs of sprocket 35 and 36 are suitably journaled in the housing 10 . a pair of interconnected chains 37 and 38 are suitably trained about pairs of sprockets 35 and 36 respectively . chains 37 and 38 have projections or fingers 40 suitably connected thereto for advancing the beads 14 along rollers 20 , 21 , 22 , and 23 and for discharging the beads 14 from the housing 10 as such chains are indexed or moved a predetermined distance . a motor 50 ( fig1 ) mounted on the upper portion of housing 10 is connected via a shaft 51 to sprocket 35 for indexing such sprocket 35 . a suitable pressure switch 52 actuated by a bead 14 rolling down guideway 11 is operative to energize motor 50 momentarily to advance a bead one position through the bead duster apparatus in cooperation with the plural spaced fingers 40 . a motor 55 ( fig2 ) is suitably mounted within housing 10 to drive sprocket 56 . a chain 57 is suitably connected to such sprocket 56 and suitably trained about sprockets 58 through 66 and is operative to rotate the rollers 20 through 23 and the bead rings resting thereon for dusting . sprocket 58 is connected to roller 23 via shaft 70 , sprocket 60 is connected to roller 22 via shaft 71 , sprocket 62 is connected to roller 21 via shaft 72 while sprocket 64 is connected to roller 20 via shaft 73 . mounted within housing 10 and forwardly of the beads 14 resting on the rollers 22 and 23 are a pair of upper brushes 75 and a pair of lower brushes 76 . mounted directly behind brushes 75 and 76 are pairs of brushes 75 &# 39 ; and 76 &# 39 ; respectively which rotate in opposite direction to remove the loose talc or lubricant from the bead 14 that is positioned between such brushes and resting on rollers 22 and 23 . the brushes 75 , 75 &# 39 ;, 76 , and 76 &# 39 ; are rotated by a motor 80 driving sprocket 81 which in turn rotates sprockets 82 through 91 with sprockets 86 , 87 , 88 , and 91 rotating the respective brushes . in the operation of the described apparatus , the operator on completing the fabrication of a bead from tacky rubber materials , places the bead onto a guideway or ramp 11 such that the bead rolls down the guideway and engages trip switch 52 , which in turn energizes motor 50 . rotation of sprocket 35 by such motor 50 indexes chain 37 , 38 , along with fingers 40 which thereby carries the bead 14 entering the bead dusting apparatus and deposits the bead ring 14 on the first set of rollers 20 and 21 for rotation by such rollers in the dusting receptacle 15 . upon completion of another bead ring by the operator and by placing such bead ring onto guideway 11 , the bead ring rolls down the guideway to actuate the switch 52 on guideway 11 which will actuate motor 50 for another indexing action by chains 37 and 38 which in turn will move the bead ring located between rollers 20 and 21 into position on the second set of rollers 22 and 23 while the new bead ring is deposited on the first set of rollers 20 and 21 . while the newly deposited bead 14 on rollers 20 and 21 has dust or talc applied to it , the bead ring on the second set of rollers 22 and 23 is being rotated while brushes 75 , 75 &# 39 ;, 76 , and 76 &# 39 ; brush the excess talc therefrom . upon completion of another tack bead ring by the operator and upon placing it on the guideway 11 , such bead will roll down the guideway 11 to actuate switch 52 initiating another indexing action . the bead ring on the rollers 22 and 23 will be ejected from the housing 10 of the bead dusting apparatus onto the guideway 26 for movement down such guideway until it comes to rest against stop 30 . the bead ring resting on rollers 20 and 21 will be moved by the indexing chains 37 , 38 and the index fingers 40 to rollers 22 and 23 for brushing by brushes 75 , 75 &# 39 ;, 76 , and 76 &# 39 ;. the bead ring just deposited on the guideway 11 which actuates trip switch 52 is moved onto the first set of rollers 20 and 21 for dusting of the tacky surface thereof . various modifications are contemplated and may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from the described invention , as hereinafter defined by the appended claims , as only a preferred embodiment thereof has been disclosed .	1
in order to facilitate understanding of the invention , a number of terms are defined below . it will further be understood that , unless otherwise defined , all technical and scientific terminology used herein has the same meaning as commonly understood by practitioners of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains . as used herein , the term “ therapeutic agent ” generally refers to a composition that is capable of inducing or affecting an action in a biological system , e . g . by inducing or affecting a therapeutic or prophylactic effect , an immune response , tissue growth , cell growth , cell differentiation or cell proliferation . a therapeutic agent may include a pharmaceutical delivery vehicle . the delivery vehicle would typically be optimized to stably accommodate an effective dosage of one or more compounds having biological activity . the determination of the effective dose of a therapeutic agent that should be included in a bioactive composition to achieve a desired biological response is dependent on the particular compound , the magnitude of the desired response , and the physiological context of the composition . such determinations may be readily made by an ordinary practitioner of the pharmaceutical arts , components of therapeutic agent may include growth factors , analgesics , antibiotics , or other pharmacologically active compounds . as used herein , the term “ antibiotic ” generally refers to a naturally occurring , synthetic or semi - synthetic chemical substance that is derivable from a mold or bacterium that , when diluted in an aqueous medium , kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms and can cure or treat infection . as used herein , the term “ analgesic ” is used in reference to a pharmacologically active agent or composition that alleviates pain without causing loss of consciousness . the term “ ionic crosslinking ” as used throughout the disclosure refers to process whereby functional groups present on individual gel polymer molecules form ionic interactions with multivalent cations present in the surrounding medium thereby creating a substantially continuous gel polymer matrix . the term “ ionic crosslinking ” specifically excludes covalent crosslinking of gel polymer molecules , as described below in an alternate embodiment . the present disclosure describes preparation and use of permanent and semi - permanent biocompatible compositions for soft and hard tissue augmentation . the compositions include self setting biocompatible cements or salts in a composition together with biocompatible polymer gels . the composition combinations set in vivo to form biocompatible composition materials capable of providing a scaffold supporting local autogenous , non - scar soft or hard tissue growth . the cement portion of the composition serves as a slow ( or non -) resorbing mat ix aiding in the longevity of the duration of augmentation . suitable cements may include various ionic compounds containing cations such as calcium , magnesium , strontium , sodium , potassium , barium , lithium , aluminum , iron , copper , manganese , chromium , zinc , etc , combined with anion groups ( fully or partially neutralized ) such as phosphate ( and acid phosphates ), sulfates , oxide , carbonate ( and bicarbonate ), chlorides , borates , etc . preferred cement compounds include any combinations of calcium phosphate cements , magnesium phosphate cements , strontium phosphate cements , calcium aluminate cements , calcium sulfate cements , and calcium silicate aluminate cements ( such as for use in ionomer - type cements ). the following calcium phosphate cements , as well as methods of making and using same , are provided by way of non - limiting example only . it will be readily appreciated by the skilled artisan that any art - recognized cement may be used , calcium phosphate cements suitable for use with the presently described embodiments may include , without limitation , those calcium phosphate cements , and methods of making same , disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 379 , 453 and 6 , 840 , 995 to lin et al ., entitled “ process for producing fast setting , bioresorbable calcium phosphate cement ”, u . s . pat . no . 6 , 616 , 742 to lin et al . entitled “ process for preparing a paste from calcium phosphate cement ”, u . s . pat . no . 6 , 648 , 960 to lin et al entitled “ method of shortening a working and setting time of a calcium phosphate cement ( cpc ) paste ”, u . s . patent application publication nos . 2004 / 0031420 to lin et al . entitled “ calcium phosphate cement , use and preparation thereof ,” 2004 / 0003757 to lin et al . entitled “ tetracalcium phosphate ( ttcp ) having calcium phosphate whisker on surface ,” 2005 / 0076813 to lin et al . entitled “ process for producing fast - setting bioresorbable calcium phosphate cement ,” 2005 / 0069479 to lin et al . entitled “ method of increasing working time of tetracalcium phosphate cement paste ,” 2005 / 0184417 to lin et al . entitled “ method for making a porous calcium phosphate article ,” and in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 773 , 701 to lin et al . entitled “ tetracalcium phosphate ( ttcp ) having calcium phosphate whisker on surface and process for preparing the same ,” u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 633 , 511 to lin et al . entitled “ method of making a molded calcium phosphate article ,” and int &# 39 ; l patent appl . publ . no . wo 2005 / 016616 to lin et al . entitled “ methods for preparing medical implants from calcium phosphate cement and medical implants .” the above - cited patent references are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully sot forth herein . in an embodiment , the average diameter of cement particles may be less than 150 μm , less than 100 m , or less 90 μm . suitable polymer components may include any combination of biocompatible polymers which aid in any of the following : ( 1 ) serve as lubricious carriers and dispersants to improve the ease of mixing and delivery of the augmentation material prior to set ; ( 2 ) help to prevent dispersion of cement particulate ; ( 3 ) aid in creating porosity for tissue ingrowth ; ( 4 ) form an in situ setting composition with the cement component ; and ( 5 ) adjust the final physical properties of the set composition where the final material would have greater viscosity or elasticity than the original material prior to injection or implantation . also , some of the polymeric components preferably are hydrogels , or miscible in water , or may be emulsified in water such that the cement may set in an aqueous environment . also , some of the polymeric components preferably are chosen such that , in theory , they can interact with divalent and trivalent cations and can be ionically crosslinked such that in situ crosslinking may occur serving to increase the duration of augmentation . also , preferred polymers include those that may be crosslinked in situ by change or adjustment of some combination of ionic crosslinking , ph , and temperature . the theory of ionic crosslinking as well as other methods of crosslinking only serve to account for observations and aid in selection of the polymers , and the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular theory . exemplary though non - limiting gelling polymers and other time release compounds suitable for use in accordance with the present embodiments include polysaccharide gels such as gels made with water and any combination of the following : cellulose , agarose , agar , agar methylcellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , ethyl cellulose , carboxyethyl cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , oxidized cellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , dextran , carboxymethyl dextran , chitosan , chitin , carboxymethyl chitin , hyaluronic acid , sodium hyaluronate , pectin , alginate , carrageenan , and starch . other anionic polysaccharides include polyuronic acids and their biocompatible salts and copolymers such as polymannuronic acid , polyglucuronic acid , polyanhydroglucuronic acid , and polyguluronic acid . glycosaminoglycans such as heparin , heparin sulfate , and chondroiton sulfate may be used . additional polymers which may be incorporated in this invention are polyalkalene oxides and poly acids such as polyethylene glycol , polyethylene oxide , polypropylene glycol , polypropylene oxide , propylene glycol alginate , polyacrylates and their acids , polylactates and their acids , polyglycolates and their acids , polymethacrylates and their acids , polymethylmethacrylates and their acids , polyterephthalic acid , polyhydroxybutyric acid , polyphosphoric acid , polystyrenesulfonic acid , polyamino acids , and various nonionic block copolymers such as poloxamers . pluronics ( a . k . a . poloxamers ) are of interest due to their thermoreversible nature which demonstrate phase transition between ambient room temperature and physiological temperature in vivo . other polymers which exhibit thermoreversible characteristics and are included in this invention are naturally occurring polymers such as gelatin ( a protein prepared from partial hydrolysis of collagen ), polysaccharides such as agarose extracted from red seaweed , alternating copolymer of 1 , 4 - linked 3 , 6 - anhydro - a - l - galactose and 1 , 3 - linked b - d - galactose ), amylose ( 1 , 4 - linked a - d - glucan linear polymer ), amylopectin ( a - 1 , 6 glucan with a large number of a - 1 , 4 - glucan branches ), carrageenans ( extracted from red seaweed , alternating copolymer of 1 , 4 - linked a - d - galactose and 1 , 3 - linked b - galactose , containing ester sulfate ), and gellant ( kelco division of merck & amp ; co ., ca ) ( polysaccharide originated from bacteria , consisting of b - glucose - b - d - glucuronic acid - b - glucose - a - lrhamnose ). other cationic components of interest include for example derivatives and copolymers of acrylamide , methacrylamide , butylacrylate , maleinanhydride , and methylmethacrylate such as polyacrylamide , hydroxyethylmethacrylate , hydroxypropylmethacrylamide . peptides such as gelatine , protamine , and fibrinopeptide also may be utilized as cations . for the purpose of increasing implant longevity , this invention also may include non - resorbable biocompatible polymers such as polyethylene , polypropylene , fluoropolymers ( e . g . polytetrafluoroenthylene , perfluoroalkoxy , fluorinated ethylene propylene ), polymerized methyl -, ethyl -, and phenol - siloxanes , polyetheretherketone , and any biocompatible polymers known in the art which are suitable for making gels or solid microspheres . an alternate embodiment of the present invention includes a self setting biocompatible composition of inorganic ions which , when combined with polymer gels , the composition combinations set in vivo to form biocompatible composition materials of inorganic salts with low solubility in combination with gels capable of providing a scaffold supporting local autogenous , non - scar soft or hard tissue growth . this material would have greater viscosity or elasticity than the original material prior to injection or implantation . the inorganic ions of the composition serve as a slow ( or non -) resorbing matrix aiding in the longevity of the duration of augmentation . examples of suitable ions may include cations such as calcium , magnesium , strontium , sodium , potassium , barium , lithium , aluminum , iron , copper , manganese , chromium , zinc , etc . combined with anion groups ( fully or partially neutralized ) such as phosphate ( and acid phosphates ), sulfates , oxide , carbonate ( and bicarbonate ), chlorides , borates , etc . examples of suitable polymer gels include for example the same as listed above for the compositions containing cements and polymers . in yet a further alternate embodiment of the present invention , a self setting ( or gelating ) biocompatible polymeric cement - like compound involving biocompatible polymer gels which may be crosslinked in situ and made to set in vivo to form a biocompatible material . such material may have greater viscosity or elasticity than the original material prior to injection or implantation . this material may be capable of providing a scaffold supporting local autogenous , non - scar soft or hard tissue growth . the in situ crosslinking reaction may be accomplished by methods similar to those used in the art of polymeric crosslinking reactions . for example , covalent or ionic crosslinking post - implantation can be accomplished by mixing multiple chemical components just prior to or during injection or implantation , which result in delayed crosslinking with sufficient working time for the operative procedure . this delay is achieved by adjusting the rate of the crosslinking reaction . another approach is the use of a biocompatible time delay release agent , such as an excipient or porous material or other material capable of releasing reactants . the reactants involved in crosslinking are contained within the time delay release agent , and hence delays the contact between one or more reactants until after injection or implantation . such a time - release compound can be selected from those used in the art . examples of rapidly soluble excipients include some polyols ( e . g . xylitol , mannitol , sorbitol , isomalt , maltitol , lactitol , etc . ), sugar saccharides ( e . g . lactose , maltose , trehalose , sucrose , dextran , etc . ), and any biocompatible excipients which are not prone to excessive ionic crosslinking . examples of other biocompatible time release agents include slowly soluble or non - resorbing insoluble porous compounds including for example biodegradable polymers ( e . g . polylactide , polyglycolide , plga , polycaprolactone , polydiaxanone , polytrimethylene carbonate , etc .). examples of possible reactants are compounds listed below for achieving a crosslinked polymer . preferred oligomers and polymers for in situ setting compounds include polyols for dispersants , thickeners , and time release agents such as glycerol , glycol , erythritol , arabitol , xylitol , mannitol , sorbitol , isomalt , maltitol , lactitol , and polyvinyl alcohol . mono and disaccharides also may be used in this invention for the same purposes . in an embodiment , a method to control and adjust ph , ion release rate , common ions , and net ionic charge in this invention for the purposes of adjusting rheology , setting time , and crosslinking may include the use of soluble or partially soluble acids , bases , and salts . preferred salts , acids , and bases ( to include partially neutralized acid salts and hydrated salts ) include biocompatible inorganic compounds of anions ( e . g . phosphates , chlorides , sulfates , carbonates , ammoniums , oxides , and hydroxides ) neutralized with metal cations ( e . g . sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium , strontium , barium , lithium , beryllium , aluminum , iron , hydrogen ). also included in this invention are polycations and polyanions ( which may be used , for example , to aid with crosslinking , ph adjustment , rheology , and setting time ). such compounds include , for example , mono -, di -, and tricarboxylic acids and their salts ( e . g . citric , acetic , acrylic , malonic , fumaric , malic , maleic , formic , propionic , butyric , valeric , caproic , enanthic , caprylic , peargonic , capric , lauric , stearic , lactic , glycolic , tartaric , gluconic , glucuronic , etc .) which may be neutralized with metals ( e . g . sodium , potassium , calcium , magnesium , strontium , barium , lithium , beryllium , aluminum , iron , etc .). other polycations and polyanions ( which may be used , for example , to aid with adjustment of crosslinking , rheology , and setting time ) include polylysine , polyarginine , chitosan , and any other biocompatible monomer , dimer , and polymer compounds containing net positive or negative charges under aqueous conditions . the compositions claimed may incorporate drugs , adjuvants , and other medicaments to be delivered to the injection or implantation site . the incorporation of such drugs , etc . may be incorporated into one of the components of the invention during manufacturing or may be mixed in at the time of implantation . such drugs may include for purpose of example analgesics and anesthetics ( such as lidocaine , etc . ), anti - inflammatories ( such as ibuprofen , ketoprofen , aspirin , etc . ), steroids ( such triamcinolone , etc . ), antibiotics ( such as tetracycline , etc . ), antihistamines , and synthetic and autologous soft and hard tissue inductive growth factors ( such as fibroblast growth factor ( fge ), epidermal growth factor ( egf ), platelet derived growth factor ( pdgf ), bone morphogenic proteins ( bmp ), etc .). also , chemotherapy agents ( such as alkylating agents including cisplatin , etc .) may be incorporated into this invention . further , neurotoxic analgesics ( such botulinum protein , etc .) also may be incorporated into the compositions of this invention . the compositions of this invention can be injected intradermally or subcutaneously or can be surgically implanted . the compositions of this invention can be separate components manufactured separately and mixed just prior to injection or implantation or during injection or implantation . additionally any components may be mixed sequentially in a sequence which allows the proper function of the final material . this invention includes the separate components to be mixed together in any appropriate order to create the final product . this invention also includes the mixture of the components as well as the resultant materials in vivo just prior to , during , and after curing to its final composition . calcium phosphate cements suitable for use with the presently described embodiments may include , without limitation , those calcium phosphate cements , and methods of making same , disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 379 , 453 and 6 , 840 , 995 to lin et al ., entitled “ process for producing fast setting , bioresorbable calcium phosphate cement ”, u . s . pat . no . 6 , 616 , 742 to lin et al . entitled “ process for preparing a paste from calcium phosphate cement ”, u . s . pat . no . 6 , 648 , 960 to lin et al entitled “ method of shortening a working and setting time of a calcium phosphate cement ( cpc ) paste ”, u . s . patent application publication nos . 2004 / 0031420 to lin et al . entitled “ calcium phosphate cement , use and preparation thereof ,” 2004 / 0003757 to lin et al , entitled “ tetracalcium phosphate ( ttcp ) having calcium phosphate whisker on surface ,” 2005 / 0076813 to lin et al . entitled “ process for producing fast - setting bioresorbable calcium phosphate cement ,” 2005 / 0069479 to lin et al . entitled “ method of increasing working time of tetracalcium phosphate cement paste ,” 2005 / 0184417 to lin et al . entitled “ method for making a porous calcium phosphate article ,” and in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 773 , 701 to lin et al . entitled “ tetracalcium phosphate ( ttcp ) having calcium phosphate whisker on surface and process for preparing the same ,” u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 633 , 511 to lin et al . entitled “ method of making a molded calcium phosphate article ,” and int &# 39 ; l patent appl . publ . no . wo 2005 / 016616 to lin et al . entitled “ methods for preparing medical implants from calcium phosphate cement and medical implants .” the above - cited patent references are commonly assigned with the present invention and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein . calcium phosphate cements may be formed from acidic calcium phosphates ( e . g ., calcium phosphates having a calcium to phosphorous ratio of less than 1 . 33 ), basic calcium phosphates ( e . g ., calcium phosphates having a calcium to phosphorous ratio of greater than 1 . 33 ) or combinations of acidic and basic calcium phosphates . the presently described cpcs may optionally include one or more bioactive compositions dispersed or dissolved therein , such as are described in detail below . in some embodiments , incorporating one or more therapeutic agents into the subject compositions may enhance the biocompatibility and / or therapeutic utility of the composition . in an embodiment , therapeutic agents may include one or more growth factors or polypeptides . the inclusion of one or more of such factors with the implant in situ may accelerate healing , vascularization , tissue and cellular infiltration of the composition . numerous growth factors suitable for inclusion with the present embodiments are known to practitioners of ordinary skill in the art including any one of a number of polypeptide growth factors known for their ability to induce tissue or wound healing . by way of non - limiting example , growth factors or polypeptides suitable for inclusion in the presently described embodiments include , but are not limited to , osteogenin , insulin - like growth factor ( igf )- 1 , transforming growth factor ( tgf )- β1 , tgf - β2 tgf - β3 , tgf - β4 , tgf - β5 , osteoinductive factor ( oif ), basic fibroblast growth factor ( bfgf ), acidic fibroblast growth factor ( afgf ), platelet - derived growth factor ( pdgf ), vascular endothelial growth factor ( vegf ), growth hormone ( gh ), and osteogenic protein - 1 ( op - 1 ). in certain embodiments , growth factors belonging to the bone morphogenic protein ( bmp ) family of growth factors , which include , but are not limited to , bmp - 1 , bmp - 2a , bmp - 2b , bmp - 3 , bmp - 3b , bmp - 4 , bmp - 5 , bmp - 6 , bmp - 7 , bmp - 8 , bmp - 8b , bmp - 9 , bmp - 10 , bmp - 11 , bmp - 12 , bmp - 13 , bmp - 14 , bmp - 15 , bone matrix proteins ( e . g ., alkaline phosphatase , osteocalcin , bone sialoprotein ( bsp ) and osteocalcin in secreted phosphoprotein ( spp )- 1 , type i collagen , type iv collagen , fibronectin , osteonectin , thrombospondin , matrix - gla - protein , sparc , alkaline phosphatase and osteopontin ). therapeutic agents may , in some embodiments , may further include pharmacologically active compounds that do not act locally to stimulate bone growth and healing , but that may nonetheless be therapeutically advantageous in certain applications , such as , for example , antibiotic and or analgesic agents . exemplary analgesic agents suitable for use herein include , but are not limited to , norepinephrine , bupivacaine , ropivacaine , 2 - chloroprocaine , lidocaine , mepivacaine , ropivacaine , mepivacaine , benzocaine , tetracaine , dibucaine , cocaine , prilocaine , dibucaine , procaine , chloroprocaine , prilocaine , mepivacaine , etidocaine , tetracaine , xylocaine , morphine , fentanyl , alphaxalone and active analogs , 5 - alpha - pregnane - 3 alpha - 21 - diol - 20 - one ( tetrahydro - deoxycorticosterone or thdoc ), allotetrahydrocortisone , dehydroepiandrosterone , benzodiapenes , nifedipine , nitrendipine , verapamil , aminopyridine , benzamil , diazoxide , 5 , 5 diphenylhydantoin , minoxidil , tetrethylammonium , valproic acid , aminopyrine , phenazone , dipyrone , apazone , phenylbutazone , clonidine , taxol , colchicines , vincristine , vinblastine , levorphanol , racemorphan , levallorphan , dextromethorphan , cyclorphan , butorphanol , codeine , heterocodeine , morphinone , dihydromorphine , dihydrocodeine , dihydromorphinone , dihydrocodeinone , 6 - desoxymorphine , heroin , oxymorphone , oxycodone , 6 - methylenedihydromorphine , hydrocodone , hydromorphone , metopon , apomorphine , normorphine , n -( 2 - phenylethyl )- normorphine , etorphine , buprenorphine , phenazocine , pentazocine and cyclazocine , meperidine , diphenoxylate , ketobemidone , anileridine , piminodine , fentanil , ethoheptazine , alphaprodine , betaprodine , 1 - methyl - 4 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyridine ( mptp ), loperamide , sufentanil , alfentanil , remifentanil , lofentanil , 6 , 7 - benzomorphans , ketazocine , aryl - acetamides , u - 50 , 488 , spiradoline ( u - 62 , 066 ), enadoline ( ci - 977 ), asimadoline , emd - 61753 , naltrexone , naltrindole . exemplary antibiotic agents include , but are not limited to , tylosin tartrate , tylosin , oxytetracycline , tilmicosin phosphate , ceftiofur hydrochloride , ceftiofur sodium , sulfadimethoxine cefamandole , tobramycin , penicillin , cefoxitin , oxacillin , vancomycin , cephalosporin c , cephalexin , cefaclor , cefamandole , ciprofloxacin , bisphosphonates , isoniazid , ethambutol , pyrazinamide , streptomycin , clofazimine , rifabutin , fluoroquinolones , ofloxacin , sparfloxacin , rifampin , azithromycin , clarithromycin , dapsone , tetracycline , erythromycin , ciprofloxacin , doxycycline , ampicillin , amphotericine b , ketoconazole , fluconazole , pyrimethamine , sulfadiazine , clindamycin , lincomycin , pentamidine , atovaquone , paromomycin , diclarazaril , acyclovir , trifluorouridine , foscarnet , penicillin , gentamicin , ganciclovir , iatroconazole , miconazole , zn - pyrithione . the following will serve to illustrate , by way of one or more examples , systems and methods for preparing gel polymer compositions according to some embodiments , the examples below are non - limiting and are intended to be merely representative of various aspects and features of certain embodiments . although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may be used in the application or testing of the present embodiments , suitable methods and materials are described below . a ca ( po 4 ) 2 0 blend with cao ( ttcp ) powder was prepared by mixing caco 3 powder with cahpo 4 ( dcpa ) uniformly in ethanol followed by heating to dry , the mixing ratio of caco 3 powder to cahpo 4 powder was 0 . 809 ( weight ratio ), and the powder was heated to 1400 ° c . to allow the two powders to react to form ttcp in combination with approximately 3 % of cao ( by weight ). the ttcp powder was ball milled and sieved then blended with ball milled dcpa powder in a ball mill . the blending ratio of ttcp powder to dcpa powder was 2 . 7 ( weight ratio ). the resultant powder mixture was added to cold water then dried . the resultant powder was mixed with approximately 0 . 02m phosphoric acid solution then dried . the mixing ratio of solution to powder blend is 0 . 32 mg / ml . the resultant powder was ball milled for approximately 0 . 5 hours then a portion of such powder was ball milled in ethanol for approximately 3 hours then dried and sieved . 1 . 5 g of cement powder was placed in a syringe and sterilized with radiation . sodium carboxymethylcellulose ( nacmc ) with high viscosity ( 1500 - 3000 cps at 1 % aqueous gel ) was mixed with glycerol until dispersed . the mixing ratio of nacmc to glycerol was 0 . 08 ( weight ratio ). water was added to the nacmc and glycerol mixture and mixed for 10 minutes to form a gel . the mixing ratio of water to nacmc plus glycerol was 2 : 1 ( weight ratio ), the gel was allowed to rest for more than approximately 1 . 5 hours . sodium phosphate solution was prepared by mixing 7 . 24 g of nah 2 po 4 . h 2 o and 4 . 69 g of na 2 hpo 4 . 7 h 2 o with 143 . 27 g water until dissolved . sodium phosphate solution was mixed with the gel for 20 minutes . 3 . 0 g of gel with sodium phosphate was placed in a syringe and heat sterilized . preparation of dispersant component ( in syringe and sterile ) 1 . 5 g of glycerol was placed in a syringe and heat sterilized the finished syringe component of example 1 was attached to the filled syringe of example 3 and mixed until visually dispersed . the resultant combination of cement and glycerol was pushed into one syringe and attached to the syringe of example 2 and mixed until visually dispersed . the resultant mixture formed a tissue augmentation device . the tissue augmentation material of example 4 was injected through 27 gauge needle for over 30 minutes at ambient room temperature . the tissue augmentation material of example 4 forms a cohesive bolus after curing 20 minutes in hank &# 39 ; s solution at 37 c . in this patent , certain u . s . patents , u . s . patent applications , and other materials ( e . g ., articles ) have been incorporated by reference , the text of such u . s . patents , u . s . patent applications , and other materials is , however , only incorporated by reference to the extent that no conflict exists between such text and the other statements and drawings set forth herein . in the event of such conflict , then any such conflicting text in such incorporated by reference u . s . patents , u . s . patent applications , and other materials is specifically not incorporated by reference in this patent . further modifications and alternative embodiments of various aspects of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the invention . it is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presently preferred embodiments . elements and materials may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein , parts and processes may be reversed , and certain features of the invention may be utilized independently , all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description to the invention . changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the following claims . in addition , it is to be understood that features described herein independently may , in certain embodiments , be combined .	0
in the following text , identical parts in the figures are provided with the same reference symbols or , in the same sense , with similar reference symbols . for simplicity , the clamping technology for the connecting terminal is not illustrated in any more detail in some of the figures . fig1 shows a three - dimensional illustration of a contact piece 1 with a first conductor l 1 that is to be held . the contact piece 1 includes a base body 2 , which is formed from an electrically conductive material , and whose external shape is cuboid , in a similar way to a rectangular plate . the base body 2 is provided with a recess 3 , which is used to hold the first conductor l 1 . the recess 3 is in this case in the form of an elongated hole , in the form of an opening which passes all the way through , that is to say an aperture , on the base body 2 . the recess 3 may equally well be in the form of a groove or else a blind hole , and may be provided for different conductor diameters . the recess 3 may be designed to be closed or open on its circumference . the base body 2 may also be designed to have different profiles , for example to be u - shaped or c - shaped . the recess 3 is aligned parallel to the two longitudinal edges of the base body 2 , and may have a radius at both ends . limbs 5 are formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the recess 3 and have contours whose shapes are matched to those of the cutout 3 , and of which at least one contour has a longitudinal edge 4 . the longitudinal edge 4 is used as a shear , cutting , insulating stripping , displacement or else interruption edge . the first conductor l 1 which is to be held can be positioned parallel to the axis , and partially or completely on the cutout 3 , or overlapping the cutout 3 , in the longitudinal direction of the recess 3 . the recess 3 is in this case designed to hold at least part of the length of the first conductor l 1 that is to be held . the recess 3 is also of such a size that all or part of the diameter of the conductor l 1 can be held . a conductor is generally in the form of a conductor core and , possibly , conductor insulation arranged above it . this results in the conductor core having a diameter , and in the conductor insulation having a diameter . when the conductor l 1 is held in the contact piece 1 , the holding of the conductor core , that is to say of the associated diameter , is of major relevance . any spring effect that is produced by the limbs 5 can be used for effective contact when the conductor is clamped in , depending on the sizes of the recess 3 , of the limbs 5 and the diameter of the conductor core . if a force k is applied to the conductor l 1 positioned in this way , at right angles or approximately at right angles to the base body 2 , the longitudinal edge 4 results in the insulation on the conductor l 1 being interrupted . the insulation is accordingly torn into along the conductor l 1 and , under the influence of the force k which is applied , is displaced partially to the side of the conductor core , in the direction in which the force is acting and partially into the cutout 3 , and , possibly , with part of it being pinched away . the longitudinal edge 4 may also be provided on both longitudinal sides of the recess 3 , with different edge shapes and embodiments , such as a sawtooth , a corrugated [ heading - 0036 ] or else a blade edge being possible . when the conductor l 1 is held in this way , the limbs 5 of the base body 2 which are formed by the recess 3 make an electrically conductive pressure connection with the first conductor l 1 that is held . fields of use for a contact piece such as this may extend from an application for cable lugs , via use of appliances and circuit breakers , to use for a bus connection technique . by way of example , fig2 shows , a side view of the contact piece 1 a associated with a connecting terminal 9 , in which the connecting terminal 9 and the contact piece 1 as well are arranged in a housing section ga . the contact piece 1 may be used for any desired type and form of terminal , for example for a blade connecting terminal or flat terminal , or a female connector or clip terminal , and for a clamp - type terminal . the housing section ga may be part of a terminal , switch or circuit breaker housing or , possibly , may be part of a housing of a din rail mounted device . the connecting terminal 9 illustrated here has a terminal frame 10 which is formed from a material in the form of a strip and is designed on the guidance side so as to produce a spring effect . as an alternative to this , the terminal frame 10 may also be designed with a conventional profile , which is distinguished by having an essentially linear profile . the terminal frame 10 is provided with an internal cutout 12 , which is used as a holding space for at least one first conductor l 1 . a contact piece 1 a is arranged , corresponding to the above statements , in the terminal frame 10 , which has a single - limbed profile . on one side , a terminal frame 10 has a guide 11 for a clamping technology 13 that is arranged in it , in particular a clamping screw , and is provided on a different side , which is opposite the first side , with a rest 14 for the first conductor l 1 , with this rest 14 being formed by an internal surface of the cutout 12 . the clamping technology 13 extend from the guide 11 in the direction of the rest 14 and , in the area of the rest 14 , essentially in the plane of the limb . the base body 2 of the contact piece 1 a has a connecting element 6 for connection purposes . the connecting element 6 is in the form of an l - shaped projection on the base body 2 and is used for interlocking and / or force - fitting connection to a further electrical conductor or to a further component . if required , the connecting element 6 may have a shape that is matched to the housing shape . the clamping technology 13 which are arranged on the terminal frame 10 fix the first insulated conductor l 1 at least in a force - fitting and electrically conductive manner in the recess , with the insulation of this conductor l 1 being interrupted . the clamping technology 13 may in this case be in the form of a clamping screw , lever , eccentric , or in the form of a clamping bolt or striker . in order to strengthen the base body 2 , it has at least one fold , with the fold being u - shaped and the two elements 8 which are produced in this way being arranged parallel to one another and virtually one on top of the other . the elements 8 of the base body 2 are located in the cutout 12 approximately centrally underneath the clamping technology 13 , with the latter acting orthogonally on one of the two elements 8 . the recess 3 , which is aligned transversely with respect to the single - limbed profile , is arranged in the side of the contact piece 1 a facing the guide 11 , such that the clamping technology 13 acts on the centre of a contact zone of the contact piece 1 . the recess 3 is incorporated in one limb 5 of the base body 2 . the terminal frame 10 has an additional holding space for a second conductor l 2 between a lower face of the contact piece 1 a and the rest 14 . this conductor l 2 will generally have had its insulation stripped off it before it is inserted into the terminal frame 10 , and can be clamped in a conventional manner . the second conductor l 2 may also be clamped independently of the first conductor l 1 . the clamping is provided by what is referred to as an elevator principle , in which the clamping technology 13 and the contact piece 1 a are locked in position , but the terminal frame 10 is moved — in a similar way to an elevator , that is to say along a defined path — in the direction of the clamping technology 13 against a pressure piece , or else against an incline . fig3 shows a front view of the connecting terminal 9 with an associated contact piece 1 a , with the first conductor l 1 — illustrated by dashed lines — being introduced first of all . the illustration also shows the interrupted and displaced insulation of the conductor l 1 at the side of the clamping technology 13 , as well as the conductor core , which has been pushed in and is thus clamped . the force k which acts on the first conductor l 1 via the clamping technology 13 may in some circumstances also interrupt the insulation of the conductor l 1 , which is arranged immediately underneath the clamping technology 13 , hence displacing this insulation , thus producing a further contact . fig3 can also alternatively be interpreted as a side view of a conventional terminal frame . in this case , the terminal frame is formed from bent strip material . fig4 and 5 respectively show a side view and a front view of the connecting terminal 9 without any clamping technology but with at least one further cutout 15 , which is used as a holding space . simple lengthening of the terminal frame 10 of the connecting terminal 9 on the limb side first of all results in insertion protection for conductors , and secondly results in additional space for further functions . the connecting terminal a has a first section a 1 for a conductor that is to be inserted , and a second , tapered section a 2 , adjacent to the first section a 1 . this further cutout 15 is at least approximately in the form of a keyhole . the diameter of this second section a 2 is of such a size that , when the clamping technology 13 are activated , the insulation on the conductor to be inserted is interrupted on its flanks , and an electrically conductive contact is made between the base body 2 and the conductor core . the second section a 2 may be provided with blades , edges or else with a tooth system in order to interrupt the conductor insulation better . the conductor to be inserted can be clamped independently of the first or second conductor l 1 , l 2 . the clamping is provided by way of what is referred to as an elevator principle , in which the clamping technology 13 is locked in its position , but the terminal frame 10 is moved — in a similar way to an elevator , that is to say along a defined path — in the direction of the clamping technology 13 against a pressure piece , or else against an incline . the conductor to be inserted is in consequence necessarily pushed by the first section a 1 into the second section a 2 , the conductor insulation is cut through , and contact is made with the conductor core . exemplary embodiments being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims .	7
referring to fig1 - 3 , the present invention is shown as a push - in suture anchor 2 having suture 4 that is insert - molded directly into the suture anchor body 6 during the manufacturing process . the suture anchor body 6 preferably is formed of a bioabsorbable material , poly ( l - lactide - co - d , l - lactide ) 70 : 30 ( pldla ) being most preferred . suture 4 can be any known type of suture selected according to the size of the anchor and the anticipated application . the suture 4 preferably is no . 2 polyester braided suture . at least one length of the insert - molded suture 4 extends from the proximal end of the suture anchor body . preferably , the suture extends from the suture anchor body in the form of a loop . various methods of increasing the pull out strength of the suture from the anchor body are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 964 , 783 to grafton et al . which issued on oct . 12 , 1999 and is assigned to the present applicant , the entire disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference . the proximal end 8 of the suture anchor body preferably is tapered for a snug fit into a hand driver described below , for example , with reference to fig4 - 7 . the distal end 10 of the suture anchor tapers to a blunt tip . suture anchor 2 is provided with slotted ribs 12 formed circumferentially at least partially around and partially along the length of body 6 . ribs 12 have a truncated , conical shape , each rib increasing in diameter toward the head of the anchor at an angle of preferably 15 ° with respect to the longitudinal axis of anchor 2 , and reaching a major diameter of 3 . 0 mm . slots 14 are formed in ribs 12 on alternating sides of body 4 . referring to fig4 - 7 , a hand driver 20 according to the present invention is shown . hand driver 20 includes a cannulated shaft 22 with a cannulated handle 24 . a cleat 26 is provided on the handle for securing suture attached to the suture loop on the suture anchor and passed through the cannulated shaft and handle . the distal tip 28 of cannulated shaft 22 provides a recess 30 which receives the proximal end of suture anchor 2 . the outer diameter of the distal end of the driver preferably is less than or equal to the maximum outer diameter of the suture anchor . the suture anchor is pushed into a hole formed in bone . the hole can be formed by punching or boring , for example . the ribs secure the anchor in the bone . the slots enhance attachment in the bone and support bony in - growth for increased pull out strength . advantageously , the hole formed in bone is made deep enough , and the suture anchor is advanced into the hole sufficiently , so that the proximal end of the anchor sits flush with or below the bone surface . accordingly , the repair leaves a smooth bone surface , minimizing or eliminating abrasion or other damage to surrounding soft tissue . the anchor generally becomes encapsulated by fibrous tissue within six weeks after implantation . although pldla is the most preferred material for the suture anchor of the present invention , other bioabsorbable materials known in the art can be utilized . as used herein , bioabsorbable is considered to be interchangeable with biodegradable , resorbable and absorbable to mean that the device can be at least partially absorbed by the body over time . preferably , the anchor material is selected so as to absorb or degrade substantially completely within 12 - 16 months of implantation . the push - in suture anchor of the present invention is particularly well suited for reattachment of the glenoid labrum or inferior glenohumeral ligament in patients with primary or recurrent anterior dislocation or subluxation of the shoulder in association with adequate post - operative immobilization . more specifically , the anchor also can be used for repair procedures such as capsulabral plication , as described below . referring to fig8 - 11 , a driver 40 for capsule plication using the anchor according to the present invention is shown . capsulolabral plication is indicated for repair of certain types of shoulder laxity . when pathologically increased anterior laxity is combined with a bankart lesion , for example , the addition of a capsular plication to the reattachment of the capsulolabral avulsion has been recommended . driver 40 includes a cannulated shaft 42 with a cannulated handle 44 . a cleat 46 is provided on the handle for securing suture attached to the suture loop on the suture anchor and passed through the cannulated shaft and handle . the distal tip 48 of cannulated shaft 42 provides a recess 50 which receives the proximal end of suture anchor 2 . the outer diameter of the distal end of the driver preferably is less than or equal to the maximum outer diameter of the suture anchor . driver 40 also features a slot 42 which is continuous with recess 50 . the method of capsular plication proceeds using a 36 - inch ( 91 . 4 cm ) long # 2 suture to plicate the capsulolabral complex . both free ends of the suture are brought out an operative cannula . a spear with an included obturator is introduced through a skin incision or a clear cannula . the tip of the spear is positioned on bone and the obturator is removed . a pilot hole is prepared in bone using either a punch or a drill depending on surgeon preference . with the manual punch , a mallet is used to advance the punch into bone until the punch handle meets the back of the spear and / or the shoulder on the distal part of the punch meets the bone surface . alternatively , the drill can be attached with a jacob chuck to a motorized drill and advanced until the stop on the drill bit meets the back of the spear . after the pilot hole is created and the punch or drill is removed , the sterile - packaged implant 2 is opened to the sterile field using appropriate sterile technique . the implant is removed from the standard hand driver 20 and the suture is unloaded from the implant . a separate sterile packaged plication driver 40 is opened to the sterile field . one of the two legs of the plication suture is selected . this suture leg is the one on the medial side , or the one that passes under the tissue . the selected suture leg is loaded through the implant eyelet . the implant 2 is positioned on plication driver 40 so that the open side of the eyelet 4 faces the open slot 52 on the driver . the suture leg will exit the slot 52 on the driver 40 . the implant with driver is pushed into the prepared pilot hole by hand . a mallet then is used to advance the implant into the hole . the implant is advanced until a second laser line 54 on the distal tip of the driver is flush with the bone surface and a laser line 56 on the proximal part of the implant driver shaft is flush with the back of the spear handle . the implant driver handle is pulled straight off the implant and the spear is removed . additional implants are inserted dependent upon the size of the soft tissue defect . suture passing and knot tying are carried out in the preferred fashion . although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof , many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art .	0
referring now to the drawings and in particular to fig1 , there is shown a columbarium , generally designated 100 . the columbarium 100 may take on a variety of different sizes and configurations , but typically includes an array of niches 102 aligned vertically and horizontally . planar and curved wall configurations are possible and different columbarium structures may be grouped together in a single installation . each of the individual niches 20 is covered by a stone shutter or facing panel 102 . in a typical installation , the columbarium 100 includes sides 104 also with a stone facing , a cap stone 106 and a base 108 . it is envisioned that in many installations , exposed surfaces will be covered with a decorative stone , such as marble or granite depending on the location and exposure of the installation . referring now to fig2 and 3 , each of these niches 20 includes opposed sidewalls 22 . a top 24 and a bottom 26 along with rear 28 and cover panels or shutters 30 define an interior storage space capable of storing remains . the size of the niche 20 may vary and be divided depending on the needs to store one or more sets of remains . the stone shutters or covers 30 may be configured for covering a single niche 20 or may cover multiple niches . for example , a single stone shutter 30 covering four niches 20 , but may include four different quadrants corresponding to the niches 20 and include information correspond to the each of the niches being covered . a frame 34 is constructed with mounting elements to adapt to various configurations and provide a structurally sound , lightweight and weather resistant structure . the frame and other materials may be made of materials that will not rust , corrode , or degrade over extended periods of time , such as is required for a columbarium exposed to the elements . in addition , an inner cover 36 fits into a groove 38 and may be removably attached for providing additional privacy and sealing of the interior of each niche 20 . mounting hardware , generally designated 40 , mounts to a front portion of the top 24 and / or bottom 26 extends outward beyond the interior cover 36 . the mounting hardware includes a release mechanism 42 , and a top hook element 44 mounting to the removable stone cover panel 30 . bottom receivers 46 each receive an adjustable bottom engagement assembly 48 . a bracket 52 mounts to the bottom of the stone cover panel 30 and includes a threadably connected peg 50 that engages the receivers 46 . the mounting hardware 40 is adjustable at both the top and bottom to ensure that the shutters 30 are properly aligned and spaced to provide a more aesthetically pleasing appearance . referring now to fig4 , there is shown a temporary stone cover panel 32 including easily adjustable mounting hardware 60 . the hardware 60 can be easily adjusted to a range of infinite different positions in a short period of time so that the replacement niche cover 32 can be used while other covers 30 are removed , such as may be required by being engraved . the adjustable hardware assembly includes a bracket 62 including a mounting section 64 and a bolt receiving section 66 . the receiving section 66 includes a hole 60 through which a bolt 80 extends . the bracket 62 is mounted to the back of the niche 32 with a mounting screw 74 including a nut 76 and washer 78 . a slot 70 is formed in the back surface and substantially parallel to the back surface of the niche includes a widened portion shown most clearly in fig5 . the widened portion 72 allows for the head of the bracket mounting screw 74 to be inserted into the slot 70 . the bracket 62 may be positioned relative to the niche 32 and then retained in place by tightening the nut 76 onto the mounting screw 74 . although the bracket 62 may be adjusted by loosening the mounting screw 74 and nut 76 , it is envisioned that most adjustment will be made by changing the position of the bolt 80 . as shown in fig5 , the typical temporary niche 32 includes two adjustable hardware assemblies 60 corresponding to bottom engagement assemblies 48 on a conventional stone shutter 30 . as shown most clearly in fig6 , 11a , 11b , 12a and 12b , the engagement bolt 80 is configured to engage the complementary receiver 46 mounted to the columbarium , shown in fig3 . the bolt 80 extends through the mounting hole 68 of the bracket 62 and includes a nut 84 threadably attached on the bolt 80 . a washer 82 is mounted in an opposite side of the receiving section 66 of the bracket 62 . a compressible spring inserts intermediate a head 88 of the bolt 80 and the washer 82 . in such a spring - loaded configuration , the spring 86 is biased against the bolt 88 and the washer 82 to push the head away from the receiving section 66 of the bracket 62 and to pull the nut 84 into engagement with an underside of the receiving section 66 . the spring constant of the spring 86 is such that the is sufficiently stiff to hold the bolt 80 in the position shown in fig6 and 7 even while supporting the weight of the temporary niche 32 . however , it can also be appreciated that the spring constant is not too high and provides for manually compressing the spring 86 to release bolt 80 for adjustment , as shown in fig1 b and 12b . it can be appreciated that , like the permanent mounting hardware , the temporary adjustable hardware 60 is also substantially hidden from view when installed and provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance . as the receiving hole 68 in the bracket receiving portion 66 is much larger than the diameter of the bolt 80 , the relative position of the bolt 80 to the receiving portion 66 of the bracket 62 may be altered . therefore , position the bolt 80 relative to the temporary shutter 32 may also be changed . when depressed , the bolt 80 may be moved toward and away from the rear of the temporary shutter 32 . moreover , the bolt 80 may be laterally in the hole 68 . as it is envisioned that more side - to - side adjustment may be required , the hole 68 may have an oblong configuration as shown in fig8 . furthermore , the bolt 80 may be adjusted vertically by simply twisting the bolt 80 relative to the nut 84 to change the final position of the bolt 80 relative to the mounting bracket 62 and therefore the final position of the bottom end of the bolt 80 for engagement with the receivers 46 of each niche 20 . to remove one of the niche cover panels 30 and replace it with a temporary panel 32 , the release mechanism 42 is actuated with a tool configured to extend through the space above the niche and release the top hardware . such a system is described in u . s . pat . no . 8 , 122 , 650 , incorporated herein by reference . the niche cover panel 30 may then be pivoted downward on the lower mounting hardware and then lifted off from the columbarium 100 . following removal , the niche cover panel 30 is placed beside the temporary cover panel 32 . a positioning element 200 is then placed against the bottom of the niche 30 and spacers such as shims are inserted until the gap between the element 200 and the peg 50 is filled . the positioning element 200 and the shims are then moved to the corresponding adjustable hardware 60 and the bolt 80 is twisted clockwise or counter clockwise , depending on whether it is to be moved up or down until it just engages the shims 202 . in this manner , the vertical position of the bolt 80 matches the vertical position of the peg 50 . the process is then repeated for the other adjustable hardware assembly 60 to match the position on the cover panel 30 . in addition , the distance between the peg 50 and the rear of the stone shutter 30 is measured and the bolt 80 is pushed to compress the spring and release the bolt 80 to move into a corresponding position . similarly , the relative lateral position of the bolt is measured and the bolt moved to the correct lateral position depressing the spring and moving the bolt along with its washer , spring , and nut . the threaded bolt 80 allows for vertical adjustment while the compressed spring along with the nut , washer and bracket 62 with an enlarged hole 68 allow the bolt 80 to be moved toward and away from the temporary stone shutter 32 and laterally along the shutter 32 to match the position of the peg 50 of the original shutter 30 . when both of the adjustable hardware assemblies 60 are correctly aligned to match the hardware of the permanent niche cover shutter 30 , the temporary cover panel 32 may be installed . the process is repeated for the second adjustable hardware assembly 60 . the temporary cover 32 is installed by placing the bolts 80 into the corresponding receivers 46 and tilting the temporary stone panels 32 into the vertical position . the release mechanism 42 is then engaged so that the top hook element is retained . when the top hook element is properly retained , the temporary cover 32 is securely mounted to the columbarium 100 . it can be appreciated that when the permanent niche cover panel 30 is replaced , the temporary cover panel 32 may be easily removed by simply engaging the release mechanism 42 and pivoting the temporary cover stone cover panel 32 downward in the same manner used for removing the permanent stone cover panel 30 . moreover , it can be appreciated that the temporary cover 32 may be used for temporarily replacing other permanent niche covers 30 with adjustments being made to properly match the positioning for each installation . therefore , one or only a few temporary panels may be utilized to fill the spaces when the permanent stone cover panels 30 are removed for engraving or other reasons . the use of such temporary cover panels 32 achieves a more aesthetically pleasing appearance and greater security than having to leave the niches without a stone cover panel or requiring more time - consuming adjustment by using a replacement permanent panel 30 . it is to be understood , however , that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed .	5
fig1 a is an architectural diagram illustrating network - extensible reconfigurable media appliance 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention . media appliance 100 comprises media unit 101 , controller 108 , communication unit 103 , and power module 116 . media unit 101 comprises audio and / or video ( a / v ) sensor 120 for sensing incoming audio and / or video . sensed video is stored in memory 110 using video format such as digital video disc ( dvd ), pal digital video cassette ( pal dvc ), pal or ntsc laserdisc , 24p hd , ¾ - inch , mpeg - 2 , mpeg - 4 ( dv - 25 , dv - 50 , imix , isma , etc . ), h . 264 , avi , dv , dvcam , dvcpro , dvcpro - 25 / 50 / 100 , vhs , d - vhs , w - vhs , digital - 8 , digital - s , d1 , d2 , d5 hd , betacam sx , digital betacam , other digital eng format , motion jpeg , any other hdtv format , ntsc , pal , hdd / raid / disk arrays , and / or other format for encoding video ( specifications for describing these formats are herein incorporated by reference ). media unit 101 optionally comprises biometric module 106 . biometric module 106 comprises finger - print scanner , retinal scanner , and / or other element for collecting a biometric sample , and stores scanned biometric data and / or result of biometric identification process in memory 110 . for example , a data structure is stored comprising a digital representation of collected biometric sample for authorization based on comparison with previously - stored biometric identifier . biometric module 106 optionally couples with a micro - array chip for genetically - based identification . media unit 106 optionally comprises reconfigurable logic and / or software 122 for performing programmable audio and / or video sensing , or for conversion to or from audio and / or video formats . controller 108 comprises microprocessor 123 ( such as one from the intel centrino processor family , the specification of which is herein incorporated by reference ), and optionally comprises co - processor 124 , digital signal processing ( dsp ) unit 125 , array processor 126 , and / or reconfigurable logic 127 . controller 108 performs audio and / or video processing on audio and / or video data residing in memory 110 . optionally in real - time manner , controller 108 performs on - the - fly audio processing and / or on - the - fly video processing on incoming encoded audio data and / or incoming encoded video data prior to storage of resulting processed audio data and / or resulting processed video data in memory 110 . controller 108 is implemented in application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) blocks , synthesizable intellectual - property cores , cell processors , reconfigurable logic blocks , field programmable gate arrays ( fpgas ), tensilica &# 39 ; s xtensa chip architecture and / or instruction set , single or multiple instruction single or multiple data ( s / mis / md ) architecture signal processing chips , sony “ cell ” chip , and / or other architecture for performing audio and / or video processing . controller 108 and / or a / v sensor 120 may perform color - space conversion , brightness , white - balance , backlight compensation , gain control , activity detection , motion detection , motion tracking , gamma correction , sharpening , multi - frame noise reduction , depth estimation , 2 - d bad - pixel correction , video compression , video stabilization , digital pan , digital tilt , digital zoom , and / or mosaicing for building panoramic images from successive frames . communication unit 103 comprises radio - frequency ( rf ) transceiver 128 for communicating via radio waves ( e . g . over cellular or other wireless network ), and / or network controller 129 for communicating via a wired and / or wireless network ( e . g . local area network ( lan ), wide area network ( wan ), wireless fidelity ( wifi ) network , etc .). communication unit 103 optionally comprises subscriber information module ( sim ) unit 130 and / or smart card unit for storage and / or retrieval of information about a user ( such as user preference , subscribed service , permission , account information , etc . ), and / or for allowing usage of media appliance 100 by one or more users . communication unit 103 optionally comprises gps module 112 for receiving gps data over satellite . optionally , gps module 112 is a micro gps transponder implemented in single chip or chipset . communication unit 103 optionally comprises acceleration detector 113 ( such as a gyroscope , a single - chip accelerometer or other element for detecting acceleration ) for determining orientation and / or acceleration of media appliance 100 . communication unit 103 optionally comprises reconfigurable logic or software 131 for performing programmable protocol translation , format conversion , network packet processing , network packet compression and / or decompression , communication encryption and / or decryption , and / or other communication processing . power module 116 provides power for media appliance 100 , and comprises ac and / or dc source , portable rechargeable battery , fuel cell ( e . g . direct methanol fuel cell , etc . ), and / or other source for providing electrical power . optionally , media appliance 100 employs mica microsensor platform for low - power wireless sensor networks , herein incorporated by reference . optionally , media appliance 100 architecture conforms to advanced telecommunication computing architecture ( advancedtca ), herein incorporated by reference . fig1 b is a diagram illustrating network - extensible reconfigurable media appliance 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention . light or video sensor 102 senses incoming image stream and stores digital representation in memory 110 . preferably , sensor 102 is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) image sensor . optionally , sensor 102 is integrated with an image preprocessor . optionally , sensor 102 comprises integrated two - chip set such as pixim d1000 or d2000 video imaging system chip sets . sensor 102 optionally comprises a partition for post image processing steps . alternatively , sensor 102 is a charge - coupled device ( ccd ) or an active pixel sensor ( aps ) imager . audio sensor 104 senses incoming sound and stores digital representation of incoming sound in memory 110 using audio format such as audio interchange file format ( aiff ), mpeg layer 3 ( mp3 ), and / or other format for encoding audio information . i / o module 111 preferably has audio and video outputs . i / o module 111 preferably communicates with on - appliance display or screen unit 114 and on - appliance speaker 115 for displaying video and generating audio . optionally , display unit 114 comprises a teleprompter for displaying visual prompts ( such as text and / or pictures ). optionally , i / o module 111 communicates wirelessly , wired , over cellular network , over lan and / or over wan ( such as internet ), to send and / or receive gps data , digital rights management ( drm ) meta - data , audio and / or video plugins , and / or other instructions and / or data for processing and / or tagging of audio and / or video data . optionally , i / o module 111 has video and audio inputs for receiving audio and video signals from external audio and / or video source such as a camera , a pda , a media repository , a satellite , a security service , a drm service , a biometric service , a gps service , a pc or workstation , a cellular service or cellular device , or other device or service communicating with media appliance 100 . media appliance 100 optionally has network controller 117 for communicating with other devices and / or services over a network . fig2 shows memory 110 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . memory 110 comprises dynamic random - access memory ( dram ), static random - access memory ( sram ), high - speed flash memory , and / or removable memory ( e . g . removable flash memory card such as multimediacard ). memory 110 stores audio and video data 201 . optionally , memory 110 stores software instructions and data implementing billing 202 and / or business methods , such as a time - based pay - per - view and / or micro - billing feature . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field describing a viewing ( such as a home - viewing of a video clip of video stream ) and / or a field indicating an amount to be charged for the viewing and / or a field identifying a party to be charged . optionally , memory 110 stores meta - data and / or instructions for implementing drm 203 ( e . g . disney media asset management ( mam ) format ), resource definition framework ( rdf ) implementation such as adobe &# 39 ; s xmp ( extensible metadata framework ), or other scheme for managing meta - data . for example , an xmp packet data structure comprising a header , an xml meta - data , a trailer , and a padding field is employed . optionally , memory 110 stores data and / or instructions for implementing drm according to a right expression language data model , for example employing extensible rights markup language ( xrml ). optionally , memory 110 stores meta - data and / or instructions for implementing proposed global release identifier syntax ( grid ), for example employing a data structure having an identifier scheme , an issuer code , a release number , and a checksum . optionally , memory 110 stores instructions and / or data 204 for performing digital authentication , encryption , decryption , key generation , digital signing , digital watermarking , and / or other instructions for performing security and / or privacy related computation on audio and / or video data , drm data , billing data and / or conditions , sensitive personal data , or other data residing in media appliance 100 and / or communicated to or from media appliance 100 . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field describing an encryption ( and / or decryption ) key , and further stores instructions for encrypting a video stream using the encryption ( and / or decryption ) key . optionally , memory 110 stores instructions and / or data 205 for performing identity recognition ( such as facial recognition , emotion recognition , voice recognition , and / or other pattern or identity recognition ) on video data 201 and / or on incoming video signal . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising an identifier for a database against which image recognition is to be performed , for example a database of faces for recognizing faces in a crowd . the database may be stored ( partially or completely ) internally on media appliance 100 or reside externally on a server . as another example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a feature extracted from a video stream and / or video clip ( using image extraction instructions stored in memory 110 ), and the extracted feature is used for a data base query or is sent to a server for further handling . optionally , memory 110 stores instructions and / or data for performing authoring 206 and / or digital video editing ( e . g . linear or non - linear editing ), compositing , and / or special effects , such as apple &# 39 ; s final cut pro software . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a bit rate associated with the encoding of a video clip and / or video stream . as another example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising author information , genre information , title , characters , actors , genre , story , activities , viewer demographics , locations , scenes , backgrounds , props , objects , set pieces , or other information pertaining to a video clip and / or video stream . optionally , memory 110 stores instructions and / or data for tagging 207 the digital representation of a sensed scene ( video stream and / or video clip ) with meta - data . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising time , media appliance location ( such as provided by gps module 112 ), media appliance orientation and / or media appliance acceleration ( such as provided by acceleration detector 113 ), multi - lingual features ( allowing for translation , subtitles , voice - over , etc . ), cues to a theater automation system ( such as instructions for house lights to go up , half - way up , or down , or instructions to open or close curtains , etc . ), instructions for allowing or disallowing content ( such as trailers or promotional clips ) to play next to other similar content , information indicating suitability of content for different audiences such as children , information indicating any promotional offers , products and / or services ( such as advertisements , product catalogs and / or coupons for products and / or services ), information allowing for organizing and / or managing meta - data available to advertisers and / or service providers , and / or other information describing , identifying and / or relating to content . drm meta - data and / or instructions optionally comprise flags for implementing rights and / or limitations of reproduction , rights and / or limitations of public performance , rights and / or limitations of display , rights and / or limitations of distribution , rights and / or limitations of importation , rights and / or limitations of transmission or access , rights and / or provisions under digital millennium copyright act ( dmca ), rights and / or limitations of caching , rights and / or limitations of browsing , rights and / or limitations of storage , rights and / or limitations of transfer such as burning to compact disk ( cd ) or dvd , rights and / or limitations of referring or linking or framing , rights and / or limitations of streaming or downloading , rights and / or limitations of advertising , or other rights and / or limitations and / or provisions . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field identifying a video clip or video stream , and a field for indicating whether a reproduction right is granted for the identified video clip of video stream . in another example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field identifying a video clip or video stream , and a field for indicating whether a public performance ( and / or display ) right is granted for the identified video clip of video stream . other digital rights can be implemented analogously . drm meta - data and / or instructions optionally support secure promotion , sale , delivery , distribution , and / or usage tracking of digital content . optionally , execution environment is partitioned into kernel versus user space and / or into standard versus trusted partitions according to microsoft &# 39 ; s next - generation secure computing base ( ngscb ). media appliance 100 optionally inserts , deletes , and / or modifies a label in an rdf ( e . g . xmp ) tag describing a media segment . media appliance 100 optionally implements content authenticity , device authentication , and / or user authentication . content authenticity comprises digital watermarking , digital fingerprinting , and / or other technique for content authentication . for example , memory 110 stores instructions for reading an identifier describing a source of a video clip and / or video stream , wherein the identifier is embedded in a digital watermark within the video clip and / or video stream . as another example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field identifying one or more authorized sources for downloading video clips and / or video streams . device authentication comprises smartcards , public key certificates , and / or device for performing authentication . user authentication comprises biometrics using biometric module 106 , passwords , and / or other technique for performing user authentication . media appliance 100 optionally implements , in software ( e . g . residing in memory 110 ) and / or hardware , an abstraction layer between application and display , such as dvb ( digital video broadcast ) and / or mhp ( multimedia home platform ) abstraction layers . specifications for incorporating the dvb and mhp formats are herein incorporated by reference . fig3 a shows networked media appliance 100 communicating with other device and / or service , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . communication with other device and / or service proceeds via direct network connection , internet , wifi , ieee 802 . 11 , ieee 802 . 16 , ieee 802 . 15 . 4 , zigbee specification , cellular , bluetooth , universal serial bus ( usb ), apple &# 39 ; s firewire , and / or other communication channel or protocol . communication is optionally encrypted , authenticated and / or digitally signed , preferably with encryption engine 204 implemented in memory 110 , or alternatively with encryption engine 204 implemented in controller 108 . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with media repository 307 for downloading and / or uploading video and / or audio clips , video and / or audio meta - data such as author information , genre information , title , characters , actors , genre , story , activities , demographics , locations , scenes , backgrounds , props , objects , set pieces , etc . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with drm service 308 for downloading and / or uploading drm meta - data . optionally , media appliance 100 generates a message indicating an infringement and / or other violation of digital rights , according to a set of drm rules , such as copying without permission , broadcasting without permission , etc . for example , memory stores a data structure comprising a field identifying a video clip and / or video stream , and an indicator of a violation of a drm rule , such as an act of broadcasting the video clip and / or video stream without permission . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with security service 309 to upload security information such as video and / or audio record of scene , identity recognition data as computed by identity recognition instructions 203 , gps data as provided by gps module 112 , directional data as provided by acceleration detector 113 , and / or to download security information such as location to watch , identity data to store for matching against images , and / or voice audio signature to store for matching against audio clips . for example , media appliance 100 sends a data structure to security service 309 , wherein the data structure comprises a field identifying a person , and a field identifying the location of the media appliance 100 at the time the person is sensed by media appliance 100 . optionally , media appliance 100 couples to police authority for providing live and / or recorded footage and / or triggering alarm and calling police according to built - in media appliance intelligence for identifying potential dangerous and / or suspicious conditions . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with biometric service 301 to upload biometric information obtained by biometric module 106 , and / or to download biometric signature for matching against incoming biometric data . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with gps service 302 , such as gps satellites , to receive gps information . for example , if media appliance 100 moves into a restricted area , as indicated by gps service 302 and / or by information residing on media appliance 100 and / or obtained remotely , gps unit 112 activates an alert . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field identifying a restricted geographical area , and media appliance 100 generates an alarm when location of media appliance 100 , as indicated by gps service 302 , falls within the restricted geographic area . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with news service 310 and / or other objective information service . in one embodiment , media appliance 100 receives a data structure from news service 310 , the data structure representing a digital template and comprising a field identifying a location , and one or more fields identifying elements to be covered by reporter ( such as a person to interview , a particular place to point out to viewers , other news reporters covering the same news story , etc .). media appliance 100 optionally communicates with sports broadcasting network , game - show broadcasting network , and / or other gaming or competition - related network 311 . in one embodiment , media appliance 100 receives a data structure from sports broadcasting network 310 , the data structure comprising a field identifying one or more competing parties , a field identifying a location of the competition , and a field indicating the competition schedule . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with private service 312 . in one embodiment , media appliance 100 receives a data structure from movie production source or network 310 , the data structure comprising a field identifying one or more movie or media production , a field identifying a location of the production , a field indicating the production schedule , a field indicating one or more scenes , and a field indicating one or more cast or staff members . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with renderer 313 to display video data . renderer 313 comprises a cinema or movie theater , television receiver , computer display , imax display , a digital audio broadcast ( dab ) broadcaster , a satellite broadcaster , a digital tv , a high definition tv ( hdtv ), a pda and / or cellular phone ( or other mobile device display ). media appliance 100 optionally communicates with a personal computer ( pc ) and / or workstation 303 and / or other computing device for synchronization of data residing on media appliance 100 with computer 303 ( optionally interfacing with media repository manager and / or program manager residing on computer 303 ). for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field indicating the time of last synchronization of media appliance 100 with computer 303 ( or media repository manager or program manager residing on computer 303 ). communication proceeds wirelessly and / or via a cradle ( coupled to computer 303 ) into which media appliance 100 is placed for synchronization . in one embodiment , media appliance 100 comprises a user interface offering a synchronization button ( hard button on media appliance 100 and / or soft button displayed in media appliance &# 39 ; s 100 graphical display ), activation of which causes described data synchronization . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with pda 304 , cellular service and / or device 305 , and / or other mobile service and / or device for displaying video and / or audio data . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with other networked media appliance 306 for exchanging video and / or audio clips and / or for collaborating in the production of a media project , wherein a media appliance is assigned a token ( number , string , etc . ), statically or dynamically , for identifying the media appliance . media appliance 100 optionally communicates with other networked media appliance 306 to enable video - conferencing and / or multi - way collaboration , for example , in business meetings , real estate transactions , distance learning , sports , fashion shows , surveillance , training , games , tourism , etc . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising a field for describing a group of collaborating media appliances 100 , and a field identifying media appliance 100 itself among the group of collaborating media appliances . fig3 b is a diagram illustrating network - extensible reconfigurable media appliances communicating over a network with a server , according to an embodiment of the present invention . one or more client media appliances 330 communicate over a network 331 with server 332 . network 331 is a combination of one or more wired and / or wireless networks such as the internet , a lan , a wan , a satellite network , or other network for communication . in one embodiment , server 332 is a news server , having a script or digital template for producing a news program . server 332 delegates the recording or streaming of various predetermined pieces of audio and / or video footage to the various media appliance clients 330 , wherein the recorded or streamed pieces will serve to fill - in the server 332 script or digital template for producing the news program . in another embodiment , server 332 is a server for sports or other competition , having a script or digital template for producing a sports program or a program for other competitive activity . server 332 delegates the recording or streaming of various predetermined pieces of audio and / or video footage to the various media appliance clients 330 , wherein the recorded or streamed pieces serve to fill - in the server 332 script or digital template for producing the sports ( or other competition ) program . in one embodiment , i / o module 111 presents a user interface ( ui ), comprising a combination of hard ( physical ) buttons and / or soft ( graphical ) buttons for accessing and using billing functions , drm functions , authentication , identity recognition , digital editing of media , and / or other services as shown in fig3 a and described above . for example , a view ( for example comprising a button ) is presented via display 114 to allow approval of a billing associated with the viewing of video data . as another example , a view is presented via display 114 , allowing selection of one or more audio and / or video data for submission or transmission to a server 332 , such as a news server or a sports server , as described above . selection of a presented audio and / or video data designates the selected data for submission or transmission to the server . optionally , interfaces and media appliances are physically separate , wherein through an interface a user can tap into a pool or one or more media appliances to view available audio and / or video data , and / or select one or more available audio and / or video for submission or transmission to a server 332 , as described above . as another example , a view is presented at server 332 for approving the inclusion of a submitted or transmitted audio and / or video data into a script or a digital template for a news or sports program , wherein the audio and / or video data is submitted by a media appliance client 330 to server 332 , as described above . fig4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for sensing according to one embodiment of the present invention . the method begins with pre - production 401 . pre - production comprises employing 402 a script and / or storyboard flowchart , or employing 403 a digital template 403 . a portion of this front - end may be implemented automatically or manually in software , comprising analysis , design , development , production , implementation or evaluation of script , storyboard , and / or digital template . optionally , frames and / or scenes are labeled ( via meta - data ) according to script , storyboard , or digital template in use . a script or storyboard is downloaded over a wired and / or wireless network , made available via removable storage ( e . g . memory card and / or disk ), or is alternatively created on media appliance . a digital template describes how to construct a video and / or multimedia document by sensing ( i . e . “ shooting ” or recording ) and assembling individual scenes and / or segments in particular order , and is downloaded over a wired and / or wireless network or created on media appliance . alternatively , user of media appliance 100 may decide not to consult a script , storyboard , or digital template , and proceed directly to sensing 404 . one example of a template is a template for insurance inspection of vehicle accidents , wherein the template indicates “ slots ” for video clips , taken from various angles , of the vehicles involved in the accident , as prescribed by an insurance company . optionally , media appliance 100 adaptively guides media appliance operator in making discretionary decisions to take alternate script paths and / or alter flow of script ( or storyboard or digital template ) or generally deviate from the script , for example when dealing with emergency conditions and / or events which do not occur according to script . such guidance may employ non - deterministic scripts , according to logic specified using bayesian modeling , neural networks , fuzzy logic , and / or other technique for making decisions under complex conditions and / or under incomplete information . for example , in one embodiment a cast member in a script is described by fuzzy attributes , such as “ a female actor with at least five years drama experience ” in leading role ( instead of or in addition of identifying the lead role actor by name ). then , in case the lead actor canceling her engagement , instructions employing fuzzy logic perform a search for actors matching the fuzzy attributes to dynamically recommend one or more candidates to fill the role . optionally , digital template or script is non - linear , allowing for one or more branching points . a branching point allows the script and / or template to flow in more than one path . for example , scene ( or clip or stream ) a can be followed by scene b or scene c , depending on which branch of the branching point following a is taken . for a viewer , a media presentation prepared according to such non - linear template or script allows for a multiplicity of presentations comprising different scene ( or clip or stream ) orderings . for a viewer , the decision of which of the alternate paths to follow in a branching point can be viewer selected , randomly chosen , based on external variable ( such as a combination of one or more of : weather , temperature , stock quotes , time of day or year , viewing location , amount of money left in viewer &# 39 ; s account , or any other external variables ), based on biometric sensing of viewer , based on the result of an identity or emotion recognition procedure on viewer ( such as distinguishing between happiness , sadness , excitement , apathy , interest in a particular aspect of the presentation and / or other emotions or indications of interest exhibited by viewer ), based on real - time input from viewer or from larger audience ( such as deliberate viewer decision of which script or template path to take next , provided via an input device or detected by the presentation module ), or based on other variables . such non - linear template or script allows for example for the production and presentation of a pg - rated , r - rated , or x - rated version of a given movie depending on the audience ( for example a parent may elect to view the r - rated version of the movie while electing a pg - rated presentation for the children ). as another example , a wedding template or script may allow for different presentations based on whether the bride &# 39 ; s family or the groom &# 39 ; s family is viewing . as another example , a mystery presentation may offer alternate endings , based on viewer input or external variables as described above . media appliance 100 senses 404 video and / or audio and stores a digital representation in memory 110 . optionally , multiple audio and / or video streams are sensed , either by the same media appliance or by collaborating media appliances , wherein synchronization is provided for the multiple streams , in the form of meta - data tags describing related scenes and / or streams and / or frames , and / or in the form of meta - data describing time stamps relating different scenes and / or streams . for example , memory 110 stores a data structure comprising one or more fields identifying one or more related video scenes and / or streams and / or frames , and a field indicating the nature of the relation ( for example indicating that the video scenes and / or streams and / or frames represented different viewing angles of the same sensed object ). media appliance 100 then post - produces the stored digital representation , using controller 108 and / or audio or video plugin stored in memory 110 . the post - produced digital representation is then stored 406 in memory 110 ( or in other storage medium such as optional on - appliance hard - disk or storage tape for storing data ), displayed 407 on on - appliance display unit 114 , and / or sent for off - appliance display and / or exhibition ( e . g . for imax display according to imax 15 / 70 format , or for texas instruments dlp ( digital light processing ) format ), or for digital remastering according to imax &# 39 ; s dmr ( digital remastering ) format , or for satellite distribution ( e . g . to digital audio broadcast ( dab ) distribution scheme to dab enabled devices such as pdas , cellular phones , personal audio and / or video players , or other devices for presenting audio and / or video ). optionally , communication of media appliance 100 with other devices and / or services complies with atsc dase ( advanced television systems committee digital tv application software environment ) architecture , incorporated herein by reference . fig5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for optionally filling - in a template according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . starting 501 with a template , sense 502 a first scene according to the template , and fill - in 503 sensed scene in template . if no additional scene is desired 505 , finish 506 , else 504 proceed to step 502 and repeat until done . template is stored in memory 110 comprising suitable format such as the advanced authoring format ( aaf ). fig6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for optionally tagging audio and / or video representation with information contained in a meta - data structure . upon sensing 601 a scene , the digital representation of the sensed scene is tagged 602 with meta - data . meta - data comprises time , media appliance location ( such as provided by gps module 112 ), media appliance orientation and / or media appliance acceleration ( such as provided by acceleration detector 113 ), multi - lingual features ( allowing for translation , subtitles , voice - over , etc . ), cues to a theater automation system ( such as instructions for house lights to go up , half - way up , or down , or instructions to open or close curtains , etc . ), instructions for allowing or disallowing content ( such as trailers or promotional clips ) to play next to other similar content , information indicating suitability of content for different audiences such as children , information indicating any promotional offers , products and / or services ( such as advertisements , product catalogs and / or coupons for products and / or services ), information allowing for organizing and / or managing meta - data available to advertisers and / or service providers , and / or other information describing , identifying and / or relating to content . tagging may be done per scene , per frame , per audio and / or video stream ( e . g . when multiple streams are present ), or per other defined segment of audio and / or video . for example , a video scene is tagged with meta - data comprising a field identifying the language used in the video scene . as another example , a video stream is tagged with meta - data comprising a field indicating a warning against viewing by children . fig7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for transferring data and / or instructions from off - appliance source to on - appliance memory . after determining 701 off - appliance source , such as external repository ( for templates , plugins , drm data , encryption keys , media clips , security data , biometric data , gps data , etc . ), proceed by transferring 702 data and / or instructions from determined off - appliance source to on - appliance memory 110 . in one embodiment , media appliance 100 is a member of a distributed group of media appliances 100 , for example in a distributed network of media appliances 100 and / or in a peer - to - peer configuration of media appliances 100 . a media appliance 100 dynamically joins and / or leaves a distributed group of media appliances 100 , in parallel and / or serially with other media appliances 100 . alternatively , media appliance 100 initiates a distributed group of media appliances 100 , allowing for other media appliance &# 39 ; s 100 to dynamically join and / or leave the group . in one embodiment , the group of media appliances 100 collaborates to cover an event , such as a sporting event , a public political event ( e . g . a rally ), a family event ( e . g . a wedding ), or other event . media appliances 100 tag sensed audio and / or video data as described above ( e . g . with gps information , time stamps , drm meta - data , or other information previously described ), allowing reconstruction of covered event from the audio and / or video data collected by distributed media appliances 100 . memory 110 stores instructions and / or data for initiating , joining , leaving and / or querying the status of or information about such a distributed group of media appliances 100 . foregoing described embodiments of the invention are provided as illustrations and descriptions . they are not intended to limit the invention to precise form described . in particular , it is contemplated that functional implementation of invention described herein may be implemented equivalently in hardware , software , firmware , and / or other available functional components or building blocks , and that networks may be wired , wireless , or a combination of wired and wireless . other variations and embodiments are possible in light of above teachings , and it is thus intended that the scope of invention not be limited by this detailed description , but rather by claims following .	6
referring now to the drawings and in particular to fig1 , an air brake system 10 for a vehicle such as a school bus is illustrated . air brake system 10 is illustrated as configured for a vehicle having two front wheels and two rear wheels ( not shown ). associated with the front wheels and the rear wheels are individual wheel mounted service brakes 104 . the rear wheel brake assemblies 106 include a park or spring brake chamber 105 in addition to the service brake 104 . thus the rear brake assemblies 106 provide both service braking and park braking . the dual function of the rear brake assemblies 106 is accomplished by having two separate air ports 111 a and 111 b on the service brake chambers 104 and the spring brake chambers 105 , respectively . the service braking air port 111 a allows air to be directed to the service brake chamber 104 to move brake pads ( not shown ) to stop the rear wheels . the park braking port 111 b allows air to be directed to the spring brake chambers 105 to act counter internal springs which normally urge application of the brake pads . when the parking brake is disengaged , compressed air holds the park brakes off and free movement of the rear wheels is allowed . the automatic parking brake system of the invention operates in cooperation with the vehicle ignition system . an ignition 109 for starting a vehicle engine is provided having four states , off , accessory , run and start . a driver of the vehicle inserts a key 110 into the ignition 109 and turns the key to the start position to start the engine . after the engine starts and the driver releases the key , the key returns to a run position which allows the engine to continue operating . the driver will turn the key 110 to an ‘ off ’ position to stop the engine after parking the vehicle . the ignition 109 also has an ‘ accessory ’ position to allow operation of vehicle utility equipment 119 such as a radio . components in the air brake system 10 are supplied with compressed air via air lines 19 a – j . an air compressor 22 supplies air via air lines 19 a to , and though , an air dryer 23 to a wet tank 24 . the wet tank 24 acts as a supply reservoir for both the primary air tank 20 and the secondary air tank 21 , which in turn directly supply the service and parking brake systems . air lines 19 b and 19 c , respectively , deliver air from the wet tank 24 to the primary tank 20 and the secondary tank 21 . check valves 25 are incorporated into air lines 19 b and 19 c allowing air to flow out from the wet tank 24 but not back into the wet tank . primary air tank 20 and a secondary air tank 21 are the direct sources of supply of pressurized air for a redundant air brake system 10 . in a bus or truck where most of the weight can be over the rear wheels , the primary air tank 20 supplies air for service braking for the rear wheels . the secondary air tank 21 supplies air for service braking for the front wheels . since independent sources of air are used for the service brakes for the rear and front wheels the service brake system is considered to be redundant . air is routed from primary air tank 20 via air line 19 d through a foot actuated double valve 26 upon depression of foot pedal 26 a . for a brake system predating anti - lock braking systems ( abs ), such as illustrated , air is then routed to a rear wheel service brake quick release valve ( qrv ) 27 . on abs equipped vehicles qrvs are used only for rear parking brake functions . abs modulators perform the qrv functions . a relay valve 430 uses air from the food pedal 26 as a pneumatic signal for applying air to qrv 27 directly from primary tank 20 . air from secondary air tank 21 is coupled to the service brake chambers 104 for the front wheels for service braking via air line 19 e through the double valve 26 upon depression of foot pedal 26 a . again a front wheel service brake qrv 28 is illustrated , although in vehicles equipped with abs , no qrv is present and the functionality of the qrv is carried out by an abs modulator . the operation of the quick release valves , or abs modulators , is conventional and well known in the art . the park brakes are held in a disengaged state by the application of compressed air to park braking ports 111 b . the park brake function occurs when air is vented from park braking port 111 b of the spring or park brake chamber 105 through qrv 31 . air is coupled from the primary air tank 20 and the secondary air tank 21 to the spring brake chambers 105 for holding the springs open and controlling the engagement of park braking . air lines 19 f , 19 g and 19 h are directly involved in the routing of air to and from the ports 111 b . the parking brake system makes use of the redundant compressed air sources to avoid unintended engagement of the parking brake system should one compressed air source fail . air lines 19 f and 19 g supply air from the primary and secondary tanks 20 , 21 through the double valve 26 to a push pull double check ( ppdc ) valve 29 . the air enters the double valve 26 into tees , past the double check valves and into the in ports of the pilot valves 32 , 33 . when the pilot valves 32 , 33 open air is supplied to the primary and secondary inputs of the ppdc 29 . from the pilot valves 32 , 33 the air is introduced to the push pull double check valve 29 from which a single air line 19 h emerges . air line 19 h extends from ppdc valve 29 to an inversion valve 30 . air is applied through to parking brake qrv 31 from inversion valve 30 in response to pneumatic input signals on air lines 19 f and 19 h . application of the park brakes occurs automatically or manually , as described below . automatic engagement can be initiated when the appropriate combination of signals appear for actuating control valve 34 , which in turn applies air actuation signals to the pilot valves 32 , 33 which in turn supply air to the inputs of the ppdc 29 . when solenoid control valve 34 and pilot valves 32 , 33 close , the air signals to the ppdc 29 cannot escape so long as exhaust control valves 234 and 434 remain closed . the ppdc 29 air supply is in effect latched and the parking brakes prevented from actuating . with pilot valves 32 , 33 normally closed due to lack of brake application and thus lack of an interlock signals , the exhaust control valves 234 , 434 control automatic actuation of the parking brakes . latched pressure in the ppdc valve 29 lines escapes with opening of exhaust control valves 234 , 434 . to manually engage the parking brake the driver of a vehicle 101 moves a parking brake actuator or knob 29 a to an engaged or pulled out position which operates the push pull double check valve 29 . push pull double check valve 29 operates to shut off the air supply from air lines 19 f and 19 g from the primary air tank 20 and the secondary air tank 21 and to vent air line 19 h to the external atmosphere . lack of pressure in air line 19 h allows qrv 31 to vent air from ports 111 b to the atmosphere . the springs in the spring brake chambers 105 then act to lock the two rear wheels . if the parking brake actuator or knob 29 a is moved out of the engaged position ( i . e . pushed in ), air will be supplied through the push pull double check valve 29 to the spring brake chambers 105 through air line 1 9 h to release the rear wheels . the control signal for solenoid valve 34 comes from transmission shifter 300 , which can be set to implement an interlock limiting operation of the parking brake to when the transmission is in park . operation of ppdc valve 29 is readily automated using a transmission state signal . the air brake system 10 of the present invention includes a park brake lock - in based on key switch position . lock - in is , in essence , the latching of the state of certain air pressure signals . a primary parking brake lock - in or pilot valve 32 and a secondary parking brake lock - in or pilot valve 33 provide air signal state latching . the primary parking brake pilot valve 32 is located in air line 19 g ( downstream from air line 19 d ) between the primary air tank 20 and the push pull double check valve 29 . closure of the primary parking brake pilot valve 32 will stop air from flowing from the primary air tank 20 to the push pull double check valve 29 . the secondary parking brake pilot valve 33 is located in air line 19 f between the secondary air tank 21 ( via air line 19 e ) and the push pull double check valve 29 . closure of the secondary parking brake lock - in / pilot valve 33 will stop air from flowing from the secondary air tank 21 to the push pull double check valve 29 . closure of both the primary parking brake lock - in valve 32 and the secondary parking brake lock - in valve 33 stops air flow through push - pull double check valve 29 to the parking brake port 111 b of the spring brake chambers 105 . the primary parking brake pilot valve 32 and a secondary parking brake pilot valve 33 are of a design such that downstream air line piping to the spring brake chambers 105 through the push pull double check valve 29 is not vented when the parking brake pilot valves 32 and 33 are closed , absent loss of pressure in the primary and secondary air tanks 20 , 21 . air trapped in air lines 19 h and 19 g , by the parking brake pilot valves 32 and 33 maintains a counter force against the springs of the spring brake chambers 105 to hold the parking brakes off . the parking brakes should engage in case of total pressure failure in the air brake system . accordingly , a failsafe venting system for air lines 19 f and 19 g is provided . check valves 332 , 333 couple the sections of air lines 19 f , 19 g downstream the parking brake pilot valves 32 and 33 , but upstream from ppdc valve 29 , back to air lines 19 f and 19 g , respectively , but upstream from the parking brake pilot valves . loss of air pressure anywhere in air lines 19 e and 19 d results in sections of air lines 19 f 19 g subject to latching being vented through the check valves 332 , 333 . this results in ppdc 29 operating normally , exhausting air from air line 19 h and thereby applying the parking brakes . the parking brake system and ignition key switch work in cooperation with one another . turning key 110 in the ignition switch 109 to the “ off ” position operates to close parking brake pilot valves 32 and 33 via solenoid control valve 34 . the mechanism linking ignition switch 109 position with pilot valve 32 , 33 operation is indirect . an intermediate solenoid pilot valve 34 controls valving of compressed air from primary tank 20 along an air line 19 j to the control ports of parking brake pilot valves 32 , 33 . in other words , pilot valves 32 , 33 are actuated by an air signal controlled by solenoid valve 34 , the state of which depends on the position of the ignition switch 109 . solenoid valve 34 thus enables an interlock based on ignition switch 109 position . solenoid valve 34 is supplied with air from primary tank 20 by air line 19 i . when solenoid 34 delivers air to the pilot ports of the pilot valves 32 , 33 , the pilot valves open and allow air to reach ppdc valve 29 through airlines 19 f , 19 g . this in turn allows the parking brake to be held in a released state as already described . when solenoid valve 34 returns to its normal state , air exhausts from the pilot valve 32 , 33 control lines ( including the branched portions of air line 19 j ) through the exhaust port for the solenoid pilot valve 34 . solenoid exhaust control valves 234 , 434 on the exhaust ports from pilot valves 32 , 33 , respectively , and prevent air from escaping from the ppdc valve 29 however , thus latching the ppdc valve 29 open under certain circumstances . the source 448 of control signals for solenoid exhaust control valves 234 , 434 is described below . the presently disclosed system readily accommodates various interlocks . as illustrated , the ignition switch 109 position signal reaches solenoid valve 34 through an and gate 377 . and gate 377 represents a variety of possible logic arrangements which may be implemented in hardware or through software control arrangements to define with particularity the conditions under the parking brake system operates . interlock signals limiting operation of the park brake system may readily be based upon the state of not just the ignition switch 109 , but also the position of the transmission gear selector 300 , an engine running status signal 108 , or the position of the brake pedal 26 a . ignition switch 109 position is one interlock always used . so long as the parking brake actuator 29 a is not engaged , moving the key 110 to the ‘ off ’ position will not result in release of air from air lines 19 h , f and g since the operation of moving the key closes solenoid controlled valve 34 . the rear wheels of the vehicle thus remain free to rotate . any danger from accidental movement of the key 110 or intermittent faults in the ignition circuit are reduced . the interaction of the ignition switch interlock and the pilot valves 32 , 33 is now described . if the driver moves the parking brake actuator 29 a to a parking brake engaged or pulled out position , the ppdc valve 29 closes off air to air line 19 h and vents air line 19 h as already described . subsequent turning of the key 110 to an ‘ off ’ position closes solenoid controlled valve 34 , closing the parking brake piloted valves 32 , 33 which locks the park brake status by preventing new air to flow from the primary air tank 20 or secondary air tank 21 to the ppdc valve 29 . if the parking brake actuator 29 a is subsequently moved to its disengaged position ( i . e . pushed in ), the remaining air trapped in air line 19 h between the primary parking brake lock - in valve 32 and the secondary parking brake lock - in valve 33 on the one hand and the relay valve 301 would be the small volume was trapped in air lines 19 g and 19 f between the parking brake lock - in valves 32 and 33 and the push pull double check valve 29 . this small volume of air would be insufficient even to counter to internal springs ( not shown ) in the push pull double check valve 29 to open the push pull double check valve , much less hold the parking brakes off . in this manner , the turning of the key 110 of the ignition 109 to the ‘ off ’ position effectively disables the parking brake actuator 29 a and maintains the rear wheels in a locked condition . the state of solenoid exhaust control valves 234 and 434 is controlled by the air pressure level in air line 19 h and the transmission gear selector 300 . operation of this aspect of the invention is best understood by reference to fig2 . with pilot valves 32 , 33 closed ( due to lack of the appropriate interlock signal ) and solenoid exhaust valves 234 , 434 opened , any trapped air pressure in 19 f and 19 g will exhaust back through pilot valves 32 , 33 to the atmosphere , resulting in the parking brakes coming on . this occurs in response to moving the transmission gear selector 300 to park . in addition , a no pressure switch 250 operates to trip relay 260 . this signal is passed to the transmission gear selector 300 , the signal from which is passed by transmission gear position switch 300 , when in the park position , to exhaust control solenoid valves 234 , 434 . the automatic transmission is shifted using a shifter 300 . the shifter 300 at a minimum has _park_ , _neutral_ , _reverse_ , and _drive_ positions . when a driver depresses foot pedal 26 a and moves transmission shifter 300 to the park position , an automatic parking brake application signal is generated . with an brake foot pedal 26 a depressed and ignition 109 in the “ run ” state , the interlock requirements required for opening supply valve 34 are present . this opens pilot valves 32 , 33 which keeps the parking brakes disengaged , even though transmission shifter 300 may be supplying an automatic parking brake application signal to exhaust solenoid valves 234 , 434 opening the valves . however , as soon as service braking is discontinued , and the interlock signal to supply valve 34 interrupted , air escapes from the exhaust ports for pilot valves 32 , 33 , and the parking brakes are applied as already described . dual exhaust control valves 234 , 434 provide against single valve failure . that is , if one of the pilot valves 33 , 32 failed , the ppdc valve 29 would still have air supply charge from the other pilot valve and the park brakes would remain disengaged . referring again to fig2 , the configuration of the electrical signal source for exhaust valves 234 , 434 is illustrated and the layout of components relative to the cab firewall 500 is shown . double valve 26 , exhaust control valves 434 , 234 , push pull double check valve 29 and pilot valves 32 , 33 are all located inside of the cab . disengagement of the parking brakes is required to be manually executed . a source 448 of a control signal for the operation of exhaust valves 234 , 434 is illustrated in fig1 . in fig2 this source 448 is developed as including a no pressure switch 250 , a relay 260 and transmission switch 300 . no pressure switch 250 exposed to spring brake signal air line 19 h and is normally open . a relay 260 is controlled by switch 250 and provides for passing the signal to the transmission selector 300 . thus , if ignition switch 109 is moved to the off position before the transmission selector 300 is moved to the park position , and before the driver manually engages the parking brakes , the no air pressure switch 250 would result in relay 260 supplying power for the circuit , and the exhaust valves 234 , 434 would be held open in order to vent air trapped by the closed pilot valves 32 , 33 . the no pressure switch 250 is located on the delivery side of ppdc valve 29 . a trigger level for no air pressure switch , that is the pressure level at which power is made available to the circuit is low enough to assure that the spring brakes release before the switch 250 opens and continuity is broken . many of the major elements of the system are installed inside the cab environment 290 , which means they can be installed off the main assembly line for a vehicle . the use of electrical signals and logic make the system for flexible in terms of selecting interlocks . automatic application is retained , but deliberate disengagement of the parking brakes makes the system less vulnerable to human error . this is particularly important in school bus applications , where passengers may manipulate the controls without an appreciation for the consequences of their actions or the ability to respond to those consequences . while the invention is shown in only one of its forms , it is not thus limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	1
for a general understanding of the present invention , reference is made to the drawings . in the drawings , like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements . fig1 shows a photosterilization reactor 10 . the photosterilization reactor 10 comprises a reactor body 20 made of suitable ultraviolet ( uv - c ) light transmissive material ( minimum absorbance / maximal transmissivity in the region of 240 - 260 nm ) such as fused silica ( quartz ), or preferentially of a uv transmissive thermoplastic ( e . g ., corning costar ®, zeon zeonex ® or zeonor ®, toray raytela ®, cyp or the like ), which are extensively used in the manufacture of uv transmissive wells and cuvettes for fluoroscopy applications . axially disposed in the center of the reactor body 20 is a tubular channel 30 for holding and constraining a suitable ultraviolet light source , here shown to be a low - pressure long - arc mercury vapor ( hg ) lamp 40 . other lamps that provide ultraviolet emissions in the desired wavelength may also be used . the uv lamp 40 fits snugly into the channel 30 with a minimal airgap between the wall of the channel 30 and the outside of the envelope ( quartz ) 50 of the uv lamp 40 . the envelope 50 of said lamp uv 40 , in some embodiments of the present invention , will be in contact with the wall of channel 30 at many places , but due to the low thermal conductivity of the reactor body 20 , the uv lamp envelope will operate at an optimal temperature . the uv lamp 40 , serves to efficiently generate short - wave ultraviolet radiation ( uv - c ), predominately at about 253 . 7 nm ( i . e ., hg resonance radiation ) which effects mutagenic and disruptive damage to microorganisms . at a wavelength of 2 , 537 angstroms ( 254 nm ) uv will break the molecular bonds within the dna of microorganisms , producing thymine dimers in the dna , thereby destroying them , rendering them harmless or prohibiting growth and reproduction . the uv lamp 40 is electrically energized as follows ( electronic controller not shown for clarity ). at the sealed , upper end of reactor 20 , the uv lamp 40 can be seen to have the upper two electrical connections ( bi - pin ) 70 for its upper filament / electrode ( hot - cathode lamp is shown , as it is far more efficient than cold - cathode , as is well known in the art ) in contact with two hollow mating electrical contacts 90 fixed rigidly in the reactor body 20 and which pass through an electrical insulator 80 . said insulator 80 and the upper end of uv lamp 40 ( which is in physical contact therewith ) are held via an elastomeric bushing 100 . said contacts 90 , insulator 80 and bushing 100 are all axially disposed within said tubular channel 30 as shown . wires 110 lead from the contacts 90 to an electronic lamp controller ( not shown for clarity ). the wires 110 and the external portions of contacts 90 are electrically insulated ( not shown ) so that all of the electrically active elements at this end of the uv lamp 40 are physically inaccessible , providing a great measure of safety , since during startup of the uv lamp 40 there may be potentials on the order of hundreds of volts present ( depending on the length of uv lamp 40 , this could be as high as 800 or more volts ) at this upper end of the uv lamp 40 , with respect to the lower end of uv lamp 40 and earth ground . during normal operation of the arc within uv lamp 40 , the potential difference between the upper end thereof and the lower end ( and earth ground ) will normally lie between 70 and 200 volts ( again , depending on the length of uv lamp 40 .) the only physically accessible electrically active elements are seen to be located at the lower end of uv lamp 40 , and as shown , the lower two electrical connections ( bi - pin ) 120 for the lower filament / electrode is in contact with two hollow mating electrical contacts 140 that pass through an electrical insulator 130 . the insulator 130 is in physical contact with the lower end of uv lamp 40 and so both are held by elastomeric bushing 150 , which sits within a metallic / conductive retaining cap 160 ( retention means not shown for clarity ) that inserts into the reactor body 20 . the contacts 140 , insulator 130 , bushing 150 and metallic / conductive retaining cap 160 are all axially disposed within said tubular channel 30 as shown . said electrical contacts 140 are in physical and electrical contact with the metallic / conductive retaining cap 160 and can be seen to be electrically short - circuited to each other and the end cap 160 . an electrically conductive contact 170 is fixed rigidly within the reactor body 20 and serves to provide an electrical contact with retaining cap 160 when in place and thence to the two lower lamp contacts 120 . a preferably insulated wire 180 leads from the contact 170 to an electronic lamp controller ( not shown for clarity ). although this lower electrical assembly is physically accessible ( due to the exposed metallic / conductive retaining cap 160 ), there are no safety concerns since this lower electrical assembly ( i . e ., all components thereof ) are at a potential of 0 volts with respect to earth ground , thereby not presenting an electrical safety hazard . disposed in a concentric helical fashion about the tubular channel 30 ( housing the lamp ) within the reactor body 20 is a flow path or channel 200 for the flow of fluid / liquid or gas and exposure thereof to the mutagenic ultraviolet radiation from the uv lamp 40 as coupled through the reactor body 20 itself to reach the channel 200 with very little attenuation . the flow path 200 has an upper flow inlet 210 and a lower flow outlet for the admittance and exhaust of the fluid / liquid or gas to be irradiated with the reactor assembly 10 . the terms “ upper ” and “ lower ” as used above , are not meant to restrict the operational orientation of the reactor , but are merely for descriptive convenience . to further enhance operation , increase the efficiency of the irradiation process and to provide safety and protection from the harmful uv - c radiation to the outside of the reactor body 20 , the exterior surface of the reactor body 20 is coated with a uv reflective layer 190 ( such as aluminum oxide or other reflective material that may be applied as a thick - film or a thin - film , through vacuum deposition or similar process ). the reflective layer 190 serves to contain or entrap the unabsorbed radiation within the reactor body 20 and ensures maximal interaction between the generated radiation and the fluid / liquid or gas within the flow path / channel 200 . the reactor body 20 may be molded or cast in two or more pieces , which are then bonded together to form a single unitary piece ( the reactor body 20 ), and further coated with a reflective layer 190 . the tubular channel 30 , along with the retaining cap 160 , further serves to act as a containment chamber in the event that the uv lamp 40 ruptures or otherwise breaks , leaking contaminants such as mercury that could cause toxic contamination if the mercury were to come into contact with the fluid , liquid or gas in said flow path 200 . as can be seen , there is no potential for such cross - contamination to occur within the reactor body 20 as shown and described here ( provided there is no leak within the bond seam between body surfaces ). now referring to fig2 , another embodiment of the photosterilization reactor 300 of the present invention is depicted . it is substantially the same as that described in fig1 , but with the addition of an ancillary flow channel 520 , which couples into the main flow path 490 ( 200 in fig1 ) at the inlet section and which serves to provide a recirculation flow path from lower recirculation inlet 530 to the main flow path 490 . this is useful when the reactor is to be used as part of a treatment system containing a holding tank for sterilized fluid / liquid or gas and where it is expedient to recirculate a portion of the contents of said holding tank for re - sterilization . now shown in fig3 is another embodiment of the photosterilization reactor 600 of the present invention . it is substantially the same as that described in fig2 , but with the addition of a three - way valve 840 and two ( 2 ) single - acting valves 850 and 860 ; thereby portioning the ancillary flow path 820 into three distinct portions or sections . in some embodiments of the present invention , these valves can be integral to the reactor body . a compound phosphor layer 870 is placed on a portion of the exterior of the wall by forming a small thin void adjacent to the ancillary flow channel and inserting the phosphors therein of ancillary flow section / portion 880 , for the down - conversion of uv - c radiation from the uv lamp 630 . a photodetector array assembly 890 , 900 and its external connections 910 are also depicted . in this embodiment , the three - way valve 840 can block flow from inlet 800 to the main flow path 790 ( sterilization / treatment path ) and the ancillary path portion 880 simultaneously , or the valve 840 can direct all of the input flow from inlet 800 to the main flow path 790 , or said valve 840 can direct the input flow from inlet 800 to the ancillary flow path 880 . with the topology described , the reactor can operate in a number of modes as follows : mode 1 : all of the input flow from inlet 800 is directed through the main flow path 790 and exhausts out of output 830 with the uv lamp 630 not energized . in this passive flow - through mode there is no mutagenic radiation present and hence no sterilization takes place ; mode 2 : there is no flow from inlet 800 to / through the main flow path 790 , but the valve 840 directs a flow from inlet 800 to ancillary flow channel 880 , with valve 850 being closed , hence filling that portion between valve 840 and valve 850 with a fluid / liquid / gas sample to be analyzed . valve 840 is then closed , trapping the sample in that portion between valves 840 and 850 . said uv lamp 630 is then pulsed ( or modulated ) in order to produce sufficient stimulating radiation to the compound phosphor 870 layer / patch , in order that said phosphor layer / patch 870 can down - convert said stimulating radiation via the emission of multiple less energetic wavelengths derived from the uv - c excitation energy . in this analysis - only mode one can perform the direct fluoroscopic detection of pathogens within the sample via the use of photodetector assembly 890 , 900 , 910 , or via the use of a photomultiplier assembly . this can be done after a time interval if desired , in order to allow pathogens to multiply . at the completion of the analysis valve 850 is opened , allowing the sample to enter into the channel space between valve 850 and valve 860 ( which is kept closed .) then valve 840 is briefly opened to allow a small amount of input flow from inlet 800 to “ wash through ” channel portion 880 between valve 840 and valve 850 , thereby flushing the “ sample ” space , this small amount of input flow also ending up in the channel space between valve 850 and valve 860 . then with valve 840 closed , valve 850 open ( or closed ) and valve 860 closed , the uv lamp 630 is fully energized in order to sterilize the entirety of ancillary channel 820 , including portion 880 . at the conclusion of a dose sufficient irradiation period , valve 860 is opened , dumping the contents ( if liquid ) of ancillary channel 820 out of exhaust outlet 830 into a suitable evaporation pan or the like , leaving the water to evaporate and leaving dead and dying pathogens thereon ( no longer harmful .) if the working fluid is gas , a pressurized flush would need to be utilized , perhaps with an inert gas ; mode 3 : in this mode , modes 1 and 2 are combined / paralleled with the uv lamp 630 fully energized or energized at the power level required vs . flow rate , leading to simultaneous sterilization and analysis and hence a form of closed - loop operation for the reactor . referring now to fig4 , a further embodiment of the photosterilization reactor 1000 of the present invention is shown . it is substantially the same as that described in fig1 , but with the addition of an upper analysis / sensing section comprising a compound phosphor strip 1250 and photodetector assembly 1220 , 1230 and 1240 , and a lower analysis / sensing section having a compound phosphor strip 1290 and photodetector assembly 1260 , 1270 and 1280 , for the direct fluoroscopic pathogen detection at either the inlet / input side of the reactor , the exhaust / outlet side of the reactor , or both . again , with the uv lamp 1030 fully energized or energized at the power level required for a given flow rate , this leads to simultaneous sterilization and analysis and hence also provides a form of closed - loop operation for the reactor . referring lastly to fig5 , a close up cutaway view of a photosterilization reactor 1500 with pathogen detection is shown . the reactor 1500 comprises a reactor body 1510 having a uv reflective coating 1520 upon its exterior surface ( s ) and containing a uv lamp 1540 within tubular channel 1530 . also shown in cross - section are portions of the helical flow path 1550 , compound phosphor layer 1560 , photodetector assembly 1570 , 1580 and 1590 . as can be clearly seen in fig5 , the uv lamp 1540 generates mutagenic uv - c radiation 1600 , some of which radiation may directly impinge upon pathogens contained within the flow path 1550 and some of which radiation may miss the flow path 1550 altogether , only to be reflected back into the reactor body due to reflective layer 1520 , with only minor attenuation and hence will eventually intersect and interact with the flow path 1550 . as can be seen from fig5 , some of the uv - c radiation 1610 will impinge upon the compound phosphor patch / layer 1560 , the phosphor layer 1560 being compounded to provide for the emission of desired stimulating wavelengths 1620 for the direct fluoroscopy detection of pathogens 1630 via the emission of further new and detectable wavelengths 1640 . in some embodiments of the present invention , the insides of the flow channels ( main and ancillary ) may be coated with fluorinated ethylene propylene ( fep ) to further increase slipperiness and inertness to further curtail the attachment of microorganisms . the shape of the reactor is not meant to be limited to that shown in the drawings ; other shapes and form factors can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention . there can also be one or multiple fluid paths . shown in the drawings are helical / spiral paths , but other shapes and geometric configurations can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention . in some embodiments of the present invention , faces of the reactor block can be “ dimpled ” to increase scattering effects . although some features of the present invention are shown in certain drawings and not others , this is for convenience and basic teaching only , as some features may be combined with any or all of the other features without departing from the spirit and broad scope of the present invention . it is , therefore , apparent that there has been provided , in accordance with the various objects of the present invention , a photosterilization reactor for sterilizing a liquid or a gas . while the various objects of this invention have been described in conjunction with preferred 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 present invention as described by this specification and claims and the attached drawings .	2
exemplary embodiments include circuit breakers with an expansion chamber configured to prevent a re - ignition failure of the circuit breakers . in exemplary embodiments , as the arc is formed the air inside the circuit breaker and around the contacts heats up and pressurizes , which causes an airflow into the expansion chamber . after the air pressure in the area around the contacts reaches its peak and begins to drop , air will begin to flow from the expansion chamber back into the area around the contacts . this air flow will cool down the arcing space and will increase dielectric strength of the arcing space . in exemplary embodiments , the air flow on the arc also cools down the arc and increases the arc voltage , thereby providing better current limiting performance . referring now to fig1 a and 1b a cross sectional side view and a cross sectional top view of a traditional circuit breaker 100 are respectively shown . the circuit breaker 100 includes a housing 102 that may be made up of a number of interconnecting housing sections and may include an arrangement of internal and external walls , which are adapted to contain or retain various components of the circuit breaker 100 . while the circuit breaker 100 illustrated is a molded case circuit breaker ( mccb ) it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is applicable to other designs with similar constructions . in exemplary embodiments , the circuit breaker 100 includes a handle 106 that is operably connected to an operating mechanism 108 . the operating mechanism 108 is coupled to an arm 110 that has a moveable contact 112 and an upper arc runner 114 disposed thereon . the circuit breaker 100 also includes a stationary contact 116 and a lower arc runner 118 . as best illustrated by fig1 a , the circuit breaker 100 includes a plurality of arc plates 120 . as best illustrated by fig1 b , the arc plates 120 have a u - shape and are disposed around the area containing the stationary contact 116 and the moveable contact 112 , such that at least a portion of the moveable contact 112 passes through the u - shaped opening in the arc plates 120 when the circuit breaker trips . as used herein the term arcing space refers to the area between the stationary contact 116 and the moveable contact 112 when the circuit breaker 100 is in the tripped state . when the circuit breaker 100 trips , an arc is between the movable contact 112 and the stationary contact 116 in the arcing space . referring now to fig2 a and 2b , a cross sectional top view and a sectional side view of a portion of a circuit breaker 200 with an expansion chamber in accordance with an exemplary embodiment are respectively shown . as illustrated , the circuit breaker 200 includes a stationary contact 202 , a moveable contact 204 , an arc plate 206 and one or more expansion chamber 208 . in exemplary embodiments , the circuit breaker 200 includes two expansion chambers 208 that are disposed on opposite sides of an arcing space 214 defined by the walls of the expansion chambers 208 and the stationary contact 202 and moveable contact 204 in a separated position . in exemplary embodiments , each of the expansion chambers 208 includes an opening 210 and a chamber 212 . in exemplary embodiments , the openings 210 of the expansion chambers 208 are disposed in staggered locations relative to one another such that the air flows into and out of the arcing space 214 into the chamber 212 at different locations between the stationary contact 202 and the moveable contact 204 . in exemplary embodiments , the number , size and locations of the openings 210 and the size of the chamber 212 may be varied depending on the specifications of the circuit breaker 200 . in exemplary embodiments , the expansion chambers 208 may be molded from a suitable plastic material , a thermoset material such as glass - filled polyester , or a thermoplastic material such as a nylon material . referring now to fig3 , a perspective view of an expansion chamber 300 for a circuit breaker in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown . as illustrated , the expansion chamber 300 includes an opening 302 and a chamber 304 . in exemplary embodiments , the opening 302 has a length 306 that extends the entire width of the expansion chamber 300 and a height 308 . the height 308 is selected based on the desired operating characteristics of both the circuit breaker and the expansion chamber 300 . in exemplary embodiments , the length of opening 302 covers the length of the stationary contact with a slot shape . however , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , other shapes and size of the opening 302 , such as circle may also be used . in addition , those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the size , number and location of the opening 302 shown is merely exemplary and the number , size and location of the openings 302 may be varied without departing from the present invention . referring now to fig4 , a graph illustrating the relationship between a current and time during a fault in a circuit breaker with an expansion chamber in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown . during the rising portion of the current , the pressure in the arcing space is higher than the pressure in the expansion chamber , and hence flow is generated to push hot gas into the expansion chamber , as shown in fig5 a . during the rising current phase the pressure in the expansion chamber is built up to match the pressure in the arcing space . in exemplary embodiments , the gas inside the expansion chamber is cooled and de - ionized due to lack of heating in the chamber . in exemplary embodiments , the chamber may contain one or more cooling elements to aide in the cooling of the gas in the chamber . after current in the arc reaches peak value , the pressure in the arcing space starts to reduce . at a certain point of time , the pressure in the expansion chamber exceeds the pressure in the arcing space and an air flow is generated that blows cooled gas from the expansion chamber into the arcing space , as shown in fig5 b . in exemplary embodiments , the volume of the expansion chamber and the size of the opening are selected such that the reverse flow can last until the current flow in the arc reaches the natural zero crossing , and hence significantly increase the dielectric strength of the arcing space to prevent re - ignition . in exemplary embodiment , the flowing of cooled air on the arc also cools down the arc and increases the arc voltage , thereby providing better current limiting performance . fig6 a , 6b and 6c illustrate cross sectional side views expansion chambers 600 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments . as illustrated each of the expansion chambers 600 includes a chamber 604 configured to receive pressurized air from an arcing space through an opening . the expansion chambers 600 may include openings that have different cross sectional shapes to achieve different flow profiles . for example , the openings may be configured in the shape of a converging nozzle . the converging nozzle is used to accelerate the airflow through the opening . while the mass flow rate is defined by the smallest cross section , the velocity of the flow can be a lot higher than just straight channel . as shown in fig6 a and 6b , openings 602 , 606 may be used to enable fast pressurizing of the expansion chamber 600 and slow releasing of reverse flow from the expansion chamber 600 . for example , the openings 602 , 606 may include a tapered shape that reduces in size from the arcing space into the chamber 604 . as shown in fig6 c , opening 608 may be used to achieve fast releasing and for a strong reverse flow into the arcing space from the chamber 604 . for example , the openings 608 may include a tapered shape that increases in size from the arcing space into the chamber 604 . referring now to fig6 d a cross sectional side view of an expansion chamber 600 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown . in exemplary embodiments , the chamber 604 may include on or more cooling elements 610 , such as fins , disposed within the chamber 604 . the cooling elements 610 may be formed from the same or different material than the expansion chamber 600 . it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the arrangement of cooling elements depicted is merely exemplary and that the number , size and location of the cooling elements 610 may be varied based on the desired operational characteristics of the expansion chamber 600 and the circuit breaker . referring now to fig7 a , 7b and 7c cross sectional side views of expansion chambers 700 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment are shown . as illustrated , the expansion chambers 700 include an opening 702 , a chamber 706 and a one - way valve 704 . in some embodiments a fast pressurizing air flow from an arcing space into the chamber 706 and a slow air flow releasing air from the chamber 706 into the arcing space are desired . in exemplary embodiments , the one - way valve 704 can be added to the expansion chamber 700 to accomplish these air flow characteristics . as shown in fig7 b , when the pressure in the arcing space is rising the one - way valve 704 is opened and air flows into the chamber 706 through both the one - way valve 704 and the opening 702 . as a result , the pressure in the chamber 706 is able to rapidly increase as the pressure in the arcing space is increasing . next , as shown in fig7 c , when the pressure in the arcing space in less than the pressure in the chamber 706 the one - way valve is closed . as a result , the air from the chamber is only released through the opening 702 . in exemplary embodiments , the one - way valve 704 may include a flexible member attached to the inside the chamber 706 . in exemplary embodiments , a slow pressurizing air flow from an arcing space into the chamber and a fast air flow releasing air from the chamber can be achieved using a one - way valve with an opposite configuration from that shown in fig7 a , 7b and 7c can be used . referring now to fig8 a and 8b , cross sectional side views of a portion of circuit breaker 800 with expansion chambers 802 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment are shown . as illustrated , the circuit breaker 800 includes an arcing space 804 which is disposed between a stationary contact 808 , a moveable contact 806 and the expansion chambers 802 . each of the expansion chambers 802 includes an opening 812 configured to allow airflow in between the chamber 814 of the expansion chambers 802 and the arcing space 804 . in exemplary embodiments , each of the expansion chambers 802 also includes a moveable wall 816 that is configured to move under pressure to allow the expansion and contraction of the chamber 814 . in exemplary embodiments , the moveable wall 816 may be affixed to a spring 818 which is configured to assure a minimum air flow rate from the chamber 814 into the arcing space 804 , which is related to the characteristics of the spring 818 . in exemplary embodiments , the moveable wall 816 may be actuated with external springs 818 , as shown , or by using flexible members as chamber walls . fig8 a and 8b illustrate circuit breakers 800 including two expansion chambers 802 with staggered opening 812 . in exemplary embodiments , the staggered openings 812 increase the working area of the reverse flows on the arc in the arcing space . in exemplary embodiments , multiple openings in each expansion chamber 802 can be used to cover more arc length . in alternative embodiments , the circuit breaker may include only one expansion chamber that can have one or more openings . referring now to fig9 , a cross sectional side view of a circuit breaker 900 with an expansion chamber 922 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment is shown . the circuit breaker 900 includes a housing 902 that may be made up of a number of interconnecting housing sections and may include an arrangement of internal and external walls , which are adapted to contain or retain various components of the circuit breaker 900 . in exemplary embodiments , the circuit breaker 900 includes a handle 906 that is operably connected to an operating mechanism 908 . the operating mechanism 908 is coupled to an arm 910 that has a moveable contact 912 and an upper arc runner 914 disposed thereon . the circuit breaker 900 also includes a stationary contact 916 and a lower arc runner 918 . in exemplary embodiments , the circuit breaker 900 includes a plurality of arc plates 920 . in exemplary embodiments , the circuit breaker 900 also includes an expansion chamber 922 disposed beneath the stationary contact 916 . the expansion chamber 922 includes an opening 924 that is disposed adjacent to the stationary contact . the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” are intended to include the plural forms as well , unless the context clearly indicates otherwise . it will be further understood that the terms “ comprises ” and / or “ comprising ,” when used in this specification , specify the presence of stated features , integers , steps , operations , elements , and / or components , but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features , integers , steps , operations , element components , and / or groups thereof . the corresponding structures , materials , acts , and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure , material , or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed . the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description , but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . the components and materials described hereinafter as making up the various embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive . many suitable components and materials that would perform the same or a similar function as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of embodiments of the present invention . while embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in exemplary forms , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications , additions , and deletions can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalents , as set forth in the following claims .	7
the present invention may be more fully understood with reference to fig1 , which shows an overall system architecture according to a first embodiment of the invention . the first embodiment is directed to a structured logarithmically iterative approach to the crc calculation circuitry that provides for the cascading of crc calculation blocks , with the number of blocks being cascaded dependent on the desired width of the calculation . fig1 is a block diagram of the crc calculation circuitry 100 according to a first variant of the present invention . according to this first variant , the crc calculation circuitry 100 is subdivided into blocks which have logarithmically selected bus widths of 1 byte , 2 bytes , 4 bytes , 8 bytes , etc ( i . e . powers of two bytes ). these blocks can be cascaded to provide calculation for a bus width of any arbitrary number of bytes . as shown in fig1 , the logic circuit 100 includes several crc calculation blocks ( 220 , 320 , 420 ), each of which calculates the crc value based on a seed input from the seed multiplexors ( 130 , 230 , 330 , 430 ), and based on the data input ( 120 ). it is understood that the incoming data input path width of w - byte should equal 2 n . that is , for a w - byte data bus , n = log 2 ( w ), and the circuit includes n + 1 crc calculation blocks for byte widths corresponding to 2 n , 2 n − 1 , . . . 2 1 , 2 0 . when performing a calculation , the crc_seed_select signals control the seed multiplexors ( 230 , 330 , 430 ) to select whether a respective crc calculation block is included in the calculation , or is bypassed . by selectively including or bypassing these blocks , an arbitrary number of bytes may be processed . for instance , to process w bytes , the 2 n block is selected and all other blocks are bypassed ; to process w − 1 bytes , the 2 n block is bypassed , and blocks 2 n − 1 , . . . , 2 0 are selected ; to process w − 2 bytes , the 2 n and 2 0 blocks are bypassed , and blocks 2 n − 1 , . . . , 2 1 are selected ; and so forth . it is understood that each crc calculation block is a combinatorial xor tree , the exact design of which is dependent on the crc polynomial being implemented . the circuit initially starts with crc_reset signal asserted such that the initial seed value of 0 &# 39 ; s is selected by multiplexor 130 . the selected crc calculation is then performed by crc calculation blocks ( 220 , 320 , 420 ) as selected or bypassed by seed multiplexors ( 230 , 330 , 430 ). the output of the crc calculation at multiplexor 430 is stored in the crc result register 110 . the crc register value is updated in each cycle based on the data input ( 120 ). data steering multiplexors ( 210 , 310 , 410 ) select the data to be used at each crc calculation block based on which blocks are selected . on the last cycle of the packet , the crc output 510 provides the calculated crc value for the packet to downstream logic . in an example embodiment of the invention , there is provided a 32 - byte wide data input . this n = 5 system therefore has 6 crc calculation blocks of widths 32 bytes , 16 bytes , 8 bytes , 4 bytes , 2 bytes , and 1 byte . nominally , packet data consumes the entire bus width , and the 32 byte wide crc calculation block is selected . however , the packet may only consume a portion of the bus width at the beginning and the end of the packet transmission . in these cases , crc_select and data_select control signals are generated based on the expected data alignment on the bus . for wide data bus widths , the approach according to the first variant significantly reduces the amount of logic required to perform the calculation . ( for w = 32 bytes , an 88 % logic size reduction can be realized ). for a w - byte wide data bus , with the number of blocks being cascaded dependent on the desired width of the calculation , the worst case propagation delay occurs for a calculation width of w − 1 , during which log2 ( w ) crc calculation blocks are cascaded . according to this embodiment , the crc for an incoming data packet which is longer than w bytes will be calculated over several clock cycles . let r represent the number of bytes which must be processed in a given clock cycle of the calculation . although r may take arbitrary values ( râ □ w ) on any clock cycle , the crc calculation requires some number of cycles during which r = w , plus one cycle when any remaining bytes are to be processed . thus , a control stage for the first embodiment which can process r bytes of data â ® â □ w ) and wherein the calculation circuitry is comprised of crc calculation blocks of size 2 n , 2 ( n − 1 ) , 2 ( n − 2 ) , â □¦, 4 (= 2 2 ), 2 (= 2 1 ) and 1 (= 2 0 ) bytes . if w = 32 , then there are 32_byte , 16_byte , 8_byte , 4_byte , 2_byte , 1_byte blocks . the control logic asserts control signals a n − 1 , a n − 2 . . . , a 0 such that m r â □ 32 ; r =( a n − 1 )* 2 ( n − 1 ) +( a n − 2 )* 2 ( n − 2 ) + â □¦.+( a 0 )* 1 . the control signals a n − 1 , a n − 2 . . . , a 0 = 1 or 0 to select blocks as specified below . for each crc module , 32_byte , â □¦, 1_byte , data of corresponding byte length will be sent to it . for example : when r = 10 , then 8_byte + 2_byte modules are used , and the control signal ‘ data_select ’ ( shown in fig1 ) is asserted to choose first 8 bytes of data to 8_byte crc calculation block and last 2 byte of data will send to the 2_byte crc calculation block . the second variant of the invention provides an optimization between the prior art approach and the first variant , i . e ., logarithmically iterative approach . according to this embodiment , area reduction is maximized for a given target propagation delay . this is accomplished by noting that the size of crc calculation blocks is directly proportional to the width of the calculation . therefore , reducing the number of crc calculation blocks for wide calculation widths provides greater savings that reducing the number of blocks for narrow calculation widths . at the same time , propagation delays in the cascaded blocks of the logarithmically iterative approach are primarily through crc calculation blocks of narrow width . thus , by using the logarithmically iterative approach for wider calculation widths , and using the parallel approach for smaller calculation widths , an optimization of timing versus area for the circuit is provided . assume a system for which w = byte width of the data bus . given n = log 2 ( w ) and d max = maximum delay ( in units of crc calculation block delays ) that is to be permitted , then l = d max â □□ 1 . a crc calculation system according to the second variant is then constructed using a logarithmically iterative approach for crc calculation block widths of 2 n − l and greater , and using a parallel approach for crc calculation block widths of less than 2 n − l . the resulting system contains crc calculation blocks for byte widths of 2 n , 2 n − 1 , . . . , 2 n − l + 1 , 2 n − l , 2 n − l − 1 , 2 n − l − 2 . . . , 2 1 , 2 0 . the resulting system contains l + 1 crc calculation blocks in the logarithmically iterative portion of the system , and 2 n − l − 1 crc calculation blocks in the parallel portion of the circuit . the worst case delay through such a system occurs for calculation byte widths in the range of 2 n − 1 to 2 n − 1 + 1 inclusive . in this range there are l cascaded iterative crc calculation blocks plus one parallel crc calculation block through which propagation must occur . the second variant of the disclosed invention assumes the target byte width ( w ) of the crc calculation is a power of 2 . fig2 is a block diagram of the crc calculation circuitry 200 according to the second variant of the disclosed invention . as shown in fig2 , the logic circuit 200 includes several crc calculation blocks ( 220 , 320 , 420 , 520 , 521 ), each which calculates the crc value based on the seed input from the seed multiplexors ( 130 , 230 , 330 , 430 ), and based on the data input ( 120 ). for a system with a w - byte data bus and a maximum delay d max , n = log 2 ( w ), and l = d max − 1 . the logarithmically iterative portion of the system includes l + 1 crc calculation blocks for byte widths corresponding to 2 n , 2 n − 1 , . . . 2 n − l ( 220 , 320 , 420 ). the parallel portion of the system includes 2 n − l crc calculation blocks for byte widths corresponding to 2 n − l − 1 , . . . 2 0 ( 520 , 521 ). when performing a calculation , the crc_seed_ select signals control the seed multiplexors ( 230 , 330 , 430 ) so as to select whether each iterative crc calculation block is included in the calculation , or is bypassed . by selectively including or bypassing these blocks , any number of bytes divisible by 2 n − l may be processed . in addition , multiplexor 530 selects which of parallel crc calculation blocks ( 520 , 521 ), if any , is selected to provide the output . this extends the processing capability to any arbitrary number of bytes . for instance , to process w bytes , the 2 n block is selected , all other iterative blocks are bypassed , and multiplexor 530 selects the bypass input ; to process w − 1 bytes , the 2 n block is bypassed , all other iterative blocks ( i . e ., block 2 n − 1 , . . . , 2 n − l + 1 , 2 n − l ) are selected , and multiplexor 530 selects the input from the 2 n − l − 1 block ; and so forth . each crc calculation block is a combinatorial xor tree , the exact design of which is dependent on the crc polynomial being implemented . the circuit initially starts with crc_reset asserted such that the initial seed value of 0 &# 39 ; s is selected by multiplexor 130 . the selected crc calculation is then performed by iterative crc calculation blocks ( 220 , 320 , 420 ) as selected or bypassed by seed multiplexors ( 230 , 330 , 430 ), and by parallel crc calculation blocks ( 520 , 521 ) as selected or bypassed by output multiplexor 530 . the output of the crc calculation at multiplexor 530 is stored in the crc result register 110 . the crc register value is updated in each cycle based on the data input ( 120 ). data steering multiplexors ( 210 , 310 , 410 ) select the data to be used at each iterative crc calculation block based on which blocks are selected . data steering multiplexor 510 selects the data to be used by the selected parallel crc calculation block . on the last cycle of the packet , the crc output 610 provides the calculated crc value for the packet to downstream logic . in an example embodiment implementing the second variant of the invention , for a 32 - byte wide data bus input , d max = 3 . this results in an n = 5 , l = 2 system having three ( 3 ) iterative crc calculation blocks of widths 32 bytes , 16 bytes , and 8 bytes ; and 7 parallel crc calculation blocks of widths 7 bytes down to 1 byte . nominally , packet data consumes the entire bus width , and the 32 byte wide crc calculation block is selected . however , the packet may only consume a portion of the bus width at the beginning and the end of the packet transmission . in these cases , crc_select and data_select control signals are generated based on the expected data alignment on the bus . in the timing optimized version according to the second variant of fig2 , there are less stages in the critical path than that of fig1 in order to achieve better timing . as with the previous embodiment , a crc calculation for a data packet of length greater than w bytes is performed over multiple clock cycles . let r represent the number of bytes which must be processed in a given clock cycle of the calculation . thus , a control stage for the second embodiment may process r bytes of data â ® â □ w ) and wherein the calculation circuitry is comprised of crc calculation blocks of size 2 n , 2 ( n − 1 ) , 2 ( n − 2 ) , â □¦, 2 ( n − l ) , 2 ( n − l ) − 1 , 2 ( n − l ) − 2â □¦ and 1 bytes . if w = 32 , n = 5 , and l = 2 , then there are 32_byte , 16_byte , 8_byte , 7_byte , 6_byte , 5_byte , 4_byte , 3_byte , 2_byte and 1_byte crc stages . the control logic asserts control signals a n − 1 , a n − 2 , â □¦ a n − l , b k − 1 , â □¦. b 0 to select processing for r bytes such that râ □ 32 , and r =( a n − 1 )* 2 ( n − 1 ) +( a n − 2 )* 2 ( n − 2 ) + â □¦+( a 0 )* 2 ( n − l ) +( b k − 1 )( 2 ( n − l ) − 1 )+ â □¦.+( b 0 ) 1 , where k = 2 n − l . the control signals a n − 1 , a n − 2 , â □¦ a n − l , â □¦. b 0 = 1 or 0 to select blocks as specified below . the third embodiment of the circuit for performing and time optimizing a cyclic redundancy check calculation is directed to a structured logarithmically iterative approach that is more generic , allowing for values of “ w ” which are not powers of 2 . fig3 is a block diagram of the crc calculation circuitry 300 according to a third variant of the present invention . according to this third variant , the logarithmically iterative portion of the system includes l + 1 crc calculation blocks for which the byte widths have been more generically assigned as 2 n + m , 2 n − 1 + m , . . . 2 n − l + m ( 220 , 320 , 420 ), where m is a positive offset value ( i . e ., greater than or equal to zero ) comprising an arbitrary constant . this more generic representation according to the third variant permits target byte widths ( w ) for the system to be values other than powers of 2 . correspondingly , the parallel portion of the system includes 2 n − l + m crc calculation blocks for byte widths corresponding to 2 n − l − 1 + m , . . . , 2 0 ( 520 , 521 ). as with previously described variants of this invention , when performing a calculation , the crc_seed 13 select signals control the seed multiplexors ( 230 , 330 , 430 ) so as to select whether each iterative crc calculation block is included in the calculation , or is bypassed . by selectively including or bypassing these blocks , any number of bytes divisible by 2 n − l may be processed . in addition , multiplexor 530 selects which of parallel crc calculation blocks ( 520 , 521 ), if any , is selected to provide the output . fig4 is a block diagram of the crc calculation circuitry 400 according to a fourth embodiment of the invention wherein each crc calculation block ( 220 , 320 , 420 , etc .) is able to process s bytes , where s is an arbitrary positive integer . the iterative portion of the circuit includes “ k ” blocks , each capable of processing s bytes , such that ( k + 1 )* s & gt ; w and k * sâ □ w . the parallel portion of the system includes b − 1 calculation blocks for byte widths corresponding to s − 1 , s − 2 , â □¦ 1 . when performing a calculation , the crc_seed 13 select signals control the seed multiplexors ( 130 , 230 , 330 , 430 ) to select a multiple of s - bytes to be processed . in addition , multiplexor 530 selects which of parallel crc calculation blocks ( 520 , 521 ), if any , is selected to provide the output . this extends the processing capability to any arbitrary number of bytes . the fourth embodiment reduces logic over that of implementations using the second or third embodiments , while still optimizing timing over that of implementations using the first embodiment . let d represent the delay ( in units of crc calculation blocks ) for the circuit . then worst case value of d through this circuit occurs for calculations of x - bytes in the range k * s to w bytes , when k blocks are selected to perform the calculation on the first k * s bytes , and one parallel block is selected to perform the calculation on remaining bytes , such that d = k + 1 . for the case of w = 33 bytes , l = 2 , m = 1 , k = 4 , an implementation using the third embodiment would have a worst case delay d = 2 blocks , while this embodiment has a worst case delay d = 5 blocks . however this embodiment reduces logic since the number of larger width crc calculation blocks are reduced over that of the second embodiment . in accordance with this embodiment , it is typically the case that the number of parallel configured crc calculation blocks be equal to sâ □□ 1 , however , for a more aggressive timing scheme , the number of parallel configured crc calculation blocks may exceed s . thus , a control stage for the fourth embodiment can process r bytes of data â ® â □ w ) and wherein the calculation circuitry is comprised of k blocks of s bytes and s − 1 parallel blocks of s − 1 , s − 2 , â □¦ 1 bytes . for example , in accordance with the fourth variant of the invention depicted in fig4 where w = 34 , and s = 5 , the control logic asserts control signals a k − 1 , a k − 2 , â □¦ a 0 , b s − 1 , â □¦. b 0 to select processing for r bytes such that râ □ 34 , and r =( a k − 1 )* s +( a k − 2 )* s + â □¦+( a 0 )* s +( b s − 1 )( s − 1 )+ â □¦.+( b 0 ) 1 . the control signals a k − 1 , a k − 2 , â □¦ a 0 , b s − 1 , â □¦. b 0 = 1 or 0 as specified below ( where x represents the number of blocks of s bytes selected during a given clock cycle , the selection of which is otherwise arbitrary ): fig5 provides a generic form of the crc calculation circuitry 450 encompassing all four variants of the invention described with respect to fig1 – 4 , with crc calculation block byte widths ranging in size from f x , f x − 1 , â □¦ f 1 , where f x â □¥ f x − 1 â □¥ â □¦ â □¥ f 1 â □¥ 0 bytes for the iterative portion of serially cascaded blocks ( 220 , 320 , 420 , etc . ); and , crc calculation block byte widths of sizes gy − i , bytes for the parallel blocks ( 520 , 521 , etc .) where g y − 1 = g y − i − 1 + 1 for i = 0 to y − 1 where yâ □¥ f 1 â □□ 1 . according to the generic form , the number of bytes included in the crc calculation can be expressed according to the following relation : r = a x * f x + a x − 1 * f x − 1 + â □¦. + a 1 * f 1 + b y * g y + â □¦+ b 1 * g 1 , where x is the number of f x blocks and y is the number of g y blocks and a x , a x − 1 , â □¦ a 1 , b y , â □¦ b 1 = 0 or 1 as described in accordance with one of the four embodiments . fig5 depicts the generic form of all variants of the invention . for the first embodiment : f x = 2 n , f x − 1 = 2 n − 1 , â □¦. f 1 = 2 0 ; and y = f 1 − 1 = 0 such that there are no crc calculation blocks in the parallel portion of the circuit . for the second embodiment : f x = 2 n , f x − 1 = 2 n − 1 , â □¦. f 1 = 2 n − l , g y − 2 n − l − 1 , â □¦ g = 1 . for the third embodiment : f = 2 n + m , f − 1 = 2 n − 1 + m , â □¦. f = 2 n − l + m , g y = 2 n − l + m − 1 , â □¦ g 1 = 1 . for the fourth embodiment : f x = f x − 1 = â □¦= f 1 = s ; and g y = y − 1 , â □¦., g 1 = 1 where yâ □¥ sâ □□ 1 . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to illustrative and preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention that should be limited only by the scope of the appended claims .	7
the surgical knife of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout . fig1 ( a )- 1 ( d ) show a first embodiment of a surgical knife 10 which is called a crescent knife . as noted above , an actual size of the knife is very small , thus , fig1 ( a )- 1 ( d ) show enlarged views of the surgical knife of the present invention . more particularly , fig1 ( a ) is a top view of the surgical knife of the present invention , fig1 ( b ) is a bottom view thereof , fig1 ( c ) is a side view thereof , and fig1 ( d ) is a cross sectional view taken along the a - a line of fig1 ( a ). as shown in the drawings , the surgical knife 10 is made by flattening an end of a rod and the like . the rod itself may be a handle of the surgical knife or connected to the handle of the surgical knife . thus , the tip ( blade ) of the knife 10 has a shape of semicircular plate with a u - shaped side edge 11 at its circumference . a bottom surface 12 of the knife 10 is flat which is provided with an anti - reflection treatment as a whole except for the side edge 11 . on an upper surface of the knife 10 , there is provided with a rough machined surface 13 with a u - shape in top view along the side edge 11 and with a gentle inclination . on the upper surface , an area inside of the u - shaped rough machined surface 13 including a flat center area 14 also has an anti - reflection treatment . such an anti - reflection treatment is made through a chemical process or an electrical process to form a large number of crater like bumps on the surface of the surgical knife or through a mechanical process including a barrel buffing or sandblasting process to form irregularities on the surface of the knife . other methods include an oxide coating process such as molten salt or electrolysis to form a color coating ( dark color ) on the knife and a painting process to paint the surface of the knife . when the surgical knife 10 of the present invention is used under the microscope observation to perform an ophthalmic surgery such as cutting cornea , the surgeon is not interrupted by the glare since the surgical knife 10 has the anti - reflection treatment on the flat center area 14 . the side edge 11 has been sufficiently polished , thus , the surgical knife 10 maintains a high level of sharpness . in this surgical knife , the rough machined surface 13 and the side edge 11 are not provided with the anti - reflection treatment . since the rough machined surface 13 has a rougher surface relative to a polished surface , a degree of reflection of light is low . further , since the rough machined surface 13 and the side edge 11 are inclined , and thus , the directions of reflection are different from the other part , which do not cause a large degree of glare . in the present invention , it is also possible to make use of the difference of reflection between the rough machined surface 13 and the inner center area 14 for determining a depth of cut in inserting the knife into the incision . for example , with reference to fig1 ( d ), width a of cutting edge 11 of the crescent knife is about 0 . 15 mm , and width b of the rough machining surface 13 is about 0 . 35 mm . thus , for example , when inserting the knife until the border line of the cutting edge 11 and the rough machined surface 13 , the depth of cut in the incision can be judged as 0 . 15 mm . [ 0027 ] fig2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention which is a top view of a slit knife 20 . in this example , a cutting edge ( blade ) 21 has a v - shape at the left side of fig2 . similar to the example of crescent knife , an inner area of the knife along the cutting edge 21 has a rough machined surface 23 which is gently inclined . a further inner area of the knife 20 is a flat surface 24 . on the upper and lower surfaces of the knife 20 , except for the cutting edge 21 , the anti - reflection treatment is provided on the whole surfaces including the rough machined surface 23 . in the example of fig2 the surgical knife 20 includes a scale 25 on the left end and characters 26 at around a middle portion thereof . the scale 25 includes several vertical lines to show the distance from the tip of the knife . in this example , the scale has five lines each being 0 . 2 mm apart from the other . the characters 26 indicate attributes of the knife . in this example , the characters 26 include marks “ slit ” which indicates that a type of knife is a slit knife and numeral “ 3 . 2 ” which indicates that a width of the cutting edge ( blade ) is 3 . 2 mm . since this knife shows a type and size thereof , a surgeon can recognize the knife he / she is using through the monitor of the microscope . if the knife is improper , the surgeon can immediately discover this fact . therefore , it is possible to avoid using an improper knife in the surgical operation . the scale 25 provided at the tip of the surgical knife 20 makes the surgeon possible to insert the knife more accurately in the incision . in a cornea surgical operation , for example , very precise and complicated cutting is required , such as “ a depth of knife insertion in the first incision is ½ thickness of cornea ”. in the conventional technology , the surgeon makes such incisions based on his / her intuition , which requires a long experience . in the surgical knife of the present invention , because it includes the scale 25 , an accurate depth of cut is known to the surgeon , which makes the surgical operation easy and reliable . during the process of forming the anti - reflection means , the area of the scale 25 and the characters 26 are masked , thereby easily forming the scale and characters without having anti - reflection treatment . although the example of scale 25 includes five lines , different number of lines such as a single line , or six or more lines are also possible . further , numerals may also be incorporated to show an absolute distance from the tip of the knife . instead of the lines in the scale 25 , it is also possible to use other marks such as dots , patterns , shapes and the like . fig3 ( a )- 3 ( g ) are schematic diagrams showing an example of process for producing a surgical knife of the present invention . first , the rod material 15 is cut in predetermined length as shown in fig3 ( a ). the rod material 15 can have various shapes such as a pole shape , a rectangular shape , a plate shape , etc . then , in fig3 ( b ), one end of the rod 15 is flattened , and the unwanted tip portion shown by the dotted line is cut out . the flattened surface 15 ′ is cut in a desired shape and is further flattened to have a predetermined thickness t as shown in fig3 ( c ) and 3 ( d ) through a grinding and / or polishing process . an anti - reflection treatment is performed on the surface 15 ′ through , for example , a sandblast process in fig3 ( e ). then , in fig3 ( f ), a rough machined surface 13 is produced through a rough cutting process . finally , a cutting edge 11 is formed at an outer edge of the surface 15 ′ through a polishing process . depending on the material of the knife , a quenching process may be further conducted . as the material of the rod , stainless steel such as sus302 , sus304 , sus420 are mainly used . in the case where the rod has a flat shape , such material as titanium , diamond , ruby , sapphire and ceramic can also be used . several methods can be used to form the scale and characters on the surface of the knife . in one method , the scale and characters are masked before the process of the anti - reflection treatment so that the scale and characters do not have the anti - reflection treatment . in the other method , after conducting the anti - reflection treatment on the surface of the knife , the scale and the characters are formed through a grinding process or a pressing process . as has been described , according to the present invention , since the surgical knife has the anti - reflection treatment on the overall area except for the cutting edge , it can maintain the sharpness of the cutting edge while preventing the glare from the knife during the surgical operation . thus , the surgeon can perform the operation accurately without being affected by the glare . although only a preferred embodiment is specifically illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing the spirit and intended scope of the invention .	8
the parallel speech recognizer in accordance with the present invention utilizes a sequential recognizer . by using a sequential recognizer , improvements made in sequential speech recognition , such as phone modeling , likelihood calculations , grammar representations , etc ., can be applied to the parallel recognizer of the present invention . accordingly , the present invention utilizes the two - level viterbi search algorithm as described in c . - h . lee and l . r . rabiner , “ a frame - synchronous network search algorithm for connected word recognition ”, ieee transactions on acoustics , speech , signal processing , vol . 37 , no . 11 , november 1989 , a copy of which is included as appendix a and is made a part of this application . the two - level viterbi search algorithm operates at the boundary between the hidden markov model ( hmm ) layer where signals representing speech frames are matched with hmm &# 39 ; s that represent context dependent units as well as an upper layer which represents the mapping of context dependent units to sentences . the mapping of context dependent units to sentences is done using on - demand composition of finite state transducers ( fsm ) as described in mohri et al ., “ weighted automata in text and speech processing ”, proceedings of the ecai 96 workshop , ecai , 1996 , a copy of which is included as appendix b and is made a part of this application . [ 0016 ] fig1 is a general block diagram of a parallel speech recognizer 10 in accordance with the present invention and is used to illustrate the processing relationship between multiple processors 1 , 2 - n and a shared memory 35 . an input speech signal , in analog form , is received by an input device 20 . the input signal is digitally sampled , for example every 10 milliseconds , which may occur at the input device 20 in machine 30 or by an alternative receiving device ( not shown ). each sample undergoes spectral analysis and other forms of signal processing known in the art resulting in a parametric representation of the input signal as a frame or vector of real numbers . a language model is also inputted to recognizer 10 . the language model contains models of the basic speech units and an implicit description of a graph , consisting of states and arcs , that serves to map basic speech units to sentences . the recognizer in accordance with the present invention is capable of receiving different language models and is not limited to one particular model as found in prior special - purpose parallel recognizers . the language model used can , for example , be made - up of : one or more models of context dependent units which have probability distributions associated therewith ; models that map context dependent units to words ; and models that map words to sentences . a shared memory multiprocessor machine 30 , used to parallel process the viterbi search algorithm includes , at its most basic level , an interface bus 25 , microprocessors 1 , 2 - n and memory 35 . the speech algorithm is housed within multiprocessor machine 30 and run in parallel using processors 1 , 2 - n to produce a representation of the signal received on line 15 . as will be clear from the description and processing results described below , the number of microprocessors 1 , 2 - n , employed in machine 30 effects the speed and efficiency of the speech recognizer in processing received input signals . once the input signals have been processed by the recognizer , the output is received by interface device 40 . the outputs can be transmitted to a display apparatus , speech understanding tool or further processed depending upon the eventual use of the output . the machine 30 , in accordance with the present invention , is a general purpose shared memory machine having a plurality of processors . machine 30 is considered a general purpose machine in that it does not require hard - wiring or hard - coding for a particular type of language model or algorithm . in this manner , the recognizer is capable of processing increased vocabulary sizes by inputting different language models unlike prior parallel speech recognizers which used hard - wired special purpose machines to parallel process speech algorithms . the speech recognition system according to the present invention maps between an input speech waveform , context dependent units , words and sentences to produce a textual representation of the input signal . this general process flow is best illustrated in fig2 . a speech signal at step 100 is inputted to a signal processor at step 110 . the signal may be an analog signal in which case the signal processor digitally samples the signal and produces a frame or vector of real numbers . a language model is also inputted at step 115 where the model is an implicit description of a graph consisting of a plurality of states and arcs . the system is initialized at step 120 and a determination is made , at step 130 , if any speech frames remain to be processed by the system . if no frames remain , the process is complete and the process terminates at step 135 . if there are remaining speech frames to be processed by the recognizer , the process continues to step 140 where each frame is processed in parallel in multiprocessor machine 30 . at step 145 , a clean - up step is performed to validate that the processing for a particular frame assigned to a thread is complete and the process returns to step 130 and continues for subsequent frames . in this manner , the recognizer processes input speech frames sequentially , however , the processing associated with each frame is performed in parallel as will be described in detail below . turning briefly to fig3 which illustrates an example of a portion of an implicit graph used in the present invention , each state s 0 and s 1 in the language model has associated therewith a plurality of incoming arcs , illustrated for example by arc a 0 and outgoing arcs illustrated for example by arc a 1 . the state s 1 from which arc a 1 originates is referred to as the source state and arc a 1 , which flows from the source state s 1 , is referred to as an outgoing arc . the number of states and arcs in the implicit graph has been limited to these few for explanation purposes only . in fig4 a speech frame at step 146 is mapped to the input language model having a plurality of states and arcs . initially , the active arc list is empty and the active state list contains only the start state of the graph . each thread in the multi - processor configuration is assigned a subset of the active state set . this allocation of states determines the structure of the parallel algorithm . each thread will process approximately n / p states where n is the number of active states and p corresponds to the number of processors . each state is assigned to a single thread which is determined by taking the state number mod p . the active arcs originating from an active state are assigned to the same thread as the associated state . in this manner , a particular thread processes an active state subset as well as its associated active arc subset to take advantage of the multiprocessor parallel configuration . this technique enhances data locality . at step 150 , the active arc set is updated based on the active states from the graph . each thread performs the likelihood calculation for each arc assigned to that particular thread as depicted at step 160 . each thread computes the minimum cost for its active arc subset at step 160 and participates in the computation of the global minimum cost at step 165 . for example , this is done through the use of a vector that stores the maximum likelihood for each thread as well as using a sequential loop to compute the final minimum cost value . fig5 illustrates sample high level code for processing a frame . the calculation for determining the minimum cost at step 160 is best explained with reference to fig3 . as previously stated , the process calculates the likelihood costs of the active arcs , for example in fig3 arcs a 0 and a 1 . the state costs associated with states s 1 and s 3 and the likelihood costs associated with arcs a 1 and a 3 have already been calculated . a cost associated with arc a 1 is determined by adding the likelihood cost of arc a 1 and the state cost for state s 1 which is a source state for arc a 1 . the state cost for state s 2 is calculated by determining the minimum of the costs of the incoming arcs a 1 and a 3 associated with state s 2 . the local minimum cost for the thread is the minimum cost over all the states reached by arcs in the active arc subset for that thread . the procedure for calculating likelihoods avoids recomputing the likelihood of a frame matching a particular context dependent unit by remembering the calculations that it has performed in the past . this technique , which is known in the art as “ memo - ization ” or “ caching ,” reduces the cost of computing multiple likelihoods . it is implemented using a bit vector that indicates whether a particular likelihood has been calculated and a result vector that holds previously computed likelihoods . to multi - thread the likelihood calculation , the present invention takes advantage of a property of the computation , namely that the calculation of a particular likelihood will always produce the same value , and a property that many shared memory machines employ , namely that writes from a single thread are seen in order by other threads . together these properties allow the present algorithm to avoid using any synchronization for the memorization vectors even though there is technically the potential for interference between two computations of the same likelihood . the first property guarantees that even if multiple threads try to compute the same likelihood concurrently , they are guaranteed to write the same value into the result vector . the second property , combined with a careful ordering , writes to the vectors ( in particular , writing the result into the result vector before setting the bit in the bit vector ) guarantees that if a computation finds a one in the bit vector , then it is guaranteed to find the correct likelihood in the result vector . fig6 illustrates an example of high - level code for performing the likelihood calculation in accordance with the present invention . the arcs with costs that are not within the range of the minimum cost determined in step 165 of fig4 plus a predetermined threshold value , which is an input to the recognizer , are pruned at step 170 . each thread goes through the active arcs assigned to it pruning the arcs if their associated costs fall outside the computed range . the new active states are determined at step 175 using the results from step 170 . an arc is completed if the likelihood calculation for the most recent frame determines that there was a match with the underlying context dependent unit and the arc &# 39 ; s cost is within the computed range . step 175 adds the destination states of completed arcs to the active state set . in addition , the fsm layer is queried at step 180 to determine the transitions out of newly active states using on - demand composition of the fsms . because the active arc calculations are assigned to a particular thread based on the state from which they originate , the thread that determines that a particular state becomes active may not be the thread that is assigned to that next state . this computation is performed by first storing the states which an arc designates as active . this storage data structure is in the form of a two dimensional array wherein each element in the array contains a linked list . a state “ s ” is added to the linked list at location [ t , s mod p ] in the array by thread t , if that thread identifies the state as newly active . once this data structure is built , a thread , “ t ”, queries the fsm layer for the states in the lists at locations [ 1 . . . p , t ] of the array and adds them to its active state subset . the multi - threading of the fsm library is centered on the routines for on - demand composition of automata . two or more automata are combined to produce a composed automaton , whose states correspond to tuples with a tuple containing one state from each of the input automata . these routines make use of a hash table which maps from tuples of states to state numbers in the composed automaton . however , different threads need to update the hash table simultaneously which requires careful synchronization to avoid data contention . locking access to the hash table as a whole is an inadequate solution , as too much time would be spent waiting for the lock . instead , the present invention uses one lock to manage a small collection of hash buckets which increases contention slightly , but decreases substantially the number of locks required in comparison to a one - lock per bucket implementation . reordering the code to minimize the amount of time any thread holds a bucket lock further reduces contention of the hash table . fig7 illustrates high - level code for handling the hash table for multi - threading the composition of the fsms portion of the algorithm . the following results were achieved using the algorithm of the present invention on a silicon graphics power challenge xl multiprocessor , however the principles of the invention can be implemented on any shared memory machine having a plurality of microprocessors . table 1 illustrates the average run time over 300 sentences for the 20 , 000 word advanced projects research agency ( arpa ) north american business news ( nab ) task . number of processors sequential 1 2 4 8 12 16 average run 35 . 1 33 . 7 20 . 4 12 . 3 8 . 4 7 . 8 7 . 6 time increase speed 1 . 0 1 . 0 1 . 7 2 . 8 4 . 2 4 . 5 4 . 6 over sequential relative to real - 3 . 9 3 . 7 2 . 3 1 . 4 0 . 9 0 . 9 0 . 8 time the column labeled sequential contains the run times using a sequential recognizer on one processor of the power challenge xl . columns labeled 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 , 12 and 16 denote the results from using the indicated number of processors . the run time for the parallel recognizer in accordance with the present invention using 8 processors provides real - time performance . as can be seen from table 1 , the recognition speed drops off as more processors are used which is due , in part , by synchronization at locks on shared data structures and at barriers between phases of the viterbi algorithm . the response time improvements with respect to previous sequential algorithms are achieved based on the parallelization of the viterbi search , likelihood calculations and the on - demand fsm composition . the speech recognition system in accordance with the present invention uses a general purpose shared memory multiprocessor machine to perform continuous parallel speech recognition . the system receives a language model as an input thereby accommodating larger vocabularies and complex speech patterns while using the same underlying algorithm .	6
referring now to the drawing , a concrete forming panel 10 in accordance with the present invention broadly includes a face plate 12 typically of aluminum and a frame 14 mounted along the perimeter 15 of the forming panel 10 , also preferably primarily of aluminum by welds 17 . as used herein , “ aluminum ” refers to aluminum alloys , such as , for example , astm 6061 t - 6 alloy , and the face plate , and a typical thickness of aluminum sheeting used as a face plate 12 would be about 0 . 125 inch . the frame 14 preferably includes a pair of elongated endrails 16 and 18 and a pair of opposed siderails 20 and 22 , which in the illustrated embodiment the siderails are shown parallel to each other and perpendicular to the endrails , although it may be appreciated that it is possible for the forming panel to be in various geometries and have arcuate edges . a typical endrail or siderail of aluminum has a thickness of about ⅜ inch . the frame may include cross - braces 24 , and end braces , gusset plates at the corners , and steel bushing plates or reinforcements to reinforce holes 26 spaced along the siderails 20 and 22 which receive therethrough coupler pins 28 secured by wedges as shown in fig4 , 5 and 6 , with such steel reinforcing members positioned adjacent the holes 26 for wear resistance . the face plate 12 lies in a plane and is shown flat and smooth , although textured surface face plates 12 may be used as well . a barrier element 30 of flexible material such as rubber or more preferably brush strips 32 of nylon fibers or bristles 34 secured by metal retaining clips 36 is received in longitudinally extending slots 38 in the siderails 20 and 22 and the endrails 16 and 18 . the slots 38 are located more proximate the face plate edge 40 of the siderails and endrails than the back side exposed edge 42 of the siderails and endrails . the siderails and endrails each have an outer surface 44 and an inner surface 46 , the slots 38 being in communication with the outer surface 44 as shown in fig2 and 3 . the slots 38 are most preferably provided at an acute angle φ relative to the face plate 12 so that the bristles 34 extend forwardly toward the face plate edge 40 of the siderails and endrails . the bristles 34 are also of a sufficient length relative to the depth of the slots 38 that they project beyond the outer surface 44 . the slots 38 are preferably positioned in a thickened region 48 of the siderails and endrails as shown in fig3 in order to avoid weakening of the siderails and endrails . the siderails 20 and 22 are not of constant thickness along their longitudinal length , but rather their outer surface 44 is provided with longitudinally spaced , laterally extending relieved areas 50 adjacent unrelieved areas 51 , the relieved areas 50 providing passages for tie bars 52 to be placed thereon and in the gaps between adjacent forming panels 10 as shown in fig6 and 7 . the tie bars 52 are used to separate and hold at a predetermined distance an opposite forming wall of other forming members in order to provide a channel 126 therebetween for receipt of a pour of flowable concrete 54 therein . an adjacent relief 56 is also provided in the face plate 12 ( see fig2 ). as may be seen in comparing fig5 showing two adjacent forming panels 10 in side - by - side relationship in cross - section taken through the siderails 20 and 22 of adjacent forming panels 10 with fig6 taken in cross - section through the siderails 20 and 22 and the tie bar 52 , the depth of the slots 38 are slightly less in the vicinity of the relieved areas 50 so that the tips of the barrier element fibers are substantially linear thus equidistant in a direction perpendicular from the outer surface 44 at the unrelieved areas 51 and exposing slightly more of the barrier element fibers in the relieved areas 50 than the unrelieved areas . because the slots 38 are oriented on an axis that is at an acute angle φ relative to the plane in which the face sheet 12 lies , the resulting forward angled orientation of the bristles 34 toward the face plate 12 , the engagement of opposed flexible barriers 30 with a tie bar 52 or with the barrier element 30 of an adjacent forming panel 10 causes the bristles 34 to slightly bend in a forward direction as shown in fig5 and 6 . this in turn enhances the performance of the barrier element 30 by providing both a greater density of concentration of the bristles 34 where they interengage and also extending them forwardly to reduce the region into which water and particles from the concrete pour may migrate and lessen the extent of any ridge which may be formed as the concrete flows in to the gap 58 between the adjacent forms 10 . as shown in fig7 , the bristles 34 of the barrier elements 30 are particularly helpful where there is no tie bar 52 positioned in a relieved area 50 , which would otherwise present an even wider opening between the adjacent forming panels 10 . the barrier elements 30 are preferably mounted all around the forming panel 10 on each of the rails in an orientation parallel to and closely adjacent the perimeter of the face plate 12 . fig1 and 8 – 11 illustrate an alternate embodiment where , in addition or as an alternative to the flexible barrier element 30 provided in the frame 14 around the perimeter of the forming panel 10 , an opening 60 is provided in the face plate 12 inside the frame 14 and thus interiorly of the perimeter . a closure and support element 61 is attached to the face plate 12 adjacent the opening , shown as a reinforcing enclosure 62 of aluminum which surrounds and thus reinforces the opening and is attached to the face plate 12 or the cross members by welding , fasteners or the like . the enclosure 62 includes a base 64 which mounts to the face plate 12 by welding or the like to support and reinforce the face plate 12 surrounding the opening 60 and two spaced - apart gates 66 and 68 , each having a respective passage 70 and 72 therethrough . a reinforcing rod 74 of hard steel , such as astm 228 - 93 wire , is received in a groove 76 adjacent the passages 70 and 72 and the deformation of the aluminum alloy caused by drilling the passages serves to pinch or hold the rod 74 in place . the reinforcing rod 74 helps to resist wear on the gates 66 and 68 and prevent enlargement of the passages . the base 64 may include a slot 78 adjacent to and facing the opening for receipt of a flexible barrier element 30 therein . again , the flexible barrier elements may be rubber or more preferably brush strips 32 of nylon bristles 34 held by metal clips . a hinge 80 is provided on the base 64 for pivotally mounting a door 82 . as illustrated by fig9 , the door 82 may swing between a first position substantially but not completely closing the opening 60 and a second position which is open . the door 82 includes a head 84 and an insert 86 which fits within the opening 60 . the head 84 presents a lip 88 which engages the base 64 and has a reinforcing rod 74 received in a groove 90 therein . the head 84 is sized to provide a slot 92 between the head 84 and the base 64 to permit passage of a tie bar 52 . the door 82 is held closed by closure mechanism 94 . the closure mechanism 94 is mounted on arm welded to the face plate 12 or to a cross - brace 24 of frame 14 . the closure mechanism 94 includes a housing 96 , a pin 98 shiftably received in the housing 96 , and a catch 100 . as illustrated in fig1 and 11 , the pin 98 is biased toward the gate 66 by a coil spring 102 received within the housing . the pin 98 includes a shank 104 slidable within the housing 96 , a narrowed neck 106 , and a nose 108 which is rounded at its tip . both the nose 108 and the shank 104 have a greater diameter than the diameter of the neck 106 . the catch 100 includes a bar 110 which is mounted by a hinge 112 for toggling on pivot mount 114 . the bar 110 has a first end 116 which is engaged on its underside by a spring 118 extending from the housing 96 and a second end 119 which has a cradle 120 which includes an arcuate web 122 sized to receive the neck 106 but not the shank 104 therein . thus , the spring 118 biases the cradle 120 toward the pin 98 . in use , the forming panel 10 , shown individually in fig1 , is coupled to adjacent forming members , such as another forming panel 10 as shown in fig5 , 6 and 7 , to provide one forming wall 122 , and another forming wall 124 is positioned opposite as shown in fig9 so that a channel 126 for receiving flowable concrete 54 is therebetween . tie bars 52 are placed in at least some of the relieved areas 50 , though typically not all of them and extend through the channel to connect the forming walls 122 and 124 when connected to the forming panels by pins 28 . adjacent forming panels are connected by pins 28 held in place by wedges as shown in fig4 , 5 , 6 and 7 , with these pins 28 passing through holes in the tie bars 52 to hold them in position . the tie bars extend across and through the channel 126 for connecting the opposing forming walls 122 and 124 , whereby after the concrete 54 cures , the tie bars 52 remain embedded in the concrete wall structure formed thereby . in addition , door 82 may swing open to facilitate positioning of a tie bar 52 through the opening 60 in opposing forming panels 10 . the pin 98 is first retracted against the coil spring 102 and the catch is released whereby the web 122 of the cradle 120 rests around the neck 106 and against the shank 104 to hold the pin 98 in a retracted position . the tie bar 52 is then aligned to lie closely adjacent the gate 66 , whereupon the door may be closed to substantially block the opening 60 . with the door closed , the operator presses on the first end 116 of the catch 100 to release the spring loaded pin 98 . the pin 98 then passes through the hole of the tie bar 52 and through the gate 66 to both hold the door 82 in the closed position and secure the forming panel 10 to the tie bar 52 . thereafter , dry concrete mixed with water may be poured into the channel 126 , which after a suitable curing period , hardens . the barrier elements 30 substantially inhibit the flow of water and fine particles of mortar , sand and the like from the concrete 54 while it cures . the barrier elements 30 along the side rail and end rail edges oppose one another as shown in fig5 to inhibit substantial flowing of material without inhibiting the performance or coupling ability of the forming panels . the bristles 34 yield when engaged by tie bars 52 or the frame 14 and being separate , resist tearing , while providing a substantial barrier to the flow of water and fine particles from the concrete . the flexible barrier elements are especially beneficial in resisting flow of water and fine particles both when a tie bar 52 is present in a relieved area 50 or , even more importantly , when a tie bar 52 is not used in a relieved area as shown in fig7 . when an opening 60 is provided in the forming panel interiorly of the perimeter provided by the frame , the door 82 is able to swing open to ease the placement of the tie bar . after the tie bar 52 is in place , the door may be closed to inhibit the flow of concrete or the water and fine particles thereof through the opening 60 . the flexible barrier elements 30 in the base 64 and the door 82 further limit the migration of water and fine particles through the slot 92 . the first end 116 of the bar 110 is depressed to release the cradle , whereupon the coil spring 102 pushes the pin 98 through the gate 66 so that the nose of the pin 98 rests against the head of the door 82 to hold the door in a closed position . after the concrete 54 cures and hardens , the forming panels 10 may be readily removed for reuse by removing the wedges from the coupler pins 28 and pulling the coupler pins through the holes 26 in the rails . the pin 98 is retracted so that the cradle engages the neck of the pin 98 to permit opening of the door 82 . this also disengages the pin 98 from the tie bar 52 , permitting the forming panels 10 to be removed . the barrier elements 30 substantially limit the migration of water and fine particles from the concrete 54 as it hardens and thus inhibits the formation of substantial ridges opposite the gaps between forming panels . a smoother surface of the resulting wall with substantially less pitting results from the use of the barrier elements both around the perimeter edge of the forming panels 10 and at any interior openings . although preferred forms of the invention have been described above , it is to be recognized that such disclosure is by way of illustration only , and should not be utilized in a limiting sense in interpreting the scope of the present invention . obvious modifications to the exemplary embodiments , as hereinabove set forth , could be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention . the inventor hereby states his intent to rely on the doctrine of equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of his invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set out in the following claims .	4
in a preferred method according to the invention , a list of proxy server services is compiled by searching the web for available proxy server services , and then testing those services for speed and quality . the proxy server services meeting the test criteria are then used to systematically retrieve query results from the target server in a parallel manner , reducing total access time and randomizing the sources of the queries , the order of the queries or both . the queries may be selected systematically to minimize their number . [ 0022 ] fig1 shows a diagram of a semi - automated method for searching the web for available proxy server services and for testing the found services . in step 101 , the open internet is searched for available proxy server services . the search may utilize one or more commercially available search engines using key words likely to yield free , anonymizing proxy services . as presently implemented , the search is conducted manually off line to create a list of proxy service candidates that is used as an input to the automated proxy testing method described below . alternatively , the search results may be automatically parsed for input fields , and the testing automatically initiated for each proxy server candidate as it is found . if the proxy list compiled in step 101 is compiled offline , a proxy service address is read from the list in step 102 and a test query is submitted to the proxy service to retrieve a sample web page served by a sample target server at a specified url . if the list is compiled as part of an automated searching and testing process , the test query is sent when the proxy service is identified . the sample web page has known and stable contents . preferably , the target server serving the sample web page is under control of the testing party to assure that the contents of the sample web page do not change during the test procedure . the test query , including the specified url of the sample web page , is transmitted by the proxy server to the target server serving the sample web page . the web page is retrieved by the target server and is transmitted to the proxy server in response to the query . the proxy server retransmits the received sample web page to the testing server . after a sample web page is retrieved , it is examined for errors at step 103 . in one embodiment of the invention , the sample web page has known contents at the time of the sample retrieval , and those contents are compared to the contents of the sample web page received from the proxy server . if the contents match perfectly then the sample web page received from the proxy server is error - free , and the proxy testing method proceeds to examine the elapsed retrieval time at step 104 . if the contents of the page retrieved by the proxy server are not identical to the known web page contents , then the proxy is removed from the list of available proxies at step 108 . in an alternative embodiment , the testing server sends queries for the same web page substantially simultaneously to the proxy server and directly to the sample target server . the responses to those queries are compared as described above . that embodiment is useful where the testing party does not have a web server of its own . while in the preferred embodiment no errors are permitted in the returned web pages , it is possible to set the error criterion to be less stringent , permitting some predetermined number of errors in the returned pages . furthermore , the criteria may be different for different types of errors . errors in the actual data of interest may be absolutely barred , while a small number of formatting errors that will not affect the results of the data collection method of the invention may be permitted . if the returned web page is found to meet the error criteria , retrieval time is next examined at step 104 . retrieval time is defined as the running time between sending out the query to the proxy server and receiving results from the proxy server . the time therefore includes four server - to - server web transfers : testing server - to - proxy , proxy - to - target server , target server - to - proxy and proxy - to - testing server . because of the included web transfer times , the retrieval time therefore depends somewhat on web traffic volume , which is a variable not in control of the proxy or the testing server . the present method , however , is capable of eliminating those proxy servers that have a latency that is comparatively large compared to the delays due to web traffic . if the retrieval time measured in step 104 is found to be within a t optimum , then the proxy server is placed on a list of primary proxy servers ( step 106 ) to be used in the data collection method of the invention . if , however , the retrieval time is found to exceed t optimum but to be less than a t adequate ( step 105 ) the proxy server is placed on a list of secondary proxy servers ( step 107 ) to be used in cases where the primary proxy servers have been exhausted . if the proxy server meets neither of the retrieval time criteria , then that proxy server is discarded at step 108 . one skilled in the art would recognize that more or less than two retrieval time classifications may be used . by classifying the proxy servers according to retrieval time , the overall performance of the data collection method of the invention is improved by assuring that the faster proxies are all in use before calling on a slower proxy server . the proxy testing method continues until no more proxy servers are untested ( step 109 ), or , alternatively , until a sufficient number of acceptable proxy servers has been found . the testing then terminates ( step 110 ) and the lists of acceptable proxy servers are available for the data collection method of the invention . the proxy testing method may be performed periodically as part of a background maintenance of the proxy access system . in that case , it is not necessary to search for and test proxy services before each execution of the data collection method of the invention . alternatively , the proxy testing method may be executed each time the data collection method is executed , or when the data collection method is executed after a minimum time period from the last execution . additional testing criteria for accepting proxy servers may be added to those illustrated in fig1 . for example , if the target server used for testing is under control of the testing party , then for each query relayed by a proxy server , the target server may report to the test server the source address of the query . that permits the test server to evaluate the anonymizing capabilities of the proxy server . [ 0033 ] fig2 illustrates the retrieval of information from a web site using a random data collection method according to one embodiment of the invention . a client server initially retrieves a list of available proxy servers in step 201 . the list is preferably a file created during execution of the proxy testing method illustrated in fig1 . alternatively , the client server retrieves a list of proxy web servers having services known to meet the requirements of the retrieval method . additionally , a list of target queries is retrieved in step 201 . the list of queries is preferably chosen to minimize the number of queries required to compile the desired information from the web site or sites . in an illustrative example , a user desires to create a view of a database of all retail store locations of a firm in the united states . a web site of that firm offers store locations by entering a zip code or alternatively by entering a state . assuming that the web site returns all store locations within the specified region , it can be seen that the number of queries may be significantly reduced by retrieving the locations by state ( 50 accesses ) instead of by zip code ( about 10 , 000 accesses ). in cases where the number of results per query is limited , or where the query interface is otherwise restricted , it may be advantageous to formulate queries based on the results received from previous queries . one such specialized technique , dealing with spatial coverage and applicable to the store location problem , is described below . after the list of available proxy servers and the list of queries are prepared , data collection begins . if there are unsent queries ( step 202 ), as there are at the start of the method , the method then checks whether there is an available proxy server on the proxy server list ( step 203 ). again , at the start of the method , there presumably are available proxy servers . as will be described below , proxy servers are removed from the list as they are used . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , if the primary list of proxy servers is depleted , then the secondary list of proxy servers is used . as described with reference to fig1 for example , a secondary list of proxy servers having a longer , but still acceptable , retrieval time may be used . if there are no proxy servers available in step 203 ( because all are in use retrieving information ), then the system proceeds to check for outstanding query responses received from the proxies in use ( step 212 ). assuming a proxy server is available , the system transmits ( step 204 ) a query to a proxy server for transmittal to the target server . in a preferred embodiment , the proxy server is selected randomly from the proxy server list . if a primary list and a secondary list are both being used , the system will randomly choose proxy servers from the primary list before randomly choosing proxies from the secondary list . if the queries are predetermined before data collection begins , then the proxies may alternatively be used in a fixed order while the queries are randomized . that embodiment has the advantage of randomizing the order in which the target server receives the queries , making it more difficult to detect systematic data retrieval . the system may pause ( step 215 ) for an unpredictable ( random or pseudorandom ) period of time before sending each query to a proxy . such pauses reduce the periodic characteristics of the queries , further masking the systematic nature of the data retrieval . similarly , the system may send a random or pseudorandom query to a proxy server interspersed among the queries formulated to build a database view . in that way , the target server is less likely to detect a systematic query structure . after a query is sent to a given proxy server , that proxy server is removed ( step 205 ) from the list of available proxy servers used to transmit queries . the method then returns to step 202 of determining whether there exist any additional queries to be sent . if there are no additional queries to send because all queries required to retrieve the desired database view have already been sent to proxy servers , then the system further determines whether it is expecting any additional query responses ( step 210 ). at any given time during execution of the method , it is likely that the system will have outstanding queries that have been sent to proxies but for which no response has been received . if no such query exists , and all queries have been sent out ( step 202 ), then the process is complete and the method is terminated ( step 211 ). if there are outstanding queries , the system continues to check for query responses ( step 212 ) until one is received . upon receipt of a query response , the information received from the proxy is stored ( step 213 ) as part of the target database view , the proxy is replaced on the list of available proxy servers , and the method returns to the step 202 . the flow chart of fig2 is intended to present the flow of an exemplary program to perform the method of the invention . one skilled in the art will recognize that the flow chart of fig2 represents one of many logical representations of the data collection method of the invention , and that other program flows would perform the method equally well . [ 0043 ] fig3 is a schematic view of a network in which the method of the invention may be practiced . a client 301 provides a user interface for a client server 302 . results of the queries are presented to the user through the client . software for performing the method of the invention is preferably executed by the client server 302 and resides as an executable file that is accessible by the client server . the client and client server may physically reside in the same machine , or may be in different machines that communicate , for example , through a local area network 321 . the client server establishes ip connections 322 to proxy servers such as server 303 , as required . the connections are established via the network 309 on which the proxy servers are located ; in the exemplary embodiment , that network is the internet . as can clearly be seen in fig3 multiple connections 322 to multiple proxies 303 may be established in parallel , reducing the effects of target server latency and delays caused by web traffic . upon receipt of the queries from the client server 302 , each of the proxy servers 303 establishes a connection 323 via network 310 to the target server 304 . again , in the preferred embodiment , the network 310 is the internet . one skilled in the art will recognize that the target data may reside on more than one server . in any case , queries forwarded to the proxy servers 303 by the client server 302 contain an address of a target server for the particular query sent . the queries are received by the target server 304 through the connections 323 from a randomized sequence of proxy servers 303 that anonymizes the originating server . it is therefore difficult for the target server to detect a pattern in the queries . after the target server 304 receives each query from the proxy servers 303 , it retrieves the requested information . in the illustrated example , the data resides in one or more databases located by target url &# 39 ; s 305 . the target server retrieves the data using connections 324 which may be local area network connections , internal connections to database files , internet connections or any other connection appropriate for the location and transfer of the data . the target server 304 then transmits the requested data as replies to the proxy servers 303 , which relay the data to the client server 302 . in the preferred embodiment in which the data is transferred via the internet between the target server and proxy servers and between the proxy servers and the client server , that data is contained in html pages transferred via http protocol . the client server extracts the data from the html pages for storage as part of the desired database view . as noted above , the set of queries chosen to cover a given database view strongly affects the efficiency of the described method for retrieving a database view . an important subclass of the coverage problem is the problem of covering a given spatial region in the presence of restricted queries . specifically , given a query interface for nearest - neighbor queries of the type “ find the k closest stores to a particular location ,” and a region r , the goal is to minimize the number of queries necessary to find all the stores in r . in general , r is assumed to be some compact ( closed and bounded ) subset of n . this strong theoretical assumption simplifies several practical issues . first of all , because r is a subset of n , nearest - neighbor queries may be performed under traditional distance metrics . also , by assuming the domain is a compact subset guarantees that a finite coverage exists . without that condition , it would not make sense to look for a cover , since , in general , it is impossible to find finite covers for subsets of n with open balls . furthermore , while in principle the coverage method described below works for any number of dimensions , this discussion shall focus on the two - dimensional case . a naive technique for finding a cover of a region is simply to break the region r into small pieces , then perform one query for each piece ( for example , for the centroid of each region ). that technique is commonly used on the world wide web , where , for example , all the stores of a particular chain may be found by performing one query per zip code . while this does not guarantee coverage , since only k stores are located per query and it might happen that more than k stores belong to a single zip code , in practice , it often produces satisfactory results . given that there are several thousand zip codes in the united states , that technique is likely to be very time consuming . also , that technique does not explore the data - sensitive nature of the k - nn ( nearest neighbor ) queries being performed , because it does not take into account the coverage radius returned by the query . a large radius returned by a query may cover neighboring regions , making it unnecessary to query those regions separately . the method described below explores such variations to achieve an efficient solution . in general , the query generation method includes two parts : ( 1 ) use a spatial data structure to keep track of which parts of r have already been covered by previous queries , and ( 2 ) at any given point in time , use the coverage information obtained thus far to determine where to perform the next query so as to minimize overlaps . the method uses a simple greedy scheme for maximizing the profit of queries , and assumes that the best place to perform a query is the largest empty circle in the uncovered region . the largest empty circle of an unrestricted collection of points belongs to the voronoi diagram and can be computed in o ( n log n ) time ( in two and three dimensions ). in the present example , where some regions of space will be covered , the largest uncovered empty circle belongs to the medial - axis of the uncovered region . computing the medial - axis is a non - trivial task , and it gets considerably harder as the dimensions increase . one approach may be to approximate the medial - axis using the notion of poles . in the presently described method , a simpler approximation is used based on recursive data structures ; specifically , the method uses the centers of the quadtree nodes . in practice , the quadtree is used to mark which regions of r have been covered . the unmarked regions are the regions of space which have not been seen , and for which no information is available . given a query point pεr the output of the query is a list of neighbors n 1 , . . . , n k of p . the method marks on the quadtree the nodes inside a ball centered at p , and of radius r = max ∥ n 1 − p ∥. instead of actually computing the medial - axis transform , the largest uncovered quadtree node is found , and its center is used as the next query point . note that the quadtree is used for two purposes : to determine coverages , and decide when we can stop ; and to determine the next query . an advantage of using a recursive data structure such as the quadtree is that it facilitates scaling the technique to higher dimensions . an example program flowchart for performing the query generation method is shown in fig7 . the method is started ( step 710 ) for execution concurrently with the information retrieval method of fig2 . an initial point ρ is selected ( step 711 ) for performing a first query . the point may be selected arbitrarily or may be selected for maximum overall efficiency of the method . a query is submitted to the target web site for the k closest locations to the point ρ , and a response is received ( step 712 ). the location of the point ρ may be identified as a zip code , as a political subdivision such as a state or a county and state , as map coordinates or as other means depending on the capabilities of the web site query structure . based on the data received in response to the query , the location having the maximum radius from the point ρ is identified , and the region covered by the response is determined ( step 713 ). in the two - dimensional example described herein , where the covered region is a region on a map , the covered region is circular . one skilled in the art will recognize that the method may also be performed to cover space having three or more dimensions . the remaining uncovered regions are now examined ( step 714 ). if there are no remaining uncovered regions , the process is complete ( step 715 ). if there are remaining uncovered regions , the method approximates the largest of those regions , and calculates a new point ρ ( step 716 ). in the preferred embodiment , the largest region is approximated using the largest uncovered quadtree node , and point ρ is the center of the node . one skilled in the art will recognize that other techniques may be used to approximate the center of the largest uncovered region . the query generation method of the invention was implemented on a system composed of two parts : one written in perl , which serves as the query engine , and the other in c ++, which implements the quadtree , and provides some simple graphical output . two data sets were examined . the data were available on the world wide web and represent store locations of two different businesses ( fig4 a and 4b ). one business ( fig4 a ) has about 750 stores , the other ( fig4 b ) has about 850 stores . using the naive zip code technique described above , an unacceptably large block of time is required to cover the database . specifically , a single zip code query ( which returns 10 stores ) can be performed in 1 . 2 seconds . to cover the united states , over 10 , 000 queries ( corresponding to the different zip codes ) are required at a total cost of 12 , 000 seconds , or over three - and - a - half hours . progress of the above - described method for generating queries is shown graphically in the screenshots of fig5 where k = 20 . each screenshot depicts a state of the quadtree at a particular stage of execution . the covered region is shown in gray ; the uncovered region is shown in white . the circles represent the radii of the nearest - neighbor queries . in the background , in black , is an outline of a map of the united states . several patterns are apparent from the figures . in ( a ), one can clearly see the data - sensitive nature of the k - nn queries . also , it is possible to see that the scheme effectively spreads the queries . in ( b )-( d ), it can be seen what happens as the spaces get covered . from the small circles at the final stages of the query execution , it can be observed that it gets progressively more difficult to find large empty regions , hence efficiency decreases as the algorithm progresses . as can be seen , most of the queries performed towards the end do not actually find stores , but mostly serve the purpose of guaranteeing that the domain r is properly covered . the query generation method of the present invention requires only 191 queries at a total cost of 229 seconds . this is over 52 times faster than the naive zip code technique . in order to measure the performance of our techniques , it is useful to determine what is the optimum number of queries possible . given a dataset d with \| d \|= n sites , and a k - nn query engine that returns k answers per query , opt  ( d ) = [ n k ] is the smallest number of queries necessary to find all n answers . let quad ( d ) be the number of queries performed by the technique , where in general opt ( d )≦ quad ( d ). an approximation factor , ρ ( d ), is defined to be the ratio between our algorithm and the optimum ; that is , note that by definition ρ ( d )≦ 1 , with equality when every query returns k distinct , unseen sites . [ 0067 ] fig6 is a table showing the number of queries and approximation factors obtained by the described method while searching for all the stores in dataset 1 ( fig4 a ) and dataset 2 ( fig4 b ). the query generation method of the invention achieves roughly an approximation factor ρ ( d ) of 2 . 5 of optimum for those datasets . thus , further improvements are limited to factors of 2 . 5 , as opposed to the factor - 50 improvement that the method achieves over the naive method . the query generation method of the invention is completely blind about the areas it has not seen thus far . the basic principle used is to place queries away from areas already covered and into the region containing the largest empty circle , hence avoiding inefficiencies in coverage . for efficiency and simplicity , the method does not actually find the largest empty circle in the uncovered region , as that would require incremental maintenance of the medial - axis of the covered region . because of the difficulties involved , the method instead simply uses the largest uncovered quadtree node . the foregoing detailed description is to be understood as being in every respect illustrative and exemplary , but not restrictive , and the scope of the invention disclosed herein is not to be determined from the detailed description , but rather from the claims as interpreted according to the full breadth permitted by the patent laws . it is to be understood that the embodiments shown and described herein are only illustrative of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . for example , the detailed description has been described with particular emphasis on data available on the internet . however , the principles of the present invention could be extended to other large networks where data is available through discrete queries . such an extension could be readily implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art given the above disclosure .	8
aspects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description and related figures directed to specific embodiments of the invention . those skilled in the art will recognize that alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the claims . further , the description and figures used herein should be viewed only as exemplary in nature . it can be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments described herein may include descriptions that related to specific sizes , shapes or types of material ; however the methods , apparatuses and systems described herein are not limited to these particular sizes , shapes and types of materials . instead , it may be appreciated that any desired materials may be utilized to form the methods , apparatuses and systems so as to achieve any desired results . additionally , well - known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention . as used herein the word “ exemplary ” means “ serving as an example , instance or illustration .” the embodiments described herein are not limiting , but rather are exemplary only . it should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments . for example , the description below discusses pvc , the common abbreviation for polyvinyl chloride , a popular thermoplastic polymer , that is used to construct the invention , but many other materials can be used . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the gas trap is typically constructed using 2 ″ pvc or other suitable materials , comprising an agitating pipe 19 and collection cap , 21 . optional components include a ball valve 31 , short stack 41 , long stack 51 , spillway 61 , and extension gas chamber 71 , as needed . each is explained below . as shown in fig1 , the agitating pipe subassembly comprises two male couplings 13 , 15 , with a nipple 17 between them , and an agitating pipe 19 attached to the lower coupling 13 . in fig1 , an optional ball valve 31 is used . as shown in the figures , the agitating pipe 19 is a piece of pipe cut to a length that is close to the inside diameter of the drilling fluid flow line , and cut to an angle that makes the agitating pipe &# 39 ; s collection opening 23 inside the flow line pipe as large as possible , extending into the fluid flowing through the flow line pipe , but not colliding with the opposite inside side of the flow line pipe as the agitating pipe 19 is installed . the angle is determined by the length of the pipe . the agitating pipe 19 is cut and attached to a coupling 13 , which mounts onto the wall of the fluid flow line . the agitating pipe 19 is installed with the angled collection opening 23 so it faces the flow of the drilling fluid or mud , so when the fluid reaches the agitating pipe 19 , the fluid is agitated and gas is released from the flow material . this gas adds to the presence of gases already present in the flow line , all of which flows into the collection opening 23 , travels through the agitating pipe 19 , into the collection cap 23 ( fig2 ) and then goes through the sample tube 27 ( fig2 ) to the test equipment that analyzes the gas . as shown in fig2 , the collection cap 21 is a two - inch pvc threaded cap with a barbed hose adaptor 25 screwed into its center . a flexible sample tube 27 slips over the adaptor 25 . formation gases leave the gas trap through the sample tube 27 and into the testing apparatus ( not part of the invention ). as shown in fig1 , an optional ball valve 31 may be installed on the agitating pipe 19 for the convenience to the operators , and not necessary to the invention , but very helpful to operators . as shown in fig2 , an optional short stack 41 , comprising a length of pvc pipe with a male coupling affixed to one end and a female coupling on the other , may be installed between the agitating pipe 19 and collection cap 21 to prevent drilling fluid that might otherwise be drawn into the collection cap 21 , or used between the agitating pipe 19 and spillway 61 assembly . the actual length of the pipe can vary to whatever length is necessary to prevent the fluid from reaching the collection cap 21 . as shown in fig2 , the spillway 61 is a pvc pipe subassembly installed on the top opening of the agitating pipe 19 . its purpose is to further allow gases within the drilling fluid to separate from the fluid inside the agitating pipe , prevent the collection cap 21 from being clogged with drilling fluid , and to allow an escape of the fluid from the agitating pipe 19 . it can be constructed in many different ways , but is currently configured with a pvc female tee 63 , with a collection cap 21 mounted on the side opening , and the main line connection of the tee 63 attached to the agitating pipe 19 through a 45 ° coupling 69 on one side , and a drilling fluid discharge route wherein the fluid flows through the female tee 63 , an elbow 65 , and 45 ° discharge coupling 67 and optional long stack 51 drilling mud exit pipe mounted on the other side . shown in fig2 , the extension gas chamber 71 is an optional component length of pipe added between the tee 63 of the spillway assembly 61 and the collection cup 21 to reduce the danger that drilling mud may be drawn into the collection cup 21 . shown in fig2 , an optional long stack 51 is an added length of pipe used as an extension on the end of the spillway , affixed to the open end of the 45 ° male coupling to prevent splashing of the drilling mud when the drilling mud is directed into the possum belly . it is also used in the sample box to prevent splashing of the drilling mud , when catching formation samples while the possum belly is being bypassed . the invention can be made with many different configurations . the specific discussion and explanation above is not intended to be a limiting description of the invention , but merely one embodiment as the invention is currently constructed .	6
referring to fig2 there is shown , in a block diagram , the control circuit of the anti - skid control system according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig3 illustrates the relationships between the wheel speed vw controlled by the control circuit of fig2 and the brake pressure pw , hold signal hs and decay signal ds . the anti - skid control system shown in fig2 inlcudes wheel speed sensors 1 to 4 from which are derived signals representing wheel speeds vw1 , vw2 , vw3 , and vw4 respectively . the wheel speed vw1 , which is now to be contolled , is inputted to a logic circuit 5 . the respective wheel speeds vw1 to vw4 are inputted to a highest - wheel speed detector 6 to select the highest one of the those wheel speeds . the highest wheel speed selected in the detector 6 is indicated at vv in fig3 . thus , if such a phenomenon that the wheel speed vw1 suddenly exceeds the vehicle speed as mentioned above in connection with fig1 occurs , then the selected highest wheel speed vv will also represent the same changes as the wheel speed vw1 , as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in fig3 . subsequently , the selected highest wheel speed vv is passed through a limiter 7 , which is arranged to limit the acceleration and deceleration of the selected highest wheel speed vv to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g ; and in this way , a computed vehicle speed indicated at vv &# 39 ; in fig3 is set up which is approximate to the real vehicle speed but has its acceleration and deceleration limited to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g . thus the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ; is only subject to small changes , as will be seen from fig3 . as the wheel speed vw1 is increased abruptly , the reference wheel speed vt is also abruptly increased following the wheel speed vw1 , and the curve representing the wheel speed vw1 and that representing the reference wheel speed vt cross each other at a point a as shown in fig3 ; thus , the logic circuit 5 judges that brake pressure reduction starting condition is fulfilled at the point a , i . e ., at time t8 , so that the decay signal ds is generated which in turn is applied to one of the two input terminals of an and gate 8 , the other input terminal of the and gate 8 being adapted to serve as an inverting terminal . the wheel speed vw1 , and the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ; having its acceleration and deceleration limited to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g are inputted to and compared in a comparator circuit 9 having an output terminal coupled to the inverting terminal of the and gate 8 . the comparator circuit 9 is arranged to provide no output signal in case the wheel speed vw1 is lower than the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ;. thus , in such a case , if the decay signal ds is derived from the logic circuit 5 , then the and gate is turned on so that the decay signal ds is supplied to a brake pressure reducing unit 10 through the and gate 8 , and thereupon the decay valves are opened and thus reduction of the brake pressure is started . the comparator circuit 9 is also arranged to provide an output signal in case the wheel speed vw1 is higher than the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ;, i . e ., vw1 ≧ vv &# 39 ;. in such a case , therefore , even if the decay signal ds is derived from the logic circuit 5 at the time t8 , then the and gate 8 remains turned off and prevents the decay signal ds from being transmitted to the brake pressure reducing unit 10 , so that the decay valves remain closed and no reduction of the brake pressure pw is started . control of the brake pressure reducing unit 10 by the control circuit shown in fig2 is performed in accordance with the flow chart shown in fig4 . first , at step 21 , the respective wheel speeds vw1 to vw4 are read in ; and then at step 22 , the highest one ( vv ) of those wheel speeds is detected . subsequently , at step 23 , the highest wheel speed vv is passed through the limiter 7 ( fig2 ) so that the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ; is established which has its acceleration and deceleration limited in the range from + 1g to - 1g as mentioned above . at step 24 , judgment is made as to whether or not the wheel speed vw1 reached the level of the reference wheel speed vt , and if the result of the judgment is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, then at step 25 , the decay signal ds is generated . if the result of the judgment at the step 24 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, then the process is returned to the step 21 . at step 26 , the wheel speed vw1 and computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ; compared and if vw1 & lt ; vv &# 39 ;, then at step 27 the decay valves are opened , and reduction of the brake pressure pw is started . concurrently , at step 28 , the timer is started . if the result of the comparison at the step 26 is such that vw1 ≧ vv &# 39 ;, then the process is returned to the step 21 , and no reduction of the brake pressure pw is started . at step 29 , judgment is made as to whether or not the time set on the timer elapsed , and if the result of the judgment is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, then the process is advanced to step 30 where judgment is made as to whether or not 15 % recovery of the wheel speed vw1 from low peak thereof occurred . if the result of the judgment at the step 30 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, then at step 31 , the decay signal is interrupted , so that the decay valves are closed and thus the brake pressure pw is held . if the result of the judgment at the step 29 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, then the process is advanced to step 32 where the decay valves are closed , and thus the brake pressure pw is held . referring to fig5 there is shown , in a block diagram , the control circuit of the anti - skid control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig6 illustrates the relationships between the wheel speed vw to be controlled by the control circuit of fig5 and the brake pressure pw , hold signal hs and decay signal ds . in addition to the components incorporated in the arrangement of fig2 it will be noted that the control circuit of fig5 includes a differentiating circuit 11 , a comparator circuit 12 , and a limiter 13 which is similar to that shown at 7 in fig2 . in fig5 therefore , parts corresponding to fig2 are indicated by like reference numerals . with the arrangement of fig5 the wheel speed vw1 is provided to the differentiating circuit 11 to derive the acceleration or deceleration + vw1 or - vw1 of the wheel speed vw1 ; the acceleration or deceleration + vw1 or - vw1 is compared with preset value of + 50g or - 50g in the comparator 12 ; and in case the acceleration or deceleration is equal to or higher than the preset value , then the comparator 12 provides an output , in response to which the limiter 13 is operated so that variations in the wheel speed vw1 are limited to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g and thus at the output terminal of the limiter 13 , there occurs the wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ; having the acceleration and deceleration limited to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g . the limiter 13 is also designed such that in case the acceleration or deceleration of the wheel speed vw1 does not exceed the preset value + 50g or - 50g , then the wheel speed vw1 appears at the output terminal thereof as it is . this embodiment is characterized in that in case the acceleration or deceleration of wheel speed vw1 is equal to or higher than the preset value + 50g or - 50g , then instead of the real wheel speed vw1 , the wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ; having its acceleration and deceleration limited by the limiter 13 to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g , is judged in the logic circuit 5 . the reference wheel speed is made to follow the wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ; as indicated at vt &# 39 ;; thus , at time t8 when the wheel speed vw1 momentarily exceeds the vehicle speed , i . e ., when &# 34 ; whisker &# 34 ; occurs , the reference wheel speed vt &# 39 ; has such a magnitude as indicated at b and never crosses the wheel speed vw1 , so that the logic circuit 5 provides no decay signal ds . it will be apparent that since the aforementioned wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ; and the computed vehicle speed vv &# 39 ; are compared in the comparator 9 , the embodiment of fig5 operates in substantially the same manner as the embodiment of fig2 when the acceleration or deceleration of the wheel speed vw1 do not exceed the preset value of + 50g or - 50g . fig7 is a flow chart illustrating the manner in which the brake pressure reducing unit 10 is controlled by the control circuit of fig5 . at step 41 , the respective wheel speeds vw1 to vw4 are read in ; and then at step 42 , the acceleration and deceleration vw1 and - vw1 of the wheel speed vw1 are derived . subsequently , at step 43 , the absolute value of the acceleration or deceleration + vw1 or - vw1 is compared with 50g , and if \| vw1 \|≧ 50g , then at step 44 , the wheel speed vw1 is switched to the wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ; having its acceleration and deceleration limited to be in the range from + 1g to - 1g . at step 45 , the reference wheel speed vt &# 39 ; is set up on the basis of the wheel speed vw1 &# 39 ;. in this case , the brake pressure reduction starting condition ( vw1 &# 39 ;≦ vt &# 39 ;) is not fulfilled , so that no brake pressure reduction is permitted , and the process is finished . if \| vw1 \|& lt ; 50g at the step 43 , then the process is advanced to step 46 where the highest wheel speed vv is detected . the remaining steps 47 to 56 are similar to the steps 23 to 32 in fig4 and therefore further description thereof will be omitted . as will be appreciated from the above discussion , according to the present invention , when the wheel speed is abnormally increased over the vehicle speed , i . e , when so - called &# 34 ; whisker &# 34 ; occurs as a result of the wheel behavior being abruptly changed for one reason or another during anti - skid control operation , no brake pressure reduction mode is permitted to occur , so that occurrence of non - braking condition can be prevented . while the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to specific embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited thereto but encompasses all changes and modifications which will become possible within the scope of the appended claims .	1
a computer 10 or other device capable of producing a unipolar pulse is connected to an input terminal 12 of the embodiment of the present invention . a capacitor 14 is connected between the input terminal 12 and an input terminal of a &# 34 ; one - shot &# 34 ; or pulse producing device 16 . an output terminal 18 of one - shot device 16 is connected to an input terminal 20 of a flip - flop device 22 . flip - flop 22 has first and second output terminals 24 and 26 for signals q and q respectively . an and - driver device 30 ( which is a combination of an and device and an amplifier ) has a first input terminal 32 connected to one - shot output terminal 18 , and a second input terminal 34 connected to the output of an inverting amplifier 36 whose input is connected to first flip - flop output terminal 24 . in a similar manner a second and - driver device 40 has a first input terminal 42 connected to one - shot output terminal 18 , and a second input terminal 44 connected to first flip - flop output terminal 24 . an output driving transistor 50 has its base terminal 52 connected through a resistor 54 to second and - driver input terminal 44 . a collector terminal 56 of driving transistor 50 is connected to an output terminal 58 of first and - driver 30 , while the emitter terminal 57 of transistor 50 is connected to ground . a second output driving transistor 60 has its base terminal 62 connected through a resistor 64 to the and - driver second input terminal 34 , while its emitter terminal 67 is connected to ground . the collector terminal 66 of second transistor 60 is connected to an output terminal 68 of the second and - driver 40 . the and - driver output terminals 58 , 68 are adapted to receive the coil 100 of a latching relay . as an optional addition , a switch position indicator circuit 70 may be included in the present invention . indicator 70 is comprised of a latching flip - flop lamp driver 72 having two input terminals respectively connected to the first and second flip - flop output terminals 24 and 26 . flip - flop driver 72 has first and second output terminals 74 and 76 . indicator lights 78 and 80 each have one terminal connected to a + voltage source and the other terminals are respectively connected to output terminals 74 and 76 . another optional addition to the present invention is a momentary contact switch 82 connected between a positive voltage source and input terminal 12 . a resistor 84 , used in conjunction with the switch 82 , is connected between input terminal 12 and ground . all elements utilized in the embodiment of the present invention are conventional integrated circuits . for example , the one - shot device 16 is a type mc 9601 . the flip - flop 22 is a type sn 7474 , while the latching flip - flop lamp - driver 72 is a type 7407 . the inverting amplifier 36 is a type sn 7404 . the two and - drivers 30 , 40 are each a type nh - 0005 - cn . the output driving transistors are each type 2n657 . in operation , a control pulse ( typically 4 volts ) is received at the input terminal 12 . the positive going transition of the leading pulse edge is passed through capacitor 14 ( which acts to block the dc component of the control pulse ) causing one - shot device 16 to produce a fixed - duration output pulse . the duration of this pulse is adjustable to allow for varying characteristics of relay control coils that are to be used in conjunction with the present invention . in the embodiment of the present invention the duration the one - shot output pulse is typically chosen to be 40 mili - seconds . the associated latching relay coil 100 is a voltage actuated device , typically actuated in the voltage range of from 6 to 60 volts dc , and with device actuation current to 3 amps . in response to a one - shot device output pulse , the state of output signals q , q of flip - flop 22 reverses ( i . e . a &# 34 ; high &# 34 ; q signal changes to &# 34 ; low ,&# 34 ; while a low q signal changes to high ). the inverting amplifier operates functionally as a logic signal inverter . that is to say , it changes a high level signal present at its input terminal to a low level signal at its output terminal , and conversely , changes a low level signal at its input terminal to a high level signal at its output terminal . assume now that signal q is high and signal q is low . the high q signal passes through inverter 36 causing a low voltage signal at the inverter output . this low level inverter output signal is applied to the first and - driver input terminal 34 and to the second transistor base terminal 62 ( causing it to remain biased in a shut - off condition ). the high signal q is also applied to the second and - driver second input terminal 44 and to the first transistor base terminal 52 providing it with a saturation bias voltage . the signal pulse from one - shot 16 , applied to the first and - driver first input terminal 32 , is of opposite level ( i . e . low ) as that of high q signal at second input terminal 34 . the opposite level signals applied to the first and - driver 30 cause it to have a low output voltage . at the same time , the pulse from one - shot 16 is applied to the second and - driver first input terminal 42 . since both and terminals are high , the output voltage from second and - driver 40 becomes high . current flows ( in the direction of arrow 102 ) from second and - driver output terminal 68 , through the relay coil 100 , the collector - emitter ( of first output transistor driver 50 ), to ground , thereby energizing the relay coil in a first direction . when the one - shot pulse goes to zero , both and - drivers 30 , 40 are caused to have a low output voltage , the output transistors 50 , 60 then become non - conductive , and the relay coil current ceases . a second control pulse causes bistable flip - flop 22 output signal q to change to low , and complimentary signal q to change to high . the low q signal passes through inverter 36 causing a high voltage at the inverter output . this inverter high level output signal is applied to the first and - driver input terminal 34 and to the second transistor base terminal 62 , causing it to remain biased in a saturation condition . the low signal q is also applied to the second and - driver second input terminal 44 , and to the first transistor base terminal 52 providing it with a cutoff bias voltage . the signal pulse from one - shot 16 , applied to the first and - driver first input terminal 32 is of the same level ( i . e . high ) as that of the inverted low q signal at second and - driver second input terminal 34 . the high level signals applied to first and - driver 30 causes it to have a high output voltage . at the same time , the pulse from one - shot 16 is applied to the second and - driver first input terminal 42 . since signals levels at the input terminals of second and - driver 40 input terminals are of opposite signal level , the output voltage of second and - driver 40 will be low . the above described reversal of signals q , q thus results in establishing an activating voltage ( across the voltage actuated device 100 ) and a sustaining current ( arrow 103 ) in the direction opposite to that established before the control pulse causing reversals of signals q , q . of course the opposite direction of current in relay coil 100 causes associated switch contacts to switch to opposite terminal sets . the optional signal indicator 70 indicates the state of the output of flip - flop 22 , which is indicative of the state of latching relay coil 100 . a high q signal from first output terminal 24 applied at a corresponding input of latching flip - flop lamp driver 72 causes corresponding light bulb 78 to light . alternately , a high q ( corresponding to a low q signal ) signal from second output terminal 26 ( applied at the corresponding input of latching flip - flop lamp driver 72 ) causes a corresponding light bulb 80 to light . it should be noted that when compared to the level of the output signal q , the signal at the output of the inverting amplifier 36 is of the same level as that at the complimentary output signal q . therefore the inverting amplifier 36 could be omitted and connections made to its output terminal then would be connected to bistable flip - flop complimentary output signal terminal 26 . the optional switch arrangement may be used to manually trigger the switching function of the embodiment of the present invention . closing of switch 82 causes a connection of resistor 84 to the voltage source , resulting in a control signal present at input terminal 12 . the positive going transition of this signal is treated in the same way and has the same affect as the previously described control signal . obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described .	7
the compressive strength p of the individual glass bubble is represented by equation ( 10 . 58 ) in gendai zairyo rikigaku ( modern strength of materials ), page 202 . the equation is : ## equ1 ## in the equation , e is a young &# 39 ; s modulus for the glass of the bubbles , t is a wall thickness of the bubble , r is a radius of the bubble , and ν is a poisson &# 39 ; s ratio for the glass . it is seen from the equation that compressive strength of bubbles is determined by young &# 39 ; s modulus and poisson &# 39 ; s ratio of the glass under a condition when the wall thickness and the radius of the glass bubble are constant . since poisson &# 39 ; s ratio of glass is generally constant , it is understood that the compressive strength of glass bubbles is substantially dependent on young &# 39 ; s modulus of the glass . accordingly , the present inventors use young &# 39 ; s modulus of glass as an index of the compressive strength of glass bubbles . the following conditions are required for producing glass bubbles . it is required in the melting process that meltability is excellent without devitrification and gall nondissolved in the molten glass , because heterogeneous glass considerably lowers the compressive strength of glass bubbles . further , it is required in reheating process for expanding glass particles into bubbles that gas is generated at an amount appropriate to form bubbles without explosion . as conditions required to the glass bubbles other than the producing conditions , the high compressive strength , that is , the high young &# 39 ; s modulus as the index thereof is needed and it is also necessary that alkali is little leached from the glass . the glass composition of the glass bubbles according to the present invention comprises glass forming ingredients appropriately selected with amounts thereof being restricted in the specified ranges . in particular , the glass composition contains , as essential elements , tio 2 and zro 2 which serves to reduce the amount of alkali leached from the glass and to improve the young &# 39 ; s modulus of the glass , so that the glass composition fulfils the conditions for the glass bubbles and production thereof as described above . now , description will be made as to reasons why amounts of ingredients are restricted as described above . sio 2 is an element for a network former of the glass . amount of sio 2 is 40 - 59 wt . %. use of sio 2 less than 40 wt . % disadvantageously increases the alkali amount leached from the glass , while more than 59 wt . % degrades the meltability of the glass . preferably , the amount of sio 2 is 42 wt . % to 58 wt . %. r 2 o is at least one selected from li 2 o , na 2 o , and k 2 o and is a melting element for the glass . r 2 o amount is 2 - 17 wt . %. less than 2 wt . % degrades the meltability of the glass and more than 17 wt . % disadvantageously increases the alkali amount leached from the glass . r 2 o is preferably 3 wt . % to 16 wt . % in amount . b 2 o 3 amount is 1 - 25 wt . %. if the amount is less than 1 wt . %, the meltability of the glass is disadvantageously lowered and alkali is considerably leached from the glass . use of more than 25 wt . % lowers the compressive strength of the glass bubbles . a preferable amount of b 2 o 3 is 3 - 23 wt . % and an especially preferred amount of b 2 o 3 is 3 . 5 - 23 wt . %. ro is at least one of cao , mgo , zno , and sro and is 5 - 25 wt . % in amount . ro less than 5 wt . % degrades the meltability of the glass and more than 25 wt . % causes devitrification of the glass . preferably , the amount of ro is 6 - 22 wt . %. ro 2 is at least one selected from tio 2 and zro 2 and is 6 - 40 wt . % in amount . ro 2 less than 6 wt . % undesirably lowers the compressive strength of glass bubbles and increases alkali amount leached from the glass . use of ro 2 more than 40 wt . % degrades the meltability of the glass and causes devitrification of the glass . the preferable amount of ro 2 is 7 - 26 wt . % and more preferably , 10 - 26 wt . %. al 2 o 3 is an optional element and is added in the glass by an amount up to 13 wt . %. an amount of al 2 o 3 tends to degrades the meltability of the glass . therefore , the amount is limited 13 wt . % or preferably 11 wt . % at the maximum . p 2 o 5 is an optional element for promoting so 3 to dissolve into the glass . however , since an amount of p 2 o 5 tends to generate the gall nondissolving in the glass , the amount should be limited 3 wt . % preferably 2 wt . % at the maximum . so 3 is a blowing agent for generating so 2 gas to form glass bubbles and is contained 0 . 1 - 1 wt . % in the glass . when the amount is less than 0 . 1 wt . %, the glass bubbles cannot be formed . however , use of so 3 more than 1 wt . % generates the gall nondissolved in the molten glass . the preferable amount of so 3 is 0 . 2 - 0 . 8 wt . %. glass bubbles of a glass composition according to the present invention are produced in the conventional production manner as described bellow . a glass batch is prepared which includes glass materials such as silica , alumina , and other materials , and blowing agent such as salt cake . the glass batch is melted at 1300 ° c . for two hours to obtain a glass plate . the glass plate contains so 3 generated from decomposition of the salt cake . then , the glass plate is ground into glass particles and the glass particles are classified to obtain a glass powder having particles sizes of 53 micrometers or less . the glass powder is again heated at 1400 ° c . and then put into is expanded by so 2 gas generated from so 3 to form a glass bubble and the glass bubble floats on the water . then , glass bubbles floating on the water are collected . the collected glass bubbles have a diameter of 1 - 130 micrometers and a wall thickness of 0 . 5 - 20 micrometers . samples 1 - 17 in the table are ones according to the present invention and samples a and b are comparative samples which are known ones disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 983 , 550 and 4 , 391 , 646 , respectively . the table contains young &# 39 ; s modulus of each sample glass and alkali amount leached from the glass sample . from comparison of the samples 1 - 17 with known samples a and b , it is understood that samples according to the present invention is superior to the known samples in young &# 39 ; s modulus and alkali amount leached from the glass . the young &# 39 ; s modulus and the leached alkali amount were measured according to a test for dynamic modulus of elasticity by a pulse echo overlap method prescribed in jis ( japanese industrial standard ) r 1602 and an alkali leach test prescribed in jis r 3502 , respectively . according to the method described above , glass bubbles were produced by use of sample glasses . thus , the obtained glass bubbles were measured to have diameters of 1 - 130 micrometers and wall thickness of 0 . 5 - 20 micrometers . __________________________________________________________________________ ( wt %) sample no . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 a b__________________________________________________________________________sio . sub . 2 43 . 8 45 . 8 43 . 8 47 . 3 53 . 3 54 . 3 54 . 7 57 . 0 44 . 0 45 . 5 53 . 6 48 . 6 53 . 1 44 . 9 50 . 5 45 . 5 43 . 5 56 . 0 74 . 8li . sub . 2 o -- -- -- -- -- 4 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 . 5 -- -- -- -- -- -- na . sub . 2 o 4 . 0 2 . 0 7 . 0 4 . 0 3 . 0 4 . 0 4 . 0 5 . 0 8 . 7 3 . 0 7 . 4 5 . 3 2 . 7 5 . 5 6 . 0 5 . 0 4 . 0 6 . 0 7 . 0k . sub . 2 o 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0 3 . 0 4 . 0 4 . 0 3 . 0 5 . 9 5 . 8 -- 5 . 7 5 . 5 3 . 0 3 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 5 . 0 1 . 0b . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 6 . 9 8 . 6 7 . 9 8 . 9 8 . 9 4 . 6 10 . 0 6 . 0 4 . 3 4 . 0 3 . 5 4 . 2 8 . 0 16 . 0 13 . 0 19 . 0 22 . 0 12 . 0 6 . 0cao 15 . 0 15 . 0 16 . 0 16 . 0 8 . 0 6 . 0 6 . 0 6 . 0 4 . 4 16 . 0 14 . 1 13 . 0 8 . 0 16 . 0 11 . 0 13 . 0 12 . 0 12 . 0 10 . 0mgo -- 1 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- 9 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0 . 1 0 . 2bao -- 1 . 0 2 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 5 . 3 -- 5 . 3 -- -- -- -- -- -- zno 1 . 0 -- -- -- 1 . 0 10 . 0 -- 1 . 0 -- -- -- -- 2 . 4 2 . 0 2 . 0 1 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 -- sro -- -- -- 2 . 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- tio . sub . 2 14 . 0 10 . 0 16 . 0 12 . 5 -- 7 . 5 10 . 0 8 . 0 12 . 5 24 . 0 3 . 0 11 . 0 10 . 0 7 . 0 4 . 0 7 . 0 5 . 0 -- -- zro . sub . 2 7 . 0 10 . 0 3 . 0 -- 12 . 5 5 . 0 5 . 0 10 . 0 5 . 8 -- 11 . 0 7 . 0 3 . 0 -- 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 -- -- al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 5 . 0 3 . 0 1 . 0 6 . 0 10 . 0 -- 6 . 0 3 . 3 4 . 8 -- -- 4 . 7 -- 5 . 0 4 . 0 2 . 0 3 . 0 6 . 0 0 . 1p . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 . 0 1 . 5 -- -- -- 1 . 0 -- 1 . 0 0 . 5 0 . 5so . sub . 3 0 . 3 0 . 6 0 . 3 0 . 3 0 . 3 0 . 6 0 . 3 0 . 7 0 . 6 0 . 7 0 . 6 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 6 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 4 0 . 4leached 0 . 08 0 . 07 0 . 10 0 . 08 0 . 07 0 . 11 0 . 07 0 . 07 0 . 12 0 . 08 0 . 05 0 . 09 0 . 08 0 . 10 0 . 09 0 . 13 0 . 10 0 . 22 0 . 41alkaliamount ( mg ) young &# 39 ; s 90 87 84 79 82 81 81 80 81 77 81 82 80 83 80 79 80 70 68modulus ( gpa ) __________________________________________________________________________	2
the present invention relates to a sport or game ball having an integral dual action pump . the pump is retained within the ball and may be easily used to introduce air into the ball and thereby inflate the ball . the pump preferably comprises three components , a cylinder , a piston disposed in the cylinder , and a valve assembly . the piston is movable within the cylinder between an extended position and an inserted position . the valve assembly includes a plurality of valves , described in greater detail herein , that enable air to be admitted into the ball during each direction of movement of the piston . that is , air is introduced into the ball during movement of the piston from an extended position to an inserted position . and , air is introduced into the ball during movement of the piston from the inserted position to the extended position . furthermore , it is not necessary that the piston be displaced along the entire stroke length , i . e . between a fully extended position and a fully inserted position or vice versa . the unique pump of the present invention delivers air to the ball during movement in either direction of the piston . it will be appreciated however that some minimum or threshold degree of piston travel in either direction may be necessary to achieve a sufficient pressure to cause air to enter the ball . referring to fig1 of the drawings , a sport ball 10 is illustrated incorporating a preferred embodiment inflation pump 5 of the invention . the ball which is illustrated is one typical basketball construction comprising a carcass having a rubber bladder 12 for air retention , a layer 14 composed of layers of nylon or polyester yarn windings wrapped around the bladder 12 and an outer rubber layer 16 . as will be understood , “ carcass ” refers to the flexible body of the ball . for a laminated ball , an additional outer layer 18 of leather or a synthetic material may be used which preferably comprises panels that are applied by adhesive and set by cold molding to the rubber layer 16 . the windings 14 are randomly oriented and two or three layers thick , and they form a layer that cannot be extended to any significant degree . the layer formed by the windings 14 also restricts the ball 10 from expanding to any significant extent beyond its regulation size when inflated beyond its normal playing pressure . this layer 14 for footballs , volleyballs and soccer balls is referred to as a lining layer and is usually composed of cotton or polyester cloth that is impregnated with a flexible binder resin such as vinyl or latex rubber . the outer layer 18 may be stitched for some sport balls , such as a soccer ball or a volleyball . the outer layer may optionally have a foam layer backing or a separate foam layer . [ 0028 ] fig2 illustrates a football 110 incorporating an inflation pump 5 according to the present invention . the football 110 comprises a carcass having a rubber bladder 112 for air retention , and an outer layer 118 of leather or synthetic material . as will be appreciated , the carcass of the football 110 may include one or more additional layers such as a winding layer or reinforcement layer , a foam or backing layer , and a secondary rubber lining layer . other sport ball constructions , such as sport balls produced by a molding process , such as blow molding , may also be used in the invention . for an example of a process for molding sport balls , see , for example , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 261 , 400 , incorporated herein by reference . materials suitable for use as the bladder include , but are not limited to , butyl , latex , urethane , and other rubber materials generally known in the art . examples of materials suitable for the winding layer include , but are not limited to , nylon , polyester and the like . examples of materials suitable for use as the outer layer , or cover , include , but are not limited to , polyurethanes , including thermoplastic polyurethanes ; polyvinylchloride ( pvc ); leather ; synthetic leather ; and composite leather . materials suitable for use as the optional foam layer include , but are not limited to , neoprene , sbr , tpe , eva , or any foam capable of high or low energy absorption . examples of commercially available high or low energy absorbing foams include the confor ™ open - celled polyurethane foams available from aearo ear specialty composites , inc ., and neoprene ™ ( polychloroprene ) foams available from dupont dow elastomers . referring to fig3 incorporated into the carcass of the ball 10 of the invention during its formation is a rubber pump boot or housing 20 that defines a central opening and an outwardly extending flange 22 which is preferably bonded to the bladder 12 using a rubber adhesive . the boot 20 is preferably located between the rubber bladder 12 and the layer of windings 14 . the boot 20 may be constructed of any suitable material , such as butyl rubber , natural rubber , urethane rubber , or any suitable elastomer or rubber material known in the art , or combinations thereof . a molding plug ( not shown ) is inserted into the boot opening during the molding and winding process to maintain the proper shape of the central opening and to allow the bladder 12 to be inflated during the manufacturing process . the molding plug is preferably aluminum , composite or rubber , and most preferably aluminum . the central opening defined through the boot 20 is configured with a groove 24 to retain a flange extending from the upper end of a pump cylinder described and illustrated later herein . the pump cylinder can optionally be bonded to the boot 20 using any suitable flexible adhesive ( epoxy , urethane , cyanoacrylate , or any other flexible adhesive known in the art ). referring to fig4 and 5 , a preferred embodiment dual action pump according to the present invention comprises a plunger or piston 210 and a pump cylinder 240 . the pump cylinder 240 shown is a right cylinder , but other cylinders that are not right cylinders , such as a cylinder having a non - circular cross - section , may be used . specifically , referring to fig4 the plunger 210 includes a plunger body 220 having a cap 212 defined or formed on one end , a sealing end 232 opposite from the cap 212 , and a tubular wall 230 extending between the sealing end 232 and the cap 212 . the cap 212 defines an outer face 214 . the sealing end 232 defines an annular recess 234 along its outer surface . the tubular wall 230 defines a hollow interior defined by a circumferential interior surface 236 extending along the length of the plunger 210 , or at least substantially so . the hollow interior of the plunger 210 is accessible from both the sealing end 232 and the cap end 212 . as described in greater detail herein , a one - way valve 286 is disposed within the hollow interior of the plunger 210 and permits air flow through that interior in only one direction . the pump cylinder 240 is generally in the shape of a right cylinder having two open ends and a unique sidewall configuration . specifically , the cylinder 240 includes a head end 242 , a nozzle end 270 , and a generally cylindrical sidewall 246 extending therebetween . defined along the head end 242 is a lip or flange 244 . the cylinder 240 also includes a base 272 proximate the nozzle end 270 . the inside of the cylinder 240 is generally hollow and is defined by an interior circumferential surface 290 which is the inner surface of the sidewall 246 . the sidewall 246 also defines an exterior surface , opposite from the interior surface 290 . the hollow interior of the cylinder 240 is also defined by an end wall 292 proximate the base 272 . the base 272 of the cylinder 240 defines a discharge passage 274 . the passage 274 generally extends from the hollow interior of the cylinder 240 to the nozzle end 270 of the cylinder 240 . and so , upon incorporation of the pump into a ball , the discharge passage 274 provides communication between the interior of the cylinder 240 and the interior of the ball . as noted , the sidewall 246 of the cylinder 240 features a unique passageway configuration . an intake 248 , is provided by a sidewall passage 252 extending between the intake 248 and a sidewall exit aperture 254 . the sidewall exit aperture 254 is defined near the base 272 of the cylinder 240 . a one - way valve 255 is fitted over the aperture 254 that only allows air to flow out of the interior of the pump cylinder 240 . it will be appreciated that although the valve 255 is depicted schematically in fig5 preferably that valve is a one - way valve as described in greater detail herein . the cylinder 240 also defines a second passage 260 defined within a portion of the sidewall 246 . the passage 260 extends between an aperture 262 defined along the head end 242 of the cylinder 240 and an aperture 266 defined along the circumferential interior wall 290 of the cylinder 240 . a one - way valve 267 is disposed within the passage 260 and preferably near the aperture 266 . the function and configuration of the valve 267 is described in greater detail herein . upon assembly of the preferred embodiment dual action pump according to the present invention , the plunger 210 is inserted in the hollow interior of the cylinder 240 . specifically , the plunger 210 is disposed within the hollow interior region defined within the cylinder 240 . the plunger 210 is inserted in the cylinder 240 such that the sealing end 232 of the plunger 210 is urged toward the end wall 292 of the cylinder 240 . additional seals , described herein , are utilized between the plunger 210 and the cylinder 240 . as shown in fig6 and 7 , the dual action pump 5 of the present invention comprises two seals referred to herein as a primary seal 300 and a secondary seal 320 . the primary and secondary seals , 300 and 320 respectively , function in conjunction with the one - way valves 255 , 267 , and 286 , to form two pumping chambers designated herein as chamber a and chamber b . chamber a is generally defined as the interior cylindrical region below the primary seal 300 and chamber b is generally defined as the interior annular region between the primary seal 300 and the secondary seal 320 and between the exterior surface of the plunger 210 and the interior surface 290 of the cylinder 240 . before further describing chambers a and b , it is instructive to consider the primary and secondary seals 300 and 320 . the primary seal 300 is preferably provided by an o - ring 302 disposed within the annular recess 234 defined along the sealing end 232 of the plunger 210 . the o - ring 302 is disposed within the annular region between the sealing end 232 of the plunger 210 and the interior circumferential surface 290 of the pump cylinder 240 . as will be appreciated , as the plunger 210 is moved relative to the pump cylinder 240 , as described in greater detail herein , the primary seal 300 and specifically , the o - ring 302 , provides an air - tight seal between chamber a below the seal 300 and chamber b above the seal 300 . as the plunger 210 is moved along the length of the pump cylinder 240 , the o - ring 302 is carried along with the sealing end 232 of the plunger while maintaining sealing contact with the interior circumferential surface 290 of the pump cylinder 240 . the primary seal 300 is a two - way seal , and so prevents airflow past the seal 300 in either direction . it will also be appreciated that the primary seal 300 moves along the length of the cylinder 240 as the plunger 210 is displaced or moved therein . that is , the primary seal 300 is not stationary or fixed relative to the cylinder 240 . although the embodiments described herein refer to an o - ring such as o - ring 302 for certain seals , it will be appreciated that other types of seals may be utilized . for example , a seal having a non - circular cross - section may be used . of these , representative examples include , but are not limited to , loaded lip seals and u - cup type seals . the secondary seal 320 is preferably provided by one or more seals , such as an assembly of sealing members , that extend within the annular region between the exterior of the plunger 210 and the interior circumferential surface 290 of the pump cylinder 240 . the secondary seal 320 is preferably a one - way valve which only allows air flow within the annular region defined between the exterior surface of the plunger 210 and the circumferential interior surface 290 of the cylinder 240 , in a direction from the sealing end 232 of the plunger 210 toward the intake 248 defined in the cylinder 240 . it will also be appreciated that the secondary seal 320 is stationary or fixed relative to the cylinder 240 . that is , the secondary seal 320 is not moved along the length of the cylinder 240 as the plunger 210 is displaced . the preferred dual action pump 5 according to the present invention also includes additional sealing members such as an inner annular seal 330 . preferably , the seal 330 is in the form of one or more o - rings . the inner annular seal 330 is disposed at the head end of the cylinder 240 . the inner annular seal 330 is generally seated around the perimeter of the plunger 210 and extends between the outer surface of the plunger 210 and the circumferential interior surface 290 of the cylinder 240 . the inner annular seal 330 prevents passage of air between the regions above and below the seal 330 . as the plunger 210 is moved relative to the cylinder 240 , the inner annular seal 330 generally maintains its position at the head end of the cylinder 240 . the primary seal 300 , the secondary seal 320 , and the inner seal 330 , in addition to performing the noted sealing functions , also serve to maintain alignment of the plunger 210 with respect to the pump cylinder 240 . that is , the seals 300 , 320 , and 330 promote alignment between the plunger 210 and the cylinder 240 , and preferably , ensure that the longitudinal axis of the plunger 210 is not only parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder 240 , but also that these two axes are co - linear with each other . furthermore , the seals 300 , 320 , 330 not only promote the noted alignment between the plunger 210 and the cylinder 240 , but also ensure that this alignment is maintained during movement of the plunger 210 relative to the cylinder 240 . in a preferred embodiment of the pump , a spring ( not shown ) is provided within the pump to urge the plunger 210 up and away from the nozzle end 270 of the cylinder 240 . the plunger may optionally contain a pressure - indicating device ( not shown ), such as a ball or slide , and pressure indication lines , and / or a pressure relief mechanism to reduce the pressure of the ball . referring further to fig6 generally , the operation of the preferred dual action pump 5 is as follows . when the plunger 210 is pulled up or out ( reverse stroke ) from the cylinder 240 , the chamber a increases in volume , thereby causing an initial decrease in pressure therein . air then flows into the hollow passage defined in the plunger 210 , past the one - way valve 286 , and into chamber a . air within chamber a is restricted from entry into annular - shaped chamber b due to the primary seal 300 . concurrently with the increase in volume of chamber a during a reverse stroke of the plunger 210 , chamber b undergoes a decrease in volume . this decrease in volume results in an increase in pressure of air within chamber b and thus causes air to flow past the one - way valve 320 toward the intake 248 defined along the circumferential interior surface 290 of the cylinder 240 . it will be appreciated that air is restricted from flowing out of chamber b past the seal 330 . air is also prevented from flowing out of chamber b via passage 260 by the one - way valve 267 . the valve 267 only permits air flow into chamber b , and not out of chamber b . air then enters the intake 248 and flows into the sidewall passage 252 , and eventually past the one - way valve 255 at the sidewall exit aperture 254 . the exiting air flows into the interior of the sport ball . referring to fig7 when the plunger 210 is pushed in or down ( forward stroke ) with respect to the cylinder 240 , the volume in chamber a decreases , thereby causing a pressure increase therein . air within chamber a cannot flow past the primary seal 300 nor the one - way valve 286 , and so , is urged out of the cylinder through the nozzle end 270 and into the interior of the sport ball . concurrently with the volume in chamber a decreasing , the volume in chamber b is increasing . accordingly , the pressure of air within chamber b decreases . air is drawn into inlet 262 through the passage 260 past the one - way valve 267 and into chamber b . the seal 320 prevents passage of air into chamber b from the region above seal 320 . this process is repeated until the desired amount of air has been added to the ball . with each stroke , both in and out , air is forced into the ball . unlike a typical single action pump where the seal between plunger and cylinder only forms a seal in one direction , the primary seal 300 of the preferred dual action pump 5 seals the chambers a and b in both stroke directions . this allows the air in chamber a to be forced into the ball during the down or forward stroke while preventing the air from escaping . the seal provided by seal 300 also allows the air that is drawn into chamber b to be forced into the passage 252 and then into the ball during the up or reverse stroke while the chamber a refills with air through the inlet in the plunger 210 . as best shown in fig4 and 9 , preferably , disposed near the distal end of the plunger 210 are two outwardly extending flanges 224 and 226 that cooperate with a cylinder collar 350 to hold the plunger 210 within the sidewall 246 of the cylinder 240 , and to release the plunger 210 for pumping . the cylinder collar 350 is also depicted in fig8 . the cylinder collar 350 is secured to the distal end of the cylinder 240 . the plunger 210 extends through the center of the cylinder collar 350 . the collar 350 is preferably cemented into the cylinder 240 using a suitable adhesive , such as a uv cured adhesive . fig8 shows an isometric view of the bottom of the cylinder collar 350 and illustrates open areas 352 on opposite sides of the central opening through which the two flanges 224 and 226 of the plunger 210 can pass in an unlocked position . in a locked position , the plunger 210 is pushed down and rotated such that the two flanges 224 and 226 pass under projections 354 and are rotated into locking recesses 356 . fig9 also illustrates that the cylinder 240 is retained within the ball by engagement between the flange 244 of the cylinder 240 and the groove 24 defined within the boot 20 . as shown in fig4 and 9 , attached to the upper end of the plunger 210 is the cap 212 that is designed to essentially completely fill the hole or aperture in the carcass . in some embodiments , such as a basketball or football , the button or cap 212 is preferably flush or essentially flush with the surface of the ball . in other embodiments , such as a soccer ball , the button or cap 212 is preferably positioned below the surface of the ball . this button 212 may be of any desired material . examples of materials suitable for use as the button or cap 212 include urethane rubber , butyl rubber , natural rubber or any other material known in the art . a preferred rubber for use as the button or cap is a thermoplastic vulcanizate such as santoprene ™ rubber , available from advanced elastomer systems , akron , ohio . the button or cap should match the texture or feel of the outer surface of the ball . the surface of the button or cap may be textured to increase gripping characteristics if desired , such as for a basketball . for a soccer ball , the surface may be smooth . in a preferred embodiment , fibers or other reinforcing materials for the cap may be incorporated into the rubber compound or thermoplastic material during mixing . examples of fibers materials suitable for use include , but are not limited to , polyester , polyamide , polypropylene , kevlar , cellulistic , glass and combinations thereof . incorporation of fibers or other reinforcing materials into the button or cap improves the durability of the button and improves the union of the button or cap and the piston rod , thus preventing the button or cap from shearing off during use . although the pump would still function without the button , it becomes very difficult to use . preferably , the button or cap 212 is co - injected with the plunger 210 as one part . alternatively , the button or cap 212 may be co - injected with a connecting piece , and the button or cap 212 and connecting piece may then be attached to the upper end of the plunger 210 using an adhesive suitable for bonding the two pieces together . co - injecting the button 212 and the plunger 210 as one part , or alternatively , the button 212 and the connecting piece as one part that is mounted to the plunger 210 , provides a more durable part that is less likely to break or come apart during routine use of the ball . the button or cap material and the plunger material need to be selected such that the two materials will adhere when co - injected . testing of various combinations has shown that co - injecting or extruding a soft rubber button , such as a button comprising santoprene ™, and a harder plunger , such as polycarbonate or polypropylene and the like , provides a durable bond without the need for adhesives . the plunger 210 and the connecting piece may be formed of any suitable material , such as , but not limited to , polycarbonate ( pc ), polystyrene ( ps ), acrylic ( pmma ), acrylonitrile - styrene acrylate ( asa ), polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ), acrylonitrile - butadiene styrene ( abs ) copolymer , abs ;/ pc blends , polypropylene ( preferably high impact polypropylene ), polyphenylene oxide , nylon , combinations thereof , or any suitable material known in the art . materials with high impact strength are preferred . the material used for the plunger is preferably clear or transparent , especially if a pressure - indicating device is used so that the user can view it . referring further to fig9 mounted on the upper surface of the cylinder collar 350 is a pad 360 that is engaged by the cap 212 when the plunger 210 is pushed down to lock or unlock the plunger 210 . the pad 360 provides cushioning to the pump . the outer face 214 of the cap 212 may be textured or smooth to match the feel of the ball , as desired . additionally , as shown in fig9 the outer face 214 can define a slot 216 to assist or promote rotation of the plunger 210 . for basketballs , it is preferable that the top of the cap is textured , while for other sport balls , such as soccer balls and footballs , the top of the cap is preferably smooth . [ 0054 ] fig5 - 7 of the drawings show the nozzle end 270 of the pump 5 . fig1 is a detailed cross section of that component . shown in fig1 is one preferred embodiment of a one - way valve assembly of the duckbill - type that is disposed in the nozzle 270 . this assembly comprises an inlet end piece 269 , an outlet end piece 271 and an elastomeric duckbill valve 370 captured between the two end pieces . the end pieces 269 and 271 are preferably plastic , such as a polycarbonate , polypropylene , nylon , polyethylene , or combinations thereof , but may be any material suitable for use . the end pieces may be ultrasonically welded together . although any desired one - way valve can be used on the exit nozzle 270 and although duckbill valves are a common type of one - way valves , a specific duckbill configuration is shown in fig1 . the duckbill valve 370 is preferably formed of an elastomeric silicone material and is molded with a cylindrical barrel 372 having a flange 374 . inside of the barrel 372 is the duckbill 376 which has an upper inlet end 378 molded around the inside circumference into the barrel 372 . the walls or sides 380 of the duckbill 376 taper down to form the straight - line lower end with a duckbill slit 382 . the duckbill functions wherein inlet air pressure forces the duckbill slit 382 open to admit air while the air pressure inside of the ball squeezes the duckbill slit closed to prevent the leakage of air . such a duckbill structure is commercially available from vernay laboratories , inc . of yellow springs , ohio . any type of one - way valve or other valve capable of sealing known in the art may be used , as long as it prevents air from flowing out of the interior of the ball when not desired . a pump assembly of the type described and illustrated herein is preferably made primarily from plastics such as polystyrene , polyethylene , nylon , polycarbonate and combinations thereof , but it can be made of any appropriate material known in the art . although the assembly is small and light weight , perhaps only about 5 to about 25 grams , a weight may optionally be added to the ball structure to counterbalance the weight of the pump mechanism . in such an application , the weight , i . e . the counterweight , is positioned on or within the ball , and has a suitable mass , such that the resulting center of mass of the ball coincides with the geometric center of the ball . in lighter weight or smaller balls , such as a soccer ball , the pump assembly may weigh less and / or be smaller ( shorter ) than a corresponding pump assembly for a heavier ball , such as a basketball . fig1 illustrates such a counterbalance arrangement wherein a pump mechanism generally designated as 405 is on one side of a ball 400 and a standard needle valve 410 is on the opposite side of the ball 400 . in this case , the material 412 forming the needle valve 410 is weighted . additional material can be added to the needle valve housing or the region surrounding the valve . alternatively , a dense metal powder such as tungsten could be added to the rubber compound . the use of another pump or inflation valve is referred to herein as a secondary pump or secondary inflation valve . the additional pump is preferably an integral dual action pump as described herein . the description thus far and the referenced drawings disclose a particular and preferred pump configuration . however , other pump arrangements can be used within the scope of the invention , as long as they utilize at least two chambers to provide for dual action . examples of other pump arrangements that may be used with the invention are shown in co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 594 , 980 , filed jun . 15 , 2000 ; ser . no . 09 / 594 , 547 , filed jun . 14 , 2000 ; ser . no . 09 / 594 , 180 , filed jun . 14 , 2000 ; and ser . no . 09 / 560 , 768 , filed apr . 28 , 2000 , incorporated herein by reference . additional details and features that may be implemented in conjunction with the balls and pumps described herein are provided in u . s . application publication no . us 2002 / 0187866 , filed as ser . no . 10 / 183 , 337 on jun . 25 , 2002 ; u . s . pat . no . 6 , 491 , 595 , filed as ser . no . 09 / 712 , 116 on nov . 14 , 2000 ; and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 287 , 225 filed as ser . no . 09 / 478 , 225 on jan . 6 , 2000 , all of which are hereby incorporated by reference . since the pressure in a sport ball can be too high through overinflation or a temperature increase , or too low through underinflation or air loss , it can be beneficial to have a pressure relief device and / or a pressure - indicating device that is integral to the pump . if the pressure is too low , additional air may be added using the self - contained pump of the invention . if the pressure is too high , the pressure may be relieved by bleeding pressure from the ball with the conventional inflating needle or other implement that will open the conventional inflation valve to release air . alternatively , the pump may have a mechanism that allows the pressure to be relieved , either through action of the pump , or through the use of a relief mechanism built into the pump , such as a mechanism to open the one - way valve if desired to allow air to flow out of the interior of the ball . the pressure - indicating device of the present invention may then be used to determine if the ball is correctly inflated . if too much air is removed , additional air may be added using the pump . the foregoing description is , at present , considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present invention . however , it is contemplated that various changes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the present invention . therefore , the foregoing description is intended to cover all such changes and modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present invention , including all equivalent aspects .	0
fig1 shows the location of each device , and fig2 and 3 show the first functional structure of the indication display unit for vehicles according to the present invention . in fig1 an indication projector 1 that stores a display device 1a is fixed at the ceiling 10 above the driving seat , and an lc board 2 is disposed on the panel mounted on top of a surface of the dashboard 3 in front of the windshield 20 . the display device 1a inside the indication projector 1 indicates information about high speed etc . and its indicating image is projected on the lc board 2 so that the driver can sight the projected image reflected thereby . thus , the image projected from the display device 1a appears as a virtual image x behind the lc board 2 at the distance a &# 39 ; which is equal to that between the display device 1a and the panel surface . the driver 30 sights this virtual image x . fig2 shows the dashboard 3 and the lc board 2 on the panel surface . the lc board interferes or transmits the light by on / off operation of the energized voltage which is supplied from a circuit ( not shown ). when the lcd inside the lc board 2 becomes non - transmissive state , the reflected image thereon projected from the projector 1 can be sighted . in the dashboard 3 , an alarm indicator 4 composed of a pattern mask 41 such as an alarm indication etc ., a lamp 42 and a fluorescent tube 5 for clock indication are mounted . fig3 shows an example of the displayed image on the panel surface . as shown in fig3 ( a ), when the vehicle is moving , the lc board 2 becomes on state and the speed indication [ 188 ] a of the indication projector 1 is displayed thereon . on the other hand , when the vehicle is not in the moving state , the lc board 2 becomes in the transmissive state as shown in fig3 ( b ), so that various indicators located therebehind can be directly sighted . in the same figure , a crt display 7 for indicating various information concerning navigation , an lcd display 6 of the dot - matrix type for indicating fuel quantity are also shown apart from the displaying surface 5 &# 39 ; of the fluorescent tube 5 and also the surface 4 &# 39 ; of the alarm indicator 4 . in the above structure , only the vehicle speed indication as a minimum requirement can be shown by on / off switching operation of the whole lc board 2 in its moving state . however , as shown in fig3 ( c ), apart from this speed indication , the image displayed on the display surface 4 &# 39 ; of the alarm indicator 4 , on the display surface 5 &# 39 ; of the fluorescent tube 5 and on the lcd display 6 of the dot - matrix type can also be sighted even in its moving state by changing the electrode pattern of the lc board 2 in the predetermined part thereof . by the way , the displayed image in the above case can be easily changed to those shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ). fig4 shows the second functional structure in which a dot - matrix type lc board ( lc board that generates indicating image itself ) is adopted , and fig5 shows an example of this displayed image in the above embodiment in which the reflecting board itself has a display function . since the dot - matrix type lc board 2 &# 39 ; can change its on / off state per each dot individually , the part in the on state can be used as a reflecting surface as shown in fig5 for displaying the image projected from the indication projector 1 such as a speed indication a etc . while in the on - state part thereof a dotted image such as b generated by itself can be displayed at the same time . as explained above , when the displaying function is given to the reflecting means ( a dot - matrix type lc board 2 &# 39 ;), more space can be made for other indications inside the dashboard 3 &# 39 ; as shown in fig4 . furthermore , even in the above second functional structure , other indicators can also be mounted behind the dot - matrix type lc board 2 &# 39 ; so as to provide the direct image therefrom in the parts 2a &# 39 ; and 2b &# 39 ; which are in the off state as shown in fig3 ( c ). it should be noted that in the above situation no indicator should be mounted behind the part of the surface where a figure or a letter such as b is to be displayed . as shown above , since the present invention adopts an lc board as a reflecting means , the transmissive rate thereof can be changed , so that the clearance of the displayed image is greatly improved compared with the conventional display unit which uses a semi - translucent mirror as its reflecting means . furthermore , since the reflecting board itself has a display function in the second structure , other indicators therebehind are not required in the normal state . apart from the dot - matrix type lc board , a display whose electrode pattern is preset such as a segment type display can also be used . the lc board used in the above second functional structure can be of the two modes ; the tn mode ( twisted nematic mode ), and the guest - host mode . in the tn mode , as shown in fig6 ( a ) the lc board 21 and its electrodes are interposed by the two transparent glasses 22 , on each of the surfaces of which a polarizing board 23 is respectively disposed . in the guest - host mode , as shown in fig6 ( b ) the lc board is interposed by two transparent glasses 221 and 222 , and a polarizing board 23 is disposed on the surface of the above transparent glass 222 which is on the opposite surface to the reflecting surface . in this mode , the reflective rate of the reflecting surface of a transparent glass 221 can be freely settled by coating operation thereon . while the invention has been particularly shown and described in reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .	1
in the compounds of the formula i , the term &# 34 ; lower alkyl &# 34 ; is meant to include a straight or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as , for example , methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , sec - butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , amyl , isoamyl , neopentyl , hexyl , and the like . lower alkoxy or 0 - alkyl of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms as defined above for &# 34 ; lower alkyl &# 34 ;. lower alkanoyl is a straight or branched ## str3 ## group of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain as defined above . the compounds of formula i are useful both in the free base form and in the form of acid addition salts . both forms are within the scope of the invention . in practice , use of the salt form damounts to use of the base form . appropriate pharmaceutically acceptable salts within the scope of the invention are those derived from mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid ; and organic acids such as ethanesulfonic acid , benzenesulfonic acid , p - toluenesulfonic acid , and the like , giving the hydrochloride , sulfamate , ethanesulfonate , benzenesulfonate , p - toluenesulfonate , and the like , respectively . the acid addition salts of said basic compounds are prepared either by dissolving the free base in aqueous or aqueous alcohol solution or other suitable solvents containing the appropriate acid and isolating the salt by evaporating the solution , or by reacting the free base and acid in an organic solvent , in which case the salt separates directly or can be obtained by concentration of the solution . the compounds of the invention may contain asymmetric carbon atoms . the invention includes the individual diastereomers and mixtures thereof . the individual diastereomers may be prepared or isolated by methods known in the art . a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a compound of the formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula ii and x , x &# 39 ;, a , b , r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a compound of formula i wherein r 1 is of formula ii ; x , x &# 39 ;, a , and b are hydrogen , and y , r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . another preferred embodiment is a compound of formula i wherein r 1 is of formula ii ; x , x &# 39 ;, a , and b are hydrogen ; r 2 is hydrogen , halogen , nr i r ii where r i and r ii are independently hydrogen , lower alkyl or phenyl , sr where r is hydrogen , lower alkyl or phenyl , and y , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . still another preferred embodiment is a compound of formula i wherein r 1 is of formula ii ; x , x &# 39 ;, a , and b are hydrogen ; r 2 is hydrogen , chlorine , or amino ; y is oxygen , and r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . a further preferred embodiment is a compound of formula i wherein r 1 is of formula ii ; x , x &# 39 ;, a , and b are hydrogen ; r 2 is hydrogen , chlorine , or amino ; y is oxygen , and r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are hydrogen . a particular embodiment includes n6 -[ 4 - chromanylamino ] adenosine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . a second generic embodiment of the present invention is a compound of formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii ; and x , x &# 39 ;, a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, y , r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 are as defined above . another preferred second generic embodiment of the present invention is a compound of the formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii ; x , x &# 39 ;, and a &# 39 ; are hydrogen ; b &# 39 ; is hydrogen or methyl and y , r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . another preferred second generic embodiment of the present invention is a compound of formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii ; x , x &# 39 ;, and a &# 39 ; are hydrogen ; b &# 39 ; is hydrogen or methyl ; y is oxygen , and r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . still another preferred second generic embodiment of the present invention is a compound of formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii ; x , x &# 39 ;, and a &# 39 ; are hydrogen ; b &# 39 ; is hydrogen or methyl ; y is oxygen ; r 2 is hydrogen , halogen , nr i r ii where r i and r ii are each independently hydrogen , lower alkyl or phenyl , sr where r is hydrogen , lower alkyl or phenyl and r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined above . a further preferred second generic embodiment is a compound of formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii ; x , x &# 39 ;, and a &# 39 ; are hydrogen ; b &# 39 ; is hydrogen or methyl ; y is oxygen ; r 2 is hydrogen , halogen or amino , and r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are each hydrogen . a particular embodiment of the compounds of the formula i , wherein r 1 is of formula iii includes n6 -[ 3 - chromanylamino ] adenosine , n 6 -[ trans - 2 - methyl , 3 - chromanylamino ] adenosine , and n 6 -[ cis - 2 - methyl , 3 - chromanylamino ] adenosine . the compounds of formula i may be conveniently synthesized by reacting a 6 - halopurine riboside of formula iv with the requisite amine corresponding to formula ii or iii in an inert solvent such as alcohol , or an aprotic solvent such as dimethylformamide between about 25 ° to about 130 ° c . for from 1 - 48 hours . it is useful to add a base such as triethylamine , or calcium carbonate to neutralize the hydrogen halide formed as a byproduct of the reaction , but this can also be accomplished by using an extra equivalent of the tricyclic amine . it is also convenient , although not necessary , to protect the ribofuranose hydroxyl groups as acetate or benzoate esters which can be removed with ammonium hydroxide or sodium methoxide following the synthesis of the n 6 - substituted adenosine . the reaction is illustrated as follows : ## str4 ## wherein hal is halogen , preferably chlorine or bromine , and y , x , x &# 39 ;, a , b , a &# 39 ;, b &# 39 ;, r 2 , r 2 &# 39 ;, r 3 &# 39 ;, and r 5 &# 39 ; are as defined for formula i . in addition , compounds of formula i wherein r 2 is other than hydrogen or halogen , may also be prepared from 2 , 6 - dichloropurine riboside triacetate of formula iv in a stepwise manner , by first reacting a compound of the formula iv with the requisite amine corresponding to formula ii or iii to give a compound of formula v , followed by replacing the chlorine atom at c 2 with the group r 2 using nucleophilic displacement conditions , and removing the acetate protecting groups as illustrated below . ## str5 ## the requisite amine starting materials are prepared using methods known in the literature , for example , i . nordin et al , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 203 , 895 , may 20 , 1980 ; i . lockhart , uk pat . no . 1 , 168 , 228 , oct . 22 , 1969 ; uk no . 1 , 151 , 474 , may 7 , 1969 ; i . lockhart , u . s . pat . no . 3 , 629 , 289 , dec . 21 , 1971 ; n . sarda et al , eur . j . med . chem ., 11 ( 3 ), 251 - 6 ( 1976 ); i . lockhart et al , j . med . chem ., 15 ( 8 ), 863 - 5 ( 1972 ); and i . lockhart et al , j . chem . soc . perkin trans ., 2 , 2 , 227 - 32 ( 1973 ). the compounds of formula i have been found to possess differing affinities for adenosine receptors ( designated a 1 and a 2 receptors for convenience ). these compounds are active in animal tests which are predictive of neuroleptic activity for the treatment of major psychoses such as schizophrenia . the compounds of the invention also have sedative / hypnotic properties and as such , are useful for the treatment of sleep disorders . these compounds also have analgesic properties and as such , are useful in the treatment of pain . another use for the compounds is for the treatment of inflammation . in addition , the compounds of the present invention are useful as antihypertensive agents for the treatment of high blood pressure . whole brain minus cerebellum and brainstem from male long evans rats ( 150 - 200 g ) was homogenized in 30 volumes of ice - cold 0 . 05m tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 7 using a brinkman polytron pt - 10 , ( setting number 6 for 20 seconds ) and centrifuged for ten minutes at 20 , 000 × g ( sorvall rc - 2 ), 4 ° c . the supernatant was discarded , and the pellet was resuspended and centrifuged as before . the pellet was resuspended in 20 ml tris - hcl buffer containing two international units / ml of adenosine deaminase ( sigma type iii from calf intestinal mucosa ), incubated at 37 ° c . for 30 minutes , then subsequently at 0 ° c . for ten minutes . the homogenate was again centrifuged , and the final pellet was resuspended in ice - cold 0 . 05m tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 7 to a concentration of 20 mg / ml original wet tissue weight and used immediately . tissue homogenate ( 10 mg / ml ) was incubated in 0 . 05m tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 7 containing 1 . 0 nm [ 3 h ]- n 6 - cyclohexyladenosine ( 3 h ]- cha ) with or without test agents in triplcate for one hour at 25 ° c . incubation volume was 2 ml . unbound [ 3 h ]- cha was separated by rapid filtration under reduced pressure through whatman glass fiber ( gf / b ) filters . the filters were rinsed three times with 5 ml of ice cold 0 . 05m tris - hcl buffer ph 7 . 7 . the radio - labeled ligand retained on the filter was measured by liquid scintillation spectrophotometry after shaking the filters for one hour or longer on a mechanical shaker in 10 ml of beckman ready - solv hp scintillation cocktail . nonspecific binding was defined as the binding which occurred in the presence of 1 mm theophylline . the concentration of test agent which inhibited 50 % of the specific binding ( ic 50 ) was determined by nonlinear computer curve fit . the scatchard plot was calculated by linear regression of the line obtained by plotting the amount of radioligand bound ( pmoles / gram of tissue ) versus ## equ1 ## since the amount of radioligand bound was a small fraction of the total amount added , free radioligand was defined as the concentration ( nm ) of radioligand added to the incubation mixture . the hill coefficient was calculated by linear regression of the line obtained by plotting the log of the bound radioligand vs the log of the ## equ2 ## the maximal number of binding sites ( b max ) was calculated from the scatchard plot . brains from 200 - 500 g mixed sex sprague - dawley rats were purchased from pel - freez ( rogers , ark .). fresh brains from male long - evans hooded rats ( blue spruce farms , altamont , ny ) gave essentially identical results . brains were thawed and then kept on ice while the striata were dissected out . striata were disrupted in 10 vol of ice - cold 50 mm tris . hcl ( ph 7 . 7 at 25 ° c ., ph 8 . 26 at 5 ° c .) ( tris ) for 30 seconds in a polytron pt - 10 ( brinkmann ) at setting 5 . the suspension was centrifuged at 50 , 000 xg for ten minutes , the supernatant discarded , the pellet resuspended in 10 vol ice - cold tris as above , recentrifuged , resuspended at 1 g / 5 ml , and stored in plastic vials at - 70 ° c . ( stable for at least six months ). when needed , tissue was thawed at room temperature , disrupted in a polytron , and kept on ice until used . all incubations were for 60 minutes at 25 ° c . in 12 × 75 mm glass tubes containing 1 ml tris with 5 mg original tissue weight of rat weight of rat striatal membranes , 4 nm [ 3 h ]- n - ethyl adenosine - 5 &# 39 ;- carboxamide ([ 3 h ] neca ), 50 nm n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine ( to eliminate a 1 receptor binding ), 10 mm mgcl 2 , 0 . 1 units / ml of adenosine deaminase and 1 % dimethylsulfoxide . n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine was dissolved at 10 mm in 0 . 02n hcl and diluted in tris . stock solutions and dilutions of n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine could be stored at - 20 ° c . for several months . test compounds were dissolved at 10 mm in dimethylsulfoxide on the same day as the experiment , and diluted in dimethylsulfoxide to 100 × the final incubation concentration . control incubations received an equal volume ( 10 μl ) of dimethylsulfoxide ; the rsulting concentration of dimethylsulfoxide had no effect on binding . [ 3 h ] neca was diluted to 40 nm in tris . the membrane suspension ( 5 mg / 0 . 79 ml ) contained sufficient mgcl 2 and adenosine deaminase to give 10 mm and 0 . 1 units / ml , respectively , final concentration in the incubation . for test compounds with ic 50 values less than 1 μm , the order of additions was test compound ( 10 μl ), n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine ( 100 μl ), [ 3 h ] neca ( 100 μl ), and membranes ( 0 . 79 ml ). for test compounds with ic 50 values greater than 1 μm and limited water solubility , the order of additions ( same volumes ) was test compound , membranes , n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine , and [ 3 h ] neca . after all additions , the rack of tubes was vortexed , and the tubes were then incubated for 60 min at 25 ° c . in a shaking water bath . the rack of tubes was vortexed an additional time halfway through the incubation . incubations were terminated by filtration through 2 . 4 cm gf / b filters under reduced pressure . each tube was filtered as follows : the contents of the tube were poured onto the filter , 4 ml of ice - cold tris were added to the tube and the contents poured onto the filter , and the filter was washed twice with 4 ml of ice - cold tris . the filtration was complete in about 12 seconds . filters were put in scintillation vials , 8 ml of formula 947 scintillation fluids added , and the vials left overnight , shaken , and counted in a liquid scintillation counter at 40 % efficiency . nonspecific binding was defined as binding in the presence of 100 μm n 6 - cyclopentyladenosine , and specific binding was was defined as total binding minus nonspecific binding . the ic 50 was calculated by weighted nonlinear least squares curve - fitting to the mass - action equation . ## equ3 ## where y is cpm bound weighting factors were calculated under the assumption that the standard deviation was proportional to the predicted value of y . nonspecific binding was treated as a very large ( infinite ) concentration of drug in the computer analysis . the ic 50 values ( nm ) for adenosine a 1 and a 2 receptor affinity are reported in the table . ______________________________________receptor bindingexample rba - 1 ( nm ) rba - 2 ( nm ) ______________________________________1 88 6002 6 . 33 3403 14 . 2 13604 20 6105 17 2106 4 . 9 10907 7 . 8 18408 45 4909 8 . 1 124010 27 94211 32 36012 188 154013 160 294014 4930 3790015 56 . 2 86 . 516 622 1390______________________________________ the compounds of the invention are new chemical substances which are useful as pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of psychoses . the antipsychotic activity of representative compounds of the invention was established by the mouse activity and screen test procedure ( mast ) described below . nine unfasted swiss - webster male mice weighing 20 - 30 g are equally divided into three groups for each drug dose to be tested . that is , data for each dose level was generated by three separate groups of three mice each . a minimum of three dose levels ( 10 , 30 , and 100 mg / kg ) are tested for each drug . treatments are administered intraperitoneally one hour prior to testing . all dosages are calculated as parent compound and given in volumes of 10 ml / kg . compounds are dissolved or suspended in 0 . 2 % methocel . control animals are injected with methocel . testing : a two part testing procedure is started one hour postinjection . first , the screen test ( st ) is performed ( see pharmac . biochem . behav . 6 , 351 - 353 , 1977 ). briefly this test consists of placing mice on individual wire screens which are then rotated 180 degrees at the start of a 60 second observation period . the number of mice falling off the inverted screen is recorded . immediately following the screen test , the final phase of testing is initiated by placing each group of three mice in one actophotometer ( life sciences , 22 , 1067 - 1076 , 1978 ). the actophotometer consists of a cylindrical chamber whose center is occupied by another cylinder which contains the illumination for six photocells located on the perimeter of the chamber . six light - beam interruptions equal one count . locomotor activity is recorded by computer at ten minute intervals for 60 minutes . data : the data obtained from the screen test are expressed as percent of mice falling off the screen . data derived from locomotor activity of drug treated mice are compared to the activity of vehicle treated animals and are expressed as percent inhibition of spontaneous locomotion . all percentages reported for inhibition of locomotion ( li ) are based upon data accumulated for one hour . both phases of testing are graded : a = 60 - 100 %; c = 31 - 59 %; and n = 0 - 30 %. an overall dose rating is obtained by the following criteria : ______________________________________inhibition of screen test doselocomotion rating with failure rating = rating______________________________________a -- n or c = aa -- a = cc -- n or c = call other combinations = n______________________________________ lad refers to the lowest dose at which an a rating is achieved . compounds which exhibit an overall dose rating of a at a dose of 100 milligrams / kilogram or less are considered active . utilizing this procedure , an overall dose rating of a was obtained for the noted compounds at the indicated dose . the compounds are identified in the examples . ______________________________________antipsychotic evaluation inhibition of screen mouse locomotion testexample dose mg / kg activity failure______________________________________1 3 91 33 10 94 33 30 97 222 1 34 11 3 60 0 10 96 11 30 98 56 100 99 1003 1 25 0 3 58 0 10 89 22 30 97 224 1 36 22 3 87 11 10 94 11 30 99 100 100 98 885 1 - 14 0 3 30 0 10 89 22 30 97 55 100 99 446 1 45 0 3 77 0 10 98 77 30 98 99 100 100 997 0 . 3 6 0 1 . 0 57 0 3 . 0 95 22 9 . 0 96 55 30 . 0 93 1008 1 52 0 3 84 11 10 95 0 30 98 11 100 99 339 1 11 0 3 34 0 10 77 22 30 96 44 100 97 7710 1 - 8 0 3 33 0 10 85 11 30 91 22 100 96 5511 1 13 0 3 27 0 10 90 11 30 95 22 100 99 6713 10 50 0 30 82 0 100 88 2214 10 8 0 30 13 0 100 2 015 3 88 11 10 95 22 30 97 5516 3 15 0 10 69 22 30 98 55______________________________________ representative compounds of the invention ( identified in the examples ) were also tested for antipsychotic activity according to the following protocol ( sidr ). the noted compound has the indicated ed 50 values ( mg / kg ) and is considered active as an antipsychotic agent in the test procedure . mature male long - evans rats or squirrel - monkeys are conditioned to push a lever in order to avoid a painful electric footshock . if the animal fails to push the lever , he receives a shock every ten seconds until the lever is pushed . shocks can be terminated by pushing the lever . thereafter , as long as the lever is pushed at least once every 20 seconds , there will be no shock . each animal acts as its own control ; one weekly session is used to establish baseline behavior and another session later in the week is used as a drug session . once patterns of avoidance are established , the effects of standard and unknown compounds are studied . all events are electronically programmed and the response to these events counted or used as feed - back to the program . the usefulness of the compounds of the present invention as antihypertensive agents is demonstrated by their effectiveness in standard pharmacological test procedures , for example , in causing a significant decrease in mean arterial blood pressure in the conscious rat . this test procedure is described in the following paragraphs . a method for the direct monitoring of aortic blood pressure and heart rate from conscious rats the continuous monitoring of pulsatile blood pressure ( bp ) from unrestrained conscious rats surgically equipped with polyethylene cannulas was accomplished by means of a computer assisted data capture scheme ( cadcs ). the basic elements of the methodology are the cannulation procedure and the cadcs . cannulation procedure : rats were anesthetized with telazol ( 1 : 1 tiletamine hcl and zolazepam hcl ); 20 - 40 mg / kg im and the descending aorta exposed via a midline incision . cannulas fabricated from polyethylene tubing were inserted into the aorta via an undersized puncture hole below the renal arteries . the puncture hole was made by a 23g disposable needle with a section of the aorta clamped off above and below the puncture site . the cannulas , consisting of a pe100 ( 0 . 86 mm id ) body and a pe50 ( 0 . 58 mm id ) tip , were attached to a trocar , inserted through the psoas muscle , and passed subcutaneously along the midline of the back and externalized between the ears . the cannulas are anchored to the psoas muscle and between the scalulae ( 3 - 0 green braided suture ). the midline incision was closed in two steps ( muscle first , skin second ) using continuous over - and over sutures ( 4 - 0 chronic ). each rat was then given penicillin 30 , 000 units subcutaneously ( penicillin g procaine sterile suspension ). the rats were fitted with a harness - spring - swivel assembly designed to protect the cannula and to provide the rat relative freedom of movement . the harnesses were fabricated from nylon hook and loop tape cemented to a metal plate to which spring wires ( 18 - 8 stainless steel ), were attached to brass swivels . each polyethylene cannula was channeled through a spring and connected through a swivel to a pressure transducer ( model p23gb ; statham instruments ; hato rey , puerto rico ) and an infusion pump ( sage model 234 - 7 ; orion research , cambridge , ma ) by means of pe100 tubing . while on test , each rat received a continuous slow infusion of heparinized saline solution ( approximately 400 l or 40 units of heparin per 24 hour period ) to prevent clot formation . additional &# 34 ; flushes &# 34 ; of the cannula with heparinized saline were carried out when the aortic pulse pressure ( systolic minus diastolic ) was less than 25 mm hg . cadcs : the pulsatile blood pressure and heart rate of each of 32 rats was monitored every minute by means of two in - laboratory microcomputers communicating directly with a data concentrator computer . the data were first stored on the data concentrator disk and then transferred to a magnetic tape for analysis and report generation by the main research computer . the overall scheme involved modulating the primary signal from the pressure transducer , generating the primary data set of the one - minute values for systolic , diastolic , and mean blood pressures and heart rate by the in - lab microcomputer and the storage , analysis , and report generation by the main research computer . the transducers were connected to analog signal conditioning modules . the modules provided a regulated excitation voltage for the transducers , amplification as required to interface the microprocessors and an active low pass filter to compensate for the pressure wave form distortion produced by the flexible , fluid filled , narrow cannula . the distortion was 22 - 26 hz and this provided a reliable estimate of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure . the microcomputers ( one for each of two groups of 16 rats ) were connected to the input components through the module interface units , an analog - to - digital converter for the pressure wave form signal and the digital inputs for the dose and event marker switches . the microcomputer controlled the sequential acquisition of data from the modular interface units through an internal synchronous time - of - day clock / time base generator . utilizing the time base generator as a reference , the blood pressure values and the marker switch status for each of the 32 stations were sampled every ten msec . the microcomputer processed each blood pressure sample as it was received to produce &# 34 ; running average &# 34 ; values for heart rate , and mean , systolic and diastolic blood pressures . when tested by the above procedure , compounds of examples produced the following changes in map and heart rate . lad refers to the lowest dose tested at which a & gt ; 10 % reduction in blood pressure for four consecutive hours is achieved . __________________________________________________________________________dose hourexamplemg / kg 1 3 5 7 9__________________________________________________________________________1 10 map 20 %↓ 14 %↓ 12 %↓ 15 %↓ 10 %↓ hr 21 %↑ 14 %↑ 15 %↑ 15 %↑ 26 %↑ 2 10 map 14 %↓ 20 %↓ 19 %↓ 16 %↓ 12 %↓ hr 27 %↓ 34 %↓ 23 %↓ 11 %↓ 1 %↓ 3 10 map 29 %↓ 32 %↓ 47 %↓ 32 %↓ 33 %↓ hr 35 %↓ 47 %↓ 54 %↓ 40 %↓ 36 %↓ 4 10 map 38 %↓ 23 %↓ 21 %↓ 23 %↓ 20 %↓ hr 33 %↓ 34 %↓ 22 %↓ 21 %↓ 13 %↓ 5 10 map 18 %↓ 25 %↓ 24 %↓ 16 %↓ 12 %↓ hr 3 %↓ 4 %↓ 0 % 4 %↑ 5 %↑ 6 10 map 6 %↓ 11 %↓ 12 %↓ 9 %↓ 2 %↓ hr 19 %↓ 25 %↓ 18 %↓ 4 %↓ 14 %↑ 7 10 map 49 %↓ 36 %↓ 29 %↓ 23 %↓ 21 %↓ hr 61 %↓ 53 %↓ 35 %↓ 13 %↓ 17 %↓ 8 10 map 33 %↓ 22 %↓ 28 %↓ 17 %↓ 17 %↓ hr 17 %↓ 4 %↓ 7 %↓ 4 %↓ 6 %↑ 9 10 map 10 %↓ 20 %↓ 17 %↓ 13 %↓ 3 %↓ hr 13 %↓ 3 %↑ 19 %↓ 0 % 3 %↑ 10 3 map 21 %↓ 17 %↓ 5 %↓ 5 %↑ 6 %↑ hr 18 %↓ 16 %↓ 0 % 10 %↑ 10 %↑ 11 10 map 23 %↓ 25 %↓ 19 %↓ 8 %↓ 15 %↓ hr 1 %↓ 0 % 0 % 17 %↑ 8 %↑ 13 10 map 27 %↓ 20 %↓ 17 %↓ 14 %↓ 5 %↓ hr 22 %↓ 16 %↓ 14 %↓ 5 %↓ 7 %↑ 14 10 map 8 %↓ 0 % 5 %↓ 5 %↓ 12 %↓ hr 4 %↓ 2 %↑ 5 %↓ 4 %↑ 4 %↓ __________________________________________________________________________ the antiwrithing ( aw ) test provides preliminary assessment of compounds with potential analgesic activity . the test is performed in male swiss - webster mice . compounds are administered subcutaneously in aqueous 0 . 2 % methylcellulose or other appropriate vehicles in volumes of 10 ml / kg . dosages represent active moiety . acetic acid ( 0 . 6 %, 10 ml / kg ) is injected intraperitoneally 20 minutes after administration of the adenosine agonist . writhing movements are counted for five minutes starting seven minutes after the acetic acid injection . writhing is defined as abdominal constriction and stretching of the body and hind legs with concave arching of the back . data are expressed as ed 50 values , where the ed 50 is the dose necessary to suppress writhing by 50 % relative to vehicle controls . ed 50 values are calculated by nonlinear regression analysis . assessment of another activity is provided by the carrageenan pleurisy assay . this assay indicates antiinflammatory activity . carrageenan pleurisy is induced as previously described by carter , g . w ., et al ., in j . pharm . pharmacol 34 : 66 - 67 , 1982 . carrageenan ( 310 μg / rat ) is injected intrapleurally in a 0 . 25 ml volume of pyrogen - free saline . four hours later , the rats are sacrificed and 2 ml of a phenol red solution ( 325 mg phenol red in 1 liter of 0 . 05m phosphate buffered saline ) are added to each pleural cavity . the contents of the cavities are mixed and transferred to glass test tubes . a 50 μl aliquot is removed from each tube and exudate cells are counted after red blood cells lysis ( with zapoglobin ; coulter electronics , hialeah fl ) using a coulter model zbi counter . the remaining exudatephenol red mixture is centrifuged at 750 xg for 15 minutes . one hundred μl of the supernatent fluid is diluted with 3 . 9 ml of phosphate buffer ( 0 . 072m of tribasic sodium phosphate na 3 po 4 . 12h 2 o , in water ) and the absorbance is measured at 560 nm . exudate volume is calculated as follows : ## equ4 ## where v 1 = unknown volume of exudate , v 2 = volume of dye added to cavity ( 2 ml ), a 1 = absorbance of exudat ( assumed to be zero ), a 2 = absorbance of the phenol red solution , a 3 = absorbance of exudate and phenol red solution . inhibition of exudate or formation is calculated by the following equations : ## equ5 ## id 50 values are calculated by probit analysis . the compound of example 1 was administered one hour prior to carraggeenan injection . the biological data indicating antiinflammatory activity are summarized in the following table . ______________________________________carrageenan pleurisy assay dose * % inhibitionexample mg / kg exudate wbc______________________________________5 3 22 . 7 27 . 2 10 40 . 2 68 . 06 1 50 . 9 49 . 8 3 42 . 2 37 . 59 3 12 . 5 13 . 0 30 31 . 9 30 . 615 1 13 . 5 - 10 . 7 10 63 . 9 - 16 . 9______________________________________ * drug administered by ip route accordingly , the present invention also includes a pharmaceutical composition for treating psychoses , sleep disorders , pain , inflammation , or hypertension comprising a corresponding antipsychotic , sedative , analgesic , or antihypertensive effective amount of a compound of the formula i as defined above together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . the present invention further includes a method for treating psychoses , sleep disorders , pain , inflammation , or hypertension in mammals suffering therefrom comprising administering to such mammals either orally or parenterally a corresponding pharmaceutical composition containing a compound of the formula i as defined above in appropriate unit dosage form . for preparing pharmaceutical compositions from the compounds described by this invention , inert , pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid . solid form preparations include powders , tablets , dispersible granules , capsules , cachets , and suppositories . a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents , flavoring agents , solubilizers , lubricants , suspending agents , binders or tablet disintegrating agents ; it can also be encapsulating material . in powders , the carrier is a finely divided solid which is in admixture with the finely divided active compound . in the tablet the active compound is mixed with carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired . the powders and tablets preferably contain from 5 or 10 to about 70 percent of the active ingredient . suitable solid carriers are magnesium carbonate , magnesium stearate , talc , sugar , lactose , pectin , dextrin , starch , gelatin , tragacanth , methylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , a low melting wax , cocoa butter , and the like . the term &# 34 ; preparation &# 34 ; is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as carrier providing a capsule in which the active component ( with or without other carriers ) is surrounded by carrier , which is thus in association with it . similarly , cachets are included . tablets , powders , cachets , an capsules can be used as solid dosage forms suitable for oral administration . for preparing suppositories , a low melting wax such as a mixture of fatty acid glycerides or cocoa butter is first melted , and the active ingredient is dispersed homogeneously therein as by stirring . the molten homogeneous mixture is then poured into convenient sized molds , allowed to cool and thereby to solidify . liquid form preparations include solutions , suspensions , and emulsions . as an example may be mentioned water or water propylene glycol solutions for parenteral injection . liquid preparations can also be formulated in solution in aqueous polyethylene glycol solution . aqueous solutions suitable for oral use can be prepared by dissolving the active component in water and adding suitable colorants , flavors , stabilizing and thickening agents as desired . aqueous suspensions suitable for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water with viscous material , i . e ., natural or synthetic gums , resins , methylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and other well - known suspending agents . also included are solid form preparations which are intended to be converted , shortly before use , to liquid form preparations for either oral or parenteral administration . such liquid forms include solutions , suspensions , and emulsions . these particular solid form preparations are most conveniently provided in unit dose form and as such are used to provide a single liquid dosage unit . alternately , sufficient solid may be provided so that after conversion to liquid form , multiple individual liquid doses may be obtained by measuring predetermined volumes of the liquid form preparation as with a syringe , teaspoon , or other volumetric container . when multiple liquid doses are so prepared , it is preferred to maintain the unused portion of said liquid doses at low temperature ( i . e , under refrigeration ) in order to retard possible decomposition . the solid form preparations intended to be converted to liquid form may contain , in addition to the active material , flavorants , colorants , stabilizers , buffers , artificial and natural sweeteners , dispersants , thickeners , solubilizing agents , and the like . the liquid utilized for preparing the liquid form preparation may be water , isotonic water , ethanol , glycerine , propylene glycol , and the like as well as mixtures thereof . naturally , the liquid utilized will be chosen with regard to the route of administration , for example , liquid preparations containing large amounts of ethanol are not suitable for parenteral use . preferably , the pharmaceutical preparation is in unit dosage form . in such form , the preparation is subdivided into unit doses containing appropriate quantities of the active component . the unit dosage form can be a packaged preparation , the package containing discrete quantities of preparation , for example , packeted tablets , capsules , and powders in vials or ampoules . the unit dosage form can also be a capsule , cachet , or tablet itself or it can be the appropriate number of any of these in packaged form . the quantity of active compound in a unit dose of preparation may be varied or adjusted from 1 mg to 500 mg preferably to 5 to 100 mg according to the particular application and the potency of the active ingredient . the compositions can , if desired , also contain other compatible therapeutic agents . in therapeutic use as described above , the mammalian dosage range for a 70 kg subject is from 0 . 1 to 150 mg / kg of body weight per day or preferably 1 to 50 mg / kg of body weight per day . the dosages , however , may be varied depending upon the requirements of the patient , the severity of the condition being treated , and the compound being employed . determination of the proper dosage for a particular situation is within the skill of the art . generally , treatment is initiated with smaller dosages which are less than the optimum dose of the compound . thereafter the dosage is increased by small increments until the optimum effect under the circumstances is reached . for convenience , the total daily dosage may be divided and administered in portions during the day if desired . a mixture of 0 . 97 g of 6 - chloropurine riboside , 0 . 7 g of 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride , and 0 . 94 g of triethylamine is refluxed in 30 ml ethanol under nitrogen for 20 hrs . the solvent is evaporated to dryness . the residual solid is treated with cold water . clear aqueous solution is decanted off and the residue is dissolved in ethanol . volatiles are evaporated under vacuuo . this is repeated once more affording 0 . 9 g ( 66 %) of n 6 -[ 4 - chromanylamino ] adenosine having a melting point of 125 °- 130 ° ( foam ). anals . calcd . for c 19 h 21 n 5 o 5 : c = 57 . 14 ; h = 5 . 29 ; n = 17 . 53 . found c = 56 . 67 ; h = 5 . 14 ; n = 17 . 57 . a mixture of 2 . 0 g of 6 - chloropurine riboside , 1 . 76 g of 3 - thiochromanylamine hydrochloride , and 1 . 74 g of triethylamine is refluxed in 50 ml ethanol under nitrogen for 20 hrs . ethanol is evaporated to dryness , residue is dissolved in water and extracted with ethyl acetate . organic extract is dried over mgso 4 , filtered , and solvent evaporated yielding solid material . it is purified by flash - chromatography on silica - gel using 5 % meoh - chloroform as an eluant . evaporation of solvent from pure fractions affords 2 . 16 g ( 74 %) of n 6 ( 3 - thiochromany amino ) adenosine having a melting point of 112 °- 116 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 19 h 21 n 5 o 4 s : c = 54 . 92 ; h = 5 . 09 ; n = 16 . 85 ; s = 7 . 71 . found c = 54 . 75 ; h = 5 . 26 ; n = 16 . 50 ; s = 7 . 53 . a mixture of 0 . 56 g 6 - chloropurine riboside , 0 . 5 g 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride , and 0 . 48 g of triethylamine is refluxed in 25 ml ethanol under nitrogen for 20 hrs . solvent is evaporated to dryness and residue is treated with cold water . the clear aqueous solution is decanted off , residue is dissolved in ethanol and volatiles are evaporated under vacuo . the crude solid is purified by flash - chromatography on silica - gel using 5 % methanolchloroform as an eluant . evaporation of solvent from pure fractions followed by crystallization from chcl 3 - hexane affords 0 . 35 g ( 42 %) of n 6 -[ 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamino ] adenosine having a melting point of 205 °- 207 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 20 h 23 n 5 o 6 : c = 55 . 93 ; h = 5 . 39 ; n = 16 . 30 . found c = 55 . 53 ; h = 5 . 10 ; l n = 16 . 44 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 3 , substituting 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 109 °- 112 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 19 h 21 n 5 o 5 : c = 57 . 14 ; h = 5 . 30 ; n = 17 . 53 . found c = 56 . 52 ; h = 5 . 77 ; n = 17 . 36 . a mixture of 2 . 25 g of 6 - chloropurine riboside , 1 . 99 g of 8 - chloro - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride , and 1 . 98 g triethylamine is refluxed in 55 ml of ethanol under nitrogen for 22 hrs . upon cooling , solid material crystallizes out , which is filtered and retreated with boiling ethanol . solid material obtained is filtered and dried affording 1 . 68 g ( 50 %) of n 6 -[ 8 - chloro - 3 - chromanylamino ] adenosine having a melting point of 137 °- 139 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 19 h 20 n 5 o 5 cl : c = 52 . 59 ; h = 4 . 64 ; n = 16 . 14 ; cl = 8 . 17 . found c = 52 . 96 ; h = 5 . 07 ; n = 15 . 77 ; cl = 8 . 33 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 3 , substituting 6 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 90 °- 95 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 20 h 23 n 5 o 6 : c = 55 . 94 ; h = 5 . 40 ; n = 16 . 31 . found c = 55 . 82 ; h = 5 . 45 ; n = 16 . 06 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 3 , substituting cis - 2 - methyl - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 90 °- 92 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 20 h 23 n 5 o 5 : c = 58 . 10 ; h = 5 . 61 ; n = 16 . 94 . found c = 57 . 56 ; h = 5 . 76 ; n = 16 . 58 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting trans - 2 - methyl - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 85 °- 88 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 20 h 23 n 5 o 5 : c = 58 . 10 ; h = 5 . 61 , n = 16 . 94 . found c = 57 . 45 ; h = 5 . 15 ; n = 16 . 50 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting 6 , 7 - dimethyl - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 170 °- 172 ° c . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 5 , substitution 7 , 8 - dimethyl - 30 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 8 - chloro - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 170 °- 172 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 21 h 25 n 5 o 5 : c = 59 . 00 ; h = 5 . 90 ; n = 16 . 38 . found c = 58 . 71 ; h = 5 . 92 ; n = 16 . 25 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting 2 , 7 , 8 - trimethyl - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 109 °- 113 ° c . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting 8 - iso - propyl - 5 - methyl - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 98 °- 101 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 23 h 29 n 5 o 5 : c = 60 . 65 ; h = 6 . 42 ; n = 15 . 31 found c = 59 . 53 ; h = 6 . 57 ; n = 14 . 21 the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting 7 - t - butyl - 3 - chromanylamine for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 88 °- 90 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 23 h 29 n 5 o 5 . o . 4h 2 o : c = 60 . 65 ; h = 6 . 42 ; n = 15 . 37 . found c = 59 . 86 ; h = 6 . 61 ; n = 14 . 47 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 1 , substituting 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 5 , 7 - dimethoxy - 4 - chromanylamine for 4 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 111 °- 113 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 23 h 29 n 5 o 7 : c = 56 . 67 ; h = 5 . 99 ; n = 14 . 36 . found c = 56 . 34 ; h = 6 . 08 ; n = 14 . 37 . the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 3 , substituting 4 - thiochromanyl amine hydrochloride for 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanyl - amine hydrochloride ; melting point 105 °- 107 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 19 h 21 n 5 so 4 0 . 7 h 2 o : c = 53 . 3 ; h = 5 . 27 ; n = 16 . 35 ; s = 7 . 49 found c = 53 . 34 ; h = 5 . 05 ; n = 15 . 95 ; s = 7 . 42 the title compound is prepared essentially as described in example 3 , substituting 4 - benzothiopyran - 1 , 1 dioxide amine for 7 - methoxy - 3 - chromanylamine hydrochloride ; melting point 125 °- 127 ° c . anals . calcd . for c 19 h 21 n 5 so 6 0 . 85 ch 3 oh . c = 50 . 22 ; h = 5 . 18 ; n = 14 . 75 ; s = 6 . 75 . found c = 50 . 21 ; h = 5 . 24 ; n = 14 . 35 ; s = 6 . 89 .	2
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description , well - known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the invention in unnecessary detail . a system and method for the localization of fluorescent dyes in a scattering medium are provided . in various embodiments of the present invention , systems and methods will be employed for localizing an object of interest , e . g ., a lesion labeled with a fluorescent dye , in a scattering medium , e . g ., biological tissue . referring to fig1 , the system 100 generally includes an optical excitation source 102 for irradiating or illuminating a scattering medium 104 , including an object of interest 120 , with radiant energy , e . g ., light . the light excites a fluorophore contrast agent present in the object of interest 120 . the system 100 further includes an ultrasonic generation system 106 for generating ultrasound pulses into the scattering medium 104 inducing an acoustic lens 108 . the light emitted from the object of interest 120 is deflected by the acoustic lens 108 . a detection system 110 for detecting the radiant energy , e . g ., light , deflected by the acoustic lens 108 is also provided . a data processing system 112 collects data from the detection system 110 to construct an image of the scattering medium 104 and controls the overall operations of the excitation light source 102 , ultrasonic generation system 106 and detection system 110 , which will be described in detailed below . alternatively , the ultrasonic generation system 106 will induce the acoustic lens 108 to modulate the excitation light before it reaches the object of interest 120 . the modulated light will then excite the fluorophore contrast agent in the object of interest which will emit light to be detected by the detection system 110 . a system and method for localizing an object of interest in a scattering medium will now be described in reference to fig2 and 3 , where fig2 is an exemplary imaging system and fig3 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing algorithm for localizing the object of interest in the scattering medium . prior to the imaging procedure , a fluorescent optical contrast agent is introduced into a scattering medium 104 , e . g ., biological tissue . the fluorescent contrast agent may preferentially bind to an object of interest 120 , e . g ., diseased tissue , and thus may have disease or functional specificity . the fluorescent contrast agent may be one or more or a derivative of the following : indocyanine green ( icg ); a member of the cy family of dyes ; the ir - 78 dye , or any other fluorophore that emits in the nir region . the fluorescent contrast agent will absorb and emit light in the “ transparency window ” of biological tissue , which is between 700 - 900 nm where absorption of light in tissue is minimized . in other applications , it may be useful to operate anywhere in the range from 400 - 2000 nm for use with light emitting agents that operate in these wavelengths . an optical excitation source 102 with a spectral output tuned to a maximal absorption wavelength of the fluorescent dye is used to excite the fluorescence . the excitation light source will include a light source 202 such as a laser ; laser diode ; light emitting diode ( led ) or a lamp , e . g ., halogen , incandescent , arc lamp , high intensity discharge etc . excitation irradiation from the optical source is delivered to a surface of the biological tissue 104 using free - space optical system including a beam expander 204 to create a large illumination area that covers most of tissue surface and an optical spectral filter 206 for band pass , notch , or low pass filtering of the light to minimized the amount of excitation light in the expected emission band . alternatively , multiple sources deliver the light via optical fiber or fiber optic bundles to form an array of localized illumination spots that may be illuminated simultaneously or in a sequence . the optical source can be operated in continuous wave ( cw ), intensity modulated , or pulsed mode . the frequency of intensity modulation and pulse repetition rate may be equal or fractional with respect to an ultrasonic frequency of the ultrasonic generation system 106 . when excitation photons reach the fluorescent dye in the object of interest 120 , e . g ., a lesion , localized in a volume of biological tissue , the fluorescence will re - emit optical radiation at a longer wavelength and acts as an omnidirectional optical source . a focused ultrasonic beam is then formed using the ultrasonic generation system 106 . the ultrasonic generation system may include ( i ) a single focused piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer ( pzt ) 210 coupled to an arbitrary function generator 214 and a high power rf amplifier 212 ; ( ii ) an ultrasonic scanning phased array , or ( iii ) a laser photoacoustic generator . the generated ultrasonic beam is transmitted into and scanned throughout the volume of the tissue . the ultrasonic generation can be performed in cw mode , or in pulsed mode using single frequency or frequency - swept tonebursts , or a short single broadband pulse . the ultrasonic beam can be configured as a single ultrasonic focal spot ; an array of focal spots situated along a single line ; a line focused beam oriented along optical source - to - receiver axis ; superposition of two or more ultrasonic beams to form an acoustic interference pattern at the same frequency ; or superposition of two or more ultrasonic beams to form an acoustic interference pattern at different frequencies . the generated ultrasonic wave changes refractive index of the tissue via an elasto - optic effect . the amount of refractive index modulation depends on the acoustic pressure intensity , and the shape of the area of modified refractive index is defined by the geometry of the ultrasonic wave . the volume of tissue where this gradient of refractive index is acts as an “ acoustic lens ” 108 whose optical power varies in time at the ultrasonic frequency . the strongest refractive index modulation occurs in the focal point 109 of the ultrasonic beam . a fraction of light emitted from the florescent dye is transmitted through the ultrasonic focal point 109 of the acoustic lens 108 and gets optically modulated at the ultrasonic frequency . the physical mechanism of the modulation is a deflection of the transmitted photon from its original direction by the acoustic lens . the strongest ultrasonic induced modulation occurs when the ultrasonic focal point is located half way between the object of interest 120 and a plane of optical detection . alternatively , the ultrasonic beam may be formed before the excitation light reaches the object of interest 120 . in this situation , the excitation light will be optically modulated before it excites the fluorescence in the object of interest , and therefore , the light emitted by the fluorescence in the object of interest will be modulated at the ultrasonic frequency of the ultrasonic generation system 106 . when the acoustically modulated light reaches the surface of the biological tissue 104 , it can be detected using the detection system 110 . a variety of optical detectors can be used for the detection of ultrasonic modulated light such as : a single optical detector 234 such as a photodetector , photomultiplier tube ( pmt ), photodiode ; arrays of photodetectors ; or full field optical detectors such as charge - coupled device ( ccd ) cameras . the optical energy can be delivered to the detectors via free - space imaging optics such as a collection optic 230 and optical filter 232 , optical fibers and / or through fiber bundles . an efficient detection of ultrasonic induced modulation requires blocking of excitation light that can be done using optical filtering techniques . one or more optical filters 232 may also be provided to reject light that is not fluorescent emission , and accept light that is fluorescent emission . the detection system 110 further includes an amplifier 236 for amplifying the detected optical signal received from detector 234 and a bandpass filter 238 for filtering the amplified signal before being sent to the data processing system 112 . preferably , the point of detection will be located at an approximately 90 degrees angle in relation to the ultrasonic transducer . this optical signal , e . g ., the time varying intensity of light , is acquired and stored for further processing for each position of the ultrasonic focal spot during the scan . the modulated optical signal is detected using one or more of the following techniques : direct detection of the signal ; a homodyne detection method wherein the gain of the optical signal is modulated at the ultrasonic frequency , and the phase between the optical gain and the ultrasound is swept over a range of angles ; a heterodyne detection method wherein the gain of the optical signal is modulated at some frequency that is different that the ultrasound frequency , and the amplitude of the signal at the side lobes is measured ; a shuttering detection method that integrates the optical signal at a particular phase in the ultrasonic modulation over many acoustic cycles , wherein the optical signal is then integrated at one or more different phases over many acoustic cycles , and the modulated light signal is extracted by comparison of these integrated signals ; or a double cross correlation technique that performs a correlation analysis of the detected optical signal against the illumination input signal and the acoustic input signal to measure the amplitude of the signal for optimal noise rejection . the data collected by the optical detectors will then be sent to the data processing system 112 . it is to be understood that the data processing system 112 may be implemented in various forms of hardware , software , firmware , special purpose processors , or a combination thereof . in one embodiment , the data processing system 112 may be implemented in software as an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage device . the application program may be uploaded to , and executed by , a machine comprising any suitable architecture . preferably , the machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or more central processing units ( cpu ), a random access memory ( ram ), a read only memory ( rom ) and input / output ( i / o ) interface ( s ) such as a keyboard , cursor control device ( e . g ., a mouse ) and display device . the computer platform also includes an operating system and micro instruction code . the various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the micro instruction code or part of the application program ( or a combination thereof ) which is executed via the operating system . in addition , various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage device and a printing device . it is to be further understood that , because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures may be implemented in software , the actual connections between the system components ( or the process steps ) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed . given the teachings of the present invention provided herein , one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention . the location of the fluorescent dye can be determined from a data set obtained during ultrasonic scan over the volume of the biological tissue . initially in step 302 , the excitation light source 102 will illuminate the scattering medium 104 . a two - dimensional ( 2d ) scanning of a volume of the scattering medium 104 will be preformed for n × m steps along an x and y axis of the scattering medium 104 . after the scattering medium is illuminated , the transducer 210 and detector 234 are moved to the j - position along the x axis ( step 304 ) and , similarly , are moved to the i - position along the y axis ( step 306 ). once the proper position is located , the transducer 230 is fired to induce the acoustic lens ( step 308 ). detector 234 will detect an optical signal generated via the acoustical lens and the optical signal will be sent to the data processing system to acquire an ultrasonic trace ( step 310 ). a time window is applied to the ultrasonic trace to extract a signal corresponding to an arrival of the ultrasonic wave to the focal point of the acoustic lens ( step 312 ). next , a fast fourier transform ( fft ) is performed on the windowed signal ( step 316 ) and an amplitude of the signal is measured at the ultrasound frequency ( step 316 ). the measured amplitude is then assigned a grey level of the i - j pixel of the image to be generated ( step 318 ). the method will then check if n scans have been taken along the i - position on the y - axis ( step 320 ). if it is less than n , the method will return to step 306 , the transducer 210 and detector 234 will be move to the next position along the y - axis and steps 308 through 318 will be repeated . similarly , the method will then check if m scans have been taken along the j - position on the x - axis ( step 322 ). if j is less than m , the method will return to step 304 , the transducer 210 and detector 234 will be move to the next position along the x - axis and steps 308 through 318 will be repeated . referring to fig4 , the use of multiple illumination points and detection points is illustrated . in fig4 , s represents an excitation light source at a specific point on the volume and d represents a detector for acquiring an optical signal at the specified point , where an exemplary detected signal is associated with each detector . to acquire the multiple detected signals , a signal detector 234 may be utilized in conjunction with switch 550 . switch 550 will be connected to several detector point d 1 through dn which will be coupled to the detector 234 depending on a position of the switch 550 , as shown in fig5 . optionally , the switch will be coupled to and controlled by the data processing system 112 . alternatively , multiple detectors will be located on the surface of the scattering medium 104 and switch 660 will couple individual detectors 234 to the data processing system . similarly , to generate ultrasonic pulses at different locations and induce acoustic lens at varying angles , multiple transducers 210 may be located at multiple points and coupled to the arbitrary function generator 214 via switch 770 . when all the scans have been acquired , an image localizing the object of interest will be created and displayed on the display or saved to memory ( step 324 ). this can be done using the measured amplitude of the us modulated signal and ultrasonic time - of - flight for each scan location ; measured depth of modulation as a function of focal - spot - to - detector distance ; or known focal - spot - to - detector geometry . the reconstruction algorithm for the fluorescent optical image may be any one of the following conventional techniques : solution by direct inversion of a linear description of the forward model ; solution by iterative optimization of a nonlinear description of the forward model ; solution by direct solution of a nonlinear description of the forward model . to illustrate the principles of the present disclosure , the following experiment was preformed . a 0 . 1 ml of micro - molar solution of rhodamine 6g ( maximal emission ˜ 570 nm ) was injected into a transparent gel to form a fluorescent - marked area , e . g ., an object of interest , approximately 1 mm in diameter and 5 mm length . a rectangular plastic cuvette with the gel was immersed into a water tank , e . g ., a scattering medium . the fluorescence was excited using frequency - doubled yag laser ( λ = 532 nm , optical power 10 mw ), which beam was expanded by 10 × microscope objective . an immersed pzt transducer ( focal length 50 mm , diameter 25 mm ) was excited by 10 tonebursts of 2 mhz frequency . focal point of the transducer was located on axis between the fluorophore and optical detector at 20 mm distance from the fluorophore . the fluorescent light was collected by 50 mm lens on an amplified si - photodetector , e . g ., a model pda55 commercially available from thorlabs of new jersey . an interference band - reject optical filter with od = 6 at λ = 532 nm was placed in front of the photodetector to block the excitation light . overall optical power of the fluorescent light at the photodetector was ˜ 20 nw , the level of ambient light and excitation light leakage were below 1 nw . the photodetector signal was amplified by 54 db using a broadband rf amplifier , commercially available from ge panametrics , of waltham , mass ., band - pass filtered , digitized and averaged 512 times by a digital oscilloscope . a typical acquired waveform and its spectrum are shown in fig9 . this experiment demonstrates the existence of the effect of ultrasonic tagging of fluorescence . the time delay of the detected signal corresponds to an arrival time of the ultrasonic toneburst to the acoustic focal point , that was verified by small axial displacement of the transducer . the spectrum of the signal shows that the power of 2 . 0 mhz signal within a 5 □ s time window where the detected signal is present is significantly stronger than a 2 . 0 mhz component in a 5 □ s time window taken earlier where just noise is present . this experiment clearly demonstrates the existence of the effect of ultrasonic tagging of fluorescence in a transparent medium . referring to fig8 , a hand - held imaging device 800 is illustrated . the imaging device 800 includes an excitation light source for illuminating the scattering medium . preferably , light from the excitation light source is transmitted to a surface of the scattering medium via an optical fiber 840 ; in this way , the source can be located remotely from the device to conserve space in the device 800 . the imaging device includes a phased array of ultrasonic transducers 842 for inducing an acoustical lens 108 in the scattering medium . light modulated by the acoustical lens is preferably detected by a second optical fiber 844 coupled to a detection system for acquiring ultrasonic traces . a system and method for the localization of fluorescent dyes in a scattering medium are provided . the system and method provides for increased optical image resolution ; simultaneous anatomical imaging ( using ultrasonic scan data ) and functional imaging ( using optical data ); decreased optical reconstruction complexity and required computation time , while utilizing non - ionizing radiation . while the disclosure has been illustrated and described in typical embodiments , it is not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present disclosure . as such , further modifications and equivalents of the disclosure herein disclosed may occur to persons skilled in the art using no more than routine experimentation , and all such modifications and equivalents are believed to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims .	0
it is to be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the following descriptions are provided for purposes of illustration and not for limitation . an artisan understands that there are many variations that lie within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims . unnecessary detail of known functions and operations may be omitted from the current description so as not to obscure the present invention . in the following disclosure an example of the framework - guided method of the preferred embodiment is provided as applied to a hypothetical set of business objectives and business constraints . a set of candidate it components is selected to meet these objectives and satisfy these constraints . then , a preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied to derive an architecture based on the set of candidate it components that ‘ best ’ meets the business objectives and business constraints . fig1 illustrates the interrelationship between the business objectives and business constraints 110 , the iterative method 115 , and the resulting sever - less office architecture 118 of the present invention . the business objectives and business constraints at both the global and local levels are translated into selection and performance criteria by the present invention and used to derive a ‘ best ’ server - less office architecture comprising selected , tested , and integrated it components that have been selected using a weighted scoring of the satisfaction of the criteria by candidate it components . the results are stored in a criteria database 160 . the architecture of a preferred embodiment always includes a centrally located data center 120 , remote and local users 125 , thin client workstations with appropriate configurations 130 , business relevant applications 135 , storage and backup capability 140 , access to applications that are not web - enabled 145 , connection to the internet 150 , and security functions and capabilities 155 . the present invention prejudices the selection of candidate it components to include these types of architectural components but does not favor any particular candidates . fig2 illustrates a preferred iterative decision making method of the present invention . business functions 205 are associated with business objectives and business constraints 210 . the processes within the it business function 215 need to be identified , and the objectives and constraints 220 defined for each . business objectives represent the state that the business wants to achieve . business constraints represent the restrictions placed on the processes used to achieve the business objective — in terms of things that must be — or can not be — included in the process . within a process , the candidate it components must be evaluated and a best one selected 225 . the candidate it components 230 must be identified , at least one decision criterion must be identified 231 , and a relative weight assigned to each criterion 232 . the business objectives and business constraints at the function 235 and process 240 levels , along with the candidate it component &# 39 ; s attributes , benefits and interoperability requirements , provide a basis for identifying the at least one decision criterion and assigning the weights within each process . the at least one decision criterion is further defined in terms satisfaction scale which is described in the summary and illustrated in fig3 . each candidate it component is evaluated with respect to the at least one criterion , and rated on the satisfaction scale to indicate how well the candidate it component satisfies the at least one criterion . the criterion is multiplied by the corresponding weight to obtain a weighted score . a candidate it component may meet several business objectives and constraints for a given function and one of its component processes . a total process score is obtained for each candidate it component for all the objective and constraints that it satisfies as well as other items such as benefits and interoperability . the option with the highest score is selected for that process , see , e . g ., in fig3 ) the present invention anticipates using identical off - the - shelf it components to satisfy all similar business objectives and constraints , e . g ., for a database . however , this is not always possible because some requirements are unique and may deserve a particular component , e . g ., graphics terminals instead of thin clients . if there is more than one candidate it component that receives a same satisfaction score , there are three preferred ways to choose a candidate it component . the first way is to revisit the weights and satisfaction ratings , make any appropriate modifications based on new information , and recalculate the options scores . the second way is to consider both component options during the architecture creating step , evaluate how each performs in the architected server - less office and select the one that performs best . the third way is to include both , based on unique objectives that require each and that were not reflected in the original statement of business objectives and business constraints . a server - less office architecture comprising the highest rated candidate it components is then tested 245 . the criteria used to rate each candidate it component are derived from the business functions 252 and the processes 254 , as well as interoperability requirements , and focus on how well the component integrates with the other components . fig3 illustrates architecting a desktop computer 305 that could arise within an it workstation process . fig3 shows two options 310 , one where computing power is placed on the server and the other where computing power is placed on the desktop . the decision criteria 315 selected by the decision makers are drawn from business and process level objectives and constraints , from candidate it component level attributes and benefits , and from architecture level interoperability requirements . a subjective 5 - point satisfaction scale 320 is created for each all criteria . the scale indicates the range of satisfaction for all criteria , and captures the users perspective of what would be very satisfactory (++) for the criteria , satisfactory (+), ok ( 0 ), unsatisfactory (−), and very unsatisfactory (−−). in fig3 a satisfaction scale is shown for only one criterion in order to simplify the appearance of the decision making table . each criterion is given a weight 325 , ranging from high ( 10 ) to low ( 1 ), that indicates how important the criterion is to the decision - maker relative to the other criterion . when assigning weights , the decision - maker takes into consideration the objectives and constraints from the function and process levels , from the component attributes and benefits , and from the architecture interoperability requirements to determine relative importance . for each process of each function , each candidate it component is then rated 330 on the satisfaction scale and a weighted satisfaction score is then computed for the candidate it component . all the ratings for a candidate it component are added to obtain a total score 340 for the candidate it component . to determine the strength of the total score , it is compared to the ideal score 345 ( which is the sum of all the weights times 2 — as the ideal score is assigned a very satisfactory rating ). in the example , candidate it component 1 captures 80 % of the criteria 350 , and is preferable to candidate it component 2 which has a − 16 weighted score 340 and captures a negative 17 % of the criteria 350 . in the example in fig3 , based on the candidate it components evaluated and the criteria , weights , and satisfaction scale used , candidate it component 1 has the highest rating , and achieves more than 50 % of the ideal rating , and is the component selected by a preferred embodiment ( workstations in the example ). subsequent testing of the workstation architecture may lead to a revision of candidate it component ratings and a different architecture . fig4 illustrates an example of a server - less office architected using the method of the present invention . this server - less office combines existing technologies into a unified it environment . the present invention anticipates using off - the - shelf it components . experience with such components using the present invention to architect a server - less office is included in the sections that follow . selected candidate it component are described in the following sections for the server - less office example illustrated in fig4 . this example was used to develop the present invention and resulted in the imposition of 3 groups as the organizing paradigm for the server - less office of the present invention . in fig4 the example &# 39 ; s server - less office components are organized into these 3 groups . by taking infrastructure out of existing offices and relocating it to a hosting facility many benefits accrue that would not be cost effective to implement otherwise . these benefits include : physical security ; power backup for up to 72 hours through generators ; redundant network connections ; and proper ventilation and cooling . a primary high speed access with a minimum of t3 to oc3 ( 45 mbps to 55 mbps ); a secondary high speed access with a minimum of t3 to oc3 ( 45 mbps to 155 mbps ); redundancies in all equipments from the point of entry to the point data processing ; high capacity 100 v and 220 v power to allow scalability ; uninterruptible power supplies upss to regulate and provide uninterruptible power supplies ; stand - alone power generators to provide continuity of service ; environmental controls to maintain temperature and humidity within the equipment operating range ; physical security to secure data while providing authorized access ; and building safety features to protect personnel and equipment against local environmental factors . the choice of the number of central hosting facilities depends on the business objectives , such as : when a single central hosting facility is selected , it must be carrier - neutral to provide access to multiple carriers and therefore a redundancy in service ; when two central hosting facilities are selected , the carrier - neutral requirement decreases in importance while other factors increase in importance ; preferably , multiple central hosting facilities are geographically distant from one another to protect them against local or regional natural or manmade events ; preferably , the multiple central hosting facilities are owned and operated by different companies to provide protection against adverse economic conditions ; and a second and subsequent central hosting facility can be an exact replica or smaller version of the first or primary central hosting facility . in the latter case , it is important that the second central hosting facility contractually and physically provide for future expansion to become a replica of the primary . typically , a central hosting facility contains all the components of a server - less office architecture in a single location . in an alternative embodiment , a central hosting facility is a “ federated ” environment . federation is an approach to the coordinated sharing and interchange of computerized information emphasizing partial , controlled sharing of data among autonomous hosting facilities each having at least one database . office information systems provide a particularly appropriate context for this type of information sharing . a federated data sharing architecture is a collection of independent database systems that are united into a loosely coupled federation in order to share information . a federation consists of a plurality of database components and a single federal dictionary that describes each component independent database system . the components represent individual users , applications , workstations , or other components in an office information system . the federal dictionary is a specialized component shared by each independent component database system that maintains the topology of the federation and controls the entry of new components into the federal dictionary . each component in the federation controls its interactions with other components by means of an export schema and an import schema . the export schema specifies the information that a component will share with other components , while the import schema specifies the non - local information that a component wishes to manipulate . the federated architecture provides mechanisms for sharing data , for sharing transactions ( via message types ) for combining information from several components , and for coordinating activities among autonomous components ( via negotiation ). while a server - less office is typically accessed by a workstation , desktop or laptop that supports a browser over a network ( internal user ) or the internet ( internal or external user ), it can also be accessed by any other device that is capable of supporting the required communication protocols , such as wireless , handheld , and remote access devices . in a preferred embodiment , an important object is to eliminate computing and , therefore , data and data management , at the user level . once the processing no longer takes place at the user level , it is possible to provide a lower ( and thus cheaper ) processing speed to users without impacting their overall productivity . the microsoft active directory ™ and the windows ® 2000 server , provide the following capabilities : framework to accept standardized user names & amp ; naming conventions ; single sign - on — one user name & amp ; password for users to remember and administrators to manage ; standardized password policies ; increased security via group policy — for secure access to proper resources ; integration with vpn — increased security for wide area & amp ; remote access ; and centralized administration — providing a consistent way of managing an entire network infrastructure thereby maximizing it efficiency . the windows ® 2000 server operating system and the active directory ™ service integrate applications , users , data , and other resources into a unified environment . integration between windows 2000 server and application services allows companies to build more powerful architectures on the platform by taking advantage of available features without adding layers of complexity , lengthening development time , or increasing management costs . the windows 2000 platform , including windows 2000 professional , windows 2000 server , windows 2000 advanced server , and windows 2000 datacenter server provide . although customers can deploy windows 2000 without deploying active directory , many of the advanced features of windows 2000 are only available if active directory ™ is deployed . the features that require or are enhanced by active directory ™ are briefly outlined below : windows 2000 server provides organizations with a significantly advanced architecture — made possible with active directory . the following capabilities can only be achieved by installing active directory : intellimirror — intellimirror ® management technologies use policy - based change and configuration management to enable users &# 39 ; data , software , and settings to follow them throughout a distributed computing environment , whether they are online or offline ; remote os installation services ( ris )— administrators can remotely install windows 2000 professional on multiple computers , a benefit that eliminates the need to physically visit each client computer ; delegation of administration — administrators can assign responsibility for managing a portion of the network to another user or group ; objects can be administered granularly , such as the ability to reset passwords ; multimaster replication — any domain controller can accept and replicate changes to any other domain controller ; domains can scale to millions of users ; and global catalog ( gc )— provides a unified view of all objects in the directory , giving users a powerful and efficient search capability . active directory ™ sites let client computers locate and logon to the domain controller that is closest to them . kerberos is the internet standard security protocol for handling authentication of users or system identity . kerberos allows unix clients and servers to have active directory ™ accounts and obtain authentication from a domain controller ; and services can impersonate users allowing middle - tier service to authenticate to a back - end data server on behalf of the user . a two - way transitive trust is automatically created when a new child domain is created , eliminating the need to manually create and maintain domain trust relationships . administrators can create shortcut trusts to shorten the trust path between domains in a complex active directory ™ forest ; and administrators can create a trust relationship between a windows 2000 domain controller and a mit kerberos v5 realm . qos policy is stored in active directory , which provides a secure , replicated , and persistent store . qos access control settings ( acs ) objects published in active directory ™ are protected by active directory ™ security settings ; and user authentication is performed using the internet standard kerberos protocol . system policies and logon scripts stored in the sysvol are automatically replicated to all domain controllers . ( sysvol is an automatically replicated folder used by domain controllers of the same domain .) multimaster replication allows any domain to propagate changes to any other domain controller . frs can copy and maintain shared files and folders on multiple servers simultaneously . when changes occur , content is synchronized immediately within sites and by schedule between sites ; configuration data stored in active directory ™ and frs automatically polls active directory ™ for changes such as add / delete a replica , add / delete a connection , change a schedule and change a file or folder filter ; and secure communications uses authenticated remote procedure call ( rpc ) with kerberos encryption . although some features in windows 2000 can be deployed without active directory , additional functionality can be enabled through integration with active directory : group policy — group policy is the primary administrative tool for defining and controlling how programs , network resources , and the operating system operate for users and computers in an organization . in an active directory ™ environment , group policy is applied to users or computers on the basis of their membership in sites , domains , or organizational units ( ous ); universal groups can contain members from any domain in the forest and be used throughout the active directory ™ forest ; domain local groups can contain members from any domain in the forest , as well as users from trusted domains outside the forest . domain local groups can be used anywhere within the domain in which they are defined ; and administrators can use nested groups ( adding a group as a member of another group ), simplifying group management . secure dynamic update enables access control lists ( acls ) that specify the groups or users permitted to modify dns zones . multimaster zone replication allows dns updates to be written to any active directory - integrated dns server , and the data will be automatically replicated across all domain controllers ; dns enables a single replication topology for both active directory ™ and dns , eliminating manual configuration and maintenance of separate dns replication topology ; and note : to deploy active directory , the domain name system ( dns ) is required to support the directory namespace . active directory ™ is used to store records of authorized dhcp servers and neglect rogue servers . rogue dhcp servers are unauthorized , and if they do not receive confirmation they will not respond to dhcp requests . dhcp allows proxy registration and updates for earlier versions of windows using secure update . remote access policy and remote access permissions can be set for user accounts using active directory . vpn is the extension of a private network that encompasses logical links across shared or public networks such as the internet . vpn support in windows 2000 is a combination of tunneling technologies , authentication methods , authorization policies , and encryption technologies to secure traffic across a vpn connection . active directory ™ enhances vpns in windows 2000 by allowing authorization to be specified by user or group , including domain - local and universal groups . ipsec group policy can be applied to local computers , organizational units , and domains . because policies store multiple security actions , one policy may be applied to multiple computers ; and a computer &# 39 ; s public keys can be published in active directory ™ for easy retrieval . the tapi h . 323 tsp uses active directory ™ to perform user - to - ip address resolution . the user - to - ip mapping information is stored and refreshed using the internet locator service ( ils ) dynamic directory , a real - time server component of active directory ; tapi uses active directory ™ to associate users with particular ils servers . the telephony container in the user object contains the name of the ils server for that user &# 39 ; s site , which is then queried for the ip address in question . this eliminates the need to manually configure tapi programs with the locations of the ils servers ; and tapi 3 . 0 uses the security features of active directory ™ and the lightweight directory access protocol ( ldap ) to provide for secure conferencing with netmeeting ® software over the internet . each active directory ™ object has an access control list ( acl ) specifying object - access rights on a user or group basis . by associating acls with sdp conference descriptors , conference creators can specify who can enumerate and view conference announcements . disk quotas can be defined based on user identities in active directory ; and file shares can be published in active directory ™ for simplified browsing of network resources . dfs allows administrators to organize disjointed and distributed shares into a single hierarchy , a benefit that provides numerous advantages such as letting users easily find the closest printer to their location ; and dfs uses active directory ™ to automatically redirect requests to the nearest available server . used in conjunction with certificate services , efs enables auto - enrollment , publication of public keys in active directory ™ for easy retrieval and publication , and the certificate revocation list in active directory ™ for validating certificates . group policy - recovery agent provides domain - wide consistency . computers that are joined to the domain cannot bypass recovery policy ; by storing the users &# 39 ; private key in active directory , administrators can enable roaming user profiles , a benefit that gives users access throughout the network to user - specific configuration settings , such as program items , screen colors , network connections , printer connections , mouse settings , and window size and position ; and administrators can store efs files on network file shares . universal groups can contain members from any domain in the forest and be used throughout the active directory ™ forest ; domain local groups can contain members from any domain in the forest , as well as users from trusted domains outside the forest . domain local groups can be used anywhere within the domain in which they are defined ; and administrators can use nested groups to add a group as a member of another group , simplifying group management . printers can be automatically published in active directory ; users can search for printers by an attribute such as a color printer ; and with group policy , administrators can control adding / deleting printers as well as access to internet printing . iis supports advanced authentication methods including basic , digest , integrated windows , certificates , and ftp basic ; iis enables directory service mapping of user certificates to active directory ™ user accounts ; and iis provides the ability to control web resource access using active directory ™ security groups . smart cards are a tamper - resistant and portable way to provide security capabilities for tasks such as client authentication , logging on to a windows 2000 domain , code signing and securing e - mail . in an environment , smart card users have a single sign - on to the domain . a terminal services profile can be created for each user in active directory . administrators can then create user profiles tailored to the terminal services environment . the terminal services profile can be used to restrict access to applications by removing them from the user &# 39 ; s start menu . administrators can also create and store network connections to printers and other resources for use during user sessions . an organization can require separate servers to address unique purposes by a business objective that recites this requirement . some examples of dedicated servers include : auto enroll computers to receive machine certificates that can be used for remote access authentication ; automatically issue or deny certificate requests based upon policy and security permission set for the certificate type requested ; issue certificates that can be used with smart cards for windows 2000 domain logon ; publish user certificates in active directory ™ for easy retrieval by public key enabled applications ; publish certificate revocation lists in active directory ™ that are used to determine if a certificate is still valid ; and use certificate templates to enforce credential checks on users during certificate enrollment , automatically generate certificate subject name , and add a predefined list of certificate extensions to the issued certificate , which reduces the amount of information a requestor has to provide . microsoft directory synchronization server synchronizes information from netware bindery or nds to active directory . this enables attribute - based searching for printers and people in the directory . microsoft exchange 2000 server ™ relies heavily on windows 2000 in three main areas : the directory , transport and name resolution . for additional information on integrating microsoft exchange 2000 and windows 2000 see the microsoft exchange server web site . organizations can specify business objectives for their branch offices and other remote sites to be able to make private connections to hosting centers . vpn technology allows companies to connect branch offices or other sites over a public network ( such as the internet ), while maintaining secure communications . greater application availability — because san storage is externalized ; it can be easily accessed through alternate data paths , ( clusters ) eliminating single points of failure better application performance — the performance of server - attached storage is limited by the cpu speed and activity of the server . being freed from a directly attached server , san storage is not impacted by its host . like conventional subnets , sans add bandwidth without placing more overhead on the primary lan practical data movement — sans enable implementations of high - availability , disaster protection configurations , remote clusters , mirroring and vaulting ; centralized storage — by providing the means to consolidate storage , sans deliver greater scalability , reliability and flexibility ; and fault tolerance — redundant drive enclosure power supplies , blowers , controllers , cache battery backup , distributed hot spare disks and a multi - level v - raid architecture ensures fault tolerance against system outages and data loss . integrated into active directory , ( ad ) providing a single management point for messaging system ; instant messaging , ( im ), offering secure im services within a company or business to business ; conferencing & amp ; collaborating , providing ability to share applications & amp ; files , conduct discussions , and exchange white board diagrams ; and customized control via relay server . all inbound mail scanned before message reaches the information store , ( is — the exchange “ database ”). the present invention provides this functionality or interfaces with a typical third party component , such as the microsoft exchange 2000 server ™, which offers capabilities such as the following : exchange 2000 server ™ provides a wide array of features and functionality . highlights include : messaging and collaboration ; integrated with the windows 2000 active directory ™ for lower cost of ownership ; single - seat administration with mmc ; unlimited database size for maximum scalability ; multiple message databases for fast restores and flexible data management ; two - way active / active clustering ( requires windows 2000 advanced server ); distributed services for hosting millions of users ; policies for changing a wide range of objects ( like mailboxes ) quickly ; fault - tolerant smtp routing for reliable and fast message delivery ; use of windows 2000 acls makes secure e - mail and collaboration easy ; and native mime content storage increases internet mail performance . easy access to information from a wide range of client software , including windows file explorer ; save and read directly from microsoft office using standard dialog boxes ; manage documents and e - mail in the same folder and with the same tools ; store properties with documents for easy information management ; built - in content indexing and search for fast location of documents ; browser access to all web storage system content with user - friendly urls ; build high - performance applications with collaboration data objects ; built - in support for internet standards such as http and xml ; support for ole db and ado for standard access to information ; secure , integrated workflow engine and visual design tool ; frontpage 2000 integration makes building web applications easy ; reusable web components and data forms for rapid application design ; and synchronous and asynchronous events for custom applications . enhanced outlook web access for access to information from anywhere ; instant messaging for easy , spontaneous communication ; presence information for maintaining a “ buddy list ”; enhanced chat services for better collaboration ; unified messaging platform for combining voice and data ; voice profile for internet mail ( vpim ) for voice mail system interoperability ; enhanced chat services featuring increased scalability and control ; data , audio , and video conferencing ( requires exchange 2000 conferencing server ); conference management that limits bandwidth consumption ( requires exchange 2000 conferencing server ); and active directory ™ integration for conferencing ( requires exchange conferencing server ). cisco security agent provides threat protection for server and desktop computing systems , also known as endpoints . it identifies and prevents malicious behavior , thereby eliminating known and unknown (“ day zero ”) security risks and helping to reduce operational costs . the cisco security agent aggregates and extends multiple endpoint security functions by providing host intrusion prevention , distributed firewall capabilities , malicious mobile code protection , operating system integrity assurance , and audit log consolidation , all within a single product . and because cisco security agent analyzes behavior rather than relying on signature matching , it provides robust protection with reduced operational costs . trend micro , offers capabilities such as the following : interscanr ™ messaging security suite trend micro ™ interscanr ™ messaging security suite is an extensible , policy - based messaging security platform for the gateway that addresses mixed - threat attacks by delivering coordinated policies for antivirus , anti - spam , and content filtering . interscanr ™ messaging security suite helps it managers minimize time - consuming installation and configuration for multiple messaging security systems . its extensible platform approach to messaging security reduces total cost of ownership and provides enhanced protection from the multiple , aggressive tactics employed by mixed - threat attacks to infiltrate network defenses . when deployed with trend micro ™ control manager ™, interscanr ™ messaging security suite provides enterprise - wide visibility of the messaging security platform , allowing centralized reporting and configuration , pattern file and scan engine updates , and management of trend micro ™ outbreak prevention services — all accessible via remote administration trend micro ™ spam prevention is a high - performance anti - spam application designed to protect the enterprise from spam at the gateway . it is integrated with the award - winning trend micro ™ interscanr ™ messaging security suite , which provides comprehensive messaging security — antivirus , content filtering , and anti - spam — in one easy - to - manage platform . spam prevention is designed to defeat spam using patent - pending heuristics rules technology — a technology that offers more adaptable and “ future - proof ” protection against the ever - changing tactics of spammers . policy - based configuration options allow administrators to assign variable catch rate sensitivities based on spam category and user groups , along with flexible filter actions for appropriate message disposition options . spam prevention can delete , quarantine , tag and more based on spam likelihood level . when implemented using the end user quarantine ( euq ) feature , spam prevention can also route suspicious “ graymail ” messages to mail server - side folders for end user review and create “ approved sender ” lists both at the gateway and the mail server , to help administrators improve the accuracy and effectiveness of spam filtering over time and to provide more customized filtering for each user . scanmail ™ for microsoft ™ exchange provides real - time detection and removal of viruses from email and attachments , before they reach the desktop . it is easy to deploy and configure via either a web or windows - based management console . coupled with the scanmail ™ emanager ™ plug - in , it provides comprehensive content filtering to help block non - business email and filter inappropriate content in emails and attachments . scanmail ™ is fully integrated with the latest microsoft apis and supports microsoft exchange 5 . 5 , microsoft exchange 2000 , and now exchange 2003 servers . serverprotect for microsoft windows / novell netware serverprotect ™ provides comprehensive antivirus scanning for servers , detecting and removing viruses from files and compressed files in real time — before they reach the end user . administrators can use a windows - based console for centralized management of virus outbreaks , virus scanning , virus pattern file updates , notifications , and remote installation . serverprotect ™ supports microsoft ™ windows ™ server 2003 , microsoft windows 2000 , microsoft windows nt ™ 4 , and novell ™ netware ™ servers . trend micro ™ officescan ™ corporate edition is an integrated client / server security system designed to protect against the daily threats of file - based and network viruses as well as secure access from intruders , spyware , and other threats . security policy is enforced with cisco network access devices that support network admissions control ( nac ), or through network viruswall . its powerful web - based management console gives administrators transparent access to every desktop and mobile client on the network for coordinated , automatic deployment of security policies and software updates . by replacing vulnerable passwords with the industry &# 39 ; s leading two - factor authentication , rsa security and microsoft ® will make it possible for customers to positively identify users before granting them access to valuable corporate resources accessed through windows ® desktops and networks — while simultaneously delivering a simplified and consistent user login experience . rsa securid for microsoft ® windows ® software helps to provide greater security than weak , static passwords . by combining something the user knows ( i . e ., a secret pin ) with something the user possesses ( i . e ., a unique rsa securid token that generates a one - time password every 60 seconds ), microsoft ® windows ® customers gain an effective way to secure user access to valuable company resources . today &# 39 ; s user is generally required to remember different passwords , which vary depending on how and from where the user is logging on to the microsoft ® network . the rsa securid for microsoft ® windows ® is engineered to provide a single , consistent user login experience , regardless of whether the user is working on - or offline , remotely or inside the walls of the enterprise . as public companies struggle to find effective , manageable procedures for complying with industry and government regulations , rsa securid for microsoft ® windows ® software helps to provide the global auditing capabilities that can help companies meet these challenging requirements and avoid the hefty fines and potential legal costs that can result from non - compliance . the cisco pix security appliance plays a vital role in the cisco strategy to use integrated security to build a self - defending network . from compact “ plug - and - play ” appliances for small and home offices to modular carrier - class gigabit appliances for enterprise and service - provider environments , cisco pix security appliances provide robust , enterprise - class integrated network security services to create a strong multilayered defense for fast - changing network environments . security and networking services include virtual lan ( 802 . 1q tag ) support ; open shortest path first dynamic routing ; network address translation ; port address translation ; content filtering ( java / activex ); url filtering ; authentication , authorization , and accounting ( radius / tacacs +) integration ; support for leading x . 509 public key infrastructure systems ; and dynamic host configuration protocol client , server , relay , and point - to - point protocol over ethernet support . cisco pix security appliances support various remote access vpn clients including cisco software vpn clients ( available on many platforms including microsoft windows , linux , solaris , and mac os x ), cisco hardware vpn clients ( such as the cisco pix 501 and pix 506e security appliances , vpn 3002 hardware client , and cisco 800 or 1700 series routers ), as well as point - to - point tunneling protocol and layer 2 tunneling protocol clients in microsoft windows operating systems . cisco pix security appliances encrypt data using 56 - bit data encryption standard ( des ), 168 - bit triple des ( 3des ), or up to 256 - bit advanced encryption standard ( aes ) encryption . many cisco pix security appliance models support modular upgrades and have integrated hardware vpn acceleration capabilities , delivering highly scalable , high - performance vpn services . cisco pix security appliances also provide advanced security services for multimedia and voice standards , including h . 323 version 4 , session initiation protocol , cisco skinny client control protocol , real time streaming protocol , and media gateway control protocol , allowing businesses to securely take advantage of the many benefits that converged data , voice , and video networks deliver . the cisco vpn 3000 series concentrators are purpose - built , remote access virtual private network ( vpn ) platforms that incorporate high availability , high performance , and scalability with the most advanced encryption and authentication techniques available today . supported connectivity mechanisms include ip security ( ipsec ), point - to - point tunneling protocol ( pptp ), layer 2 tunneling protocol ( l2tp ) over ipsec , and cisco webvpn ( clientless secure sockets layer [ ssl ] browser - based connectivity ). with the vpn 3000 series , organizations can take advantage of the latest vpn technology to reduce communications costs . unique to the industry , this scalable platform offers field - swappable and customer - upgradeable components . these components , called scalable encryption processing ( sep ) modules , enable users to easily add capacity and throughput . the cisco vpn client software is provided with all versions of the cisco vpn 3000 series , and it includes unlimited distribution licensing . webvpn is also provided with no additional licensing fees and enables access to critical enterprise applications including web pages , file shares , e - mail , and transmission control protocol ( tcp )- based applications such as telnet and secure shell protocol ( ssh ). granular access control and logging is available for webvpn users . the cisco vpn 3000 series concentrator is available in both non - redundant and redundant configurations , allowing customers to build the most robust , reliable , and cost - effective networks possible . the ciscoworks wlse is a centralized , systems - level architecture for managing the entire cisco aironet wireless lan ( wlan ) infrastructure . the advanced radio frequency ( rf ) and device management features of the ciscoworks wlse simplify the everyday operation of wlans , ensure smooth deployment , enhance security , and maximize network availability , while reducing deployment and operating expense . the ciscoworks wlse enables administrators to detect , locate , and mitigate rogue access points and rf interference . the assisted site survey feature automates the previously manual , expensive , and time consuming process of determining optimal access point settings including transmit power and channel selection . the ciscoworks wlse automatically configures access points and bridges , assures the consistent application of security policies , and proactively monitors faults and performance . the ciscoworks wlse is a core component of the cisco structured wireless - aware network . benefits , which add to the weight of this it component include simplifies daily operation and management of medium and large scale wireless lans ; enhances security by detecting , locating and mitigating rogue access points , by ensuring consistent application of security policies , and by monitoring 802 . 1x performance ; improves wlan performance and availability by detecting rf interference and by monitoring faults ; and saves time and resources by automating and centralizing repetitive , time - consuming management tasks . the cisco network intrusion detection offers capabilities such as the following : the cisco intrusion detection system ( ids ) 4200 sensors are members of the market - leading cisco ids series of products that provide pervasive protection throughout the network . they are purpose - built , high - performance network security “ appliances ” that protect against unauthorized , malicious activity traversing the network , such as attacks by hackers . cisco ids sensors analyze traffic in real time , enabling users to quickly respond to security breaches . the cisco countermeasures research team ( c - crt ) uses a combination of highly innovative and sophisticated detection techniques , including stateful pattern recognition , protocol parsing , heuristic detection , and anomaly detection that provide comprehensive protection from a variety of both known and unknown cyber threats . furthermore , the cisco t . a . m . e ( threat analysis micro - engine ) technology allows granular customization of sensor signatures , resulting in precisely tuned sensors that minimize the occurrence of “ false positives . when unauthorized activity is detected , the sensor can send alarms to the management console ( s ) with details of the activity . additionally , the cisco ids active response system delivers unparalleled protection by controlling other systems , such as routers , firewalls , and switches , to terminate unauthorized sessions . the installation and management of these turnkey appliances is easy using a wide array of management systems , including a web user interface , a command - line interface ( cli ), or cisco &# 39 ; s highly scalable ciscoworks vpn / security management systems ( vms ). the cisco ids 4200 series of appliance sensors includes four products : the cisco ids 4215 , ids 4235 , ids 4250 and the ids 4250 - xl . the entire cisco ids appliance portfolio delivers a broad range of systems that allow easy integration into many different environments , including enterprise and service provider environments . each appliance sensor addresses the bandwidth requirements at one of a variety of performance marks , from 80 mbps to gigabit . additionally , a variety of interface options are supported , including the provision of multiple sniffing interfaces and copper / fiber interface options . cisco ids sensor software for cisco ids sensors delivers the latest in innovative intrusion detection system ( ids ) features , including active update signature distribution mechanisms , customizable signature language , extensions to the active response capabilities , and secure administration . cisco ids sensor software for cisco ids sensors is a component of the industry - leading cisco intrusion detection system , which provides customers with unmatched intrusion protection technology through the cisco active defense system . the integrated hardware and software delivers best - of - breed protection for both perimeter and internal resources . the ciscoworks management center for ids sensors is management software for the configuration of network ids , switch ids sensors and ids network modules for routers . this tool is a featured component of the vpn / security management system ( vms ). the software allows you manage multiple sensors concurrently by creating sensor groups and thereby saving time for the administrator . the software also provides an easy to use web interface and wizards to reduce the learning time . the management center for ids sensors also delivers the capability to create new signatures so that administrators can more accurately detect threats , and the capability to edit signatures to reduce false positives . voice and video enabled vpn ( v3pn ) systems integrate cost - effective , secure connectivity provided by site - to - site ipsec vpn &# 39 ; s with the avvid architecture for delivering converged voice , video , and data ip networks . integrating these two network systems delivers cost - effective , flexible wide - area connectivity , while providing a network infrastructure that enables the latest converged network applications like ip telephony and video . virtual private networks ( vpns ) offer a lower cost and highly flexible alternative to replace or augment dedicated private networks using leased lines , frame relay , or atm . vpns provide tremendous cost savings for enterprise data networks by utilizing shared networks secured by encrypted vpn tunnels . the trend toward network convergence , however , places new demands on vpns . with voice and video - enabled vpns ( v3pn ) delivered by cisco , enterprises can leverage cost - effective vpns to add voice and video to their data network without compromising quality and reliability . cisco v3pn systems integrate cost - effective , secure connectivity provided by site - to - site vpns with the cisco avvid architecture for delivering converged voice , video , and data over ip networks . v3pns deliver cost - effective , flexible wide - area connectivity , while providing a network infrastructure that supports the latest converged network applications like ip telephony and video . key benefits , which add to weights for this it component , and applications of cisco v3pn systems include : cost - effective voice , video , and data connectivity in geographically dispersed locations — customers can use the multiservice capabilities of v3pn to connect de - centralized office environments , such as remote office / home office connectivity , complete with a pbx extension . furthermore , businesses can deliver video - based training and take advantage of the efficiencies of unified messaging applications in these locations to reduce business operations costs ; vpn infrastructure for today &# 39 ; s applications — v3pn provides a vpn infrastructure capable of transporting converged voice , video , and data traffic across a secure ipsec network . unlike many vpn devices on the market , cisco vpn platforms accommodate the diverse network topologies and traffic types characteristic of multiservice ipsec vpns , and thereby ensure the vpn infrastructure does not break multiservice applications deployed now or in the future ; end - to - end network architecture — cisco provides products for all aspects of multiservice vpns , from cisco vpn routers with cisco ios ® software to cisco callmanager and ip phones . furthermore , cisco provides an overarching deployment model for these products through the cisco avvid architecture for converged networking and the safe blueprint for vpns . these deployment models ensure a secure , interoperable , reliable network system with end - to - end product support ; securing the entire multiservice network — cisco network security systems provide more than encryption of multiservice traffic across the vpn ; they also ensure interoperation with cisco pix firewalls for perimeter security and cisco intrusion detection system for network attack protection ; and service provider partners - service providers deliver the bandwidth over which vpns operate . through the cisco powered network program , enterprises can select service providers who deliver the low - latency network fabric critical to high quality voice and video across the vpn , or select fully managed v3pn services . cisco ip communications — a comprehensive system of powerful , enterprise - class systems including ip telephony , unified communications , ip video and audio conferencing , and customer contact — helps organizations realize business gains by improving operational efficiencies , increasing organizational productivity , and enhancing customer satisfaction . cisco callmanager — an integral component of the cisco ip communications system — is the software - based call - processing component of the cisco enterprise ip telephony system ; it is enabled by cisco avvid ( architecture for voice , video and integrated data ). cisco callmanager software extends enterprise telephony features and capabilities to packet telephony network devices such as ip phones , media processing devices , voice - over - ip ( voip ) gateways , and multimedia applications . additional data , voice , and video services such as unified messaging , multimedia conferencing , collaborative contact centers , and interactive multimedia response systems interact with the ip telephony system through cisco callmanager open telephony application programming interfaces ( apis ). cisco callmanager is installed on the cisco media convergence servers ( mcss ) and selected third - party servers . cisco callmanager software is shipped with a suite of integrated voice applications and utilities , including the cisco callmanager attendant console — a software - only manual attendant console ; a software - only ad - hoc conferencing application ; the bulk administration tool ( bat ); the cdr analysis and reporting ( car ) tool ; the real time monitoring tool ( rtmt ); a simple , low - density cisco callmanager auto attendant ( cm - aa ); the tool for auto - registered phones support ( taps ); and the ip manager assistant ( ipma ) application . key features and benefits which at to the weight of this it component : cisco callmanager version 4 . 0 provides a scalable , distributable , and highly available enterprise ip telephony call - processing system . multiple cisco callmanager servers are clustered and managed as a single entity . clustering multiple call - processing servers on an ip network is a unique capability in the industry and highlights the leading architecture provided by cisco avvid . cisco callmanager clustering yields scalability of from 1 to 30 , 000 ip phones per cluster , load balancing , and call - processing service redundancy . by interlinking multiple clusters , system capacity can be increased up to 1 million users in a 100 + site system . clustering aggregates the power of multiple , distributed cisco callmanagers , enhancing the scalability and accessibility of the servers to phones , gateways , and applications . triple call - processing server redundancy improves overall system availability . the benefit of this distributed architecture is improved system availability , load balancing , and scalability . call admission control ( cac ) ensures that voice quality of service ( qos ) is maintained across constricted wan links , and automatically diverts calls to alternate public switched telephone network ( pstn ) routes when wan bandwidth is not available . a web - browsable interface to the configuration database enables remote device and system configuration . html - based online help is available for users and administrators . the enhancements provided by version 4 . 0 offer improved security , interoperability , functionality , supportability , and productivity as well as the new video telephony function . callmanager 4 . 0 has many security features that give callmanager users the ability to verify identity of the devices or servers that they communicate , ensure the integrity of data it is receiving , and provide privacy of communications via encryption . improvements in the callmanager q . sig signaling interface expands the range of functions with which cisco callmanager can connect to other q . sig compatible systems . enhancements to the callmanager apis ( axl , jtapi , tsp ) provide customers and third party vendors increased ability to develop improved applications that can be integrated with callmanager and ip phones . callmanager 4 . 0 introduces video telephony that includes support for sccp and h . 323 video and gives the same administration and user experience for voice and video . common system administration and call behavior with existing audio phone calls help truly merge voice and video . new callmanager 4 . 0 features like multiple calls per lines , call join , direct transfer , immediate divert , and ad - hoc conference list and drop any member improve the usability of the phones . cisco unity is a powerful unified communications system that provides advanced , convergence - based communication services on a platform that offers the utmost in reliability , scalability , and performance . cisco unity integrates with the desktop applications — such as microsoft outlook and lotus notes — that you use everyday to improve communications , boost productivity , and enhance customer service capabilities across your organization . with cisco unity , you can listen to your e - mail over the telephone , check voice messages from the internet , and ( when integrated with a supported third - party fax server ) forward faxes to any local fax machine — increasing organizational productivity while improving customer service and responsiveness . as an integral part of the cisco avvid ( architecture for voice , video and integrated data ) environment , cisco unity complements the full range of cisco ip - based voice systems — including cisco callmanager , cisco ip contact center , and cisco personal assistant . cisco personal assistant is a new - world telephony application that operates with cisco unity and streamlines communications by helping users manage how and where they want to be reached . cisco unity is a powerful unified communications system that provides advanced , convergence - based communication services on a platform that offers the utmost in reliability , scalability , and performance . cisco unity integrates with the desktop applications — such as microsoft outlook and lotus notes — that you use everyday to improve communications , boost productivity , and enhance customer service capabilities across your organization . with cisco unity , you can listen to your e - mail over the telephone , check voice messages from the internet , and ( when integrated with a supported third - party fax server ) forward faxes to any local fax machine — increasing organizational productivity while improving customer service and responsiveness cisco meetingplace provides a fully integrated rich - media conferencing system , including voice and web conferencing capabilities . residing “ on - network ”— behind the firewall on internal voice and data networks — cisco meetingplace offers unmatched security , reliability , scalability , application integration , and cost - efficiency . offering significant cost savings over traditional service bureau systems , cisco meetingplace — part of the cisco ip communications system — takes advantage of existing corporate ip and circuit - switched public switched telephone network ( pstn ) voice and data networks to greatly reduce or eliminate transport tolls and recurring conferencing charges . as conferencing applications have become ubiquitous on corporate desktops , they have increased the productivity of meetings that involve the participation of remote callers . cisco ® meetingplace 8106 systems integrate voice , video , and web conferencing , and enterprise groupware applications for secure on - network , rich - media conferencing . cisco meetingplace 8106 makes these remote meetings as natural and effective as face - to - face meetings . cisco meetingplace offers companies a robust voice - and web - conferencing platform that they can integrate with their private networks . with carrier - grade hardware and advanced system software , cisco meetingplace 8106 delivers the scalability , reliability , simplified administration , security , and cost - effectiveness that it organizations require . the cisco meetingplace 8106 architecture provides for additional growth and scalability . users can support large deployments with a single system , while global and distributed servers connect through cisco meetingplace 8106 networking capabilities . in addition , high reliability and component redundancies help ensure that cisco meetingplace 8106 is consistently available for critical communications . administration becomes more streamlined with automated system tools , comprehensive reports , and a high degree of configurability . cisco meetingplace 8106 offers a highly secure conferencing system . with application security and segmented web conferencing , users can ensure that their meetings remain private . as an on - network deployment , cisco meetingplace 8106 works with — not around — corporate network security policies . by taking full advantage of familiar desktop interfaces , customers can adopt cisco meetingplace easily and quickly . with microsoft outlook and lotus notes integrations , users can view cisco meetingplace meetings in their existing calendars , just as they do with their everyday meetings . users can also use microsoft netmeeting , lotus sametime , or an intuitive cisco meetingplace web conferencing application for sharing presentations , applications , or desktop sharing . cisco meetingplace also fits transparently into the corporate infrastructure to support it initiatives . cisco meetingplace has been successfully deployed and used as both an on - premises system and an outsourced service . large enterprises use cisco meetingplace to share content for training , sales demonstrations , customer support , and everyday business meetings and communications . reservationless — option for users to hold voice and web meetings with a personal meeting id , and without the need for scheduling ; meeting controls : allows meeting organizer to mute / un - mute , change speaking ability , record , lock , eject , and end meeting ; find participant : enables meeting organizer to search for users by calling a sequence of main phone , alternate phone , and pager numbers ; meeting message : users can prerecord messages for other participants to hear before entering the meeting ; and multi - language support : personal voice prompt options for english , british english , japanese , and french - canadian . application / desktop sharing : users can share any application or their desktop from windows ( browser or t . 120 ) or unix ( t . 120 ); recording and playback : record and play back meeting recording from your desktop via stream or download ; remote control sharing : organizers can allow any user to take control of any desktop , application , document , or website ; chat : text messaging within meetings between meeting participants , which prevents disruptions ; polling : participants can vote on questions and give feedback during the meeting ; file attachments : publish any document to the meeting web page ; and encryption : cisco meetingplace supports encrypted web pages and web conferencing traffic via https and ssl protocols ; internet lock - out controls : users can designate meetings be held entirely within corporate firewall ; attendee authentication : meeting organizer can require participants to have system profiles in order to attend a meeting ; automated account management : cisco meetingplace integrates with corporate directories automatically removing profiles of employees once they leave the company ; hacker defenses : automatically blocks out users after multiple failed login attempts and then pages a system administrator ; and in - session meeting controls : meeting organizer can specify announced entry and departure , require passwords , lock the meeting , and eject unwanted attendees . dedicated server : each customer receives their own dedicated cisco meetingplace server for hosted services configuration : system options to set usage , scheduling , access , and meeting preference parameters . customization : customizable voice prompts and database fields ; reports : standard configuration , usage , and billing reports . detailed raw data reports to track meeting and participant details ; capacity management : system parameters to optimize port utilization and meeting traffic charts ; system manager agents : meeting alerts via e - mail to users and system managers ; system status : remote management and monitoring via simple network management protocol ( snmp ) traps . alarm out - dials to phone or pager ; and disaster recovery : automated tape backup and ability to import / export meeting databases . tandberg videoconferencing enables users to accomplish more without leaving the office . it &# 39 ; s as fast as a phone call and just as easy to connect . it offers all the advantages of a face - to - face meeting , but much easier to arrange . at every level of an organization , tandberg videoconferencing is allowing people to connect and share information faster and more efficiently than with any other technology . meetings are more engaging . conferences are more valuable . conversations are more enlightening . its technology that is so natural you will forget you &# 39 ; re not actually there . the present invention will provides this functionality or interfaces with a typical third party component , such as the tandberg videoconferencing system , which offers capabilities such as the following : all calling services of cisco callmanager 4 . 0 , including hold , transfer , directory , forward etc . ; softkey design that replicates the ip phone experience ; easy administration . extensions are set - up through callmanager &# 39 ; s web administration tools ; interoperability with h . 323 systems from tandberg or other vendors ; and pbx functions to call to , conference in and forward to h . 323 endpoints ( h . 323 systems cannot initiate these services ). fig5 shows a basic outline of one possible configuration of a server - less office . a user could access the server - less office via the internet 505 or via an internal network 510 where a router 515 would coordinate the access with the firewall 520 . a router 522 inside the firewall would direct the communication to the proper component , which could include active directory ™ services 525 , web servers 530 , load balancing servers 535 , exchange servers 540 , application servers 545 , database servers 550 or file servers 555 . the central server 560 coordinates access to the network storage devices and interacts through switches 565 to coordinate support for real time backup via the backup server 570 through the network storage router 575 to the tape backup devices 580 . fig6 shows the same basic outline of one possible configuration of a server - less office that is illustrated in fig5 , substituting icons of the specified hardware for the generic diagram elements , and using the same element numbering scheme to identify the figure components . a user could access the server - less office via the internet 605 or via an internal network 610 where a router 615 would coordinate the access with the firewall 620 . a router 622 inside the firewall would direct the communication to the proper component , which could include active directory ™ services 625 , web servers 630 , load balancing servers 635 , exchange servers 640 , application servers 645 , database servers 650 or file servers 655 . the central server 660 coordinates access to the network storage devices and interacts through switches 665 to coordinate support for real time backup via the backup server 670 through the network storage router 675 to the tape backup devices 680 . it is anticipated that the method of the present invention will be embodied in systems and interfaced with other systems . for example , a selection criteria may be ‘ availability ’ of a candidate it component and satisfaction of the criteria may require going out to a vendor / supplier to determine actual availability in terms of time to deliver . further , volume discounts may be available for certain items , such as thin clients , and again such satisfaction of cost criteria may require vendor interaction with the method of the present invention . both of these functions would require the present invention to interface to a sourcing system rather than directly interfacing with a vendor . while the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it will be understood by those skilled in the art , the examples for a server - less office architecture as described herein are illustrative and various changes and modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the present invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt the teachings of the present invention to a particular situation without departing from its central scope . therefore , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention , but that the present invention include all embodiments falling with the scope of the appended claims .	6
now , an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig3 and 4 . fig3 shows a block diagram indicating the recording part of an embodiment of the present invention , and fig4 a block diagram showing the reproducing part of an embodiment of the present invention . in fig3 numeral 38 designates a luminance signal , numeral 39 an ( r - y ) signal , numeral 40 a ( b - y ) signal , 35 a luminance signal input terminal , numeral 36 an ( r - y ) signal input terminal , numeral 37 a ( b - y ) signal input terminal , numeral 45 a first controller , numeral 41 a signal divider , numerals 42 to 44 switches , numeral 46 a first time axis processor , numerals 47 to 52 time axis converters , numerals 53 , 54 multiplexers , numerals 55 , 58 recording processors , numeral 56 , 59 fm modulators , numerals 57 , 60 recording heads , and numeral 61 a magnetic tape . the video signal to be recorded is decoded into the luminance signal , ( r - y ) signal and the ( b - y ) signal , and applied to the luminance signal input terminal 35 , the ( r - y ) signal input terminal 36 , and the ( b - y ) signal input terminal 37 respectively . the decoder is not shown in fig3 . the luminance signal 38 , the ( r - y ) signal 39 and the ( b - y ) signal 40 are applied to the divider 41 including the switches 42 to 44 . the switches 42 to 44 are synchronously switched per each horizontal scan , so that the switch 42 separates the luminance signal 38 , the switch 43 the ( r - y ) signal 39 , and the switch 44 the ( b - y ) signal 40 for each horizontal scan . from the divider 41 , the luminance signal , the ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal which were split every other horizontal scan into two signal groups are applied to the first time axis processor 46 respectively . the first time axis processor 46 includes time axis converters 47 to 52 , the first controller 45 and the multiplexers 53 , 54 . the time converters 47 to 49 are supplied with the luminance signal , ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal synchronously every other horizontal scan period . the time converter 47 time - expands the luminance signal applied thereto , while the time converters 48 and 49 time - compress the ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal applied thereto . the outputs of these time converters 47 to 49 are applied to and combined at the multiplexer 53 . the output signal of the multiplexer 53 , after being subjected to such processes as pre - emphasis , clamp and clip , is fm - modulated at the fm modulator 56 , and through the recording head 57 , is recorded in the magnetic tape 61 . the other luminance signal , ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal split at the divider 41 , on the other hand , are applied to the time axis converters 50 to 52 respectively . the succeeding time axis converters 50 to 52 , the multiplexer 54 , the recording processor 58 , fm modulator 59 and the recording head 60 are similar to the time axis converters 47 to 49 , multiplexer 53 , recording processor 55 , fm modulator 56 and recording head 57 respectively , and will not be described again . in order to further clarify the first time axis processor 46 and the signal flow in fig3 description will be made more in detail with reference to fig5 . fig5 shows a timing chart indicating the flow of signals at respective parts of fig3 . numeral 87 designates a horizontal scan period , numeral 89 a luminance signal , numeral 90 an ( r - y ) signal , numeral 91 a ( b - y ) signal , numerals 88 and 92 multiplexed signals . characters &# 34 ; n &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; n + 1 &# 34 ; . . . designate the n - th horizontal scan , the ( n + 1 ) th horizontal scan , and so on , while &# 34 ; yn &# 34 ;, &# 34 ;( r - y ) n &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;( b - y ) n &# 34 ; designate the luminance signal ( r - y ) signal and the ( b - y ) signal for the n - th horizontal scan period respectively . ( each suffix indicates the number at which horizontal scan occurs .) the bar &# 34 ;-&# 34 ; indicates that it is converted along the time axis . numerals 89 , 90 , 91 , 88 and 92 designate signals applied to the luminance signal input terminal 35 , the ( r - y ) signal input terminal 36 , ( b - y ) signal input terminal 37 , the recording processor 55 and the recording processor 58 respectively shown in fig3 . of all the signals including the luminance signal 38 , ( r - y ) signal 39 and ( b - y ) signal 40 applied to the luminance signal input terminal 35 , ( r - y ) signal input terminal 36 , and ( b - y ) signal input terminal 37 , respectively the signals y n , ( r - y ) n and ( b - y ) n for the n - th horizontal scan period are introduced through the divider 41 to the time axis converters 47 to 49 respectively . the time axis converter 47 expands the time axis of the luminance signal y n applied thereto into y n . the time axis converter 48 compresses the time axis of the ( r - y ) signal ( r - y ) n into ( r - y ) n , and the time axis converter 49 the ( b - y ) signal ( b - y ) n into ( b - y ) n . these signals y n , ( r - y ) n and ( b - y ) n are multiplexed at the multiplexer 53 into a signal 88 . as the signals for the ( n + 1 ) th scan period , the luminance signal y n + 1 and two color difference signals ( r - y ) n + 1 and ( b - y ) n + 1 are applied through the divider 41 to the time axis converters 50 , 51 and 52 respectively . the time axis converter 50 expands the time axis of the luminance signal y n + 1 applied thereto and produces y n + 1 . the time axis converter 51 compresses the the time axis of the ( r - y ) signal ( r - y ) n + 1 to produce the signal ( r - y ) n + 1 , while the time axis converter 52 compresses the time axis of the ( b - y ) signal ( b - y ) n + 1 to produce the signal ( b - y ) n + 1 . these signal segments y n + 1 , ( r - y ) n + 1 and ( b - y ) n + 1 are multiplexed in the multiplexer 54 to produce the signal 92 . similar operations are repeated subsequently . finally , if k = 2m ( m = 0 , 1 , 2 , . . . ), the fm modulator 56 is sequentially supplied with the signal segments y n + k , ( r - y ) n + k and ( b - y ) n + k for the ( n + k ) th and ( n + k + 1 ) th horizontal scan periods . the fm modulator 59 , on the other hand , is supplied with y n + k + 1 , ( r - y ) n + k + 1 and ( b - y ) n + k + 1 sequentially for the ( n + k + 1 ) th and ( n + k + 2 ) th horizontal scan periods . in this way , y n , ( r - y ) n and ( b - y ) n , y n + 2 , ( r - y ) n + 2 , ( b - y ) n + 2 , . . . are sequentially recorded through the recording head 57 , and y n + 1 , ( r - y ) n + 1 , ( b - y ) n + 1 , y n + 3 , ( r - y ) n + 3 , ( b - y ) n + 3 , . . . are recorded sequentially through the recording head 60 . further , the conditions of the respective parts are shown by waveforms in fig6 . in fig6 numeral 93 designates a luminance signal , numeral 99 an ( r - y ) signal , numeral 100 a ( b - y ) signal , numeral 101 a multiplexed signal , numeral 94 a horizontal scan period , numeral 97 a horizontal blanking period , numeral 98 an effective period , numeral 95 two horizontal scan periods , numeral 102 a luminance signal effective period after the time expansion , numeral 103 and 104 color difference signal effective periods after the time compression , and numeral 96 a synchronizing signal . waveforms 93 , 99 , 100 and 101 correspond to the luminance signal 38 , ( r - y ) signal 39 , ( b - y ) signal 40 and the output signal of the multiplexer 53 respectively . of all the luminance signals shown by waveform 93 , the signal y n is expanded along the time axis by the time axis converter 47 to the signal y n of waveform 101 . the ( r - y ) signal ( r - y ) n shown by waveform 99 , on the other hand , is compressed along the time axis by the time axis converter 48 into ( r - y ) n of the waveform 101 . also , the ( b - y ) signal ( b - y ) n shown by the waveform 100 is compressed along the time axis by the time axis converter 49 into the signal ( b - y ) n of waveform 101 . taking a video signal of the ntsc system as an example , the horizontal scan period continues for about 63 μs , a blanking period for about 10 μs , and an effective scan period for about 53 μs . as to the outputs of the time axis converters 47 , 48 and 49 , on the other hand , the effective period 102 of the luminance signal is assumed to be 70 μs , the effective period 103 of the ( r - y ) signal and 104 of the ( b - y ) signal to be 23 μs respectively . also , it is assumed that the required frequency bandwidth of the luminance signal 93 , ( r - y ) signal 99 and the ( b - y ) signal 100 are 4 . 0 mhz , 1 . 3 mhz and 1 . 3 mhz respectively . as shown by equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), the frequency bandwidth of the multiplexed signal 101 is 3 . 0 mhz for both the luminance signal and color difference signal components . now , the reproducing part of an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to fig4 . fig4 is a block diagram showing the reproducing part according to an embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 numeral 62 designates a magnetic tape , numerals 63 , 66 playback heads , numerals 64 , 67 fm demodulations , numerals 65 , 68 playback processors , numeral 69 a timing compensator , numeral 74 a second playback time axis processor , numerals 75 , 76 demultiplexers , numerals 77 to 82 time axis converters , numeral 83 a restorer , numeral 84 a luminance signal output terminal , numeral 85 an ( r - y ) signal output terminal , numeral 86 a ( b - y ) signal output terminal , numerals 70 , 72 sync signal separators , and numerals 71 , 73 second controllers . the magnetic tape 62 is identical to the magnetic tape 61 shown in fig3 and is such that the track recorded by the recording head 57 and the track recorded by the recording head 60 are traced by the playback heads 63 and 66 respectively thereby to pick up the information recorded . the output of the playback head 63 is fm - demodulated by the fm demodulator 64 and applied to the playback processor 65 . the playback processor 65 , after such processes as de - emphasis and clamp , applies the output thereof to the timing compensator 69 . the signal picked up at the playback head 66 , on the other hand , is also fm - demodulated at the fm demodulator 67 , and , after such processes as de - emphasis and clamp at the playback processor 68 , is applied to the timing compensator 69 . in the case where a signal is divided into two systems at the time of recording , and recorded simultaneously through a couple of recording heads and then they are reproduced , the geometric difference between the two recording heads and the two playback heads or the expansion or contraction of the magnetic tape generally cause a timing difference between the two reproduced signals . the timing compensator 69 is for compensating this timing difference of the signals reproduced by the two playback heads 63 and 66 . the timing difference of the output signals of the playback processors 65 and 68 is compensated at the timing compensator 69 , and the resulting signals are applied to the second time axis processor 74 . the second time processor 74 includes demultiplexers 75 , 76 , second controllers 71 , 73 , and time axis converters 77 to 82 . the second time axis processor 74 operates in a reverse way to that of the first time axis processor 46 shown in fig3 and supplies an output thereof to the restorer 83 . the output signal of the playback processor 65 , after being applied through the timing compensator 69 , is applied to demultiplexer 75 , and is separated into the time - axis expanded luminance signal , the time - axis - compressed ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal . the luminance signal , ( r - y ) and ( b - y ) signals thus separated are applied to the time axis converters 77 to 79 respectively . the output signal of the playback processor 68 is also similarly applied , through the timing compensator 69 , the demultiplexer 76 and the time axis converters 80 to 82 to be converted into the luminance signal , ( r - y ) and ( b - y ) signals , which are supplied to the restorer 83 . the restorer 83 switches the outputs of the time axis converters 77 to 79 and the time axis converters 80 to 82 every horizontal scan period , and thus restores the original luminance signal , ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal , which are produced through the luminance signal output terminal 84 , ( r - y ) signal output terminal 85 and ( b - y ) signal output terminal 86 respectively . the outputs of the playback processors 65 and 68 are equal to the outputs of the multiplexers 53 and 54 respectively in fig3 while the outputs of the time converters 77 to 82 are of course equal to the inputs of the time axis converters 47 to 52 of fig3 respectively . a signal equal to the waveform 101 of fig6 is produced from the timing compensator 69 , and the sync signal 96 is picked up at the sync signal separator 70 . the sync signal 96 thus picked up is applied to the reproducing part second controller 71 to control the second time axis processor 74 . the sync signal separator 72 and the second controller 73 operate similarly to control the second time axis processor 74 . now , the time axis converters 47 to 52 in fig3 and the time axis converters 77 to 82 in fig4 will be explained below . a system of time conversion relys either upon an analog method in which such element as ccd , bbd or condenser memory is used or upon a digital method in which a ram ( random access memory ) or a shift register is used . an embodiment using a ram will be explained with reference to fig7 . fig7 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the time axis converters 47 to 52 and 77 to 82 in fig3 and 4 . numeral 106 designates an input terminal , numeral 107 a low - pass filter ( which is designated as &# 34 ; lpf &# 34 ; in fig7 ), numeral 108 an analog - digital converter ( designated as &# 34 ; a / d &# 34 ; in fig7 ), numeral 109 a memory , numeral 110 a digital - analog converter ( designated as &# 34 ; d / a &# 34 ; in fig7 ), numeral 111 a low - pass filter ( designated as &# 34 ; lpf &# 34 ; in fig7 ), numeral 112 an output terminal , numeral 113 a sync signal input terminal , numeral 114 a controller . the signal applied through the input terminal 106 , after the unnecessary components thereof out of the required frequency band are removed at the low - pass filter 107 , is converted to digital form at the analog - digital converter 108 and is stored in the memory 109 . the memory 109 includes a ram , the output of which is reconverted to an analog signal by the digital - analog converter 110 , and after the unnecessary components thereof are removed by the low - pass filter 111 , is produced through the output terminal 112 as a time - converted signal . on the other hand , a sync signal is applied through the sync signal input terminal 113 to the controller 114 , which , on the basis of the sync signal applied thereto , controls the analog - digital converter 108 , memory 109 and the digital - analog converter 110 . now , the conditions of respective parts will be explained with reference to fig8 about the case in which the time axis converter shown in fig7 are used for recording . in fig8 numeral 115 designates a horizontal scan timing , numeral 118 a luminance signal , ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal to be recorded , numerals 119 , 120 write and read clock signals respectively used for time - axis - expansion of the luminance signal , numeral 121 a luminance signal expanded along the time axis , numerals 122 , 123 write and read clock signals respectively used for time - axis - compression of the ( r - y ) signal , numeral 124 an ( r - y ) signal compressed along the time axis , numerals 125 , 126 write and read clock signals respectively used for time - axis - compression of the ( b - y ) signal , numeral 127 a ( b - y ) signal time compressed , numeral 128 an outpout of the multiplexer 53 in fig3 numeral 116 a horizontal scan period , and numeral 117 two horizontal scan periods . in the case where the time axis converter of fig7 is used as the time axis converter 47 of fig3 the luminance signal 93 is introduced through the input terminal 107 to the low - pass filter 107 . this luminance signal 93 is made up of y n , y n + 2 , . . . designated by 93 in fig6 . the sync signal 96 contained in the luminance signal 93 is applied through the sync signal input terminal 113 to the controller 114 . the output of the low - pass filter 107 is digitized at the analogue - digital converter 108 . if the frequency band of the luminance signal is about 4 mhz , the sampling frequency , is 8 mhz or more , or actually , at least 10 mhz . it is assumed that the sampling frequency is 640 times that of the horizontal scan frequency , that is , at 10 . 07 mhz . the luminance signal is thus sampled at 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h , where f h is the horizontal scan frequency ) and is stored in the memory 109 with the write clock signal as designated by 119 at the same time . the write clock signal 119 is available at 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h ) only for the n - th and ( n + 2 ) th scan periods . in comparison , the read clock signal 120 of the memory 109 is set at the frequency of , say , 7 . 62 mhz (= 484 f h ). the read clock signal 120 is thus generated immediately after starting of the write clock 119 and ends about 70 μs later . this read clock is of course supplied also to the digital - analogue converter 110 . the write clock signal 119 is 10 . 07 mhz and comprises 640 pulses in the horizontal scan period , so that the luminance signal y n is divided into 640 picture elements and stored in the memory 109 . the read clock signal 120 , on the other hand , is used to read out the content of the memory 109 at the frequency of 484 f h , and therefore the luminance signal is expanded along the time axis as shown by 121 . the write clock signal 119 and the read clock signal 120 are both generated by the controller 114 . in the case where the time axis converter of fig7 is applied as the time axis converter 48 of fig3 the write clock signal 122 is used to drive the analogue - digital converter 108 at 4 . 37 mhz (= 278 f h ) thereby to divide the signal segment ( r - y ) n into 278 picture elements . the write clock 122 is available at 4 . 37 mhz only for the n - th horizontal scan period , while the read clock 123 is started immediately after the end of y n to read out the content of the memory 109 at the frequency of , say , 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h ) with the result that the low - pass filter 111 produces an output 124 . further , in the case where the time axis converter of fig7 is applied as the time axis converter 49 of fig3 the write clock signal for driving the analogue - digital converter 108 and for writing in the memory 109 is 4 . 37 mhz (= 278 f h ) as designated by 125 , while the clock signal for driving the analogue - digital converter 110 and the reading memory 109 is 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h ) as designated by 126 . the ( b - y ) n of the low - pass filter 111 is produced immediately after the end of ( r - y ) n as designated by 127 . in this manner , the output of the multiplexer in fig3 takes the form as designated by 128 . the controller 114 shown in the block diagram of the time axis converter of fig7 is included in the first controller 45 shown in fig3 and controls the luminance signal , the ( r - y ) signal and the ( b - y ) signal for time conversion thereof at proper timing . the conditions of the time axis converters 77 to 79 in the reproducing side shown in fig4 will be explained with reference to fig9 . fig9 is a timing chart used for various parts in which the time axis converters of fig7 are applied as the time axis converters 77 to 79 in fig4 . in fig9 numeral 130 designates a horizontal scan period , numeral 129 a horizontal scan timing , numeral 131 a multiplexed signal applied to the demultiplexer 75 , numerals 132 135 , 138 write clock signals , numerals 133 , 136 , 139 read clock signal , and numerals 134 , 137 , 140 output signals of the time axis converters 77 to 79 respectively . in the case of the time axis converter 77 shown in fig4 the y n - 2 , y n , y n + 2 output from the demultiplexer 75 are selected and applied to the low - pass filter 107 . the clock signal for driving the analogue - digital converter 108 and for writing in the memory 109 is 7 . 62 mhz (= 484 f h ) and comprises 640 clock pulses as designated by 132 . this clock signal 132 is used to divide y n into 640 picture elements and store them into the memory 109 . the clock signal for driving the digital - analogue converter 110 and reading the memory 109 is designated by 133 and is of 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h ) and comprises 640 clock pulses . the read clock 133 starts immediately before the write clock 132 . thus the output signal of low - pass filter 111 takes the form as indicated by 134 , so that y n is output later by two horizontal scan periods after y n of the signal 131 . in the case where the time axis converter of fig7 is applied as the time axis converter 78 in fig4 signal segments ( r - y ) n - 2 , ( r - y n , ( r - y ) n + 2 , . . . signal 131 are selected and applied to the low - pass filter 107 . the clock signal for driving the analogue - digital converter 108 and writing in the memory 109 is 10 . 07 mhz (= 640 f h ), and comprises 278 pulses as designated by 135 . each segment of ( r - y ) n - 2 , ( r - y ) n , ( r - y ) n + 2 . . . is divided into 278 picture elements and stored in the memory 109 . the clock signal for driving the digital - analogue converter 110 and reading the memory 109 is 4 . 37 mhz (= 278 f h ) and comprises 278 pulses as designated by 136 . the output of the low - pass filter 111 is designated by 137 and takes the form of ( r - y ) n which is produced at the same timing as y n . in similar manner , in the case where the time axis converter of fig7 is applied as the time axis converter 79 in fig4 the clock for driving the analogue - digital converter 108 and writing in the memory 109 is designated by 138 ; the clock for driving the digital - analogue converter 110 and reading the memory 109 by 139 ; and the output of the low - pass filter 111 by 140 . in this way , the time axis converters 77 , 78 and 79 produce the outputs 134 , 137 and 140 respectively . in the case where the time axis converter shown in fig7 is used for the reproducing part , the controller 114 is included in the reproducing part 71 ( and 73 ) of fig4 . the time axis of the time axis converters is determined from the relationship between the write clock signal and the read clock signal as described above . these clock signals are generally produced in a pll ( phase locked loop ) on the basis of the horizontal sync signal . the quality of the sync signal contained in the luminance signal to be recorded and that in the luminance signal reproduced is a very important factor . specifically , especially in the reproducing part , the pll output phase becomes unstable with deterioration of s / n . and the pll output phase changes with deterioration of luminance signal waveform . further , the reproducing part is subjected to time axis variations , and it is likely in a pll based on the sync signal that the signal follow - up capability of the system may be different at the sync signal and ( r - y ) or ( b - y ). as a result , the output timings of y , ( r - y ) and ( b - y ) are very likely to be different due to the time axis variations . another embodiment of the present invention which can obviate the phenomenon will be explained with reference to fig1 and 11 . fig1 is a block diagram for a recording part . in fig1 , numeral 141 designates a pilot signal generator . numerals 35 to 61 designate the same component parts as those designated by the same numerals in fig3 and will not be explained . the pilot signal generator 141 produces a pilot signal on the basis of a continuous wave and a sync signal produced by the first controller 45 , which pilot signal is applied to multiplexers 53 and 54 . waveforms produced at various parts of fig1 will be explained more in detail with reference to fig1 . in fig1 , numeral 93 designates a luminance signal , numeral 99 an ( r - y ) signal , numeral 100 a ( b - y ) signal , numeral 101 &# 39 ; a multiplexed signal , numeral 94 one horizontal scan period , numeral 95 two horizontal scan periods , numeral 96 a sync signal , numeral 97 a blanking period , numeral 98 an effective scan period , and numerals 144 to 146 pilot signals . numerals 93 to 100 , which designate the same component parts as the same numerals in fig6 and will not be explained in detail . the luminance signal 93 , ( r - y ) signal 99 and ( b - y ) signal 100 applied through the luminance signal input terminal 35 , ( r - y ) signal input terminal 36 and the ( b - y ) signal input terminal 37 are converted along the time axis and applied to the multiplexer 53 respectively . the multiplexer 53 is also supplied with the pilot signals 144 to 146 produced by the pilot signal generator 141 and produces the multiplexed signal 101 &# 39 ;. the frequency of the pilot signals 144 to 146 contained in the multiplexed signal 101 &# 39 ; is set to a level related to the clock signal used in the time axis converters . for example , the frequency is set to 2 . 185 mhz (= 139 f h ) which is one half of the frequency 4 . 37 mhz (= 278 f h ) used for the time axis converters of ( r - y ) and ( b - y ) signals . an embodiment for reproducing part corresponding to fig1 is shown in the block diagram of fig1 . in fig1 , numerals 142 to 143 designate pilot signal separators . numerals 62 to 86 which designate the same component parts as the same numerals in fig4 will not be described . the output of the timing compensator 69 is applied to the sync signal separator 70 and to the pilot signal separator 142 . the sync signal is separated from the reproduced multiplexed signal at the sync signal separator 70 , and is applied to the second controller 71 and the pilot signal separator 142 . the pilot signal separator 142 separates the pilot signal alone from the multiplexed signal and applied it to the second controller 71 . in other words , the multiplexed signal which is produced from the timing compensator 69 corresponds to the waveform 101 &# 39 ; of fig1 , so that the output of the pilot signal separator 142 is the pilot signals 144 to 146 picked up from the waveform 101 &# 39 ;. further , an example of a configuration of the pilot signal generator 141 of fig1 is shown by the block diagram of fig1 . in fig1 , numeral 147 designates a sync signal input terminal , numeral 149 a continuous wave input terminal , numeral 148 a gate pulse generator , numeral 150 a frequency divider , numerals 151 , 153 gates , and numerals 152 , 154 pilot signal output terminals . a sync signal is applied from the first controller 45 in fig1 through the sync signal input terminal 147 to the gate pulse generator 148 . also , a continuous wave is applied from the first controller 45 of fig1 through the continuous wave input terminal 149 to the frequency divider 150 . the continuous wave applied to the continuous wave input terminal 149 has a frequency of 4 . 37 mhz (= 278 f h ), for example , which is divided by the frequency divider 150 by 1 / 2 and applied in the form of 2 . 185 mhz (= 139 f h ) to the gates 151 and 153 . the gate pulse generator 148 generates a gate pulse on the basis of the sync signal and thus controls the gates 151 and 153 . waveforms produced from various parts in fig1 are shown in fig1 . numeral 93 designates a luminance signal , numeral 101 &# 39 ; a multiplexed signal , numeral 96 &# 39 ; a sync signal , numeral 155 a gate pulse , numerals 156 , 156 &# 39 ; pilot signal , numeral 156 &# 34 ; a continuous wave , numeral 94 one horizontal scan period , and numeral 95 two horizontal scan periods . the sync signal 96 &# 39 ; from the controller 45 of fig1 is applied through the sync signal input terminal 147 and a gate pulse 155 is generated at the gate pulse generator . the continuous wave 156 &# 34 ; generated at the first controller 45 , on the other hand , is applied to and frequency - divided at the frequency divider 150 through the continuous wave input terminal 149 . the output of the frequency divider 150 is applied to the gate 151 and gated by the gate pulse 155 produced at the gate pulse generator 148 thereby to produce a pilot signal 156 . this signal is applied through the pilot signal output terminal 152 to the multiplexer 53 of fig1 to output a waveform 101 &# 39 ;. the output of the gate 153 , on the other hand is supplied to the multiplexer 54 through the pilot signal output terminal 154 . the continuous wave 156 &# 34 ; and the pilot signal 156 &# 39 ; are shown time - expanded about the period thereof where the pilot signal is outputted . in the embodiment of fig1 to 14 , the various clocks for controlling the time axis converters 77 to 82 are generated by a pll from the pilot signal inserted , without relying merely on the sync signal contained in the luminance signal . the advantages of producing the clocks in a pll from pilot signals over the method using a pll from sync signals are that : ( a ) the stationary state phase error or residual phase error of the pll is smaller . ( b ) by applying the pilot signal through a band - pass filter , a signal of higher s / n can be applied to the pll . ( c ) false operation of pll can be avoided which otherwise might occur by the deterioration of the waveform of the sync signal , etc . also , by virtue of the fact that pilot signals are inserted in a plurality of positions during two horizontal scan periods , ( e ) the phase - lock error due to jitter is substantially equal at any time in the horizontal scan period , and therefore there rarely occurs a timing error between the luminance signal and the color difference signal in the playback output . an example of a configuration of the timing compensator 69 in fig4 and 11 is shown by a block diagram in fig1 . in fig1 , numerals 157 and 162 designate a multiplexed - signal input terminals , numeral 158 a fixed delay line , numeral 163 a variable delay line , numerals 160 , 165 sync signal separators , numerals 161 , 166 sync signal composers , numeral 167 a phase comparator , and numerals 159 , 164 multiplexed signal output terminals . a multiplexed signal which is an output of the playback processors 65 , 68 of fig4 ( fig1 ) are applied through the multiplexed signal input terminals 157 and 162 to the fixed delay line 158 and the variable delay line 163 respectively . the multiplexed signal , after being slightly delayed by the fixed delay line 158 , is applied to the multiplexed signal output terminal 159 and the sync signal separator 160 . a sync signal is picked up from the multiplexed signal at the sync signal separator 160 and is applied to the sync signal composer 161 . the sync signal picked up at the sync signal separator 160 , which is lacking every other horizontal scan period , is restored at the sync signal composer configured of a pll or the like . in similar manner , the multiplexed signal applied through the multiplexed signal input terminal 162 is delayed by the variable delay line 163 and is applied to the multiplexed signal output terminal 164 and the sync signal separator 165 . the output of the sync signal separator 165 makes up a continuous sync signal through the sync signal composer 166 . the phase comparator 167 compares two sync signals applied thereto to detect a phase error therebetween , and the variable delay line 163 is so controlled as to reduce the absolute value of the error . this feedback loop permits compensation for the timing error between the multiplexed signals produced at the multiplexed signal output terminals 159 and 164 . these output signals makes up outputs of the timing compensator 69 shown in fig4 ( or fig1 ). the timing of the operation of each part of fig1 is shown in fig1 . in fig1 , numeral 168 designates a multiplexed signal at the multiplexed signal input terminal 157 , numeral 174 an output of the sync signal separator 160 , numeral 175 an output of sync signal composer 161 , numeral 176 a multiplexed signal applied to the multiplexed signal input terminal 162 , numeral 180 an output of the sync signal separator 165 , numeral 182 an output of the sync signal composer 166 , numerals 171 to 173 and 177 to 179 sync signals contained in the multiplexed signal , numeral 169 the time difference between the multiplexed signals 168 and 176 , numeral 170 the delay time of the fixed delay line 158 , and numeral 181 the delay time of the variable delay line 163 . the multiplexed signals 168 and 176 are shown to contain only the sync signal without showing the time - multiplexed luminance signal , ( r - y ) and ( b - y ) signals . the multiplexed signal is delayed by time 170 at the fixed delay line 158 so that the output of the sync separator 160 takes the form designated by 174 . further , the sync signal which is lacking is restored at the sync signal composer 161 and thus makes up the signal 175 . the multiplexed signal 176 , on the other hand , is delayed by time 181 at the variable delay line 163 , so that the output of the sync signal separator 165 takes the form designated by 180 . further , the sync signal which is missing is restored at the sync signal composer 166 into the form designated by 182 . the phase comparator 167 compares the phases of waveforms 175 and 182 , and according to the output thereof , the delay time of the variable delay line 163 is regulated . as a result , the timings of the signals produced from the multiplexed signal output terminals 159 and 164 become equal to that of waveforms 174 and 180 respectively , thus completing compensation for timing . now , assume that the time axis converter shown in fig7 is used as the time axis converters 47 to 52 shown in fig3 . a total of six controllers 114 are included in the first controller 45 . an example of the construction of the controller 114 related to the time axis converter 47 will be explained below with reference to fig1 . in fig1 , numeral 183 designates the sync signal input terminal , numeral 184 a gate pulse generator , numeral 185 a clock pulse generator , numeral 186 a write address counter , numeral 187 a read address counter , numeral 188 a write enable pulse generator , numeral 189 an address mixer , numerals 190 , 191 clock pulse output terminals , numeral 192 an address output terminal , and numeral 193 a write enable pulse output terminal . the sync signal input terminal 183 corresponds to the terminal 113 in fig7 and through this terminal 183 , the sync signal is applied to the clock pulse generator 185 and the gate pulse generator 184 . the clock pulse generator 185 is made up of , for example , a pll and generates clock pulse , 194 and 195 synchronized with the having a frequency equal to an integral multiple of the frequency of the sync signal applied thereto . in the embodiment under consideration , the clock pulse 194 has the frequency of 484 f h , and the clock pulse 195 has the frequency of 640 f h . the gate pulse generator 184 generates gates pulses 196 and 197 on the basis of the sync signal applied thereto . the gate pulses 196 and 197 correspond to the period of writing in the memory 109 and the period of reading from the memory 109 of fig7 respectively . the write address counter 196 is supplied with the clock pulse 194 and the gate pulse 196 for counting the pulses and generating a write address only during the period of writing in the memory 109 . the read address counter 187 , on the other hand , is supplied with the clock pulse 194 and the gate pulse 197 for counting the pulses and generating a read address only during the period of reading from the memory 109 . the address mixer 189 generates an address by mixing the outputs of the write address counter 186 and the read address counter 187 . the clock pulse 195 and the gate pulse 196 are applied to the write enable pulse generator 188 for generating a write enable pulse . in this manner , a clock pulse for driving the a / d converter 108 is produced through the clock pulse output terminal 190 , a clock pulse for driving the d / a converter 110 is produced through the clock pulse output terminal 191 , a pulse for driving the memory 109 is produced through the address output terminal 192 , and a write enable pulse for controlling the memory 109 is produced through the write enable output terminal 193 . the clock pulses produced from the clock pulse output terminals 190 and 191 correspond to the pulses 120 and 119 shown in fig8 . although the part of the fig3 arrangement , first controller 45 was explained above with reference to fig3 similar parts to those shown in fig1 are naturally included ( but not shown ) correspond to the time axis converters 48 to 52 . the frequencies of the clock pulses 194 , 195 produced from the clock pulse generator 185 and the gate pulses 196 , 197 produced from the gate pulse generator 184 , however , are somewhat different from those explained above . the second controllers 71 , 73 of fig4 can be basically constructed from the controller shown in fig1 and therefore will not be described in detail . further , in the other embodiments shown in fig1 and 11 , a pilot signal is applied to the clock pulse generator 185 . it will be understood from the foregoing description that according to the present invention , the following advantages are obtained : ( a ) the baseband processing achieves an improved quality of the reproduced picture . ( b ) the 2 - channel recording reduces the relative speeds of the heads and tape and comparatively decreases the system size . ( c ) after time expansion of the luminance signal and time compression of color difference signal , they are time multiplexed , so that the information frequency band width is equal not only between channels but also between the luminance signal section and the color difference signal , thus permitting effective use of mangetic tape at a saving of consumption thereof . ( d ) insertion of a pilot signal improves the accuracy of the time reverse conversion . as mentioned above , according to the present invention luminance signal and a couple of color difference signals are divided into two systems , in each of which the luminance signal and a couple of color difference signals are multiplexed along the time axis in two horizontal scan periods . in the process , the luminance signal is expanded along the time axis to the extent slightly exceeding the next horizontal blanking period , while the two color difference signals are multiplexed along the time axis in the remaining time . by doint so , the above - mentioned advantages are obtained . embodiments of the present invention were explained above . the clock signals used for processing along time axis are not necessarily confined to 640 f h , 484 f h and 278 f h employed in the aforementioned embodiments . other frequency combinations can also achieve the advantages of the present invention to the extent that the luminance signal and the two color difference signals have substantially the same freqency bandwidth after time - axis processing . the frequency of 139 f h alone is used as a pilot signal is the embodiment shown in fig1 to 14 . instead of a single frequency , however , a plurality of frequencies of the pilot signal may be used by being switched . further , the frequency of the pilot signal used must be adapted to the system involved . also , the pilot signal may be used for the timing compensator 69 . the phase comparison using the sync signal alone in fig1 , for instance , is remarkably improved in accuracy if a pilot signal is used . in the time axis converter shown in fig7 if the clock signal for a / d 108 , and the write clock signal and write address signal of the memory 109 are prepared from the derived pilot signal , and the read clock signal and read address signal for the d / a 110 and memory 109 are prepared from a predetermined reference signal , then application to the time axis converter shown in fig7 to the time axis converters 77 to 82 of fig1 eliminates the need of the timing compensator 69 and tbc ( time base converter ) at the same time . instead of the ( r - y ) signal and ( b - y ) signal used as color difference signal in the embodiments explained above , a combination i and q signals or a combination v and u signal may of course be used with equal effect .	7
referring to fig1 , 2 and 4 , a hand grip is indicated generally at 10 and includes a core member 12 having a generally tubular configuration with an outwardly extending flange portion 14 formed on one end thereof with the outer face 16 optionally tapered and , if desired , the flange 14 may include an annular undercut 18 to provide radial resiliency and facilitate manufacture of the grip 10 . the core member 12 may include an annular rib 20 on the inner periphery thereof in proximity of the end remote from the flange 14 . referring to fig1 , the outer tubular member 22 is shown as having a closed end 24 provided with a vent hole 26 extending through an inwardly extending projection 28 which may have an annular or circumferential groove 30 formed therein to be engaged by the rib 20 in the core member upon assembly . the outer tubular member 22 may also be provided with an inwardly extending annular rib 32 adjacent the end opposite the closed end 24 which rib 32 is operative to engage an annular groove 36 formed in the outer periphery of the flange 14 of core 12 as shown in the assembled condition in fig4 . referring to fig2 , the core member has a plurality of spaced apertures 38 formed through the wall thereof in a manner as will hereinafter be described in further detail . referring to fig5 and 6 , alternate exemplary embodiments of the ends of the core 12 and outer tubular member 22 are shown wherein the tubular member 122 has the end face 124 thereof provided with an inwardly extending projection 128 which has an annular taper 130 provided thereon . the corresponding embodiment 112 of the core member has the end thereof provided with a tapered surface 120 on the inner periphery thereof which engages the tapered surface 130 on the outer tubular member as shown in fig4 . referring to fig3 , the core member 12 is shown positioned to have a mandrel 40 with relief holes or apertures 42 formed therein which are sized and located to correspond with the apertures 38 provided on the core 12 with the mandrel inserted into the core member 12 and positioned such that the holes 42 align with the respective apertures 38 in the core member . a plurality of punches indicated generally at 44 are positioned adjacent the core member 12 and guided by guide blocks 46 . the punches 44 are then urged into contact by the drivers 48 which may comprise any convenient mechanical , hydraulic , electrical or pneumatic device such that the punches form the apertures 38 in the core member with the material removed , or plugs , passing to the interior of the mandrel 40 through apertures 42 . the material removed by formation of the apertures 38 may then be removed from the mandrel 40 by any suitable expedient , for example , blowing through with compressed air . upon completion of the punching operation , the mandrel 40 is then removed from the core member 12 . it will be understood that the punching operation the apparatus illustrated in fig3 is performed on the core member 12 prior to assembly with the outer tubular member . referring to fig4 , the annular space between the outer tubular member 22 , 122 and the core 12 , 112 is filled with suitable lightweight material or material having a bulk density substantially less than that of the outer tubular member or core as denoted by reference numeral 50 . in the present practice , it has been found satisfactory to insert curable material through the apertures 38 in the core member and it has been found particularly satisfactory to inject curable foam material through the apertures 38 to form the spacer 50 in the annular space between the core and outer tubular member . thus , the lightweight curable material , once cured , provides a resilient support for the relatively thin wall of the outer tubular member , thereby providing adequate cushioning and “ feel ” to the hand grip when grasped by the user &# 39 ; s hand . in the present practice it has been found suitable to employ ethylene - propylene - diene - monomer ( epdm ) material and particularly epdm foam material for the spacer 50 . in the present practice , it has been found satisfactory to form the spacer 50 of curable material having a specific gravity in the range of about 0 . 1 to 0 . 7 and having a durometer in the range of about 20 - 50 on the shore ‘ a ’ scale . however , it will be understood that other suitable injectable curable lightweight materials with adequate flexibility for supporting and flexibly cushioning the outer tubular member may also be employed . in the present practice , it has been found satisfactory to form the core member 12 , 112 and the outer tubular member 22 , 122 of flexible elastomeric or rubber material . in particular , it has been found satisfactory to form the core member of material having a specific gravity in the range of about 0 . 8 to 1 . 5 , of material having a durometer in the range of about 35 to 75 on the shore ‘ a ’ scale and a material having the combination of both . in the present practice , it has also been found satisfactory to form the outer tubular member of flexible material having a specific gravity in the range of about 0 . 8 - 1 . 5 , of material having a durometer in the range of about 35 to 75 on the shore ‘ a ’ scale and of material having both properties . however , it will be understood that other materials may be employed as desired for providing adequate gripping by the user and the desired flexibility and “ feel ” when gripped sufficiently to retain control of an implement upon which the grip is affixed during rapid or forceful movement thereof . it will be understood that although the hand grip illustrated herein is shown having the inner diameter of the core member relatively small compared to the outer diameter of the tubular member , as would be the case for a golf club hand grip , that the proportions may be changed to accommodate larger size implements to be gripped such as would be the case for a hand grip for an implement such as a hammer , sledge hammer or shovel . the present disclosure thus describes a flexible relatively soft hand grip for an implement which is light in weight by virtue of a resilient foam facer between the core and outer tubular portion formed in material significantly lighter than the core or outer tubular portion . the exemplary embodiment has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description . it is intended that the exemplary embodiment be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof .	0
the following brief definition of terms shall apply throughout the application : the term “ outer ” or “ outside ” refers to a direction away from a user , while the term “ inner ” or “ inside ” refers to a direction towards a user ; the term “ comprising ” means including but not limited to , and should be interpreted in the manner it is typically used in the patent context ; the phrases “ in one embodiment ,” “ according to one embodiment ,” and the like generally mean that the particular feature , structure , or characteristic following the phrase may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention , and may be included in more than one embodiment of the present invention ( importantly , such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment ); if the specification describes something as “ exemplary ” or an “ example ,” it should be understood that refers to a non - exclusive example ; and if the specification states a component or feature “ may ,” “ can ,” “ could ,” “ should ,” “ preferably ,” “ possibly ,” “ typically ,” “ optionally ,” “ for example ,” or “ might ” ( or other such language ) be included or have a characteristic , that particular component or feature is not required to be included or to have the characteristic . the term “ cure ”, “ cured ” or “ curing ” shall be understood to mean the hardening of a suitable edge covering material . further , curing may be brought about by chemical additives , ultraviolet radiation ( uv ), or applied heat . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a diagram layout of an ewp powder coating production line 10 for coating non pre - conditioned ewps or mdf boards 11 a . mdf boards 11 a are mounted on continuously moving conveyor track 13 at point a 1 . it will be appreciated that any suitable ewp may be used and that mdf and ewp are often used interchangeably . the mdf board 11 a is moved by conveyor track 13 to preheat oven 12 . preheat oven 12 heats the mdf board 11 a to approximately 200 degrees fahrenheit in approximately 1 . 5 minutes . it will be appreciated that the conveyor track 13 can operate at any suitable line speed . for example , the conveyor track can continuously operate at a speed of 6 feet per minute . preheated mdf board 11 b exiting preheat oven 12 at point a is at approximately 200 degrees fahrenheit and thus conductive which allows powder to electrostatically adhere to the board . conveyor track 13 moves preheated board 11 b from point a to point b in about 2 minutes where the preheated mdf board 11 b enters primer booth 14 at approximately 100 degrees fahrenheit . primer booth 14 electrostatically epoxy powder coats the face and edges of mdf board 11 b in approximately 1 . 5 minutes . exiting primer booth 14 the primed mdf board 11 c is conveyed by conveyor track 13 from point c to point d in approximately 2 minutes where the primed mdf board 11 c enters a 3 - section infrared gel oven 16 described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 159 , 535 and incorporated herein . in approximately 3 minutes the 3 - section infrared gel oven 16 heats the primed mdf board 11 c to approximately 300 degrees fahrenheit causing the epoxy powder on the mdf board 11 c to gel or partially liquefy . exiting the gel oven 16 , the gelled mdf board 11 d is conveyed from point e to point f by conveyor track 13 in approximately 8 minutes where the gelled mdf board 11 d enters the top coat booth 18 at approximately 130 degrees fahrenheit . the top coat booth 18 top coats the gelled mdf board 11 d with another powder layer on all faces and edges of the gelled mdf board 11 d in approximately 1 . 5 minutes . exiting the topcoat booth 18 at point g the top coated mdf board 11 e is conveyed to point h where the board 11 e enters the 4 - section cure oven 19 . the 4 - section cure oven 19 heats the top coated mdf board 11 e to approximately 300 degrees fahrenheit in approximately 5 . 5 minutes which cures and hardens the previously applied primer coat and the previously applied top coat . exiting the 4 - section cure oven 19 at point i the cured mdf board 11 f is conveyed to point j in approximately 20 minutes allowing for the cured mdf board 11 f exiting the cure oven 19 at approximately 300 degrees fahrenheit to air cool . at point j the cooled and cured mdf board 11 f is removed from conveyor track 13 . referring also to fig2 there is shown an illustration of a mdf board edge coating preconditioning process in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention . the production of the mdf boards 21 is generally via a cnc routing machine ( not shown ) that has cut and sized the board with the required edge profile 24 a . once removed from the cnc machine the mdf board 21 is stacked such that all the edges 24 a line up to form a block of mdf boards . the mdf board stack is typically 48 ″ tall but may be shorter or taller . the thickness of the mdf board is that which is commercially available ranging from 6 mm to 35 mm . once the mdf stack 28 is complete it is placed on a fixed or rotating plate 23 that may be grounded or earthed through turntable 22 , a sacrificial plate 26 that may be grounded is placed on the top of the stack to help prevent overspray powder from coating the top surface of the stack 28 . using an electrostatic powder application equipment 29 , powder 25 is applied directly to the mdf board edges 24 a to the required thickness . since the mdf boards 21 are stacked face to face with only the edges 24 a exposed , powder is only deposited on these exposed edges . referring also to fig3 there is shown an illustration of a curing oven for curing the edge coated mdf boards in accordance with the invention . once the mdf board edge powder application is complete , the assembled stack 27 is subject to a heat source sufficient to cure the powder . the heating oven 40 shown in fig3 includes six heating panels 42 . each of the heating panels 42 may further consist of separate heating elements 42 a - 42 d , where each heating element may be independently operated at a different temperate to provide a temperature gradient from the top of the heating panel to the bottom of the heating panel . it will also be appreciated that any suitable number of heating panels 42 may be used . the preferable heat source is infrared , electric or gas derived infrared energy . hot air generated convection heat may also be used . the heat source is directed at the stacked edges of the boards , which , depending on the heating process , may be rotating in front of the heat source , referring also to fig4 there is shown an exploded view of one section of the mdf board stack 28 illustration shown in fig3 . depending on the type of mdf board or ewp edge profile , it may be necessary to separate the mdf boards 21 with a thin sheet of material 32 that may be conductive . this is to prevent the mdf boards 21 from sticking together once the powder has cured . once the powder coating has gelled or cured , the mdf board stack 28 may undergo a sanding process to remove any coated fibers that may be protruding from the unified exposed edges . after this process the boards are now ready to be hung on the powder coating line and receive the final top coat and undergo a final cure . once the mdf board edge powder coating has cured and cooled , the mdf board stack 28 may undergo a sanding process to remove any coated fibers that may be protruding from the unified exposed edges . after this process the boards are now ready to be hung on the powder coating line and receive the final top coat and undergo a final cure . referring also to fig5 , there is shown a modified powder coating production line 60 for powder coating pre - conditioned ewps or mdf boards 65 a . mdf boards 65 a , having edges pre - powder coated and cured are mounted on continuously moving conveyor track 63 at point t . the mdf board 65 a is moved by conveyor track 63 to preheat oven 62 . preheat oven 62 heats the mdf board 65 a to approximately 200 degrees fahrenheit in approximately 1 . 5 minutes . the pre - heated mdf board 65 b is conveyed from point u to point v by conveyor track 63 in approximately 2 - 3 minutes where the preheated mdf board enters the top coat booth 64 at approximately 130 degrees fahrenheit . the top coat booth 64 top coats the pre - heated mdf board 65 b with a topcoat powder layer on all faces and edges of the mdf board 65 b in approximately 1 . 5 minutes . exiting the topcoat booth 64 at point w the top coated mdf board 65 c is conveyed to point x where the board 65 c enters the 3 - section cure oven 66 . the 3 - section cure oven 66 heats the top coated mdf board 65 c to approximately 300 degrees fahrenheit in approximately 5 . 5 minutes which cures and hardens the previously applied top coat . exiting the 3 - section cure oven 66 at point y the cured mdf board 65 d is conveyed to point z in approximately 20 minutes allowing for the cured mdf board 65 df exiting the cure oven 66 at approximately 300 degrees fahrenheit to air cool . at point z the cooled and cured mdf board 650 is removed from conveyor track 63 . referring also to fig6 there is shown a diagram layout of a mdf board edge - coating pre - conditioning and curing process production line 70 in accordance with the present invention shown in fig2 or fig8 . the mdf boards ( fig2 - 21 ) are stacked such that all the edges line up to form a block of mdf boards 72 . the mdf board stack 72 is typically 48 ″ tall but may be shorter or taller . for example , the stack may comprise one mdf board or mdf piece . the thickness of an mdf board is that which is commercially available ranging from 6 mm to 35 mm . the mdf stack 72 is conveyed via track 74 to precondition station 71 where the edges of the boards are coated with powder or liquid as discussed herein . the stack is then conveyed to oven 73 where the powder ( or liquid primer ) on two sides 72 a and 72 c is cured for approximately 4 minutes . it will be understood that curing time will depend upon the primer type in use . block 72 is then conveyed via perpendicular track 75 to oven 73 where the edges 72 b and 72 d are cured for approximately 4 minutes . it will be appreciated that powder , or liquid , is cured on the edges of block 72 without developing heat inside the board ( fig2 - 21 ) that in prior art causes the moisture to vaporize and migrate towards the edges . thereby causing out gassing through the prior art molten powder prior to the gel and cure stage of the powder . in alternate embodiments fig6 may be represented as a high speed mdf board edge - coating pre - conditioning and curing process production line that sands , liquid coats , or primes , the mdf board edge , and cures the liquid all in one pass . in this embodiment fast processing equipment treats one edge at a time and the mdf board is returned back to the beginning and then another edge is treated and so on until all the edges are finished . it will be understood that the liquid primer may be cured by any suitable method , such as heat curing , for example ; or , by chemical reaction from catalyst curing and accelerators . it will be also be understood that the liquid primer may be any suitable liquid primer such as pva glue or other solvent based liquid such as , for example , a lacquer or enamel based primer . it will also be understood that the liquid primer may be a suitable water based primer . property characteristics of a suitable primer , water based or solvent based , include , but are not limited to , the capacity to be cured prior to any liquid induced deformation of the mdf board ; and , after curing , sufficient mechanical strength ( which may be measured by hardness , toughness , stiffness and / or creep , or strength ) to resist any deformation of the cured primer due to out - gassing or water vaporization discussed earlier . suitable primers , water or solvent based , may also include particulate matter such as resins , polymerized synthetics or chemically modified natural resins including thermoplastic and / or thermosetting polymers . suitable primers may also include amorphous solid particulate matter , such as , for example , glass or nanostructured materials , which may or may not , exhibit glass - liquid transition . referring also to fig7 there is shown an illustration of a mdf board liquid edge coating preconditioning process in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the edge coating primer aspect of the present invention . the production of the mdf boards 91 is generally via a cnc routing machine ( not shown ) that has cut and sized the board with the required edge profile 94 a . once removed from the cnc machine a plurality of the mdf boards 91 are stacked such that all the edges 94 a line up to form a stack 97 of mdf boards . the mdf board stack is typically 48 ″ tall but may comprise any suitable number of mdf boards . the thickness of the mdf board is that which is commercially available ranging from 6 mm to 35 mm . once the mdf stack 28 is complete it is placed on a fixed or rotating plate 93 that may be grounded or earthed through turntable 92 , a sacrificial plate 96 that may be grounded is placed on the top of the stack to help prevent overspray from coating the top surface of the stack 98 . an electrostatic paint , in the form of either powdered particles or atomized liquid , is initially projected towards the conductive stack 98 using normal spraying methods , and is then accelerated toward the work piece by an electrostatic charge via application equipment 29 . liquid primer 95 is applied directly to the mdf board edges 94 a to the required thickness . since the mdf boards 91 are stacked face to face with only the edges 94 a exposed , liquid primer is only deposited on these exposed edges . it will also be appreciated that any suitable liquid primer may be used , including non - electrostatic liquid primer . referring also to fig8 there is shown an illustration of an alternate curing oven for curing the liquid edge coated mdf boards in accordance with the invention . once the mdf board edge liquid primer application is complete , the assembled stack 97 is subject to a curing method such as , for example , a heat source sufficient to cure the liquid . it will be understood that the liquid primer may be any suitable liquid primer such as pva glue or other solvent based liquid such as , for example , a lacquer or enamel based primer . the heating oven 100 shown in fig8 includes six heating panels 102 . each of the heating panels 102 may further consist of separate heating elements 102 a - 42 d , where each heating element may be independently operated at a different temperate to provide a temperature gradient from the top of the heating panel to the bottom of the heating panel . it will also be appreciated that any suitable number of heating panels 102 may be used . any suitable heat or light source may be used to cure the liquid primer , such as , for example , infrared , electric , gas derived infrared energy , and ultra violet ( uv ) radiation sources . hot air generated convection heat may also be used . the heat source is directed at the stacked edges of the boards , which , depending on the beating process , may be rotating in front of the heat source . it will be understood that the liquid primer may be cured by any suitable method , such as heat curing , for example ; or , by chemical reaction from catalyst curing and accelerators . referring also to fig9 there is shown an exploded view of one section of the mdf board stack 98 illustration shown in fig8 . depending on the type of mdf board or ewp edge profile , it may be necessary to separate the mdf boards 91 with a thin sheet of material 112 that may be conductive . this is to prevent the mdf boards 91 from sticking together once the powder has cured . once the liquid coating has gelled or cured , the mdf board stack 98 may undergo a sanding process to remove any coated fibers that may be protruding from the unified exposed edges . after this process the boards are now ready to be hung on the powder coating line and receive the final top coat and undergo a final cure as described earlier . it will be appreciated that pre - conditioning the edges of the mdf boards as described herein offers several advantages . one is the reduction of the number of stations required to powder coat and cure a mdf board ( or other ewp products .) this in turn results in significant cost savings associated with labor and capital equipment costs . for example , an infrared catalytic heating source typically uses the very rare , and very expensive , metal platinum as the catalyst for converting natural gas to infrared heat . thus , reducing the number of stations where platinum is a primary component also reduces the cost of the powder coating production line . another advantage associated with pre - conditioning the mdf boards is time savings . the mdf boards can be pre - conditioned independently of the powder coating production line and stored while awaiting top coating . thus , if the main powder coating line is offline due to maintenance or malfunctions , the pre - conditioning process can continue , thereby minimizing production impacts due to maintenance or malfunctions . yet another advantage is the pre - conditioned mdf boards require less powder during the powder coating production process since the faces of the boards , the majority of the surface area of the boards , are only powder coated once as compared with mdf boards not pre - conditioned . still another advantage of the invention is that the pre - conditioned mdf board edges will not lead to an occurrence where expanding or outgassing vapor forms blisters along the side edges of the board when the pre - conditioned mdf board is only top coated and cured . it should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative of the invention . thus , various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention . for example , the ewp boards are often flat , however the same application technique applies to molded ewp components as in the case of molded plywood seats that are also stacked to expose the multiple layers of edges in a similar uniform fashion . accordingly , the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims . for example , any engineered wood product ( ewp ) haying non - uniform densities may be edge coated as described herein . additionally , the section headings used herein are provided for consistency with the suggestions under 37 c . f . r . 1 . 77 or to otherwise provide organizational cues . these headings shall not limit or characterize the invention ( s ) set out in any claims that may issue from this disclosure . specifically and by way of example , although the headings might refer to a “ field ,” the claims should not be limited by the language chosen under this heading to describe the so - called field . further , a description of a technology in the “ background ” is not to be construed as an admission that certain technology is prior art to any invention ( s ) in this disclosure . neither is the “ summary ” to be considered as a limiting characterization of the invention ( s ) set forth in issued claims . furthermore , any reference in this disclosure to “ invention ” in the singular should not be used to argue that there is only a single point of novelty in this disclosure . multiple inventions may be set forth according to the limitations of the multiple claims issuing from this disclosure , and such claims accordingly define the invention ( s ), and their equivalents , that are protected thereby . in all instances , the scope of the claims shall be considered on their own merits in light of this disclosure , but should not be constrained by the headings set forth herein . finally , it will be understood that use of broader terms such as comprises , includes , and having should be understood to provide support for narrower terms such as consisting of , consisting essentially of and comprised substantially of use of the term “ optionally ,” “ may ,” “ might ,” “ possibly ,” and the like with respect to any element of an embodiment means that the element is not required , or alternatively , the element is required , both alternatives being within the scope of the embodiment ( s ). also , references to examples are merely provided for illustrative purposes , and are not intended to be exclusive .	1
a series of experiments were conducted in accordance with the methods of the present invention . while these experiments are useful to demonstrate certain features and aspects of the present invention , they should in no way be interpreted as an exhaustive demonstration of all of the various aspects of the invention . as will be recognized by those having skill in the art , many of the advantages of the present invention can readily be achieved with significant variations from the experiments described herein , including , without limitation , the selection of the materials , and the methods and operating parameters used to combine those materials . accordingly , the present invention should be broadly construed to include all such modifications and equivalents thereto that are encompassed by the appended claims . a first set of experiments was conducted to demonstrate the features of the invention associated with bond coats formed with chromia forming ferritic stainless steels . ferritic stainless steel 430 plates 20 mils thick were selected as the matrix composition to make the interconnect components as would be typical in a solid oxide fuel cell . these include separator plate , spacer and a frame . a 430 plate was aluminized or coated using pwa 44 , a slurry diffusion coating process typically used to aluminize high temperature service parts made from austenitic heat resistant alloys , including austenitic stainless steels and fe -, ni - and co - base - superalloys . the process begins by spraying the al containing slurry ( al or al alloy powders , binder and solvent ) onto the 430 plate . the spray - coated 430 plate is then subjected to heat - treating at a temperature in 900 ˜ 1 , 000 ° c . under non - oxidizing or vacuum environments for a couple of hours . shown in fig1 is the microstructure of a cross - section from a coated 430 plate . heat - treating at about 1 , 000 ° c . in argon atmosphere for 4 hours was employed during the slurry diffusion coating . sem image and energy dispersive x - ray analysis indicate that a 25 ˜ 30 μm feal layer with about 40 atomic % al was generated after diffusion coating . beneath the feal layer , a ˜ 50 μm thick diffusion zone was formed by inward diffusion of al during high temperature heat - treating . al concentrations were shown to decrease from about 20 atomic % at the boundary of the adjacent feal layer to almost zero at the end of the diffusion zone . the coating surface thus formed was rough and full of cavities . the diffusion voids , also called kirkendall porosity , can be clearly seen in the more detailed cross - section shown in fig2 . detailed analysis of the samples revealed that a thin al 2 o 3 scale , thermally grown during diffusion coating , covers the coating surface ( feal layer ) and provides an excellent oxidation resistance that is orders of magnitude higher than uncoated ss430 . the growth of al 2 o 3 scale , in favor of chromia scale , on uncoated 430 significantly improved the surface stability . the dense , thin al 2 o 3 scale formation also prevents the evaporation of chromia oxide species under sofc operation environments . the al 2 o 3 scale also modifies the chemical compatibility with the sealing materials , described as follows . to evaluate chemical compatibility of the coating with sealing glass , two - coated 430 plates were joined together with the sealing glass , a calcium - barium - aluminosilicate base glass described in greater detail as sample 18 in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 562 , 583 -“ glass - ceramic joint and method of joining ” filed may 1 , 2000 now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 532 , 769 . for simplicity , as used herein in the remainder of this specification , this particular glass is referred to simply as “ 18 ”. joining was carried out in an air furnace by heating to 850 ° c . for one hour , followed by heating at 750 ° c . 4 hours , with a heating and cooling rate at 5 ° c ./ min . the microstructure of the cross - section of this joint is shown in fig4 . as shown in the cross section , the glass - sealing interface appears free from cracks . the concave portion at the top of the joint ( refer fig4 ( a )) implies that the sealing glass is wetting well with the coating surface . unlike uncoated 430 plates , where chromia scale is volatile and extensively reacted with calcium - barium - alumino - silicate glass to form high thermal expansion mismatch product bacro 4 , little chemical interaction or harmful chemical species were formed at the interface after coating . an enlarged image , shown in fig4 ( b ), also indicates that the glass is penetrating the cavities at the coating surface , thus further assisting bonding through mechanical interlocking . the seals thus fabricated were then subjected to a pop - gun test , an engineering test which uses pressurized gas to determine the seal bond strength . the samples were prepared by glass or braze joining the coated 430 circular coupons to ysz electrolyte on pen . two different sets of parameters were investigated during the coating process . at the early stage , a temperature of about 1 , 000 ° c . was used for heating , and a 1 . 0 mil to 3 . 0 mil coating thickness was designated . the heating temperature was then decreased to about 900 ° c . and the thickness from about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 mil was investigated . the glass again was sample 18 , a calcium - barium - aluminosilicate base glass , and the braze material was the ag - base , low temperature , oxidation resistance braze described in provisional u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 348 , 680 , entitled “ oxidation ceramic - to - metal braze ”, filed jan . 11 , 2002 by weil et al . the joining was carried out in an air furnace at 850 ° c . for 1 hour , and then followed by 750 ° c . for 4 hours . for evaluation of thermomechanical properties , several batches of joined samples were subsequently subject to three thermal cycles from room temperature to 750 ° c . and then to room temperature at heat / cooling rate of 10 ° c ./ min . at each point , a number of samples were tested and the final results were averaged statistically . the data is outlined in fig3 , from which the following conclusions can be drawn : the seal bonding strength of coated fss430 / 18 / ysz seal ( series d ) is 2 ˜ 3 times higher than that of unaluminized 430 / 18 / ysz seal ( series a ). as the ag - base braze was used as the sealing materials , the bonding strength of fss430 / braze / ysz ( series k ) seal improves 3 ˜ 4 times over that of uncoated fss430 / 18 / ysz . it is noted that a , d , and k series of samples were coated at about 1 , 000 ° c . with 1 mil thickness . as the heating temperature was decreased to 9 , 00 ° c . and the coating thickness was thinned to half mil , the bonding strength of coated ss430 / 18 / ysz seal was further improved and increased to around 60 psi ( series o ), i . e . 2 ˜ 3 times of the one treated at 1 , 000 ° c . after three thermo - cycles , the seals of coated ss430 / 18 / ysz ( heat - treated at 900 ° c . and with half mil thickness ) ( series l and q ) still demonstrated a decent bonding strength at about 47 . 0 psi , compared to uncoated 430 / 18 / ysz at 10 psi ( series a ). when the ag - base braze was used as the sealing materials , the seal bonding strength ( refer series k and l ) was not significantly affected after cycling . it was also found that when ss 430 was heat treated at 900 ° c . during diffusion coating and the thickness was decreased to half mil , seals after thermal cycling failed during pop - gun tests in a way that the cracks initiated and propagated along the interface between the sealing glass and ysz on the ceramic cell components , as shown in fig4 ( a ). in contrast , on the side of metal component , the coating was still chemically and mechanically stable , and strongly bonded with the sealing glass through mechanical interlocking , as shown in fig4 ( b ). overall , it can be concluded that after surface modification of ferritic stainless steel 430 according to the method of the present invention , the seal bonding strength is substantially improved over the unmodified steel . the present invention was then applied to fabricate interconnects and seal structures in planar sofc stacks . in these experiments , interconnect components included a separator plate , a window frame , and anode and cathode side spacers . the separator plate separates the anode in the fuel side and cathode in the air or oxidant side , and the cells were electrically connected in series . the window frame provides mechanical support to pen ( positive cathode - ysz electrolyte - negative anode ). the anode and cathode side spacers leave space for current collector and help maintain stack &# 39 ; s mechanical integrity . the spacers , frame and separator were all made from stainless steel 430 , which is cheaper and offers a better thermal expansion match than many other commercial ferritic compositions . the frame was hermetically sealed to pen and also to anode and cathode side spacers . the spacers were sealed to separator plates as well . one approach joined the spacers with the frame using high temperature braze such as bni - 2 at high temperature in vacuum . the high temperature brazed assembly was then aluminized using a slurry spray coating . during coating , the separator plate could be masked in areas where a current collector would be joined later , providing a further advantage of the present invention . after diffusion coating , the coated assembly was subsequently glass or braze - sealed in air to the ysz layer on the pen . the assembly thus fabricated , as shown in fig7 , was strongly glass - bonded to pen or ceramic cells after heating in air to 850 ° c ., followed by 750 ° c . for 4 hours . with appropriate control in processing , the fabricated assembly demonstrated satisfactory dimensional stability for use in commercial applications . in contrast , the unaluminized 430 frames could barely be bonded to pen , which usually ended up with the separation between the pen and frame after sealing . the interconnect and cell assemblies thusly fabricated were then stacked together with glass sealing separator plates and spacers along the fringes . the hermeticity of seals fabricated was measured using an in - house thermal cycling leak detector ( tcld ). the leak tests were done on the assembly made by glass sealing the component to a separator plate , which was aluminized as well before sealing . the tested assembly , which is the same unit as in the sofc stack , contains two glass seals : one was the coated fss 430 / 18 / ysz , and the other one was the coated fss430 ( spacer )/ 18 / coated fss430 ( separator ). after setting up the test stand , the test started with fast heating to 750 ° c . in 22 minutes , followed by furnace cooling to room temperature , while the leaking rate of helium that was pressurized into the anode side of the tested unit was monitored at the cathode or air side . the thermal cycling was achieved by simply repeating the fast heating and furnace - cooling . as an example , the leak rate of helium from the 14 th cycle was recorded and shown in fig5 . to help interpret the data , the leaking rate was converted to a percentage of the total of input helium . the percentage as a function of cycling is given in fig6 . before heating and cycling , the leaking rate was very low at little above 0 . 5 % ( equivalent to 0 . 5 % power drop by assuming the fuel can be fully used or burned ). after first cycling , this leaking percentage was slightly increased to close to 0 . 6 %. this leaking percentage was kept as constant and changed little during the subsequent heating and cooling till to the 14 th cycles . therefore , the seals , either in metal / glass / metal or metal / glass / ysz , fabricated according to the present invention offer exceptional performance . a second set of experiments was conducted to demonstrate the features of the invention associated with bond coats formed by heating fercalloy under reducing conditions for a time sufficient to form a cauliflower growth of aluminum oxide nodules . fecralloy having 22 % cr , 4 . 5 % al , 0 . 1 % y was obtained from goodfellow . pieces of ¾ ″× ¾ ″ cold - rolled thin sheet samples in a 2 mil thickness were heat - treated at 1050 ° c . for 4 hours in 2 . 78 % h 2 + ar atmosphere ( pre - purified ). the heat treatment was conducted in a graphite - sintering furnace ( thermal technology inc .) with a heating rate at 15 ° c . per minute and a cooling rate of 5 ° c . per minute . after heat treatment , the nodules became visible on the thin sheet sample surface and could be felt by hand . sem investigation revealed that separate nodules grew with a shape similar to cauliflowers on the alloy surface , as shown in fig7 ( a ). an energy dispersive x - ray analysis on the individual nodules indicated that an oxide layer , mainly comprised of al 2 o 3 , and occasionally small amounts of cr 2 o 3 and iron oxides , covered the rough surface of nodules . a cross - section of the pre - treated fecralloy sheet as shown in fig7 ( b ) shows that the nodules pegs in the alloy matrix , connecting through metallic ridges . an x - ray analysis on the adjacent area of the nodule indicated that little or no depletion of al in the alloy matrix . thus the growth of these cauliflower - like nodules is not expected to cause the degradation of the excellent oxidation resistance typical of fecralloys . the same heat treatment was also used to reproduce cauliflower - like nodules on sheet samples in a 12 mil thickness , as well as other size and shapes , including the frames ( 3¾ ″× 4¼ ″) of a sample sofc stack . the aforementioned processing was then optimized through a systematic investigation on effects of parameters , including atmosphere , temperature and time . among studied atmospheres , including he , ar and 2 . 78 % h 2 + ar , it appears that an atmosphere of approximately 2 . 78 % h 2 + ar is particularly effective for the formation of cauliflower - like nodules . temperatures of approximately 1050 ° c . were also observed as being particularly conductive towards the growth of cauliflower like nodules having a homogeneous growth , and without causing any undesired chemical and structural changes in the matrix . at the temperatures lower than about 1000 ° c ., the nodules were observed to grow with lesser frequency , and to be less homogeneously distributed , while over 1100 ° c . the intermetallic phases were observed as being more likely to form , potentially leading to a more brittle substrate . the duration of heating appeared less sensitive than these other two factors , but at least 4 hours of heating appeared to enhance the homogeneity of the resultant growth . the chemical compatibility of the interface with a sealing glass , again that described as sample 18 in copending u . s . patent application no . 09 / 562 , 583 -“ glass - ceramic joint and method of joining ” filed may 1 , 2000 now u . s . pat . no . 6 , 532 , 769 , was also investigated . fig7 shows the resulting interface of a pre - treated fecralloy / g - 18 / pre - treated fecralloy seal . no corrosion or extensive reactions were found at the interface of sealing glass and pre - treated fecralloy , as shown in fig7 ( a ) and ( b ). the cross - section of the seal clearly shows that the “ cauliflower ” nodules bridge the alloy matrix and the sealing glass , leading to a stronger bond of the sealing glass to the alloy matrix . a peel - test , a modification of astm d 1876 , was selected to evaluate the interfacial ( peel ) strength of the joint of ysz ( an electrolyte in sofcs ) with the glass and the alloy stripe . the results from the test on the pre - treated fecralloy strip in a 2 mil thickness are shown in fig8 along with those for ferritic stainless steel strips having 29 weight % chrome and 4 weight % mo (“ 29 - 4 ”) of the same thickness , as well as duct tape , for comparison . as shown in these results , it appears that the joint with pre - treated fecralloy not only possesses a higher peak peel strength than that with 29 - 4 , but also that the failure modes are quite different . the joint with a 29 - 4 strip typically broke in a catastrophic mode and failed quickly . in comparison , the pre - treated fecralloy strip was peeled gradually ( similar to the duct tape ) and thus significantly higher energy ( represented by the area under the load - extension curve ) was consumed before it was completely peeled off . the microscopic analysis on the fracture surface confirms that the pre - treated fecralloy strip was peeled off by pulling out the “ cauliflower ”- like nodules in the alloy matrix , and pinholes were left on the alloy shin strip , as shown in fig9 ( a ). a closer examination of the fracture surface , as seen in fig9 ( b ), furthers reveals that the joint with the pre - treated alloy failed in a ductile mode through breaking the metallic ridges in the nodules and / or tearing the alloy matrix . another engineering test , the pop - gun test , was conducted to further demonstrate that growth of “ cauliflower ”- like nodules on a fecralloy surface substantially improves the bonding in seals of pre - treated fecralloy bonded with glass to ysz . the results are shown in fig3 as series k , together with bare 430 and seals modified through bond coatings made by slurry spray diffusion coatings . from the figure , it appears that the interfacial strength of the seal , in which the modified or pre - treated fecralloy was used to make the first metal part is five times higher than bare 430 , which is believed to be close to that of untreated fecralloy . in this series of tests , it was observed that several seals with pre - treated fecralloy even could not even be broken by the current pop - gun tests in which the pressure was limited under 60 psi . accordingly , it is certain that the actual interfacial strength of the seal with modified or pre - treated fecralloy is higher that the value shown . while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects . for example , a wide range of metals , glasses , brazes and ceramics could be employed , together with a wide variety of methods for forming such materials into layers upon one and another . the appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention .	8
the following description should be read with reference to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views . the drawings , which are not necessarily to scale , are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention . the detailed description and drawings illustrate example embodiments of the claimed invention . all numbers are herein assumed to be modified by the term “ about .” the recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range ( e . g ., 1 to 5 includes 1 , 1 . 5 , 2 , 2 . 75 , 3 , 3 . 80 , 4 , and 5 ). as used in this specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ” include the plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . as used in this specification and the appended claims , the term “ or ” is generally employed in its sense including “ and / or ” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . it is noted that references in the specification to “ an embodiment ”, “ some embodiments ”, “ other embodiments ”, etc ., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature , structure , or characteristic , but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature , structure , or characteristic . moreover , such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . further , when a particular feature , structure , or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment , it would be within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature , structure , or characteristic in connection with other embodiments , whether or not explicitly described , unless clearly stated to the contrary . fig1 , illustrates a non - limiting exemplary embodiment of a safety syringe of the disclosure . the safety syringe 10 includes a syringe body or barrel 100 , typically including a graduated scale 102 thereon ; a plunger 110 sealingly slidable within the barrel 100 ; a hollow needle ( not shown in this figure ); an elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 moveable over the barrel 100 ; and a distal cap 160 adapted to engage the distal end of the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 . distal cap 160 , if present , includes an internal cavity of sufficient depth to accommodate that portion of the hollow needle ( not shown ) which extends distally from a generally tubular needle hub to be described herein . distal cap 160 may have a closed distal end . the barrel 100 and elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 are typically sufficiently translucent or transparent to permit the plunger 110 and a scale 102 printed on the barrel to be seen through the elongate generally tubular needle shield . although the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 of fig1 is depicted as having a circular cross - section , it will be appreciated that the function may be provided by elongate generally tubular needle shields having other cross - sectional shapes such as a triangle , a rectangle , a higher polygon , an oval , or the like . in some embodiments , the elongate generally tubular needle shield may have a cross - section which is somewhat elongated along a transverse axis to provide a better gripping surface for translation and / or rotation of the elongate generally tubular needle shield relative to the barrel . in other embodiments , an improved gripping surface may be provided by wings or other flanges extending from the surface of the elongate generally tubular needle shield . in yet other embodiments , the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 may include , on at least a portion of its outer surface , a textured region 152 adapted to provide an improved finger grip . in certain embodiments , the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 may include a cooperating key or keyway 154 adapted to guide translation of the elongate generally tubular needle shield relative to other components of the safety syringe , while limiting relative rotation except at selected places along the translation path . complementary key or keyway 154 may include structures ( not shown ) which cooperate with collar 120 to provide one or more detents to position and / or lock elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 relative to barrel 100 . the structure of the detents , if present , is not critical and may be provided by structures known in the art such as mutually engaging protrusions and recesses . some such engagements may be reversible while others may be irreversible . in fig2 , the distal cap 160 has been removed in preparation for use which may better illustrate additional structures associated with the safety syringe 10 . hollow needle 140 may be seen extending distally from generally tubular needle hub 130 to which it may be fixedly attached . in this embodiment , generally tubular needle hub 130 is integrally formed with barrel 100 . generally tubular needle hub 130 , better seen in fig3 and 4 , is joined to collar 120 via a plurality of ribs 132 which is integrally formed with the generally tubular needle hub 130 . each rib of the plurality of ribs 132 includes an at least partially relieved proximal region 134 to provide a region adapted to be readily frangible when the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 is positioned distal of the barrel 100 and subjected to a lateral force applied thereto at a point distal of barrel 100 . in some embodiments , ribs 132 , adapted to join the collar 120 to generally tubular needle hub 130 , may be deformable and adapted to engage a circumferential inner ridge 122 of collar 120 such that the collar 120 is firmly attached to the plurality of ribs 132 distal of the at least partially relieved proximal region 134 of the plurality of ribs 132 . in other embodiments , the plurality of ribs 132 , adapted to join the collar 120 to the generally tubular needle hub 130 , is fixedly attached to the generally tubular needle hub 130 and by adhesive to the collar 120 distal of the at least partially relieved proximal region 134 of the plurality of ribs 132 . in yet other embodiments , the plurality of ribs 132 , adapted to join the collar 120 to the generally tubular needle hub 130 , is fixedly attached to the generally tubular needle hub 130 and by welding to the collar 120 distal of the at least partially relieved proximal region 134 of the plurality of ribs 132 . it will be appreciated that those deformable ribs 132 , adapted to engage a circumferential inner ridge 122 of collar 120 , may additionally be fixedly attached to the collar by adhesive or welding if desired . in still other embodiments , barrel 100 , collar 120 , generally tubular needle hub 130 , and the plurality of ribs 132 , each including a relieved proximal region 134 , may be integrally formed . these fixation methods may significantly increase the force required to remove elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 from the remaining components of safety syringe 10 by pulling and / or wiggling the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 relative to the syringe barrel 100 . in each of the above embodiments , the plurality of ribs 132 may include two , three , four , or more ribs 132 . fig3 illustrates a barrel 100 , generally tubular needle hub 130 , ribs 132 with at least partially relieved proximal regions 134 , and a hollow needle 140 prior to assembly with collar 120 having an inner circumferential ridge 122 . fig4 illustrates the components after assembly in partial detail such that the at least partially relieved proximal region 134 may be seen . elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 has been omitted from these figures for clarity . depending upon details of the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 and collar 120 , which details should not be viewed as limiting in the current disclosure , safety syringe 10 may be assembled by inserting generally tubular needle hub 130 into the proximal end of elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 and advancing generally tubular needle hub 130 until hollow needle 140 extends distally from the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 . collar 120 may then be pressed over deformable ribs 132 to engage circumferential inner ridge 122 of collar 120 thereby firmly attaching collar 120 to generally tubular needle hub 130 via the plurality of deformable ribs 132 . if desired , ribs 132 may be fixedly attached to collar 120 as discussed above . in such assemblies , the proximal end of elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 may include one or more projections adapted to prevent collar 120 from being withdrawn proximally through the proximal end of generally tubular needle shield 150 . fig5 a , 5b , and 6 illustrate the use of safety syringe 10 , following the administration of a drug or other fluid . as illustrated , the safety syringe 10 may be operated with a single hand for convenience ; however two hands may be used depending on operator preference . in fig5 , the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 has been advanced distally along keyway 154 . if an optional detent 124 is present , detent 124 may be engaged by urging the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 distally with respect to the barrel as shown by the arrow 156 . in some embodiments , detent 124 may also hold elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 in a proximally retracted position during use . if a second optional detent 126 is present , the second detent may be engaged by rotating the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 relative to the barrel , as shown by curved arrow 158 , thereby locking the collar 120 and generally tubular needle hub 130 near the proximal end of the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 . in fig5 a , operator 170 has used a thumb and forefinger of one hand to slide elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 distally with respect to barrel 100 , held by the remaining fingers , thereby optionally engaging a detent ( not visible in this view ) and further has rotated elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 to lock elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 to collar 120 via a second optional detent ( not visible in this view ). in fig5 b , operator 170 has started to apply a force , perpendicular to the barrel 100 , to elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 , which is being held by the remaining fingers . further application of force will cause generally tubular needle hub 130 and plurality of ribs 132 to break at the at least partially relieved region 134 allowing separate disposal of the protected used needle 140 and the barrel 100 / plunger 110 of the syringe as shown in fig6 . separate disposal of the barrel 100 / plunger 110 of the syringe allows recycling of those parts thereby reducing the volume of medical waste . in use , elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 is initially retracted proximally relative to the barrel 100 to expose the tip and a portion of the shaft of hollow needle 140 and typically a portion of generally tubular needle hub 130 . in some embodiments , the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 may be releasably held in the retracted position by cooperation between optional detent components associated with elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 and collar 120 . plunger 110 is advanced fully distally . hollow needle 140 may then be inserted into a fluid to be dispensed , often by passing the tip of hollow needle 140 through the septum of a vial containing a drug or other fluid to be dispensed . withdrawing plunger 110 relative to barrel 100 causes fluid to be drawn through hollow needle 140 to fill a portion of the barrel with the fluid to be dispensed . the amount of fluid contained within the barrel may be determined by reference to scale 102 in the conventional manner . scale 102 on barrel 100 as well as plunger 110 can be viewed through translucent or transparent elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 . once the fluid has been delivered to the desired site through needle 140 by moving plunger 110 distally , the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 may be advanced distally over barrel 100 to a stop or optional detent thereby covering hollow needle 140 . this may be accomplished as a single - handed operation if desired . in some embodiments , the combination of elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 and collar 120 may also include a second detent capable of being engaged by rotating the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 relative to barrel 100 thereby locking the collar 120 proximate the proximal end of the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 . the optional locking operation also may be accomplished with one hand if desired . see fig5 and 5a . with elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 advanced distally and optionally locked to collar 120 , the operator may then apply a force in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 sufficient to break the safety syringe at the at least partially relieved proximal region between barrel 100 and elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 , thereby separating the used hollow needle 140 component from the barrel 100 / plunger 110 component to allow separate disposal of the respective components in an approved medical waste container . for an added measure of protection , cap 160 may be reinstalled . operator 170 may separate the used hollow needle 140 component from the barrel 100 / plunger 110 component with a single hand , if desired , by grasping the barrel 100 with the fingers while pressing laterally on the elongate generally tubular needle shield 150 distal of the barrel 100 as illustrated in fig5 b . although the illustrative examples described above relate to a specific exemplary embodiment of a single use safety syringe , use with other safety syringes is also contemplated . in such embodiments , details of elements corresponding to the collar , elongate generally tubular needle shield , and ribs may be modified while preserving the enhanced ability to break reliably and predictably at a region adjacent to the distal end of the syringe barrel . various modifications and alterations of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and principles of this invention , and it should be understood that this invention is not to be unduly limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth hereinabove . all publications and patents are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference .	0
generally , the present invention provides a combustion apparatus in the form of a multi - fuel furnace with an inventive fixed - grate that is elevated and center - fed with wood fuel . with specific reference to fig1 , there is shown a generalized schematic of a multi - fuel furnace 100 with an elevated fixed - grate 14 in accordance with the present invention . it should be understood that a variety of furnace configurations may be possible without straying from the intended scope of the present invention and that the configuration shown in fig1 is only one possible configuration . here , basic furnace elements are illustrated including an auger mechanism 12 powered by motor 13 for providing a center - fed input of combustible fuel such as , but not limited to , waste wood , sawdust , wood chips , bark , or any residual waste product from wood manufacturing . the inventive fixed - grate provides enhancements a multi - fuel furnace which helps to improve the overall quality of the environment . this is accomplished via increased efficiency in the utilization and conservation of energy resources by better use of wood waste from the wood manufacturing industry as described in more detail herein below . flue gases exit the furnace 100 primarily via a flue 15 and usable heat exits via a heat conduit 10 . though not shown , the auger mechanism 12 itself may be preceded by another mechanism to provide fuel in any manner such as via a simple chute or a more complex conveyor system depending upon the given configuration . it should be readily apparent to one of skill in the art of wood manufacturing that any other device or process may , if desired , be attached to the heat conduit 10 such as a rotary dryer or any other common heat processing element . though not shown , heat may be extracted from the combustion process via the heat conduit 10 or in any conventional manner including , without limitation , a thermal water jacket surrounding the refractory , fluid pipes within the flue gas stream , or any heat transfer mechanism suitable for the given configuration . in operation , combustible fuel is center - fed into the elevated fixed - grate 14 via the auger mechanism 12 through a central feed conduit 16 . although alternative shapes are possible without straying from the intended scope of the present invention , the round shape of the vertical combustion chamber 11 lends itself to uniform heating of the combustion pile . as well , this round shape coincides with the concentric courses of grate bricks described further herein below . due to the arrangement of concentric courses of grate bricks , the formation and subsequent burning of the combustion pile thereupon provides for residual ash to come to rest at the outer peripheral base of the fixed - grate 14 . the basic structural elements of the furnace 100 including the heat conduit 10 , combustion chamber 11 , auger mechanism 12 , motor 13 , and flue 15 are well - known elements and are therefore not further described herein . the combustion chamber 11 can be composed of several isolated sections ( not shown ) that are fed through an air header and controlled through damper actuators in any known manner . indeed , each of these basic structural elements may vary in known shape , form , or complexity without impacting upon the novelty of the present invention . such novelty rests in the combination of the aforementioned structural elements with a unique arrangement , as discussed in further detail herein below , of concentric brick courses which form the elevated fixed - grate 14 . fig2 is a top - view that shows the arrangement 200 of concentric courses 201 , 202 , 203 , 204 , and 205 of grate bricks which together form the elevated fixed - grate 14 . here , the outer peripheral base 210 which may include a recess for collection of residual ash can be seen as well as the auger mechanism 12 which feeds fuel to the surface of the top course 205 from which such fuel cascades over subsequent courses 202 , 203 , 204 , and 205 towards the outer peripheral base 210 . while five courses are shown , it should be understood that any number of courses may be provided without straying from the intended scope of the invention . indeed , a larger overall furnace would require a large arrangement of bricks which may vary in the number of courses or further may vary in the size of each brick that comprise the courses where such variation is also within the scope of the present invention . the grate bricks are arranged in a radial fashion and elevated so as to allow smooth airflow throughout the combustion pile . this also provides for proper three - stage combustion of the wood fuel whereby drying , gasifying , and heat release all occur in an appropriate fashion across the grate area . in this manner , a wide range of allowable moisture content in the fuel is possible due to the three - stage combustion . this inventive configuration of concentric courses of elevated bricks serves to both isolate underfire air from and overfire air and also to automatically de - ash the fixed - grate area . moreover , the elevated configuration allows maximization of the air flow through the grate area without compromising the high heat capability of refractory . this allows the present inventive device to burn low moisture fuel without damaging the grate . for purposes of the present invention , allowable moisture content for the fuel entering the combustion chamber 11 can range from 1 % to 60 %. with regard to fig3 , the three - stages of combustion enabled by the present invention are clearly illustrated . here , a close - up , cross - sectional side view 300 shows the concentric arrangement of the elevated fixed - grate . fuel is fed upwardly ( as shown by an upward pointing arrow ) through a contiguous , cylindrical inner cavity 31 from the auger mechanism 12 . in this manner , raw fuel 34 having an elevated moisture content will enter the combustion chamber 11 for the initial drying stage . because the brick grates are arranged concentrically in a stepped manner , the dried fuel is allowed to cascade down the outer edges of the elevated fixed - grate . the dried fuel then enters the gasifying stage ( indicated by dome 33 ) whereby the majority of energy is released from the fuel into the combustion chamber 11 . underfire air fed through holes 32 in the support structure flows through passageways ( explained in further detail below ) in the bricks and feeds combustion during the gasifying stage . such underfire air is physically separated from the overfire air flow . the overfire air flow serves more to dry the fuel in the initial combustion stage . accordingly , underfire air is typically drier and hotter which aids in the superheating aspect of the gasification stage . during combustion , the residue 35 of gasification continues to cascade down the outer edges of the elevated fixed - grate to the final burn - out stage at which time a final ash is produced . the final ash comes to rest at the base of the elevated fixed - grate against the round walls of the combustion chamber 11 . as previously suggested in regard to fig2 , an optional recess along the floor where the final ash comes to rest can be provided to allow for automatic de - ashing . it is this addition of a refractory lined chamber at the bottom allows the ash to collect in this chamber for subsequent removal . in terms of the combustion pile , fig4 is provided to show the three primary combustion stages 40 from a top down perspective . fig4 is effectively an identical illustration relative to fig2 with the addition of fuel stages overlaid there upon . here , the manner in which the combustion pile cascades out from the center in a circular manner atop the concentric arrangement of fig2 can be seen . the innermost circular portion 41 illustrates the fresh fuel initially center - fed from below through the contiguous , cylindrical inner cavity via the auger mechanism ( shown at center ) and in the initial stage drying on the fixed - grate . beyond the innermost circular portion 41 is shown a central circular portion 42 which represents the gasification stage of the fuel . lastly , the outermost circular portion 43 represents the burn - out stage whereby residual ash will eventually accumulate at the periphery of the outermost circular portion 43 . as mentioned , such ash can then drop down into a recessed area for subsequent removal from the combustion chamber floor . in this manner , de - ashing of the fixed - grate is accomplished in a passive manner without requiring any additional mechanisms . for the sake of comparison of the present invention to standard refractory configurations , fig5 and fig6 are provided . specifically , fig5 is a prior art illustration showing a side view of one type of prior art cast brick whereby a fuel pile rests upon a typical fire brick having air holes cast therein . in such structure , the air holes are vertical and typically plug with ash so as to require a significant amount of maintenance in the form of de - ashing procedures . moreover , such known configurations with holes in the refractory allow the refractory itself to expand and contract , thus causing cracking and eventual premature failure . in contrast , fig6 is an illustration showing a side view of a single fixed - grate brick in accordance with the present invention . here , the air flow is provided via a horizontally arranged air passage beneath the solid refractory brick . this horizontal orientation of the air passage advantageously alleviates plugging of the air passages without the need for holes with the refractory itself . moreover , the concentric arrangement of overlapping courses of radially arranged bricks in accordance with the present invention in combination with the horizontal air passages facilitates the cascading characteristics of a combustion pile utilizing the present invention . in this manner , this arrangement provides the aforementioned automatic de - ashing as the combustion pile cascades from the center top of the fixed - grate as fresh fuel in the drying stage through the mid - level gasifying stage and ultimately to the bottom peripheral edge of the fixed - grate upon the burn out stage whereby final ash rests . each individual brick in accordance with the present invention is formed generally as an arcuate segment of a circle . in fig7 , this formation is shown by way of a three - dimensional perspective view of a single fixed - grate brick of fig6 in accordance with the present invention . here , the basic structural elements of a single fixed - brick 70 are shown to include a solid refractory section 71 held in an elevated position via ribs 72 a , 72 b , and 72 c . the ribs 72 a , 72 b , and 72 c include lateral ribs 72 a and 72 c and central rib 72 b located at the bottom surface of each single fixed - brick 70 . each of the ribs 72 a , 72 b , and 72 c is oriented radially relative to the arc of the given brick . the voids created by the ribs 72 a , 72 b , and 72 c form horizontal passageways 73 a and 73 b . in forming the elevated fixed brick apparatus in accordance with the present invention , each single fixed - grate brick is arranged into a base forming a complete ring of bricks upon which a subsequent course of bricks with fewer bricks is placed thereby forming a progressively smaller completed ring of incrementally smaller individual fixed - grate bricks . it should be readily apparent that the inner peripheries 70 a and outer peripheries 70 b of each brick in each course of bricks align and the inner peripheries 70 a surround the contiguous , cylindrical inner cavity ( as previously shown in fig3 ) of the assembled elevated fixed - grate . as can further be seen by way of fig8 in a simplified cross - section 800 , the bricks 70 are situated on a stepped support structure 801 that generally mirrors the stepped arrangement of the bricks 70 . the stepped support structure 801 may be formed from steel of a thickness and quality sufficient to withstand long term use in a high heat environment . this stepped support structure 801 is tied together underneath the main brick support plates 801 a to support the overall weight of the inventive grate . the main brick support plates 801 a may be integrally formed with the stepped support structure 801 or may be separately formed and laid atop the stepped support structure 801 . the main brick support plates 801 a are designed such that the combustion air supplied to the underfire air is distributed in a homogenous pattern throughout the circular pattern of the bricks 70 . these plates serve the dual purpose of distributing air flow ( via holes 810 ) and structural support of the overall combustion grate made up of the bricks 70 , support plate 801 a , and support structure 801 . while one particular configuration for a stepped support structure 801 is shown in fig8 , it should be readily apparent that any suitable underlying structural support may be used so long as airflow is enabled to the brick undersides while structurally supporting the courses of bricks 70 . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be examples only . alterations , modifications and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto .	5
in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . particular advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows , and in part will be obvious from the description , or may be learned by practice of the invention . the advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims . it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention , as claimed . before the present invention and / or methods are disclosed and described , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to specific reagents or synthetic procedures , as such may , of course , vary , unless it is otherwise indicated . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting . the present artificial synovial fluid composition of the present invention mimics in vivo synovial fluid for use in wear simulator testing of artificial joint replacements . the artificial synovial fluid may further comprise a microbial inhibitor selected from the group consisting of a β - lactam antibiotic ; a β - lactamase - sensitive penicillin ; a β - lactamase inhibitor ; a combination β - lactam antibiotic and beta - lactamase inhibitor ; an aminoglycoside ; and a bacteriostatic , wherein the microbial inhibitor is present at a concentration of from about 1 % to about 15 % total volume . an antifungal agent may also be present , which may be selected from the group comprising amphotericin b , fungilin , abelcet , ambisome , fungisome , amphocil , and amphotec . the β - lactam antibiotic may be selected from the group comprising ampicillin , pivampicillin , carbenicillin , amoxicillin , carindacillin , bacampicillin , epicillin , pivmecillinam , azlocillin , mezlocillin , mecillinam , piperacillin , ticarcillin , metampicillin , talampicillin , sulbenicillin , temocillin , and hetacillin . the β - lactamase sensitive penicillin may be selected from the group comprising benzylpenicillin , phenoxymethylpenicillin , propicillin , azidocillin , pheneticillin , penamecillin , clometocillin , benzathine benzylpenicillin , procaine benzylpenicillin , benzathine phenoxymethylpenicillin , dicloxacillin , cloxacillin , methicillin , oxacillin , and flucloxacillin . the β - lactamase inhibitor may be selected from the group comprising sulbactam and tazobactam . the combination penicillin and beta - lactamase inhibitor may be selected from the group comprising ampicillin and an enzyme inhibitor ; amoxicillin and an enzyme inhibitor , ticarcillin and enzyme inhibitor , sultamicillin piperacillin and enzyme inhibitor , combinations of penicillins ) including beta - lactamase inhibitors ( ampicillin and enzyme inhibitor , amoxicillin and enzyme inhibitor , ticarcillin and enzyme inhibitor , sultamicillin piperacillin and enzyme inhibitor , combinations of penicillins ). the aminoglycoside may be selected from the group comprising streptomycin , streptoduocin , tobramycin , gentamicin , kanamycin , neomycin , amikacin , netilmicin , sisomicin , dibekacin , ribostamycin , and isepamicin . the bacteriostatic may be selected from the group comprising tetracycline , sulphonamide , spectinomycin , trimethoprim , chloramphenicol , macrolide and lincosamide . any anti - infectives for systemic listed in the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system j01 ( atc j01 ) may be used in the synovial fluid . the mammalian serum may be a bovine serum selected from the group comprising alpha calf serum ( acs ), acs - i , bovine calf serum ( bcs ) and newborn calf serum ( ncs ). the buffer may comprise sodium chloride , sodium phosphate and potassium phosphate . the buffer may be selected from the group comprising pbs . the artificial synovial fluid composition may have a total protein concentration of from about 22 g / l to 44 g / l . the albumin fraction may be from about 60 % to about 75 % w / w %. the α - 1 globulin concentration may be from about 3 . 3 % to about 5 . 2 % w / w %. the α - 2 globulin concentration is from about 5 . 8 % to about 9 . 7 % w / w %. the β - globulin concentration may be from about 3 . 4 % to about 17 . 7 % w / w %. the γ - globulin concentration may be from about 4 . 8 % to about 12 . 9 % w / w %. the hyaluronic acid ( ha ) concentration may be from about 1 g / l to about 2 g / l . the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid ( ha ) may be from about 1 . 5 mda to about 3 . 5 mda . the calcium ( ca ) concentration may be from about 0 . 32 mmol / l to about 2 . 2 mmol / l . the magnesium ( mg ) concentration may be from about 0 . 04 mmol / l to about 0 . 7 mmol / l . the inorganic phosphate ( p ) concentration may be from about 0 . 2 mmol / l to about 1 . 1 mmol / l . the iron ( fe ) concentration may be from about 0 . 004 mmol / l to about 0 . 05 mmol / l . finally the peptide concentration may be at a 2 , 000 da molecular weight cut - off of from about 0 . 05 g / l to about 2 g / l . the artificial synovial fluid composition may have a maximal transition midpoint temperature , t m - cp - max , of from about 336 k to about 338 k at a concentration molality of from about 0 . 005 to about 0 . 15 mmol / l and a scan rate from about 20 k / hour to 100 k / hour . the total enthalpy change , δh , may be from about 700 kj mol − 1 to about 1050 kj mol − 1 at a set concentration molality of 0 . 05 mmol / l measured at a scan rate of 60 k / hour . the artificial synovial fluid composition may have a total entropy change , δs , is from about 2 kj mol − 1 k − 1 to about 3 . 2 kj mol − 1 k − 1 at a set concentration molality of 0 . 05 mmol / l measured at a scan rate of 60 k / hour . the ratio of albumin to total globulin ( α - 1 globulin + α - 2 globulin + β - globulin +- globulin fractions ) in solution may be from about 1 . 8 to about 2 . 3 . the artificial fluid composition may be used for wear testing artificial joint implants in in vitro simulators . in particular , the artificial joint implant may be selected from the group consisting of a knee joint implant , a hip joint implant , a shoulder implant , a spinal implant , and any other joint replacement implant or implant surfaces that are under relative motion during their implantation in a mammalian body . also described is a method of joint implant wear simulator testing in vitro comprising subjecting the joint implant to wear simulator testing in the presence of an artificial synovial fluid composition as described above . as used herein , the term “ serum ” refers to the clear , protein - rich portion of any body fluid . in particular , serum refers to “ blood serum ”, the cell - free , protein - rich , fluid portion of the blood . serum can refer to human serum or other mammalian serum . constituent serum proteins include albumin , α - 1 - globulin , α - 2 - globulin , β - globulin and γ - globulin . as used herein , the term “ peptide ” refers to a compound of at least two amino acids . the peptide has a molecular weight of no more than 2000 da . as herein used , the term “ knee simulator ” refers to a six station amti knee simulator ( ks3 - 6 - 1000 , serial # 120219 , amti , waltham , mass .). this simulator was used to specifically test total knee replacement implants under physiological loading and motions . the simulator consisted of a left ( l ) bank and a right ( r ) bank with separate load and motion actuators . the implants used on the l bank and the r bank were referred to as the “ l implants ” and “ r implants ”, respectively . each bank had three dynamic wear stations and two load - soak ( ls ) stations . the lubricants used in the wear simulations were damaged during the wear process . such damage led to protein degradation that had to be characterized to be able to explain the overall acting wear mechanism . at the beginning of the wear tests the fresh lubricant used as the “ starting material ( sm )” was often translucent and yellow . as the wear test progressed , the lubricants lost their translucent feature and became opaque . such altered visual appearance suggested that some protein constituents were damaged and had precipitated out of solution but remained suspended in the lubricant ( fig2 ). to separate the damaged proteins from the unworn proteins the lubricant samples had to be centrifuged . this caused the suspended proteins to become compacted on the bottom of the tubes which resulted in a pellet . the fluid on top of the pellet was called the supernatant ( sup ) and was free of any precipitates . as used herein , the term “ antibiotic ” refers to a microbial inhibitor . common antibiotics include antibiotic - antimycotics ( aa ) which target a broad spectrum of bacteria , fungi and yeast . antibiotics for use with the invention include β - lactams ( e . g . penicillin , carbenicillin ), aminoblycosides ( e . g . streptomycin , tetracycline ), and bacteriostatics ( e . g . chloramphenicol ). in particular , the aa contains 10 , 000 units of penicillin , 10 , 000 μg streptomycin , 25 μg amphotericin b / ml , and includes streptomyucin sulphate . in particular , the antimycotic is amphotericin b ( fungizone ®). as used herein , the term “ buffer ” refers to phosphate - buffered saline solution . the buffer may include both hepes and tris can be used to maintain ph 7 . 0 - 7 . 4 . hepes ( 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 1 - piperazineethanesulfonicacid ) couples with naoh and tris ( trishydroxymethylaminomethane or the iupac name 2 - amino - 2 - hydroxymethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol ) with hcl at a concentration of approximately 20 - 50 mm . the following examples are included to demonstrate particular embodiments of the invention . it should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples which follow represent techniques disclosed in the examples which follow represent techniques discovered by the inventors to function well in the practice of the invention , and thus can be considered to constitute exemplary modes for its practice . however , those of skill in the art should , in light of the present disclosure , appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . serum protein concentration and protein constituent fractions vary depending on the lubricant the ratio of albumin / globulin in serum lubricant at the start of a wear test has been used as an indicator of wear in several hip simulator studies ( wang et al ( 2004 ) j . biomed . mater . res . 68b ( 1 ): 45 - 52 ), however , determination of clinically relevant fractions of specific serum proteins , including α - 1 , α - 2 , β , and γ - globulins , in wear simulator testing has not been evaluated , nor has the relevance of these protein fractions in wear simulator testing . twenty patients were selected to participate in the present study : ten male and ten female patients , with a mean age of 64 . 7 years ( range , 60 - 70 years ), undergoing surgery for primary total knee arthroplasty ( table 1 ). patients who had previously received any knee injections for pain relief ( i . e . cortisone ( a steroid hormone ) or synvisc ® hylan g - f 20 ( genzyme , cambridge , mass . )), or patients with rheumatoid arthritis ( ra ) or other inflammatory arthritis , were eliminated from the study . also , patients were excluded who were undergoing revision surgery or who had received a high tibial osteotomy . ten patients underwent right knee surgeries and ten underwent left knee surgeries . based on the pre - admission notes , the patient - specific body - mass - index ( bmi ) measured on average 31 ( range , 26 - 41 bmi ). sf was aspirated from twenty patients just prior to surgical replacement of the knee with a primary total knee replacement ( ethical board review number 12536e , university of western ontario , canada ), by four independent physicians . sterile techniques , as per hospital protocol , were maintained to protect the patient . the amount of sf aspirated varied ( range , 1 - 8 ml ), with a mean of 4 ml . the serum protein fractions of four calf sera ( bovine calf serum ( bcs ), newborn calf serum ( ncs ), alpha - calf serum ( acs ) and iron - supplemented alpha - calf serum ( acs - i )) were determined ( all obtained from hyclone inc . ( logan , utah )). the protein compositions of the various sera are provided in table 2 . five hundred millilitres of calf sera were obtained and stored at − 20 ° c . until use . individual certificates of analysis were obtained from the serum manufacturer for each batch of serum used to provide data on the individual protein and inorganic component concentrations . the total protein concentration and individual protein fractions varied to some extent across the different sera . the albumin fraction of acs was consistently found to be highest and most similar to that of acs - i . total protein concentrations of the patient sf samples ( fig3 ) and various calf sera ( table 2 ) were determined using a bicinchonic acid protein assay kit ( bca ™ protein assay kit , cat . # p123227 , pierce chemicals , rockford , ill .). in this assay , a biuret reagent ( copper sulphate , a strong base ) undergoes a chemical reaction , as the reaction between the peptide bonds of a protein and the cu atoms results in the formation of a coloured complex . protein concentrations were calculated as g / l . proteins extracted from sf and sera samples were subjected to electrophoresis to identify the proteins present in the samples based on protein net charge , the viscosity of the protein mixture , and protein size . the proteins with a smaller radius were expected to migrate more rapidly than proteins with larger radii . the apparatus used for the electrophoresis ( sebia hydrasys ®, sebia , norcross , ga .) permitted the electrophoresis of 30 individual samples on a single alkaline - buffered ( ph = 8 . 5 ) agar - based gel ( hydragel 30 β1 - β2 , sebia , norcross , ga .). the gel separated five major protein fractions : albumin , α - 1 globulin , α - 2 globulin , β - globulin and γ - globulin . the sf was pre - treated with hyaluronidase , an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of ha and increases the permeability of the protein constituents into the gel , to reduce the viscosity of the lubricant . hyaluronidase powder ( hyalurono - glucosaminidase , h 3506 , sigma - aldrich , st . louis , mo .) was diluted with pbs to a 71 g / l solution and was then added to 100 μl of synovial fluid in a ratio of 1 : 20 . hyaluronidase - treated samples were electrophoresed separately and served as controls . the fractions of serum proteins albumin and α - 1 , α - 2 , β , and γ - globulins were determined for a series of patient sf samples using aforementioned electrophoresis . analysis of the sf samples revealed that the total protein concentration was 2 - fold greater in the samples than the total protein concentration recommended by iso - 14243 - 3 ( iso - 14243 - 3 ( 2004 ) international organization for standardization , london : implants for surgery : wear of total knee joint prostheses , part 3 : loading and displacement parameters for wear testing machines with displacement control and corresponding environmental conditions for test , displacement control and corresponding environmental conditions for test ). the mean total protein concentration for sf obtained from osteoarthritic patients was measured to be 34 . 18 ± 4 . 78 g / l ( range 22 . 95 - 43 . 06 g / l ). the protein constituent fractions in serum lubricants bcs , ncs , acs , and acs - i were compared to those concentrations measured for sf ( fig4 ). the protein constituents of the various calf sera were variable both amongst themselves as well as compared to sf . the albumin , α - 1 - globulin , and α - 2 - globulin fractions calculated for serum lubricants acs and acs - i most closely matched those of sf , compared to protein constituent fractions in either of bcs or ncs . the β - globulin concentration in the sf samples was determined to be similar to those of both ncs and acs serum lubricants . the γ - globulin fraction of the sf samples was determined to be most similar to those of both bcs and ncs . osmolality and trace element concentrations vary depending on the serum lubricant and dilution medium osmolality is a direct measure of the ionic strength of a solution and is a regarded as a systemic , patient specific value ( baumgarten et al . ( 1985 ) j . bone joint surg . am . 67 ( 9 ): 1336 - 1339 ). individual calf sera samples were diluted either with dw or pbs . the choice of dilutive media was suggested to affect solution osmolality given that osmolality has been shown to affect the thermal stability of proteins in solution ( giancola et al . ( 1997 ) int . j . biol . macromol . 20 ( 3 ): 193 - 204 ) and , thus , might also affect the protein degradation and the pe wear rate in simulator wear testing . in the present study , an osmometer ( osmometer 5520 , wescor , logan , utah ) was used to determine the osmolality of the sf , different serum lubricants and their dilutive media . the osmometer determined the osmolality following the freezing - point depression test strategy at atmospheric pressure . this strategy permits the determination of the difference between freezing points of a pure solvent and that of a solution mixed with a solute . the difference between freezing points is directly proportional to the molar concentration of the solution . prior to testing , the instrument was calibrated using a reference sample that had 290 mmol / kg ( calibration opti - mole ™, wescor , logan , utah ). triplicate measurements were obtained for each of the lubricant samples . the osmolality of pbs was 286 ± 0 . 57 mmol / kg , a value approximately 6 - times higher than that of dw ( osmolality = 46 ± 2 . 08 mmol · kg ). the calf sera were diluted to a final protein concentration of 17 g / l according to iso 14243 - 3 using dw or pbs ( cat .# 72060 - 034 , vwr , mississauga , on ) ( table 3 ). the mean osmolality value for the series of sf samples was measured to be 310 . 20 ± 11 . 84 mmol / kg ( ranging between 284 - 324 mmol / kg ). the measured mean osmolality value was then compared to osmolality values calculated for various wear simulator testing serum lubricants diluted with either dw or pbs ( fig5 ). the measured osmolarities of undiluted sf , bcs , ncs , acs , and acs - i were found to be similar to the osmolality of the respective serum diluted with pbs . serum dilution with pbs was shown to result in more clinically relevant osmolality levels compared to dilution with dw . the measured osmolality levels were shown to be similar to those of sf . the concentrations of some trace elements such as calcium ( ca ), magnesium ( mg ), inorganic phosphorus ( p ) and iron ( fe ) were determined for the sf samples and compared with the concentrations found in the various calf serum mixtures . a chemical analyzer ( synchron lx 20 ® pro , beckman coulter , fullerton , calif .) was utilized to measure these concentrations . depending on the element , different methodologies were used in the analyzer that is described elsewhere in more detail ( chemistry information sheet a18471 , beckman coulter , fullerton , calif ., october 2005 ; chemistry information sheer a18491 , beckman coulter , fullerton , calif ., september 2005 ; chemistry information sheet a18526 , beckman coulter , fullerton , calif ., september 2005 ; chemistry information sheet a18545 , beckman coulter , fullerton , calif ., august 2005 ). triplicate measurements were obtained for each of the lubricant samples . the concentration of ca , mg , inorganic p , and fe were determined in all sf samples , 100 % bcs , 100 % ncs , 100 % aca , and 100 % acs - i ( fig6 ). the ca and inorganic p concentration were highest in sf samples followed by mg and fe . a similar pattern can be observed for bcs , ncs and acs , but not for acs - i with a fe concentration ( 0 . 087 mmol / l ) close to its mg concentration ( 0 . 080 mmol / l ). however , none of the calf sera trace element concentrations were close to the concentrations of human sf samples . while such elements are known to bind or add to proteins and other substances in the sf and calf sera ( stryer ( 1995 ) “ biochemistry ” ( fourth edition )), their effect on pe wear remained also unknown . a six million cycles wear tests was performed on the knee simulator ( amti , waltham , mass .) with amk implant ( fig7 ) components ( table 4 ) ( depuy orthopaedics , warsaw , ind .). there calf serum lubricants were used : bcs lubricant ( bcs + dw + sa ), ncs lubricant ( ncs + dw + sa ), and acs lubricant ( acs + dw + sa ). the wear rates obtained from the testing with the bcs lubricant , ncs lubricant , and acs lubricant indicated that the fractions of serum proteins in the lubricant had a significant effect on wear rate ( fig8 ). the serum lubricants were found to have wear varying rates where bcs lubricant & gt ; ncs lubricant & gt ; acs lubricant . electrophoresis data obtained for serum lubricant samples suggested that serum protein constituents in the various calf serum lubricants were each affected by the wear process ( fig9 ). correlation analysis showed that an increased fraction of albumin + α - 1 - globulin resulted in a reduced pe wear rate ( fig1 ). elevated β - globulin + γ - globulin fraction correlated with increased protein degradation ( fig1 ). sa was ineffective as a microbial inhibitor in all three lubricants . the microbial contamination was identified as gram - negative e . cloacae , strain jk - 1 using the api ® 20e system . a micrograph of the organism is shown in fig1 . historically , sa has been widely used to successfully inhibit microbial growth ( lichstein and soule ( 1944 ) j . bacteriology 47 ( 3 ): 253 - 257 ). however , bell et al . ( 2000 , proc . inst . mech . eng . [ h ] 214 ( 5 ): 513 - 518 ) reported microbial growth in pin - on - plate wear tests despite the use of sa - containing lubricant , suggesting that sa is not a useful microbial inhibitor under such conditions . alternative microbial inhibitors , including specific antibiotic / antimycotics ( aa ), have been used in wear tests ( schwenke et al . ( 2005 ) proc . inst . mech . eng . [ h ] 219 ( 6 ): 457 - 464 ), however , their effects on wear rates compared to sa have not been established . experiments were performed to determine serum protein concentrations in each of starting materials ( sm ) and supernatants ( sup ) in the presence of sa compared to aa . a typical antibiotic / antimycotic composed of penicillin , streptomycin , and amphotericin b ( fungizone ®) in saline solution was evaluated for its antimicrobial effects in a wear simulator testing application ( cat . # 15240 - 062 , invitrogen , missassauga , on ). implants were evaluated in the presence of different serum lubricants diluted in dw and including one of sa or aa as the microbial inhibitor . aa was added at a concentration of 1 % per lubricant volume at the beginning of the wear tests and was again repeatedly added every ˜ 0 . 16 mc of wear testing to uphold the efficacy of the microbial agent . lubricants from the wear stations were sampled at the start of the tests ( 0 mc ) and every 0 . 1 mc after that and the lubricant samples were then plated in triplicate on lb agar . no bacterial growth was detected in any of the wear stations at 0 mc . however , bacterial growth was observed after the first 0 . 1 mc in all the wear stations where sa was used as the microbial inhibitor ( fig1 ). ncs + dw + sa appeared to exhibit higher levels of bacterial growth compared to bcs + dw + sa up to 0 . 35 mc . in general , the bacterial growth was reduced in tests using acs , compared to other serums , as the lubricant . bacterial growth was completely inhibited in wear simulator tests using aa as microbial inhibitor in the case of consecutive tests of 0 . 5 mc using bcs + dw , ncs + dw , and acs + dw lubricants . lubricant serum protein degradation was evident following wear testing regardless of the used microbial agent ( fig1 ). the peptide concentration was significantly higher for in all calf sera lubricants when sa was replaced with aa ( fig1 ). it was previously shown that the thermal stability of the lubricant affected the tribology at the cocr - pe interface ( heuberger et al . ( 2005 ) biomaterials 26 ( 10 ): 1165 - 1173 ; fang et al . ( 2007 ) appl . surface sci . 253 ( 16 ): 6896 - 6904 ). in order to obtain information concerning the thermal stability ( transition midpoint temperature t m ; enthalpy change δh ; entropy change , δs ) of the lubricants , triplicate samples of various acs - i lubricants as well as sf were subjected to differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ). the protein stability of a dilute protein solution depends on the partial molar heat capacity at constant pressure , c p . the change in c p reflects the ability of the protein solution to absorb heat and cope with a defined increase in temperature . a protein in a dilute solution is in equilibrium between the native ( folded ) conformation and its denatured ( unfolded ) conformation . the stability of the native state is based on the magnitude of the gibbs free energy ( δg ) of the system and the thermodynamic relationships between enthalpy ( δh ) and entropy ( δs ) changes : δg = δh − tδs . a positive δg indicates the native state is more stable than the denatured state ; the more positive the δg , the greater the stability . in order to allow a protein to become unfolded , stabilizing forces need to be broken . protein unfolding occurs when the entropic changes are significantly increased to overcome stabilizing enthalpic interactions between protein hydrogen bonds , hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic interactions , resulting in an endothermic peak at a certain transition midpoint temperature t m ( fig1 ). the t m directly indicates the thermal stability of the protein . the higher the t m the more stable is the protein at lower temperatures . δh is primarily due to changes in hydration of side chains that are buried in the native state and become exposed in the denatured state . the shift in baseline before and after the transition represents the change in δc p of the protein in association with the solvent caused by unfolding . the sharpness of the transition peak is an index of the cooperative nature of the transition from native formation to denatured formation . the unfolding process becomes a multi - stage process when more than one peak is observed which means it is less cooperative . at temperature below t m the concentration of native proteins is higher than of denatured . the t m at maximal c p ( t m ( cp - max ) ) is referred to as the transition point where half the proteins are folded and half are unfolded . at this point δg = 0 and the conformational entropy δs = δh / t m ( cp - max ) can be directly calculated . during unfolding , a protein transforms from a single folded confirmation to many random unfolded conformations . δs is the measure of disorder / randomness in a system and an increase in δs indicates the amount energy dissipated to transform proteins from native , folded conformation to random , unfolded conformation . higher δs indicates higher conformational protein stability . conformational entropy overcomes the stabilizing forces allowing the protein to unfold at temperatures where entropy becomes dominant . a microcal vp - dsc calorimeter ( microcal , northhampton , mass .) was used in the present study to obtain the thermogram for several lubricant mixtures . firstly , a baseline for a thermogram was established by scanning a buffer solution which consists of the media used to dilute the calf serum . secondly , each lubricant was diluted with their according buffer solution to a total protein concentration of 6 g / l and were subsequently scanned . the scan rate was 60 k / hour was applied to 283 k to 368 k . the concentration molality was uniformly set at 0 . 05 mmol / l . a relative comparison of t m , δh and δs was established . the contribution of the serum proteins on the calorimetrically measured c p was determined by subtracting a scan of the buffer solution from the data prior to lubricant analysis . such a procedure ensured that any effects of the solvent on the proteins were eliminated and the thermal signal is entirely due to the serum constituents . a software program . ( origin 5 . 0 , microcal , northhampton , mass .) was used to analyze the data . t m , δh , and δs of the transition were calculated by fitting the data to a two - state transition model using non - linear least squares regression analysis ( levenberg - marquardt non - linear least - square method ) ( more ( 1977 ) “ levenberg - marquardt algorithm : implementation and theory , united states , pp . 13 ). the unfolding of the protein constituents of the calf serum based lubricants was considered an irreversible process ( pico ( 1997 ) int . j . biological macromolecules 20 ( 1 ): 63 - 73 ). to gain some insight into the thermal stability of the lubricants triplicate samples of the dw lubricant ( acs - i + dw + aa ), the pbs lubricant ( acs - i + pbs + aa ), the ha lubricant ( acs - i + pbs + aa + ha ) and sf ( samples of sf 7 , sf 8 , and sf 18 ) were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) methods . the buffer solutions in the dsc tests were dw + aa , pbs + aa , pbs + aa + ha and pbs for the lubricants acs - i + dw + aa , acs - i + pbs + aa , acs - i + pbs + aa + ha , and sf , respectively . dw lubricant and acs - i + pbs + aa had a significantly lower enthalpy change ( δh ) entropy change ( δs ) compared with acs - i + pbs + aa + ha and sf ( fig1 - 24 ). both the transition midpoint temperature ( t m1 ) and the maximal specific heat at constant pressure ( c p ) increased when acs - i + aa was diluted with pbs instead with dw . such change in dilutive media increased the osmolality of the lubricant from 145 ± 2 . 00 mmol / kg to 321 ± 2 . 64 mmol / kg . however , t m1 for pbs lubricant was lower compared with sf . the dw lubricant and pbs lubricant did not have a t m3 . the unfolding of the ha lubricant was highly cooperative ( only one very well defined c p - peak during unfolding ) and had a comparable t m1 to sf . the unfolding of sf samples was a multi - stage process showing three t m , with t m1 having the highest c p ( table 5 ). the unfolding of sf was consequently less cooperative ( several c p - peaks during the unfolding ) than for the ha lubricant . acs - i + dw + aa had a lower t m1 and t m ( cp - max ) compared with sf . the thermograms of sf were similar between samples sf 7 , sf 8 , sf 18 . the unfolding of sf was less cooperative than acs - i + pbs + aa + ha but showed similar in t m ( cp - max ) , δh and the change in entropy ( δs ). the δs for the lubricants was almost proportional to δsince the t m ( cp - max ) was of the same order of magnitude between the lubricants . the types of calf serum based lubricants used for implant wear testing vary between independent research laboratories and implant manufacturers ( clarke et al . ( 2001 ) wear 250 ( 1 - 12 ): 188 - 198 ). wang et al ( 2004 , j . biomed . mater . res . 68b ( 1 ): 45 - 52 ) suggested that the test lubricant should be classified based on physiological a / g ratio . they also added 0 . 34 g / l ha to the lubricant with sa as the microbial inhibitor and did not observe an effect on the pe wear rate in their hip simulator study . in contrast , desjardins et al . ( 2006 , proc . inst . mech . eng . [ h ] 220 ( 5 ): 609 - 623 ) added 1 . 5 g / l ha having a molecular weight of 2 . 3 mda to bovine calf serum , and incorporated sa as the microbial inhibitor , and observed a 6 . 8 - fold in increase in pe wear rate . mazzucco et al . ( 2003 , “ variation in joing fluid composition and its effect on the tribology of replacement joint articulation ”, ph . d . thesis , mit ) reported a mean molecular weight for ha of 1 . 8 mda , at a mean concentration of 1 . 5 g / l in sf . a 5 . 5 mc wear test was performed on the aforementioned implant components , the results of which are provided in table 6 . the average pe wear rate for the l implants increased 2 - times from 5 . 04 ± 0 . 56 mm 3 / mc to 10 . 24 ± 2 . 04 mm 3 / mc when ha was added to the lubricant ( fig2 ). such a change was statistically significant ( p = 0 . 013 , student &# 39 ; s t - test ). a 5 , 000 cycle ( 83 min ) “ sf wear test ” with 10 ml of mixed sf was performed on implant l2 . sf samples of 10 patients ( sf 3 , sf 4 , sf 5 , sf 6 , sf 7 , sf 8 , sf 11 , sf 13 , sf 14 , and sf 16 ) were mixed ( sf mix ). the sf mix had a protein concentration of 30 . 90 ± 1 . 24 g / l and a peptide concentration of 0 . 397 ± 0 . 004 g / l . the test was performed in an open system and the sf mix was repeatedly pipetted ( every 3 - 5 cycles ) onto the anterior aspect of the femoral component which allowed the sf mix to be dragged into the interface by the articulating surfaces . the protein concentration of the sup measured 25 . 98 ± 1 . 31 g / l . the peptide concentration in sf mix increased by 56 % to 0 . 618 ± 0 . 010 g / l . the electrophoretic profile of the sf mix was different between the sm and the sup ( fig2 ). the mean pe wear rate for the r implants increased 2 . 3 - times from 1 . 29 ± 0 . 17 mm 3 / mc to 2 . 99 ± 0 . 16 mm 3 / mc when pbs was replaced with dw as the dilutive media . this change appeared statistically significant ( p = 0 . 003 , student &# 39 ; s t - test ). using dw as the dilutive media for acs - i resulted in non - clinically relevant osmolality levels and increased the pe wear rate . using pbs as the dilutive media reproduced clinically relevant osmolality levels and increased the thermal stability and reduced the wear rate ( fig2 ). the wear rate was significantly different between the l bank and the r bank when acs - i + pbs + aa was used as lubricant ( fig2 and 27 ). the simulator was considered to be of two banks that are independent of each other . the data showed that the wear rates of the lubricants were higher when sa was used as the microbial inhibitor compared with aa ( fig8 , 25 , and fig2 ). microbial growth in the lubricants was associated with reduced peptide concentration , suggesting that the e . cloacae jk - 1 metabolized such peptides . comparison of the peptide concentrations in lubricants acs + dw + sa , acs + dw + aa , and acs - i + dw + aa showed that the peptide concentration was increased 11 - fold when sa was replaced with aa ( fig2 ). the protein constituent concentration between acs and acs - i were found to be similar ( table 2 ). there did not appear to be a significant difference between the peptide concentrations when iron - rich acs - i was used ( p = 0 . 170 , anova and tamhane ) and thus , the effects of fe on peptide concentration appeared to be low . edta was then added to all lubricants , which should guarantee the binding of free fe . thus , it may be reasonable to compare the wear rates acs + dw + sa with the war rate of acs - i + dw + aa ; replacing sa with aa caused a 4 - times decrease in pe wear rate ( fig2 ). the peptides in the lubricant appeared to form a thin peptide layer ( conditioning film ), with an average molecular weight of 2 , 000 da ( fig3 , 31 ). this protein layer was suggested to cover the bearing surface with more low molecular weight brushes than a lubricant with a low peptide concentration , requiring more energy to be squeezed out of the contact zone to onset adhesive / abrasive wear ( persson and mugele ( 2004 ) j . physics : condensed matter 16 ( 10 ): r295 - r355 ). all of the methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure . while the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of particular embodiments , it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and methods and in the steps or sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the concept , spirit and scope of the invention . more specifically , it will be apparent that certain agents that are both chemically and physiologically related may be substituted for the agents described herein while the same or similar results would be achieved . all such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit , scope , and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims .	2
referring to fig2 , 3 a and 3 b , one embodiment of the invention provides a brush 30 comprising an elongated core 32 which can be constituted of plastic , metal or other suitable material , and a multiplicity of fibers 34 , for example nylon fibers , attached to the core 32 and extending radially outwardly therefrom to form a brush fiber array 36 surrounding the core over a substantial portion of the length of the core . the fibers 34 can be attached to the core 32 by first applying an adhesive to a portion of the surface of the core 32 and then applying the fibers 34 onto the core , preferably by electrostatic delivery . the manufacture and arrangement of such flocked structures are well known in the art , and accordingly need not be further described . the core 32 has a proximal end 38 and a distal end 40 to which the fiber array extends . the proximal end of the fiber array 36 being spaced distally from the proximal end 38 of the core so as to leave an exposed proximal length of the core for mounting in a handle , such as the stem rod of a mascara container cap . such an applicator will provide a continuous uniform fiber array as shown in fig9 a . in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention and as shown in fig5 a - 5 h , after an adhesive is applied to core 32 but before the fibers 34 are flocked to the core , a mask or masks 42 having a desired pattern can be placed over the core so that fibers will not adhere to the masked portions . accordingly , as shown in fig4 a - 4 h when the fibers 34 are flocked , the fibers adhere to the unmasked portions only thereby creating a brush with voids 44 . numerous desirable patterns embodying voids can be created in this manner . alternatively , the adhesive can be applied after the mask is placed over a bare core , the mask can then be removed , and the fibers will only be flocked to the portion of the core having adhesive . as shown in fig3 - 36 , masks can also be sleeves or coverings 204 which are used before or after flocking but can remain around the core 202 for end use . as shown in fig3 , 33 , 35 a , and 35 b , after the flocking 206 is adhered to the core 202 , a sleeve 204 is injection molded onto at least a portion of the flocking 206 thereby covering the fibers in the masked region . trimming can also be performed in the flocking before and / or after the sleeve 204 is injection molded . in an alternative embodiment , as shown in fig3 , 34 , and 36 , a separately formed sleeve 204 can be assembled or placed over the flocked core 202 . in this embodiment , the fibers can be covered and / or redirected from the masked regions to the unmasked regions . trimming can also be performed on the flocking before and / or after the sleeve 204 is placed . the sleeves 204 can be detachable or removable , fixed to the core 202 or the flocking 206 , or adhered to the core or the flocking . a user may be directed to remove the sleeve 204 before use . also , as shown in fig3 and 34 , the sleeves or coverings can be separately flocked 208 , and / or , as shown in fig3 and 32 , be injection molded to have bristles 210 . when the fibers 14 of a conventional brush are initially attached to the core 12 , their free ends may project for somewhat randomly unequal distances therefrom , and accordingly the brush can be subjected to a trimming step . to produce brushes of conventional round , that is cylindrical and / or tapering conical , profile , such brushes are rotated through trimmer heads . while such trimming is common in the manufacture of conventional twisted - in - wire brushes , one embodiment of the present invention employs trimming to create voids 44 in the flocked fiber array 36 such that the voids form patterns . as shown in fig7 a - 7 h and 8 a - 8 g , the fibers 34 , after being applied in uniform density along the core 32 , can be trimmed into a desired pattern . while the patterns of fig4 a - 4 h were made using masks 42 and the patterns of fig7 a - 7 h and 8 a - 8 g were made by trimming , most patterns can be made by either method alone , or by a combination of the two . compare for example fig9 b - 9 g and 9 i - 9 n which were made by trimming and fig5 a - 5 h which show masks 42 for similar patterns . one example of combining masking and trimming is shown in fig6 a - d where masks 42 were applied to the brush 30 on top of the fibers 34 to create a desired void pattern after the fibers 34 had been attached to the core 32 , at which point an additional flocking was applied . however , these patterns could have also been made by thickly flocking the entire brush 30 and then trimming certain regions . once void patterns are created , the voids can be left bare , or a different type of fiber , such as fibers having different densities , lengths , colors , textures , stiffness , composition , etcetera can be attached to the masked regions by applying additional adhesive on such regions and then flocking on the different type of fibers . by applying two or more types of fiber , a cosmetic brush with more diverse application properties can be created . also , complex patterns , such as corporate logos , can be created in the fiber array 36 using this technique . complex patterns are beneficial because they can be visually attractive and can be employed to visually identify the characteristics of the brush . as shown in fig1 a - 10 l , single colored brushes can also be manufactured by dipping the flocked brush , wholly or partially , into a suitable dye or other colorant so that , all of or some of , the fibers on the brush are made to be the same color . the brushes shown in fig1 a - 10 l are represented by hatching to indicate examples of different colors , for example , yellow a , orange b , light green c , dark green d , light blue e , and dark blue f . however , as shown in fig1 a - 11 m , complex patterns can also be created by masking a flocked core and then applying a dye or other colorant to the core to effectively ‘ print ’ a pattern . exemplary printing processes include : masking , such as silk - screening ; direct painting ; and / or spraying , such as with ink - jet printing techniques . alternatively , instead of dye , a thin layer of additional flocking of a contrasting visual type , such as different colors , textures , diameters , etcetera can be applied to create the pattern . also , multiple colors and / or flockings 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 can be used to impart a pattern over a background color or flocking 70 . furthermore , the adhesive or epoxy , which adheres the flocking to the core , can also be colored . with this process , the core , the adhesive , and the flocking can each be different colors . this difference in colors allows for multicolor patterns to be made during the trimming process by selectively trimming through the flocking and / or adhesive to expose the different color or colors of the adhesive and / or the core . this invention contemplates that the diverse patterning processes discussed above can be combined in various combinations to produce complex , multi - color and / or multi - textural patterns for a brush . in another embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig1 a - 26 b , the core 32 is not smoothly cylindrical but rather is shaped in various ways depending on the desired application . by shaping the core 32 , the notional envelope formed by fiber array 36 will take on approximately the same shape as the core . for example , in fig1 a and 12 b , the core 32 is curved at the distal end along its longitudinal axis and the flocking takes on this shape as well . such a curved distal end is useful when the cosmetic product is to be applied to a curved surface such as a user &# 39 ; s eyelashes . fig2 a - 28 b show a flocked brush 100 that can be rotatably attached to a handle . in this embodiment , a connector 102 has a proximate end 104 which is provided to attach to the handle or a stem rod , and a distal end 106 to attach to a hollow core 108 by insertion into the inner hollow portion of the core , such that the core is free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the core 102 . in one embodiment , the rotation is permitted by a circumferential track 112 in the connector 102 into which a guide 114 on the inside of the core 108 fits . in operation , the guide 114 rotates in the track 112 carrying the rest of the core and the adhered flocking about the longitudinal axis of the core 102 . these rotatable brushes allow a user to utilize all surfaces of the fiber array without requiring the user to manually rotate the brush , since proper rotation of a fixed brush held between a user &# 39 ; s thumb and forefinger can be difficult . a particular advantage of the brush of the present invention is that numerous fiber array patterns can be easily created . additionally , fiber arrays with two different types of fibers , arranged in diverse patterns can be efficiently produced . sleeves 204 with flocking 208 or bristles 210 are not limited to the embodiments discussed above with respect to fig3 , 32 , 33 , and 34 . for example , unlike the embodiment shown in fig3 and 34 in which the flocking is only applied to one or more portions of a sleeve 204 , such as the outwardly facing flat side 212 of the sleeve 204 , fig3 and 38 illustrate an embodiment in which flocking 208 is applied all around the sleeve 204 . also , the sleeves need not have a flat side 212 as shown in fig3 and 34 , but can have any cross - section including the round cross - section shown in fig3 and 38 . an exemplary process for obtaining the embodiments shown in fig3 - 34 and 41 b , is illustrated in fig4 a i , 41 a ii , 41 a iii , 41 a iv , and 41 a v . in this process , a mask 203 is placed over an unflocked core 202 . flocking 206 is then applied to the unmasked sections of the core 202 , and the mask 203 is then removed . a sleeve 204 which , in this example , was formed with bristles 210 , is then placed over the unflocked portions of the core 202 . fig4 a i - 40 a iv and 40 b illustrate an alternative process by which voids are created by trimming a flocked core . this process involves , for example , starting with a core 202 , applying flocking 206 to the core to create a core without voids , trimming the flocking to create voids 207 , and then placing or injection molding a sleeve 204 , which is formed with bristles 210 , over the flocked core . while the brushes with sleeves 204 shown in fig3 , 32 , 33 and 34 , which can be formed by the process illustrated in fig4 a i - 41 a v , are fitted into voids 207 of a flocked core , the sleeves 204 can also be placed over a flocked core so as to compress or redirect the flocking 206 of the core . fig3 a i - 39 a iii illustrate such a process . this process involves , for example , starting with a core 202 , applying flocking 206 to the core to create a core without voids , and then placing or injection molding a sleeve 204 , which is formed with bristles 210 , over the flocked core . fig3 b illustrates a sleeve 204 placed over the flocked core and fig3 c illustrates a sleeve 204 injection molded over the flocked core in accordance with this process . both these brushes can have regions 211 of compressed or redirected core flocking . in some embodiments , this process obviates the need to create voids before placing the sleeve over the flocked core . in another embodiment of the present invention , even if the core 202 is formed with bristles 210 , flocking 205 can still be applied . in the embodiment shown in fig4 a , 48 b , 48 c , 48 d , and 48 e , one or more longitudinal spaces 213 are provided between the rows of bristles 210 to which flocking 205 can be applied . in this embodiment , the bristles 210 are molded with or attached to the core 202 , and then the flocking 205 is applied to the spaces 213 between the bristles using masks or by painting adhesive and applying flocking to the spaces . if desired , flocking 205 can also be applied to the bristles 210 . the numerous new arrays of fibers can also be incorporated into traditional wire and bristle mascara brushes . for example , fibers can also be flocked onto the voids found in traditional wire core mascara brushes or directly onto the bristles of such brushes to provide new functionality and a more pleasant sensation when applying mascara . in a similar manner , stiffer fibers , such as the bristles found in conventional mascara brushes , can be flocked onto regions of previously flocked brushes to provide additional functionality in applying cosmetic materials . furthermore , while the embodiments described above have been described with a brush having a core 202 with a continuous surface , this invention also applies to twisted wire brushes . fig4 i , 42 ii , 42 iii , 42 iv , and 42 v illustrate a process for forming a twisted wire core and applying flocking to that core . the process starts with a length of wire 302 which can be made of any suitable material or materials , for example , metal , metal alloy , plastic , wood fibers , combinations thereof , etcetera . this wire 302 also can have indentations 303 for maintaining the distribution of the adhesive when the wire is twisted . the wire 302 is bent between the ends 304 , 306 to create adjacent sides 308 , 310 . the adjacent sides 308 , 310 of the wire 302 are then twisted about each other to form a twisted wire core 312 . flocking 314 is then applied to this twisted wire core 312 , and the flocked twisted wire core 316 can be trimmed in a manner similar to the trimming of flocked continuous surface cores . as with the continuous surface cores , the twisted wire cores can also have masks applied during the flocking process . however , because each side 308 , 310 of the wire can be separately treated or formed before being twisted together , additional variations are possible with a twisted wire core 312 . for example , fig4 i , 43 ii , 43 iii , 43 iv and 43 v illustrate a process for forming one such twisted wire core embodiment of this invention . like the embodiment described above , this process starts with a length of wire 302 . however , unlike that embodiment , at least a portion of the wire 302 is flocked before being bent to form the two adjacent sides 308 , 310 . further , this flocking 318 can be trimmed longitudinally , transversely , obliquely , or in other ways before being bent , see fig4 ii , and / or before being twisted , see fig4 iii . after this trimming or trimmings the adjacent sides 308 , 310 are twisted together , see fig4 iv and 43 v , to form a partially flocked twisted wire core 319 . additional trimming can be performed and / or additional flocking can be added after the twisting . fig4 i , 44 ii , 44 iii , 44 iv and 44 v illustrate another exemplary process for forming another twisted wire core embodiment of this invention . in this embodiment , instead of flocking being applied to only one of the adjacent sides 308 , 310 , flocking 320 , 321 is applied to both sides and , accordingly , each side 308 , 310 can be trimmed before being bent and / or twisted . fig4 i , 45 ii , 45 iii , 45 iv and 45 v , illustrate another exemplary process for forming yet another twisted wire core embodiment of this invention . in this embodiment , one side of the wire 308 is formed with bristles 322 while the other side 310 has flocking 323 applied . fig4 i , 46 ii , 46 iii , and 46 iv illustrate another exemplary process for forming a further twisted wire core embodiment of the invention . in this embodiment , one of the sides 308 acts as a sleeve for compressing the flocking 325 on the other side 310 . the pattern of void - like indentations 326 , that is where one side 308 compresses the other side 310 , can be varied by bending the compressing side 308 into certain shapes before being twisted . for example , in fig4 ii , the compressing side 308 is first formed into a rectangular - like bend 328 , and then is twisted about the other side 308 , see fig4 iii and 46 iv , to create the desired pattern . fig4 i , 47 ii , 47 iii , and 47 iv illustrate a similar process in which the shape of the compressing side 308 is a spiral 330 . it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the features and embodiments hereinabove specifically set forth , but may be carried out in other ways without departure from its spirit .	0
“ alkyl ”, as used herein , refers to the radical of saturated or unsaturated aliphatic groups , including straight - chain alkyl , alkenyl , or alkynyl groups , branched - chain alkyl , alkenyl , or alkynyl groups , cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , or cycloalkynyl ( alicyclic ) groups , alkyl substituted cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , or cycloalkynyl groups , and cycloalkyl substituted alkyl , alkenyl , or alkynyl groups . unless otherwise indicated , a straight chain or branched chain alkyl has 30 or fewer carbon atoms in its backbone ( e . g ., c1 - c30 for straight chain , c3 - c30 for branched chain ), preferably 20 or fewer , preferably 10 or fewer , more preferably 6 or fewer , most preferably 5 or fewer . if the alkyl is unsaturated , the alkyl chain generally has from 2 - 30 carbons in the chain , preferably from 2 - 20 carbons in the chain , preferably from 2 - 10 carbons in the chain , more preferably from 2 - 6 carbons , most preferably from 2 - 5 carbons . likewise , preferred cycloalkyls have from 3 - 20 carbon atoms in their ring structure , preferably from 3 - 10 carbons atoms in their ring structure , most preferably 5 , 6 or 7 carbons in the ring structure . examples of saturated hydrocarbon radicals include , but are not limited to , methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , t - butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl , cyclohexyl , ( cyclohexyl ) methyl , cyclopropylmethyl , and homologs and isomers of , for example , n - pentyl , n - hexyl , n - heptyl , n - octyl . examples of unsaturated alkyl groups include , but are not limited to , vinyl , 2 - propenyl , crotyl , 2 - isopentenyl , 2 -( butadienyl ), 2 , 4 - pentadien yl , 3 -( 1 , 4 - pentadienyl ), ethynyl , 1 - and 3 - propynyl , and 3 - butynyl . the term “ alkyl ” includes one or more substitutions at one or more carbon atoms of the hydrocarbon radical as well as heteroalkyls . suitable substituents include , but are not limited to , halogens , such as fluorine , chlorine , bromine , or iodine ; hydroxyl ; — nr 1 r 2 , wherein r 1 and r 2 are independently hydrogen , alkyl , or aryl , and wherein the nitrogen atom is optionally quaternized ; — sr , wherein r is hydrogen , alkyl , or aryl ; — cn ; — no 2 ; — cooh ; carboxylate ; — cor , — coor , or — conr 2 , wherein r is hydrogen , alkyl , or aryl ; azide , aralkyl , alkoxyl , imino , phosphonate , phosphinate , silyl , ether , sulfonyl , sulfonamido , heterocyclyl , aromatic or heteroaromatic moieties , — cf3 ; — cn ; — ncococh 2 ch 2 ; — ncocochch ; — ncs ; and combinations thereof . “ aryl ”, as used herein , refers to c 5 - c 10 - membered aromatic , heterocyclic , fused aromatic , fused heterocyclic , biaromatic , or bihetereocyclic ring systems . broadly defined , “ aryl ”, as used herein , includes 5 -, 6 -, 7 -, 8 -, 9 -, and 10 - membered single - ring aromatic groups that may include from zero to four heteroatoms , for example , benzene , pyrrole , furan , thiophene , imidazole , oxazole , thiazole , triazole , pyrazole , pyridine , pyrazine , pyridazine and pyrimidine , and the like . those aryl groups having heteroatoms in the ring structure may also be referred to as “ aryl heterocycles ” or “ heteroaromatics ”. the aromatic ring can be substituted at one or more ring positions with one or more substituents including , but not limited to , halogen , azide , alkyl , aralkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl , cycloalkyl , hydroxyl , alkoxyl , amino ( or quaternized amino ), nitro , sulfhydryl , imino , amido , phosphonate , phosphinate , carbonyl , carboxyl , silyl , ether , alkylthio , sulfonyl , sulfonamido , ketone , aldehyde , ester , heterocyclyl , aromatic or heteroaromatic moieties , — cf3 , — cn ; and combinations thereof . the term “ aryl ” also includes polycyclic ring systems having two or more cyclic rings in which two or more carbons are common to two adjoining rings ( i . e ., “ fused rings ”) wherein at least one of the rings is aromatic , e . g ., the other cyclic ring or rings can be cycloalkyls , cycloalkenyls , cycloalkynyls , aryls and / or heterocycles . examples of heterocyclic rings include , but are not limited to , benzimidazolyl , benzofuranyl , benzothiofuranyl , benzothiophenyl , benzoxazolyl , benzoxazolinyl , benzthiazolyl , benztriazolyl , benztetrazolyl , benzisoxazolyl , benzisothiazolyl , benzimidazolinyl , carbazolyl , 4ah carbazolyl , carbolinyl , chromanyl , chromenyl , cinnolinyl , decahydroquinolinyl , 2h , 6h - 1 , 5 , 2 - dithiazinyl , dihydrofuro [ 2 , 3 b ] tetrahydrofuran , furanyl , furazanyl , imidazolidinyl , imidazolinyl , imidazolyl , 1h - indazolyl , indolenyl , indolinyl , indolizinyl , indolyl , 3h - indolyl , isatinoyl , isobenzofuranyl , isochromanyl , isoindazolyl , isoindolinyl , isoindolyl , isoquinolinyl , isothiazolyl , isoxazolyl , methylenedioxyphenyl , morpholinyl , naphthyridinyl , octahydroisoquinolinyl , oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 5 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , oxazolidinyl , oxazolyl , oxindolyl , pyrimidinyl , phenanthridinyl , phenanthrolinyl , phenazinyl , phenothiazinyl , phenoxathinyl , phenoxazinyl , phthalazinyl , piperazinyl , piperidinyl , piperidonyl , 4 - piperidonyl , piperonyl , pteridinyl , purinyl , pyranyl , pyrazinyl , pyrazolidinyl , pyrazolinyl , pyrazolyl , pyridazinyl , pyridooxazole , pyridoimidazole , pyridothiazole , pyridinyl , pyridyl , pyrimidinyl , pyrrolidinyl , pyrrolinyl , 2h - pyrrolyl , pyrrolyl , quinazolinyl , quinolinyl , 4h - quinolizinyl , quinoxalinyl , quinuclidinyl , tetrahydrofuranyl , tetrahydroisoquinolinyl , tetrahydroquinolinyl , tetrazolyl , 6h - 1 , 2 , 5 - thiadiazinyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 5 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , thianthrenyl , thiazolyl , thienyl , thienothiazolyl , thienooxazolyl , thienoimidazolyl , thiophenyl and xanthenyl . one or more of the rings can be substituted as defined above for “ aryl ”. the terms “ alkenyl ” and “ alkynyl ” refer to unsaturated aliphatic groups analogous in length and possible substitution to the alkyls described above , but that contain at least one double or triple bond respectively . the term “ heteroalkyl ”, as used herein , refers to straight or branched chain , or cyclic carbon - containing radicals , or combinations thereof , containing at least one heteroatom . suitable heteroatoms include , but are not limited to , o , n , si , p and s , wherein the nitrogen , phosphorous and sulfur atoms are optionally oxidized , and the nitrogen heteroatom is optionally quaternized . heteroalkyls can be substituted as defined above for alkyl groups . “ alkoxy ”, “ alkylamino ”, and “ alkylthio ” are used to refer to those alkyl groups attached to the remainder of the molecule via an oxygen atom , an amino group , or a sulfur atom , respectively . “ alkylaryl ”, as used herein , refers to an alkyl group substituted with an aryl group ( e . g ., an aromatic or hetero aromatic group ). “ heterocycle ” or “ heterocyclic ”, as used herein , refers to a cyclic radical attached via a ring carbon or nitrogen of a monocyclic or bicyclic ring containing 3 - 10 ring atoms , and preferably from 5 - 6 ring atoms , consisting of carbon and one to four heteroatoms each selected from the group consisting of non - peroxide oxygen , sulfur , and n ( y ) wherein y is absent or is h , o , ( c1 - 10 ) alkyl , phenyl or benzyl , and optionally containing 1 - 3 double bonds and optionally substituted with one or more substituents . examples of heterocyclic ring include , but are not limited to , benzimidazolyl , benzofuranyl , benzothiofuranyl , benzothiophenyl , benzoxazolyl , benzoxazolinyl , benzthiazolyl , benztriazolyl , benztetrazolyl , benzisoxazolyl , benzisothiazolyl , benzimidazolinyl , carbazolyl , 4ah - carbazolyl , carbolinyl , chromanyl , chromenyl , cinnolinyl , decahydroquinolinyl , 2h , 6h - 1 , 5 , 2 - dithiazinyl , dihydrofuro [ 2 , 3 - b ] tetrahydrofuran , furanyl , furazanyl , imidazolidinyl , imidazolinyl , imidazolyl , 1h - indazolyl , indolenyl , indolinyl , indolizinyl , indolyl , 3h - indolyl , isatinoyl , isobenzofuranyl , isochromanyl , isoindazolyl , isoindolinyl , isoindolyl , isoquinolinyl , isothiazolyl , isoxazolyl , methylenedioxyphenyl , morpholinyl , naphthyridinyl , octahydroisoquinolinyl , oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 5 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , oxazolidinyl , oxazolyl , oxepanyl , oxetanyl , oxindolyl , pyrimidinyl , phenanthridinyl , phenanthrolinyl , phenazinyl , phenothiazinyl , phenoxathinyl , phenoxazinyl , phthalazinyl , piperazinyl , piperidinyl , piperidonyl , 4 - piperidonyl , piperonyl , pteridinyl , purinyl , pyranyl , pyrazinyl , pyrazolidinyl , pyrazolinyl , pyrazolyl , pyridazinyl , pyridooxazole , pyridoimidazole , pyridothiazole , pyridinyl , pyridyl , pyrimidinyl , pyrrolidinyl , pyrrolinyl , 2h - pyrrolyl , pyrrolyl , quinazolinyl , quinolinyl , 4h - quinolizinyl , quinoxalinyl , quinuclidinyl , tetrahydrofuranyl , tetrahydroisoquinolinyl , tetrahydropyranyl , tetrahydroquinolinyl , tetrazolyl , 6h - 1 , 2 , 5 - thiadiazinyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 5 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , thianthrenyl , thiazolyl , thienyl , thienothiazolyl , thienooxazolyl , thienoimidazolyl , thiophenyl and xanthenyl . heterocyclic groups can optionally be substituted with one or more substituents as defined above for alkyl and aryl . “ halogen ”, as used herein , refers to fluorine , chlorine , bromine , or iodine . cell cycle checkpoints regulate the precise order of cell cycle events , thus ensuring the distribution of complete copies of the genome to daughter cells ( hartwell , l . & amp ; weinert , t ., science 246 , 629 - 634 , 1989 ). defects in checkpoints lead to genomic instability , a major contributory factor in the development of cancer , because cells with faulty checkpoints proceed into mitosis with damaged or incompletely replicated dna ( hartwell , l . h . & amp ; kastan , m . b ., science 266 , 1821 - 1828 , 1995 ; nojima , h . hum . cell 10 , 221 - 230 , 1997 ). molecular and genetic studies in the yeasts saccharomyces cerevisiae and schizosaccharomyces pombe have identified an intricate network of genes required for the s - g2 / m checkpoint , which ensures cell cycle arrest in response to dna damage and / or incomplete dna replication ( weinert , t ., curr . opin . genet . dev . 8 , 185 - 193 , 1998 ). in fission yeast , a group of six nonessential checkpoint rad proteins , hus1 , rad1 , rad3 , rad9 , rad17 , and rad26 , constitute the sensory machinery of fission yeast checkpoint cascade ( humphrey , t ., mutat . res . 451 , 211 - 226 , 2000 ). these proteins are required for cell cycle arrest in response to the inhibition of dna synthesis by compounds such hydroxyurea or dna damages caused by uv and gamma radiation ( humphrey , t ., mutat . res . 451 , 211 - 226 , 2000 ). these proteins have been highly conserved during evolution , and related proteins have been found in many other eukaryotes , including humans ( venclovas , c . & amp ; thelen , m . p . nucleic acids res . 28 , 2481 - 2493 , 2000 ). the human analogs of these checkpoint rad proteins are referred to as hhus1 , hrad1 , hrad3 , hrad9 , and hrad17 . rad26 does not have a homolog in humans . hrad9 interacts with hrad1 and hhus1 in a stable complex that has been dubbed the 9 - 1 - 1 - complex ( burtelow et al ., j . biol . chem ., 276 , 25903 - 25909 , 2001 ). structural homology between each member of the 9 - 1 - 1 complex and the replication processivity factor proliferating cell nuclear antigen ( pcna ) has led to the hypothesis that the 9 - 1 - 1 complex replaces replication associated pcna - dependent functions during dna repair ( caspari et al ., mol . cell . biol ., 20 , 1254 - 1262 , 2000 ). during dna replication , the pcna homotrimer forms a ring - like sliding clamp over dna and acts to increase the processivity of dna polymerase . the 9 - 1 - 1 / pcna model is supported by the observation that hrad9 , hrad1 , and hhus1 each interact with hrad17 , which shares extensive homology to subunits of replication factor c , a protein required for loading pcna 1 onto dna ( mossi , r , and hubscher , u ., eur . j . biochem ., 254 , 209 - 216 , 1998 ). further studies have shown that dna damage induces not only hyperphosphorylation of hrad9 and hrad1 but also the association of the 9 - 1 - 1 complex with chromatin . from this , a model has emerged in which hrad17 - dependent loading of 9 - 1 - 1 onto dna at sites of damage could coordinate a multi - faceted checkpoint response ( st . onge et al ., j . biol . chem ., 276 , 41898 - 41905 , 2001 ). biomolecular studies in vitro and experimental models suggest that 4 , 5 - dihydro - 3 - methylene - 2 [ 3h ] furanone , “ securolide ” binds to intracellular structures to trigger intrinsic immune regulators that prevent the growth of aberrant cells . securolide results in cell death of rad9 mutant yeast strains . based on this data , it is believed that securolide interacts with mutant hrad9 in cancer cells to produce dna lesions which lead to apoptosis . bioassays involving mutant strains of saccharomyces cereviseae showed cytotoxicity only on the mutant strains and more specifically to the rad9 gene . this suggests that securolide has selective cytotoxicity on unstable genomes . human clinical trials have demonstrated that the in vitro assays are predictive of efficacy in the treatment of cancer and other disease , including patients with breast and prostate cancer who had failed conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy . damaged dna in s . cereviseae activates the gene rad9 , which is known as a cell cycle repair checkpoint protein , to arrest the cell cycle after damage has occurred . rad9 may also promote pro - apoptosis ( cell suicide ) and suppress cell division . bioassays show that securolide causes injuries to damaged dna through rad9 . hrad9 is the homolog of rad9 in human tumor cells . since securolide is cytotoxic to rad9 mutants in other types of yeasts , it is expected that securolide targets hrad9 in humans to destabilize the genomes of malignant cells . the p53 gene is a tumor suppressor gene , i . e ., its activity stops the formation of tumors . if a person inherits only one functional copy of the p53 gene from their parents , they are predisposed to cancer and usually develop several independent tumors in a variety of tissues in early adulthood . this condition is rare , and is known as li - fraumeni syndrome . however , mutations in p53 are found in most tumor types , and so contribute to the complex network of molecular events leading to tumor formation . the p53 gene has been mapped to chromosome 17 . in the cell , p53 protein binds dna , which in turn stimulates another gene to produce a protein called p21 that interacts with a cell division - stimulating protein ( cdk2 ). when p21 is complexed with cdk2 the cell cannot pass through to the next stage of cell division . mutant p53 can no longer bind dna in an effective way , and as a consequence the p21 protein is not made available to act as the ‘ stop signal ’ for cell division . thus cells divide uncontrollably , and form tumors . p53 becomes activated in response to myriad stress types , which include but is not limited to dna damage ( induced by either uv , ir , or chemical agents such as hydrogen peroxide ), oxidative stress , osmotic shock , ribonucleotide depletion and deregulated oncogene expression . this activation is marked by two major events . firstly , the half - life of the p53 protein is increased drastically , leading to a quick accumulation of p53 in stressed cells . secondly , a conformational change forces p53 to take on an active role as a transcription regulator in these cells . the critical event leading to the activation of p53 is the phosphorylation of its n - terminal domain . the n - terminal transcriptional activation domain contains a large number of phosphorylation sites and can be considered as the primary target for protein kinases transducing stress signals . the protein kinases that are known to target this transcriptional activation domain of p53 can be roughly divided into two groups . a first group of protein kinases belongs to the mapk family ( jnk1 - 3 , erk1 - 2 , p38 mapk ), which is known to respond to several types of stress , such as membrane damage , oxidative stress , osmotic shock , heat shock , etc . a second group of protein kinases ( atr , atm , chk1 and chk2 , dna - pk , cak ) is implicated in the genome integrity checkpoint , a molecular cascade that detects and responds to several forms of dna damage caused by genotoxic stress . oncogenes also stimulate p53 activation , mediated by the protein p14arf . in unstressed cells , p53 levels are kept low through a continuous degradation of p53 . a protein called mdm2 ( also called hdm2 in humans ) binds to p53 , preventing its action and transports it from the nucleus to the cytosol . also mdm2 acts as ubiquitin ligase and covalently attaches ubiquitin to p53 and thus marks p53 for degradation by the proteasome . however , ubiquitylation of p53 is reversible . a ubiqiutin specific protease , usp7 ( or hausp ), can cleave ubiquitin off p53 , thereby protecting it from proteasome - dependent degradation . this is one means by which p53 is stabilized in response to oncogenic insults . phosphorylation of the n - terminal end of p53 by the above - mentioned protein kinases disrupts mdm2 - binding . other proteins , such as pin1 , are then recruited to p53 and induce a conformational change in p53 which prevents mdm2 - binding even more . phosphorylation also allows for binding of trancriptional coactivators , like p300 or pcaf , which then acetylate the carboxy - terminal end of p53 , exposing the dna binding domain of p53 , allowing it to activate or repress specific genes . deacetylase enzymes , such as sirt1 and sirt7 , can deacetylate p53 , leading to an inhibition of apoptosis . some oncogenes can also stimulate the transcription of proteins which bind to mdm2 and inhibit its activity . the studies of the efficacy of securolide in inducing selective cell death in rad9 and / or p53 mutant yeast cell lines demonstrates the feasibility of using the cell lines to screen for other compounds that selectively induce cell death in rad9 and / or p53 mutant lines as compared to the wild - type lines , or animal models . suitable cell lines and animal models are commercially available or can be prepared with routine effort . for example , the american type culture collection , manassas , va . 20108 , lists several rad9 mutant strains of yeast ( catalog numbers 90731 ; 90730 ; 74154 , 4003576 , 4023576 , and 4033576 . a zebrafish containing a homologous cloned rad9 is available from atcc as catalog number 10169289 . there are also numerous scientific publications on yeast strains that have various defects involving not just rad9 and / or p53 but other aspects of the complex involving rad9 and / or p53 , which may also be used to screen for compounds that induce cell death as compared to normal cells . normal cells , especially mammalian cells , can also be engineered to induce mutations into the hrad9 and / or p53 gene , for use in assays . the human homolog is listed in the ncbi data base , along with the genes for mice and rats . ( locusid 5883 ). mutations are preferably introduced by site - directed mutagenesis . site - directed mutagenesis is a molecular biology technique in which a mutation is created at a defined site in a dna molecule . in general , site - directed mutagenesis requires that the wild - type gene sequence be known . an oligonucleotide with its sequence containing a desired mutation is chemically synthesized . the oligonucleotide is attached by base pair hydrogen bonding to the complementary wild - type gene sequence . the synthetic oligonucleotide is used as a primer for the in vitro synthesis of a new dna strand that is complementary to the original ( template ) strand . the dna synthesis is performed by adding the enzyme dna polymerase to the dna template . the newly synthesized strand of dna has the primer and the desired mutation incorporated into it . by using a pair of primers and the polymerase chain reaction it is possible to amplify the newly created dna molecule and produce enough copies to make further manipulation of the new dna possible . typically , the mutated dna is then inserted into an expression vector by means of restriction enzymes and dna ligase . the expression vector is then typically inserted into a cell where it can be used as a genetic template for the synthesis of a mutated protein . the biological activity of the mutated protein can then be compared to that of the wild - type protein . in a preferred embodiment , the compound to be screened for activity is added to both normal ( i . e ., not having a deficiency in a checkpoint protein complex including rad9 and / or a mutation in the p53 gene ) and abnormal cells ( i . e ., having a mutation or inactivation in one or more of the proteins , or genes encoding the proteins , in the checkpoint protein complex including rad9 and / or in p53 ). those compounds which cause cell death in the abnormal cells as compared to the normal cells are then screened in further assays to assess general cytotoxicity and activity against specific cell types , such as tumor cells , bacterial cells , and virally infected cells . suitable compounds which may exhibit anti - tumor activity through the selective targeting of the hrad9 and / or p53 gene in humans include : r 1 - r 6 taken independently or r 3 - r 6 taken together are a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . r 1 - r 6 may be substituted or unsubstituted . r 1 - r 6 are selected from alkyl , substituted alkyl , alkenyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; z is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; and x is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . r 1 - r 7 taken independently or r 3 - r 6 taken together may be a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats , representative r 1 - r 6 groupings being alkyl , substituted alkyl , alkenyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; x is a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; z is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; and z ′ may a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic composition containing from 1 - 8 carbon atoms and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . in still another embodiment , the lactones having an alpha - methylene group can have the structure as show below : r 1 - r 9 taken independently or r 5 and r 6 taken together may be a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats , representative r 1 - r 6 groupings being alkyl , substituted alkyl , alkenyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; y 1 , y 2 , and y 3 taken independently or y 1 and y 2 taken together may be a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats , representative r 1 - r 6 groupings being alkyl , substituted alkyl , alkenyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; z is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; and x is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . in one embodiment , the lactone is a securolide , which is a alpha - methylene - lactone ( 1 ) having the structure : in another embodiment , the ester is methyl α - methylene - γ - hydroxy - butanoate ( 2 ) as shown in the following structure : in still another embodiment , the lactone is a bicyclic compound having the following structure : r 1 - r 4 taken independently may be a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats , representative r 1 - r 4 groupings being h , alkyl , substituted alkyl , allyl , substituted allyl , alkenyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , alloxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; x is a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; and z is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . in still another embodiment , the lactones having an alpha - methylene group can have the structure as show below : r 1 - r 4 taken independently may be a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom , a hydroxyl group , or any other organic groupings containing any number of carbon atoms , preferably 1 - 8 carbon atoms , and optionally include a heteroatom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats , representative r 1 - r 4 groupings being alkyl , allyl , substituted alkyl , alkenyl , allyl , substituted allyl , substituted alkenyl , alkynyl , substituted alkynyl , phenyl , substituted phenyl , aryl , substituted aryl , heteroaryl , substituted heteroaryl , halo , hydroxyl , alkoxy , substituted alkoxy , alloxy , phenoxy , substituted phenoxy , aroxy , substituted aroxy , alkylthio , substituted alkylthio , phenylthio , substituted phenylthio , arylthio , substituted arylthio , cyano , isocyano , substituted isocyano , carbonyl , substituted carbonyl , carboxyl , substituted carboxyl , amino , substituted amino , amido , substituted amido , sulfonyl , substituted sulfonyl , sulfonic acid , phosphoryl , substituted phosphoryl , phosphonyl , substituted phosphonyl , polyaryl , substituted polyaryl , c1 - c20 cyclic , substituted c1 - c20 cyclic , heterocyclic , substituted heterocyclic , aminoacid , peptide , or polypeptide group ; z is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats ; and x is a heteratom such as oxygen , sulfur , or nitrogen grouping in linear , branched , or cyclic structural formats . suitable compounds also include metabolites of the compounds described above , stereoisomers of the compounds described above , pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , and combinations thereof . pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts of compounds of formula ia - ie may be prepared in a conventional manner by treating a solution or suspension of the free base with about one chemical equivalent of a pharmaceutically acceptable acid . conventional concentration and recrystallization techniques can be employed to isolate the salt . the pharmaceutically acceptable base addition salts of compounds containing an acid group may be prepared in a conventional manner from the acid , e . g . by reaction with about one chemical equivalent of a base . the present invention will be further understood by reference to following non - limiting examples . bioassays on solid mediums were performed with securolide ( lmsv - 6 ) in a concentration between ten and one hundred micrograms / milliliter on a set of mutant strains of saccharomyces cereviseae with dna similar to that in tumor / cancer cells . securolide showed marked cytoxic activity only on the mutant strains , specifically the gene rad9 . this indicates that securolide has selective cytotoxicity to cells having unstable genomes .	6
a description will be made of preferred embodiments of the present invention in which an image forming device is an mfp . fig1 illustrates an example of a network system including an mfp . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the mfp . in a network illustrated in fig1 , reference numeral 1 denotes an mfp ; reference numerals 2 , 3 , and 4 , etc . respectively denote a personal computer ( pc ); reference numeral 5 denotes a public switched telephone network ( pstn ); reference numeral 6 denotes a local area network ( lan ); and reference numeral 7 is the internet . the mfp 1 includes various functions of a copy mode , a printer mode , and a facsimile mode , and also includes an e - mail transmitting function . the mfp 1 is connected to the pstn 5 and the lan 6 . a plurality of pcs 2 , 3 , and 4 , etc ., are connected to the lan 6 as terminal devices . the lan 6 is also connected to the internet 7 . the mfp 1 can transmit and receive e - mail via the internet 7 . fig2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a control system of the mfp 1 . as illustrated in fig2 , the mfp 1 includes a micro processing unit ( mpu ) 11 , a read only memory ( rom ) 12 , a random access memory ( ram ) 13 , an operation panel 14 , a scanner unit 15 , an image memory 16 , a printer unit 17 , a modulator - demodulator ( modem ) 18 , a network control unit ( ncu ) 19 , and a lan interface ( lan i / f ) 20 . each of the units 11 through 20 is connected via a bus 21 . the mpu 11 controls each of the hardware components of the mfp 1 via the bus 21 , and executes programs stored in the rom 12 . the rom 12 stores various programs and operation messages necessary for the operation of the mfp 1 . the ram 13 preferably includes a static ram ( sram ), a synchronous dynamic ram ( sdram ) or the like , and stores temporary data that is generated when a program is executed . the operation panel 14 includes a display unit and a plurality of keys . the display unit displays an operation status of the mfp 1 and also displays a screen for operating various functions . the plurality of keys enable a user to operate the mfp 1 . the scanner unit 15 includes an auto document feeder ( adf ) and / or a flat bed scanner ( fbs ) or the like . the scanner unit 15 scans an original document by a line image sensor using a charge coupled device ( ccd ) or the like , and outputs dot image data . as illustrated in fig2 , the scanner unit 15 includes a ccd 31 , an image signal processor 32 , a memory controller 33 , a page memory 34 , and a coder and decoder ( codec ) 35 . the image signal processor 32 binarizes an image signal output from the ccd 31 . the memory controller 33 stores binarized image data for one page in the page memory 34 . the memory controller 33 retrieves the binarized image data from the page memory 34 , and outputs the image data to the codec 35 . the codec 35 encodes the image data for one page by the modified huffman ( mh ), the modified relative element address designate ( mr ), or the modified mr ( mmr ) scheme , and outputs the image data to the bus 21 . the image memory 16 includes a dram or other suitable data storage device . the image memory 16 stores transmission image data , received image data , or image data scanned by the scanner unit 15 . the printer unit 17 preferably includes a laser printer , and prints out received data or print data transmitted from the remote pcs 2 , 3 , and 4 or the like . as illustrated in fig2 , the printer unit 17 includes a memory controller 36 , a page memory 37 , a codec 38 , a printer image signal processor 39 , a laser printer 40 including a laser scanner unit as a scanning mechanism , and a counter 51 for counting a number of black pixels . when printing , the codec 38 decodes coded image data from the image memory 16 , and the memory controller 36 stores the decoded image data of one page in the page memory 37 . the memory controller 36 retrieves the image data of one page from the page memory 37 , and supplies the image data to the printer image signal processor 39 . the printer image signal processor 39 outputs a control signal to the laser printer 40 . the counter 51 will be described later . the modem 18 is connected to the bus 21 . the modem 18 includes functions such as a faxmodem capable of carrying out facsimile communication . the modem 18 is connected to the ncu 19 , which is also connected to the bus 21 . the ncu 19 is hardware which carries out an operation for connecting and releasing an analog communication line . according to necessity , the ncu 19 connects the modem 18 to the pstn 5 . the lan interface 20 is connected to the lan 6 . the lan interface 20 receives a signal from the internet 7 , and also transmits a signal and data to the lan 6 . the lan interface 20 executes interface processing such as signal conversion and protocol conversion . the mfp 1 is configured as described above . during facsimile transmission , image data of an original document is scanned by the scanner unit 15 , compressed by the codec 35 , and stored in the image memory 16 . the compressed image data is retrieved from the image memory 16 , modulated by the modem 18 , and transmitted from the ncu 19 to a communication destination via the pstn 5 . upon facsimile reception , received image data is demodulated by the modem 18 , and stored in the image memory 16 . then , the image data is decoded by the codec 38 , and printed out by the laser printer 40 . next , with reference to fig3 , the counter 51 will be described . the counter 51 illustrated in fig3 is provided for determining an amount of toner used by the printer , for example . an image signal output from the printer image signal processor 39 is input to the counter 51 , and the counter 51 counts black pixels included in a black and white image signal ( in an example illustrated in fig3 , logically “ 1 ”). the counter 51 is connected to the bus 21 , and the mpu 11 can directly access the counted value . the counter 51 is reset by a control signal from the mpu 11 . before starting a printing operation , the mpu 11 resets the counter 51 , and sets a count value to “ 0 ”. a printing density adjusting unit 60 is provided inside the printer image signal processor 39 . as illustrated in fig4 , the printing density adjusting unit 60 includes a 75 % duty pulse generating circuit 61 , a 50 % duty pulse generating circuit 62 , a 25 % duty pulse generating circuit 63 , a multiplexer ( mpx ) 64 , an and gate 65 , and a delay circuit 66 . in synchronism with a driving signal ( a ) illustrated in fig5 , the 75 % duty pulse generating circuit 61 , the 50 % duty pulse generating circuit 62 , and the 25 % duty pulse generating circuit 63 respectively generate pulses having a duty ratio of 75 %, 50 %, and 25 % as illustrated respectively in ( b ) through ( d ) of fig5 , and supply the pulses to the mpx 64 . the mpx 64 selects one of the pulses having the duty ratio of 75 %, 50 %, or 25 % according the control signal , and supplies the selected pulse to the and gate 65 . a serial image signal ( e ) illustrated in fig5 and the output from the mpx 64 are input to the and gate 65 . therefore , as illustrated by ( f ), ( i ), and ( l ) in fig5 , only when the serial image signal is black , one of the pulses having the duty ratio of 25 %, 50 %, or 75 % is output . the delay circuit 66 delays only a trailing edge of the input pulse based on the control signal , and combines a plurality of delay elements and a logic circuit . for example , when a control signal without delay is input , one of the pulses having the duty of 25 %, 50 %, or 75 % illustrated by ( f ), ( i ), and ( l ) in fig5 is directly output . when a control signal with delay 1 is input , one of the pulses having the duty of 25 %, 50 %, or 75 % illustrated by ( g ), ( j ), and ( m ) in fig5 , in which a trailing edge is delayed , is output . when a control signal with delay 2 is input , one of pulses having the duty of 25 %, 50 %, or 75 % illustrated by ( h ), ( k ), and ( n ) in fig5 , in which a trailing edge is further delayed , is output . then , the output signal is input to the laser diode 68 via the laser diode driver 67 of the laser printer 40 . therefore , by switching the control signal to the mpx 64 and the delay circuit 66 , and by combining the duty and the delay , as illustrated in fig6 , it is possible to change a pulse width of the pulses generated according to the black pixels , e . g ., without delay for 25 % duty , delay 1 for 25 % duty , delay 2 for 25 % duty , without delay for 50 % duty , etc ., up to delay 2 for 75 % duty and so forth . the density of an image can be sequentially darkened in nine levels . next , with reference to the flowchart illustrated in fig7 , a description will be made of processes carried out when adjusting density of an image at shipment from a factory or when adjusting density of an image by a serviceperson in the field . further , when adjusting the density of an image , an operator places a test chart on an fbs to make a first generation copy by a text mode , and a counted value of black pixels of an image signal is stored in the ram 13 . when an operator selects “ maintenance ” in the display screen of the operation panel 14 and selects to adjust the density , the mpu 11 starts an image density adjusting program illustrated in the flowchart of fig7 . first , the counted value of the black pixels of the first generation copy is moved to a temporary memory area of the ram 13 ( step 101 ). then , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the operator has pressed a start button on the operation panel 14 ( step 102 ). after the operator places the first generation copy on the fbs and sets the mfp 1 under a text mode , the operator presses the start button on the operation panel 14 . the mpu 11 executes a scanning operation of an image by the scanner unit 15 to scan an image of the first generation copy . by inputting the scanned image data to the counter 51 , the mpu 11 acquires a counted value of black pixels of an image of a second generation copy , and stores the acquired counted value in the temporary memory area of the ram 13 ( step 103 ). next , the mpu 11 calculates a rate of density change (%) by the following formula ( step 104 ): rate of density change =( a number of pixels of the second generation copy − a number of pixels of the first generation copy )/ a number of pixels of the first generation copy . then , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the rate of the density change is smaller than the minimum permissible value , for example , 0 % ( step 105 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the rate of the density change is smaller than the minimum permissible value , the mpu 11 determines that the test chart has been copied again or that a different document has been copied . the display screen of the operation panel 14 displays an error message , e . g . “ wrong original document ” ( step 106 ), and the program ends . when the mpu 11 determines at step 105 that the rate of the density change is larger than or equal to the minimum permissible value , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the rate of the density change is larger than the maximum permissible value , for example , 60 % ( step 107 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the rate of the density change is larger than the maximum permissible value , the mpu 11 determines that a completely different original document has been copied , and the display screen of the operation panel 14 displays an error message ( step 106 ). meanwhile , when the mpu 11 determines at step 107 that the rate of the density change is smaller than or equal to the maximum permissible value , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the rate of the density change is smaller than a target rate of change of a lower limit , for example , about 7 % ( step 108 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the rate of the density change is smaller than the target rate of change of the lower limit , the mpu 11 displays a confirmation screen for changing the density as illustrated in fig8 on the display screen of the operation panel 14 ( step 109 ). next , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ no ” in the confirmation screen of fig8 ( step 110 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has pressed “ no ”, the program ends . when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has not pressed “ no ”, the mpu 11 determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ yes ” ( step 111 ). when the mpu 11 determines at step 111 that the operator has not pressed “ yes ”, the mpu 11 returns to step 110 again and determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ no ”. when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has pressed “ yes ”, the mpu 11 changes a control signal to the mpx 64 and the delay circuit 66 of the printing density adjusting unit 60 so that the density darkens by one level from the current density . meanwhile , when the mpu 11 determines at step 108 that the rate of the density change is larger than or equal to a target rate of change of the lower limit , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the rate of the density change is larger than the target rate of change of the upper limit , for example , about 15 % ( step 113 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the rate of the density change is larger than the target rate of change of the upper limit , the mpu 11 displays the confirmation screen for changing the density as illustrated in fig9 on the display screen of the operation panel 14 ( step 114 ). next , the mpu 11 determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ no ” in the confirmation screen of fig9 ( step 115 ). when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has pressed “ no ”, the mpu 11 ends the program . when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has not pressed “ no ”, the mpu 11 determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ yes ” ( step 116 ). when the mpu 11 determines at step 116 that the operator has not pressed “ yes ”, the mpu 11 returns to step 115 again and determines whether or not the operator has pressed “ no ”. when the mpu 11 determines that the operator has pressed “ yes ”, the mpu 11 changes a control signal to the mpx 64 and the delay circuit 66 of the printing density adjusting unit 60 such that the density is lightened by one level from the current density ( step 117 ). when the mpu 11 determines at step 113 that the rate of the density change is smaller than or equal to the target rate of change of the upper limit , the mpu 11 displays the rate of the density change on the display screen of the operation panel 14 , and displays that the rate of the density change is appropriate ( step 118 ). then , the mpu 11 ends the program . as described above , by counting the number of black pixels , the mfp 1 detects an increase in the number of black pixels ( increase in the thickness of a line ) among generations of copies . when an amount of the increase in the number of black pixels is large , the mfp 1 lowers the density for forming an image to offset the increase in the number of black pixels . as described above , since the mfp 1 can carry out a feedback control on the increase in the thickness of the text by an actual copy , the mfp 1 can efficiently minimize the increase in the thickness of the text . the increase in the thickness of the text is caused by an amount of toner being larger for one pixel . when the thickness of the text increases , the amount of toner for one pixel may be reduced . this can be achieved by adjusting the pulse width of the laser printer , i . e ., the density of the printer . therefore , by feeding back the rate of increase in the number of black pixels among the generations of the copies to the printer density , the density of the printer can be adjusted efficiently . further , according to the above - described preferred embodiment , the mfp 1 uses a laser printer as the printer . as another example , the printer may by a light emitting diode ( led ) printer . when using the led printer , the printing density can be controlled by adjusting the time of a strobe signal of an led printer head and / or adjusting the voltage for driving the led printer head . the minimum permissible value , the maximum permissible value , the target rate of change of the lower limit , and the target rate of change of the upper limit described in the above preferred embodiment are just examples . any value may be used according to the particular device . moreover , the levels in which the density of the image is changed are not limited to nine levels . the levels of the density of an image may be changed at a lower or higher number of levels . in the above - described preferred embodiment , the image forming device is described as a digital mfp . however , the present invention is also applicable to a general copier not having a facsimile function , or any other suitable device . while the present invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than those specifically set out and described above . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to cover all modifications of the present invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention .	7

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